So basically a person should keep his or her mouth shut if he or she sins? Is there any sort of a statute of limitations on sins? And how does one know when one needs to see the elders or just to repent? I'm not aware of any New Testament scriptures that codify what needs to be reported to the elders and what doesn't. There are some really serious sins out there -- things like dating sheep, attending other church services, murder, reading materials critical of the Society, rape, questioning the Governing Body, human sacrifice, receiving blood transfusions -- those types of horrible things.
Cold Steel
JoinedPosts by Cold Steel
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Forgiveness Yesterday, Today and Forever
by Cold Steel ini was just watching the jw broadcasting network and the topic being discussed was forgiveness.
the fellow presenting the topic was talking a brother who had sinned many years ago.
he finally came clean with the local elders, accepted his discipline and got on with his life.
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Forgiveness Yesterday, Today and Forever
by Cold Steel ini was just watching the jw broadcasting network and the topic being discussed was forgiveness.
the fellow presenting the topic was talking a brother who had sinned many years ago.
he finally came clean with the local elders, accepted his discipline and got on with his life.
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Cold Steel
I was just watching the JW Broadcasting Network and the topic being discussed was forgiveness.
The fellow presenting the topic was talking a brother who had sinned many years ago. He finally came clean with the local elders, accepted his discipline and got on with his life. I was curious as to what sort of discipline he might be talking about. He said it had been many years ago and I wondered why the Society would take any action against someone years after an offense?
Are we talking Murder? Adultery? Fornication? How would the Society handle someone who confessed to a murder? Doesn't it have to report it according to the law? And how would they discipline someone after years?
But those are only peripheral questions. My real question is this: What if someone simply comes back to the Society, goes back to the Kingdom Hall, becomes active again all without confessing his our her previous transgressions? Would "Jehovah" really condemn that person?
And speaking of murder, does the Society baptize murderers?
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Two Jehovah's Witnesses congregations abolished by courts - Russia
by OrphanCrow intwo jehovah's witnesses congregations abolished by courts.
today, 11 february 2016, an administrative lawsuit by the prosecutor of belgorod province for finding the local religious organization of jehovah's witnesses in the city of belgorod to be extremist and liquidated was granted by decision of the belgorod provincial court.
yesterday the provincial court issued a decision on the administrative lawsuit of the provincial prosecutor for liquidation of the local religious organizations of jehovah's witnesses in the city of stary oskol.. the above quote is from one of 5 articles at link.. the fourth article, doctors in court: "jehovah's witnesses died after refusing blood transfusions", gives a synopsis of the hearing in the belgorod provincial court on feb 8.. two doctors were summoned into court as witnesses in order to learn whether religious convictions have affected the state of health of jehovist patients and whether they could be the cause of the death of patients.
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Cold Steel
Obviously these two congregations are the two prophets, or witnesses, of Revelation 11. After three symbolic "days" (years) they will be reconstituted and then Jehovah will take them up unto himself.
Not only that, the announcement was made on February 11. February is the second month of the year. And it was made on the 11th day. The two witnesses were prophesied in Revelation, in the 11th chapter!!!!!! Not only that, but add 1 + 1 and you get 2, two prophets.
I don't know about you, but I have goose bumps. I mean, do you have to have a house fall on you??
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feeling blue about loss of faith?Grimly holding on in the face of your mortality?Dust that sings
by Diogenesister inas i am aware a lot of posters are feeling down or grieving the certainties lost when their faith is revealed as nothing but the stories of mortal men...i am posting one of my favourite youtubers, philhellenes who, like the ancients you studied, contemplates that sense of awe that he is indeed fearfully and wonderfully made...and when faced with the inevitability of mortality he imagines the plight of the mayfly...and wonders" would it be cruel to tell an adult mayfly that it only has that afternoon to live...would it still fly as far and as high as it could?might it fly further and higher than usual?or would it forget about it's wings and sit on the water, head bowed, sufficiently traumatised to invent religion?".
we are privileged that after millennia we are some of the first life forms to know exactly how we came to be..and what we are made of ...and if that isnt miraculously awe inspiring,i don't know what is.
