this coming from a person raised "in the truth".. recently i shared a scripture with my sister - she is ill and will have to have some pretty serious surgery.
i shared isa 53:4,5 with her.
(this is the niv version for those that don't have a bible handy.).
Gumby,
I think I worded that wrong. That is not what I'm doing - it's what my sister thinks I'm doing. Replacing Jesus with God. She was putting all the emphasis on Jehovah being the one to "heal" her, the only one to put her faith in. I told her it was God, through His Son, she was leaving Jesus out completely.
It's sometimes hard to be perfectly clear here, and without quoting the entire conversation, something got left out.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
BB
this coming from a person raised "in the truth".. recently i shared a scripture with my sister - she is ill and will have to have some pretty serious surgery.
i shared isa 53:4,5 with her.
(this is the niv version for those that don't have a bible handy.).
The JW's do not need Jesus to free them from sin. They have the Faithful Discreet Slave and that's all that matters.
Don't forget their meeting attendance and door to door work.
Where is the scripture that says we are not saved by our works?
BB
i knew brothers who would not allow a television in thier house.
you were lucky if you were around any that listened to music.
we would jokingly among older ones talk of going out and pulling our earth wind & fire albums out and taking them for a spin.
but looking like it was the best night out that they'd ever had.
Sad to say, it probably was!
BB
i knew brothers who would not allow a television in thier house.
you were lucky if you were around any that listened to music.
we would jokingly among older ones talk of going out and pulling our earth wind & fire albums out and taking them for a spin.
Actually, for the most part the congs I was in weren't too bad. Growing up till about 16, we were in a rural cong. We had cong parties about twice a year, big potluck parties, with *gasp* dancing to wordly music! It was really alot of fun!
When we moved to a city, there were still parties, we'd rent a school gym and have dancing etc. It was all chaperoned of course, but we had a good time. That's where I met my future hubby. It's so funny to go back to that school in my job, and look at the gym and imagine the night I met him. The gym looks so small to me now! lol
My parents weren't too uptight either. The biggest thing was not having any friends outside of the "org". When I 'd make a friend at school, want to hang out with them etc, my mom would always ask "Do they love Jehovah?". If they didn't go to a hall somewhere - they didn't love Jehovah, they couldn't be a friend. That was the hardest part about growing up for me.
BB
.
all i know is that jesus said to get baptized.
he didn't say in what religion though.. although i don't go to meetings anymore and don't plan on going anymore, i'm still glad that i was baptized.
I'm not 100% sure at the moment.
When I was baptized as a JW, I don't think I understood just exactly what I was doing. I didn't realize that I was being baptized into an "organization". I really wish I was baptized pre '95, maybe I'd feel differently now. I got baptized because my parents were getting alitte embarassed that I was 17 and still unbaptized. When my younger brother stepped up and said he wanted to get baptized, my mom got the ball rolling for me to as well. Wouldn't look good ya know, your younger brother getting baptized before you.
I'm still trying to figure out where I belong, what I do now, so this question is still under consideration for now.
BB
well, not really rebellion but that i've wanted one of these for a long time so i went and did it today, and i love it!
my little sister came out for a visit this weekend and i told her everything about leaving the jw's.
she has pretty much left about 6 months ago when she went away to college.
Cool!
I can't stand anyone touching my belly button, and I know if I got one, hubby would want to touch it all the time! lol
Plus I'm a chicken for pain!
Good news about your sister!!!!!!!!!
BB
this coming from a person raised "in the truth".. recently i shared a scripture with my sister - she is ill and will have to have some pretty serious surgery.
i shared isa 53:4,5 with her.
(this is the niv version for those that don't have a bible handy.).
This coming from a person raised "in the truth".
Recently I shared a scripture with my sister - she is ill and will have to have some pretty serious surgery. I shared Isa 53:4,5 with her. (This is the NIV version for those that don't have a bible handy.)
Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
This set off a big row, and I'm now being considered apostate by them, by putting my faith in Jesus instead of Jehovah.
Did I mis apply this scripture on a JW point of view? (I've been away from the meetings for over 10 years now, and I'm not sure anymore what they believe or don't believe.)
Any light shed on this would be appreciated.
BB
those are serious issues in the mind of any (future) xjw.. actually we're on an exceptional spot in life to ponder on the pitfalls of "loyalty" and the heartbreaking necessity of some "betrayal".. we can rationalise it by saying we are loyal to a higher instance (god, the "truth" or whatever).
yet the feeling (and sometimes guilt) of betrayal may be lingering in our minds.. may i remind those few lines from friedrich nietzsche (thus spake zarathustra):.
when zarathustra had spoken these words, he paused, like one who had not yet said his last word; and long did he balance the staff doubtfully in his hand.
Wow,
This couldn't have come at a better time. I'm faced with being loyal to myself, or loyal to my family, betraying myself by staying in this religion, or having my family think I betrayed them.
BB
i recieve many pms, emails, and more recently, many thread replies which ask me a simple question.. why are you disassociating yourself?
why not just fade?.
well, here's why.. my mother, and her mother, are in the "truth".
Wow Ritche,
We could have the same mother!! I'm currently going through something similar - while I haven't formally DA myself, she and my sister have recently decided they want nothing to do with me anymore becuase I don't go to the meetings anymore. I was totally shocked when this happend, but relieved in a way. I'm just waiting for her to run to the elders - she's like that, a real tattler, and then my hand may be forced. One reason I have not formally done anything is because of my husband.
I wish you luck!
The countdown has begun for you!
BB
i was df'd in 1985 and have not been back since.
of course disowned by my family.
at that time they rarely called or came over because i had small children and they called just enough to semi maintain a relationship with them.
Some people make up their own minds about the shunning. When my brother was DF'd my parents didn't shun him, but they've shunned other people. Go figure. It depends on what they want out of the relationship. If your parents are getting older, maybe they are slowly trying to re-establish the relationship so you can help to take care of them, they know that the "loving" brothers and sisters won't be there for them.
I'm being shunned right now and I'm not even DF'd! They've just decided they don't want to have anything to do with me if I don't go to the meetings. It's actually a relief right now because my mother is always calling for help with something, and always asking to "borrow" money. Well, it will be interesting to see how long she will continue with this, maybe until she's broke again, which is every month!
BB
