Posts by Adonai438

38

why, what made you join JWs?

by tosko in

i would like some brief stories of people saying the reasons they joined jw organisation.

where you already in another church, were you disillusioned, were you biblically illiterate?

and if it is possible, please let me know where you come from, hoping you're not all from usa.

I joined because I loved God but was Bible illiterate. I was a teenager with relatives in the Org. and figured their church was as good as any. No one at the time could explain to me why they were wrong so I ignored the 'it's a cult' warnings. After a year of 'studying' to be baptised I made some friends that showed me parts of the Bible I think the JWs either avoid or don't know exist And after much study and prayer realised that the WT was VERY Misled (or lying) and I left it to become a christian. <>< ANgie

54

Will you go to the memorial

by freeborg in

jw
friends

i have never missed a memorial in 20 years of being a jw, but this year will be the first one i miss because i refuse to set foot in any kingdom hall.

i was wondering how many that post here will attend the memorial and if so why?.

do you feel pressured into going by family or friends?.

Adonai438

I won't be going to the JW memorial but I do observe the memorial and attend the my church's passover/last supper observance. From what the Bible says I would not in good concience go to the WT memorial because they do not observe the entire true story of who Christ is, therefore they are not true recognized followers of Yahweh.
My answer short but honest <>< Angie

31

Who are still in and who has left the JW Org? Why?

by STRUGGLE in

jw
friends

good morning!.

hi was just wondering who are still active in the organization and do you have doubts?

those of you who have left, briefly what made you leave, do you have any regrets, and was it hard making new friends?.

Adonai438

Unofficially Disassociated since December 1995.
Unofficially because I was an unbaptised studying teenager so they didn't seem to care about the official stuff with me.
I verbally DAed myself though.

My reason for leaving was I took God very seriously. They didn't.
I say that because no one I spoke to in all the time I was studying really cared what the Bible said. They were right period and they didn't need to explain why to anyone. So I studied the Bible myself and found that most of their beliefs were not in it. I found that most of the Christians beliefs were abundantly supported by scripture. So I did the only honest thing-- I followed what God wrote to us in his word and became a christian. As a 15 year old at the time I was living with a JW aunt of mine and was kicked out of her home by her and her elder counsel because I would not lie and say I was JW until I was 18. No lie = No home. Good life now! Happy, married, have great 1 year old son, great church, great friends etc.... God is good <>< Angie

95

Please form a judicial committee...

by SexyTeen in

jw
friends

seeing that most of those on this forum love to judge others (although the complaint is that jws do the same thing), i am willing to go through a judicial committee.. if you see fit not to forgive, please disfellowship me and shun me.

Adonai438

I try not to judge people--but I do judge ideas/truth according to the Bible. Try not to generalize us posters cuz' we are all different and unique. You sound sincere so all I can do is believe you and if you are lying it's not my problem, it's on you. (I don't think you are lying though!) Try to get over the misunderstanding and just participate in the forum as you need to(that goes for all of us). If you have questions or things you want to discuss, go ahead and post- Thats what the forum is here for. The worst that could happen is no one answers but I'm sure you'll find a great number of us that will.
Hope your study of the Bible is going well.... & God bless, <><
Angie

60

Cross or Stake, which is biblically true??

by butalbee in

can somebody please explain to me biblically where it says jesus died on a stake and not a cross?

need theological details, please.

prove your stakely beliefs...

