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What is especially bizzare is that this guy may actually use your criticisms of this religion as a reason for getting more involved with the JWs. In essence, he may start believe that God is giving him a 'wake up call' simply because you have challenged his beliefs.
The sad truth is that many lapse JWs still believe all of the manipulative garbage that was taught to them. It "haunts" them wherever they go (actual words once told to my by a lapse JW).
i really want to believe it, but, sometimes it is very difficult to figure out how it can be from god.
i mean, in the old testament, he seems horrible in some instances.
the adam and eve thing doesn't make to much sense to me.
Part of the problem you are having is most likely coming from confusion caused by the protestant 'sola scriptura' mindset.
The Bible is not one complete book. Instead, it is a specific collection of books that may or may not share the same point of view.
Rather than trying to find the "theme of the Bible" (whatever that may be!) your better served spending time with each book, considering what its audience was, the point of view contained within, etc.
I would also suggest you get yourself familiar with current biblical scholarship. This book is a great introduction to the New Testament:
http://www.amazon.com/New-Testament-Historical-Introduction-Christian/dp/0195154622
i do not believe there is any bible precedent for the wt teaching that the origin of some celebration is important...as in it is pagan...and back in 1914 holidays and b-days were ok...i know that changed, but why?...why did all of a sudden it matter the origin of it?...i tried to get wife to see the folly of the wt position of saying pinatas dont matter now despite an evil disgusting satanic wicked origin...to no avail.
on a side note of similar interest...who came up with the teaching inanimate objects could be possessed by demons when it never happened in the bible and how often do they do that anymore?.........thanks....see i can still be serious!.......oompa.
What is most ironic is that the origins of many Watchtower teachings reveal that the Witnesses themselves believe things because of factors outside of pure biblical command.
The best example is the 144,000. After the 1925 failure many left the Bible students group, leading Rutherford to proclaim that the number of believers would continue to shrink untill armageddeon. But then the great depression happened, and suddenly people began coming into the group because of the hope it provided. Rutherford had to find a way around his statement that the anointed would continue to shrink, so he created his Jonadabs theology, which became the basis for the 144,000 teaching.
So the entire creation of 'two classes of christians' came about because somebody had to explain an unexpected shift. I once had a JW tell me that this event was actually a miracle. It was reasoned that since people were coming into the organization, but nobody knew what their hope was, Holy Spirit was working and not just the actions of men.
Of course, this is proven wrong by simply reading the magazines from that time. It is quite clear that people coming into the org prior to the labeling of the Jonadab class were told that they were not of the anointed. So much for holy spirit!
actually it is a macedonian commercial supporting return of religion lessons to schools.. btw, this "famous" story about little albert einstein (my grandpa ) is not considered likely to happen... ae as a kid was shy and did not really talk about god and spiritual issues.... but what do you think about the discussion?.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s8_2tcivuc&feature=player_embedded.
albert.
Another interesting fact: Albert Einstein was not religious and did not believe in the existence of a "personal" god. At the very least, he was a humanist, possibly even an Atheist.
Religious fanatics like to do the same thing with Isaac Newton. They believe that by associating their own views with a famous "smart person" (no matter how far removed or different the actual opinions of that person are) they somehow prove their argument.
It's an easy argument to make, despite its faults. For this reason, I think we will be seeing it for a long time...
i wasn't going to post this video but alot of people are finding it funny online so i figured i'd share..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwezb1donc0.
Lol,
I pretty much have always felt the same way, although during my time in the JWs my imagination led me around a bit. I remember one time having a dream similiar to what your mother described, a demon started attacking and I yelled "jehovah' and it was over.
Yet, it was a dream. I've also had dreams in which I talk with dinosaurs, fly through the air, and do other things that are beyond reality.
I remember one time being over a friends house playing with a ouija board. I thought the entire thing was bogus, and decided to ask the board questions like "are you stupid" and then push the playing piece towards the "yes" answer. My friend freaked out, thinking that we would be cursed.
Years later, after becoming a JW, I told another JW this story. I said that I didn't believe ouija boards had any powers, and that all they did was channel the imaginations of the suckers who are stupid enough to use them. She looked at me like I was crazy. I specifically remember her getting mad because I didn't take the threat of demons seriously enough
(i think i spelt it right??).
99 out of 100 jws won't be able to spot the jest ---- why??.
because they are mentally conditioned thru 5 mind control meetings per week to ignore jests of any kind.. (the gb would never allow jests in the artwork).
I love this picture. He has a number of inconsistencies that always made me wonder how lazy the art deparment is.
- The barrel, as pictured in a caption, is dumping its contents into the river!
- Look at the pipes on the right. The red one is cut off by the barrel caption. The others are cut off by a wall of water. I think this is the end result of splicing two (very bad) colored pencil drawings togeather.
- Look at the ship in the top left corner and compare it to the pipes. Just another example of how badly the water level of the river/bay is conceptualized in the picture.
Great article JW facts, I had no idea Matthew 5:5 only applied to the anointed .
i've read a few other threads about cult mind control as well as steven hassans book comabatting cult mind control.
i also read a thread questioning the watchtowers motives.
are they in it for the money or what?
They know what they are using, but wouldn't dare call it 'mind control'. Rather, they call it "Jehovah's Way".
It is all about tradition. The goofy men that created this religion years ago created traditions, and now people willingly fight to maintain them. To accept that the traditions are bad means to accept that "gods organization" has been wrong for decades. Rather than admit the obvious, they flop around in their denial and support the abusive policies.
Blood, information control, 1914, disfellowshipping, dissassociation, the other sheep; all are traditions that must be maintained. They are deemed to be 'right' because they have always been used by the org, not because they are actually acceptable.
.
words fail me.. .
om & wife!.
Congrats, this is amazing news.
I knew that things would work out for you. You didn't get emtional, but instead stuck it out and patiently did your best. I'm very glad to hear about this.
my cong was very keen on having the meeting no matter what.
i remember one occasion when we had a power cut in the middle of winter.
due to the fact that there was no windows to the hall (!
I remember one time the power went out. There was a battery powered emergency light on the wall near an exit door to the left of the stage. The watchtower study conductor stood by in and asked questions while people shouted the answers. They finished the meeting by having the WT conductor play the piano while everybody sang along.
