Posts by whyizit

23

How did you come to be a Christian?

by BlackSwan of Memphis in

jw
friends

obviously this goes out for the christians on the board regardless of denomination or lack thereof as the case may be.. why am i asking?.

i'm just curious.. i'm always asking myself, "what the hay am i missing?".

i know what the bible says.

whyizit

I've never been a JW, but I was indoctrinated into a false teaching. The Theory of Evolution. It really messed me up. Teach a kid they climbed out of a pool of slime, and don't be surprised when they behave in such a manner as well. I kind of lumped Christianity right up there with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Couldn't really say there absolutely was not a God, because you would have to know EVERYTHING about everything to claim that, but seriously agnostic.

Then came the day when I went to a Baptist church to hear a creation scientist speak. Just to hear what the other side had to say. I was sure it was going to be a bunch of "believe it because the Bible says so" type of stuff. Kent Hovind was the scientist. He was able to present enough evidence in two hours to tear down the wall that had been cunstructed over the last 25 years of my life. Being free of that "what if" mentality was the most liberating feeling I ever had. Then I had to come to terms with all the sin and filth I chose to indulge in. I tried for a long time to try to make up for it all, but found myself falling short and beating myself up no matter what I tried. Figuring out that Jesus already took care of it, and if I accepted Him, then I was pleasing to God, that was the most freeing thing of all. That resulted in me serving the Father in whatever capacity He would have. I do it out of appreciation and gratitude, and because I want others to experience the forgiveness I have found. Not because I am trying to earn anything.

Since I have Jesus in my life, NOT RELIGION, I am finally content. Before, I felt like a hamster on a wheel. I started looking up Scriptures about the Holy Spirit after a JW friend of mine tried to tell me he wasn't a person. Looking into that was the icing on the cake. I never understood how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all fit in together, but now I get it! It doesn't take a rocket scientist, but it does take using your own mind without the influence of a "religion". The Bible really is not hard to understand, if you have the Holy Spirit to help you. Romans 8:8-9

14

What if a religious org. came knocking on active JW's door? Reaction?

by whyizit in

jw
friends

what if a couple of bible-believing christians were going door-to-door?

and what if they were preaching the kingdom of god?

what if they had biblesalone and were not handing out any other literature?

whyizit

This is VERY interesting to me, as an outsider who has never been a JW!

I notice that JWs treat others who knock on THEIR doors in the exact same manner as the majority treat them. The irony of it, of course, is that when someone slams the door on a JW, or tells them they are not interested, they tend to view it as a moment of pride and persecution for their beliefs, which makes them "right". When THEY do the same thing to another religious door-knocker, wouldn't this like-wise prove that the guy at their door must be "right"?

Doesn't the WTS convince its members that people who shut the door, or won't listen to them, are instantly in the wrong for doing just that? Shouldn't every JW be expected to receive those at their doors in the same way they hope to be received when they are out in service? Seems to me they are behaving no better than those they criticize for doing the same. They are just like the rest of those out in the "world" who believe one thing, yet in reality, practice another. (What's that called? Hypocracy?)

14

What if a religious org. came knocking on active JW's door? Reaction?

by whyizit in

jw
friends

what if a couple of bible-believing christians were going door-to-door?

and what if they were preaching the kingdom of god?

what if they had biblesalone and were not handing out any other literature?

whyizit

What if a couple of Bible-believing Christians were going door-to-door? And what if THEY were preaching the Kingdom of God? What if they had Biblesalone and were not handing out any other literature? What do you think the reaction would be from a typical active JW? What do you think would go on in the mind of a JW, if this were to occur?

What subjects would you want to cover if you were the one on THEIR door step?

22

Quotes to make you think

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

distrust all in who the impulse to punish is powerful - nietzsche.

he who angers you conquers you - elizabeth kenney.

integrity has no need for rules - albert camus.

whyizit

If you tell a lie long enough and loud enough, soon the people will start to believe it. (Wasn't it Hitler who said this?)

21

Are you familiar with the United Church of God, and it's magazine?

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

titled simply "the good news"?.

i suscribed [free] to see what they teach.

although less insistent in having the 'truth', and showing much greater interest in people and reality, the thinking is so similar to the doctrines of the watchtower it is a little scary.

whyizit

Mayby I have the wrong group, but I think it was the Worldwide Church of God that decided to turn itself around. I bought the DVD, but loaned it out. I found out about it through Free Minds. Some of the guys at the top of the organization came to realize they were teaching false doctrines and decided to turn it around. Of course, I'm sure there were groups that continued with the old beliefs.