Adonai438

Adonai438
"Like mentioned before-- God placed enough importance on the birth of Jesus to put 100's of prophecies predicting his comming in the Bible"
Thats very true but the prophecies were not for the purpose of having a birthday party they were for the purpose of identifying Jesus as the TRUE savior. The prophecies were a map to the true son of God so their could be no doubt that he was in fact authintic. There were many many many frauds proclaiming to be the Christ but jesus could be the only possible Christ child because of the profecies that pointed to his birth.
And as far as the men bringing gifts. They weren't happy they were seeking to find out if he was in fact the true Christ child for the purpose of KILLING HIM! They didn't want the slaves to have a savior to reek havoc! possibly causing a loss of control in the land. These other kings were not going to sit idlely by and wait for these people to produce a Lord and Savior, not for a minute.
Adonai438
The point is, cross or stake is a translation issue and their translation has no historical baking or proof while the cross does.
They just want another reason to be different.
You seem to be under the dilussion that this is a JW thing when in FACT it is not. As regards to JWs it is just something they did not adopt. There are more faiths then there are not that don't worship the cross. The worshiping of the cross is a new idea and people have been practicing worship for as long as man has a history. It is a cold hard fact that the cross is a NEW IDEA.
the idea of NEVER FORGETING WHAT CHRIST WENT THROUGH BECAUSE OF THE WAY HE DIED has been arround since Christ died. But unfortunately it has for the most part been forgotten.

Respectfully, PlmKrzy, Firstly, You mentioned the only purpose for the gift bringing was to kill Jesus so they would lose control of their slaves and land: The magi were from the east- They were not political rulers in the area, therefore they had no political agenda to lose out on by the savior being born. The Bible says that it was Herod that wanted to kill Jesus. Herod did not bring gifts nor ever catch up with them because an angel warned them to flee into egypt. The Magi(wise men) came from the far east because they saw and recognized the star God set in the sky as a sign to his son's birth, they came bearing Kingly gifts and they worshipped him.

Secondly, as regards to the cross, Christians don't worship it, it is a symbol for what God has done through Christ-- I really don't feel like retyping everything I already posted on this topic so please read my earlier post before answering this if you do- I know it's long and you may have not read it because of that. The cross is not a new concept, and the torture stake issue is primarily a JW issue unless you would like me to name a few of the spiritualistic religions and other cults that reject the cross. Modern day- as the JWs are only a little over 100 years old, they are the most numerous and well known that don't believe in the cross being used.

9

I Know Christmas is Over this year BUT......

by Adonai438 in

should it be a holiday for christians to celebrate?

christians do not refuse to honor jesus just because of pagan roots, since these pagan roots have no.

the church did not choose december 25th because it was an ancient heathen holiday, but.

Adonai438

There has been some discussion as to the supposed 'pagan' origin of Christmas and I just wanted to post this research article for discussion. Please let me know what you think! <><

Christmas
By Lorri MacGregor
Should it be a holiday for Christians to Celebrate? Some say NO!

THE ORIGIN OF DECEMBER 25th
First off, we can all agree that we do not know the exact date of Christ’s birth. The Jehovah’s Witnesses and other legalistic groups attack the observance of Christmas, charging that it is pagan and not for Christians. No one can deny that this observance has been abused by those in the world, but should this stop Christians from observing it in a proper manner? Secondly, we can all agree that pagans celebrate on this date. We would be hard-pressed
to find a day to celebrate that did not have pagan roots. Every day of our week, indeed our entire calendar is “pagan!”
However, most would agree that these pagan roots have lost their significance. Christians do not refuse to honor Jesus just because of pagan roots, since these pagan roots have no
significance to them. Why, then, choose December 25th to celebrate Christ’s birth? In the “Israel My Glory” magazine of December-January 1986-1987, there appeared an article called, “Why Do We Celebrate Christmas on December 25th?” Since Christianity has its
roots in Judaism, and not in paganism, let’s look to the Jewish roots for the origin of our date, as did this article.
A full explanation of the Jewish observance of Chanukkah (also called Hanukkah) is given,which is a major holiday for Jews to this day. Although it was not one of the seven biblical holidays, it nevertheless is of great significance. It is also called “The Festival of Dedication,” or sometimes “The Festival of Lights.”
John 10:22,23 records that Jesus was walking on the porch of the temple during this observance. He had nothing to say against it, and judging by His location, may have been participating,
even though it was not commanded in the Bible. On page 5, the article continues,
“December 25th is almost certainly not the actual date for
the incarnation. Shepherds in Israel would not have been out in the fields tending their flocks at night in December.” Therefore, why choose this date?
First, it was on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev (corresponding to our December)that Antiochus chose to desecrate the Temple and establish worship of his god because it was already an existing heathen holiday. Therefore, l and 2 Maccabees go out of their way to stress the fact that it was exactly three years later, to the day, that the Temple was cleansed and rededicated (the 25th of Kislev). Now when the Church, long after the actual date of the incarnation had been lost in antiquity, chose the date to commemorate the incomparable occasion when deity dwelt within a
human body, what better association than the Temple, where deity had also dwelt, and the 25th of Kislev, which was an already established date commemorating the cleansing and rededication of the Temple as a dwelling place for God? The Church did not choose December 25th because it was an ancient heathen holiday, but
because of the Jewish feast of Chanukkah that occurred on that date, and the added significance that Jesus gave to it. This date eloquently testified to the fact that at the birth of Jesus
deity was dwelling in a human body (Temple) and shining out to give light in the midst of dark-ness. The great Hebrew-Christian scholar, Alfred Edersheim, whose writings on this period of time are still classic, shared this thought, “The date of the feast of Dedication (Chanukkah)—the 25th of Kislev—seems to have been adopted by the ancient church as that of the birth of our blessed Lord—Christmas—the dedication of the true temple which was the body of Jesus.”
We would do well to look at the Jewish roots of our Christmas (which means “Christ is sent”)and act accordingly.

