Posts by drew sagan

9

Survey: Are JWs superstitious?

by osmosis in

jw
friends

i've often noticed various superstitions in my aunt & uncle.

for example, on at least two occasions i remember my aunt talking about blood transfusions and when actually pressed on the matter, she resorts to an argument that is essentially superstitious, something about jesus saying the life force was in the blood or something.

and they actually believe that there are demons, so therefore there are certain things you shouldn't touch or look at, like outsider information.

drew sagan

66

How many left of 144,000?

by annalice in

jw
friends

i just saw a feb 1, 2006 watchtower.

there were 8,524 memorial partakers.

isn't that a bit high?

drew sagan

I allways get a kick out of the fact that they do not publish how many people partake of the embelems from a particular country. To many JWs would think somthing is wrong when a country that was reached after 35 has partakers.

5

Apostolic Succession and the Govenring Body

by drew sagan in

the watchtower feels that there was two governing bodies.

one in the first century, and of course the one that has "appeared" in the 19th century.

a huge question that i've never heard the watchtower explain (mabye you can point me in the right direction) is why did jesus apostles, the members of the original governing body not appoint succesors to the governing body?

drew sagan

The Watchtower feels that there was two Governing Bodies. One in the first century, and of course the one that has "appeared" in the 19th century.
A huge question that I've never heard the Watchtower explain (mabye you can point me in the right direction) is why did jesus apostles, the members of the original governing body not appoint succesors to the governing body? Why was not this important fundamental body of christian leaders allowed to break up and dissapear? Wouldn't Christ have talked about this at all during his earthly ministry if this would have been true?
Many of us know that when talking to other witnesses that most look upon the beliefs of lets say the Catholics and Apostolic Succession as a joke, something that is more hoped for than seems to be reality. But the idea that these men in the 19th century onward somehow fill the same position of men almost two thousand years ago, with a giant gap in the middle seems to be even more preposterous. And not only that the WTS on the subject is absurd, but it is so very similiar to what they have been condemning.
Since the "original" governing body never appointed successors, why isn't the modern governing body should of the same form? Why did the original hand picked disciples of Christ last a shorter amount of time than the modern one?
So many of us while JW thought that everything we believed was logical and simply made sense. We didn't look at the things being done in the orgainzation as resembling the wild claims that others make, instead we viewed them as simply the logical way christians today would carry out the work of God. That's where I think we all had the biggest fault, we failed to see that little by little the Society wasn't simply doing things because the bible said so or because it made logical sense. Instead it was about preservation of the orgaization and it's goals. Getting people to believe that God is directly behind an organization helps retain members and sustain organization. I don't doubt the sincerity of those who write the magazines and lead this organization simply because I was blinded by the same kind of thinking, I myself took part in it. I know what it's like to believe things out of passion instead of truth.

6

Can questions or opinions presented as such, be lies?

by DavidChristopher in

i have been accused many times lately for telling and believing lies.

all i think i am doing is asking questions and letting my opinions be known.

imo.

drew sagan

Sometimes a person can be accused of telling lies and believing lies because of the way they present themself. If you become anxious and worked up you look to be someone who is haughty and arrogent.
I have found out through expierance that getting worked up and trying to prove your point to people simply dosn't work, especially with JWs. You really have to take the higher ground, which can be a very difficult thing to do.
Instead of saying that "I think the Watchtower lied here" or that kind of stuff I like to instead bring out the points that bother me very calmly and reasonably, and then say that to me they just don't seem to add up. I do it with such tact that people usually follow what I am saying and take to it very well. I learned this early on. I had a few instances where i went to far and could tell that they may have felt that I was making up stuff or had been eaisly pursuaded by lies.
I don't know anything about you, so none of this could apply to you, but this was my expierance. I thought it was along the same lines.

14

Outdoor Spirituality.

by jeeprube in

jw
friends

i often find myself engaged in outdoors activities.

once while fly-fishing on a sunday, i realized a deep spiritual feeling.

standing in a trout stream, watching an otter swim by, and listening to the gurgle of moving water, i felt closer to god than i ever had in a kingdom hall.. has anyone else ever felt this?

drew sagan

yes, yes, yes, yes, and um.... YES!
Isn't it funny how you can go on a hike and find more spiritually in a rock than you will in any of mans religious institutions.

9

Top 10 Signs You're In a Cult

by onesong in

based on steven hassan's book combatting cult mind control.

10. autonomy and individuality are discouraged.

dependence, conformity and obedience are encouraged and sometimes required.. 9. a person must shed his old identity and aquire a new one that is desired by the group.. 8. the information one is allowed to access and be exposed to is tightly restricted.. 7. the doctrine claims to answer all questions and problems.

drew sagan

JWs arn't a cult, they just like to be in control. What's wrong with that?

16

Does Jehovah Witnesses have the worst teachings?.

by GodisRight in

the dubs condem all other denominations professing faith in christ as apostates.

they teach that christendom will suffer destruction as a part of babylon the great by the hands of god.. however, here is the thing.

my recent findings suggest jehovah witness falsely interpret and bend scriptures out of context more than any other religion i have come in to contact with.

drew sagan

The sad thing is how many things out there are so much worse. The mormons and JWs are compared to each other all the time, but in my opinion there is a group that is much worse. I'll take the watchtower over dianetics any day, at least the watchtower makes a weak attempt to make logical sense.

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