Posts by bythesea

14

Did you attend KH meetings under difficult conditions?

by greendawn in

as jws were you willing to attend meetings even in cases of difficulty such as bad weather, if it was really cold, rainy, snowy, or if you didn't feel really well, or if you had to spend a lot of time to get there by car or public transport?

.

any interesting experiences?

bythesea

The first 5 yrs I was a JW I lived an hour from the KH....dark, windy, country road, often foggy along the river with 2 small children....in the winter it was often icey as well....I don't know what possessed me to drive in those conditions with my children, except I thought I HAD to!

Later, when they were school age, I was working in town and didn't have time to go home from work and turn around to come back in for meetings during the week. My Bible teacher arranged for someone to pick my kids up from school, take them home and feed them at her house and bring them to the KH to meet me there. I took turns having dinner, showering and getting ready for meetings at different bros & sisters home....it was a group effort to make sure I made it to meetings since I lived so far away! I still consider that a loving thing for them to have done for me, but I now also see it in a different light...it was part of the "love bombing" phase. It put me under considerable strain during this time as I had a husband who wasn't getting to see his kids those nights, who couldn't have cared less about WHY I was doing it either!

Can't believe the hoops I jumped through!!

10

Keep in Step!

by Rooster in

keep in step!.

22 kingdom interests on the earth have been entrusted to "the faithful and discreet slave," which is represented by the governing body of jehovahs witnesses.

(matthew 24:45-47) the governing body is primarily concerned with providing spiritual instruction and direction for the christian congregation.

bythesea

Drew....I am just finishing a great book by Don Cameron called "Captives of a Concept" and it is entirely about the scripture in Matt 24 and how everything in the WTS is built around that one idea of JW being chosen by Christ in 1919 and becoming His FDS. Don systematically destroys that idea with their own history...its a fantastic book and everyone who was in and who still HAS loved ones in the org need to read this book! We wonder how they can know their own past history and still remain believers? He explains how that happens!

The last part of the book he shows a great strategy for talking to a JW, questioning this doctrine and getting them to think! I plan on using it with my husband soon as I have all the information in my head! All other teachings depend on the reliability of this one scripture in Matt 24...once it is dismantled the rest automatically crumble!

The book is a quick read...big print and very well done! There's a comment from GaryBus on the back! I highly recommend it!

Bythesea

31

New light re: talking to DF'd persons

by caryl in

jw
friends

i was df'd in 1985 and have not been back since.

of course disowned by my family.

at that time they rarely called or came over because i had small children and they called just enough to semi maintain a relationship with them.

bythesea

Welcome to the board!!!!!

I still attend the KH from time to time(I'm trying to fade!) and don't believe there has been any new light as to how DF folks are to be treated or my faithful hubby would have informed me(in case it was announced when I wasn't there....altho these things usually come out in a mag). We have a son who is DF, along with his wife, and since such new light would affect his relationships with them I am sure he would make sure I was aware of it! As it is, I have refused to shun them and he is doing so less and less....a good sign!!??

As for the elders being so friendly, I believe it is their responsibility to go visit known DF folks in their territory once or twice a year to see if there is any interest in returning to the fold....the friendlier they are to you when they stop by the more enticed you are supposed to be to come back! Look at the love!!! Don't be fooled....nothing has changed....

Bythesea

24

Letting go of the black and white thinking...

by tall penguin in

jw
friends

i think that this is the most difficult lesson in leaving the jw world.

the black and white thinking created such a neat little world where everything was so easily explained and categorized, provided you didn't mind living in a bubble.

i think the one area of black and white thinking that caused me the most difficulty and cognitive dissonance was the question of jehovah's will vs. satan's temptations.

bythesea

Its taken me several months of unraveling the WTS thinking processes, and I'm far from finished, but I've finally come to the place that I'm comfortable just NOT KNOWING...NOT having all the answers. As a jw we had an answer for everything...the GB made up our rules for living, our doctrine and provided us with a response for any question someone might throw at us. In the past year of my trying to fade, and my questioning everything the WTS ever said was "the truth", I have finally been able to tell myself that its OK not to have answers to everything....be it doctrine or whatever. I'd rather humbly say that "I don't know" than repeat(parrot) something because a bunch of guys in NYC decided it should be my truth.

A while back someone wrote in a thread on here this statement: "Its better to have questions without answers than answers you can't question." That really stuck with me....and thanks to whomever wrote it! Its been my mantra lately!!

