Shazard: You say that its a mystery why Christians leave Christianity, and you suggest that they have lost their focus on Christ. If you were to check out the ex-Christian websites you will find very clear explanations why Christians leave their faith. You will find many testimonies from people who were very sincere Christians, and who explain their reasons for leaving in a very compelling and un-frenzied way.
scout575
JoinedPosts by scout575
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"Shouldn't they have known better?"
by scout575 in"over the years i have come to know and know of many ex-christians, most of whom were well-churched, their numbers including former ministers, apologists, missionaries, theologians etc.
why should such people leave christianity?
these people are the best versed in christianity and yet leave despite so much personal and professional investment in their religion, enjoyment of their time as believing christians and social pressures to stay.
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"Shouldn't they have known better?"
by scout575 in"over the years i have come to know and know of many ex-christians, most of whom were well-churched, their numbers including former ministers, apologists, missionaries, theologians etc.
why should such people leave christianity?
these people are the best versed in christianity and yet leave despite so much personal and professional investment in their religion, enjoyment of their time as believing christians and social pressures to stay.
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scout575
Narkissos: I completely agree with much of what you say. Of course you can't draw objective conclusions from individual choices, of course people can turn from anything to anything, of course it proves nothing.
My intention in making the above post is to encourage research by JWs who read this site. Upon reading JWD for many months they may decide to leave JWs, but what then? They may simply exchange the JW myths for another set of Biblically-based myths. Maybe my posts will encourage them to read some of the ex-Christian websites, and THEN decide that they are finished with Christian myths of any 'brand'.
I'm posting questions and points that would have helped me when I was a JW. I suppose thats what many posters on JWD are doing. Each to his own, eh?
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"Shouldn't they have known better?"
by scout575 in"over the years i have come to know and know of many ex-christians, most of whom were well-churched, their numbers including former ministers, apologists, missionaries, theologians etc.
why should such people leave christianity?
these people are the best versed in christianity and yet leave despite so much personal and professional investment in their religion, enjoyment of their time as believing christians and social pressures to stay.
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scout575
"Over the years I have come to know and know of many ex-Christians, most of whom were well-churched, their numbers including former ministers, apologists, missionaries, theologians etc. Why should such people leave Christianity? These people are the best versed in Christianity and yet leave despite so much personal and professional investment in their religion, enjoyment of their time as believing Christians and social pressures to stay. How can this happen if the evidence for Christianity is so good? If Christianity is true, shouldn't they have known better?"
The above quote is taken from one of the many websites for ex-Christians. The author is a former member of a "moderately high Anglican church" and his words prompt the question: Why do so many sincere Christians leave Christianity?
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I am the Antichrist!!! ... oh... and so are you!
by jwfacts inthe reason a jw can not even say 'hi' to me (and most you here) is based on 2 john 6-11 .
6 and this is what love means, that we go on walking according to his commandments.
this is the commandment, just as you people have heard from [the] beginning, that you should go on walking in it.
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scout575
jwfacts: Notice that 1 John 2:22b says: "He is anti-Christ, that denieth the Father and the Son." There can be no doubt that I fit this description of being 'anti-Christ' and so I would come in line for the Christian shunning described at 2 John 10. What a shame that the NT contains this extremely harsh sanction for me, a person who simply could no longer believe in God or the Bible's supernatural claims about Jesus.
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"A Clinic for Abuse Patients."
by scout575 in"the main purpose of this site is to help the person who has left or is leaving christianity to deal with the damage done by christianity in a healthy and useful way.
the extrmemity of the damage done to people is so great and common-place that a caring response is very needed.
this site is like a clinic for abuse patients.".
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scout575
tmo 1965: The ex-Christian website that I quoted from includes people who come from from all different kinds of Christianity. This is not a website for people who were in 'wacky' Christian groups, and yet they still make the above points in their 'forum guidelines'. Its interesting to note that some of the posters refer to Christianity as "The Cult", refer to the "mind control" of the "The Cult" and continually refer to the huge relief that they feel in being out of "The Cult". Maybe you'd benefit from reading some of the ex-Christian websites, they certainly make for some interesting ( and hair-raising ) reading.
