first off, i'd like to state that i currently have "privileges" in the congregation and volunteer at bethel on and off throughout the year.
that's as much information as i will currently give about myself.. starting off, i think something big is coming in the form of lawsuits and bad pr.
they seem to be batting down the hatches in preparation for something the last few years and even more so the last few months.
The economy is in crisis. And IT IS NOT GROWING.
This is an important point. The world is in a technical depression. And whilst there is some growth in the US at the moment due to money printing, it is not real growth. The US economy could quick slip back into a recession. If Watchtower is barely treading water now, then another recession could quickly deplete their bank balances. They may be worrying more about what will happen in the next couple of years than how bad things are right now.
a lot of people, ex-jws, believers and unbelievers alike, think that jw's are just a somewhat kooky brand of christianity.
is it possible to "try and follow jesus" and not be christian?
what exactly makes someone a christian?
You don't like his words because his words are truth.
Perry you are totally missing the point. I didn't say I didn't like his words. My point is you cannot say JWs are not Christian on the basis that they have a different interpretation of the New Covenant than you. They do not reject it, they just interpret the manner in which it works differently than you do.
There is no benefit in people making ignorant claims that JWs are not Christian. It helps no one. They follow Christ, according to their understanding of his requirements, more diligently than most Christians. JWs need to be helped leave by showing them accurate information about how they are being controlled and misled, not by making outlandish statements that they will instantly dismiss as wrong and put them on the offensive.
a lot of people, ex-jws, believers and unbelievers alike, think that jw's are just a somewhat kooky brand of christianity.
is it possible to "try and follow jesus" and not be christian?
what exactly makes someone a christian?
This is YOUR definition not Christs' definition.
That was not my definition, it is from a dictionary. Jesus never used the word Christian, so you are misrepresenting him when you say you are giving his definition. You are cherry picking Scriptures to support your position as to what was most important to Jesus, just as JWs do.
a lot of people, ex-jws, believers and unbelievers alike, think that jw's are just a somewhat kooky brand of christianity.
is it possible to "try and follow jesus" and not be christian?
what exactly makes someone a christian?
And Jehovah's Witnesses are unique in their outright rejection of the New Covenant, the one that offers forgiveness of sins.
The definition of Christian is someone that believes in Christ, it is not someone that accepts the New Covenant. That is just your interpretation of what is important. A Hindu/Muslim would have no difficulty recognizing a JW as Christian, it is only Christians that are splitting hairs to differentiate themselves. I see your definition as nothing other than a marketing ploy.
Jehovah's Witnesses reject the Blood of the Covenant for themselves personally. This is fundamental to what being a Christian is.
Who says acceptance of the covenant is fundamental? Scriptures such as Acts 16:31, John 17:3 shows it is belief in Jesus.
Further, JWs do accept the New Covenant, they just believe it is mediated to them through the anointed. Just because the 144,000 have inserted themselves as an intermediary does not mean the New Covenant is rejected. I disagree with this Watchtower doctrine, but it does not mean they are not Christian.
a lot of people, ex-jws, believers and unbelievers alike, think that jw's are just a somewhat kooky brand of christianity.
is it possible to "try and follow jesus" and not be christian?
what exactly makes someone a christian?
There are 30,000 Christian sects, with a wide range of interpretations, so to claim Christianity has to do with following your particular doctrinal understanding is illogical.
Of course JWs are Christian.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/christian
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/christian
someone who believes in and follows the teachings of JesusChrist
JWs believe in Jesus and follow their interpretation of his teachings, just as you do, and people of any of the 30,000 Christian sects do. They think your interpretation is flawed just as you think their interpretation is flawed.
Funny that you say they are not Christian, they say you are not a true Christian, but you are both are both trying to achieve the same thing.
i've always wondered about this.
i've always felt the main reason the borg made publishers do time slips/field service reports was to show that they are doing a community service to justify their tax exempt status.
we all know about their money grabs with the kh build scams, their selling off millions of dollars in real estate, etc.
I think it needs to come when all religion have tax exempt status revoked.
Tax is only on the profits that an organisation makes, not their revenue. If a religion is making large profits, it is an indication it is hoarding its donations, therefore I can see no reason it should not be taxed. Any legitimate group that is putting money back into the community through charitable works does not need to be concerned with paying excessive taxes.
jws feel that their strength lies in the power of bible to foretell.
however, an impartial analysis would show that bibles prophecies are too general, and yet some of the major developments in the world scene were not figured in its propheciesespecially those that are very much needed for what it calls last days.
to mention a few:.
Yes the Bible only mentions things common in local area and were already common, such as famine and war.
It fails completely to discuss the dangers happening in other parts of the world, such as cyclones and floods. Or future events such as nuclear or chemical warfare, terrorism, and global warming.
one of the things that gave me confidence in life was that i believed i had the almighty creator/god watching over me, directing me, guiding my every step, protecting me from harm, and answering my prayers.
i now know that is not the case anymore.
i finally stopped praying.
let's pretend this might happen.
im not asking what it will mean for the jdubs or for the organization, but what will it mean for you---- if one day you wake up and the watchtower drops the 1914 doctrine.. (you know at some point they have to, but probably not our lifetime).
if you are disfellowshipped or disassociated and have been shunned by your parents, by your children, by you spouse or ex-husband/wife, for years or even less, will you call your relatives and ask/tell them;.
I had discussions with my family before I was d/f and it was not logic that held them in, but rather their own insecurities.
I would not bother talking to them about it. They would be annoyed that I was gloating at them, but will have found a way to reconcile the changes.
It won't make a difference to most, unless there are some other emotional or doctrinal issues already disturbing them.
as i am newly awoken, i am daily having epiphanies & revelations now.
i've been casually wondering to myself since the propagandist broadcast about the name "jehovah" if it would be more proper to call him "yahweh" to myself.
well tonight the answer suddenly came to me: it doesn't matter.
Spot on. I would never have called my father by his first name, that would have been very disrespectful. Neither is Jesus ever recorded as using God's name, but rather terms like father.
