Posts by iwasblind

9

Paul said NOT to be "Harsh" in Shunning

by FusionTheism in

the apostle paul warned the corinthians not to be too harsh in their shunning of a man who was guilty of sexual immortality / adultery:.

2 co 2:5-11: now if anyone has caused sadness, he has saddened, not me, but all of you to an extentnot to be too harsh in what i say.

this rebuke given by the majority is sufficient for such a man; now you should instead kindly forgive and comfort him, so that he may not be overwhelmed by excessive sadness.

iwasblind

Hi Fusion

It is very interesting too, that it is some bible scholars say that the case in 1 Cor 5 where Paul told them to throw the immoral man out of the church, is the same man that Paul said in 2 Cor to welcome him back. These books were written in the same year also.

BUT, funnily enough there is no mention of 3 men coming to judge if he is "repentant in a Godly way", making him wait for months alone at the back of their meetings, writing a letter to be reinstated, etc.

As Oubliette says: Let's review - it's a cult!

45

Who or What is the Holy Spirit?

by FusionTheism in

tradition within christianity has long been that any time the phrases holy spirit, holy ghost, or spirit of godare used in the bible (especially in the new testament), it always refers to the mysterious third divine person of the trinity, who is fully god, co-equal to the father and son, yet somehow distinct.. i want to present a simplified alternative view: let the context determine the meaning!.

(one thing to keep in mind is that the meaning of the bible words used for spirit basically is unseen force or invisible presence.).

the holy spirit as the mind and personality of god.

iwasblind

Hi Fusion

Nice summary. We are studying about the Spirit at the moment because JW's don't really have it in their lives or really grasp it, and in our "innocent" questionings, they can't explain it beyond the stupid remote control illustration.

It is clearly far more than that. Thank you for more scriptures to contemplate.

18

John 21:23 a new argument for JW's regarding false prophecy promoted being OK

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

i want as many minds put into this as possible.. there is a new argument among the extreme jw apologists, saying that even the disciples promoted mistakes.

they base themselves on john 21:23. keep in mind, i am not a believer but i want the answer from a believer's standpoint, please.. .

nwt:.

iwasblind

It was not doctrine, it was heresay. Just like many JW's speculate about the paradise or space travel in the future.

The difference is simple, it was not stated as a doctrine, you could not get disfellowshipped for refuting it, and it was not printed in every single WT like 1914 and the like.

12

Watchtower now Proudly Promoting the DIVINE Jesus

by FusionTheism in

the revised nwt has a footnote on john 1:1 showing that "a god" means "divine.".

also, their other publications are now much more boldly referring to jesus as divine:.

jesus--the way, the life, the truth (2015), page 306-307:.

iwasblind

There is no change to the teachings though. They just pull out Jesus as an exemplar, they say he is our King but do not give him any worship.

Last year we got talking to a couple going to the School for Kingdom Evangelizers and a hot topic in their class was "How do we have a relationship with Jesus if we can't pray to him". No answer was given.

This is where you mentally diseased people need to be congratulated!

All of their teaching of late is just responding to apostates and you guys have highlighted for some time the distinct lack of Jesus.

I was looking forward to the new book thinking they might actually acknowledge Jesus more but the new book is crap.

17

Would you warn your neighbors if a child molester lived on your street?

by Stealth in

jw
friends

just found out that someone who lives 4 doors down was convicted of molesting a 4 year old child twice.

the second time was after he was arrested and released on bond from the first arrest.

having two 4 year old children living in my home, i am concerned.

iwasblind

Absolutely yes.

4

A nice thought for your Sunday morning.

by DATA-DOG in

1) romans 8:20 .

yhwh gave up.

there are no secondary fulfillments as regards the end.

iwasblind

Hi Data Dog,

Totally agree, JW's live for a fairytale future and don't enjoy what God gave us now.

I don't know about the plan failing, but agree that believers won't stay on earth.

Personally, I love the idea of seeing the heavenly glories and meeting my maker.

11

My Way of Interpreting the Bible is the ONLY Right Way!

by FusionTheism in

whether you are a christian, jew, undecided, agnostic, or atheist, isn't having the attitude that only ***your*** interpretation of the bible could be correct, or only ***you*** know what the bible means, -- .

isn't this a form of closed-mindedness, arrogance, and a superiority complex?.

in addition, isn't trying to force someone to conform to ***your*** interpretation of the bible the opposite of "freethinking?

iwasblind

Hi Fusion, there is nothing wrong with healthy debate.

On this forum I see people passionate about what they believe, and I think that is good. Because if you don't believe in anything, then what is the point.

I think where us as ex-jw's find it hard, is we are used to winning "battles" in the ministry. Even if we were proven wrong, we would find a way to say that we were right. I am trying to curb that habit and be a little more open.

Even if we don't agree with an ideology, I think it is important we can voice it in healthy strong debate without getting personal or taking it personally - but it is also important that even if we don't agree we try to see it from the other persons standpoint.

29

"Keeping up with Jehovah's Chariot"

by FusionTheism in

clarified understandings / new light of the past 7 years or so:.

* the faithful and discreet slave is only the governing body and only since 1919.. * the faithful slave was appointed in 1919 by jesus but it will not receive its greater authority until the judgment of the sheep and goats.. * charles taze russell was not part of the faithful and discreet slave.. * there was no slave for 1900 years before 1919.. * there may not have been any anointed during those 1900 years, but it's possible there were a few.. * 1935 was not the cut-off date for the selection of the anointed-- this selection is still ongoing.

* 1935 has no special biblical significance.. * 1918 has no special biblical significance.. * gog of magog is not satan, but is a coalition of nations, who may be ruled by the mysterious king of the north.. * there is no evil slave class.

iwasblind

Yes Fusion, and Jesus promise to be with his loyal ones till the end of the system?

We could ask a JW where was Jesus in this time then?

Does that mean he lied to us?

I am not sure how they will accept this "new schite" but my guess is many will just go along and parrot it off. Hopefully it will wake some up.

75

What was your eye opening moment?

by WasOnceBlind in

if you had to pinpoint the time or experience that finally made you open your eyes, what would it be?.

i think for me it was the time i saw my dad shun his brother who he had not seen in decades just because he was a da'ed jw.

i thought to my self "no way jesus would do that.

iwasblind

For me there was a lot of red flags that started me thinking something is wrong here, but I never blamed the GB - it was the people not doing what we are supposed to. My wife had questioned stuff for years but we just put it in the "too hard" basket.

For me the July 15 2013 WT was what broke my trust in the GB. Then I started researching the scriptures and like Fayedunaway I saw how they changed the bible to suit themselves.

65

Now Even JW Men Are Going To Die At The Big A

by OneFingerSalute in

so this weekend there was a part about not following jesus at a distance.

the speaker made a big point of stating that any baptized jw male who was not either appointed ms/elder, or at the very least "reaching out" actively, was in fact following jesus at a distance.

he said that the only way to live through the big a was to follow jesus closely.

iwasblind

I just watched the second Jesus drama and again they have incorrect stuff, added words to Jesus conversations and basically the storyline is not in the bible.

I can't believe this - they have lost the plot. Instead of making the drama about Jesus he appears in it but it is all about DOUBTS and how you know JW's have the truth.