fairchild

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Posts by fairchild

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  11

  How many believe in a literal, firey hell that God will damn people to?

  by AlmostAtheist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you truly believe that there is a place/state/condition that god will forever banish some people to, along the lines of the hell concept?

  only the "really bad", the "bad", or even the "not as good as they should be"?.

  (this came to mind when i saw the "jews in hell" thread.

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  fairchild

  Well, after Adam ate the apple, Jehovah said 'For dust you are and to dust you will return". He didn't say "You will burn in hell forever".
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  40

  1975 and all that

  by helios in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i well recall the husband of my sister-law telling us the most earth shattering news.

  this was around 1973 and 1975 fever was starting to take over many individuals.

  with breathless excitement he told us the follow story.

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  fairchild

  Does anyone know where I could view the records for that year? This is just to satisfy my curiosity. I am wondering how many people actually got baptized in 1975 and how many left the organization in let's say 1976.
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  71

  'This Generation'

  by fairchild in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes, again... after reading numerous posts on this site and doing some research on my own, i have a strong feeling that my whole belief will soon stand or fall with the understanding of 'this generation'.. matthew 24:3 .."tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?".

  matthew 24:7 for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another.. matthew 24:34 truly i say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.. .

  generation:noun: group of genetically related organisms constituting a single step in the line of descent noun: the normal time between successive generations example: "they had to wait a generation for that prejudice to fade".

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  fairchild

  If you have given up most of your old friends, during the process of studying, re-establish contact. Make a new circle of friends with common interests and work colleagues, etc. The social side of life is important, and the JW's tend to try to completely replace that so taht you become dependant on them.

  No, my friends are my friends, giving them up is one of the things I'd never be able to do.
• 
  29

  Fire the smokers.... Looks like someone was inspired by the WTS....

  by Elsewhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.wral.com/news/4126577/detail.html

  looks like someone was inspired by the wts......... .

  company fires all employees who smoke.

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  fairchild

  (Frenchbabyface) That reminds me something ... a manager got statistic that a smoker lose 6 minutes on a day job for smoking (I've thought that actually it was a very low ... I spend much more ) but as she was a very big coffee drinker I've asked her how much time she was loosing all day getting her coffees and coffee talks - 15 to 20 minutes each times for real 4 to 6 if not more times a day (when she should be working) ... but oh well

  True. Years ago, I read somewhere that several Japanese companies give and extra week vacation to their non smoking employees because that's about what a smoker loses by going outside every once in a while to smoke a cigarette. Where I work, people go outside for a smoke at least twice every hour. One of my co workers recently got fired for going out for a smoke every 15 minutes.
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  71

  'This Generation'

  by fairchild in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes, again... after reading numerous posts on this site and doing some research on my own, i have a strong feeling that my whole belief will soon stand or fall with the understanding of 'this generation'.. matthew 24:3 .."tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?".

  matthew 24:7 for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another.. matthew 24:34 truly i say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.. .

  generation:noun: group of genetically related organisms constituting a single step in the line of descent noun: the normal time between successive generations example: "they had to wait a generation for that prejudice to fade".

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  fairchild

  (steve2) I'd recommend the slow, fading exit,

  That might be a hard thing to do. Whenever I miss a meeting, someone calls to ask what's up. They are all very nice, and I do think their concern is genuine. It seems I can't hide though, wich I could. I probably owe it to them to just tell them that I am not planning on going to the meetings anymore. I respect their choice to serve Jehovah, but why do I have a feeling that they won't respect my choice not to be a part of their organization anymore? There doesn't seem to be an easy 'fading' way out. I've read about people on this site who faded and always wondered how exactly they did it.

  Fairchild, I wish you well.

  Thank you very much

  (one) But you dont HAVE to tell jw about the truth when you finally find it, specially if you dont want to loose your good jw friends real fast.

