Posts by agapa37

44

Do You Still Act Like A Jehovah's Witness?

by prophecor in

i'm not very far removed, any longer from how i presented myself as a witness, and how i do today.

i'm usually polite, cordial, respectful of others, even those who i may have very little regard for or those who on a regular basis, piss me off.

i work very hard not to use foul language.

agapa37

Good question Prophecor. From personal experience I see that many who are no longer practicing Witness' do hang on to the core of the moral teachings. Despite their disbelief of it being the truth the morals that are taught come from the bible and are taught throughout most religions. However, I have seen a trend that effects most who leave and someone made a statement that made me think about it.

I am calm and relaxed in the world now.

What that translates into is that one becomes more LIKE THE WORLD, thus becoming more comfortable or relaxed to be part of and except it. Keep in mind that is just my opinion from observation.

30

John 1:3

by VanillaMocha73 in

how do jw's get around this verse?

john 1:3 - "3through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

" i honestly can't remember and can't find anything in the pubs that deals with it.

agapa37

You are saying "Jehovah made Jesus (The Word), Jehovah & Jesus made all other things.Jehovah resurrected Jesus, Jehovah thru Jesus resurrects the righteous and unrighteous!" But the Bible says "3 All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence." (New World Translation). What this is saying is " All things came into existence through Jesus (or the Word), and apart from Jesus not even one thing came into existence." Therefore, that first statement of "Jehovah made Jesus" just does not make sense. Apart from Jesus not even ONE thing came into existence - it does not say anything about one thing being made and then Jesus made all things.....

I have researched this in the WT pub library and really don't find anything that addresses the question.
Terry,
I still believe that God is powerful enough to protect His word from adulteration. So I do tend to believe the Bible for what it says. I know this is a matter of personal faith, so it is fine if you differ. :-)

If we consider what the REST of the Bible has to say about the subject it becomes clearer. I see that you are includung Jesus in the statement at John when he says ALL things. Think of this though, if we appy that line of reasoning then what about God? Does it mean Jesus created God too? Isn't God part of ALL things like Jesus? We know from OTHER verses that God had no beginning right? Using the same reasoning from the scriptures, other verses in the Bible DO say that Jesus had a begining. Notice this scripture..

Colossians 1:15-17 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by means of him all things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All things have been created through him(Notice that?) and for him.

The Bible definetly says Jesus was created by God as His first creation. That verse says that by means of him (Jesus) ALL OTHER things were created through him!.......... It is not so hard to see that. Like Paul we must use our reason when reading the Bible.

Respectfully

AGAPE

13

Crappyassed week (Athsma, kidney problems for my little boy!!)

by JWdaughter in

jw
friends

ok, monday i woke up with a killer backache.

.turned out i sprained my back and was to get to the chiro again the next day.

.except, my 6 yo was in the middle of a hideous athsma attack from mon night on.

agapa37

hang in there, life is full of ups and downs. Seems as if you are experiencing the down part.......which only leaves the upside to come

11

Its about the giving. . .

by JWdaughter in

i saw this on newsday.com today.

this is an excerpt of a former jws take on holidays and their experience with learning to celebrate the.

i am sharing what i think is the gist of the essay: .

agapa37

As humans we need our little rituals, and it starts out as kids. If we are starved of them it affects our emotional balance.

The best we had as kids were Assemblies and the Memorial

I agree that people in general feel the need to be ritual, however, as CHRISTIANS if those rituals involve Pagan customs like many of the holidays today, then we need to fill that void another way!

116

Convince me

by Liza in

i am highly considering becoming a jehovah's witness.

i have been raised in the congregration, but left it when i was a child because my mom left too, but we still retatined the core belifs including the ressurection and the blasphemous pagan influence on mainstream churches.

my mom has recently returned to the congregation, and it has helped her a lot.

agapa37

Actaully I think I mistyped it, I meant to say Bible verses, as in Bible verses that deviate a lot from the NWT.

So does Yaweh not appear in the original Bible? How come in does in some non NWT versions in the Online Parrallel Bible? The name of God was taken out and replaced by the title LORD because of a superstitous idea that it was wrong to say Gods name aloud.

9

Secular Easter.

by Blueblades in

jw
friends

is a holy day becoming just another holiday?

easter bunny rabbit, chocolate candy in all shapes and sizes, jelly beans etc.

where's the talk about "the resurrection?

agapa37

That is so true. Most do not think about Jesus during the holiday and the ones that do fail to realize that no matter how hard they try to attach something good to Easter it is all in vain because Easter is a well known and documented Pagan Holiday with its rituals.

57

Why a paradise earth is so appealing to JWs?

by Lady Lee in

why a paradise earth is so appealing to jws?.

well no one can say they look around at the problems today and can say they like everything they see.

so a nice clean paradise world would be pretty great.

agapa37

I think the fear of death is a key factor for many people. Do you think fear is one reason why JWS belive in a paradise earth and the appeal of it? If so, you couldn't be futher from the truth. Gods original purpose for the earth was to be a paradise in which his creation (us) to live on forever. That has not changed, God promised it and will fulfil it says the Bible.

We don't know what happens when we die. You may not, however for those who read Gods word do know. The Bible plainly tells us what happens to us when we die.

If we are honest we don't really see death as similar to sleeping. We dream when we sleep. It just isn't the same. I have seen a person when they died. I have held her hand. It isn't the same. So inspite of the WT propaganda that death is like a long sleep deep down I know it is different. HMMM.. Jesus likened it to sleep didn't he?