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Scriptures You Will Not Hear At The 2-04-06 Church Sermon.
by scout575 in"for moses said unto the fathers, "a prophet ( jesus - verse 20 ) shall the lord your god raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
and it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
" ( acts 3:22, 23 ).
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scout575
Apostate Kate: You say: "( The Bible ) is far too deep a book to take a few Scriptures and say that these Scriptures negate that there is ANYTHING GOOD to be learned from it." I couldn't agree more. I have been reading the Bible for over two decades, and still do, even though I'm no longer a JW. I find that there is much in it that is helpful and inspiring. My reason for posting the above texts is to point out that there is also a 'dark' side to the Bible. The same Bible that tells me that God loves me, also tells me that he will execute me if I don't become a Christian. We all have a choice: Do we want to worship such a God or not?
You also say: "No one would turn down that love ( God's supposed love ) except for the truly unrepentent evil." Bold words, Apostate Kate. In looking at the many message boards for ex-Christians, I've come across countless ex-Christians, who were 'full-on' Christians for many years, and have walked away from Christianity with great relief. Are they really among the "truly unrepentent EVIL"? They seem like real sweethearts to me, when I read their postings.
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Scriptures You Will Not Hear At The 2-04-06 Church Sermon.
by scout575 in"for moses said unto the fathers, "a prophet ( jesus - verse 20 ) shall the lord your god raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
and it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
" ( acts 3:22, 23 ).
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scout575
Aniron: Whilst I don't doubt for one second that you have heard the above Scriptures during a sermon, I haven't. I listen to Radio 4's "Thought for the day" program every day, where clergymen of different denominations deliver short sermons, and not once have I heard the above texts being used. This comes as no surprise as they portray the view that people will be executed for not being Christian. It is little wonder that many Christians are uncomfortable with them. If someone were considering becoming a Christian, maybe the thought that the NT promises execution to those who don't embrace Christianity, would put them off becoming a Christian in the first place.
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Scriptures You Will Not Hear At The 2-04-06 Church Sermon.
by scout575 in"for moses said unto the fathers, "a prophet ( jesus - verse 20 ) shall the lord your god raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
and it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
" ( acts 3:22, 23 ).
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scout575
Cellist: The gist of my thread is in the tradition of Blondie's weekly threads. Blondie's comments indicate her distaste with the Watchtower study, whereas the Scriptures that I post highlight the distasteful aspects of the NT. A JW reading Blondie's weekly threads might be tempted to think that upon leaving JWs, it would be a good idea to join some other Christian group. Maybe the Scriptures that I post will help them to view ALL of Christianity as a man-made religion, and not just the JW part of it.
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Scriptures You Will Not Hear At The 2-04-06 Church Sermon.
by scout575 in"for moses said unto the fathers, "a prophet ( jesus - verse 20 ) shall the lord your god raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
and it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
" ( acts 3:22, 23 ).
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scout575
Aniron: Read jgnat's reply for an answer to your question.
Ozziepost: Care to elaborate?
SallySue: I'm using the same way of expressing dates as that used by this site, with the day of the month appearing before the month itself.
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Scriptures You Will Not Hear At The 2-04-06 Church Sermon.
by scout575 in"for moses said unto the fathers, "a prophet ( jesus - verse 20 ) shall the lord your god raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
and it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
" ( acts 3:22, 23 ).
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scout575
"For Moses said unto the fathers, "A prophet ( Jesus - verse 20 ) shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will NOT HEAR that prophet, shall be DESTROYED from among the people." ( Acts 3:22, 23 )
"And to you who are troubled rest with us when the LORD JESUS shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in FLAMING FIRE taking VENGEANCE on them that KNOW NOT GOD, and that OBEY NOT THE GOSPEL of our Jesus Christ: Who shall be PUNISHED with EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." ( 2 Thess 1:7-9 )
"But those mine enemies, which WOULD NOT THAT I ( Jesus, as represented by the "nobleman" ( verse 12 ) of this parable ) SHOULD REIGN OVER THEM, bring hither, and SLAY THEM before me." ( Luke 19:27 )