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Cold Steel
Yes, but why don't they even claim to be a church? Jesus gave Peter the Keys of the Kingdom and said that what he bound on Earth would be bound in Heaven and vice versa. That's why baptism works and excommunication was considered as a major threat to one's salvation. If the GB doesn't have these keys, who cares what they do? If you're disfellowshiped, big deal. No keys, no authority! YAWEH won't recognize anything the Society does if there are no keys. And if the Society has those keys, where did it get them? How were they conferred and by whom? If it doesn't need them, then why did the ancient church need them? It's something that I've never seen addressed. People say, if poor Uncle Ebert isn't reinstated, Jehovah will destroy him at Armageddon! But even if Ebert dies, Jehovah will resurrect him, then destroy him. Why? Because he was cut off by the Society. Or do I have it wrong?
The Society definitely has its own keys. It can turn family against family, friends against friends. It can prevent marriages, control what one reads, what one believes, says and even the medical attention one receives. It has destroyed careers by its poor counsel, misled people about prophecy, corrupted marriages and has come between parents and their children. These are all keys of its own making, all made of tin and all self assumed. Otherwise, if it had the Keys given to Peter and the Twelve, they owe it to everyone to explain how they got them. And if they don't, they should explain why they don't need them.
It would be great if someone who's been active in the Society could tell me why the Society would be hesitant to classify itself as a church? If it isn't the church that Jesus built, just exactly what is it? Does it consider itself the Kingdom of God as in "thy Kingdom come...."?
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feeling blue about loss of faith?Grimly holding on in the face of your mortality?Dust that sings
by Diogenesister inas i am aware a lot of posters are feeling down or grieving the certainties lost when their faith is revealed as nothing but the stories of mortal men...i am posting one of my favourite youtubers, philhellenes who, like the ancients you studied, contemplates that sense of awe that he is indeed fearfully and wonderfully made...and when faced with the inevitability of mortality he imagines the plight of the mayfly...and wonders" would it be cruel to tell an adult mayfly that it only has that afternoon to live...would it still fly as far and as high as it could?might it fly further and higher than usual?or would it forget about it's wings and sit on the water, head bowed, sufficiently traumatised to invent religion?".
we are privileged that after millennia we are some of the first life forms to know exactly how we came to be..and what we are made of ...and if that isnt miraculously awe inspiring,i don't know what is.
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Cold Steel
But if offers nothing. And just because one religion is a fraud doesn't mean that all are. The WTBTS villifies other Christian sects, so when people leave it they have nowhere else to go. That's why many become atheists and bitter towards all religion. No matter which belief system one follows, he or she can fall victim to cognitive dissonance, because atheism has as many problems as any other "ism".
That the WTBTS is a manmade church is self apparent. It's not even a church, which is strange because Jesus said, "upon this rock I will build my church." Jesus is the rock, the very stone of Israel. But the GB says very clearly that it's not a church (in fact, you can be excommunicated for even attending a church service). So if it's not a church, it isn't of God. So why does it baptize? And why does it take your money if it isn't divinely established?
Some people, I think, hold God responsible for the WTBTS being a false religion when they need to examine its claims a bit more.
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THE END is no longer...
by Martini in...at the tip of my tongue!.
question:.
i know we are not into end time dates anymore.however suppose you are in your.
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Cold Steel
...now they are emphasising Jesus' words that "no one knows except [the] Father."
Yes, except that was said two thousand years ago. I suspect the Son now knows when it will be. Amos said that surely the Lord would do nothing save he revealed his secrets to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)
We know that the Lord will raise up two prophets who will minister to the Jews for three years. After that, Gog will overcome the prophets and kill them. Their bodies would lie on the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days. Then they will resurrect in view of their enemies and ascend into heaven to meet the returning Jehovah, or Christ. Thus anyone who knows prophecy and can count will be able to know the time of the Lord's coming. The two prophets may also know (especially if they can count).
