Hi Holly, I'm sorry this thing has you feeling down. But seriously, you have dodged a bullet by seeing the errors of Watchtowerism BEFORE getting baptized. All the folks on this forum are telling you the truth: you would be treated like dirt by the whole congregation if you asked these questions after baptism. You really dodged a bullet here. I'd suggest you continue and deepen your prayer life, continue studying the scriptures (not from the New World misTranslation) prayerfully, ask God to show you what he wants you to know and to do, and immunize yourself against future cults who claim to be the "revival" of early Christianity by reading the writings of the Early Church fathers to see what the early Christians actually believed. I recommend the book THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS published by Eerdmans publishing company. I'm sure amazon.com carries it. These were the Christians who lived way before "wicked ol' King Constantine" was even born, when it was ILLEGAL to be a Christian. May God bless and lead you in your journey. Love, Jaypeeto
Studies over....................sob............they dont want me...
by holly 76 Replies latest watchtower bible
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OldSoul
holly: 'so you giving up studying me'. 'yes' you need to find the answers to all your questions. ive told you as much as i can and if you still have so many questions, it obvious your heart isnt in the right condition at this present time'
Okaaaaayyyy? Holly, er um, can you picture Jesus casting his disciples aside the third time they questioned him about whether he was going to restore rulership to Israel now? They were full of questions for three-and-a-half years! Jesus did not stop studying with them. Whose example is followed?
In the Bible, "right heart condition" = "ardent desire to fill your spiritual need."
Among Jehovah's Witnesses, "right heart condition" = "grudging acceptance of everything the Faithful and Discreet Slave say for the reward of life in the new system."
Take heart, holly. They don't want you. That is a pretty good indication that Jehovah does.
Respectfully,
OldSoul -
franklin J
Holly,
the silver lining in this cloud is that you will not suffer from the JW nonsense the way many on this forum have.
I am sorry you are hurting. But they really did you a favor.
Keep lookiing on your spiritual quest; do not be discouraged; least of all not by THEM.
good luck to you, Frank
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HappyDad
Holly,
Now you are a first hand witness (no pun intended) as to how shallow JW friendship is. The one who studied with you is showing that unless you become a JW, true friendship is out of the question. Then again, true friendship is really doesn't exist in the WT org.
You stopped being "easy meat", is all. Your study leader, to maintain her delusion, has to consider you to be unworthy of her attention and run, run, run from your distressing questions as fast as she can.
......and you should run, run, run the other way also!
Jst2laws....
We as jws used to spew out those patent answers like robots but in our own heart we wondered, fearfully, if we weren't sticking our heads in the sand.
Wow.......I never thought of putting it that way, but it is so true. Even as an elder there were many, many times at the door, the householder (JW patented term) had a lot of Bible knowledge and caused me doubts...things I had no answer for.
Holly. Please stick around, ask questions, express yourself, and investigate, investigate, investigate all you can.
HappyDad
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funkyderek
At the very last JW assembly I attended, there was a "sister" on the platform giving an experience of a young man she had met in the preaching work, who was eager to learn and devoured the Watchtower publications. Something she said about his intense curiosity stuck with me: "As soon as he stops asking questions, we can get down to a proper study."
Holly, you've had the intelligence and integrity not to stop asking questions. Make sure you never stop. Don't ever trust anybody who tells you not to ask questions.
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rebel8
Oh Holly, thankfully, you?re questioning your involvement with the JWs. Keep it up! Here are some thoughts:
Often the older cults have predicted the end of the world or changed their beliefs significantly, hence their older publications become a danger to them. For some of the older cults people have produced books of photo copies of these changes. http://www.cultwatch.com/hcwindex.html
i said why would a group of people with common experience waste all these hours lying to each other.
Honestly, I have better things to do than spend hours making up lies about other people. I spend time on sites like this because I want to help people spare themselves from a horrible experience like the one I had.
i asked what was wrong with looking at the evidence 'against' jws
My mantra: ?If it?s ?The Truth?, it will sustain objective evaluation and consideration of the opposite point of view.? -
rebel8
Somehow, most of my post was cut off?trying it again:
[[that ive been warned about these sites and that apostates will do ANYTHING to knock jws. proving its the true religion bec the bible says it will happen]]
Quote about ?apostates?: They tell you that they are not a cult. This is a preemptive strike against the warnings from friends and family members which they know will come. In fact some cults go as far to tell you that Satan will try and dissuade you by sending family members and friends to tell you it is a cult. When this tactic is used then often a warped form of logic occurs in the recruits' mind, the "agents of Satan" do come and tell them that it is a cult. So since the group predicted that would happen, the group therefore must true! Basically if any group tells you that they are not a cult, or that some people call them a cult, then for goodness sake find out why! http://www.cultwatch.com/hcwindex.html
Basic misconceptions about cults: http://www.cultwatch.com/hcwindex.html
[[i asked about all the dates where predictions were made, eg 1914, 1975]]
Often the older cults have predicted the end of the world or changed their beliefs significantly, hence their older publications become a danger to them. For some of the older cults people have produced books of photo copies of these changes. http://www.cultwatch.com/hcwindex.html
[[i said why would a group of people with common experience waste all these hours lying to each other.]]
