It amazes me that we do not have a right to freedom of speech is this country. There may well be a tradition, but nothing in black and white as they do in the USA. This country is slowly becoming a police state, what about all those muslim placards, when they marched through London in site of the police? It was only because of the public backlash that the Met did anthing about it, yet they still not only allowed them as all the placards were approved first.
This is a disgrace.
Paul
i have a good friend from childhood in the congregation who is undergoing a few problems and i need to give him some advice.
let me start from the beginning.... .
childhood.
im just wondering how does it play on your mind that we know we are going to die at armageddon because i knnow its going to happen
I will never forget some advice i was given about the time i was leaving the WBTS. I met this girl at college at the time, after a conversation we both had we realised how we were both brought up as witnesses. She had left a couple of years earlier, turns out she was a lesbian and had the dilemma that being brought up as witness would bring. One day a few of us were out and she could tell i was a bit troubled and had things on my mind, you see at the time i was splitting up with my ex wife, we had 3 small children and on top of that i was leaving the WBTS. We got talking about Armaggedon and i said but it may come tomorrow, which i was worried about. She said to me and i never will forget it, " if armaggedon came tomorrow wouldn't you rather live your life happy and die at armaggedon than to live your life forever being unhappy ". She said, "why be something that your not, that would be a false and wrong way of living". She said that she would rather live one day, one week, one year, ten years happy, being true to herself and die at armaggedon than to live a lie to try to get through it.
That conversation always stook in my mind and i will never forget it. I have since lost touch with her, this was about 12 years ago and i would love to see her, if only to tell her how much that advice has meant to me. Now though, through years of education and self examining have passed i do not believe in armaggedon or those beliefs, i see them as a control thing the WBTS uses.
Hope this helps
Paul
i once turned in 39 hours helping another to reach their pioneer goal.
fairly accurate reporting of the hours as well.
157hrs!!!
I was being threatened to be struck off regular pioneering as i wasn't doing enough hours. I needed this in the last month to complete my 1000hrs.
Paul
i have looked at the thread about gay marriages in california and thought about asking this question there, but instead of hi-jacking that one i thought i would ask it here.
there seems to be quite a few gay people on this site and i wonder how many class themselves as christian?
if so, can being gay live in harmony with being a christian?.
The problem is this: Humans have a sin scale, in the bible God does not.
Humans have somehow determined that homosexuality is worse than heterosexual fornication. There are other sins as well that people will "rank." Society still feels that homosexuality is a higher ranked sin than many other more acceptable ones. For instance, alcoholism or gluttony would probably rank pretty low on most people's sin scales. Even adultery is often overlooked. But for some reason people stuck homosexuality at the top of the list, right up there with murder. Profanity and blaspheming speech is definitely way at the bottom of the list.
Either Christ makes a way for sinners or he does not. If he does, then that should apply to all sins. If he doesn't then homosexuals be rejected along with every other human on the face of the earth.
Interesting post, i can understand this line of thinking that God does not have a sin scale. However, the flaw with this line of argument is that a gay christian must accept that homosexuality is a sin.
Paul
mouthy, is today your 81st birthday?
i saw on a post you wrote -- and it said birthday!
(don't know how these things work?).
Grace, Happy birthday.
I read your story on another site, 4jehovah.org i think, not sure, very intersesting. I also watched a clip of your video and you're looking good for an old english gal.
Paul
where to start?.
i thought about typing out a nutshelled life history but changed my mind.
suffice it to say, i was born into "the truth," attempted suicide at 14, "lost my faith" at this time, beat into submission into carrying on as usual, endured a horrible marriage and equally horrible divorce, and am more or less still in it (appearances only!
Hello and welcome. Interesting story.
Paul
could pioneers better spend their time instead of putting in hours?
Pioneers have always wasted their time!
There was any excuse to count your time. I remember the once me and my pioneer partner went to see a mate who we grew up with, he wasn't baptised, we played monopoly for 5 hours and counted it! All because we mentioned the bible a few times and classed it as encouragement!
Paul
hello all,.
i have heard over the last couple of weeks , from 2 different sources that the pioneer hours are to be reduced to 60, this has come from uk bethel sources, but not seen anything posted here about that here... also that the new wt for the witnesses contans an article that gives 3 new points of 'revised light'... any ideas what these are about?.
i have also had lots of fun recently, questioning people on what the scripture mean whan it says .. do not forsake the gathering of yourselves together, even more so as you behold gods day drawing near... in view of the recent book study stuff....
I'm old skool, when i pioneered it was 90 hrs a month. But we used to use it up by cheating and visiting the sick and elderly. Can't believe these part timers now.
Paul
i'm gerlinde from germany.
i never was a jw, but i was lds.
now i' m a witch and i write short stories like this one:.
Hello and welcome to the board.
Paul
i have looked at the thread about gay marriages in california and thought about asking this question there, but instead of hi-jacking that one i thought i would ask it here.
there seems to be quite a few gay people on this site and i wonder how many class themselves as christian?
if so, can being gay live in harmony with being a christian?.
BTS to relate alcoholism to this is neither here nor there. The bible condemns them both, so i do not see how either can be reconciled with scripture.
Paul
