jw.org believes that jesus is not god but a separate entity.
let's go with that for the time being.
in the referenced scriptures the writer of hebrews says that jesus "sustains all things by the word of his power" and has been "appointed heir of all things".
It depends what you mean by worship. Even some evangelicals point out that the first Christians didn’t worship Jesus.
For example James Dunn points out that while Jesus receives “worship” in the NT, only the Father receives “sacred service”.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/DID-FIRST-CHRISTIANS-WORSHIP-JESUS/dp/0281059284
when i saw simons thread and the "interview" series of threads that came from it i really enjoyed reading the life stories of those that shared.
a bump for newer people seems like a good idea and i figured i would add mine as well.
again, thanks to simon for the concept of a guided interview thread and the template.. tell us a little about yourself and your family.. hmmm... easy question, hard answer.
Interesting Morph, thanks. But I was looking for explanation for becoming collapse denier.
abandoning a damaging cult is not a crime, in fact it might be viewed as a moral imperative given the levels of abuse awaiting those surrendering to its teachings and worse –its "ecclesiastic authority".. it has always seemed counter productive to inform potential enemies when your life´s goals now conflict with their rigid agendas.
disassociation letters and manifestos may be cathartic in the writing, but the outcome is a 100% certainty because of the inflexibility and lack of caring by the very group it is delivered to.. .
"fading" from under "high control" seems an oxymoronic risk at best, and currently faders walk on eggshells and look over their shoulders for years during and after the attempt - fearful that the price of their freedom will be the destruction of their friendships and family ties.. perhaps a peculiar additional preparation to a fade can reverse the balance of power – and high control cults are all about power.. .. bear in mind: - .
There may be technical ways to avoid DFing, but as I discovered not so easy to avoid shunning altogether. If elders can’t DF they can just label you bad association informally anyway and it has a similar effect.
the first part was all about the the evils of higher education.
i couldn't stand it and left.
was anybody there today?
Given that the GB have the power to influence the lives of millions of young people, or rather, hundreds of thousands (let’s not get carried away), shouldn’t they take their responsibility a bit more seriously with relevant and up to date information?
It strikes me that this sort of behaviour doesn’t really indicate fear of God, regard for other people, or even self respect.
the first part was all about the the evils of higher education.
i couldn't stand it and left.
was anybody there today?
I have reported this thread title for offences against the word “special”.
i consider myself an atheist.
and right now i'm reading a lot on atheism in general (books written to answer creationists).. i'd be interested in knowing how you became an atheist after leaving the jws and how long did it take?
was it instant or did your belief in a deity gradually decline?.
I read The Blind Watchmaker already around the year 2000 (on the banks of the river Ness on a summer day) and that dented my faith. It certainly made me think again about evolution. But the height of my atheism was a result of the Bozing Day tsunami in 2004. I could not believe God would let this happen. But since then I’ve become much more skeptical about whether God exists. Ironically it seems that being an atheist requires too much faith.
talking about tomorrow's wt study, that mentions over a quarter of a million baptized every year, a jw asked how many that is a day.
i got out my calculator and answered over 778 a day.
of course they were amazed at the growth, but immediatly i googled another statistic and read it aloud:.
I just checked: the peak year for baptisms was 1997 when 375,000 were baptised with the average publishers number at 5.3 million. Incidentally - this was the year I was baptised. I got in at peak JW.
talking about tomorrow's wt study, that mentions over a quarter of a million baptized every year, a jw asked how many that is a day.
i got out my calculator and answered over 778 a day.
of course they were amazed at the growth, but immediatly i googled another statistic and read it aloud:.
At their peak JWs were baptising over 1000 people a day for a few years during the 1990s.
Which is all the most striking when you consider there were only 5 million JWs then compared with over 8 million now. Meaning the rate of baptisms in proportion to the size of the community has reduced dramatically.
i went on line looking for old jw songs and some of them were pretty good and some were just awful!.
did you ever like any of those songs?
.
Some cheerful ones...
yes all men are crying
for all men are dying
none from the grave
his life can save
all his life is misery
...or close to that
i went on line looking for old jw songs and some of them were pretty good and some were just awful!.
did you ever like any of those songs?
.
Ours is the God of true propheseeeee
what he foretells comes to be