THE ORIGIN OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE
Our custom of the lighted Christmas tree reportedly originated with Martin Luther, a great man of God. While walking in the moonlight and thanking God for sending his Son, he saw an evergreen tree covered in hoarfrost shining in the moonlight. He cut the tree down and brought
it inside, and decorated its branches with lit candles to remind all that Christ is the light of the world, and the tree is symbolic not only of the tree Christ died on, but of the “Tree of Life” referred
to in Revelation. The feeble attempt of some cults to link the Christmas tree with Jeremiah, chapter ten, is cleared up when we read it in context. Here a woodcutter takes a tree, carves it into an idol,
and worships it. The Christmas tree has never been worshipped yet in a Christian home!

IS CHRIST’S BIRTH IMPORTANT?
The cult groups like to minimize the importance of Christ’s birth, just as they have minimized Christ, making him less than Almighty God manifest in the flesh in their theology. Some groups
teach that He is only “a god” or the Archangel Michael. Others deny the One God revealed in three Persons (the Trinity). It is common to find the observance of Christ’s birth or Christmas also minimized or prohibited by these same groups. The Christmas-haters also usually refuse to render to Jesus the worship He is due. Many
refuse to follow the Bible example of prayer to Jesus as well. It is no surprise that they refuse to honor the observance of His birthday by believers. However, this same birthday was marked in the Bible prominently. The actual birthplace of Jesus was foretold in Micah 5:1, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among
the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from days of eternity.”
Besides foretelling the birth of Jesus, Micah also gives us valuable insight into the nature of Jesus Christ, showing that His origins are eternal, not created as some cult groups teach. The
Hebrew word here for “eternity” is “olam.” “Olam” also is used of YHWH (Jehovah) in Psalms 90:2. Only God is eternal.
The foretelling of Jesus’ birth was an exciting and much-anticipated Event: “...Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will
call Him Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:13,14).
Matthew 1:23 points out that the meaning of Emmanuel is “God with us.” That is “Ho Theos”(“The God” in Greek) is with us! Let’s believe the inspired word and not attempt to downgrade
Jesus to something less than Almighty God manifest in the flesh!
Isaiah 9:6 presents this exciting view of Christ’s birth: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Since God saw fit to have the angels sing and rejoice at the birth of Christ (Luke 2:13,14), and we are commanded to “honor the Son even as we honor the Father” (John 5:23), we make no apology to the cults for celebrating the birth of our Savior, Christ the Lord, on a most appropriate day.

2

origin of Easter

by badboy in

jw
friends

in reasoning from the scriptures, its says that easter is connected with astarte,not if you search on the internet, easter comes from an anglo-saxon source.. i humbly suggest that the watchtower should check their facts.. any suggested websites/reading to help the watchtower,anyone?

