Posts by Glofishy

6

should you be rebaptized ?

by josephus in

im thinking of be rebaptized.. .

it seems very few think the jw baptism is correct and i should get redone, as it were.. any thoughts.

josephus

Glofishy

Personally, if your old life "died" and you received baptism as an outward expression of that, I would think it's enough, but if you wanna get dunked again, I'd say go for it, it can't hurt! :)

I was baptized a Catholic as a baby (unwillingly) and baptized in a Baptist church willingly at the age of 12. My baptism in the Baptist church was enough for me. I knew I was getting baptized as a symbol of my old life dying and a new one beginning with a relationship with God. I'm not interested in getting baptized with the JW's because I think there's too many rules and provisos that frankly aren't biblically sound. Besides, I'm turning 40 this year and I'm waaaay past jumping through hoops for man's rules.

If you do it, make sure to take pictures! I regret that pictures weren't taken when I was baptized, as it was a very special time in my life and my relationship with God.

22

Something I've wondered about for many a year.......

by TadSexington in

o.k..... i've been out of "the truth" for about 10 yrs now.... .

so when i was in i was still a child, and someting just didn't sit right with my child like mind..... whats the deal with not having any women elders....?.

did i miss that watchtower article somwhere....?.

Glofishy

I always thought that Paul wrote that not to demean women, but to keep order in the congregation. I can't remember where I had heard, but as I understand it, they still practiced the old way of church attendance, where women were seated separate from the men. Therefore, if a woman had a question for her husband, it would disturb the service as they would have to speak out loud to talk to their husbands or get their attention. Anyone else hear of this theory?

11

Rapture

by Lois in

the pretribulation rapture : what if it isn't true?

- c. h. fisher

christian articles on: eschatology.

Glofishy

I had a fortune cookie today saying I was going to meet a person that would sweep me off my feet.

Hubby was concerned j/k

24

Graduation is okay?

by Oxnard Hamster in

as you all know, jws avoid celebrating all major holidays because they are "worldly" and "worldly" things displease jehovah.

however, i remember some jws talking about celebrating certain kids' high school graduations.

so it's not okay to celebrate christmas, thanksgiving, easter, birthdays, etc, but it is okay to celebrate someone's graduation?

Glofishy

I would think wedding anniversaries are ok because marriage is viewed as an institution and blessing from God (which I wholeheartedly believe too).

Don't forget too...that Jesus is the ultimate guest you want at a cool party! He's the one that turned the water into the greatest, most potent, wine ever made! To paraphrase what he was told..."Usually the best wine is reserved to serve first, then when the guests get all wasted, you bring out the cheap stuff...but you saved the best for last!!" This was at the wedding he attended.

I have a cool savior!

1

Speaking of Brooklyn...

by Glofishy in

if the organization is in financial trouble...to the extent they stopped mailing literature and cut back on publishing the awake magazine...why don't they sell the property they have in new york for a pretty penny, or rent it out and just move the company to a lesser expensive area to do business in...like in the midwest or something?

or is the location in new york all part and parcel to something in the core beliefs that i'm not aware of?

Glofishy

If the organization is in financial trouble...to the extent they stopped mailing literature and cut back on publishing the Awake magazine...why don't they sell the property they have in New York for a pretty penny, or rent it out and just move the company to a lesser expensive area to do business in...like in the Midwest or something? Or is the location in New York all part and parcel to something in the core beliefs that I'm not aware of?

10

Did you believe life was always a gift no matter what the circumstances?

by LongHairGal in

i had a discussion years ago with an elder about this topic.

he said life was a gift no matter what we had to endure.

(we were talking about people who went through horrible things e.g.

Glofishy

How about all the physically and/or mentally challenged?

We have a baby that we lost early in pregnancy, and I firmly believe he is in heaven right now. If you were to ask me at this point in my life whether I would consider a physically or mentally challenged baby a gift, I'd certainly have to say yes!

It's all a matter of perspective.

21

Can I date a JW

by Mello Yellow in

this is troubling me.

i started dating a girl and the relationship lasted for a little while.

she then broke things off claiming she was in violation of her beliefs, the jw this and that, and how she'd "lose everything" if she was caught dating me.