Honestly, I have better things to do than spend hours making up lies about other people. I spend time on sites like this because I want to help people spare themselves from a horrible experience like the one I had.
[[i asked what was wrong with looking at the evidence 'against' jws]]
My mantra: ?If it?s ?The Truth?, it will sustain objective evaluation and consideration of the opposite point of view.?
[[i asked about df'ing people.]]
I think anyone could ?prove? any point they wanted to by picking something out of the Bible and misinterpreting it. The point about Dfing is hogwash. (I am not DFd, but I do realize it?s total BS.) One of the 10 commandments is ?Thou shalt not judge.? Dfing and shunning cannot occur unless someone is judged.
[[i asked how jws were able to interpret difficult scripture]]
Just like every cult, who claims to have special ?inside? knowledge. That?s how they attract people in the first place.
[[i asked about 144000 and why so many still alive]]
They have an answer for everything, don?t they? Honest people don?t claim to have an answer for everything.
[[i said it wasnt fair that if you take two wordly people and one dies before armageddon, he could be resurected. but the unlucky bugger who survives it through, will just die]]
LOL I guess there will be a sh-tload of people killing themselves then, so they can take advantage of this loophole.
[[in a nut shell DUMPED. someone please say something nice]]
[[applause]] I don?t even have time to say all the nice things I?m thinking! Being dumped by the JW whacks is an honor. It shows you have integrity, strength, courage, intelligence, a sense of self worth?are you feeling better yet?
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Sunspot
**Even though none of it makes sense anymore, and they dont want me anyway, sniff, my brain keeps telling me Im a lost cause now in Gods eyes (boy they did a good job on me).
Sweetie, even the JWs themselves say that God reads our hearts! They haven't got any more "in" with God than any other person who has a reverence for him. Once again, the WTS has climbed up into Jesus' seat and has decided who pleases God and who doesn't, in relation to ones worship.
The WTS is arrogantly doing the "job" of Jesus, in deciding who pleases God and who doesn't. For a religion that speaks for God, they have made terrible errors---but teach things as "truth" and then have to change things a few years later. Do you really want to be involved in such a false religion?
JWs are well-trained in the guilt trip, and it seems to have left a mark on you. Thier entire religion is a farce and cannot live up to the TRUTH of the bible, despite their claims.
I cannot emphasize strongly enough that you have NOT displeased GOD..........just the WTS, and there IS a major difference. As was brought out, Jesus would NEVER have treated anyone like what the JW did to you. He was/is always compassionate and CARED for his sheep and didn't DUMP on them as the WTS does.
I feel bad that YOU feel as if you've failed in some way, but I dare say that you've made Jehovah's heart GLAD by seeing all the hypocrisy in the WTS! So many of us didn't see any of this when we studied. It's taken a while to realize that WE didn't leave God......we left the WTS and FOUND God!
hugs,
Annie
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Fleur
thank you people. the worst of it is. id actually got to know this woman quiet well. id been away with her and some of her friends and family. id gotten to know a lot of people i actually liked. and a lot of the friends i had before i stopped mixing with. and now she doesnt want to see me. she was still nice to me today, even though i could see i was offending her deeply. i did that as gently as possible. even offered to show her this site. might as well of offered to call up demons........................
See, Holly, high control groups start by isolating people that they want to control and convert. Otherwise, your friends would surely be telling you that JW teachings don't make sense; and therefore JW consider them "bad associations". They also demonize any outside source of information, because they know that it will prove what they teach to be false. I'd call up those friends you had from before, and explain how JW's work at isolating you, and then draw all the support that you can from them. Believe me, in years to come as you learn more about the organization, you will come to count all this as a blessing in disguise. Welcome to you, and to all the other new folks in this thread. Glad to have you with us. hugs essie
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Sunspot
**Otherwise, your friends would surely be telling you that JW teachings don't make sense; and therefore JW consider them "bad associations".
I remember when I was studying, I gave one of my closest friends the "Truth" book and begged her to read it. We had always researched stuff and loved learning new things (before we had computers in '69) and I was so eager to share what I was learning.
She came by one day and asked a few questions, and after I answered her-she just looked at me (I'll never forget this) and said "you're so smart---HOW can you believe this stuff?" From then on I didn't see her much because she now made me feel uncomfortable :<(
My study conductor SAID that you're friends won't "understand" now that you're studying the bible (gag), and so I never saw my friend again. Over time, I gave up all my friends and then we moved to another state---so I lost touch with some great people over three decades ago.
Someone had called this tactic a "pre-emptive strike" either on this thread or another recently, and this is a perfect way to describe it. So...when it happens, you think "aha!" they were right, and it reinforces the concept.
Holly, don't let this happen to you----go and call all your friends and explain how you were misled into thinking that you shouldn't associate with anyone but JWs if you planned to become one. It's a great time to warn THEM about the WTS and how they shouldn't answer the door when they call. LOL!
hugs,
Annie