many of the people on this site say that they are apostates.
but that is not the way i feel about myself.. i am not angry with the "witnesses" or the organisation, i don't feel that i wasted my life.
i just think that i was stupid to believe it for 30 years (well sort of believe it, i did have severe doubts on and off).
When I was a Witness an Apostate was defined as someone who knew the Watchtower was the truth but was working against it.
Since I have discovered that the Watchtower is not the truth has never been the truth and has been lying to its members for 126 years, I am not an Apostate.
I have broken free from attempted mind control by a dangerous bunch of !@#$%
ok, according to the rigcah, patdp, and ipalfam i and ii the jewish restoration prophecy fulfilled in 537 bc has an antitype in 1919 ad when the wt officers were released from prison.
this is obviously a central teaching of the slave.
they say they were exonerated of all the charges that caused them to go to prison, and because of their faith they were accepted as the slave at that time.
The book was "The Finished Mystery" the seventh volume of Studies in the Scriptures, the so called posthumous work of Pastor Russell.
Many Bible Students recognized that the book was a fraud and that it was one of Rutherford's first attempts to deceive the brothers and create a new faith in Rutherford's image. Thousands of Bible Students quit the Watchtower and set up there own groups.
i am pretty sure there are many different (excuse my layman) "denominations" of judaism, but what typically is the hope of a jewish person?
do they believe they are going to heaven?
do they believe in a paradise earth?
I hope that beebee does not mind but I would like to answer the first question.
What Christians call the Old Testament the Jews call the Tanach. It is divided into three parts, the Torah is the five books of Moses, then the Prophets Isaiah etc. and then the Writings Psalms Proverbs etc.
These three groups of Bible books encompass what the Watchtower calls the Hebrew Scriptures.
i am pretty sure there are many different (excuse my layman) "denominations" of judaism, but what typically is the hope of a jewish person?
do they believe they are going to heaven?
do they believe in a paradise earth?
The Hebrew phrase "Olam Hava" (please forgive the spelling) means "The World To Come" Some would say that is a similar expression as a paradise Earth but the meaning is purposely vague so that Jews concentrate on making this life, this world a better place. The next life or world will be taken care of by God so don't waste a lot of time on what that might be, instead focus on what is in front of us.
For the same reason the idea of any kind of Hell is also vague and not considered important.
In the Talmud a man is told by God that his purpose is to make the world a better place. He will never finish his task but is told he cannot stop.
moshe wrote in another thread:i studied with a rabbi and found out why i was so confused by the nt gospel teachings.
of course, i never bothered to ask any jew what they teach about their messiah, i just assumed that the christian teaching about the jewish messiah matched what the jews believed about the coming messiah in the 1st century-not!
you've only vaguely brushed up against your jewish knowledge on this forum, at least that i've seen.
In my study of Judaism I found that Isaiah 7:14 was explained as being about Isaiah himself, his wife is the young maiden and the child born is the child of Mr and Mrs Isaiah.
Some Jews today think that the Jews as a group are the Messiah. Some Hasidic Jews today think the late Rabbi Schneerson of Brooklyn, New York is the Messiah and will be resurrected from the dead.
The learned Rabbi Akiba of the second century AD thought that Bar Kochba leader of the second Jewish revolt against the Romans in 135 AD was the Messiah in the same sense that the Apostles thought Jesus might be the Messiah. Jesus and Bar Kochba were killed by the Romans. Rabbi Akiba and most of the Apostles were killed for faith in their respective Messiahs.
In the 1600's a Turkish Jew, whose name I have trouble spelling, proclaimed himself the Messiah and thousands of Jews followed him. He claimed that since he was the Messiah he could break all the laws of Mses and ate unkosher food, engaged in wife swapping and other un Jewsih behaviour and his followers did likewise. The Ottoman Sultan demanded this Messiah convert to Islam or die and Allah be praised he did. An extreme minority of the Jewish community still follow this guy and get together for holy orgies.
There is no Jewish Pope or faithful and discreet slave of the Jews. Being a good Jew a person has a lot of lattitude. As Rabbi Hillel said to a potential Jewish convert while standing on one foot (100 years before the birth of Jesus) "Love God with your whole heart and your neighbor as yourself, everything else is commentary."
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i was just wondering if you still feel hurt or some kind of interior pain from your jw days or is it all passed and you have no more feelings towards this organization.... i still feel "hurt" and let down... .
afterall, they were friends, and now they just don't care anymore.
You can't cry over spilled milk. It will take a little time but you will adjust. You will become more social, make friends and become a stronger person for the experience.
I wasted fifteen years of my life. I did not go to college. Did not date, marry or have children. I have the choice to either wallow in self pity or take control of my life. I feel sad ocasionaly, but overall I am over the hurting.
It is a cliche but true, Time heals all wounds.
can you recommend anything.
i've already got pink floyd, queen, etc.
can you make some suggestions in the area of rock and electro?
Echo and the Bunnymen, records were produced by Ray Manzerik of the Doors.
Fuzz Box, a kick ass female group with an album entitled, "We've got a fuzz box and we know how to use it"
The Plasmatics, fronted by the outrageous Wendy O Williams
since i faded, i have had several dreams where i am being executed.
in all sorts of ways - i've been crucified, shot by a firing squad, hung, and taken out via the gas chamber and lethal injection (no electric chair .
these dreams are so real - no clue that i am dreaming!
While still a Witness I had a recurring dream where I was out in field service then surrounded by a mob and executed by beheading. I co-worker told me that having your head chopped off in a dream symbolized a complete change of thinking.
Since I was a good little Witness I ignored her explanation, but now that I have completely changed my thinking regarding my wasted years as a Jehovah's Witness, I think she was right.
i personally feel they will have to "adjust" the fds doctrine.
the tricky thing is that the fds (whoever they are) won't approve this change while they're still alive.
they don't care, they subconsciously feel it's their end anyway and they won't undermine their doctrinal position having lost all corporate power.. so who will send this beam of new light?
I think the WT will change its teachings in a major way. They have too much money, land and control of peoples lives to let it all slip away.
Getting rid of 1914 or the FDS or anything else will be achieved with little difficulty. It will like when Rutherford cast off Russell's theology and substituted his and Franz's theology. Russell's Bible Students and Rutherford's Jehovah's Witnesses are two diferent faiths. Whatever the Watchtower evloves into will be very diferent from both it's father and grandfather.
The path of The Worldwide Church of God after the death of Herbert W. Armstrong is the path I see Jehovah's Witnesses following. More mainstream theology with tiny groups splintering off into obscurity.
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after leaving, what (excluding the obvious bit of slap and tickle) is your favourite forbidden pleasure.
for me black pudding, full of bloody goodness
Being active in politics. I have run for City Council and serve on various city boards doing my best to improve my community. I vote in EVERY election.
Watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer while my youngest sister who is still an active Witness would run in horror from the room.
Being able to be friends with any person I choose without having to worry about "wordly associations" It is such a relief to look at all people as being "good" instead of unwitting dupes of Satan.
I did not have my first date until I was 21 and was a virgin until 25. I have had a great time catching up.
