Posts by Hisclarkness

26

Serena Williams after marrying rich baby daddy: I am a Jehovah's Witness

by Wild_Thing in

jw
friends

but how??????

.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/serena-williams-mom-encouraged-her-with-scripture-after-emotional-struggles-with-motherhood-213273/.

Hisclarkness

I myself used to be one of those people. Growing up, my mom studied off and on but never did anything about it but as far as I knew in my mind we were “ jehovah’s Witnesses”, even though I still did all kinds of things that JWs aren’t supposed to do like saying the pledge or going to the school Christmas parties, etc. It wasn’t until much later that we all got serious and got baptized.

So I know exactly how Serena Williams is thinking. She is not concerned with being baptized or following the rules to the T. She is probably blissfully unaware of all of the WT’s problems, doctrinally, financially, socially, etc. All she knows is that’s how she was raised and so that’s what she identifies as in her mind, nevermind the technicalities of it all and the associated consequences.

26

Serena Williams after marrying rich baby daddy: I am a Jehovah's Witness

by Wild_Thing in

jw
friends

but how??????

.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/serena-williams-mom-encouraged-her-with-scripture-after-emotional-struggles-with-motherhood-213273/.

Hisclarkness

Those quotes where she talks about being a witness are from 2002.

Secondly, as recently as last month she said that although she was RAISED as a witness she never got too serious about it.

The Williams sisters were raised as witnesses but never got baptized. Nothing new here. No need to criticize or scrutinize someone who was never baptized.

44

Verifiable proof of Jesus' existance outside the Bible

by unsure in

thought i'd start a separate discussion on the subject.. those who know me know i'm struggling with faith; i want to believe, some days i do but it becomes difficult.. many believers say there is verifiable proof of jesus' existence outside of the bible.. please post this proof..

Hisclarkness

Hi unsure,

i don't know that there is much debate over whether or not a man named Jesus of Nazareth actually existed, despite the little recorded evidence outside the Bible that was already mentioned on other threads. It seems the debate is more over whether he was just a regular man or the actual Son of God on earth.

May I ask why your faith is so dependent on whether or not this man actually existed? Why not consider the fact that there was clearly a huge shift in the first century where hundreds of thousands and even up to millions of people were willing to die and be persecuted over a minority faith both within the realm of Judaism and the Roman Empire. For such a shift in consciousness to have occurred so suddenly within one generation would suggest something real took place.

You can debate whether or not this thing has any real meaning or significance to you or humanity but I think it's pretty evident that something real actually did happen.

I don't know if this will mean anything for you. I really hate to see people lose faith. So much of faith is equated to religion and authoritarianism when it should be more about your individual personal journey through life with God.

26

Williams sister got engaged to some guy from Reddit

by wozza in

jw
friends

so is he a witness or if not what are gb going to do about it since she identifies with the watchtower society?.

Hisclarkness

And again, the only other way the Williams sisters could be counseled or disciplined is if they were unbaptized publishers ACTIVELY ASSOCIATING with a congregation. Even if they were unbaptized publishers but not actively associating with a congregation then there really is nothing that could be done.

26

Williams sister got engaged to some guy from Reddit

by wozza in

jw
friends

so is he a witness or if not what are gb going to do about it since she identifies with the watchtower society?.

Hisclarkness

Carla,

Technically, unbaptized children are not JWs either. However, if you are a minor then you are under the rules of your parents, JW or not. A parent is allowed to raise their child however they please, as long as they are not breaking the law or endangering the child. I understand your issue with blood but that is not the point in this discussion. The issue is who is or is not technically a JW and if you are not baptized then you are not a JW. PERIOD. It doesn't matter what you personally claim, or how others see you. If you act a certain way that would normally "bring reproach on the organization", at the end of the day it comes down to, "well, he/she is not baptized so is technically not one of us". If Donald Trump came out tomorrow saying he was a JW it would not matter AT ALL because all watchtower has to say is "he has never been baptized as one of Jehovah's witnesses so no, he is not a part of nor does he represent our organization".

26

Williams sister got engaged to some guy from Reddit

by wozza in

jw
friends

so is he a witness or if not what are gb going to do about it since she identifies with the watchtower society?.

