Divergent

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Posts by Divergent

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  19

  Today's Text - Draw Close To God... (BUT HOW???)

  by Divergent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's where i stand at the moment: i neither categorize myself as a theist, atheist, or agnostic.

  i'm a freethinker and do not have a specific belief at the moment, unless something comes along which is 100% conclusive & convincing.

  which brings us to tackling the elephant in the room, something that today's text has failed to do:.

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  Divergent

  punkofnice:

  I challenge god to answer my prayer in a tangible way to prove I'm not praying to the wrong deity.

  I made that same challenge too before I faded. Nothing happened!

  
  

  Heaven:

  Isaiah 45:7: "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." – KJV

  Proverbs 3:11-12: “The Lord punishes everyone He loves. He whips every … [person] He receives.” – NLV.

  Matthew 10:35: “For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—“ (NIV)

  I have zero interest in any god who does this crap.

  Me too! One thing I've learned to do is to stop trying to justify things which cannot be justified & stop making excuses for God!
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  32

  The Congregational Make Up Research Project: WTB&TS wants to know you.

  by oppostate in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we have a bethel speaker on the english side.

  they're pretty regular up here since it's only three and a half hours drive from nyc.. but this is a special kind of visit.. it turns out he's involved in doing a special research project and the christian congregation of jw's wants to know us better.. in order for the broadcasting to address issues more meaningful for families, they want to know the demographic make up of the congregations.. he spoke with the secretary about young single publishers and couples 20-35 y.o.

  how are they employed.

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  Divergent

  Thousands are waking up & leaving, as proven by the organization's own statistics published in the yearbook!

  IF the organization had not been so dogmatic on man-made rules & teachings which make no sense BUT instead focused on being an organization that is based on genuine love & helping those in need, then they wouldn't be in this shit which they are in now

  Poor advice to stay single, not to have children in this "old system", not to pursue higher education, not to pursue good careers & but instead seek "kingdom interests" first, etc. has resulted in millions of JW's finding themselves in situations where they are poor & broke, childless, old & lonely with no one to support them, dissatisfied & disillusioned, etc. Many have woken up & left while many of those who remain do not have the circumstances & means to give much support to the organization. The floodgates have opened & the organization is now crumbling from within!
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  19

  Today's Text - Draw Close To God... (BUT HOW???)

  by Divergent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's where i stand at the moment: i neither categorize myself as a theist, atheist, or agnostic.

  i'm a freethinker and do not have a specific belief at the moment, unless something comes along which is 100% conclusive & convincing.

  which brings us to tackling the elephant in the room, something that today's text has failed to do:.

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  Divergent

  Magnum:

  I agree about the lack of interaction. Supposedly God used to perform miracles. Why'd he stop? It's not fair. The Hebrews got the parting of the Red Sea; we get Stephen Lett.

  Exactly. What's the point of going from door to door with an unconvincing message that people don't bother listening to? If God REALLY wanted people to listen & didn't desire any to be destroyed, wouldn't it make more sense for him to grant his witnesses the ability to perform convincing miracles that people CANNOT deny?
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  19

  Today's Text - Draw Close To God... (BUT HOW???)

  by Divergent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's where i stand at the moment: i neither categorize myself as a theist, atheist, or agnostic.

  i'm a freethinker and do not have a specific belief at the moment, unless something comes along which is 100% conclusive & convincing.

  which brings us to tackling the elephant in the room, something that today's text has failed to do:.

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  Divergent

  Half banana:

  As a JW, I heard others talk about being so pleased that they had an intimate relationship with Big J, talking to him all the time and relying on him for everything...I felt deficient, just couldn't get the hang of it, I never felt close to a spirit Thing even as a pioneer. Yep it's insane!

  You know what I realize about these ones? That they are just trying to convince themselves that they have a personal relationship with God & that everything that happens - good or bad - is due to God's will. Something good happens? A blessing from God! Something bad happens? God is not to blame (although he allows it!). God is thanked for good things that happen out of pure coincidence & not blamed for bad things which happen in the same way! JW's are trained not to give in to doubts & negative feelings, so EVERYTHING that happens automatically HAS to be right - even if it's not, they would find a way to justify it!

  As.a JW, I was trained to look at only one side of the picture. Now that I see the other side, things are starting to make more sense!
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  19

  Today's Text - Draw Close To God... (BUT HOW???)

  by Divergent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's where i stand at the moment: i neither categorize myself as a theist, atheist, or agnostic.

  i'm a freethinker and do not have a specific belief at the moment, unless something comes along which is 100% conclusive & convincing.

  which brings us to tackling the elephant in the room, something that today's text has failed to do:.

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  Divergent

  Spiral:

  I realized after growing up "in" that when things went well people thought Jehovah was communicating with them. Well, doesn't everyone think that of their God?

  I came to the conclusion that if there was a God who was both powerful enough and sophisticated enough to create the universe as we know it, he would be a better communicator. Supposedly, he can create planets and universes and creatures that love to communicate, but he can't even get his message straight to his followers. Then, he sends out confusing messages to them as a test to see if they can figure it out and "follow" him correctly.

