truth_be_told,
Because of my discoveries, I was recently disowned by a once prominent, now ex-elder, 22 years my senior, who I considered to be my spiritual mentor. He shares your view. I defended him to my detriment when he was ousted.
Ultimately he simply judges and remains silent. Walks away from reality.
Will you ultimately not confront the real issues you were presented with here by me and the other posters?
Will you only simply judge us as well and walk away?
Please comment. You are not on the platform here.
VG
Van Gogh
JoinedPosts by Van Gogh
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41
The Challange of Faith
by truth_be_told ini stumbled on this site dong some research, i post now only for those you have not sinned against jehovah's holy spirit, since only jehovah knows this, some value might be taken form this.
i currently serve as the service overseer in my congregation, i have been an elder for over 10 years.. the fundmental issue that challanges every jw faith at some point are the imperfections of the wtbs, & those that take the lead sometimes make huge errors.
as a third generation jw with a huge network of elders, i have heard many bad things about those that take the lead.. some of these have effected myself and my family, this is the test, no different than what job faced, but it is more on the emotional and mental level.
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Van Gogh
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My sweet wonderful cousin just killed himself...
by TresHappy inpoor thing...now he's at rest - cousin lee.
i will always miss and love you.
i wish i could have helped you.
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Van Gogh
Hurt is raw. I feel for him and you. Words cannot express.
Bebu:
May God grant him the peace he searched for.
VG -
41
The Challange of Faith
by truth_be_told ini stumbled on this site dong some research, i post now only for those you have not sinned against jehovah's holy spirit, since only jehovah knows this, some value might be taken form this.
i currently serve as the service overseer in my congregation, i have been an elder for over 10 years.. the fundmental issue that challanges every jw faith at some point are the imperfections of the wtbs, & those that take the lead sometimes make huge errors.
as a third generation jw with a huge network of elders, i have heard many bad things about those that take the lead.. some of these have effected myself and my family, this is the test, no different than what job faced, but it is more on the emotional and mental level.
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Van Gogh
Welcome to the board truth_be_told I want to commend you for the way you take your Christian responsibility in defending your – no doubt – sincere conviction and faith. Like many of us here on JWD, I – until a year ago - held the same view on the “truth” as you do. Despite the fact that I, in the end, learnt to loathe the organization with all my heart and soul, I was convinced about the God-given credentials of the WTS. As a third generation witness with both sets of grandparents JW, I grew up with all the heartfelt sentiments and stories of an emerging group of politically neutral Christians in the wake of a war-torn Europe who took an uncompromising stand for God against war; many of whom were willing to die for not saluting Hitler, to be lynched, beaten, tortured and ultimately shot in debilitating circumstances. As I have stated before here on this board, my mother was arrested during the war, while a pioneer my granddad harbored later died in a German concentration camp. I will never be able to forget that. Despite the fact that my parents (both pioneered for many years; my dad a PO) imo perished under the pressures and the heavy load of a system they could not live up to, I could only put their demise down to human failure – both theirs and that of the organization. I chalked these things up to imperfection and moved on, no matter how devastating it was.
My mother died at the operating table shouting to please not give her blood, thus in fact sacrificing her life twice. But this was to be seen as sign of true faith, and interpreted by me as something in which a true Christian could not err. She was rewarded by being denied a Christian burial. Whichever “ the imperfections of the WTBS, & those that take the lead”, who “sometimes make huge errors” and the many wrongs committed by the WTS – to me they ultimately were of no consequence. I remember my dad recounting with regret how he and his conscientious objecting buddies were digging holes in the snowy ground when the brass from Brooklyn arrived proclaiming how they were to be disfellowshipped for not opting instead for years in a prison cell. Huh? They all took it in their stride though, and humbly they soldiered on in the service of Jehovah. In my many years in congregations, from the subdued perspective of a lowly publisher I have heard many bad things (also good things) about those that take the lead. I have seen fighting and bickering elders all my life. In the end I got caught up in elder infighting and church politics. When I questioned the particular injustice I was simply unofficially marked.It made me resentful and bitter, but for me it didn’t change one bit what the “truth” was, my perspective was changed because of flaws in men, not Jehovah. To me this was a test, no different than what Job faced; those that Jehovah had appointed to take the lead in the past had failings too, so I thought. To me it wasn’t decisive that there was no love. I thought using Jehovah’s name was decisive and that they were not trinitarians; the test and sign of love was that JW’s refused military service and did not kill each other. But then I learnt the truth about 607BCE and the supposed FD&S year 1919; how Russel used inch-measurements from pyramid passageways to back up 1914. Did you know that Jesus never used God’s supposed name? The NT has inserted “Jehovah” into the NT based upon Middle Age Hebrew NT translations using JHWH. However, the NWT suddenly uses “Jesus” where these same translations use JHWH. I realized the GB had never been faithful, nor discreet.
