Count me in!
What a fun idea!
hope this hasnt been posted already, if it has someone tell me as i dont want to step on anyones toes !!.
well christimas will soon be here !!.
gadget did a great job of organising the forum gift exchange the last couple of years so i thought i would give him a break and volunteer to organise it this year.. for those that are new basically what it involves is that those who want to join in will post to this thread and then pm me their name and address.
Count me in!
What a fun idea!
my friend has been a jw study for 9 yrs., not baptized yet.
but believes it all, as far as i know.
we rarely get to spend any one-on-one time, but we are going on an over-night trip this weekend.
Hello, everyone!
My friend has been a JW study for 9 yrs., not baptized yet. But believes it all, as far as I know.
We rarely get to spend any one-on-one time, but we are going on an over-night trip this weekend.
Since I am not a JW, I thought maybe some of you would have suggestions as to what kind of topics might come up. She tends to mention whatever was the "latest" in her JW group. I noticed that she mentioned a lot about friendships, etc... during the convention over the summer, and my other JW friends were mentioning the same exact stuff. I just wondered if there is any particular topic they are hammering away at lately that I should be prepared for? I know she skipped Wed. study night to prepare for the trip, so that was a big deal! (The trip is not JW related, by the way.)
Looking forward to advice and info. from you all! I'm leaving tomorrow, so any help you have will be greatly appreciated and put to good use. Who knows, it may be the moment of truth for her. I plan to take my Bible and Concordance only. (Have lots of notes in my Bible!) Mostly plan to have a great time as friends and not hammer religious issues, but if they come up, I want to be prepared.
Thanks for your input!
my husband was listening to a radio station the other day and said there was news that the wts has decided that jesus dying on a cross rather than a stake may not be as far-fetched as they once thought.. have any of you heard this?
i have been cruising the threads to see if there was already one on this subject.
if there is, point me to it!
My husband said it was a brief comment made on a.m. talk radio and the person gave reference to a web site that does a comparison of WTS and Catholicism. He was flipping through looking for a sports channel, and just happened to hear the WTS mentioned, then the subject was over and went on to something else. He thinks it was a Catholic program.
It made me wonder if there has been some kind of evidence unearthed to shake the stake theory up. Maybe that is why they might be considering the cross to be a possibility, to save face before the info. gets out. I mean, they did manage to weasel out of 1925 and the Beth Sarim deal, then the world didn't end in 1975, yet people still stayed in the WTS. Would reverting back to the idea of Jesus dying on a cross be all that different?
When I've pointed out verses in the Bible with my JW friends that differ with the torture stake view, after a moment of silence, they always say that it really doesn't matter so much how He died afterall. I figured it might be an easier change for them to make than others they have managed in the past.
my husband was listening to a radio station the other day and said there was news that the wts has decided that jesus dying on a cross rather than a stake may not be as far-fetched as they once thought.. have any of you heard this?
i have been cruising the threads to see if there was already one on this subject.
if there is, point me to it!
My husband was listening to a radio station the other day and said there was news that the WTS has decided that Jesus dying on a cross rather than a stake may not be as far-fetched as they once thought.
Have any of you heard this? I have been cruising the threads to see if there was already one on this subject. Haven't seen any. If there is, point me to it! I'm interested!
a little back ground.
my husband and i have 4 kids all together.
my 8 yr old lives with her jw dad, since i couldn't get her when i left the org.
I agree with OnTheWayOut. You are very kindly thinking with your heart, but there are so many circumstances that change in life, you may bitterly regret the decision later.
We selected God-parents for our child. People we trusted and intended to raise our child should anything happen to us. It's now ten years later and we have reconsidered our plan. There have been many things come to the surface that we were not aware of and their own children have not had as happy a life as we originally thought.
Thankfully, we are able to change our plans easily and privately.
Although your intentions are wonderful and selfless, it's like they say..."The road to hell is paved with good intentions." And the hell we're talking about may not be only for the adults in this situation, it could be a personal hell for an innocent child.
since you have been out of the jw's have you ever noticed how born-again christians get angry when you don't believe in their "interpretation of the bible"?
it never fails since i have been out for over 15 years when i run across a born-again and they don't know my past they will try to force their interpretation down my throat until i show them that i am very versed in the old and new testaments.
i know all of the scriptures that they will bring up and if i disagree with them then i am going to "hell" according to them.
I think Lovelylil hit the nail on the head.
Many religious people, even those who claim to be born-again Christians, are so tied up in legalism and doctrines, they completely ignore the Gospel. Just because some one claims to be a Christian, does not mean that they actually are. Some are Christians, however they are very carnal in their attitudes and legalistic notions. They are missing out, by being like that. Some have no idea what a Christian really is, they just think they are one because they attend a church that has Christ in the name.
In Galatians, it tells what the fruit of the spirit is. (Anger is not one of the attributes.) However, everyone gets frustrated and angry at some point. Even Christians. Some people are bullies and blow-hards that insist that you HAVE to see it THEIR way. I have a self-proclaimed preacher in my family and he is the most obnoxious person I've ever met. He causes trouble every where he goes. He has to be right. (He even gives you physical "cues" on when you are suppose to nod in agreement with him! ) I doubt that many have become Christians as a result of listening to him. Infact, I imagine many have high-tailed it to the other direction, because if that is what a Christian is suppose to be, they want no part of it. He start religious wars every place he goes!
On the other hand, my father-in-law is a peaceful and kind man. He displays the fruit of the spirit in his life every minute he breathes! He is one of those people who makes you want what ever it is that he has. He is one of the people who led me to Christ, and he didn't have to thump any Bibles to do it. That is the kind of Christian that I long to be. A contagious Christian. The type that people just can't help but be drawn to and wonder, "What does this person have that I don't, and how can I get it?" I bet my father-in-law has led more people to Christ than church full of preachers!
Just bought a shirt the other day at a Christian book store! It's my motto. It says:
"It's against my relationship to have a religion."
Isn't that so cool and so true?! Jesus never preached religion. Infact, he admonished the religious leaders of His day for their legalism and self-righteous attitudes.
a 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.
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!"?
due 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.
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!
i 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.
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.
i 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?
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