Greg Albright wrote a book called Bad News Religion. He is a former member of the Armstrong religion. The book mentions nothing about other religions, but you can draw some very similar, if not identical, parallels to the WTS. I wonder if a JW would read it, since it doesn't mention the WTS?

29

If you could make and distribute a bumper stick to open minds.......

by whyizit in

jw
friends

if you could make and distribute bumper stickers to use as a tool to open the minds of jws or cult members, what would you put on them?.

keep in mind that you would like to open thier minds, yet not offend them.

something that any person could stick on their bumper and the jws would not be able to find reason to label them as opposers or apostates.

whyizit

Is R6Laser what is affectionaltely termed as a "lurker"?

I didn't ask anyone to promote anything or further an agenda. Merely asked for thought-provoking ideas, by which people who are encouraged and commanded NOT to think for themselves, might begin to feel the freedom to do so. I ask you, is it not one sided for a religious organization to insist that its members must only investigate other religions, or its own doctrines, by the materials that THEY provide?

If the WTS has nothing to hide and is not exercising mind control over its members, then why are they afraid to find a forum such as this one, see why other members have left, and research as to if their reasons were valid? Why would they be against bumper stickers, bill boards, etc... that might cause the members to have to investigate as to whether their leaders really are teaching them the truth?

If I follow a group of men who claim to be God's prophet and channel through which I am to get my spiritual food, and they tell me that vaccinations are against God's laws, they present Biblical evidence to support it, and trusting them, I allow my child to die because of this rule, THEN the rule is changed, I have to ask...Is it GOD who changed? Did the Bible get some new verses? Or did men cause me to sacrifice the life of my child, because they themselves either misinterpretted the Bible? How does God feel about people sacrificing their children? Should I trust these people?

In Jer. 31:33-34 states that in the new covenant, we will no longer be teaching one another to know Yahweh. We will know Him, because He is going to write His laws in our hearts. When will this ever happen in the WTS? From the way I understand it, even after Armegeddon, they have lots of teaching planned for the resurreced. After the lucky ducks who survive Armageddon get finished watching children and family die horrible deaths, they get to see them eaten up by worms and birds, they they get the "happy task" of cleaning up billions of bones, all without the help of heavy machinery, mind you. No gas stations or oil refineries in those days! THEN they have to clean up all the rubble, etc....with shovel and wheel barrows I suppose, because that is what the pictures always show, then they have to build homes (without the aid of power tools) for all those who are going to be resurrected, ....and so on and so forth. BUT, the so-called unbelievers get to come back after all the work is done and, without lifting a finger, they get to be taught and get a second chance! Where the heck is THAT in the Bible? And when does Jer. 31:33-34 kick into effect? And why would anyone want to become a JW NOW, why not wait so you don't have to go through all that trauma and work?

Really?!! I've never been a JW, so I really would like to know what is so great about living through Armageddon, if that is what you get to look forward to? I don't see the appeal. I'm not THAT afraid of death itself!

29

If you could make and distribute a bumper stick to open minds.......

by whyizit in

jw
friends

if you could make and distribute bumper stickers to use as a tool to open the minds of jws or cult members, what would you put on them?.

keep in mind that you would like to open thier minds, yet not offend them.

something that any person could stick on their bumper and the jws would not be able to find reason to label them as opposers or apostates.

whyizit

If you could make and distribute bumper stickers to use as a tool to open the minds of JWs or cult members, what would you put on them?

Keep in mind that you would like to open thier minds, yet NOT offend them.

Something that any person could stick on their bumper and the JWs would not be able to find reason to label them as opposers or apostates. Something that you feel strongly would MAKE them have to take notice if they saw it.

Let the creative juices FLOW!!!!

20

Front Door Sign Idea?

by Asheron in

jw
friends

no soliciting!.

(unless you are someone under the age of 12 selling something sweet, like cookies or candy, at a price not to exceed $2.00, for your scout troop, sports team, or church group.

i?m sympathetic to child slave labor, i like kids, and i like cookies even better.).

whyizit

My brother worked the night shift and was very irritated by people waking him up during the day. He mounted a tablet with an ink pen attached with string on the door, with a sign that read:

I am a DAY sleeper. Your visit is important to me. Please write your name, address, and phone number in the tablet provided. When I am awake and home, and able to find the time to call on you (usually between the hours of 2:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.), I will certainly do so! However, if you ring this doorbell and wake me up, you will see me quickly and angrily kicking your "butt" off my front porch! Have a nice day!