Glofishy

In my situation, my hubby wasn't baptized when we met and fell in love. He still isn't, and frankly, I KNOW he enjoys the differences between his upbringing and what I bring into our relationship since we come from two totally different backgrounds. However, if he was already baptized when I met him, there would have been extraordinary pressure on him to dump the relationship and marry another baptized JW instead of me...unless I folded and became baptized myself first. I did the study route...and as I got more educated in the beliefs, it solidified the fact that I will never become a full fledged member of the organization. I know he is quite frankly relieved that he didn't marry a woman that followed all the beliefs, because he would have never known what it is to receive certain "intimate favors"...and I'm NOT going into details about that, lol.

As a practical matter, if this girl is so willing to dump the relationship with you, she's not worth your time bro. You sound like a great catch, and you should seek out a nice lady that will compliment your life, not complicate it. I guarantee, you will not regret this decision. If this lady comes to the realization that she is totally in love with you and cannot live without you, she'll put up with the crap that will be dealt to her for a time...because eventually, they view marriage as being sacred and there isn't a damn thing the elders or anyone else can do about it once you've exchanged your vows. Unlike Catholics, she is considered married in the eyes of the "church", no matter where the marriage takes place. If you do wind up getting hitched and go to meetings with her, be prepared to hear the same stuff over and over again like a broken record...especially at the Memorial.

13

Jesus is Jehovah!!!!

by hibiscusfire in

.

and the word was god or "a god" (kai theos en ho logos).

Glofishy

*hugs Rod*

Ah very wise words! So far, I've just been considering myself a member of www.landoverbaptist.net

13

Jesus is Jehovah!!!!

by hibiscusfire in

.

and the word was god or "a god" (kai theos en ho logos).

Glofishy

The assumption that if someone is no longer a JW they MUST be born again Christians has always annoyed me. Guess I had too much overbearing, brainwashing, hellfire and brimstone efforts growing up in Calvary Chapel to tolerate that sort of thing. Well, it wasn't all in vain, as it's helped me identify cultish behavior when I'm looking at a variety of other religions. Heck, I don't even know how to identify myself anymore as far as religion goes, except that I accept some of the JW beliefs and some traditional Christian beliefs.

Anyone else have this same type of conflict?

20

Questions about disfellowshipping

by Gwen in

i stumbled upon this site by accident and spent the past several days just reading through the forums.

i must say, i'm both horrified and fascinated at what i've read so far.

although several members of my family are jw's, i have never known much about the religion and quite honestly, have never really gotten to know these family members well.

Glofishy

Gwen

I am married to an inactive, unbaptized publisher. I don't have anything against the organization per say, but I've had some time to take a look at the practices and consider them very carefully. I've come to the conclusion that it's not something that I want to get deeply into...as in to the point where I become baptized and subject to possible disfellowshipping. A lot of JW's will tell you that people get disfellowshipped for adultery, and they even assume that is the case when they hear someone's name announced. I don't know if this is true. All I know is that I am politically active, get involved in campaigns and grassroots politics, and vote in every election. Even though they SAY it's a matter of concious (sp?) whether to decide to vote, it appears to be something that is evil enough to mark you as being weak or whatever. Because of this, and because I generally don't like when people try to tell me what to do, I've decided to just maintain a friendly relation to members of the JW's and family members. If I remain on the outside, I stand a better chance of keeping my family members and friends that are JW's in contact. It's ironic, I must stay out in order to stay in, lol.

Hubby on the other hand, has a problem that bothers me. He cannot conform to the rules and regulations regarding door to door work, so he will probably never progress. That wouldn't be so bad, but I know he feels a deep obligation to work on getting baptized. It's a conflict within himself, and I feel sorry for him. It bothers me that HE is feeling that it's his fault for not "feeling the joy" and "desire" to do door to door work. While I have not gone door to door with JW's, I have gone door to door advocating and asking for support for gay marriages...which is probably just as popular as a JW coming to your door. It is VERY difficult even for a normally outgoing person such as myself, so I can't imagine what my hubby goes through when he's mostly in his little quiet shy shell. I've offered to dunk him in baptism myself in a pool, but he says it's not the same.