  That's just insanity. You can't "grow close" to that!

  Spot on! I don't see the need for God to keep on testing us while NOT giving us enough proof & assurance of his existence, love, & care, then destroying at Armageddon any who fail the tests (which happen to be the majority of mankind who are unconvinced of God's unconvincing message - is it their fault???) while at the same time NOT desiring any to be destroyed!

  Sounds insane? But yet that's what many believe!
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  19

  Today's Text - Draw Close To God... (BUT HOW???)

  by Divergent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's where i stand at the moment: i neither categorize myself as a theist, atheist, or agnostic.

  i'm a freethinker and do not have a specific belief at the moment, unless something comes along which is 100% conclusive & convincing.

  which brings us to tackling the elephant in the room, something that today's text has failed to do:.

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  Divergent

  Anders Anderson:

  God does interact with you. You just have to listen! You're not trying hard enough!

  
  And you got it all backwards: "for whoever approaches God must believe that he is"
  So first you should start believing, then you can approach God, and then the voices in your head will take over

  Oh... so THAT was what I was doing wrongly! LOL

  Yeah, I DID believe... for more than 20 years as a born-in. As a JW, I never felt any genuine & true personal relationship with Jokehova. All the time, it was just me wanting to believe & convincing myself that it was real. Thanks for the brainwashing, mum & dad!

  
  

  On a more serious note: yeah, normally friends communicate with each other. One person just talking to an invisible, unheard imaginary friend can not be called communication.

  Exactly. Everything is totally ONE-SIDED & there is not a single shred of interaction. I remember quite a number of arguments saying that you can just simply pick any object or thing & pray to it & get the same results. LOL

  
  

  And a collection of ancient letters from that 'friend', written by 40 guys I don't know either, that doesn't help either. Just because there are books in the library doesn't mean I'm friends with all those writers...

  Yup. Not to say that those writings are OVERWHELMINGLY CONVINCING anyway! If the author of the Bible was REALLY God, I'm sure he could do better!

  Result of reading the Bible: 40,000+ different Christian denominations. Great job, God!!!
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  19

  Today's Text - Draw Close To God... (BUT HOW???)

  by Divergent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's where i stand at the moment: i neither categorize myself as a theist, atheist, or agnostic.

  i'm a freethinker and do not have a specific belief at the moment, unless something comes along which is 100% conclusive & convincing.

  which brings us to tackling the elephant in the room, something that today's text has failed to do:.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Divergent

  Here's where I stand at the moment: I neither categorize myself as a theist, atheist, or agnostic. I'm a freethinker and do not have a specific belief at the moment, UNLESS something comes along which is 100% conclusive & convincing

  Which brings us to tackling the elephant in the room, something that today's text has failed to do:

  Sunday, May 15

  Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you.—Jas. 4:8.

  Jehovah showed his love for the human family by creating our beautiful earthly home. He still expresses his love for us by sustaining our life by means of his marvelous physical provisions. (Acts 17:28; Rev. 4:11) More important, Jehovah looks after our spiritual needs. (Luke 12:42) He also assures us that he personally listens as we pray to him. (1 John 5:14) However, the foremost way in which God draws us to himself and we are drawn to him is through the love he expresses by means of the ransom. (1 John 4:9, 10, 19) Jehovah sent his “only-begotten Son” to the earth so that we might be delivered from sin and death. (John 3:16) Jehovah has made it possible even for people who lived before the time of Christ to benefit from the ransom. From the moment Jehovah prophesied about a future Savior for mankind, the ransom was as good as paid from his viewpoint, for he knew that his purpose would not fail.—Gen. 3:15. w14 8/15 3:7, 8

  I am a person who thrives on interaction. I am drawn to people who I can interact with easily & who are NOT distant + uncommunicative

  Interaction is the MOST BASIC thing required to establish a strong friendship / relationship / bond. So the question is this: How the heck am I supposed to draw close to someone who DOES NOT interact with me???
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  23

  There are two cart witnesses outside of my office window - Faneuil Hall in Boston - should I approach them?

  by Billzfan23 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i asked a couple of them farther up the street by north station if they had ever seen beth sarim - and that they should look it up...for some interesting facts about their history.. .

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  Divergent

  LOL... where are the people???
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  17

  False reasoning behind some of the WT rules?

  by nevaagain in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what are some false reasoning's behind some of the wt rules?.

  birthdays:.

  why is it forbidden as a jw to celebrate birthdays?

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  Divergent

  Even if you were to interpret it that way, it still makes more sense than the JW interpretation. Not that I agree entirely with your interpretation, just saying...
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  4

  Great quote!

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  "growth is painful.

  change is painful.

  but nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don't belong".

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  Divergent

  Yup, good quote. Here's another one which I like:

  
  

  Holding on to the JW cult was definitely more painful & damaging for me than letting go!