i am sort of new here, used a different username for a while but things got 'difficult' at home so i've since been lurking.... what i would be really interested to know, if you don't mind sharing, is what it was that triggered your doubts and initial research which led to awakening, was it a bad experience, injustice, changed doctrine?
for me, it was seeing mistreatment of young ones in the congregation, they're under so much pressure and as soon as they go even slightly astray they are shunned, either informally (as bad associations which pushes them further into the 'world') or formally - with elders dying to throw the book at them so they even lose their family.... ...then reading about child abuse issues in the press.... ...which led me to silentlambs.
...then jw facts, this forum and coc, wham!
What woke me up ...
My mother was married to my abusive father for 30 years. He was also an elder for most of those years. "Jehovah" didn't help us. The other elders didn't help us. Nobody helped us.
When things got so bad that we were in crisis mode, it was only outside agencies and "worldly" people that helped us. Then, I woke up. I was sixteen.
you know about my not-so-ugly divorce and how me and my wife found out the religion is false.
she still attends while my 17 year old has been raging on me about all the wasted time he suffered from by being in this religion.
he think's his life is ruined, very angry we did not learn this was a cult earlier(he was 14 when he stopped attending after reading the revelation book, he said "in all time and history, how could a trumpet blown in revelation have anything to do with a jw bible student convention statement"?.
Even though the witnesses say that you should prove the truth to yourself, or whatever, many people don't because they don't feel the need to prove it to themselves. The indoctrination is so cemented into their minds already that it is the "truth", that many people do not even begin to question anything until they see bad conduct that directly contradicts with what should be in "Jehovah's organization". I think this is especially true if you grew up a JW.
Also, it sounds like your son has very black and white thinking right now, which is carry-over from the JWs. That's the only way they think. Hopefully, with some time and distance from the borg, he will see that not ALL of the JWs are bad, and not everything is either good or evil. I would tell him that if he really wants to distance himself from what the JWs have taught him, he will have to let go of the black and white thinking.
you know about my not-so-ugly divorce and how me and my wife found out the religion is false.
she still attends while my 17 year old has been raging on me about all the wasted time he suffered from by being in this religion.
he think's his life is ruined, very angry we did not learn this was a cult earlier(he was 14 when he stopped attending after reading the revelation book, he said "in all time and history, how could a trumpet blown in revelation have anything to do with a jw bible student convention statement"?.
One of my favorite sayings is:
"When you know better, you do better." - Maya Angelou
Your son is too young and immature to understand this, but I hope one day he will.
It is normal for teenagers (and even young adults) to blame their parents for _________ (insert blank here). We could all blame our parents for something.
One day he will grow up and realize everybody has a screwed up childhood of some sort ... his was just much more "interesting"! All of us have to realize eventually that the past is the past, and ultimately we are responsible for our choices going forward. That is a life lesson to learn no matter how old you are.
i read a comment on another thread that made me think of this topic.. how many catchphrases are used by the gb and organisation in an attempt to control or gain power or prevent questioning?
feel free to list as many as you can think of!.
i'll start:.
"Listen, obey, and be blessed."
This one came years after I left. I don't know how new it is. I just know it gives me chills when I hear it. A very cultish expression, if you ask me.
i read a comment on another thread that made me think of this topic.. how many catchphrases are used by the gb and organisation in an attempt to control or gain power or prevent questioning?
feel free to list as many as you can think of!.
i'll start:.
theocratic warfare
Jehovah's happy people
this system of things or this wicked system of things
and he replied, i do believe that jesus christ is the son of god.acts 8:37 (brg) | in context | whole chapter37 and philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.
the officer said, i believe that jesus christ is the son of god.|acts 8:37 (gnv) | in context | whole chapter37 and philip said unto him, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.
and he answered and said, i believe that jesus christ is the son of god.acts 8:37 (kjv) | in context | whole chapter37 and philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.
Rebelfighter pointed out in another topic that in the JW bible, Acts 8:37 is completely blank (It literally says "---"), while the KJV says:
And Philip said, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
So I searched on biblegateway.com where you can compare several different translations of the same scripture, and it turns out several bibles have Acts 8:37 completely blank!
Does anyone know why? It doesn't seem too controversial of a scripture to me, especially to the JWs since they reject the trinity anyway. I don't think there is a conspiracy or anything! I just want to know why.
Below are the comparisons from different bibles from https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Acts%208:37.
Acts 8:37 (KJ21) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 And Philip said, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Acts 8:37 (ASV) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Acts 8:37 (AMP) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart [if you have a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah and accept Him as the Author of your salvation in the kingdom of God, giving Him your obedience, then] you may. And he replied, I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Acts 8:37 (BRG) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Acts 8:37 (CJB) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37
Acts 8:36-37 (CEV) | In Context | Whole Chapter
36-37 As they were going along the road, they came to a place where there was some water. The official said, “Look! Here is some water. Why can’t I be baptized?”
Acts 8:37 (DLNT) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37
Acts 8:37 (DRA) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 And Philip said: If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answering, said: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Acts 8:37 (ERV) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37
Acts 8:37 (EXB) | In Context | Whole Chapter
|37 Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” The officer said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”|
Acts 8:37 (GNV) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 And Philip said unto him, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. Then he answered, and said, I believe that that Jesus Christ is that Son of God.
