Posts by yaddayadda

11

Calling All Apologists/Sympathizers

by Sentient in

jw
friends

okay, i'd like to invite some comments about this, particulary from those of you who don't believe or follow what the wtbts teaches, yet on the other hand have made comments regarding the witnesses such as: .

"but if it makes you happy..." .

"...more power to you..." .

yaddayadda

I believe in God and Christ, yet I don't think there is any one true organised religion on earth today. I'm what you'd call a 'Christian agnostic'. I believe in Christianity but I don't believe it is possible to prove that any one group has it right. They all have varying degrees of truth and falsehood. So from a pragmatic viewpoint if you want to associate with an organised religion you may as well just take what you want from it and discard the rest. For the majority of JW's, they have grown up in their religion and have vast social and familial networks that are just too much to give away if they leave. The emotional cost is too high. So if they are not feeling unduly bothered by other things in their religion (eg, high control, false beliefs, burdensome programme of works), then what the heck they may as well just stay and enjoy whatever good they can. Same with any other religion.

3

Top 10 reasons Not to Shut the Door on a JW---Suggestions, please?

by Curious Christian in

jw
friends

if you had to come up with 10 good reasons for people to learn how to effectively speak to jws, what would they be and how would you suggest they do so?

what is the most common misconception people have about jws?.

what is the most common misconception that jws have about christians?

yaddayadda

What is the most common misconception people have about JWs?

That they don't believe in Jesus. JW's don't put nearly enough emphasis on Christ and have missed out on what it means to have a relationship with him, but they most certainly do believe in Jesus and view him as their redeemer and they even acknowledge he is the divine Logos. They just feel that Jesus is always a lesser God than the Father and that it is to the Father alone that we should render sacred service.

What is the most common misconception that JWs have about Christians?

That they are all a part of a Satanic controlled empire of false religion and that those in such false religions will most likely die because they believe in the trinity and a few other doctrines that JW's reject.

58

If You Had Internet Access Years Ago----Would You Have Gotten Out Sooner?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i don't know if i could've 15 years ago because of having nowhere else to go, but now i know i couldn't stay.

what about you??

?

yaddayadda

Very interesting hypothetical question. Quite possibly yes! It depends on how long ago you are talking about. 15 years ago was before the 1995 change in the 'this generation', which was the thing that completely took the wind out of my sails. And it was the NGO thing that finally acted as the tipping point for me and allowed me to walk away more or less guilt-free. If I had been surfing the internet re JW's before those 2 things it may not have been enough, although I would have to say that all the false 'prophecies' i would've learned about might have caused the wind in my sails to have left me sooner and sped up the whole leaving process.

61

JWD WAS ABLE TO CONVINCE ME THE PARADISE WAS A MYTH BUT...

by stillAwitness in

jw
friends

the talk given today sounded pretty convincing.

facts were stated about how our body is designed to live forever (the brain, blood vessels etc) and how all these intricated details about the human body raises us to ask the question: "did not jehovah design us with the purpose of living forever?

now i've read the threads about how there just would not be enough room in the world for all those people.

yaddayadda

It comes down to this:

premise 1 If you believe in God

premise 2 If you believe the bible and especially the Genesis account as accurate and literal history

conclusion: Then you would believe that everlasting life on earth was God's original purpose for mankind and as God's purpose can never be forever thwarted then one day it will come true.

If you have any doubts about premises 1 and 2 then the conclusion falls down entirely. Most posters on here have doubts about the premises.

22

Just what was Jesus doing until 1914?

by carla in

what do jw's think jesus was doing until 1914?

and if satan is ruling everything now, what is jesus doing now?

(in jw minds) it seems to me they believe the 'gates of hell' have prevailed.

yaddayadda

the same thing you do every day in front of your computer nathan juvenile Natas.

10

7th day adventists

by yaddayadda in

jw
friends

can anyone direct me to a good website or thread on here that talks about any spin-off groups after they officially accepted the trinity doctrine, in the early 1980's i think, in order to join the world council of churches.

was there any fragmentation in the 7th day adventists when this happened?

any help would be appreciated.

yaddayadda

Thanks Barry. Good to know they are not too hung up on it. I might go check out a few of their meetings out of curiosity. Their dietary restrictions put me off though.

22

Just what was Jesus doing until 1914?

by carla in

what do jw's think jesus was doing until 1914?

and if satan is ruling everything now, what is jesus doing now?

(in jw minds) it seems to me they believe the 'gates of hell' have prevailed.

yaddayadda

Jesus said via illustrations that he would go away and return, that weeds would grow with the wheat until the age of the harvest, the 'conclusion of a system of things'. According to the Watchtower Society that period of absence has been nearly 2000 years because time has needed to pass to fully test the issues raised surrounding the right and rightness of God's universal sovreignty, yadda yadda...

10

7th day adventists

by yaddayadda in

jw
friends

can anyone direct me to a good website or thread on here that talks about any spin-off groups after they officially accepted the trinity doctrine, in the early 1980's i think, in order to join the world council of churches.

was there any fragmentation in the 7th day adventists when this happened?

any help would be appreciated.

yaddayadda

Thanks Barry. That's very interesting that there are groups and individuals in the SDA's that don't believe the trinity. Are they allowed to discuss this openly with others in their congo's, even get into debates about it? So the church doesn't mind members holding different beliefs on this obviously?

15

I just want to share this

by fullofdoubtnow in

jw
friends

this is a poem dedpoet wrote for me, he gave it to me a few minutes ago, and i think it is so lovely i just have to post it (he doesn't mind).

i hope you like it, i know i will treasure it for the rest of my life.

for linda.