Like SNG, I became convinced that the JWs were wrong about just about everything. It was an immensely painful conclusion to come to, let me tell you, but much better to accept a painful reality and move on than to try vainly to will a fantasy to be true. The only credit the WTS has ever had were the countless sincere, selfless R&F JW’s who slaved in search of peace and paradise, despite the GB. I salute them and hope their sacrifices and godliness were not in vain after all.
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47
How old were you when you were baptized?
by moomanchu in.
reading hellriders topic made me wonder about this.. i waited till i was 21 because i was drinking alcohol as a youth and didn't want to get baptized while breaking the law.
man that is screwed up, seemed reasonable at the time.
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Van Gogh
I was saved from destruction at 11...
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What do you consider yourself?
by poodlehead ini have wondered how each of you classifies yourself.
as regards to religion.
this is for my own person interest.
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Van Gogh
Reverted back to 6 but would like to explore 2
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20
I _feel_ rational, so why am I still afraid?
by under_believer ini am at a point in my doubt and recovery process where i feel almost completely agnostic.
i am an empiricist; evidence required, please!
) of what i was taught as a witness has been discarded.
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Van Gogh
There is no need to fear “End Times”, unless a God-cause does not exist – in the latter case it really is final.
The WTS does not have the monopoly on an armageddon, nobody does, so no worries there.
Interference by God could signify destruction, as well as well as something to look forward to. Membership of any religion like JW will not affect anyone’s chances in a positive way; this is the truly valuable lesson for any exJW (imho).
But even outside divine intervention, some sort of global cataclysm in the near future is not entirely unlikely. Chances of that have only increased in an intricately interlinked global system. As has been established by many on this board, the WTS’ assertion of global decline cannot be substantiated by facts. But things that go up tend to come crashing down in no time. One unheeded domino stone can travel far now. And if there is no divine intervention, we really should worry…
VG -
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Van Gogh
3rd; both sets of grandparents - approx. 1943 and 1953. One granddad had strong socialist sympathies, so probably fell for Rutherfraud's ramblings; the other one lived on the German border so got himself caught up on the opposite side and paid for it. They all had their reasons, were victims of their day. They longed for a better world. Besides, had they not, I would not be around now.
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I'm feeling low - losing a friend
by Spectrum ini met a girl about a year and a half ago and we became really good platonic friends.
she was bright, cute and always put a smile on my face with her lovely sense of humour, just a great girl.
then one day with tears in her eyes she told me she had to leave but wouldn't tell me why.
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Van Gogh
Dear Spectrum,
I sense your hurt.
You were still hoping and then the sudden finiteness of someone disappearing out of your life.
The utter loneliness of melancholy can make one dangerously defenseless.
Fight it, I would say, and do not dwell on it, because there is nothing you can do to change history.
Time will heal; you are not alone in this respect.
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26
Accepting your mortality sets you free from JWism.
by Spectrum init was a depressing feeling when i realised i was actually going to die like everybody else.
who me, die?
no chance.
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Van Gogh
Auldsoul,
:"...so many of my best friends were in their 80s and quite a few died before I turned 10..."
Is that what is behind your alias?
VG -
26
Accepting your mortality sets you free from JWism.
by Spectrum init was a depressing feeling when i realised i was actually going to die like everybody else.
who me, die?
no chance.
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Van Gogh
Spectrum,
Yes, absolutely a mourning process.
Did your realization have anything to do with a certain age you reached, or at what age did you realize this? I lost a lot of years of my life as well as my "immortality".
To me the fact that we are thus equal in fate with the rest of humanity is a comfort though.
VG