Acts 8:37 (GNT) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37
Acts 8:37 (HCSB) | In Context | Whole Chapter
[37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]
Acts 8:37 (ICB) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 [Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” The officer said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]
Acts 8:37 (JUB) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 And Philip said, If thou dost believe with all thine heart, thou may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Acts 8:37 (KJV) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Acts 8:37 (AKJV) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Acts 8:37 (TLB) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 “You can,” Philip answered, “if you believe with all your heart.”
And the eunuch replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Acts 8:36-39 (MSG) | Whole Chapter
36-39 As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, “Here’s water. Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn’t mind. He had what he’d come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.
Acts 8:37 (MEV) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” He answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Acts 8:37 (NABRE) | In Context | Whole Chapter
[37 ]
Acts 8:37 (NASB) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 [And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]
Acts 8:37 (NCV) | In Context | Whole Chapter
[37 Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” The officer said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]
Acts 8:36-37 (NIRV) | In Context | Whole Chapter
36-37 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water. The official said, “Look! Here is water! What can stop me from being baptized?”
Acts 8:37 (NIV) | In Context | Whole Chapter
[37]
Acts 8:37 (NIVUK) | In Context | Whole Chapter
Acts 8:37 (NKJV) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Acts 8:37 (NLV) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 (*Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The man said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”)
Gevurot 8:37 (OJB) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 [And Philippos said, “If you have emunah b’chol levavcha, it is mutar. And he answered, saying, Ani ma’amin ki Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua Ben HaElohim hu.]
Acts 8:37 (VOICE) | In Context | Whole Chapter
Philip: [37 If you believe in your heart that Jesus the Anointed is God’s Son, then nothing can stop you.
The Ethiopian said that he believed.]
Acts 8:37 (WEB) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37
Acts 8:37 (WE) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 Philip answered, `If you believe with all your heart, you may be baptised.' The man said, `I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'
Acts 8:37 (WYC) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 And Philip said, If thou believest of all thine heart, it is leaveful. And he answered, and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Acts 8:37 (YLT) | In Context | Whole Chapter
37 [And Philip said, `If thou dost believe out of all the heart, it is lawful;' and he answering said, `I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God;']
21st Century King James Version (KJ21) Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.; American Standard Version (ASV) Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?); Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation; BRG Bible (BRG) Blue Red and Gold Letter Edition™ Copyright © 2012 BRG Bible Ministries. Used by Permission. All rights reserved. BRG Bible is a Registered Trademark in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office #4145648; Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved. ; Contemporary English Version (CEV) Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society; Disciples’ Literal New Testament (DLNT) Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing; Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA) Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?); Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) Copyright © 2006 by World Bible Translation Center; Expanded Bible(EXB) The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved. ; 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts. ; Good News Translation (GNT) Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society; Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.; International Children’s Bible (ICB) The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible, Copyright © 2015 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved. ; Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) 2000, 2001, 2010 by LIFE SENTENCE Publishing; King James Version(KJV) by Public Domain; Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV) KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.; Living Bible (TLB) The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.; The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson; Modern English Version (MEV) The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. ; New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE) Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. ; New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation; New Century Version (NCV) The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.; New International Reader's Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.; New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.; New International Version - UK(NIVUK) Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.; New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.; New Life Version (NLV) Copyright © 1969 by Christian Literature International; Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB) Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International; The Voice (VOICE) The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. ; World English Bible (WEB) by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.; Worldwide English (New Testament) (WE) © 1969, 1971, 1996, 1998 by SOON Educational Publications; Wycliffe Bible (WYC)2001 by Terence P. Noble; Young's Literal Translation (YLT) by Public Domain
hi, for a couple of months now.
i stopped (after some 17 years) visiting meetings etc.
my intellect and conscience could not longer stand the lectures from the platform and in the magazines.
If you plan to persuade her to leave by using your position as "head of the house", I hope you can see that you will fail.
In fact, I don't see this tactic being successful in any situation. If my husband were to tell me I had to do something he wants me to do because "the man is head of the woman", his head would promptly be shoved up his ass. By me.
as a very young child i have memories of several book burnings done by jw families.
it wasn't something arranged by the congregation, but elders did participate in it.
it was actually scary for me as a child of only about 8 years old.
not books - but I do remember a rug burning because it was possessed by a demon who would vacuum and clean house after the couple had gone to bed.
Now that is one demon I would not get rid of!
it has been interesting to see the shift in financial strategies that the wts is implementing recently.
from reading recent threads, it appears like 'they' are adopting a tithing donation system, similar to what is practised in "those wicked churches of christendoom".
i am curious as to who it is that stands to benefit the most tax wise in this recent shift.
in the watchtower august 15 in the topic: "let the many islands rejoice" appears the following paragraph: .
then, however, it came time for a serious decision.
would i accept a scholarship to go to university?
_Morpheus:
Yawn... Yea and im the duke of Earl.
I'm not sure if you are implying that I am lying or not, but either way, you just sound like an ass.
_Morpheus:
As the parent of multiple high school children in the USA you are incorrect ...
Morpheus:
Everybody is an expert on everything on the internet with specialized training in every field.
You are so right. And it sounded to me like you were using your "expertise" as a parent to substantiate why you thought I was incorrect, and you knew better. So, I simply let you know my area of expertise to substantiate what I was telling you about how scholarships are awarded, and yes, even academic ones, BEFORE kids graduate. All scholarships come with conditions that have to be met before any money is released. Usually, that entails actually graduating and having the required GPA.
