.
isaiah 42:8. i am yahweh, that is my name; and my glory will i not give to another, neither my praise to engraved images..
I also agree that it is. It represents that god speaks or communicates with it. They try to get around this in a funny sort of way by saying they are not inspired but spirit directed. Well, prove it. They really can't.
I long ago felt they spoke presumptuously and I never entirely swallowed the whole thing.
LHG
well i setup an account at reexaminer.org eager to make a contribution but find that uploading was disabled (for now anyway).. so here's this year's supposedly hard-hitting expose on "false religion" aka kingdumb news 37. i hope these links work for all of you.
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/5070/kn37p1wf7.jpg.
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4599/kn37p2rn0.jpg.
How is it they do not see that they are in part also false religion?
Is it because they have the magic name Jehovah? THEY took this name. HE didn't bestow it on them.
They must reason that because he hasn't reached out of the sky to strike them down for their errors that they are okay.
L
i work with a young woman in her mid-thirties that is openly lesbian.
we have been friends for about 10 years when she first started working at the company.
i was crazy about her before she came out as "gay" and i still have a good time working with her.
You will have to pull her aside quietly and tell her directly (in a nice way) that you do not want to hear the details about her sex life. You can say some sort of thing like "...you are a nice person but......"
Any heterosexual person would be reprimanded behind a closed door for this kind of conversation. This is HER problem. She is wrong.
There is also a remote possibility that she takes some kind of perverse pleasure in making people feel uncomfortable - but this may not be the case with her. But you have to say something to her.
LHG
a thought popped into my head today.
remember how inside the congregation we were taught that we should our love our brothers so much that we would die for them?.
now why were taught to trust and love our brothers and sisters so much mush that we would do that for them?.
No, but I don't expect them to die for me either.
Maybe there are some there who are secretly hoping the "other guy" will stick his neck out so THEY can live. Wishful thinking on their part.
LHG
once i left the jw social scene and started hanging out with "worldly" people a lot more, i realized that these "worldly" people don't gossip nearly as much as the witnesses.. i didn't realize it at the time but now i can see how much of a gossip-based social structure it all was.
jws absolutely thrive on gossip.
has anyone else noticed this?
Unbrainwashed:
You are right on target. They are the worst gossips I know. Maybe all fundy's and cults are like this??? Having only been Catholic I have no real comparison. But I tried to figure out why the gossip is so particularly bad among them.
I reasoned that because they are not motivated by love but only performance they feel justified. Also, because they go door-to-door they feel this is a white-wash for any bad they do. They also feel that their "brothers" have to forgive them. They feel that if they die an "Adamic death" their sins will be forgiven, etc., etc. So, because of all of these things, there is no accountability on their part for anything they do.
This unaccountability runs through the whole organization from top to bottom.
LHG
awake to the watchtower
most individuals on this discussion board probably had.
a number of low key warnings regarding whether or not.
Troubled Mind:
I felt as you did about F.S. There was so much gossip going on. I felt the worst offenders are the pioneers, of course, because they are out all the time and some of the older busy-body women felt it was their god-given right to know about everybody else's business. They were "eldresses".
But what really got me was how if they were around somebody who was not a pioneer they would put on a holier-than-thou attitude - like they took it seriously about "older women" being an example. Yeah, right! An example of what not to be!!
I also felt F.S. was a trap and that I had to keep my mouth shut because I would say the wrong thing and I would get a phone call from some over-righteous idiot.
You can rest assured that when you left the group they would start talking about you. Somebody might say something nice to start out but it always degenerated. The only time it didn't degenerate was if a FRIEND of yours was still left in the car group. They would have to watch what they said then.
I never really thought it was a brotherhood. They PURPORT to be a brotherhood but the "brotherliness" or "love" was only seen in cliques or extended family members. It was almost never extended to somebody who was alone or on the fringes of the congregation. Maybe a kind person here or there but certainly not most.
I thought it was a joke how they said "we might have to die for our brother..." Yeah, sure. I don't expect them to but I cannot stand the pretense.
LHG
mark 13: 14 (let the reader use discernment) .
question, is every thought and opinion contained in the bible a divine standard or command from god?
no, and our women have suffered as a result.
What about how women were viewed in the OT. It talks about how she got up early, supervised her staff, etc. etc. This doesn't sound like some stupid wishy, washy sister of today. It sounds like a strong woman who was deserving of respect.
This example in the OT conflicts with what they would like a woman to be today. They have serious issues with intelligent women. Some pathetic brothers would be intimidated by this very capable wife.
L
has anyone ever upon being df'd or da forbade the jws from speaking to them?
sort of as a preemptive strike.
explaining that if they so try you will seek an injunction!.
Gary Buss:
You are right about how most don't meet the minimum standard for an associate.
The problem is: what happens if one of these morons finds themselves working at the same place as you because stranger things have happened? This is where their idiot shunning routine will get them into trouble because many of them are not smart or sophisticated enough to realize they can't behave this way on somebody ELSE's work premises who is paying them. They imagine everywhere they go is like being in the hall.
Personally, I don't care if somebody doesn't want to be my friend. The problem arises if this person finds themselves as my co-worker. They have to talk whether they like it or not because their job requires an interaction with other people. Also, what about now in the age of terrorism where some emergency can break out?
What would this idiot do: refuse to communicate?
L
has anyone ever upon being df'd or da forbade the jws from speaking to them?
sort of as a preemptive strike.
explaining that if they so try you will seek an injunction!.
Gary B:
I know what you mean about hit-and-run shunners. The hypocrites who realize they need something and realize it wouldn't be wise to shut you out.
This was a real issue with me.
What would happen if these "shunners" were in trouble and their so-called spiritual friends were not around and were on vacation somewhere?? Would they seriously expect a person who they were shunning to help them? (And I mean REAL shunning - not just the hot and cold treatment that some people give you.) By what right do they expect this?
They shouldn't even be looking in that person's direction. And IF that person was a bigger person and DID help them, they certainly are NOT deserving, by any stretch of the imagination!
LHG
agapa's quiet admission to "imperfect men" in the congregation inspired me to finish a small bible study on confrontation, and how the early church handled disputes.. (romans 12:18 rv) if it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men.
(2 cor 13:11 cev) good-by, my friends.
do better and pay attention to what i have said.
Yes it is - even if we didn't have biblical accounts of Jesus telling people off.
Doesn't anybody remember that we should have self love? If you let people walk all over you and abuse you that shows a lack of self-esteem. There is a difference between self-esteem and conceit.
Years ago I got into arguments with stupid sisters when I related incidents where I had to confront somebody about something (work or elsewhere). These idiots believe that being a christian means being a doormat (which I wouldn't be even if it WERE required to be a christian). I certainly do not like confrontation and for the most part I shrink from it - until it can no longer be avoided. In almost every instance it was a confrontation with a nervy individual who was really taking advantage.
LHG
