Looking for suggestions, I'm being called on by a JW

by Tameria2001 14 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Tameria2001

  Just before the Pandemic affected my area, a couple of JWs came to my door. This was the first time I didn't tell them to hit the road but instead had a pleasant conversation with them. I never revealed that I am a former JW, nor do I ever want the JWs in my area to know that I was ever one. I moved here just to get away from the ones that I did know.

  I just received a second letter, part of this letter says,

  Last time I wrote, I mentioned that we see the signs of change on the horizon. I'm sure you're familiar with the Lord's Prayer, where Jesus said to pray for God's Kingdom to come. The result will be that God's Will will take place on earth. Under that kingdom, all of the problems that face the human race today will be eliminated. Even death will be a thing of the past. An enormous number of people will be resurrected with the possibility of never dying again. "Death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore." (Rev 21:4) Life at that time will be pure joy. It's beautiful to anticipate.

  I already know how things are going to be after this pandemic, those who survive this will still be going to work, and paying their taxes. With a few small changes, life will generally remain unchanged, meaning no new system like the JWs is anticipating.

  Without giving myself away as a former JW what are a few things I can say to her? I was thinking about mentioning the pandemic of the early 1900s (Spanish Flu). The total slaughter of people during the 1930s and 1940s; Germany and the Jews and others they consider undesirables, Japan and the Chinese people, Russia and their own citizens, just to name a few.

  What I am hoping to accomplish would be to say something to her, so that when things calm down, and life goes back to normal hopefully it will be something that comes to her mind. The whole "planting the seed" bit.
  
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  jwundubbed

  If you mention the Spanish Flu, you might want to mention that it came back for a second round after it mutated (or evolved). The H1N1 flu that scared so many people a few years ago, is from the same strain of flu as the Spanish Flu. I'm not sure what your goal is for this seed but learning what disease is and how it works would help a lot of people. Especially since there is so much misinformation out there.
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  Pete Zahut

  
  

  You could say “I know...it certainly is good news Isn’t it? The best part is that because of Jesus sacrifice, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be part of it too... just as I am! Looks like it’s a way off yet though, since instead of turning on religion as predicted, Donald Trump declared churches to be “essential services”? Im sure that includes yours too!
  
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  smiddy3

  Last time I wrote, I mentioned that we see the signs of change on the horizon. I'm sure you're familiar with the Lord's Prayer, where Jesus said to pray for God's Kingdom to come.

  If I may presume the last time she talked ,she quoted "in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here..." etc,etc,etc.

  The last time a couple of JW`s came to my door i asked them what period of time would they like to go back and live in ? This period of time is the absolute best that mankind has ever lived in.The advancements in science and technology to make our life so much more pleasant and comfortable ,air travel all over the world <the advancements in medicines and hospital procedures keeping people alive much longer with the quality of life never before experienced ?

  What are you people talking about ?

  Needless to say that was a conversation stopper ,but I went on .The "Our Father" prayer that Jesus told his followers to pray for is 2000 years old and is going to come when when we die and go to heaven.I have my religion you have yours ,good day to you.

  Notice i used "Our Father " prayer which denotes you may be a catholic without you ever saying that.

  And if by any chance they try to tell you they know Gods name is Jehovah ,you can always say the catholic Douay version of the bible has the name Jehovah in it printed centuries ago ,and the modern Knox Catholic version of the bible uses Yahweh throughout the Old Testament .

  And if you want to put the final nail in the coffin of JW arguments : Ancient Catholic Churches throughout the world have the name Jehovah engraved in stone on many of their churches .

  I hope this helps Tameria 2001

  About the 13th century the term “Jehovah” appeared when Christian scholars took the consonants of “Yahweh” and pronounced it with the vowels of “Adonai.” This resulted in the sound “Yahowah,” which has a Latinized spelling of “Jehovah.” The first recorded use of this spelling was made by a Spanish Dominican monk, Raymundus Martini, in 1270.

  from a catholic source.
  
  

  
  
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  Vanderhoven7

  Hi Tameria,

  I think the goal of Bible believing Christians encountering Jehovah's Witnesses is to BLESS them with both:

  a. doubt in their organization and

  b. the biblical gospel of salvation

  Those without religious faith might seek to simply bless them with:

  a. doubt in their organization

  I think the best way to accomplish a. is to question your friends (i.e., ask them to substantiate) one or two of the unique beliefs and/or policies of their organization. One of my favorite topics would be their blood policies. The blood issue is a great one to start with since everyone knows about their refusal to accept whole blood and so you would not be giving your past association away. Cofty produced a great study on blood and there is much info on line that you can research.

  http://www.ajwrb.org/watchtower-approved-blood-transfusions

  Neither Acts 15, nor Leviticus 11 or 17 informs Christians

  a. which components of blood are acceptable and which ones are not.

  b. why plasma is unacceptable when all of its elements and fractions are on the WTS acceptable list.

  c. why white blood cells are banned when 97 percent of the white cells are not found in the blood stream but in organ tissues that are permitted by the WTS to transplant.

  d. that it is sinful to store whole blood for any reason except in small amounts in tubes for lab technicians to test

  e. that it is morally right to use the fractions derived from the donated and stored blood of others and that without contributing anything to blood banks themselves?

  f. that it is permitted to restore blood to the body after it has been cleaned..only if there is no interruption in it's flow back to the body.
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  dozy

  I would probe them a bit on the "wonderful news" about God's Kingdom. Ask them who would be annihilated to achieve this. We know that the Society teaches that everyone who isn't a JW ( and even some who are but are weak ) will be destroyed including new born babies and children.
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  Fadeaway1962

  Why not say you were discussing the encouraging letter you received with a work colleague , friend etc and they raised such and such a issue and could they confirm it to true or false.
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  Finkelstein

  Or you could just say that you dont believe in the bible writings anymore for they are fictional mythology.
  

  The book of Revelation for example.

  That will close the discourse promptly.

  The JWS/Jworg publishing house is trying to exploit recent world events ie. Virus pandemic as a sign that mankind is living in the last days.

  (There have been virus pandemics hundreds of years before, even in biblical limes)

  The WTS heads have always known if they can find people to believe what they are saying they might be able to recruit that person, less they get educated.
  
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  Anna Marina

  See if you can get her on why the GB have authority - see if you can get her onto the subject of 1914. Then ask her what date they start counting from to get to 1914.

  The date is 607 BCE - just see if she knows what year of Nebuchadnezzar that was (she should say 19th). FYI Watchtower changes it to the 1st year of Nebuchadnezzar. They say his first year was 624 BCE and his 19th year/aka his 1st year was 607 BCE.

  The reason I suggest this is because if you look on the official website and go to the 2 videos which purport to be an explanation of their twaddle, what you notice is they do not mention how they arrive at the start date. They waffle on about 1914 being the end of the 2520 years. But they don't explain what the starting point is. Maybe it'll start her questioning if the subject interests her.
  
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  LongHairGal

  TAMERIA:

  I feel that if you keep engaging this JW in a friendly way (without actually scaring them with very pointed questions)..you are going to be somebody’s return visit for a long time.

  If you have patience for this, fine.