Maybe you have both thought of each other over the years, and it was God's way of letting you know that everything is okay. So, was she everything you remembered? Any butterflies? Or did you feel like, "Whew! Thank goodness I didn't go there!"?
whyizit
JoinedPosts by whyizit
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Today was the strangest day of my life
by Asheron ina little background..... i was a dub from age 7 to age 18 or so.
my first love was a girl at a local hall.
we will call her t. as a young witness in good standing i did everything by the book, group dates, little sister shaparone, stealing the occasional kiss and felling guilty about it.
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Shunning mom is floored by UN scandal..first she's heard of it.
by restrangled indue to my husbands interactions with my mom with questions about the history of the wbts, i received a phone call from her.
(keep in mind she is 72 years a witness).
i brought up the un thing and she said, thats from apostates.
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whyizit
Where would I go?
This is a reference to the way the WTS misquotes John 6:68, making it seem that it is talking about what organization can you go away to? But that is not what this Scripture is talking about. It says "to WHOM shall we go away to", and it follows with the answer. "YOU" (Jesus).
The context of this passage is clear if you start at verse 25. All the way through, Jesus is telling how we are suppose to come directly to Him. That is how the Father arranged it. You have to deal with Jesus first. Directly. (see vs. 35, 37, 39,40,44,45,etc...) In vs. 53, Jesus is telling them that you have to eat His flesh and drink His blood, which some of the people found very offensive. Resulting in some of them falling away, because they couldn't bring themselves to do such a thing. As you can see, this Passage has nothing to do with an organization or religion. It has everything to do with coming to Christ.
Most JWs that I know do not realize this, because it was taught differently. It was taught to be an organizational verse, pointing to the WTS, rather than about Christ.
That is just an observation. It may be very freeing to your Mother if you study the Bible with her, without any other publications, just read IT. Especially Galatians 4 and Romans 8. Those seem to be real eye openers from what I understand. I pray the best for you and your loved ones!
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What would you do? everyones input please!
by restrangled ini have a great neighbor who has always looked out for us and sent over very expensive pet food at no cost because she is in the business.. she has been a great neighbor all around for many years.
her daughter and my son are very good friends.. just this week she asked my son to take care of her pets.
he went surfing today and asked me to cover.. when i went over i was so alarmed, and came back so depressed i do not know what to do.. it is an 800 square foot house with 2 dogs, must be 8 fish tanks full of turtles, a cat,and a parrot sitting in a dusty cage in the dark.
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whyizit
What a terrible position to be in. If you think she seems like a fairly descent person, someone that you can talk openly and honestly to, try to discuss it with her. It depends on the level of friendship you have with her. If, however, you think it would cause major problems as neighbors, then maybe you should not say anything at all. You could always report it anonymously later. Unfortunately, not much usually happens in cases like this. They may make her clean it up, but then she will likely fall into the sloppy mess again after no one is monitoring her.
It's really sad, but it happens all the time. I've reported people for starving farm animals, and got a lot of threats against my very life, so be careful how you handle it. If you say anything directly to her, then someone else reports her later, YOU will probably catch the blame. It's just a matter of time before someone turns her in anyway. Living next door will be no pic-nic if you are considered the "enemy".
Tha's probably why your husband wants you to let it go.
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Agnostic or Athiest--which makes more sense?
by whyizit ini can see how someone could be agnostic in their view.
who knows, who cares?
thinking that perhaps "god" is just a spiritual santa claus for people who are afraid of death, etc..... but atheism?
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whyizit
In response:
As a matter of fact, I WAS raised to believe (just as you were) that evolution was a fact. Evolution is a religion. It may not be commonly called that, but that is what it is. If being indoctrinated with that BS from kindergarten to adulthood is not indoctrinization, then I guess I don't know what it is.
Yes, I DO believe a flood consumed the earth, I believe in the Biblical account of that There is more proof to support that, than any other theory I've heard.
I wish you well, I pray that one day your bitterness will be gone. I do know that God loves you and wants a reltionship with you, whether you believe it or not. I hope one day you will come to know Him and you will finally have some peace in your life. God is not about religion, He is about relationships. You can't have a reltaionship with someone you never keep in contact with. The choice is your's. I'd be lying if I told you that it doesn't matter to me, because it really does. If you ever change your mind about God, I hope you will let me know.
