Posts by Neophulis

47

Somebody- Please Help Me UNDERSTAND?

by upside/down in

i understand there is a ton of anger out there toward the wts and dub's, and rightly so... what i don't understand is this notion that there is an evil conspiracy on the part of the wts and dubs as individuals to subjugate and control the unwary (or however you want to label us) for some evil sinister purpose.

i know what they are doing and agree it's wrong but to what purpose- i mean you can look at televangelist and see what's up with them (follow the money).

but what's up with the dub's.

Neophulis

As for all the comments referring to the WTS motives shifting to power and money and using mind control techniques to force members to stay in the organization...

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely!"

--George Orwell

I rest my case...

8

Calling God "Lord"

by Neophulis in

i never realized it before or maybe i'm dissecting this too much, but is the belief in the holy trinity the reason why "most" christian religions reference to god as "lord" under the belief that god/holyspirit/jesus are all one and the same.

therefore by speaking about our lord jesus christ, we are also speaking about god himself(under that belief system) which allows us to call onto both at the same time and then simply differentiate jesus by his name jesus or by saying 'lord jesus'.. i only know and have studied the jw religion by my own devotion and was not sure if a non-jw christian religion refers to god by a name(regardless of language translation) because i remember reading that god's name is indicated as "jehovah" in the holy bible(king james translation - i think) and wasn't sure how other religions view the concept of god having a name.

whether it's yahweh or jehovah or any other translation.. i just figured that the common man would visualize any of the other two parts of the holy trinity when referencing the 3rd piece so by saying 'lord' to call upon god, you are also calling upon jesus because they are both the same.. i guess i got a little bored at work and started thinking too deeply.

Neophulis

O I C

8

Calling God "Lord"

by Neophulis in

i never realized it before or maybe i'm dissecting this too much, but is the belief in the holy trinity the reason why "most" christian religions reference to god as "lord" under the belief that god/holyspirit/jesus are all one and the same.

therefore by speaking about our lord jesus christ, we are also speaking about god himself(under that belief system) which allows us to call onto both at the same time and then simply differentiate jesus by his name jesus or by saying 'lord jesus'.. i only know and have studied the jw religion by my own devotion and was not sure if a non-jw christian religion refers to god by a name(regardless of language translation) because i remember reading that god's name is indicated as "jehovah" in the holy bible(king james translation - i think) and wasn't sure how other religions view the concept of god having a name.

whether it's yahweh or jehovah or any other translation.. i just figured that the common man would visualize any of the other two parts of the holy trinity when referencing the 3rd piece so by saying 'lord' to call upon god, you are also calling upon jesus because they are both the same.. i guess i got a little bored at work and started thinking too deeply.

Neophulis

I never realized it before or maybe I'm dissecting this too much, but is the belief in the Holy Trinity the reason why "most" christian religions reference to God as "Lord" under the belief that God/HolySpirit/Jesus are all one and the same. Therefore by speaking about our Lord Jesus Christ, we are also speaking about God himself(under that belief system) which allows us to call onto both at the same time and then simply differentiate Jesus by his name Jesus or by saying 'Lord Jesus'.

I only know and have studied the JW religion by my own devotion and was not sure if a non-JW christian religion refers to God by a name(regardless of language translation) because I remember reading that God's name is indicated as "Jehovah" in the Holy Bible(King James Translation - i think) and wasn't sure how other religions view the concept of God having a name. Whether it's Yahweh or Jehovah or any other translation.

I just figured that the common man would visualize any of the other two parts of the Holy Trinity when referencing the 3rd piece so by saying 'Lord' to call upon God, you are also calling upon Jesus because they are both the same.

I guess I got a little bored at work and started thinking too deeply. Can't do THAT on company time...

10

Before JWs existed?

by Neophulis in

i have a not-so simple question.... what would or have jws explained about any existence prior to charles taze russell's "epiphany" that he had discovered jehovah and the absolute truth surrounding jehovah.. the thing that i'm really picking at is i don't think many jws realize that their religion was formed by a mere mortal.

a human being who considered himself a prophet.

if such a man was to declare himself a prophet post-jw startup, jws would consider him part of "babylon" or manifestations of "satan himself!".

Neophulis

With that said, do they ever acknowledge the origin of the WT and Russell's ideas in which became the current WTBTS. I'd rather call it WT=BS but hey, that's a different story.