  True. but I wonder if there is such thing as JW friends. Don't get me wrong, a few of my dearest friends are JW's. Yet, should I be a baptized witness and then DF'ed, they would most likely not talk to me again. You know what they say about a good friend. A friend will help you move, a true friend will help you move a body. You know what I mean? Among JW's friendships can stand or fall with someone's status within the organization. I understand that Jehovah comes first and it deserves my true admiration, but where lies the inter- human aspect in all this? Friends and family get broken up over people opposing the WTS and such, yet according to the bible, a family is extremely important. Anyway, in the end, I probably will loose my JW friends as I will be considered bad association.

  As long as you dont complaint and you are willing to keep by their rules for the sake of peace and "friendship" it may be ok to be a jw

  Is there really a point in this? Being a JW is a choice which influences your whole life. The only way to be a 'happy' JW is to concur with the WTS 100%, with heart and mind. Someone who is or becomes a JW for any other reason will feel a burden, as the religion demands a whole lot of time as well as a certain mindset.

  Again, don't get me wrong. I value friendship very deeply. It is not because I am going to stop attending the meetings that my feeling of friendship for my JW friends will diminish, but I am not willing to be a JW just so that their feeling of friendship toward me would not diminish.

  (Getbusyliving) They shun people who are disfellowshiped like they are useless pieces of shit.

  Exactly. What a sad thing.

  ..(Bebu)..Anyway, just more stuff for you to mull over!

  OOHH you got THAT right! Thank you for stopping in!
• 
  71

  'This Generation'

  by fairchild in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes, again... after reading numerous posts on this site and doing some research on my own, i have a strong feeling that my whole belief will soon stand or fall with the understanding of 'this generation'.. matthew 24:3 .."tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?".

  matthew 24:7 for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another.. matthew 24:34 truly i say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.. .

  generation:noun: group of genetically related organisms constituting a single step in the line of descent noun: the normal time between successive generations example: "they had to wait a generation for that prejudice to fade".

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  fairchild

  After reading all the posts once more, and checking out some links, I think it is logical to assume that 'this generation' was meant to be only the generation of Jesus, and not some future generation. I still don't believe that Jesus might have been wrong and would rather believe that people in our day are just not understanding it right. I also don't know what to think about things written in the NT being influenced by, or written toward what was already written in the OT. This is a thought and a point to reasearch for another day. It is easy to take a scripture - in this case 'this generation'- and give it some intricate, different meaning. With the bible not being 100% clear all the time, it is an easy thing to do. But when we go back to the source we should see that there was nothing mysterious about that scripture. Point taken.

  I have decided to stop my study and to stop going to the meetings. I still have not told them and was being a coward today. I lingered at work until 7pm so that I would be home too late to go to the book study. pretty bad, huh? However, I will have to tell them some time this week. Some advice here would be welcome. 'This generation' was what I needed in order to convince myself, but would it be appropriate to bring that up? Is it really up to me to burst such a huge bubble? I have read on this site about JW's not being happy, not living in a 'spiritual paradise' and such, but have to admit that many of the JW I know ARE happy. It is important to be happy with what you do. Actually, it might be one of the most important things in life. Telling a zealous JW that 607BCE was just another day where the sun came up and went under, or that 'this generation' was clearly not meant to be dragged to our century, would be like throwing a bucket of water over Beethoven's piano. I know what some of you might be thinking. You probably think that we do a JW a favor by telling them 'the truth', just like they think they are doing US a favor by 'telling us the truth'. Personally, I don't feel I am in the right place to plant such seeds in someone's heart.

  I clearly remember saying to a JW once, "Don't tell me about the truth, I am happy now and I want to keep it that way", but they told me anyway. It seems every time I go to the meetings more often, my sense of happiness and my bond with God start to dwindle. There used to be a time when I really did feel close to God, but not today. I was told to 'study some more' after I talked to an elder about that. 'Study some more' is exactly what I did. In the worship book as well as on this site. Something tells me that I will find the true God amongst the many bits of information on this site before I find it in the worship book. I know it is a rude thing to say, but it is just the way I feel.
• 
  71

  'This Generation'

  by fairchild in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes, again... after reading numerous posts on this site and doing some research on my own, i have a strong feeling that my whole belief will soon stand or fall with the understanding of 'this generation'.. matthew 24:3 .."tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?".

  matthew 24:7 for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another.. matthew 24:34 truly i say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.. .

  generation:noun: group of genetically related organisms constituting a single step in the line of descent noun: the normal time between successive generations example: "they had to wait a generation for that prejudice to fade".