Hisclarkness

Just to add on to others' comments that she was never baptized and thus never truly a JW (and not to mention the fact that thousands if not millions "claim" to be JWs but that doesn't mean the JWs claim them), if they are not active in any particular congregation then who exactly is supposed to "counsel" them??? Though I don't know for sure, I'm guessing she MIGHT drop by a Kingdom Hall every now and then but I seriously doubt she's actively attending meetings anywhere. And let's not forget she travels the world practically every week of the year for different tournaments. Watchtower probably doesn't know what their situation is any more than we do. The only people who know are the William sisters. If they actually regularly attended a KH, I'm sure we would know from local witnesses and word would spread through the grapevine as to their activities or lack thereof. Heck, I remember hearing about things Katherine Jackson was doing in her congregation and I live on the other side of the country! I also remember hearing confirmation that Prince was still active because, according to the elder in my hall, "well, I know he turned in time last month because that's what Br. so and so told me". I think it's safe to say that the William sisters are NOT active witnesses and most likely NOT actively associated with any particular congregation. Thus, what "discipline" could we possibly expect from WT who in all likelihood DONT claim them as JWs???

40

Sisters running microphones?

by NikL in

jw
friends

so our sunday meeting was on the 25th (christmas) and my active jw wife and i were out of town enjoying some family time with relatives.. apparently there were many others in our congregation that missed as well.

so few were there in fact that sisters ran the mics.

(actually it was a sister running one of the two mics) a friend of my wife commented to her about how the brothers just aren't stepping up and it "makes her want to cry.

Hisclarkness

It's embarrassing for the brothers, not simply because a woman is doing it, but because all you have to do is put two and two together to now know that this brother was reproved for some "sin". What was a private matter now all of a sudden becomes congregation gossip.

I was privately reproved once and was way too embarrassed to decline conducting a field service meeting or a closing prayer so I just went ahead and did it, all the while feeling doubly guilty. Then you have scenarios where you began avoiding field service all together simply out of fear that you might be the only brother there. Then your F.S. time declines and it's a vicious downward spiral of guilt from there.

21

Is Christianity contingent on belief in a talking snake?

by cobweb in

jw
friends

this is a question mainly for those who are christian as i myself am not:.

to what extent is christianity contingent on a belief in the book of genesis.

i know there are some christians who accept that the creation story is a myth, and maybe the adam and eve story too.

Hisclarkness

Just to follow up on what Simon said; growing numbers of Christians no longer take the bible as the "word of God" so it's not always as simple as an either/or.

I personally know many people who identify, not as "Christians", but as followers of Jesus. That is to simply love God and love your neighbor. Jesus never taught doctrine. Doctrine is simply man's attempt to socialize a belief system. Us against them.

21

Is Christianity contingent on belief in a talking snake?

by cobweb in

jw
friends

this is a question mainly for those who are christian as i myself am not:.

to what extent is christianity contingent on a belief in the book of genesis.

i know there are some christians who accept that the creation story is a myth, and maybe the adam and eve story too.

Hisclarkness

Growing numbers of Christians no longer believe in original sin. Paul used the sacrifice of Jesus simply as a tool to get people off of the Mosaic law.

If if you're a child afraid of the boogeyman in the closet and I set up a teddy bear next to the closet saying, "don't worry, teddy will protect you", the bear is just a tool to get the child's focus off his fear. But the bear has no real power.

Similarly, Jesus' sacrifice was simply a talking point to tell people, "see! You don't have to follow all these laws and sacrifices anymore. Jesus was your sacrifice once and for all".

Jesus never taught forgiveness of sins through sacrifice. He taught forgiveness of sins to the extent that you forgive others. There is no concept of inherited or original sin in the Hebrew Scriptures. That is a later Christian development.

133

Why Are You Here?

by Believer in

i'm wondering why believers remain members of this forum which is clearly hostile to believers.

as one member said, nonbelievers pounce on any semblance of belief like piranhas on prey.

as former jws we should have had our fill of judgmental know-it-alls, but here we are.

Hisclarkness

I come here for the updates as well. By the way, there are very good sites out there for those who still believe.

www.anointedjw.org

www.discussthetruth.com