Adonai438

How about their own literature

*** g76 12/22 14 Are They Idolatrous Decorations? ***
”So the Christian needs to be primarily concerned about what? Not what a certain symbol or design possibly meant thousands of years ago or how it might be thought of on the other side of the world, but what it means now to most people
where he lives. … With so many different designs having been used in false worship, if a person went to the trouble and took the time he might find an undesirable connection with almost every design he sees around him. But why do that? Would it not be needlessly upsetting? And is that the best use of one’s time and attention? …Paul, however, also showed the value of concentrating on the things that are of real importance instead of getting involved in controversy over petty meanings and possible connections that are not of obvious significance. (1 Cor. 10:25,26; 2 Tim. 2:14, 23)”

As long as the meaning of the holiday is pure and to God's glory any association 'pagans' have added or celebrate instead are of no significance. One of their arguments against Christmas is 'we don't even know the exact date"--- well with easter we do-- Jesus died the Friday after passover (which is on thursday) before sundown. He's recorded as rising on the 3rd day = Fri. Sat. Sun=3rd day. So we know when he was resurrected because by mandate of the Bible the passover is the same date every year. Outlawing holidays is just another isolation tactic-- they didn't even outlaw holidays until after Rutherford- Pres.#2-- took over.
My suggestion? read the Bible and see what God thinks of celebrating him.

60

Cross or Stake, which is biblically true??

by butalbee in

can somebody please explain to me biblically where it says jesus died on a stake and not a cross?

need theological details, please.

prove your stakely beliefs...

Adonai438

Yes, I believe celabrating Christmas- while it was not specificly ordered in the Bible, is Biblical. Like mentioned before-- God placed enough importance on the birth of Jesus to put 100's of prophecies predicting his comming in the Bible, the angels came down in legions to sing to God's glory on the night he was born, he announced it to the very least(shepherds) and to the greater(the magi) and they all visited and worshipped Jesus. Magi even brought gifts
But Sadie is right- the NT has tons of verses that use the cross as a symbol for the gospel so how can it be wrong to use it as a symbol?
1 Cor.1:18:
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God"

Phillipians 3:18
"For, as I have often told you before and now say again with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ"

Each Gospel also has Jesus ORDERING us to 'take up our cross daily'. figurtively of course

Says a little something about the JWs hatred of the cross- no?

The point is, cross or stake is a translation issue and their translation has no historical baking or proof while the cross does. They just want another reason to be different.

11

Please feel free to give your logic/opinion here

by openminded in

subject: jesus .

> > >> >> *"but you'll find jesus in my heart.

you'll find him in my heart.

Adonai438

It may seem cruel but God didn't inflict anyone with illness, pain, and suffering. Those are the result of sin in the world-- you may think thats a dumb idea but it doesn't change the fact that it's true. You can't 'blame' God for bad things and then refuse to look at what the Bible says is the cause. If you believe in God enough to blame him for something it's unfair to not examine what he says on the matter. If you don't believe in God, stop blaming him for the worlds problems. If you do believe in God just look at who he is and you'd realize God isn't the source of the pain but the source of the healing. My honest oppinion & the story is good. <>< Angie

47

Let's have a baby shower!!!

by Julie in

jw
friends

as most of you know one of our long time posters, "mommy"/wendy, is expecting a baby in the very near future.

as some of you may not know (and i hope she doesn't plot my murder for discussing it) wendy is going through some real tough times.

she could use a few things for the baby considering getting by with two other children is difficult enough!.

Adonai438

Okay- do we know if it's a boy or a girl yet? I've got tons of basicly new boy clothes from my 1year old son. I'll be shopping too but just curious! Babies are great!
Just to add to the scary labor story pool: try 12 hours induced labor when they screw up and give you too much of that induction hormone--
It wasn't that bad though and you get to have the most beautiful person in the world to keep afterward. I thought they were nuts when they said you completely forget about the pain when you hold your baby but it's true!Off to baby shop now!