Posts by Flowerpetal

41

WT Comments (Dec 17-23 DEEP THINGS) FEATURING JK666

by V in

.

Flowerpetal

Thanks JK and Blondie for your review! I also started out as a babe wearing those goggles. It took me a while, but they are finally off!

Q18) Why is the effort required to study "the deep things of God" worthwhile?

18) Deep personal study of God's Word can help you to draw close to Jehovah. Showing the value of such study, the Bible says: "Wisdom is for a protection the same as money is for a protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom itself preserves alive its owners." (Ecclesiastes 7:12) Therefore, the effort required to deepen your understanding of spiritual things is worthwhile. The Bible promises those who keep searching: "You will find the very knowledge of God."-Proverbs 2:4, 5.

Studying the Bible along with the Strong's Concordance (intending to buy one) I have heard is one of the best ways to have a deep, valuable personal study.

Blondie's observation/quote:

Literal Israelites were called Jehovah's Witnesses---then we should reason that only "spiritual" Israelites are really Jehovah's Witnesses, not the great crowd. Originally, in the 1930's, only the anointed were considered jws and the great crowd their companions

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Exactly!! Their own words betray them. Any "thinking person" should be able to figure this out. The great crowd misses out on almost everything! They don't get to be spirit-anointed adopted sons of God, they don't get anything revealed to them by holy spirit, they don't have Jesus as a mediator--they have to settle for the governing body, just to name a few viewpoints; however we all know they overstep the scriptures on many things.

Don't know if the apostle John even means spirit-begotten in this scripture, but if he does, it's a very powerful statement; and may I quote from the NWT just to add to the rub:

"Everyone believing that Jesus is the Christ has been born from God, and everyone who loves the one that caused to be born loves him who has been born from that one." You know what? Let me quote from another translation because one phrase here doesn't make sense to me.

The Bible In Basic English

1 John 5

5:1: Everyone who has faith that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God: and everyone who has love for the Father has love for his child.

Ahhhh......much better!

This is a scripture which I have seldom heard at any study ever at the Kingdom Hall probably because it is so simple to understand. There is no additional explanation to be had! However, when a JW reads this scripture, you can bet he/she silently says to her/himself, as he has been ~~taught~~ brainwashed to believe: "Oh this is a scripture which applies only to the anointed--not me."

21

WT Comments (Dec 10-16 Word Never Fails) FEATURING TERRY

by V in

Flowerpetal

Excellent job, Terry!

Blondie, I also enjoyed your critique as well!!

Have a great week everyone!

23

RICHIE RICH CONDUCTS THE WATCHTOWER!

by V in

stay tuned because.... richie rich.

is conducting this week.

in a very special edition of.

Flowerpetal

I also think it's a great idea to have different conductors each week. Although I enjoy Blondie conducting, I'm sure it can be taxing at times.

13

-Turns out I was ALWAYS an "apostate".

by Awakened07 in

jw
friends

a recent post by jcanon (of all people, lol) jogged my memory and brought back (repressed?

) memories from when i was just a kid.

i remembered that i was constantly thinking - thinking of all that i learned as a jw (and at school/elsewhere), but i was always able to look at it from "outside the box" even as a kid.

Flowerpetal

I guess my apostate thinking really got a great start with the Revelation book when it was used at the bookstudies. Something just didn't seem right when all those plagues, and the two witnesses, etc, written by John centuries and centuries ago would apply to a certain time in WT history, especially during the days of Judge Rutherford. Oh and the invisible beginning of rulership by Jesus in 1914, the fall of Babylon the Great in 1919, the spritual cleansing of God's people in 1918. I kept asking myself, how can you put dates on things like this? How can such imperfect human thinking work with all these glorious things happening in heaven and apply it to Jehovah's witnesses? HOW did they know with such certainty that things happened at the dates they said they did?

25

Comments You Will Not Hear at the WT Study (12/2 CONSCIENCE)

by V in

your comments are appreciated too!

thanks for all the support.. .

Flowerpetal

Thanks V for conducting the WT study this week!

Q18) Despite possible past influences, what can we do to improve the reliability of our conscience?
18) What about the environmental molding of our conscience? We may have been influenced by the thinking and actions of our relatives and the general environment in which we grew up. Thus, the message from our conscience may have been muffled or distorted. It spoke with the "accent" of others around us. Granted, we cannot change our past; however, we can be resolved to choose associates and an environment that will affect our conscience in a good way. A key step is regularly being with devoted Christians who have long tried to be like their Father. Congregation meetings, including association before and after them, provide excellent opportunities for that. We can note the Bible-based thinking and reactions of fellow Christians, including their readiness to listen as their conscience echoes God's outlook and ways. Over time, this can help us to harmonize our own conscience with Bible principles, bringing us closer to God's image. When we attune our inner voice to our Father's principles and yield to the good influence of fellow Christians, our conscience will be more reliable and we will be more inclined to listen to what it says. -Isaiah 30:21.

When I was associating, I can honestly say I didn't like many of the people at the KH. How can you try to associate with people you don't like and have to see them at least two times a week, maybe three if they were in your bookstudy? It makes life quite lonely and guarded. And btw, I didn't hear much "spiritual" conversations going on before or after the meetings in order to harmonize my "conscience with Bible principles."

Looking forward to Richie Rich next week.