No one ever wrote a word in that tablet, ....nor did they disturb his sleep!

37

for Christians: How did you decide on the Bible?

by BlackSwan of Memphis in

jw
friends

for those of you who are christian and accept the bible as nothing less then the word of god, how did you come to that conclusion?

how much research did you do into the bible to get to the point where you sat back and said, this is it?

or was it zero research and more a leap of faith?.

whyizit

The Bible is a spiritual book. It's alive, not just words. If you aren't "getting it", it is because you don't have the Holy Siprit helping you.

Amazing as it may sound, the JWs really helped me in this area. My JW friend was letting me know what I believe vs what she believes. "YOU think the Holy Spirit is a person, but actually it is just a force." (Really? Hmmm..... you don't mind if I study up on the Holy Spirit in the Bible, before I take your word for it, do you?)

Got out the concordance and started looking up Scriptures pertaining to being born-again and the Holy Spirit. Even looked them up in the NWT.

Romans 8:8-9 pretty much clenched it for me. "those in harmony with the flesh CANNOT PLEASE GOD. However, you are in harmony with the Spirit, IF God's Spirit truly dwells in you. But IF ANYONE does NOT have CHRIST'SSPIRIT, this one does NOT belong to him." Do I have Christ's Spirit? Can I please God without it? Are there any limits as to how many or who may get Christ's Spirit?

Luke 11:13 takes the fear out of asking for the Holy Spirit.

Since the Bible is a spiritual book, it only makes sense that a person who does not have the Holy Spirit as their Counselor will not "get it". At first, I didn't! I didn't even know I needed the Holy Spirit, until I started looking up verses about him!

Jesus is the Way , the Truth, and the Light. He referred to the Holy Spirit as a person. In John 14:15-26---He calls the Holy Spirit the Counselor, refers to the Holy Spirit as he, him, and whom: personal pronouns.

You need only read Acts 13:2 to get the point. The Holy Spirit speaks, Calls himself "me" and "I", he is also sending people of to do some work. I've never witnessed a lightening bolt or radio wave do any of those things, but people do that kind of stuff all the time.

These are only a couple of Biblical references , out of MANY, that helped me to realize that without the Holy Spirit, I simply would not be able to "get" the Bible. Romans 8 and Galatians 4 were really terrific chapters to get me set on the right path.

I went from feeling like I was reading an Algebra book, to not being able to put the Bible down! I can't believe I ever thought it was a chore. The more I read, the more I love it. And, finally, I "GET IT"!!! If you don't have the Holy Spirit, you are just missing out big time.

It's not about knowing a bunch of facts about someone. It's about getting to know Jesus on a personal level. Just read John 5: 39 where Jesus is letting the "religious" people of his day have it. "You dilligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about ME, yet you refuse to come to ME to have life." Who is the "ME" in these verses? If you read the NT first, then you read the OT books, you can see Jesus represented all the way through. Even the people who were the most religious didn't "get it", when the Messiah stood face to face with them.

Is it any wonder that so many of us take so long (if ever) to "get it"? Wonder why the Bible doesn't make any sense to some people? It explains it in 1 Cor. 2:14.

14

Post Your Strange/Interesting Animal Anecdotes

by Stephanus in

jw
friends

a mate of mine used to live in penshurst, and i had to pass the corner pet shop to get to his place.

more often than not, a small black and white cat was sitting just out of the doorway in front of the shop.

he was sitting patiently, with that dreamy, half-asleep expression cats sometimes get, looking up at the cages full of birds fluttering around!.

whyizit

Every year I try to plant flower bulbs next to our porch, and every year a giant mole roots through and tosses them out of ground. Since we have several pets, I hesitate to put poison bait out, lest we cause the demise of the "near and dear".

After trying all kinds of home remedies that are non-toxic (mini-wind mills, Juicy Fruit gum, etc...), I finally broke down and tried something that was sworn to be "the way" to get rid of a mole. Drop moth balls down it's hole. I used about half a box of them, I even lined the perimeter of my flower garden to create a barrier. After nearly choking to death on the smell myself, it made perfect sense that nothing would want to be around those nasty things!

A few weeks went by and I was so proud! No mole! It worked!

We had a pretty good storm and my husband came home from work and asked if we had some hail. I went out to see what he was talking about, and there were all those stinkin' nasty moth balls laying on top of the ground! Even the ones that were not in the hole and were suppose to be my barricade! I could not believe that mole was so bold as to throw my moth balls back out at me.