Because of our fear of death people will do things they normally would never consider. We hang on. We fight that battle. When I went to see my father just before he died he fought for every last breath he could take. Why do you think people want to live and not die? Actually the answer gives the appeal to a paradise earth even more credence. The bible says God put ETERNITY into our hearts. We were creatd to live forever on the earth Jehovah prepared for us.

That fear of the unknown is removed by the paradise fantasy. Again it is not a fantasy, unless you consider Gods word a book of fantasy.

JWs will talk about what a paradise earth would be like and what kind of homes they would live in. I've heard some tell me which house they want to live in as they went from door to door. My vision of the "new world" meant no electricity, no cars, no roads. None of the conveniences that most JWs take for grated today. No stores to buy our food. No clothing stores. No material because few people would have any clue how to make the material to make the clothes. And even if you found material you will have to sew it by hand because there is no electricity for the sewing machine. Personally I couldn't see that.I'm a little too practical. Maybe that is why you are not a JW no more, you just couldn't see. That may be your thoughts on the paradise but it is not the thoughts of JWS.

It is fine to have your own thoughts on things but don't try to say that your thoughts and reasons why you believesomething is the reason why others do. The reason why the paradise is so appealing to Jws is nothing like you have explained. It is a promise from God (not fear), but a desire and hope that He put into our hearts, nothing more. what you should of said is this is the reason why I (you) was drawn to the paradise, not the JWS.

117

I'm Attending the Memorial

by RichieRich in

jw
friends

my lovely girlfriend and i sat down over a homecooked meal, and discussed the pros and cons of attending the memorial.. i decided, with her support, that we would attend.. i spent years of my life pretending to be a witness to please my mother.

when i left the witnesses, my mother said some hurtful things.. and those things really hurt me... for a while.

but i established myself as my own person, developed my own relationships, and have gotten a good start on my own life.. i don't know that i want to hurt my mother back, but i do want to make it abundantly clear to her, my grandmother, and all the members of my former congregation, that richierich is alive and kicking.. and i think that walking into the kingdom hall, dressed respectfully in a suit, yet with full piercing jewelry intact, and with erika wearing something classy that steals the brother's eyes, and draws glares from the humble sisters, will be just the thing to send that message to my mother.. i don't plan on partaking or making a disturbance.

agapa37

also think Richie's presence will be the one of the highlights of the meeting tonight! Just think, every year many folks will wonder if Richie Rich will show again this year! It will be an annual event for that Kingdom Hall. Yearly they will actually look forward to seeing Richie and see his tatoos and piercings, looking handsome in his suit. And one day they will actually feel disappointed that he didnt show, and wonder what happened to him. Some will feel sad because his showing up was really the only thing they enjoyed about the ceremony.

I do not know what reality you live in anewme but your words couldn't be farther from the truth. Sure many will be encouraged to see him there but his prresense will NOT be the highlight of the meeting tonight or an annual event as you say. The Highlight is Jesus and what he has done for us (not the sun, moon, or stars!). For those who's highlight is Richies prensence need to re-evaluate why they attend the meetings. As I stated in the last post, MOST will be able to see his motives. Some may say, "Your not Jesus, you can't read hearts!" You don't need to be a reader of hearts to see someone's motive or intentions. Besides, he thoroughly explained his motives on this thread. I know you are trying to get good from this, but you can't! Not with that motive.

33

Would You Recommend A Person Remain A Virgin Before Marriage???

by minimus in

jw
friends

being raised as a good witness, i was a virgin until i was married.

of course, the scriptures say one must not commit fornication.

however, i know most teens have sex well before marriage.

agapa37

How do you think I ended up married to a Gay JW?? If we had lived together before we got married..

LOL. I am sorry but that is funny. I am not laughing out of disrespect but, does one need to LIVE with a person that they are involved with to see that they are gay? REALLY! If you didn't see that before you married him than you must be blind in my opinion.

If a person wants to do things Gods way, yes one should not have sex before marriage.

117

I'm Attending the Memorial

by RichieRich in

jw
friends

my lovely girlfriend and i sat down over a homecooked meal, and discussed the pros and cons of attending the memorial.. i decided, with her support, that we would attend.. i spent years of my life pretending to be a witness to please my mother.

when i left the witnesses, my mother said some hurtful things.. and those things really hurt me... for a while.

but i established myself as my own person, developed my own relationships, and have gotten a good start on my own life.. i don't know that i want to hurt my mother back, but i do want to make it abundantly clear to her, my grandmother, and all the members of my former congregation, that richierich is alive and kicking.. and i think that walking into the kingdom hall, dressed respectfully in a suit, yet with full piercing jewelry intact, and with erika wearing something classy that steals the brother's eyes, and draws glares from the humble sisters, will be just the thing to send that message to my mother.. i don't plan on partaking or making a disturbance.

agapa37

And I think that walking into the Kingdom Hall, dressed respectfully in a suit, yet with full piercing jewelry intact, and with Erika wearing something classy that steals the brother's eyes, and draws glares from the humble sisters, will be just the thing to send that message to my mother. I want to show everybody that I'm still kicking.

Richie, you don't need to flaunt your independence to show that your are alive and kicking. The attitude behind what you want to do and your appearnce will be obvious. Instead of getting the desired results you would like, you would be just fortifying the minds of the congregation. The message you would be trying to send will not be seen. Instead people would say, "See! look what happens when one does things their own way."

The best way to show them that you are alive and kicking and don't need Jehovah or Jesus or the channel that is being used by them is to do the RIGHT thing on your own. It only makes sense. Going there looking like Tommy Lee will only serve their means to be determined NOT to leave Jehovah.

Respectfully,

Agape37