i was in the grocery store and met a cousin i haven't seen in years.
the first thing he asked me was, do you go to the meeting now?
he mentioned how armageddon was so close.
PMJ., You're the one who made the statement with no proof. You've been called on it. It is up to you to prove your statement.
Even if what you say is true (which you can't prove) the apostles did not behave as the wt does. (demanding obedience but accepting no responsibility)
Truth doesn't change. If it has to change it wasn't true to begin with. If it wasn't true to begin with, then it did not come from God.
Coffee
where i live, you can smell the odor of paper mills.
it's a port city and people speak french here.
i think the average age of people here is one of the higest in canada.. there is a shrine that attracts many tourists in the summer time.
So this is good old ******,
The home of the bean and the cod,
Where the Lowells talk only to the Cabots,
And the Cabots talk only to God."
Had a big tea party long ago... Cotton Mather lived here. Paul Revere rode his horse here. Traffic is almost always terrible. Lots of historic buildings, museums, great football & baseball teams and a very high cost of living.
Coffee
as shown by the text below, the 7-headed wild beast has a name.. 16 and it puts under compulsion all persons, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, that they should give these a mark in their right hand or upon their forehead, 17 and that nobody might be able to buy or sell except a person having the mark, the name of the wild beast or the number of its name.
18 here is where wisdom comes in: let the one that has intelligence calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is a mans number; and its number is six hundred and sixty-six.
of course the beast's "number" is "666" -- but that's not it's "name".
This made me curious, so I googled "666 Hebrew" and found websites that made calculations from the Hebrew characters that supposedly prove that the following are the antichrist of Revelation: Bill Clinton, George Bush, Nero, Alistair Crowly and others.
Moral of the story: You can manipulate scripture to mean anything you want it to mean.
Coffee
well today i was having lunch with my mother, who is inactive, and hasn't been to the hall in a couple of years.
recently she's been hounded by the elders, because of all of the christmas decorations.
even though she hasn't disassociated herself, and she won't because she doesn't want to alienate herself from her family, she attends another church.
It's hard for some to admit they were in a cult. My best friend (who left the borg long before I did) was shocked when I called it a cult. She knew it was bs...but the word "cult" is a tough one to swallow. Most people think you have to be pretty stupid to get involved with a cult....
Coffee
like so many people, i'm (very carefully)trying to convey the obvious "truth" about the wtb&ts to some of the members of my family.
is there any key point that "stands out" in your memory as pivotal in the opening of your eyes?
or any particular point that may have opened the eyes of your loved ones?
There were a number of things over the years that bothered me. I tried to "wait on Jehovah"....but eventually couldn't ignore the obvious.
First thing that got me thinking was: My dad died in 1978 of kidney failure. He was on dialysis for a number of years...eventually it wasn't enough. He could have had a transplant...I remember the discussions we had. Mom finally explained that due to the society's position that it would be canabalism, it was out of the question. Two years after his death the society changed their position to make it a matter of conscience. When that came out in a "Questions from the Readers" column, I was stunned. I stayed in for another 10 years, but my eyes had started to open.
When my daughter became a teenager she kept asking where the love was. I had always taught her that, just as Jesus said, love is the identifying mark of His followers. She kept asking where it was. Instead, she saw the gossiping, backbiting, two faced behavior of nearly every jw she encountered.
When my son was about 7, we had an elder's son his age over for a visit. They were outside in our front yard playing when a neighbor friend of my son came over. This elder's son screamed at him, telling him that Jehovah hated him because he wasn't a jw and that he would die at armageddon. My son was horrified...and the poor non jw child started crying. I heard the commotion & went outside. My son comforted his friend, while I brought the elder's son inside while I called his father to come and get him. I began to wonder what kind of religion would teach a child to hate. I began to see the subtle ways in which this hatred is expressed throughout the organization. I knew it couldn't be "the only true religion" when it was infused with such hatred.
It took a long time for me to give myself permission to really examine my belief system and the organization that shaped it. Once I started, it was like a house of cards....Once I started looking, I found the false prophecies, changing teachings, lies and all the rest. Decided I couldn't be part of such filth.
Coffee
i was searching on the web for something unrelated to jw stuff, and came across the following:.
http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/contents/treatises/1906cr.htm.
thought some might find it interesting.. coffee
I was searching on the web for something unrelated to jw stuff, and came across the following:
http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/Contents/treatises/1906cr.htm
Thought some might find it interesting.
Coffee
or know of people that do?
i wonder how many out there have named their kids from names from the bible.
two of my kids are on the list, but it wasnt done on purpose.
Yeah.... Deborah...although I don't let anyone call me that.... way too stuffy. The only time anyone ever called me that when I was growing up was my mom...and if she did, I knew I was in trouble....especially when she threw in my middle name.
In my old congregation, we had a Deuteronomy who had a brother named Jeronimo (sp?) Nick names Ronnie and BooBoo respectively.
Coffee
there are many here who have been shunned or dis-owned by family members who are jehovah's witnesses.
the pain, hurt and agony over this treatment wreaks havock in our lives and at times to the point of being unbearable.
after much deliberation and thought i came to the conclusion that for me to be able to "move on" in my own life i needed to express my feelings and be heard on some level by my family.
(((((((apostanator)))))))))
Coffee
"saddam hussein in court, defiant, massive security and the question: can the former dictator get justice?
" abc's charles gibson
Real justice would be for him to receive the same torture he inflicted on countless human beings. It would be just for the families of those he tortured to inflict the same on him until it kills him. Won't happen though. The world doesn't recognize pure evil when they see it...they just make excuses for it.
Coffee
i happened to see a card a few minutes ago from a jw i grew up with to another jw that we grew up with.
all of us are in our 50s now, and we've known each other since we were early teens.. the sister who wrote the card has pioneered for decades.
she's married, but decided to never have kids.
Hi Seeker4,
It would be great to get the group together. I'm not in Florida...I'm back in New England to stay. Say hi to Lori for me!
Coffee
