Posts by bythesea

31

Need help! Have you read Randy's books?

by bythesea in

jw
friends

hey gang, i have been searching for a way to dent my hubby's mindset on the theology of jws and came across two books by randy watters that i wondered if any of you had found useful.

"refuting jws" and "the truth will set you free".

if any of you have read these i'd appreciate some feedback from you before ordering them.

bythesea

Gary, I do agree with you that a person sometimes will hold onto something they no longer believe in simply because it is too scarey to think about what will happen if they let go of that belief system...it does fulfill them in some way. I know my husband feels it saved him from a life of debauchary(he's from a long line of alcoholics) and probably feels its the reason we've remained married for 30+ yrs since we both come from broken homes as kids and there is little stability in the family life of his siblings. So, even if their doctrine were to be shown as not scriptural he'd still say that its the best thing going for him. I've tried to point out that people of other faiths can make the same claims, its the BIBLE thats responsible for the changes...if a person is applying it in their lives then regardless of what denomination they are their life is going to improve. He says "by their fruits you will know them"....he has no idea what all those fruits are!!! He's ignorant of the pedophile scandal, the UN, Mexico/Malawai, etc....his personal experience has always been a good one with the bros.

I am leaning to agree with you, Gary, that JW do not know Christ...this has been a complain of mine that I've voiced many times to my hubby....WHAT ABOUT JESUS??!! I've gotten so tired of all the lessons being focused around the OT and Jehovah! Jesus is given lipservice and nothing more.

So many on this forum have had such awful experiences with their bros, the Society as a whole....if he'd experienced any of that he might be easier to reason with, but he isn't the least disillusioned about them....

Bigmouth(Pete)....yes, my husband does treat me well....he's not at all abusive in any way....and its only been since my fading that he's gotten so defensive and that we've "had words"....he's always allowed me WAY more latitude to come and go, make my own decisions about things than most JW husbands....I think our previous hippie lifestyle is to my advantage there! But he's threatened now, sees the one basis for our marriage slipping away....I am constantly reassuring him that I'm here because of my love for him....not because a group of men in NY are making me stay and that I have no intention of going out and having an affair or doing some UNChristian!

Thanks to everyone who has responded....it helps so much to know I can come on here and vent some and get some feedback in this difficult journey....I so want my family to know the REAL truth! I doubt it will happen soon, but I will continue to chip away when I can!

Love to all Bythesea

31

Need help! Have you read Randy's books?

by bythesea in

jw
friends

hey gang, i have been searching for a way to dent my hubby's mindset on the theology of jws and came across two books by randy watters that i wondered if any of you had found useful.

"refuting jws" and "the truth will set you free".

if any of you have read these i'd appreciate some feedback from you before ordering them.

bythesea

Thank you one and all! I can't respond right now, hubby is home, but will get back to you soon!

WELCOME VAN GOGH!! Appreciated your insights!! Hope we keep hearing from you!

bythesea

31

Need help! Have you read Randy's books?

by bythesea in

jw
friends

hey gang, i have been searching for a way to dent my hubby's mindset on the theology of jws and came across two books by randy watters that i wondered if any of you had found useful.

"refuting jws" and "the truth will set you free".

if any of you have read these i'd appreciate some feedback from you before ordering them.

bythesea

Goldminer....I appreciate your suggestions...and have approached him about the necessity of having an Org and governing body today....he stands by the JW teaching that Matt:24:45-47 of the FDS and that God has ALWAYS had an org on earth to take care of his people and dealings. He points to the time of Moses, when he chose men to assist him in dealing with the issues of the Israelites as they were wandering in the wilderness....and of course, the GB in Jerus. when Paul went to them over the circumcision problem. I get the standard answers.... Interesting that the elder you asked COULDN'T prove it from the Bible, tho!! I managed to smuggle Franz' 2 books into our house and now have them and all my internet printouts stashed in various places....its not easy....I feel sneaky and deceptive and constantly have to worry about what he might find!! My married life was never like this until I questioned our religion.....

NewLight2: Thanks for the books...I actually have looked at the one on Reasoning from the Scriptures.... and it opened my eyes to many things back last Spring...and my JW son saw it on my table and called my husband who proceeded to hurry home while I was at work and go into our computer and find my correspondence with an exJW woman! It was DDay around here!!!!! That's when I learned to be much more cautious in how I was handling things.... Thanks for the two new sites...they both look very helpful!!

Thank you both!!!!! bythesea

31

Need help! Have you read Randy's books?

by bythesea in

jw
friends

hey gang, i have been searching for a way to dent my hubby's mindset on the theology of jws and came across two books by randy watters that i wondered if any of you had found useful.

"refuting jws" and "the truth will set you free".

if any of you have read these i'd appreciate some feedback from you before ordering them.

bythesea

Hey gang, I have been searching for a way to dent my hubby's mindset on the theology of JWs and came across two books by Randy Watters that I wondered if any of you had found useful. "Refuting JWs" and "The Truth will set you Free". If any of you have read these I'd appreciate some feedback from you before ordering them.

Hubby can make excuses for all the Org flip-flops, etc since they're still imperfect men but still believes they teach "the truth" from the Bible.

I have been fading since the beginning of the year and he and I are now at the point of having to discuss the matter...I need help proving the WTS wrong from a scriptural point of view!! That's the only way it looks like I will ever make any headway with him. I haven't approached 607 vs 586/7 but am more interested in doctrinal teachings. Is that what Randy's books go into? If anyone has other books they'd recommend on this matter please let me know! He won't read anything I have taken off the internet or that he thinks has been tainted by apostates. I need to just be able to use the Bible to refute their claims. Thanks for your help!

