Posts by Flash

18

Who are these people?

by Soledad in

as i was walking home today (about 7pm) i passed in front of madison square garden.

there, a little boy, about 7-8 years old, hands me some literature.

the literature is eerily similar to a watchtower, but i knew that the people handing them out were not jws.

Flash

First of all, what the hell are those people thinking!!

Zealots don't think or question. They just obey.

34

Oct 15th WT View of The Third Heaven--What a Scream!

by Mary in

ok, we all know the scripture where paul says "...i know a man in union with christ who, 14 years ago, was caught away to the third heaven.....whether in the body or apart from the body i do not know...he was caught away into paradise and heard unutterable words which it is not lawful or a man to speak.

according to the october 15th watchtower, you wanna know what exactly this means?

paragraph 9 says "....it would involve the christian congregation......when was that vision to be fulfilled?

Flash

"...I know a man in union with Christ who, 14 years ago, was caught away to the Third Heaven.....whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know...he was caught away into paradise and heard unutterable words which it is not lawful or a man to speak."

It is clear to me this scripture confirms Out-of-Body travel commonly known as Astral Projection.

According to the October 15th Watchtower, you wanna know what exactly this means? Paragraph 9 says "....It would involve the Christian congregation......When was that vision to be fulfilled? Paul called what he saw a 'revelation', something future. He knew that after his death an extensive apostasy would develop........Yet the time would come for true worship to be elevated again...That actually came to pass a few years after God's Kingdom was established in heaven. And with the passing of the decades, it becomes very evident that God's people enjoy a spiritual paradise which Paul foresaw in that vision."

This is such an incredible stretch as to be beyond laughable. Actualy it is very sad. I think it is because their well ran dry, they are lost and are now making things up. At the very least, the GB is WAY overthinking this!

So there you go. The "Third Heaven" and "Paradise" that Paul was caught away to, was really just a vision of one of the congregations (no doubt in New York).

I'm inclined to believe there are at least seven heavens.

17

Universe's 6,000th birthday ...

by nowuask in

friday october 22, 2004. the guardian .

britain's geologists are about to celebrate the fact that the universe is exactly 6,000 years old.

at 6pm tonight at the geological society of london, scientists will raise their glasses to james ussher, archbishop of armagh (below), who in 1650 used the chronology of the bible to calculate the precise date and moment of creation.

Flash

Britain's geologists are about to celebrate the fact that the universe is exactly 6,000 years old.

I never bought this from the GB and I'm not buying now!

It's funny to me that people would even consider it. LOL

79

What is the true Christian religion / faith?

by evergreen in

i,m going to cut to the chase here .i am not long viewing this website and am fascinated at much of what i have read.currently i attend meetings, but sit there and think of what i now know about the society and its past.i just feel so confused at the moment with religion.. its a bit like who shot jfk ,did man really land on the moon etc .. except it involves all of us( just wish i knew the truth).

the only thing that is keeping me there right now is that all my family are in the "truth" ,,and i cant just stay at home and be shunned which i have recently experienced ( was inactive for a while) .. if i knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that i have found the true faith and discern that it is definately the true faith, i would then make a stand and nothing would stop me .

already i am reading the scriptures without the aid of wt publications and what i am reading is amazing .i am starting to feel that i am now getting closer to god by simply doing this coupled with prayer.. there must be one true faith as there was in the first century.

Flash

I,m going to cut to the chase here. I am not long viewing this website and am fascinated at much of what i have read. Currently i attend meetings, but sit there and think of what i now know about the society and its past. I just feel so confused at the moment with religion.

There is a lot that can be ligitimately found fault with the Witnesses, of that there is no doubt. Even so, much of their core doctrines are correct. Remember, the ancient Israelites were God's people, yet the majority of them regulary left the path God laid out for them. It's the same with the Witnesses today, especialy their leaders, they are Tricky Tongued manipulators. They also see things in scripture that aren't there then declare them as fact and demand that the congregation accept their views on everything without question. And just like a cult, they are very narrow and controling in ALL aspects of living. I would suggest that you learn about God and His purpose from them, yet limit your time with them. Their meetings and their magazines are very manipulating and will drain you of your ability to be criticaly thinking and take away your individuality. Which is NOT something God requires!

7

"Captives of a Concept" --book online

by bebu in

on another thread, mj and garybuss recommended a rather new book to me, which, it turns out, is available online as a download as well as a paperback that can be shipped.

i think it is an excellent resource, and believe it could be recommended to many people, jw or ex jw, because it uses wt material and doctrines as its criteria for discerning if the wt really does have all the authority they claim.

(if you are a jw, do you know what proof you supposedly rely on that the wt is the faithful and discreet slave?

Flash

I had been waiting for this book. Another member here had brough it up about, oh 8 months ago. I had forgot about it. I will definatly have to get it. Thanks!

