Posts by insearchoftruth

21

My wife wants the stepson to 'study'....any ideas??

by insearchoftruth in

as if i did not have enough stress in my life right now.....we have a son who has finally come clean on some of the things he has done in the past, and these things were pretty bad.

my wife (who many of you probably feel you know from earlier posts) has been acting very interested in the jws and now with the son's admittance of his transgressions, she has decided that it is time for him to 'meet his maker', so she has told him that the two of them will be studying the 'bible' together.

she has talked to the sister she has studied with about this and she is more than willing to help by providing literature to guide the studies, i am guessing the 'young people ask' books.

insearchoftruth

As if I did not have enough stress in my life right now.....we have a son who has finally come clean on some of the things he has done in the past, and these things were pretty bad. My wife (who many of you probably feel you know from earlier posts) has been acting very interested in the JWs and now with the son's admittance of his transgressions, she has decided that it is time for him to 'meet his maker', so she has told him that the two of them will be studying the 'bible' together. She has talked to the sister she has studied with about this and she is more than willing to help by providing literature to guide the studies, I am guessing the 'young people ask' books.

In the meanwhile, I have contacted a local church (not the one I have attended in the past) and asked them about their youth ministry program, and it sounds like a pretty great program, with lots of fun activity, service activities as well as some Bible study (yes they actually use the Bible). I had mentioned in passing to my wife I was going to bring him to this program not tomorrow, but next week because I feel it will benefit him to be around some good kids.

I know that the following provides me the right under headship to take him to what I desire, but since he is her son from her first marriage, will that make a difference in the interpretation?

I really want what is best not only for myself, but also for my family and I am very concerned that he will openly rebel against her wanting to study with him.

Any advice on what I should do here is very appreciated.

Thanks,

ISOT

*** w02 8/15 pp. 30-31 Questions From Readers ***
Questions From Readers
What guidance do the Scriptures provide about child training when one parent is one of Jehovah?s Witnesses and the other is not?
Two key Scriptural principles provide guidance about child training for a Witness parent who has a non-Witness mate. One is: "We must obey God as ruler rather than men." (Acts 5:29) The other is: "A husband is head of his wife as the Christ also is head of the congregation." (Ephesians 5:23) The latter applies not only to wives with Witness husbands but also to those with non-Witness mates. (1 Peter 3:1) How can a Witness parent balance these principles when teaching his or her children?
If the husband is one of Jehovah?s Witnesses, he is responsible for making both spiritual and physical provisions for his family. (1 Timothy 5:
What if his unbelieving wife insists on taking their children to her place of worship or teaching them her beliefs? The law of the land may give her the right to do so. Whether the children are enticed into acts of worship at such places may depend much on the quality of the father?s spiritual teaching. As the children grow older, the Scriptural education by their father should help them to follow the truth of God?s Word. How happy the believing husband would be if his children were to take their stand for the truth!
If the mother is one of Jehovah?s Witnesses, she has to respect the headship principle while being concerned about her children?s eternal welfare. (1 Corinthians 11:3) In many cases, her unbelieving mate will not mind if his Witness wife gives moral and spiritual education to their children, and help toward that end is available at meetings of Jehovah?s people. The mother can help her unbelieving husband to see the benefits of the upbuilding education that their children receive through Jehovah?s organization. She can tactfully emphasize the merit of inculcating the Bible?s moral principles in their children, faced as they are with living in a morally deteriorating world.
However, the unbelieving husband might insist that his children practice his religion, taking them to his place of worship and giving them religious education according to his faith. Or a husband may be opposed to all religion and insist that his children receive no religious education. As the head of the family, he is the one primarily responsible for making the decision.
While respecting her husband?s headship, as a dedicated Christian, the believing wife would bear in mind the attitude of the apostles Peter and John, who said: "As for us, we cannot stop speaking about the things we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19, 20) Out of concern for the spiritual welfare of the children, a Witness mother will find opportunities to provide moral direction for them. She has a responsibility before Jehovah to teach others about what she knows to be true, and her children should be no exception. (Proverbs 1:8; Matthew 28:19, 20) How can the Witness mother deal with the dilemma?
Take for example the matter of belief in God. The Witness wife may not be able to have a formal Bible study with her children because of her husband?s restrictions . Should she for this reason shy away from telling her children anything about Jehovah? No. Her words and deeds would naturally reflect her belief in the Creator. Her children would no doubt have questions on the subject. She should feel free to exercise her freedom of religion by expressing her belief in the Creator, including to her children. Even if she may not be able to conduct a Bible study with the children or take them to meetings regularly, she can impart to them knowledge about Jehovah God.?Deuteronomy 6:7.
Concerning the relationship between a Witness and his or her unbelieving mate, the apostle Paul wrote: "The unbelieving husband is sanctified in relation to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in relation to the brother; otherwise, your children would really be unclean, but now they are holy." (1 Corinthians 7:14) Jehovah views the marital relationship as holy because of the believing mate, and the children are considered holy in Jehovah?s eyes. The Witness wife should do her best to help her children to understand the truth, leaving the final outcome in Jehovah?s hands.
As the children grow older, they have to decide what stand they will take based on the information they have received from their parents. They may decide to act in accord with Jesus? words: "He that has greater affection for father or mother than for me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37) They are also commanded: "Children, be obedient to your parents in union with the Lord." (Ephesians 6:1) Many youths have decided to ?obey God as ruler? rather than a non-Witness parent, despite suffering hardship from that parent. How rewarding it would be to the Witness parent to see the children decide to serve Jehovah in spite of opposition!
[Footnote]
The wife?s legal right to free practice of religion includes her right to attend Christian meetings. In some cases, a husband has been unwilling to care for minor children at those times, so the loving mother was obliged to take them with her to the meetings.

