Forscher

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Posts by Forscher

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  48

  Oh God Why? Tell Me Why??

  by LouBelle in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  now that i'm totally free of the wt & it's indoctrination, standing alone not sure of my purpose in life, not sure where to turn to.

  i still believe in god but find myself on the verge/or perhaps already questioning him.

  this is quite a sensitve topic & not sure it suitable, but i just need it out there.

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  Forscher

  Hi there Loubelle.
  
  Wow! We saw all kinds jump in there, didn't we? As far as practical advise goes, now is the time for you to have a good look both inside and out. You said that you haven't written God off yet, good. Take an honest look at the Bible without the WTBTS literaure. See what it says to you. Then look around, there is no hurry.
  
  Don't let your experience with a high-control group imbitter you since that will cloud your judgement while you are deciding the path that you will follow. Find an easy to follow version like the NIV and remember as you go that all translators tend to color their works wirth their doctrines. It's just human nature. Many Bible teachers say to start with the Gospel of John. I think that is a good idea. John was a close friend of Jesus who wrote about his experience about 70 years after Jesus' death and resurrection. That gospel is the product of seventy years of reflection on Who Jesus was and what he taught about God. It is a goldmine! John's first letter also goes to the essence of what he was trying to say about God.
  
  Above all, approach things with an open mind, yet exercise a little critical thinking while your at it. Don't just accept what others say just because they assert some sort of authority (be it Biblical, Scientific, or what ever). Test all things out. After all, your future happiness depends on how well you look into things.
  
  Happy Journey
  
  Forscher
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  18

  Did Genesis indicate literal creation days?

  by M.J. in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the wts and others say the 6 days of creation in genesis are symbolic of longer time periods, while many others insist that a proper (and uncompromising) exegis reveals literal days.

  i have a hunch that the author literally meant what he wrote.

  the jw counter-argument to this is that genesis was written by moses and moses wrote psalm 90, which reads in part (v4):.

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  Forscher

  One thing that always struck me about the Genesis narrative is the peculiar way things are written. It always describes what God did during a particular time period then it says "And there was an evening and there was a morning." It's like there was a 24 hour day that was used to mark a boundary between the end of a period and the beggining of the next. So the Genesis narrative can be interpreted in a manner consistent with a creative "days" longer than 24 hours of unspecified duration.
  
  Another thing that the "longer than 24hr" folks point to is what Paul says in the 3rd and 4th chapters of Hebrews where he says that the seventh day was still going on. That, along with what I mentioned about the wording of Genesis, gives some credence to the longer period hypothesis.
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  41

  Recently Disfellowshipped

  by dfd in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i having been "lurking" around here for about a month--right when i was disfellowshipped actually.

  in a year long relationship--broke up-five months later had a bout of conscience and told on myself.

  myself and my ex are disfellowshipped and now most of my former group of "friends" are getting in trouble.

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  Forscher

  Welcome dfd!
  
  I understand the confusion about what to do next. I am a fader, but if the rumors flying around are true, that could end up being moot. Stick around and this site should help you cope.
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  47

  Dub at work said that the Knowledge book was too difficult for new ones

  by acsot in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  to understand so that's why the wts published the new book being released at this year's district conventions.. the new book gets "straight to the point".

  according to her "and many others", the knowledge book was too difficult for those just beginning a bible study.

  i said, "you're kidding!

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  Forscher

  BluesBrother said: "Who are they aiming at? Mental retards and those who can hardly read English?"
  
  You do have to wonder, don't you? Considering that they don't like anyone being more edumicated than them (hence the new drama against higher education), I reckon that pretty much tells use what sort of folks they now want.
  
  By the way, I go back to the old "blue bombshell" [ The Thruth That Leads to Eternal Life], and the Ezekiel book. ;-)
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  38

  Getting to Know You

  by LouBelle in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  sooo i'm sure this has probably been asked before.

  i'm newish so in the great spirit of getting to know you (sing with me) getting to know all about you......what do you do for a living and do you enjoy it and if you could would you do something different?

  i'm in advertising & marketing for a group of magazines.

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  Forscher

  I am what some would call an old fart (at least my kids do!)on. Who just finished a bachelor's degree back in december. I am writing a novel (Ilove to write and had a poem published in the local University's literary rag). And I am a fader.
  
  I reckon that's about enough for the moment!
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  23

  Governing Body and rank and file liabilities

  by greendawn in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i get the impression that generally the rank and file jws are to be thought of as victims whereas the governing body are the real and only villains in this organisation.

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  do you think this is a valid opinion especially when it comes to the elders and circuit/district overseers who willingly enforce the gb's often criminal policies?

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  Forscher

  In some cases I might think so. But I've met plenty of elders in my time who are just as bad as the folks at the top.
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  10

  Fading away problems.

  by greendawn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many people decide to fade away from the org gradually so as not to have to suffer the sanctions of being disfellowshipped or disassociated and if all goes according to plan it works well.

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  are there any cases where things somehow went wrong and the objective to quietly leave failed, your one or that of other people?

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  Forscher

  Since I am a work in progress on that one, I don't really have anything along that line to share. I've been fading for a couple of years now. For a long time, I never even heard a word from the elders. Suddenly, since the new book came out, I've had an elder try to talk to me several times. So far I've ignored him.
  
  Of course it might not be due to what we've seen discussed on this forum about the elders might have instruction to deliver ultimatums to inactive ones. I recently discovered that several people my wife and I have talked to are Df'd. They didn't tell me they were, so that might be the issue. Since I haven't had a formal summons, I don't know. If I do find out that an announcment has been made on me, I'll let folks know.
  
  If they are stupid enough to do that, then they are not going to like the story that I will post here and a few other places to boot! So far I've tried to keep a certain amount of anonymity because my wife wants the lines of communication to stay open with her parents who are still on the inside. To that end, I've been a little vague on a few things. But if they want to play hard-ball, then I won't hesitate tell my story and name names while I'm at it. You'd probably love it!
  
  Forscher
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  10

  "we are wonderfully made"

  by tetrapod.sapien in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  had a look at my wifes program from the dc on the weekend.

  the only part that interested me was from friday morning called "we are wonderfully made", or something like that.

  if anyone can get me a transcript or an outline, i would really like to dissect it for fun.

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  Forscher

  While I was going to college I took the same anatomy and physiology courses that RNs are required to take. And that phrase about howonderfully we are made kept coming back to me time and time again. Their little talk just cannot even begin to impress one the way those classes did for me!
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  15

  Faders: What if we transfer our records to an out of state congo

  by xjwms in

  1. jw
  2. friends

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  about 100 - 200 miles from were we live, lets say we have the records transfered to a different congo.. no one there would know us, and if we never move there, ... now what.. how would they ask, "if you want to be jw's anymore?

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  Forscher

  shoot, I'm not going to get my panties all in a wad about it. That would only validate their power as one person on this forum likes to point out!
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  15

  Faders: What if we transfer our records to an out of state congo

  by xjwms in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  about 100 - 200 miles from were we live, lets say we have the records transfered to a different congo.. no one there would know us, and if we never move there, ... now what.. how would they ask, "if you want to be jw's anymore?

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  Forscher

  I reckon that the only way to dodge the bullet is to move far away and not let anybody know where you went. Unfortunately, that isn't an option in my case at the moment.