Posts by eyeslice

10

Did Jesus ever use this phrase?

by cellomould in

did jesus ever use the phrase 'undeserved kindness'?.

i don't remember such a phrase ever being attributed to jesus.. .

i think we all deserve kindness!.

eyeslice

I have to agree with A Paduan here;

Kindness and deserving are two separate concepts

I think that by using the word undeserved, the Society continually emphasises the negative, i.e. we are all pityful sinners, undeserving of God's grace and favour.

Grace on the other hand is what God offers to all mankind with no strings attached, God's grace is not conscious of man's sin. Therefore, grace is a much better expression.

Interestingly, John 1:16 reads

On his fullness we all of us have drawn, and from him we have received grace upon grace

Eyeslice

20

Are your pets eating blood?

by gumby in

a few days ago there was a thread in which we were discussing the blood issue and jehovah's witnesses.

someone brought up pets and blood.

i was curious at that point if there was blood in our dogs food and were my wife to find out, i wondered how she would respond.. i did a little re-search on pet food and it's ingredience and here is a little what i found.. .........the protein used in pet food comes from a variety of sources.

eyeslice

Gumby,

I have never come across any society restrictions on pets eating blood. The restriction applies to humans who take a life (albeit an animal's) for food.

Eyeslice

7

And I thought the JWs were the only ones who didn't get Christmas...

by Country Girl in

father of 'naughty' kids sells their gifts on ebay.

posted: 8:31 am est december 24, 2004. updated: 8:41 am est december 24, 2004. .

houston -- a father of three children in the houston area has gone from playing santa claus to playing the grinch.. .

eyeslice

At least he didn't put his kids up for sale on ebay and keep the presents for himself.

Eyeslice

7

Read the bible to your girlfriend and avoid late night TV.

by IronGland in

jw
friends

if you are courting, be determined to remain chaste, even when talking on the phone.

an engaged christian woman named leticia says: "my fiance and i have read together bible-based articles on staying chaste.

we appreciate the way they have helped us maintain a clean conscience.

eyeslice

IronGland

Is this a quote? If so please use the reference, otherwise it is an unsubstantiated statement.

Thanks

Eyeslice

48

My Deleted Elder Friend Stopped By.......

by minimus in

jw
friends

with his wife to say that it's been 3 months since my daughter's wedding and in october he got deleted for going to it even though the presiding overseer told him it was a "conscience matter.

period.

".....the circuit overseer saw it differently and removed my friend as an elder amd my mom as a regular pioneer because of a letter sent only to circuit overseers in 1999!!!!

eyeslice

Another example of the crazy dogmatic, rules-based approach that the Society has toward people, quite contrary to that of Christ.

I personally was shocked when I was under pressure over a private family matter just how much material the CO was able to dig up to show me how I could be seen to be in the wrong and how this would affect my standing as an elder in the congregation. He looked up Watchtower articles from the dark ages and printed them out to give to me. It seemed he put far more effort it to this than trying to understand my circumstances.

Eyeslice

18

They say they don't celebrate Xmas, but...???

by JH in

jw
friends

every year, on dec 25th, witnesses in our area gather at a book study group, and they have a dinner together.

although they say that they don't celebrate christmas, why do they gather on dec 25th like catholics do and share dinner together?

i'm sure that neighbors think that it's a christmas gathering.. i know that there isn't any christmas decorations there, or gifts being given, but i find it odd, that every year, some book study will organize a dinner on december 25th.

eyeslice

I suppose that there is a lot of grey area here.

The 'Shepherd' book when listing disfellowshipping offenses, lists apostacy says

Celebrating a false religious holiday would be similar to performing any other act of false worship. (Jer. 7:16-19)

So, in theory and if you are careful, you can get away with a lot. You can have a holiday on Xmas and Thanksgiving day, so that's not a problem. Then there is the question what is celebrating a religious holiday? To me to celebrate Xmas as a religious holiday, you would really have to go to church and celebrate midnight mass or go to church on Xmas day.

If you take these away you have just a commercial holiday! Not so sure that too many body of elders would see it that way.

Eyeslice

25

Opinions on Age of Baptismal Candidates

by redskymedic in

jw
friends

i am sure i am not the only one that thinks it's ridiculous that they allow pre-teens and young teens to get baptized.

i know now that i did not have a full understanding of the implications of baptism.

i did it primarily because that's what was expected.

eyeslice

I was baptized at age 14. But it must be said though, I do feel that personally I knew what I was doing. All these years later and despite the fact that I am no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I still am respectful of the personal vows that I made to God at the time.

You should remember that religious belief or unbelief is established early on in life, not later.

However, I do agree with the general sentiments of this thread. Often youngs ones are presuured into getting baptized at an early age for all the wrong reasons.

Sometimes it is for family status reasons. I remember as an elder people asking me why my 19 year old wasn't yet baptized (he did get baptized eventually but quit not longer after). Your status as a 'spiritual' family is undermined if you have kids in their late teens or early twenties who are not baptized.

I am sure that at other times young ones get baptized round about 16 in order to be free to go out with members of the opposite sex. You get a young baptized brother aged 19 or 20 in the congregation and suddenly all the 16 year old sisters are getting spiritual and being baptized. Given the silly restrictions of the WTB&TS I must say I can't really blame them.

Eyeslice

5

Ninety Years Ago Today

by Duncan in

jw
friends

on bbc radio 4?s today programme this morning, they were covering the extraordinary events of ninety years ago, christmas day 1914, in the no-man?s-land between the trenches in world war i. .

in the first christmas of that terrible war some british and german soldiers, close enough in their trenches to hear each other, began to sing carols and call out to their opponents.

soldiers ventured over the parapets and met with their enemies, laughing and joking, sharing songs, even exchanging gifts.

eyeslice

My wish for the coming year is that the basic, inbuilt human impulse to good sense, kindness, and a balanced sense of proportion will continue to seep through among the millions of decent Jehovah?s Witnesses, and corrode from within the harsh and dehumanising control structures of the Watchtower Society.

Amen to that thought and may it also be applied to others who are enslaved to dogmatic belief systems.

Eyeslice

29

What does the elder manual say the procedure is?

by mkr32208 in

what does the elder manual say the procedure is when someone reports child abuse?

my father in law is telling my wife that is says to go straight to the proper authorities... i have a hard time buying that since thats not what the watchtowers i've seen have said!

any one have the low down on this?

eyeslice

I know that in the UK, the instructions are to contact the branch office first by telephone. It is important to remember that the society is very touchy about anything in writing. You phone them and they will tell you verbally what to do. They hate any written records - could lead to legal cases, etc., etc.

75

I'm afraid there are only 2 ways of being a true believin' Christian

by Zep in

the first way is to be completely ignorant.to ignore the fact that the bible is a hopelessly flawed man made document, and all other reasoned argument and evidence that points to the non existence of the christian god.

this strategy basically involves living inside mental cocoon and closing your eyes to any alternative views.

the best way to employ this tactic is to perform a whole lot repetitive and ritualistic action; a whole lot of head bowing and praying etc... etc....you know the drill!.

eyeslice

I am in agreement with what funkyderek said

For some people, to be a Christian is simply to be like Christ - compassionate, contemplative, disdainful of religious hypocrisy

Over the ages, there appear to have been a few people who have been able to give us a glimpse of the divine. I am sure that if there is a God, then truely following the examples of the few like Christ is as good a way as any to live our lives, whether we chose to call ourselves Christians or not.