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  fairchild

  Good point, Steve2
• 
  71

  'This Generation'

  by fairchild in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes, again... after reading numerous posts on this site and doing some research on my own, i have a strong feeling that my whole belief will soon stand or fall with the understanding of 'this generation'.. matthew 24:3 .."tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?".

  matthew 24:7 for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another.. matthew 24:34 truly i say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.. .

  generation:noun: group of genetically related organisms constituting a single step in the line of descent noun: the normal time between successive generations example: "they had to wait a generation for that prejudice to fade".

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  fairchild

  (Narkissos) My only advice is, just beware of being too hasty in rebuilding a belief system before you have fully questioned and tried what you think you know.

  The problem is, up until very recently, I truly believed what I had learned during meetings, bookstudy and personal study and there was no reason for me to rebuild my belief system. I originally came to this site for some moral support, trying to make the decision to get baptized. I was unaware that most people here are ex JW's. For some reason I thought that many JW's visited this site as well. My first post received a lot of comments, mostly attempts to make me see that getting deeper involved with JW's would not be the right direction to walk towards. The comments to my post confused me beyond words. However, I took every comment and examined it. Followed links that were provided, etc.. I stopped going to meetings, went back, stopped again.. and tomorrow I have to tell them that I have decided to stop my personal study, it's not going to be easy.

  Bottom line, at this point I feel as if I don't have enough knowledge of what's out there. In order to make a decision such as being baptized a JW, or walk away from them altogether, I need to educate myself a lot better than I have so far. This is what this site has taught me. I owe it to myself, as well as to God. Posting the 'this generation' thread is one step in the process of educating myself.

  The information I have taken in during the past few weeks has been a lot, and it has been shocking. It is not easy when you have been promised to live forever, and all of a sudden you find out that the bible does not exactly support that promise. Nor is it easy to let go of the things I have always taken for granted, the things I have been taught and never questioned, such as 'this generation', 1914, Jerusalem 607BCE, etc.. And now I might have to face the fact that the bible isn't as perfect as I thought it was.

  No, there is no haste. However, there is a sense of urgency to know where I stand and to find God the way I should. It's not like as if He has been a great help to me in my search..

  By the way, I just noticed that you are from France. What part of France are you from? I grew up in the Netherlands and Belgium, and lived in Paris for 6 months, now living in the US.

  Greetings
• 
  71

  'This Generation'

  by fairchild in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes, again... after reading numerous posts on this site and doing some research on my own, i have a strong feeling that my whole belief will soon stand or fall with the understanding of 'this generation'.. matthew 24:3 .."tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?".

  matthew 24:7 for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another.. matthew 24:34 truly i say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.. .

  generation:noun: group of genetically related organisms constituting a single step in the line of descent noun: the normal time between successive generations example: "they had to wait a generation for that prejudice to fade".

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  fairchild

  (Narkissos) who says that a divinely-inspired book has to be historical?

  Nobody, but this conversation is going in a scary direction for me, sigh.
• 
  71

  'This Generation'

  by fairchild in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes, again... after reading numerous posts on this site and doing some research on my own, i have a strong feeling that my whole belief will soon stand or fall with the understanding of 'this generation'.. matthew 24:3 .."tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?".

  matthew 24:7 for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another.. matthew 24:34 truly i say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.. .

  generation:noun: group of genetically related organisms constituting a single step in the line of descent noun: the normal time between successive generations example: "they had to wait a generation for that prejudice to fade".

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  fairchild

  (.Narkissos).. are you saying they read the OT and THEN wrote the NT based on what they read in the OT?

  Simply put, yes

  If that is true, then we have to throw the idea out the door that the bible is inspired by God, which I would truly hate to do.

  Little toe, glad I'm not the only one worried about BB here.