Posts by whyizit

28

Holiday Viewpoints and Former Jehovah's Witnesses

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

holiday viewpoints and former jehovah's witnesses being in the organization the viewpoint was that holidays were.

of pagan origin.

whether it was halloween, christmas, easter.

whyizit

col.3:16-17

28

Holiday Viewpoints and Former Jehovah's Witnesses

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

holiday viewpoints and former jehovah's witnesses being in the organization the viewpoint was that holidays were.

of pagan origin.

whether it was halloween, christmas, easter.

whyizit

col.3:16-17

5

Christmas and the WTS -- Never been a JW, have questions!

by whyizit in

jw
friends

i was recently reading some older wts articles.

it was obviously during a time when christmas was approved of by the wts.

i was considering sending copies (incognito, of course) to my jw friends.

whyizit

I was recently reading some older WTS articles. It was obviously during a time when Christmas WAS approved of by the WTS.

I was considering sending copies (incognito, of course) to my JW friends.

I know that one of the first objections would be "there's been new light"since then. I thought about sending a note asking a few questions concerning the WTS quotes. Such as: "Since the WTS teaches the opposite point of view now, what are we to believe? That God changes His mind? Or that the WTS is making up doctrines from the current leader's own opinions?"

These are a few of the quotes. I have the actual pages from the books. I was planning to send photo copies:

The Watchtower, Dec. 1, 1904, pg.364 - since the celebration of our Lord's birth is not a matter of divine appointment or injunction, but merely a tribute of respect to him, it is not necessary for us to quibble particularly about the date. We may as well join with the civilized world in celebrating the grand event on the day which the majority celebrate-"Christmas day."

The Watchtower, Nov.15, 1907, pg. 351 - It might interest you to know that we are already offering the books for "Chrsitmas gifts."

The Watchtower, Dec.15, 1926, pg.371 - The event is so important that it is always appropriate to call it to the minds of the people, regardless of the date.

With Christmas around the corner, I just wondered if you thought it might be helpful for current JWs to perhaps see that it was not always necessary for them to exclude themselves from family gatherings. A few of my JW friends seem very conflicted this time of year. Perhaps it would be a good time to help promote a miracle?

What do you think? What do you think their internal thoughts may be? (Since I would doubtfully hear any feedback from them personally?) Has anyone here ever put together anything similar to this for their JW friends and family?

38

Question for ex-JWs who are Christians

by whyizit in

jw
friends

i noticed that many who post here have kind of thrown the "baby out with the bathwater", when it comes to the bible and god.. i understand that there is a fine line between love and hate.

maybe they blame god for the deception.

maybe they don't trust anything to do with god any more.

whyizit

Daystar:

Thank you! I sure didn't mean to offend you, and I am sorry if I did!

I'll try to pick my words and phrases a little more carefully, but I really didn't think any one would read so much into what I said!

For the record:

I am appreciative of ALL who post on this subject. If they left the WTS and did not become a Christian, and they want to tell how that came about, that is great! There is something to learn from those experiences as well.

Personally, I wanted to hear how people were able to become Christians when they moved on from the WTS. It interests me.

I

38

Question for ex-JWs who are Christians

by whyizit in

jw
friends

i noticed that many who post here have kind of thrown the "baby out with the bathwater", when it comes to the bible and god.. i understand that there is a fine line between love and hate.

maybe they blame god for the deception.

maybe they don't trust anything to do with god any more.

whyizit

Sunspot:

More is being read into the "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" than what I actually meant.

Things are being read into my post that I did not intend. My assumption is that most who are here are former JWs, who at one time loved God. The same God I love, but that was misrepresented by the WTS. Many, (not all, not most) seem to have decided that there is no God, or that Christianity is a lie.

If that is insulting or slanerous to anyone, I'm genuinely sorry! I didn't mean it that way. But I do hope others who have left the WTS and went on to become Christians will continue posting their experiences. It is a very important topic to me and I would gain a lot from the input.