So if there are prophets on the earth, they are likely to be privy to the Lord's secrets. If the GB are prophets, then they will know. So far, though, that seems to be a long shot.
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THE END is no longer...
by Martini in...at the tip of my tongue!.
question:.
i know we are not into end time dates anymore.however suppose you are in your.
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Cold Steel
...I simply say we do not know when the end will come....
By George, I think she has it!
Really, it ruined William Miller and left him totally discredited. It also damaged Ellen G. White and caused the collapse of many other adventist sects. The Lord left clues in the scriptures as a way to tell the seasons, but the Governing Body has unfortunately negated almost all of them. These include the dispersion of Judah following the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the apostasy of the ancient church, its being driven into the wilderness for 1260 years, the reestablishment of Israel by Judah, the building of the third temple, the rise of the Antichrist (Gog), the appearance of two prophets who will stand against him, their destruction and resurrection, and then the return of Jehovah/Jesus to the Mount of Olives. (See Zechariah 12-14, Ezekiel 38-39, Revelation 12, 14) As one sees these things begin to happen in the Middle East, one can see these events begin to come together; however, if you mislead the people into thinking unrelated events in the United States are fulfillments, then it's a classic case of the blind leading the blind.
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Just handed in my Disassociation letter
by Thirteenth tribe intonight my dl was posted by hand by my husband (a worldly guy).
i had the luxury of being at work distracted whilst he posted it.
i have been baptised for just over 2 years and studied since 2010. i couldn't take it anymore, not just the zealous dislike/disgust for 'people in the world' (this includes my husband and 99% of my family btw) but the obvious.... the investigations into child sexual abuse.
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Cold Steel
You said you were baptized two years ago. How did you get into this outfit and when did you first begin thinking it was a bit off?
When people begin making inane comments about the worldly being killed in Armageddon, what happens if someone disagrees and points out, rightly so, that there are many good, decent, honorable people in the world and that Jehovah will likely spare many when he returns? Can you get in trouble for a minor difference with the herd? John states, "For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgement to the Son." (John 5:22) So the Father isn't going to judge nations or people at all. It will be Jesus Christ. (I've never known how the JWs view the "Second Coming." The Old Testament says Jehovah will come in the clouds, but the New Testament says it will be Jesus. Will both the Father and Son come, or will just one of them?) No one else should attempt to judge their fellow man unless they died for the sins of mankind.
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Gas Pump "Witnessing"....Is this a thing?
by Bob Loblaw ini've seen this twice now within a month.
a car group hanging out at a gas station.
one of the cult members jumps outs of their car and runs up to a "worldly" gas pumper, arm stretched out, tract in hand, and here comes the juvenile at best question.
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Cold Steel
It used to be that the JWs tried getting into your front door. Now they just want to give you a Watchtower and other promo material and bug off before you can say anything. It's a major change in strategy and says a great deal about the group psychology. What about this? Is this an official change in policy at the top or is this simply a spontaneous decision of the membership? The JWs who come by here are usually black, nicely dressed and come in two or three cars. They go from door to door, hand out literature then pile back in their cars and I suppose go to a nice restaurant. But they bring their youngsters, hand you the material and beat it before anyone can ask questions.
BTW, do they have to pay for their publications or does the outfit pay for it?
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So I had a conversation with an older brother...
by My Name is of No Consequence inrecently, i was speaking with an older brother who is well into his 80's and is a widower.
he explained to me that it is tough getting old and that "nothing works right anymore".
he told me that he was able to get through his 70's with few problems.
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Cold Steel
I suppose when the old gent passes, he will be pleasantly surprised if all those folks who have near death experiences are right. If the atheists are right, I guess he won't. If the WTBTS is right, heaven help us all! Still, it could be worse. If the Hindus are right, I'm going to have quite a few cow gods trying to look me up to exact revenge for all those barbecued beef ribs I put away when I was younger. Think of it. Cows running the universe with hosts of singing french fries giving them praise in the heavens.
I had a now deceased friend tell me, "What doesn't hurt doesn't work, and what works, hurts!"