52

Comments You Won't Hear at the 11-25-07 WT Study (w07 10/1, pp.26-30)

by minimus in

deliverance from the traps of the birdcatcher.

"[jehovah] himself will deliver you from the trap of the birdcatcher.

the trap of personal differences.

Flowerpetal

13) Many benefited when they took to heart that warning provided by "the faithful and discreet slave." (Matthew 24:45-47) After reading the straightforward, Bible-based counsel, some wrote to tell how the articles had personally affected them.* ([Footnote] * The Watchtower, December 1, 1983, page 23) One confessed: "For 13 years I was a soap-opera addict. I thought that I was safe simply by attending Christian meetings and being semiregular in the field service. But I adopted the worldly soap-opera attitude that if your husband mistreats you or you feel unloved, adultery is justifiable–he brought it on himself. And so when I felt 'justified' I took this bad course and sinned against Jehovah and my mate." This woman was disfellowshipped. Eventually, she carne to her senses, repented, and was reinstated. The articles warning against TV soap operas gave her the strength to refuse to be entertained by what Jehovah hates.-Amos 5:14, 15.
I hope this woman never watches The Sopranos. She might want to be a mob boss’ wife too! Gee, I don’t know what we’d do without these timely warnings provided by “the faithful and discreet slave”. By the way, do you think any Witness really understands the difference between the “Slave” and the “Governing Body?”

Big Love is another one this woman should stay away from...she might want to join the fundalmentalist LDS and be in a polygamous marriage!

As to the comment about Satan wanting "god's people" to fall into the snare of trembling before men, isn't the society a big offender in this department? Just look at how everyone (esp, elders and ministerial sevants) act when the CO comes to visit...

34

Watched TV evangelists for the first time today

by shopaholic in

jw
friends

i was flipping through the channels while doing cardio and i decided to hear what a couple of these people had to say.

while i've determined that i'm agnostic, this one guy was pretty good...he was practical and funny.

he made the bible seem more like a good self-help book than a "book laws to be obeyed or else you'll die".

Flowerpetal

Hi Shop!

I've been watching TV evangelists for a long time even before I stopped association with JWs, but more recently I have been watching 2 programs on the EWTN network (the Catholic channel). I never thought I would find programs which appealed to me there but I found two. They are both 1/2 long, both are 3 women having a discussion, with one being the "teacher." One group discusses Jesus' life from the gospel of Luke and it's called "Reasons For Our Hope" and the other group discusses Jesus' life from the gospel of John and it's called "For God So Loved The World." I have actually learned some things which have added to my understanding of the gospels, and things which you would not hear at the KH.

As I look back in retrospect, I truly believe my mom would have never left the Catholic religion and become a JW, if she could have found a disuccsion group to join as these ladies have. She was born and raised Catholic and her siblings were appalled that she became a JW in the 1940's. I would say her parish priest failed her in not being able to answer some of her questions and that's why she turned to JWs, and raised me as one. My dad was not a practicing Catholic, so he didn't interfere too much with that but I really wished he would have put his foot down on some issues, such as him wanting me to go to college. I didn't find out about that until a few years ago before she died.

19

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 7-29-07 WT Study (Wonderfully Made)

by blondie in

comments you will not hear at the 7-29-07 wt study (june 15, 2007, pages 21-25)((wonderfully made).

review comments will be in red.

can one follow jesus without following the wts?

Flowerpetal

Thanks Blondie!

Good catch: questions s/b in red though?

God's existence and the good qualities reflected in the earth around him. David also had the early books of the Holy Scriptures, which contain revelations by God about himself and his works (why not "Himself" and "His works"?).

I like what Spurgeon had to say as well...thanks for referencing his comments.

96

Proof of God's existence

by Blackboo in

from a logical point....i notice that in these threads that there are few here who dont believe in god..but i hate to tell you your dead wrong for having such an ignorant belief like that..instead ya,ll are blaming religion, people, and your personal problems for your lack of faith in god..thats dead wrong.

the non-believers are not looking at the whole picture..just the present..the things that go on in the world happen for a reason and it doesnt mean god doesnt exist.

the bible says "the fool has said in his heart god doesnt exist".

Flowerpetal

ya,ll are blaming religion,

I would say religion IS the prime reason why people don't believe in God. I think spirituality is more important--and I believe atheists have a spirituality as well.

20

Serpent Seed Doctrine and the Kennites

by journey-on in

as some of you know, i'm on a journey.

i am in the process of opening up myself to explore other possibilities and i'm trying to examine other ways of looking at religious and spiritual things.

some i take with a grain of salt, others i reject immediately, some i file away in the margins of my mind to explore later, others i embrace with relish (not the pickle kind).

Flowerpetal

I like to watch Murray's "Shepherd's Chapel". Some of what I hear is so outrageous I have to keep coming back to see what he'll say next.

Yes, I watch him too. He is a big believer in the Kenites being sons of the Devil. He even references Jesus' parable of the wheat and the weeds, the weeds being the Kenites.

I think some of these old myths, stories, and legends have underlying spiritual truths, and when the metaphorical application is peeled away, a deeper understanding remains from which one can find pieces to the puzzle.

Definitely agree!!

I'm on a journey as well..don't know where it's going to lead, but I am enjoying the ride.

And I can understand the atheist point of view as well..