Deacon
JoinedTopics Started by Deacon
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43
Reform....why?
by Deacon inthe organization cannot be reformed from outside; that can only come from individuals who have the guts and will to do so inside, and the determination to get rid of hardline thinking that is so strangling.
my personal desire is to see immediate change regarding the child abuse policy, and that will come.
to see a clear, quick change in the horribly inconsistent blood policy rather than drag it out over years; kids are dying in the process.enforced shunning is also an evil that they will have to deal with eventually; it's ripping them apart.. .
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9
It comes down too....
by Deacon infor those who make a choice, decision or reality to leave off being a member of the jehovahs witnesses, it comes down to, either ceasing to believe in god as the creator, or....choosing to let him examine your heart and see that the direction that was taken, was done in total honesty and in total agony because of the choice made.. and i guess that is all we can ask of ourselves as humans, that we make all decisions from knowledge and from reason and from inner conviction.
god will surely take that into consideration,,,because we are made in his image, and therefore ...... so for mrmoe, for others struggling with the ramifications of seperating from the organisation, just follow what is in your heart and gain all the information you can to make your own life decision...and then live it.
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26
Loss or gain?
by Deacon inon sunday, i sat outside the local kingdom hall waiting for the meeting to start.
being disfellowshipped, i was gonna go in late.... 20 minutes later.. i went to a starbucks instead.. i think im over it....i really do.. its a shame.
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7
World within world
by Deacon init took me a long time to figure out what is happening.
for those of us that have been lifetime or long time witnesses, the simplest of things are totally overlooked...because we never thought about it.. all through the pages of the bible, we see how men of old gripped hold of their relationship as individuals, and as a people for jehovahs name, and went against the social and legal systems of the times.. the wtbts have assumed that role today.
they have a worldwide kingdom, a government and local rulers to implement "legal' and moral judgements upon the subject.
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43
New Congregation
by Deacon inok. we ran a thread recently about starting a new religion.. how about we start an international congregation here on the board.. we need 7 elders.
7 being a sign of perfection..er....yeah.. we need ministerial servants.. appointments will be general concensus..er holy spirit i mean.. p.o.
lets start with him.
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32
funny old life isnt it....
by Deacon ini was just looking out the window, as it would happen a middle aged woman, or perhaps a young woman worn out with her life walked past.
she stopped on the edge of the mall where my wifes office is, and sat on a bench outside the window.
on close look, she couldnt have been more than late 30's, but probably only 35.. she sat for a while just looking at the ground in front of her, her face just exhibiting that blank look of the world weary.
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8
Evolutionists having to fight for the theory.....
by Deacon inevolutionists battle new theory on creation.
by james glanz.
salvatore c. dimarco jr. for the new york times .
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6
Reasons and Questions....
by Deacon ini read very carefully isp and farkels's comments regarding why people stay/leave the organisation.
in writing that sentence, im very aware of the influence of being a member from childhood....41 years worth, behind me.. both contributors made excellent informative points from their singular perspective, although opposite in view, the parallel was on the same axis, therefore just extremes of the same understanding, sort of left and right of the same line so to speak....but it made sense to me and gave me time to think about reasons..... i am still a jehovahs witness.
no, i dont go to meetings, no i dont go out in the ministry, no i dont associate with other jw's....but the upbringing, the regimentation, the responsibilities, the mental regulating of 41 years has coded me to think, react and do in accordance with the actions of being a jw..... this is something that will take a long time, if ever to remove, and its a hard job deciding what needs to be removed, not all of the training was bad.. i still believe in jehovah.
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20
when the rain clears...
by Deacon inive been reading thesr posts for a while, thinking on them, pondering as the wt has recommended over the years.. having grown up as a witness, and having been involved in both the boring and the more exciting parts of the ministry, i know what it is like to be part of a team, and more importantly , i know what its like to be a team player on gods side.
and then one day, things start to unravel, the marriage, the relationship with bethel, the relationship with members in the congregations, and then, on another later day, suddenly you find yourself on the outside.. so, as time passes, a person begins to miss the association, the meetings, the laughter of the ministry groups, even the smell of the kingdom halls.....and effort is made to restore self to favour....and in time that too....comes to pass.. but here i am, a few years later, once more isolated, but this time by my own choice, beset by doubts and concerns over something that i held and hold sacred.. my circumstances have changed.
i chose the path of marriage again, to a wonderful person that has filled my life with contentment without the pressures of having to be an elder or an example to others in the christian manner, for those that are or have been in positions of oversight, you will know what this means...and yes my wife is one raised as a witness, and having her own journey that she may or may not choose to share with you...in any case, i feel priveleged to know her just for the decent human she is.. so, here i am, watching, reading, thinking....and i admit to being a little lost.. firstly, 607, it may or may not be correct, frankly my dears.... the ever changing date of armaggeddon...well that would appear to be a previousness on the part of the leading lights...after a while it gets tedious and a little self defeating.... the meetings and requirements for field service...well as i see it, the bible indicates it is a requirement to meet together, and furthermore a requirement to tell others about jehovah....the application of the principles have become (almost law,) in order to belong to the organisation known as jehovahs witnesses...that is a minor problem, despite the best efforts from co's and do's from the platform, the unoffical stance is that if you aint cutting it.. you aint spiritual.. now,where im at in this stream of time, along with all the confusion about what is right and what is wrong, i have to just look for other confirmations that jehovahs time is at hand...if indeed it is near at all.. man is now developing life in vacuums, primitive cellular structures it may be, but the leaps of testing criteria has been enhanced by the use of computers to cut time.... man has the ability (proven) to destroy earth.. man is killing the earth.. now if i was the creator, and he once before destroyed civilisation when they built the tower of babel, i would be thinking that soon they would know stuff they shouldnt know, and in any case, the earthdewellers are so dumb they will destroy themselves..id better start big a... my concern is,, that in the bigger picture..does it really matter if we get it so wrong, so many times and so quickly?
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