My point is do they ever discuss it or give a warped example of how the WT originated to "erase" the past with which would prove that the JW faith is a walking, talking contradition.

"He who controls the past, controls the future; and he
who controls the present, controls the past.".

--George Orwell "1984"

Thanks!!!

10

Before JWs existed?

by Neophulis in

i have a not-so simple question.... what would or have jws explained about any existence prior to charles taze russell's "epiphany" that he had discovered jehovah and the absolute truth surrounding jehovah.. the thing that i'm really picking at is i don't think many jws realize that their religion was formed by a mere mortal.

a human being who considered himself a prophet.

if such a man was to declare himself a prophet post-jw startup, jws would consider him part of "babylon" or manifestations of "satan himself!".

Neophulis

I have a not-so simple question...

What would or have JWs explained about any existence prior to Charles Taze Russell's "epiphany" that he had discovered Jehovah and the absolute truth surrounding Jehovah.

The thing that I'm really picking at is I don't think many JWs realize that their religion was formed by a mere mortal. A human being who considered himself a prophet. If such a man was to declare himself a prophet post-JW startup, JWs would consider him part of "Babylon" or manifestations of "Satan himself!"

What did mankind have to hope for prior to the WT and are only the few that would gather to share in the WT's organization be saved thus eliminating hundreds and thousands of years worth of generations that have lived and who obviously could not be saved since the WT was created in the late 1800s and that would eliminate a large number of people of receiving God's blessing for this eternal paradise that he has planned for us. I know they can say that the dead will be resurrected but were they too supposed to prepare themselves for the final days leading to Armageddon or is it only NOW that mankind must prepare because the WT has come to claim those who are indeed ready to commit themselves for everlasting life.

I'm not sure if JWs realize that their religion was started by a human being and if so, what spiritual scripture supports that one final prophet will arrive to claim the final group which will be saved from the mighty wrath of Jehovah. I thought there was supposed to be a drastic change in our society caused by an Anti-Christ before Armageddon is to occur.

Could Russell be fullfilling this prophesy? Hmmm...

7

What happens when you die??

by mysterio91 in

it's been over a year now since my dad died.

i feel sad about it a lot because i don't believe i will never see him again.

i realised today that being raised a dub has closed my eyes to different views on death.

Neophulis

I merely believe in the concept of heaven and being judged for the way you live your life. Whether you adhered to God's standard of being a loving human being or if you lived your life cold and callous towards many.

I also believe that you will be judged by having to view your entire life play out in 3rd person and having to answer for your actions throughout your life. Whether you mainly participated in good deeds vs. being malicious and cruel. Good vs. Evil kinda thing you know?

I know my concept is very vague, but I feel that this is just a stepping stone for something higher. We weren't put on this earth to just do one thing, we have a goal and once it's achieved there will be many other levels to continue forward. Whether you are accepted to advance to those next levels is up to our Creator. Only he can judge you regardless of what the WT as an organization feel they can place upon you for not following their code of conduct.

It kinda sound like a videogame in where you advance through levels but I see no reason why it wouldn't be like that. I mean, am I the only one who fears an existence of doing the same thing forever...I mean honestly, what can you do that would take up all of eternity. It's scary because it will never stop...EVER!!! Whether you're doing good things or fun things, it wouldn't stop. If what the JWs believe in would come true, you'd be picking fruit from trees smiling forever and participating joyous conversations for oh....FOREVER! Nothing else to it. Boring if you ask me and doesn't make sense. I think that if we were placed by a God/Creator then he would give us something more constructive to do than feed our fat faces in with fruit all day long. Maybe he saw that we as humans would get bored of the Garden of Eden and thus gave us the chance to inherit Sin to change his original plans. To us it wouldn't make sense, nor would we understand it if he "just changed it" but if we were to go through an evolution process and become smarter and learn from generation to generation then we would develop a much deeper sense of life and what it is to enjoy this wonderful gift. Without the love that he has left for all of us to partake in, which is free by the way, we could never enjoy life. And when it says in the beginning that Adam and Eve were blind, they probably would've never realized what we as humans realize now.

