Posts by Cold Steel

4

Tribulation, Hardship and Jehovah: Will He Manifest Himself?

by Cold Steel in

what are the expectations of jws regarding future tribulation and "the church"?

do they expect that at some point yahweh will manifest himself to the faithful and discreet slave to bring about the temporal salvation of his people?

and if a member of the gb claimed to hear from jehovah in some way, like an angel, light or voice, how would the general membership react to the news?

Cold Steel

What are the expectations of JWs regarding future tribulation and "the Church"? Do they expect that at some point Yahweh will manifest himself to the Faithful and Discreet Slave to bring about the temporal salvation of his people? And if a member of the GB claimed to hear from Jehovah in some way, like an angel, light or voice, how would the general membership react to the news?

Would they be suspicious, skeptical, exuberant?

The GB members speak with authority, freely giving instruction as though they'd just finished speaking with the Almighty. I don't know if they're good or bad people, but what do the people at Bethel think? Do they rave about how great these men are? Do they feel honored to sit at the feet of the Slave? And do they feel they're being led by the Holy Spirit?

44

What are the chances of having a one on one with GB member

by Chook in

jesus drifted amongst the lowly folk .

Cold Steel

Certainly they must walk the halls of Bethel, do occasional shopping, go to Home Depot or get out and do chores like everyone else. If you know what they look like and are respectful, they should feel no qualms about shaking hands and chatting a few moments, right? Living in a Washington, D.C., suberb, I've seen Sandra Day O'Connor, Al Gore and many other notables. I've seen actors, well known journalists and a friend of mine went in to pick up a pizza some years ago and a little old man in very casual clothes walked in and was waiting behind him in line. He nodded at the man, who nodded back politely and then recognized him as Admiral Hyman Rickover. It happens so often that I've lost count.

I respect their privacy and have never intruded, but I could have if I'd chosen to. And were I a JW, I'd feel comfortable saying hello if I ran into a GB member. (After all, I help pay his salary, right, or I would if I were a member of the Kingdom.)

29

Jehovah`s Witnesses Boasted They have No Clergy Laity Class ?

by smiddy in

jw
friends

well that`s what was impressed on me to differentiate between the true religion and false religion , when i was converted in 1960 , do they still claim that ?

believing that they still do , i will say this.. what about ,:the governing body who definitely are set apart from the rank and file for their attitude towards the r&f , but also from the attitude of the r&f towards the governing body members.many do seem to idolise gb members by their actions , and the gb members dont seem to discourage that.. and not only for their attitude , how about their life-style , being housed in bethel with all the mod -cons of modern civilization as opposed to a r&f member living in a third world country .does the wt society do anything to make their lifestyle improve ?

{ did jesus have a place to rest his head ?

Cold Steel

The greatest problem the Society has isn't in the organization, but in the fact that it has no ministerial authority. When Jesus lived, the Jews repeatedly asked him about his authority. It wasn't a baseless question because no man takes the honor of acting in God's name except he who is called of God as was Aaron, the brother of Moses.

The Society did just that. It simply assumed the sealing keys that were given to Peter and announced to the world that Jesus had chosen them, in 1919, I think, without any word of God being received by God. There have been no angelic manifestations, no theophanies, no visions. The heavens have been closed to the GB, and yet they have taken the authority unto themselves and set themselves up as representing God. But how did they get it? Who ordained them?

No one in the Society has ever explained that.

28

Daughter doesn't want me to push my beliefs on her

by jws in

jw
friends

so i was talking with my daughter the other day and she tells me that she doesn't want me to push my beliefs on her.i am agnostic.

which isn't a belief.

it's a lack of belief.

Cold Steel

Many people find happiness and a great deal of comfort in religion. I'm not a JW, but I have my own religious beliefs and can see where your daughter is coming from. You should understand that there are many who find in religion a purpose for existing. Some may be comfortable in not knowing, but I can tell you that destroying someone's religious beliefs will not endear you to them, but may instead cause deep seated resentment and depression in the form of cognitive dissonance.

If your daughter is happy in her beliefs, I recommend you respect her wishes and not seek to undermine them unless those beliefs are being used by others to alienate her from family or friends. When people use the religious beliefs of others as a means of control, that can be challenged without destroying a person's core beliefs. But that's another problem entirely.