6

Gleaning and Fasting, what are the Jehovah's Witness views on this?

by insearchoftruth in

my wife was wondering why some people fast as religious practices and i told her that fasting is often spoken about in the bible, both ot and nt.

what is the viewpoint of the wts on the practices of gleaning and fasting?

i am amazed about how many things these "bible students" just gloss over in their teachings and studies.....but i guess neither fasting nor gleaning gets magazines and books distributed, do they?.

insearchoftruth

The reason I am asking is my wife was shocked to hear about people who fast for religion and was wondering why. I told her that there were so many things that people do that are Biblical that she has no idea about.

The JWs have a huge doctrine about paradise earth, (never mentioned in the Bible), Michael=Jesus (Michael mentioned few times in the Bible, never equating with Jesus) and made the effort to change the Bible to clarify their stance on the Trinity (whether the Bible says so or not, the point is they Bible has been altered to strengthen their position) but then fasting, which is common in both the NT and OT is not even mentioned to a JW.....neither is gleaning, and even more surprising to me, neither is tithing.

22

safe place KH?!?!?!!?

by loosie in

can anyone point me in the directions where i would stats on how many deaths have occurred at kingdom halls?

i just got back from the bathroom barfing after reading this email.

i wanted to respond to it with some stats.

insearchoftruth

Why should twisting statistics be any different than twisting scripture???

6

Gleaning and Fasting, what are the Jehovah's Witness views on this?

by insearchoftruth in

my wife was wondering why some people fast as religious practices and i told her that fasting is often spoken about in the bible, both ot and nt.

what is the viewpoint of the wts on the practices of gleaning and fasting?

i am amazed about how many things these "bible students" just gloss over in their teachings and studies.....but i guess neither fasting nor gleaning gets magazines and books distributed, do they?.

insearchoftruth

bttt

4

When did they start believing in 2 classes?

by startingover in

i know that contrary to what most jw's understand, the bible students believed that jesus returned in 1874 and that the end of the world was to be in 1914. can anyone tell me if they believed there were 2 classes back then, or was everyone going to heaven?

any links or quotes would be helpful.. .

thanks.

insearchoftruth

No quotes, but I believe it was the 1918/1919 timeframe when the calling for a heavenly hope was originally sealed (with the seal now broken), what appears to be the cause was the growth at that time exceeded the 144K, so had to figure out someplace for the others (sheep).

6

Gleaning and Fasting, what are the Jehovah's Witness views on this?

by insearchoftruth in

my wife was wondering why some people fast as religious practices and i told her that fasting is often spoken about in the bible, both ot and nt.

what is the viewpoint of the wts on the practices of gleaning and fasting?

i am amazed about how many things these "bible students" just gloss over in their teachings and studies.....but i guess neither fasting nor gleaning gets magazines and books distributed, do they?.

insearchoftruth

My wife was wondering why some people fast as religious practices and I told her that fasting is often spoken about in the Bible, both OT and NT.

What is the viewpoint of the WTS on the practices of gleaning and fasting? I am amazed about how many things these "Bible Students" just gloss over in their teachings and studies.....but I guess neither fasting nor gleaning gets magazines and books distributed, do they?

3