hey there:.
the other day i was discussing the topic of the verse where jesus apparently uses the term i am in reference to himself.. this claim obviously referring to his being god.. i could swear that i have read somewhere that this term ego emi (sp) was used elsewhere in the nt by someone other than jesus.. i am wondering if anyone here would have any information on this topic.. thx in advance..
I am glad to see that the very knowledgeable still frequent this site.
It's been years since I've been here.
I miss reading the insights. I suggested this site to a witness I've been debating. I hope he visits. And I'm glad to know that some really well read people are still active here.
i've been a faded jw for 10 years i left because of my failed first marriage, i'm no hypocrite and realised i had left completely so i embraced the world and dived in, only christmas and birthdays i could not get into, they were too foreign to me having never celebrated them, like if i suddenly tried to do ramadan or something like that.. 1/ all the criticisms of the people in the truth you say on here, i've found in the world, warts and all only in the world nothing holds them back from being utterly horrible to you.. 2/ i got stabbed by a worldly boyfriend, i got married 2 times of my own choosing to men outside the truth, the first smoked and was an alcoholic, the second gambled every penny we had and defrauded me out of money after we separated, 2 divorces later i am currently pregnant and a single mum since current boyfriend decided kids was to much of a responsibility and he needed his freedom and i was 'too selfish to expect him to give up his life'.. 3/ parents-in-law!
i have been shunned by them as equal to anything you accuse witness families of and for the silliest of reasons, i had a disabled son and his grandparents said they wanted nothing to do with him because they didn't want to become attached in case he died.. 4/ i miss the honest friendships of the truth, i had friends of all ages from 14 to 80 years old and they genuinely cared for me, many trying to keep me in the faith a long time after i left but i was determined to fade so moved away completely, but i find friendships in the world so shallow in comparison and very hard to sustain :( i've never been a drinker and sometimes thats what friendship means you being a companion for them to goto pub with.. 5/ my recent boyfriend was in a christian religion, i thought why not find out about it, harvest churches if you ever heard of them, unfortunately it still hasn't stop him leaving me pregnant and alone and when i said to him how does he clear that with god, he replies "as long as i repent it doesn't matter" it's like he has a "get out of jail free card" for any wrong-doing in the bible, this is so alien to me and my witness trained conscience.. 6/ i recently out of frustration tried looking into atheism and joined their forums, it wasn't fun, they are as bombastic and arrogant as their religious counterparts can be from any religion, they make a religion out of not believing in god, it's very weird they talk of saving people from believing in god and offer nothing to replace it.
they said to me "be happy you are in reality now and enjoy it" and i thought "well if this is reality i've had enough of it".
this was probably said but I didn't want to read through 9 pages. This sounds like the result of poor choices, not because you are in the "world". When you choose to date an alcoholic or a compulsive gambler, have children out of wed-lock, or date guys who, (though christian by faith) are still immature or irresponsible, it says something about your judgment and maturity. I'm not saying this to be harsh, but witness or no witness, I'd say the same thing to almost anyone.
it's been about a year since i've been on this board.
and what brought me here was me (a non-jw) seeing a jw girl.
i've been out of this situation for a while now.
Thanks to everyone for their insight. In the beginning when I first met her, she told me that her daughter was adopted. That her best friend died young of cancer and that she adopted the child. I think that's right out of a movie... When she finally fessed up, she said it was because she didn't want me to think less of her... Because I know how important religion can be in a relationship, the very first night I went out with her I asked her if she was a Christian, she said "yes". When I asked what denomination or the name of her church or where it was, she seemed to have a total lapse of memory. I remember one time our plans to hang out got cancelled because she said she was taken to the emergency room for some kind of panic attack. I caught her in that one. I called the hospital and found out she had never been admitted. (I normally don't check up but by this time I was becoming a very distrusting person). I remember before we were going out, she said she was hit by a car and was limping all over work, which is where i met her. I was pretty much waiting on her hand and foot. (I was told by a co-worker that they caught her walking to the bathroom just fine). Even after we broke up, we kept in touch and a friend at work told me they saw her holding hands with someone at the autoshow. I asked her about it and she said it was her "friend" who was there with his wife and that they always hold hands and she's like part of the family. She also seemed to have a lot of men in her life that were at her beck and call but were always in the "friend zone". I think she knew too well how to manipulate. And it wasn't just this. It was little every day things that didn't need lying about. I just didn't get it. It seemed so unnecessary. It's only now that I'm moving on that I realized that I was in love with a a lie.
it's been about a year since i've been on this board.
and what brought me here was me (a non-jw) seeing a jw girl.
i've been out of this situation for a while now.