10

Oh the irony!!!!

by notsurewheretogo in

just saw this pop up in my facebook...i laughed out loud in the office and people looked at me.. .

is it just me or is it very ironic to post that scripture with a picture of the hq?

because following men at hq is exactly what they do!.

Cold Steel

Has the Society ever taken a positive position on whether the GB receives revelation or not?

If they speak when moved upon by the Holy Spirit, is that not revelation? Or if they are inspired to see things in a "NEW LIGHT," is that not revelation as well? The Society seems to shy away from the R-word except when discussing John's book. Officially it says the GB doesn't receive revelation as the prophets did, nor are GB members prophets. Rather, the GB, as a body, is a prophet.

But does the prophet actually hear from God? Do they, as a body, talk to God face to face as did Moses? Do they entertain angels like Abraham? See visions as did John? Prophesy as did Isaiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah? Do they say, "Thus saith the Lord" regarding anything? If, together, they are a prophet, how would they know that unless it was revealed? When the Lord looked at all the world's religions and chose the Society, it certainly wasn't in the papers.

So how did Jehovah convey His will to the GB, exactly?

These aren't just rhetorical barbs, but are legitimate questions.

The SLAVE has yet to address these challenges to its legitimacy.

44

What are the chances of having a one on one with GB member

by Chook in

jesus drifted amongst the lowly folk .

Cold Steel

Well, how does one get in? When one enters the Society's Bethel offices, can't one find their offices and just seek an appointment? How about someone who isn't a member? Would they be more likely or less likely to get in? Who do they meet with?

What kind of security does the building have? Certainly no one with guns, right?

What if you meet one in the corridor and ask if he has a few moments to discuss an experience you had?

54

where have the demons gone?

by aboveusonlysky in

jw
friends

does anybody remember some of the sensational demon stories jw's would tell back in the day?

i was a kid in the early 80's and i remember a few times hearing of people having real life encounters with demons.

for example, one sister claimed that before she became a jdub she would regularly talk to demons and they would even fix stuff like her washing machine!

Cold Steel

Do you think demons are governed in ways similar to the Society?

Like if they do something wrong they get counseled by elder spirits, and if they don't tow the line they perhaps get shunned. Our if they don't teach false doctrine they can get called up on charges and DF'ed? And do they keep stats on the hours they mislead? Perhaps they have conventions where they put on skits with ridiculous names. Or sing hymns:

The best things in life are free,

But you can give them to the birds and bees,

I want MONEY! (It's what I want.)

I want MONEY!

What if they're just as miserable as...well...you were?

13

Shepherding Visit Riposte

by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

if an elder approaches you and wants to arrange a shepherding call one possible response is..... "well thankyou brother, but jehovah is my shepherd.

i shall lack nothing.

(ps 23:1) but thanks again anyway".

Cold Steel

Excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is a shepherding call? Is it where they just want to check up on you or does it mean they've noticed you need to be counseled in a certain area?

Just how free are people to counsel others without a request from others for that counsel?

59

Can you prove that our entire universe and existence is not a computer simulation?

by EndofMysteries in

if you were a computer programmer and you were to create a simulated automated world, that would constantly evolve and self run after initial designs.

first you would have to code the rules, laws, and core elements of this world.

while this is being coded, the program is not run yet, so none of it exists.

Cold Steel

Can I prove it? Yeah, every time I have a bad day, I can be found in my living room screaming, "Computer, end program!" Nothing ever happens.

BTW, in STAR TREK GENERATIONS, why didn't Kirk and Picard stay in the Paradise nexus? And two, what if they never left? How do they know they actually saved the planet? And the sun? On earth, it takes eight minutes for the light of our sun to reach the earth. So even if you knocked out the sun, we wouldn't know it for eight minutes. It would have to be at least the same on the planet, yet when the bad guy shot the sun, it darkened immediately. Ruined the entire movie.

Computer, end program!

C:/endproram

37

JW Stand On Concealed Carry

by Cold Steel in

if a jw wanted to get a concealed carry permit, would the society have any moral or ethical problems with it?

in other words, if one of your elders noticed you were carrying concealed, would they be apt to just ignore it or would they counsel you on it?

.

Cold Steel

Got it. Do you think more JWs have guns than is generally thought? There sure seems to be lots of them here.