God bless you and keep you.
In Christ,
Whyizit
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A story that is hard for me to tell
by under_believer inonce upon a time there was a daddy who really, really liked alcohol.
he drank too much all the time and smelled like wine, cheap wine from a box.
) the daddy's boys also grew up.
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whyizit
NOBLE:
Why don't you head up a study on Leviticus 18 in your congregation and actually try to accomplish something good for Jehovah?
While your at it, perhaps you should also study Mat. 25:45-46. Turning a blind eye to this type of abuse is as good as participating in it yourself.
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You've tried to quit smoking, but you can't. Why not?
by AlmostAtheist intoday at 5pm it will be two weeks since i last smoked.
i'm using the nicotine gum again, and it seems to be doing a good job.
i got close to bumming one last night, but i grabbed a gum instead.
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whyizit
My Mom and my Aunt both smoked for several years, both eventually did quit. They both told me that when they had a cigarette, they felt like they had a friend. It was a security thing.
My Dad smoked and never quit until he died of lung cancer. It was the nicotine addiction that over-came him. He didn't ever desire to quit. He LIKED to smoke and it didn't matter the cost.
In one instance, it's like a pacifier....in the other, it is like cocaine.
I've heard that smoking is kind of hard to get used to. You get sick at first and it tastes awful... But after awhile you get the hang of it. I guess it will be the same way when you try to stop. It will be hard to do at first.
The interesting thing is, people who have smoked and quit seem to be the ones who are most offended by cigarette smoke!
Keep up the good fight! Man, you have overcome much bigger obstacles than this. I KNOW you can do it!
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Agnostic or Athiest--which makes more sense?
by whyizit ini can see how someone could be agnostic in their view.
who knows, who cares?
thinking that perhaps "god" is just a spiritual santa claus for people who are afraid of death, etc..... but atheism?
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whyizit
It's lovely to be called gullible. By the way, how is it that you came to be on this forum? It couldn't be that you were (gasp) in a mind control group, could it? I mean, surely YOU aren't that gullible, are you? That just can't be! (But then again, I am kind of gullible. Maybe it takes one to know one, eh?)
I believe that the Bible makes way more sense than evolution, and Kent Hovind's creation seminar definitely got the wheels turning in that direction. I never heard any cases for creation before him. I did not simply stop there. That was only the beginning. More and more evidence keeps piling up on the side of a creator, rather than a cosmic accident.
Since having found faith in God, you can believe it or not, but my experience has been a very personal one. It is amazing how He is with me and I know He exists. I can't prove it, but I can only tell how my life has changed. Heck, I don't even have to tell people. They actually ask me what is up. They notice the difference. I look the same. I'm not a hamster on a wheel. I don't beat on doors and push it on others. I don't spit Scriptures out in my every breath. I'm not charismatic in the least. I don't pressure people that they should believe as I do. I just live what I believe. I can only testify as to what has happened in my life.
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Challenging the Discussion Board with Unsettling Questions
by The wanderer in<!-- .style1 { font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #990066; } .style2 { font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; } .style3 {font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; } .style6 {font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; } body { background-color: #ffffea; } --> does the watchtower live with you everyday?
this post contains reasonable questions due to the fact.
that individuals who no longer claim to be one of jehovah's.
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whyizit
I've noticed that several of the fine people here have used their experiences to help others find fredom. We all go through different trials in our lives. We can use those experiences to help others, or we can become imbittered and help no one.
I have found that those of you who have come out on the better side of the WTS, have been able to help those of us who know very little about what goes on behind their closed doors. You have helped many not only to find the strength to leave, but to open the eyes of loved ones who are still entagled in the mind control. Leaving the WTS is not for sissies, I have discovered that!
Since I am on the outside looking in, and have never been a JW, this forum has served to enlighten me and to help me open the minds of my JW friends. Your experiences are valuable, and I , for one, appreciate that so many of you have come out better, rather than bitter.
What is worse than having spent many years believing a lie? Believing a lie for one minute longer!
Your heros. You really are.
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Agnostic or Athiest--which makes more sense?
by whyizit ini can see how someone could be agnostic in their view.
who knows, who cares?
thinking that perhaps "god" is just a spiritual santa claus for people who are afraid of death, etc..... but atheism?