It's been about a year since I've been on this board. And what brought me here was me (a non-JW) seeing a JW girl. I've been out of this situation for a while now. But looking back on the situation with a clear head, I realized I fell for a girl that wasn't real. She lied about SO many things. Some things were so trivial there was no point in lying about them. But I was amazed at how easy it was for her to lie. I mean, I was a secret the entire time we were together so she was lying to her family as well. I have a theory about this. I figure since she grew up in such a restricted and judgemental environment, lying became something she learned to do well. What do you all think about this? Does growing up in the JW environment cause you to be more loose with the truth? Do you think her behavior is a direct link to her JW-ness? Or do you think she is just deceptive aside from her upbringing.
i don't often open up discussions on my beliefs or experiences in life, but i feel a need, so please excuse me if you feel it untoward.
neither is this a poxy swan-song, i'm just opening up my heart a little.. today i had cause to reflect on a conversation i had with my [now ex-]wife shortly after my epithany.
everything was so new and unknown.
LittleToe, You are so articulate! The words you have expressed have come across so genuine and with so much heart. I'm floored!!
i don't often open up discussions on my beliefs or experiences in life, but i feel a need, so please excuse me if you feel it untoward.
neither is this a poxy swan-song, i'm just opening up my heart a little.. today i had cause to reflect on a conversation i had with my [now ex-]wife shortly after my epithany.
everything was so new and unknown.
LittleToe, You are so articulate! The words you have expressed have come across so genuine and with so much heart. I'm floored!!
in somalia, gunmen shot to death an italian nun, who worked in a hospital which serves mothers and children.
this came only hours after a leading cleric condemned pope benedict for his remarks on islam and violence.
some think there may be a connection.
Hey Asheron, Do you mind telling me what the facts are that disprove the existence of God? I find the arguement about evil in the world not very strong. First, that question asks what type of God exists, not the actual existence of God. To assume that he would do something assumes that you know more than He/She does. Also, I find this kind of arguementation a far cry from "facts." Facts usually assume science, and science only tests the measureable and the physical. So would you consider yourself an implicit atheist? I enjoy the discussion :-)
ok this is the first thread i have ever started.. .
i have decided to live my life on one premise .
basically that jesus christ said that he had one commandment - love one another .. .
I agree!
in somalia, gunmen shot to death an italian nun, who worked in a hospital which serves mothers and children.
this came only hours after a leading cleric condemned pope benedict for his remarks on islam and violence.
some think there may be a connection.
that's a misnomer...Since atheism is based on lack of evidence, you won't find any support for any ideology, including doing good for anyone just as you won't find it supporting murder in the name of anything, you won't find it supporting good in the name of anything either. Secondly, being what the nature of Atheism is...the fact of the matter as the previous posters have shown with their links, more people were killed under atheistic leadership than any religious leadership. It shows that lack of God or lack of faith isn't any more peaceful or better.
what is the "difference" between what early christians and biblical prophets did in expecting jesus to return in the 1st century and what jw's have done for over 100 years of false expectations?
i am in no way trying to excuse jw's and their false prophecies but why is it so different when born-agains and other christians set a date for something but when it fails no body says one word about it.
but when jw's and mormons do the same thing all hell breaks loose.
Narkissos, your 2nd Thes reference says "at hand" rather than "already here" in most translations I read. if you read the next two verses it talks about what must happen first. I'm really interested in this false prophecy/date setting especially when it comes to the Catholic Church. Does anyone have references for this?