It may help others as well.

38

Question for ex-JWs who are Christians

by whyizit in

jw
friends

i noticed that many who post here have kind of thrown the "baby out with the bathwater", when it comes to the bible and god.. i understand that there is a fine line between love and hate.

maybe they blame god for the deception.

maybe they don't trust anything to do with god any more.

whyizit

I love hearing about your experiences. Thanks for participating. Hopefully there will be more to come. I especially love when you mention the Bible verses or books of the Bible that spoke to you in such a personal way!

Have any of you ever been involved in any cult-exit groups? Do you know where I could find info. on how to possibly start one in my area? Not just for JWs, but for anyone who thinks they may have been in a cult?

39

Blood Transfusion Question - Dogs

by Duncan in

jw
friends

dear everyone,.

there was a very interesting item on this morning's bbc breakfast news programme - to do with blood transfusions for dogs.

a new website has been set up, along with an appeal to owners to type and register their pets as potential donors, should the need arise.

whyizit

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a JW friend of mine who works in a vets office. I asked her if she would let one of her children die, rather than have ablood transfusion. She tried to avoid the question. I mentioned that it didn't make much sense to me, because it is not like you are "eating" the blood. She said it is actually like eating the blood. You know the arguments. Then she resorted to the, "If an alcoholic is to abstain from drinking, would he be obedient if he put it in his veins?" scenario.

I asked: Let's say you are working at the vet clinic. Someone rushes in with a dog that has been shot. Fido has lost a lot of blood. He needs a blood transfusion, or he is not going to make it. You go to get the supplies needed for the transfusion, but the other vet took all the supplies needed on a farm call. You tell the attending vet. Is he going to say, "Okay, then pour the blood into a bowl and we'll get him to drink it!"

I get an odd look, and a pause. Then a response," Of course, not!"

I ask, "Why?"

Response: "Because that's not the same thing. If he eats it, it will go through the digestive system. Not replenish the blood he lost. It's not the same."

My response? "Oh."

Silence. The subject got changed real fast after that.

38

Question for ex-JWs who are Christians

by whyizit in

jw
friends

i noticed that many who post here have kind of thrown the "baby out with the bathwater", when it comes to the bible and god.. i understand that there is a fine line between love and hate.

maybe they blame god for the deception.

maybe they don't trust anything to do with god any more.

whyizit

Thanks Sunspot! That helped. Love that verse as well.

fjtoth - great insight. Thanks for sharing that.

AK-Jeff- Thank you for posting and for keeping in line with the topic. I really appreciate it.

I am looking forward to others who will stick to the topic. I am very interested in finding out how you kept your relationship with God, inspite of the WTS.

* * May I ask one thing of those who are here to answer the questions asked, and who are ex-JW Christians? Could you please, no matter how tempting it might be to answer back, ignore the posts that are NOT sticking to the topic? It is my hope that this will be a peaceful discussion and not a debate between Agnostics-vs.-Christians.

I know that there are many former JWs who love God and have embraced Christianity. I just wondered if it was difficult for them at first? Thanks for your replies.

Whyizit

38

Question for ex-JWs who are Christians

by whyizit in

jw
friends

i noticed that many who post here have kind of thrown the "baby out with the bathwater", when it comes to the bible and god.. i understand that there is a fine line between love and hate.

maybe they blame god for the deception.

maybe they don't trust anything to do with god any more.

whyizit

I noticed that many who post here have kind of thrown the "baby out with the bathwater", when it comes to the Bible and God.

I understand that there is a fine line between love and hate. Maybe they blame God for the deception. Maybe they don't trust anything to do with God any more.

For those who went on to become Bible-believing Christians, could you help me to better understand the experience? Were you angry with God at first? What caused you to be able to trust and believe in God once again? How long did it take? Which Bible verses really spoke to you?

Anything you care to share about leaving the WTS and coming to Christ would be of great interest to me.

Thanks!

