http://www.apologetics.com/default.jsp?bodycontent=pages/radio.jsp&pagetitle=Radio
This subject is being discussed on one of the archives at Apologetics.com. It is a quite interesting discussion on Jehovah's Witnesses
Velta
http://www.apologetics.com/default.jsp?bodycontent=pages/radio.jsp&pagetitle=radio.
this subject is being discussed on one of the archives at apologetics.com.
it is a quite interesting discussion on jehovah's witnesses.
http://www.apologetics.com/default.jsp?bodycontent=pages/radio.jsp&pagetitle=Radio
This subject is being discussed on one of the archives at Apologetics.com. It is a quite interesting discussion on Jehovah's Witnesses
Velta
just thought of starting this thread because of the problem of living in an emotionally disconnected society as we do.
some of us have shared our personal stories with you all, my wife and mine was , " the story of mr. & mrs. flipper ".
i think it would be good to share some insight into ourselves , then perhaps others on the board will be understanding more deeply about posts that we start.
Oh Bluebell,
My heart goes out to you. Your story is so similar to mine except I did not go to the elders. When I was young (in the 40s) the elders (servants) in my congregation were so harsh to children "children should be seen (or maybe not) and not heard". We were constantly being told by them how bad we were and that what we were doing was wrong, that to tell them would have been bringing doom to myself and I knew it. I knew there would be not help coming from them. I did not tell my mother because whe was so kind and loving and I knew that she would have no way of supporting herself if she had to leave him. It was really hard. I did not know at the time but he molested my sister and later on my niece. I am not sure if there were others. He was a servant until he died at the age of 63. I have forgiven him because I know that he probably was abused by his father, and his father by his father, ad infinitum. I have no proof of this, because our family was a "keep it in the closet" type and this sort of thing was known but not talked about, but I believe it is true from events that I knew about.
I nev er doubted that Jehovah loved me, but I did not know why He permitted this to happen. I believe that it did work for my good in many ways. For one thing, I was never promiscuous. I hated what had happened to me and it just turned me off. However, it made it a bit difficult in my marriage, but because my husband was a kind and caring man, I overcame this. I believe God protected me through it all. Romans 8:28 says that "God makes EVERYTHING work together for good for those who love him". I believe this and know that when "bad" things come my way, He will see me through it and make it work for my good".
Love and hugs,
Velta
just thought of starting this thread because of the problem of living in an emotionally disconnected society as we do.
some of us have shared our personal stories with you all, my wife and mine was , " the story of mr. & mrs. flipper ".
i think it would be good to share some insight into ourselves , then perhaps others on the board will be understanding more deeply about posts that we start.
Serendipity,
What a great story. You overcame all the negatives and lived your life the way you felt God wanted you to and did it while still a JW. This is unbelievable. I am not sure how you did it by yourself but am glad to hear that you did. It is wonderful that you have broken that bondage of abuse. It just takes one person to do it. I was the one who decided that child molestation was not going any further in our family line and to my knowledge it has not. I praise God for that. I learned a lot from being a JW. I would not change my past life because it made me who I am today.
Love and hugs,
Velta
i've just been writing away the past few days about my thoughts and feelings since my husband and i decided to finally call it quits and stop going to meetings.
in fact, he's the one who told me about this website.
he's a lurker though, so i don't think any have heard from him.
Hi,Younglove
My computer crashed a couple of days ago and this is the first time I have been able to get on. Glad I got to see your post. My husband and I were JWs for over 45 years (raised in the WT) We were so glad to be out. We got out more or less at the same time, I was ahead of him in actually leaving by 4 months, but we were mentally out together. We are so happy for you. Leaving the WT is like leaving any other religion. It does not mean you have turned your back on God. So glad you found JWD. It is a blessing. When we came out there was no support like this. Here is our website: www.geocities.com/veliveleth
Love and hugs,
Velta
recently i have noticed that a couple of my friends that are jws, especially this one guy that i play sports with.
in the beginning he was just there because of a friend, but later on he came more often and we became friends.
from the start, i knew there was something different about him.
justafriend,
It is really hard to say what your JW friend is really thinking. Perhaps he feels like he is getting too close. Perhaps your friendship is getting too important to him, so he feels like he has to distance himself before it becomes something that involves his heart. He wants to be your friend, but feels guilty because you are not a JW. JWs see friendship with the world (people who are not JW) as something to be avoided. This is very hard for young JWs. I remember how it was when I was young. I had friends who were not JWs and sometimes I felt guilty. This is hard to explain to someone who has never been a JW. It really does not make sense to them. But there is such control in the Watchtower organization that everyone feels that in order to "keep the organization clean" from the influences of the world, they have to report any conduct they see as different from what the organization demands. I agree with the posters that say: Be his friend, but be careful, now that I know you are a girl, my answer is different. There may be more than friendship on his mind, which will complicate matters. Dating is a whole different subject. Young people are young people and sometimes they can get involved almost without thinking. Take it from a Gramma who has been there. (and still remembers)
Velta
we are blazing through the time we live in, seeking freedom from the oppression around is, in us, through us.
