Posts by OnTheWayOut

9

Between two worlds

by Skepsis in

jw
friends

after knowing the ttatt i felt anger of all the lies i was told for years.

then, i did some changes in my life to the better.

i was doubting but felt relieved.

OnTheWayOut

My transition time was quick. I embraced TTATT and made a quick exit in a matter of less than 9 months, and one of the first things I did was resign as an elder to help the transition.

My path was not the one all can/will follow, but it really made many things easier to just face up to difficult discussions and get outta there.

I went through a tiny bit of turmoil about embracing worldly stuff that JW's are so against. In the end, I enjoy birthdays and gift exchange at Christmas, and don't mind lip service to anything else. I just like the idea that JW's hate something like wearing green on St. Patrick or a movie with ghosts or smurgfs in it.

As far as coworkers, as soon as someone noticed the changevin me, I came clean and got everyone's support at work. Turned out great.

26

Were the apostles of the 'Anointed class' when they partook?

by why144000 in

according to john 20:22 the apostles did not receive the holy spirit until after jesus was resurrected.

wouldn't this make them part of 'the other sheep' when they partook of the bread and wine?.

OnTheWayOut

The new guy appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court believes all Constitutional issues should primarily consider the original meaning put upon the people at the time of writing. This raises interesting disagreements about whether the Constitution should be a living, evolving document or stay the same as a ridged document.

At least that debate starts with non-fiction and considers what might be best for all concerned. Not so with this subject.

51

Why are the evolutionist's so upset?

by Esse quam videri in

so many evolutionist's on this forum are upset at the terror attacks in europe such as recently in sweden.

it is just a logical step in the evolution of the human race.

should you not rather be celebrating the great changes taking place right before your eyes and constructing detailed explanations of the cell structure and dna development in the human brain.. you can't eat your cake and still have it.

OnTheWayOut

Esse quam viderian hour ago

So many believers on this forum should be upset at the god whose inactions do nothing to prevent terror attacks in Europe such as recently in Sweden. It is just a logical step in the evolution of the believer to figure out that no benevolent god did anything. If this terrorism woke you up, you can be celebrating the great realization taking place right before your eyes and constructing detailed explanations of the development in the human brain that allowed man to worship false gods in our primitve years.

You can't eat your cake and still have it. Either a caring god prevnts such terror or 'he' isn't there.

34

Regarding Correct Understanding of Bible Prophecies Have JWs EVER Been Right?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i seriously doubt that any jw understanding of prophecy has ever withstood the test of time.

how can anyone trust them when they are always wrong?

?.

OnTheWayOut

The Bible can be made to say or prophesy many different things, so to be always wrong wiuld be really amazing.

Watchtower is really amazing.

10

Young Couple Stopped with Invitation

by mrquik in

i had a young couple stop by yesterday to drop off an invitation to the memorial.

i told them i was a bible student & had studied a number of religions.

i got into all the hot topics.

OnTheWayOut

Good job. As I was walking past a parking lot on a busy atreet, I had JW's try to wave me over to their car as they parked in a good spot to begin their preaching. The passenger held what looked to be a Memorial Invite and got my attention. Even though I declined to step over, I sensed the joy of the car group that they had ifficialky started their time.

10

Cuts since 2012

by pepperheart in

i know that on paper the watchtower have about 8 million members but what if lots of them are just around so they dont get shunned and dont give any money in the box..they have been making cuts for a long time and in 2012 they closed 20 branch offices around the world,of course some people are giving lots of, money but they have to find the money for from 40 and 60 million magazaines a month..

OnTheWayOut

Watchtower is a printing corporation trying to find a new path in a world where printing is dying. Regardless of how many members they have who are seriously contributing, they are suffering monetarily. Add the lawsuits in, the untold settlements- who knows how much trouble they are in?

You are certainly probably right about people just being around so they don't get shunned. And when they took the money from the congregations and started saying how they needed MORE MORE MORE, they profoundly changed many of those members. They still give, but most of them are not giving MORE MORE MORE. They deep down know that Mother took the money, Mother doesn't really need 25 bucks a head at the convention (or whatever).

17

My Current Views About God, Relgion, JWs and Life In General

by pale.emperor in

this past year has been the most life changing year anyone could ever go through.

waking up, leaving the cult, separating from my wife, research, research, research, reading, pondering etc.

and i've found myself having to re-learn and re-evaluate everything i thought i knew.

OnTheWayOut

Therefore, if God does exist, it's not worthy of my attention.

That's really enough to know. I am way past "IF God does exist" but any negative cannot be absolutely proven, so your thought is sufficient.

Jesus could have been invented out of thin air or exaggerated from a real person. It matters not.

I believe Paul's Christianity would have been similar to Buddhism- accept what you want, reject any of the myths if you must, accept that the overall goal is goodness. But something happened along the way, perhaps at the First Council of Nicea. Christianity became a "state" religion and became a force for no good. When people want to argue anything about Jesus or Christianity, we can always fall back on "Therefore, if God does exist, it's not worthy of my attention."

I like your thoughts on being responsible for ourselves and our morals being above that of the gods.

"Sin" is an invention of religion. Sin is addressed by appeasing the religion by some kind of sacrifice (typically- money) There are things that are right and wrong, moral and immoral- but you need religion to turn it into sin.

10

WT about elder positions

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

yesterday, visited the hall for family reasons.. wt was about elder positions, educate younger brothers, delegate your work etc.

the usual story about the body of elders, give younger people a change and don't get atached to your position.

what was evident: 90 percent of the answers came from the sisters.. the elders looked like the house cat just eaten tweety.. never heared so much theory and knowing it will be fully ignored.. why make it a 45 minute issue for every tom, dick and harry?.

OnTheWayOut

I won't read the article to better understand, but it sounds like a warning to elders and malcontents to go along with changes, and then also a way to address radical changes to the rank and file. Expect new people to come along and old people to be removed.

They probably expect many problems because they may wind up closing many Kingdom Halls and congregations.

56

"There is evidence of a Creator if you just look for it"

by unsure in

(for the record, i’m agnostic who is earnestly seeking an objective, honest and concrete hope for something greater).

“there is evidence of a creator if you just look for it”.

many of us have heard similar sentences from believers regarding proof of creator, proof that their religion is the correct one, proof that their particular sect is the right one, proof that their individual sects interpretation of a certain religious text is the right one, proof that their own personal interpretation of a certain religious text is the right one; the list goes on.. in one of my previous posts, i shared the following thought of mine:.

OnTheWayOut

Indonesian tsunamis and Haitian earthquakes that kill children violently and painfully, even the mudslides this week in Columbia that took over 200 lives, dozens of them children. That's enough for me to know that the benevolent "God" does not exist.

That is an emotional view that does not eliminate the thought of a creator.

Your thought on a "manual" is a logical thought that shows the Bible is not from a "God of order" despite what JW's taught us.

The search for God shouldn't have to be an attempt to hit a bullseye or else it's a miss. There is no evidence that any god desires our worship nor deserves it. And if a god wanted us to live a certain way, it should be more obvious.

6

Why is the memorial Sometimes not on the Night of the passover?

by NikL in

jw
friends

do the jaydubs follow a different calendar?.

sometimes it is not in line with the jewish celebration and it should be no?.

OnTheWayOut

I love the detailed explanation from David _Jay above. I don't even care who's more "right" in this- the JW's or the Jews. But I do know that JW's like to feel that they are so RIGHT. They put quite a bit into calculating this date and explaining the calculation so that the JW's can smugly feel vindicated on whatever date they choose.