freetosee

Joined

• started 31 topics
• posted 1,314 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by freetosee

• 
  17

  daniel sydlik, what a guy!

  by dvw in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hope this worked.

  i thought a memorial was not to be a way to make the deceased the object of adoration.

  isnt it supposed to glorify joho and make known the glorious prospect of the ressurection?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  freetosee

  Copy the picture into here http://s74.photobucket.com and repost it from there back into this thread. Hope it works.
• 
  6

  Are "annointed" denied to be such if they disagree with the status quo

  by A Paduan in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  if one of the annointed disagrees with current thoughts does the gb say, well, they mustnt be annointed?

  is anointed status simply another matter of 'the slaves opinion' ?

  how does someone get to be an "annointed" anyway ?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  freetosee

  Jehovah's Witnesses are taught that Jehovah God himself deals directly only with a group known as "the remnant" and that other Jehovah's Witnesses must deal with Him through the Watchtower Society. The arrangement puzzled me. I asked: "Brother Franz, since the Watchtower Society in Brooklyn is the only outlet for God to speak through, by way of the printed materials and so forth, how would someone of the 'remnant' get information from God to other Witnesses? I mean ... how would an older sister, say, way out in the country, for example, give Spiritual food from Jehovah to others?" Franz's face turned red and he replied: "How? ... How? ... By supporting what is printed in the Watchtower, that's how!" With that, he went to his room. End of discussion. I had no idea that the question would draw such a reaction. The question was one that could not be answered by anyone at Bethel without admitting that they were the sole distributors of truth, which contradicted what they taught.

  http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/fred_franz.htm
• 
  31

  may i say hello?!?

  by isthisit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello my name is isthisit and i have a confession to make, i'm an active jw and not happy.

  i am a lurker here and have to start posting.

  i am 22 and have been "born and raised" as well as being 4th generation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  freetosee

  Hello and Welcome!

  Freetosee
• 
  9

  The "Judge" Rutherford books, ever seen or read them?

  by wanderlustguy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  i have deliverance here...stange how the book kinda goes with the movie.... also found 8 more at a flea market...but they wanted $12.00 each.

  i got a kick out of the illustrations of the devil and the wt emblem on the back is kinda spooky.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  freetosee

  I have got some of the old books and have read portions of them. Reading them now is very different to reading them as a JW, when I was still blinded by the brighter getting new light. I always felt they were written more church-like compared to the modern publications. The long paragraphs were not easy to read and understand. But I never understood why brothers were criticised for wasting valuable time in reading old publications.

  Thanks WLG, I thought you meant the Deliverance! Book. fts
• 
  26

  Newbies Introduce yourselves!

  by Sparkplug in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok, i have been in and out of here lately due to schedules.

  each time i log in there is a new member on the board.

  when i go to see who they are...usually there is nothing and everyone is doing great and jumping right into conversation...but i for one would like to know your stories...anyone care to share or just introduce themselves to everyone?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  freetosee

  You’re right. I never really introduced myself but jumped right into a discussion. You can find a sort biography in my profile. I made many experiences as a JW, most of them are very similar to all others. My ‘exit’ is quite interesting and I post it sometime. I had to chase after the CO and DO and they found poor excuses not to keep their appointments. Which was good as it showed my younger sister what kind of caring ‘shepherds’ they are.

  Freetosee
• 
  17

  Confidential Elders meetings, HA!

  by restrangled in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my father was and elder and i remember him coming home from elder's meetings telling my mother all.

  we lived in a small house so all could hear through the heating vents what was happening at the kh.

  i learned more than i ever cared to know about at a young age.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  freetosee

  It is the same down here. The wives and children of elders know everything. After any meeting my father told my mother what was being discussed and she would tell us. Many times when my father was on the phone with another elder we could hear everything private matter often very delicate issues were not kept confidential rather they was advertised. In time the whole congregation would be gossiping. That is what upset me when I found out about the abuse of my sister. Suddenly the confidentiality worked! It works for the protection of paedophiles, but not for the regular publishers. freetosee
• 
  23

  An intriging tale of corruption in the congregation {Mark Heber Miller}

  by sf in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  http://www.nazarene-friends.org/pubs/confessions/000.htm

  i haven't read marks story in a while and was looking for the part where he states ted jaracz went out in field service with him and a few other brothers back in the 70's, in newport beach/ balboa island, for another thread here.. if you grew up in southern california as a jw, you might find it a very intriging tale of just how the elite congs were being run.

  i know for myself it is like trying to fit pieces of a puzzle.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  freetosee

  Interesting experiences, I can relate to many things Miller says (not the Jesus-dream-vision). Thanks for posting, freetosee
• 
  9

  The "Judge" Rutherford books, ever seen or read them?

  by wanderlustguy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  i have deliverance here...stange how the book kinda goes with the movie.... also found 8 more at a flea market...but they wanted $12.00 each.

  i got a kick out of the illustrations of the devil and the wt emblem on the back is kinda spooky.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  freetosee

  I got a kick out of the illustrations of the Devil and the WT emblem on the back is kinda spooky.

  Where? Can't find it. freetosee
• 
  26

  The Devil couldn't have done a better job, assuming God inspired the Bible

  by Spectrum in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  if you were a mean spirited, nasty supernatural being that wanted to reek havok on human civilisation how would you go about doing it?

  inspire people to write several versions of a book, call it holy, then get people to slavishly follow the version that they prefer and die for it when they come in contact with a different version.

  could a kind, all powerful, gracious god have ever inspired such a book.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  freetosee

  The Holy Bible:

  God Is Not The Author

  -Mark Smith-

  Imagine the ruler of the universe noticing his favorite creatures needed guidance. He decides to write a book for them. Because he’s too busy with his hobby (counting hairs 2 ), he’ll never make time to come down to explain or update his book. Therefore this one book, as-is, first and only edition, will have to stand on its own for all humanity for all time- even surviving translations by these error-prone men.