we are opening our minds to new ways of thinking, feeling, living, sharing.. it's not easy, we pay a price, for some of its much higher than others.
we suffer alone, endure hardships, bear the truth and it's consequences.. there is no new land to conquer, no nations to be born, no places to run to any longer.
purps, finally-free, Narkissos, writetoknow, Propecor,
I have never read a thread more poetic and one that I totally understand and relate to. Freedom from the WT has been a real journey for all of us. We have all gone in different or similar directions, but we all understand where we have come from. I do not hate the Watchtower, who I am today is because of all I went through. This site has helped so many people. When my husband and I came out in 1983, if there was an Internet, we did not have access to it. We felt so alone. My brother-in-law, who had left before us had been in Bethel, a CO and a DO so he knew a lot of people who had left and he put us in touch with them. At one time, I was writing to 30 different people. The Internet has made it a lot easier. I am so glad to be part of such an encouraging group of people.
Love you all,
Velta
i have been battling an incurable illness and will be able to post less and less.
i will post my email, and any help you cna asend my way will be appreciated.
there is treatment but no cure and no cancer yet.
blondie,
I am very new here, at posting anyway, I am so sorry to hear that you are ill. It is very hard when you lose your strength to do the things that you want to do. I have been there. I will put your email in my address book and hope there is some way that I can encourage you.
Love and hugs,
Velta
there are so many ways to get into this topic; homeopathy, astrology, feng shui, alien abductions, seances and so on ad nauseum but let's pick a simple one - mathematics.
do you accept the undeniable logic that 1+1 must always equal 2?.
i cannot conceive of a situation where 1+1=3 but there was a time when i did!
Paralipomenon said:
Good morning Eliveleth,
I must say I have been enjoying your posts recently even if I have not been active in the "Lazy Faith" thread.
So I guess I'll redirect your question back at you in a different form. If God is infinite, couldn't the universe be infinite as well? Why can't the concept of infinity be applied to evolution? Thank you so much for your kindness. It has been very hard for me to accept any part of evolution. I have done a lot of research online today to try to get an idea of why so many people believe that evolution is so much more acceptable than the idea that God is the creator. People believe in evolution in so many different ways. I still do not see it as more logical. I do see that animals adapt to their environment in different ways, I had just not seen that as evolution. . I guess it is true, the universe could be infinite. I just never thought about it before. I have really enjoyed interacting with those with different beliefs. As a witness, I was so judgmental . I am so glad that I am free from that mindset and I can accept people for who they are.
there are so many ways to get into this topic; homeopathy, astrology, feng shui, alien abductions, seances and so on ad nauseum but let's pick a simple one - mathematics.
do you accept the undeniable logic that 1+1 must always equal 2?.
i cannot conceive of a situation where 1+1=3 but there was a time when i did!
Terry said:
Everything comes from something, right?
So, the Universe had to come from something.
But, God didn't come from anything, right?
And God is more complex than the Universe itself.
So, logic doesn't really work in proving God doesn't need an origin.
The wondrous complexity of a Creator demands an origin too.
But, this doesn't bother believers. They suddenly become satisfied we need look for no further answers.
Just as long as you give them God they'll be happy.
It is perfectly ILLOGICAL that God doesn't need a beginning or an origin.
Otherwise, it becomes perfectly logical that the universe needs no origin.
You can't have it both ways!
I guess you are right. It is illogical that God didn't have a beginning. I always thought I was a logical person, but I guess I am not. I believe, I have faith that God exists and that the Bible is true regarding his origin (or lack thereof). I really feel that my faith is based on logic. The things I see, seem to me to tell me about the God I worship. The trees, vegetation, sun, water, all the things that we need to live. It is hard for me to believe that it just randomly happened; that the universe and we all came to be by chance. Perhaps I am blinded because I want to believe it is true, but I choose to do so because it gives me joy and peace. Given the fact that the alternative, which is there is no God, no heaven, I just feel that since you pointed out it is a toss-up anyway, I choose to believe that God exists. Perhaps there is a certain adaptive evolution which causes changes to existing species, but I cannot accept that we descended from some single-celled organism that grew out of a sea of mud. (Which apparently some evolutionists don't believe either from some of my research). I truly feel for you Terry. I would hate to have an unfilled God-sized hole. I can't even imagine how that would be. I truly pray that God will reveal himself to you.