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whyizit
Borgia asked what made me change my mind from being agnostic to a believer.
I was a believer in the evolution theory. After all, it was taught as fact my whole life. Look at a first grader's science book. How many times do you find a sentence that says "Millions of years ago..." and then goes on to state the information as some kind of proven fact, which it is not. It is a theory. We don't know anyone who was alive back then, so there is no way we can say that we know for a fact anything about what was or was not going on millions of years ago.
I think it was Hitler who said that if you tell a lie long enough and loud enough, eventually people will believe it. That is kind of how I feel about evolution. It's been taught long and loud as a scientific fact. It has been a doctrine taught in the public school system from the time kids are 5 years old, so doesn't it make sense that a lot of people doubt the Biblical account of creation? In comparison, one sounded like a fairy tale and the other sounded like a very intelligent, well-thought out and researched fact.
That was my dilema. How does Noah's Ark, etc.... fit into evolution? It just doesn't go together. My brain was stuck on fitting Biblical accounts into evolution. But it never did add up in my mind. The I had the opportunity to see Dr. Kent Hovind speak at a creation science seminar. In two hours, the wall that kept me from believing in God was knocked to ground in a pile of rubble! When the truth finally sets in that you have believed and been taught a bunch of nonsense, it is very freeing. Although I was disappointed in myself, because I felt like such a fool for believing a lie for so long. The Biblical account of creation makes much more sense than evolution. Science supports and proves it. Evolution is more of a fairy tale, when you examine it from both sides. THAT was what changed things for me.
Because of THAT, I have always made sure to research things from both sides. Not to just trust something at face value, because it seems to sound good at the moment and I like the people who are doing the talking. THAT is why I am HERE! I found JWD when searching for answers about the WTS.
Also, I should probably mention that I do believe the Bible. I believe in God. I know from reading the Bible that God is not about "doing", He is about "relationships". I am not "religious". Jesus spoke out against the religious leaders of his day all the time. They were always studying, but never understanding. Reading the Scriptures, but not seeing that they testified about Jesus! Reading the NT, then reading the OT was real eye opener. You can see how the OT is pointing to Jesus all the way through, if you read the NT first. It is so cool. It serves to confirm to me that no one human could come up with a book like the Bible, let alone a group of people over such a large stretch of time. It is beyond human capabilities. I can't take it out on God, just because some overly religious Pharisees have represented Him in a poor manner. The Bible explains Who He is and what He wants perfectly. He wants relationships. We become righteous by accepting Christ first, THEN we are justified to be children of God. The result is being able to accomplish good things from that righteousness. Not the other way around: Do good, earn righteousness, then God accepts you. We can never be that good, no matter how hard we try! Romans 8:8-9 and Gal. 4 clenched it all for me.
That is my story. That is why I am no longer agnostic. It just doesn't make sense.
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Agnostic or Athiest--which makes more sense?
by whyizit ini can see how someone could be agnostic in their view.
who knows, who cares?
thinking that perhaps "god" is just a spiritual santa claus for people who are afraid of death, etc..... but atheism?
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whyizit
I can see how someone could be agnostic in their view. "I don't know, maybe there is, maybe there isn't. Who knows, who cares?" Yes. I can certainly see that, because I have been there. Thinking that perhaps "God" is just a spiritual Santa Claus for people who are afraid of death, etc....
But atheism? That is harder to grasp.
In order to be a true athiest, you would essentially have to know absolutely everything about everything. To be agnostic, you merely have to admit that you just really don't know.
Example: To say there is no gold in China, you would have to know absolutely every thing there is to know about China. You would have to know what is in every speck of soil in China, you would have to know whether there is gold in any of the homes in China, you would have to know if there are any gold teeth in the people's dental work in China, and so on and so forth. BUT: to say there IS gold in China, all you have to know is ONE person with a gold filling. One store with a gold chain.
The same would be with the existence of God. In order to say there is no God, you would have to possess absolute knowledge of everything in the universe and beyond.
At least that is how it seems to me. I don't know how my eyes do all the amazing things that they do. No one has been able to "build" a perfect substitute for the eye. If you lose an eye, you will never have the same vision again. To think it is the developement of a cosmic burp, doesn't seem very realistic. Something that magnificent had to have a creator. Don't you think?