2

"Don't Believe Everything You Think"

by MerryMagdalene in

i recently saw the above on a bumpersticker and it seemed to express very succinctly something i have been experiencing in seeking out new info for farkel's berta & bonnie thread... i find myself stumbling across intriguing bits and pieces of decades old information and i get to thinking "wouldn't it be amazing if this person was connected in such and such a way with that person?

" and "if this is true then it might mean that..." and on and on.

i get very caught up in investigating and theorizing and, suddenly, the amazing tapestry i have been weaving in my head comes unravelled when one more bit of information comes to light and disproves the whole thing.

Flash

Then organizations are founded on a belief in what someone thinks is true and those beliefs must be perpetuated and protected at all costs or else all that passionate fabrication is for nothing.
...honoring everyone's freedom to learn and explore.

This is where the WTS has failed terribly, ie. cult mentality and what I believe we're all working to correct (de-program) in ourselves.

4

JW Prince and his new video!

by cyberguy in

evidently, there?s a new scandal with prince?s new video and terrorism!

as most know on this board, prince recently became a jw!

now he has a new video that is very offensive to those victimized by terrorism (or those who are sensitive to this issue)!

Flash

Well, he's not exactly marching in lockstep with the WTS view of neutrality so he's likely to be spoken too.

To much freedom of expression and opinion is not good. It means individual thinking and thinking on your own is not acceptable. After all, "Isn't this 'GOD's Organization? And shouldn't we OBEY GOD's Organization??"

16

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 10-17-04 WT Study

by blondie in

comments you will not hear at the 10-17-04 wt study (september 1, 2004 issue)

read this and tell me.. http://www.geocities.com/athens/academy/6040/sect.htm.

jesus said at john 10:27, 28: "my sheep listen to my voice, and i know them, and they follow me.

Flash

cyber-sista

At one point I even cried to an elder who was reasoning with me (WT reasoning) "Sometimes I don't even think we are worshipping the same God!"
Articles like this help me to see why I am being treated the way I am being treated by my former JW friends and family (shunned because I am not going to the meetings) Some of these even know my story and know I have reasons for feeling the way that I do, but still they try to encourage me to go back to the emotional abuse.
...Think about what the WT is telling you now and what they have told you in the past. Think about Jesus--the bible tells all Christians to follow in his footsteps.
I don't even know what I personally believe anymore in regards to the bible, God, Jesus, etc, but it sounds like this would be the best approach if you wanted to get JWs to reason on things. But, as we know ,if they are a hard core JWs you may not even get far with this approach. I have given up on most of them. I don't want to argue their insane arguements anymore. I feel sorry for many of the friends I once had that are still in there, but it is their choice to be there right now. Though I have grieved over the loss these past months-- I will have to leave them there and try to move ahead without them--it is the only logical thing to do.

BluesBrother

This is when it got heavy. Paragraph refers to accusations of "Condoning serious sins commited by fellow beleivers" A hand from the back then answered up and said about the BBC Panorama programme a year or two back that told lies about alleged child abuse. I bristled at that , but it was just an answer . But when the conductor, from the platform agreed with him and said that the programme was a lie....that was it. I just had to get up and walk out....
He was teaching the lie.. He stood there on a platform of a meeting that purports to worship the "God of truth" and told complete knowing untruth to the congregation.. I was outside in the lobby now............Still, nobody seemed to notice me so they did not care.
After the meeting you might imagine the type of conversation that took place . Typical family Sunday really.

Hello cyber-sista and BluesBrother,

Its very sad, I read posts like yours and know with certainty I am not alone in suffering these things. The heart of the problem, I believe, is the narrow cult metality and the lack of true Christlike love in the congregations. They look at us as the deviates, yet, they have no idea how apostate they've become!!!

Hang Tough. ~ Flash

22

God's purpose for Earth

by ClassAvenger in

hey guys, i haven't been around in a while and it's nice to be back.

i have some questions that have been bothering me, and i need some help.

i am a christian and i have been witnessing to a jw, yet there is one strong hard question which i have trouble answering.

Flash

Narkissos

Flash,
I'm not particularly interested in the last word, especially on this subject, but if you engage in a discussion you should expect to find some contradiction.

Of course I do. I think you miss my point in yielding the last word to you. Which is, I've plainly stated my position, you've plainly stated yours, we don't agree, it's clear we're not going to agree. Going round and around in what I believe will be an endless debate is not something I care to do. IMO, its time to move on and let ClassAvenger and others read and decide for themslves what they will believe.

Have A Sparkling Day!

Flash

11

The lords prayer

by Tim Horton in

Flash

If there isn't a new system, then what does that mean?

Well, God's Kingdom on the earth was a future reality to Jesus, so when he listed it as one of the priorities for us to pray for (Lord's Prayer) he meant it to be real to us also. Humanity is never going to fix itself, plus, God never intended for us to live and govern ourselves totaly apart from Him. So, the New System is a coming reality and something for us to look forward too!