  And knowing beforehand this book would require translations into all the languages of the world, he would not write the original in an obscure language using an even more obscure dialect, but rather in the leading language of the world at the time. He would not use cultural idioms or sayings that would require a native born speaker or a PhD in Cultural Anthropology to interpret. And he would not pick a language for which no dictionaries existed.

  Realizing the importance of such a task, this god would go out of his way to make sure his book was idiot proof: i.e. crystal clear, the points painfully obvious, and with no ambiguity. Whatever he was trying to say, he’d do the perfect job, as he is the perfect author. There would never be any question at any time over what he had written. As the creator of humans, he knows how they think, and how to communicate to them. He’d be the best writer that could ever exist. What would flow forth from his divine pen would be pure perfection- far better and clearer than anything mere mortals could author.

  And if the Bible were indeed written by this Lord God Almighty, this is exactly what we would see. But rather we see a book that has confused mankind ever since it evolved, even sparking wars over it’s interpretation. We see a book full of ambiguities to the point where thousands of sects have written thousands of books expounding thousands of contradictory interpretations. Even within the Bible itself we find confusion concerning the quality of the writing- one author (Peter) slams another (Paul) for authoring text that was confusing 5 while Paul himself (apparently confused) held the opposite view of his own writing. 6 It should be a sure sign to the Christians that they're in trouble when the books to explain the Bible are sometimes larger than the Bible itself, such as the "Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties" at 476 pages and "Hard Sayings of The Bible" at 808 pages. Books and commentaries like these exist solely to make clear what the Bible so clearly failed to make clear in the first place.

  Even in fundamentals and essentials the Bible fails to clearly communicate. Imagine bailing out of an airplane about to crash, having never parachuted before, only to discover on your way down that the instructions on the side of your parachute are as muddled as the Bible’s "Plan of Salvation"! Yet this is the situation Christians find themselves in. Christians believe themselves free-falling towards hell, and need an answer to the question "What must I do to be saved?" 3 . Certainly the answer to at least this question would have been written in language so plain and beyond dispute as to be easily understood. Yet even on this most vital of questions, the data has been garbled. Christianity is in free-fall, and cannot agree on the parachute’s instructions. Even in matters as important as salvation, honest Christians can’t agree upon what the Bible is trying to say, as you can see in the following chart.

  What Must I Do To Be Saved???
  Catholic	Get baptized Receive sacraments Do good works
  Baptist	Believe Repent
  Presbyterian / Reformed	Do nothing *
  Church of Christ	Hear the gospel Believe Repent Confess Baptism
  United Pentecostal	Believe Repent Baptism Speak in tongues
  * It’s out of your control. God picks you or doesn’t.

  This confusion over salvation would not exist IF the Christian’s Bible had actually been authored by whom the Christians claim it was. For if really authored by an intelligent god it would have been clear, concise, obvious and idiot proof. Not a single commentary would have ever been written trying to make sense out of it. Not a single "Yet More Problems Of The Bible Excused" book would have been conceived, and not a single Christian with a normal IQ would have ever disagreed with another over what the book said. After all, how in hell can average Christians be held accountable to obey a book when even the experts can’t agree on what the book is trying to say. As the Apostle Paul himself wrote, "if the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle." 4 The simple fact is if this book were really authored by a god, this confusion would not exist. Period. But it does exist. This fact, when combined with another fact right from the Christian’s own Bible, "God is not the AUTHOR of confusion..." 1 can only lead to one conclusion: no "god" authored that confusing mess known as The Bible.

  If shown another book that was contradictory or confusing, Christians would be skeptical if told a Tom Clancy or C.S. Lewis was it’s author. Yet these same people, seeing these same problems within their own Bible, never doubt for a minute that "the Lord God Almighty" authored it. Boeing can author a repair manual for a 757, distribute it to aircraft technicians worldwide, and every single technician agrees with the next over what the manual says. On the other hand, the Bible can produce a hundred contradictory interpretations in a hundred churches in a hundred little piss-ant towns. Why? Because the Technical Writers at Boeing are better authors than the real clowns who authored the Bible.

  Christianity has had thousands of scholars over thousands of years obsessing over this one small book, yet they still can’t agree on what the hell it says. The Bible is confusing, Christianity over the past two thousand years has never agreed on what it says, and this is a FACT. This fact alone is proof enough it wasn’t authored by an intelligent god. How do I know this? "The Bible Tells Me So" right in 1st Corinthians 14:33

  God is not

  the author of confusion

  1) 1Cor 14:33, KJV 2)Mt 10:30 3)Acts 16:30 4)1Cor 14:8 5)2Pet 3:16 6)2Cor 1:13

  http://www.jcnot4me.com/Items/theology/god_not_the_author/Nt_Autho.htm
• 
  26

  Just introducing myself

  by restrangled in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  dear all,.

  just wanted to say hello and tell you how much i have appreciated all your postings as a "lurker"...sorry.. short history, grew up in the 70's as a 3rd generation jw, elders daughter, dad left in the 80's, df'd at 16 and the decision was reversed after 90 days.

  left when i was 18. i am now 48 and have suddenly been shunned by my mother even though i have supported her emotionally all these years never critisizing the wt, listening patiently to witnessing stories etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  freetosee

  Welcome, looking forward to your stories.
  freetosee