Whyizit

39

(For Christians) Why Human Organization Is Unnecessary

by AuldSoul in

jw
friends

coming out of jws, one of the most thorough studies i have done is on the topic of human organization.

i have been very careful with this study for two reasons: (1) if human organization is important, then "where else do we go?

" is an important question whether or not that is the question peter asked jesus; and (2) if human organization is not important, it allows us to see christianity, fellowship, and our personal relationship with christ in a whole new way.. i set out to determine whether human organization was necessary (and therefore, important), not to prove that it is unnecessary.

whyizit

I have heard that several legalistic religious organizations use John 6:68 to try to show that even if you find flaws with them, where else will you go? "Aren't we at least better than the "others"?", they ask. Actually this verse does not speak of going away or to any religious organization. It speaks of going directly to Jesus.

You can go on to read John 5:39-40. This tells the theme of the O.T. and N.T. Not a religion, but Jesus. Eternal life does not come from the knowledge of Scriptures. It does not come from "doing" good things.

Romans 8 and Galatians 4 explain in great detail what we need to have in order to be pleasing to God. We need His Son. Gathering with others who believe the gospel, as it is presented in the Bible, is a way to strengthen our faith. A religion is not necessary. A relationship is.

The comparison is made in the Bible of a slave and a son. A slave is not a family member. He stands to inherit nothing. But if that slave were adopted as a child, he shall also share in all the benefits of being a son.

Before we are Christians, we are slaves to sin. Even when we do something good, it is often for the wrong reasons. But as Christians, we experience freedom from the sin nature. We are no longer existing in the flesh only, but we now have the Spirit of Christ dwelling within us. We can now call God our Father. He's no longer impersonal and out of our reach. When we accept His Son, just as He arranged it, then that gives us the righteousness we need to be acceptable to Him. See Luke 11:11-13-- We are encouraged to ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing in the Bible that tells us we cannot.

Jer. 31:30-34 foretells the new covenant. It explains that His laws will be written in our hearts and minds, and will no longer need to be taught to us by others. In John 14, Jesus explains this new covenant. He is the only way to the Father. God arranged that we come to Jesus for forgiveness. He gave Him the power to forgive sins. The only way to be saved from our own sins, is to go directly to Jesus and ask his forgiveness. John14:14 tells us to ask JESUS, not to merely mention His name in the process of talking to God. You can cross reference this to Psalm 91:14-14 and you can also look in the Kindom Interlinear at Jonh 14:14, in the original Greek text and see that it says we are to speak directly to Jesus. John 14:15-26 explains the promise to come as a result of accepting Jesus. Notice: this promise was not limited to a certain number of people. It was not for a particular denomination. It was for ALL who accept Jesus (vs.21and vs. 23).

An organization of Christians who come together to worship and to build each other up is not a bad thing. Corruption comes when they start adding human rules and regulations, and then claim it is God doing it. Col. 2 tells of the freedom we have as Christians. Vs. 16 tells us that we should not let anyone judge us by what we eat or drink, by holidays, etc... Vs.22 says these things are based on human commands and teachings. They lack any value. Col.3:2 goes on to say that we should set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Legalistic religions are more interested on outward earthly appearances than on prayer and worship of God. If the focus is not on worship and teaching directly from the Bible, then it is not a good place to be.

The Bible doesn't promote "religion". It promotes faith, love, and salvation through Jesus alone (Acts 4:12). Anything good we do after that, is a result of being saved. We cannot add to our salvation through good works, because that would be saying that Jesus was not sufficient. The Bible is clear on the fact that He was completely sufficient.

Any denomination claiming to be the one and only true church, should raise red flags. No where in the Bible does it say that. There are two covenants, the old and the new. Two groups of Christians? No! Two groups of people, yes. The Jews and the Gentiles. One church = ALL Christians. (John 10:16-- ONE flock, ONE sheperd.)

Don't take mine, or anyone else's, word for it. Research it yourself and you will see the truth. And it really will set you free.

In Christ,

Whyizit