Bythesea

45

Here it is: my da letter

by BlackSwan of Memphis in

i sent it out nov 14. my bday.

thought that i would finally share it with you guys.

in the end, that story is just not that important now.

bythesea

Black Swan...what a great letter! Very articulate and said with much conviction and sincerity.

I'd also like to borrow some of those thoughts, if that's ok....I've been working on how to talk about some of this with my husband and this is laid out so nicely...I have most of those same notes, but this saves me some time in putting it in a good order!!

Well done!! And have a great rest of your life!!!

Bythesea

6

Watchtower Supports Church Fathers who are apostes

by jcisGod in

justin martyr:

bythesea

WELCOME jcisgod! I appreciated your putting all that together.... and wanted to suggest that if you haven't yet then to take a look at a great research tool called "A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs" by David Bercot. It is a reference guide to over 700 topics discussed by Early Church Fathers...those that you just referred to in your post, and others of the same time period. Its done in an A-Z format so is easy to access information. I found the book in a Barnes & Noble but you might get it on Amazon.com as well.

Yes, the WTS has been VERY selective(and dishonest!) in what they have published from the ante-Nicene fathers....its their attempt to bolster their own theology and make it look like it is the original and true doctrine put forth by Jesus and handed down from there. Its misleading, to say the least....

Thanks for the WT quote about not wasting our time doing research! That was priceless!!!!

I hope we hear more from you ....and give us some personal info about yourself maybe???

Bythesea

11

Is the "Good News" really about 1914?

by rockhound in

"the good news" that jehovahs witnesses preach from door to door, world wide, has a definite theme that is different than "the good news" preached by the churches of christendom.

"let the honest-hearted person compare the kind of preaching of the gospel done by the religious systems of christendom during all the centuries with that done by jehovah's witnesses since the end of world war i in 1918. they are not one and the same kind.

that of jehovah's witnesses is really "gospel" or "good news," as of god's heavenly kingdom that was established by the enthronement of his son jesus christ at the end of the gentile times in 1914.

bythesea

Rockhound, WELCOME TO THE BOARD...don't think I've done that yet! I appreciated your research on the history of the use of 1914 tied in with Bible predictions....good work!

WELCOME also to you, Benjamin B!!!

Honesty...I always enjoy hearing your take and comments on subjects...and I agree that the REAL "Good News" from the Bible DOES go over their heads in the WTS!!! There are far more references in the Bible to "the good news of the Christ" than to "the good news of the kingdom" even tho they do mean one and the same....but interesting that the WTS zeros in mainly on the use of the word "kingdom". For years I've been saying in my mind, "but what about Jesus??" as he is so missing from their message....given lip-service only. The meetings and especially the WT study is grueling for me to sit through anymore....especially when I hear scriptures applied to Jehovah that are meant for Jesus. I could scream!

These are all points that I hope to be able to use with my hubby and I thank you all for them!!

Bythesea

9

Blood Card - Why Bother??

by sammielee24 in

just finished reading the big news essay....gotta read it again because i'm so ticked off i probably missed a few points.

the bottom line that i get from this is that a witness can take blood and it is totally a conscious matter and has been for years!!!

no matter how you cut it, if you can take particles a/b/c/d/e/f/ from blood you might as well take the whole thing.

bythesea

Last time I signed a bloodcard they were handed out and signed within the person's book study group...that was just last year, I think.

I'm kind of sweating it this time...not sure what to do...I'm only going to Sunday meetings now when my hubby is home. He usually attends meetings during the week where he works in another city. I know certain brothers have probably questioned him about my absence from book study and the Mins. School....hubby will want to know what I plan to do about my blood card....should I just show him the article that has come out about the misrepresentation of the facts (and Skyman's scriptural take on it was good too!) and tell him I have to think it through before making a decision? Basically that's the truth...but since I'm trying to fade I really don't want any more connection with them than necessary!

I agree, with all the factions now being allowed how can JW's say they don't take blood still?!

Bythesea

7

feature on panorama

by miss_ellie in

was panarama about j.ws?

does anyone have a videotape i could lend?.

ellie x

bythesea

Thank you, Jourles, for proving that clip....I'm sitting here with tears streaming down my face. I'm just heartsick. I've known about Silent Lambs and the allegations, but to see this all so blatently confirmed just strikes me to the core. I wish I could get my husband to watch it..I'd like to think it would affect him the same way and burst his bubble of denial.

Do you know when this was made or when it aired??

Bythesea

47

Farewell to a friend.

by wanderlustguy in

jw
friends

bythesea

WLG.....missed the oringinal post, but want to send my condolances for your lost....and to her family and other friends as well.

(((((((((hugs))))))))))) Bythesea