Bythesea

13

why do people wanna join the jehovah witnesses group

by force in

jw
friends

i dont get it.. .

they dont celbrate xmas, new year, birthdays, easter, valentine day.

they only can mix with other jw.

bythesea

It hasn't been an easy thing to admit to myself but I've come to realize that the biggest draw I had to becoming a JW was so that my family would accept me. I had grown up apart from my mother, whose entire family were JWs, until I was a teenager. When I went to live with them I found I had sisters and brothers...a ready-made family, and I sat in on the family BS at that point and it felt good to belong to the group. Later, after I left home(this was in the late 60's) I lived a hippie lifestyle and mostly forgot things I'd learned from the bible....I got into the more Eastern Religions and was happy with my life. It wasn't the life that you sometimes see portrayed on TV of hippies...we (my husband and I) lived in the mountains on acreage, had a huge organic garden, goats, chickens, our kids ran around naked chasing the dog, we made our own electricity...we lived close to the earth, took care of it, and I felt close to God. I felt I DID live in a Paradise earth. Yeah, we smoked some weed, but it was organic.

Fast forward a few years, a carload of sisters pull up into my driveway! How did they even find me?? Holy Spirit, for sure! I made the mistake of saying that I had lots of family that were JW...so they came back, and came back...I studied for 5 years!! That has to be some kind of record, right? During those years I studied my family took me into the fold again, not having been happy with me for the life I was leading living in the woods even tho we lived a very moral simple life(isn't that what JWs are supposed to do anyway??)but now they could look aside at HOW I lived and I was a part of the family again....THAT was what hooked me more than anything I learned from the Bible study. One clincher was when it was pointed out to me that at the time of the Flood many "good" women and their children perished....so I did feel impelled to do anything that would save my kids. And they did seem to have "proof" from the Bible that what they taught was right.... the lack holiday stuff didn't bother me.... Mainly I just wanted to save my kids lives and be accepted by my family again. And at the time I thought it was all true. bythesea

19

creation of joel

by joelbear in

jw
friends

.

bythesea

Very cool, Joel!! I loved ceramics in high school....do you have your own wheel???

I love your glazes...great colors!

You and Ritchie at the wheel...ala Ghost....nope...don't wanna go there!!!

bythesea

10

Growing Up As A Transsexual In The Jehovahs Witnesses Organization

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

[dear randy, i stumbled upon your website, stories from the watchtower world, a few years ago.

i wished to write and inform you that the content has helped me a great deal in coming to terms with the loss of a faith that constituted my entire frame of mind.

technically i left the organization when i was 14 but i didnt truly take back my heart and mind until around 20-21 years of age.

bythesea

Ooops...thanks Enigma One....didn't know that Randy and Dogpatch were one and the same...I'm still a Newbie, remember?!

Hugs to both of them, then!!!! bythesea

10

Growing Up As A Transsexual In The Jehovahs Witnesses Organization

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

[dear randy, i stumbled upon your website, stories from the watchtower world, a few years ago.

i wished to write and inform you that the content has helped me a great deal in coming to terms with the loss of a faith that constituted my entire frame of mind.

technically i left the organization when i was 14 but i didnt truly take back my heart and mind until around 20-21 years of age.

bythesea

WOW Jessica/Dogpatch!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))))))) What an ordeal you have had to go through...I'm so happy you and your grandmother have kept close, that you have someone in the family that will show you true love and acceptance.

You are brave to be the person who you feel you truly are inside and I applaud you! And I'm glad that you recognize now that its the men of the JW/org who have rejected you...not God.....do you have a place you worship today or how do you express your spirituality these days?

And is that a picture of Randy Watters as your avatar??!!

Hope we will hear more from you, Jessica!

Bythesea

173

Birthday celebrations and customs - Are they for Christians?

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

i sent my birthday document (http://thebentinel.com/jw-birthdays.html) to a poster here that is at the very least a jw-sympathizer, if not a full-blown jw.

the response i got back indicated that my reasoning on it was seriously flawed and essentially any idiot with a passing knowledge of scripture and history can tell that birthdays are not something christians should celebrate.. of course, if you're not a bible-believer or a god-believer, you couldn't care less about pagan origins and all that.

but let's keep this conversation on the 'appropriate for christians' vein.

bythesea

OK, so I'm curious....what constitutes an actual CELEBRATION of a birthday??? If I don't have a cake and candles, if there are no prettily wrapped gifts for the person to open...BUT I have made their favorite dinner (per their choice) and we open a nice bottle of wine (not an every night occasion) and give the person an "I love you" card...is THAT celebrating their birthday???

What makes the difference between acknowledging the date and celebrating it??

I'm extremely glad that I gave birth to my children and every year as they were growing up I did something special with them on that day, even if just a craft project or a trip into town to stop for ice cream...and I let them know the day was special to me because they were a blessing to me from God....was that wrong, SS???

38

I just found this site....THANK GOD!

by confused_101 in

jw
friends

ok long story short i was baptized at 17 (because i felt pressured into it), and i was df about 2yrs ago i believe (i'm 27 now).

i wasn't at the final meeting, or any meeting about my dfing.

i had an elder call me twice at work and tell me that there was meeting that night.

bythesea

WELCOME CONFUSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're glad you found this site too! You will find people from all kinds of situations here and able to offer insights and their experiences to help you along your way. Many well-read types too....hopefully you won't have to remain "confused" for too long! I hope we hear from again soon! Try reading "The best of..." section to start getting info on all kinds of topics!

Bythesea