Through my experiences, I enjoy just looking out to the sky, enjoying a nice breeze, listening to water flow when I go fishing and just enjoying all the fruit that our Creator has left for all of us. I do what I can to be a good person but I can't allow myself to get sucked up in a endless whirlpool of paranoia expecting for "the end of the current system of things!" We all will die and we can't fight it. To me, the WT is a spiritual Fountain of Youth because they all feel that they will get to live forever...but is living forever truly a reward or torture?

I fear the possibility of eternal damnation so I try to live a fun life while still showing love for others and hoping that God understands that I would love to follow in his footsteps if I was 100% sure that the "truth" that I am being told was indeed the actual truth.

11

Love in my heart finally achieved!!!(kinda long)I

by Neophulis in

this is my first post and i wanted to say that i've been reading this site for about 2 or 3 weeks now on and off.

my experiences are nowhere near as deep as many of people on these forums but i did study the jw/watchtower material for about 2 1/2 years starting when i was like 15. i kept many of those beliefs with me even after i stopped studying on a regular basis around the year 2000. i'm 22 now and it wasn't until very recently that i was finally realizing the grim reality of the jw religion.

i guess you could call that "new light"... .

Neophulis

I appreciate all the responses and compliments. I'm not going to sit here and say that I am or am not intelligent but I do know that I see things in a different light than most of my friends. Although I was naive as young man, my many different experiences over the last 5 years have helped me think in a more logical perspective. One of the things that helped me was a critical thinking class and a Logical Thinking course in my senior year of high school in 2000. It allowed me to really think of everything from every angle rather than pursue a biased opinion with foot-in-mouth disease and end up looking like a fool.

I think my early inability to think unbiased originated from my father's upbringing because he is extremely close minded. My mom is semi-close-minded(2 hyphens?) and is somewhat of a bigot while I have learned to look at everyone the same until I am shown something that warns me to not interact with someone anymore(i.e. drugdealer, compulsive behavior, etc). Many friends later after studying with the JWs, I can honestly say I am a completely different person and my outlook in life is much different. Marijuana can change such a perception(as well as LSD but I was always too scared for that). The people I spent time with were definitely open-minded about many things and fearless in several aspects. They took me at a very shy, naive state of mind and within time became a more outgoing person and actually gained some valuable sex appeal to go with it... !

To be more serious, I wish I could encourage a more open-minded way of thinking with certain "friends" that I had who were dedicated JWs. I know they shy away from reading any material that may be a product of "Satan himself" but there is some literature that I will never forget which helped me see the world for what it is. I constantly encourage the books "1984" and "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" to some of my JW friends but I have been successful with only one of them and he slowly developed personal doubts of the JW religion but he tries his hardest to serve the WT and fight what he perceives to be "messages from Satan" that may one day corrupt him.

It seems like a never-ending battle, but one I choose to fight for as long as I'm still alive.

Thanks again for all of the responses!

16

We Live in a Fractal???

by frankiespeakin in

i was thinking lately about the manderbrolt fractal and other fractals as well.

and how every design of nature is able to be reproduced by fractals.

these pictures of the manderbrolt set,, display a remarkable scale that makes you "feel depth",,, with things getting bigger or smaller.

Neophulis

Doesn't that support the Big Bang Theory which would indicate we originated from Chaos and continue to grow and "evolve" exponentially?

I always thought about this because while I can't fathom all of this being created without a God(creator) to put it in place, at least we may have discovered how our "creator" achieved such success in making everything in existence.

11

Love in my heart finally achieved!!!(kinda long)I

by Neophulis in

this is my first post and i wanted to say that i've been reading this site for about 2 or 3 weeks now on and off.

my experiences are nowhere near as deep as many of people on these forums but i did study the jw/watchtower material for about 2 1/2 years starting when i was like 15. i kept many of those beliefs with me even after i stopped studying on a regular basis around the year 2000. i'm 22 now and it wasn't until very recently that i was finally realizing the grim reality of the jw religion.

i guess you could call that "new light"... .

Neophulis

Thanks for any responses and to anyone else who read the entire story. My story is weird because I always knew there was something wrong with the concept of joining a different sub-culture in society and breaking myself off from everyone I knew, but at the time it all made sense, as with anyone else who was in the religion. It's scary because the propaganda that they spread makes it sound all so convincing and "clear" and "truthful". The grim reality of it all is the fact that it is probably one of the most dangerous and most scariest Cults/Religions documented. I'm not completely keen on Cult history. I know a little about David Koresh's cult and Jonestown but that affected only a small amount of people in comparison to JWs millions of followers(even though 914 committing suicide is a big deal).

