this will be posted on freeminds in due course for the benefit of jws who are reading the articles there;.
there are two accounts in the bible centered around jesus that were a great help to me as i was leaving the control of the watch tower society.. to me, the watch tower society, with it's governing body and local representatives, the elders, were my religious leaders.
i was, in all truth, a religious person.
I attended the district convention with my wife at the weekend.
JW or not, you have to admit that Jesus plays very little part in this religion. Jesus is rarely mentioned at all in their retoric and although there was lots of mentions of 'the ministry' exactly what this ministry is is unclear and certainly has little to do with the good news of the Christ.
i'm reading the trial, by franz kafka.
pretty interesting read so far, though i'm only about 90 pages into it.
it's about a man who is arrested, but no one will tell him what he's been charged with, or give him any information at all.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (same author as the Kite Runner).
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (not sure what I make of this!)
On my reading book for the summer - Siddartha - I have read a few books about the Buddha so this will be an interesting take. Also, ust a Little Run Around the World by Rosie Swale Pope (who ran 20,000 miles solo: 53 pairs of shoes and 29 proposals of marriage. This woman is going to become my new running hero!!!). What I Talk About When I am Running by Haruki Murakami.
quick note to say that gail and i are getting baptised as christians next sunday, 12pm, riverside gospel church..
PasswordProtected - I hope all goes well for you and your good wife next week.
I have often wondered whether I would really need to get baptised again if I started practicing a different faith. I was baptised before the change of the JW vows. This means the second question wasn't to the effect "do understand that your baptism indentifies you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses' but more along the lines that you will in future do God's will as directed by his holy spirit. So although I no longer practice as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I still regard my baptism as valid.
Eyeslice
there are close to 7 million baptised jehovah's witnesses in the world.
most start off real zealous in meeting attendance and preaching work.
some remain zealous but most cool off sooner or later.
I think that the general consensus of the posters here is correct. More and more are just going through the motions.
I couldn't do that - for me it had to be all or nothing - so I chose nothing.
i just got back from seeing it and it is fantastic.
all i can say is go see it!.
it was so moving, kept me gripped for the whole time and now i wanna go to india.. also the leading lady, frieda pinto is beautiful..
Yes great film ....... but .... the greatest Bollywood/English film has to be Laagan. You do have to be Indian and love cricket to truely appreciate it though!
they're so beautiful, like a tree, or a high class prostitute.. eric hill, cnn's ac 360 vixen, minx, and mischevious looking cutie pie:.
....and frieda pinto, co-star of slumdog millionaire:.
this goes out to all the beautiful girls:.
Indian women can be very beautiful when young. Do a google search for aishwarya - porbably the best looking woman in the world!
I used to live in India and had two boys in their late teens out with me. My advice when looking at the young India girls, was go home and meet their mothers; the chances are their daughters will look like them in 20 years time - often overweight and with the slight hint of moustache!
study articles have strong counsel against apostates - modern day apostates display characteristics similar to those of the devil.
their mind may be poisoned by a critical attitude towards individuals in the congregations , christian elders or the governing body.
some apostates oppose the use of the divine name , jehovah.
I cannot begin to comprehend where they get this stuff about the resurrection of still borns and embryos. The Bible simply doesn't touch on such matters- talk about going beyond the things written.
my wife tells me that i am getting two elders coming to visit me, i assume as part of the 'help them return' initiative.
seems strange that they have asked my wife, who still is a regular attender, rather than give me a call.. has anyone else had a call?
what should be my line be as i don't want to particularly appear 'apostate', especially if there is a chance they will disfellowship me if i take a hard anti-witnees line..
leavingwt - I am sure you are right about their friendship being conditional.
I did use the expression "former fellow elders and friends" to really mean "former fellow elders and former friends". These guys made life unbearable for me and then dropped me like a hot potato when I stepped down as an elder. I am under no illusion as to the fact that their friendship is conditional.
I am sure that the guys visiting me are apprehensive about the visit. I know too much about what has gone on in the congregation in the past. I also seem to know much of what goes on now as many still regard me as somewhat of a confidant when it comes to matters of disagreeing with the elders.
....either from others or yourself?.
were you regularly disappointed when the elders, brothers or sisters didn't measure up to what they were preaching?.
did you actually believe "the truth" was 100% true?.
No, like others, I never expected perfection but did expect high standards in love, empathy and understanding. Unfortunately, these all to often are sadly lacking.
my wife tells me that i am getting two elders coming to visit me, i assume as part of the 'help them return' initiative.
seems strange that they have asked my wife, who still is a regular attender, rather than give me a call.. has anyone else had a call?
what should be my line be as i don't want to particularly appear 'apostate', especially if there is a chance they will disfellowship me if i take a hard anti-witnees line..
Just one further point - I doubt that they will offer me a Bible Study. I spent all my childhood and most of my adult life in the 'organization' and always prided myself on being up to date with all the new light and doctrines of the society.