The JWs have succeeded for so long because it's like the ending of "The Wizard of Oz" where the entire time Oz was a threatening, vindictive individual whom everyone feared but the truth was revealed in the end showing him as an ordinary man committing a huge hoax. The problem with me is I never got to see what occurred behind closed doors(thank goodness) partly because of my mother. She kept reminding me to think smarter and as long as I had that advice it allowed me to stay logical with my personal interpretation of the religion. I think it's extremely easy to get involved when the entire family acts as a whole and studies together. Since I was in it alone towards the end, I could not fathom separating myself from my family which they kept stressing to me as I studied. It sounded so fishy and unlike what I interpreted a loving God to expect from his fellow children.

Of course, I can thank all of you on these forums for providing me the information I needed to make a rational judgment in my mind to see it for what it completely is and I can only hope others can see that light also.

My only problem is(as many others have had from what i gather) is...If this wasn't the truth...then what is? The entire time you're taught to think that the knowledge provided was absolute and completely correct and when that bubble bursts, it's hard to erase that mindset and judge things from scratch rather than have to compare to previous paradigms.

That's the only thing that sways me towards atheism because I don't know how else I can envision God asking us to worship him. It made sense that he wanted our absolute attention with the way the world is because he's preparing to take those who are worthy and "cut out the fat!" I can accept the fact that he is a loving God and Jesus died for my sins but how does he expect me to worship him is the question I have for anyone who can answer it for me. Does he expect me to strive for perfection or is he content solely with me walking with love for others. This is my new internal struggle...thanks for listening while I share my thoughts!

(sorry...i type really fast and have a lot to say so in the beginning my posts might be rather long)

11

Love in my heart finally achieved!!!(kinda long)I

by Neophulis in

this is my first post and i wanted to say that i've been reading this site for about 2 or 3 weeks now on and off.

my experiences are nowhere near as deep as many of people on these forums but i did study the jw/watchtower material for about 2 1/2 years starting when i was like 15. i kept many of those beliefs with me even after i stopped studying on a regular basis around the year 2000. i'm 22 now and it wasn't until very recently that i was finally realizing the grim reality of the jw religion.

i guess you could call that "new light"... .

Neophulis

This is my first post and I wanted to say that I've been reading this site for about 2 or 3 weeks now on and off. My experiences are nowhere near as deep as many of people on these forums but I did study the JW/Watchtower material for about 2 1/2 years starting when i was like 15. I kept many of those beliefs with me even after I stopped studying on a regular basis around the year 2000. I'm 22 now and it wasn't until very recently that I was finally realizing the grim reality of the JW religion. I guess you could call that "new light"...

Anyways, I always maintained the mindset that the JW religion was the correct religion mainly because I didn't grow up in any religion. My parents were never entirely religious(catholic only due to spanish culture) and it wasn't until my parents started studying with the JW that I got caught up into it. I would listen to their bible studies since me and my sister had to be very quiet and all we could do was just sit in our rooms and wait. I couldn't play any videogames, watch tv or listen to music during this period. Looking back now, I would assume that my parents didn't want to teach me the religion until they were entirely sure about it themselves. My father got caught up in it and my mother didn't believe many of their teachings. My mother had many catholic ideologies which were being resented in front of her and she couldn't swallow all of their jargon and interpretations of the same things she was taught. I merely continued studying with them because I had no background so it was easy for me to get caught up in it since I had no other belief system to destroy. I was fresh meat for the pickings and my father stopped studying and I continued until about 18 years of age.

I remember when my schedule was just too much to handle the studying and I'm thankful that it was otherwise I would've continued my studies. I was working 60-70 hours a week at my job and trying to save money for college and I remember how they would talk to me that it's always important to find time for Jehovah and to never let him leave your heart. This was a very difficult time for me because I met some very nice and interesting people after 18 with my job and college. I got caught up with certain drugs and a complete 180 in lifestyle. I would have paranoia attacks. Vision of death and my ultimate demise because I was going against everything I was taught. I was taught to continue studying, that the world could end at any moment and to have the fear of Jehovah in me. Mix this with marijuana and it does not make for a good mental process. I remember hanging out with friends and over-analyzing my fears and almost having panick attacks. Fearing that the world would end right then and there and how could I explain to God that I was destroyed while being high. While being surrounded by other people who did not belong to Jehovah. It was all so scary that I can't really explain it. I saw my friends as "enemies". I saw all my actions as a failure to God. I envisioned everyone around me(usually when I was high) as actual demons. That their number one goal was a mission sent out by Satan to find me, as Satan could do to everyone. That he had corrupted others and that it was a circle of evil and I had also been consumed.

I know you may think I'm a little out there, but I'm sure we all have had some kind of panic attack doubting the fact that we originally doubted the WT and JWs. That everything would come true that they would be saved and you would miss out on the boat. To be destroyed. Given the fact that my father still believed in the religion despite not having time to study himself kept me in that same mindset. He and I would agree on many things about the bible because we were mouth-fed the same dribble.

And then, after about 2 years of experimenting with my new lifestyle with occasional marijuana use, I made a goal to stop smoking. As I did, almost 3 years ago. I don't know what day it was, but I quit. I changed that lifestyle but I did not return to the religion. I met a friend, now my best friend, who has a very open mind and a remarkable ability to basically try anything. He doesn't do stupid stuff, but he's open minded and helped me thinking clearly and see things differently. He helped me learn about life and what to expect from it. There are many things I don't believe that he believes in such as atheism, but he painted for me a different perspective about life.

My awareness for the wrong teachings of the WT and JWs arrived just recently. I have an individual at my job who is JW and he started giving me Awake! and WT magazines. I would skim through it, but I, without reading anything negative about the JWs, immediately made a realization that what the JWs taught was wrong. That there were many things wrong with the religion. My biggest problem with it is the shunning and disfellowshipping. I never went to the Kingdom Hall as my mother did not allow me to go. She would always say that it was a cult or that there was something fishy about the whole thing. She told me that I was smarter than that and that she hoped that I could see it before it was too late. And now, over the last 3 or 4 months, I did see that all of my mom's doubts were true. And I felt stupid, but I couldn't let it bring me down. I've been with my gf for almost 3 years and she is catholic and we would always argue about certain things like celebrating holidays and other silly beliefs from the JW.

And it isn't until this year, 2004, almost 8 years since i started studying with the JWs that I finally have experienced the true love in my heart for one another. For family, for friends, for everyone and for Christmas. I used to not celebrate christmas in spirit. I would just buy gifts so people didn't think I was cheap or a jerk or whatever. I'm glad I wasn't 100% in the religion so that it only took 8 years to break the cycle. But this year, this year especially, I have a new love in my heart, one that I cannot explain for this wonderful time of year. Me and my gf have bonded so much deeper simply with 2 words...Merry Christmas!

I see everyone around me being happy and full of Joy and celebrating and singing christmas carols and dancing and enjoying each other's company and then I see the misery in the heart of my co-worker who is JW. He criticizes me sometimes for taking part in "a worldly activity" because when we first met I told him that I had studying before in which he began to latch onto me trying to get me back in the religion. I see him just miserable and every chance he gets he'll be immature and just scoff the whole celebrating thing. I have a little tree on my desk and some decorations and the only desk in the entire office-space without decorations is his. He's depressed and we aren't and I feel sad that it is that way. He once knocked over some decorations from the christmas tree in the middle of the floor "on accident" and then when i told him he should put them back on, he merely picked it up and tossed them under the tree as if it would offend Jehovah that he decorated a tree. Maybe he would've been disfellowshipped for putting on a christmas decoration....WHO KNOWS???

And after all this typing and after all about my story and interpretation i simply want to say that it feels remarkable to actually feel love and truly understand what it is to be loved and to love others and to not always have to judge someone for their actions and act that I am better than someone because I am involved in a particular religion. It is that love that I hold in my heart. I don't associate myself with any religion although I do believe in God. I simply live my life based on a scripture in the Holy Bible...I don't know exactly how it goes, but it does refer to the fact that we should all walk and live our lives as if in the image of Jesus. To be kind to others and to show that kindness to everyone. Unfortunately the JWs didn't read that scripture. I'm not very good when it comes to scriptures so I hope someone could enlighten me as to where in the bible is that scripture and how is it actually worded!

Thank You! Sorry for the length but I wanted to tell my story and glad that I broke the chains linked to the WT ideologies and paradigm.