Posts by Frenchy

Training/indoctrination can and does override natural feelings and inclinations, instincts if you will, and creates a new set based on the values now established in the mind. Responses to these new values ensues. Our minds reward us with gratification for having done 'the right thing'. 'The right thing' is of course an evaluation/belief that exists in our minds. We can be made to feel good about virtually anything. All that is required is that we become convinced that this is the right thing! JW's are not without compassion. They are merely misinformed on some things.

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

30

To celebrate or not to celebrate

by Dubby in

jw
friends

i wonder how much validity is in the wt teaching that it's wrong to celebrate holidays.

did jesus followers in the first century really not get involved in nationalistic activities?

is the celebration of one's nations independence at odds with jesus and the apostle's teachings?.

Frenchy

Waiting: I've never gone through a divorce or even a separation so I can only imagine it. The process of trying to make the right decision under very traumatic circumstances is not new to me, however. (I find it very easy to see the solution for others...but for me it always seems more complicated!) I think you did the wise and prudent thing. Hesitation when possible is the mark of maturity.

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

43

Wierd KH property arrangement

by Simon in

jw
friends

my wife's congregation recently bought some land to build a new kh on it but then signed over the ownership to an offshore company controlled by the wtb&ts.

they were told that it would make it harder to 'grab' when 'the persecution begins'.. has anyone else heard anything like this?.

it sounds like a way of getting real-estate to me and from what i've heard, sounds a bit dodgy.

Frenchy

Xandit: We are still waiting for your reply. No one is going to be hostile to you. We would just like some clarification. I was wondering what happened to you. You never did give me a response to my reply to your request for that statement from the Society. I was wondering what you thought about it.

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

13

Matthew 28-- the whole chapter.

by somebody in

jw
friends

good afternoon all,.

i was read the 28th chapter of matthew today.

after jesus' disciples saw he was resurrected, he told them that all power in heaven and in earth was given to him.

Frenchy

Somebody:

I view it as meaning that Jesus in the ONLY source of authority

It seemed to me that you were excluding God. When speaking of Jesus' authority you made no mention of God's supreme authority.

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

13

Matthew 28-- the whole chapter.

by somebody in

jw
friends

good afternoon all,.

i was read the 28th chapter of matthew today.

after jesus' disciples saw he was resurrected, he told them that all power in heaven and in earth was given to him.

Frenchy

Somebody: What about God?

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

13

Matthew 28-- the whole chapter.

by somebody in

jw
friends

good afternoon all,.

i was read the 28th chapter of matthew today.

after jesus' disciples saw he was resurrected, he told them that all power in heaven and in earth was given to him.

Frenchy

Somebody: I'm interested in how you view the phrase "all power"(a number of translations use the term 'all authority').

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

30

To celebrate or not to celebrate

by Dubby in

jw
friends

i wonder how much validity is in the wt teaching that it's wrong to celebrate holidays.

did jesus followers in the first century really not get involved in nationalistic activities?

is the celebration of one's nations independence at odds with jesus and the apostle's teachings?.

Frenchy

Now, as to the holidays, since that is the subject of this thread... I see nothing wrong with celebrating Mothers' Day or Father's Day or someone's birthday inasmuch as these are not religious observances. Chrismas, on the other hand, can in no stretch of the reasonable imagination be construed as the celebrating of Christ's birthday. It's plain silly. Easter eggs and chocolate bunny rabbits are not the way to celebrate the death or resurrection of Christ. As for the rest, well...???

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

30

To celebrate or not to celebrate

by Dubby in

jw
friends

i wonder how much validity is in the wt teaching that it's wrong to celebrate holidays.

did jesus followers in the first century really not get involved in nationalistic activities?

is the celebration of one's nations independence at odds with jesus and the apostle's teachings?.

Frenchy

Solid: I’ve never seen the movie but I can relate to the scene in the barn as you described it. The woman is married and falling in love with the hired help, I’m assuming that’s the thrust of it. The decision is whether to pursue this and leave her husband or drop it and remain with her husband. Is that the choice that she is facing? If so, then whether or not it’s a simple choice is totally dependent on the person she is. Granted, the choice, i.e., stay or leave, is simple enough to state but the processes involved in making that decision is something else entirely. If you have never stood at the crossroads of decision, weighing out your own happiness against that of others in order to decide your path then I can well appreciate your viewpoint on the matter. There are times when the needs of others take precedence over our own needs and happiness. That is duty. Parents should be very aware of this as should husbands and wives. There is a song, which I think well illustrates this dilemma. I forget the singer and the writer (shame on me) but it’s the classic love triangle. The man is at his crossroads. The time has come to make the decision. Though he deeply loves his mistress, he cannot find one single thing that his wife has done wrong. She was there when times were tough, and she loves him dearly. The second hardest thing he will ever do is tell his mistress goodbye and walk away. The hardest thing he will ever do is hold his wife while he’s in love with the other woman. I truly hope that you (or anyone else for that matter) will never experience such a thing but if you can, hold that thought in your mind for a few moments and see if you can feel what he is feeling.
It could be argued that he should follow his heart inasmuch as he will never be completely true to his wife anymore --BUT…he could never be happy even with the woman he loves knowing the pain that he has caused his wife. The cost of his freedom was too great for him to ever forget it. He will go back to his wife ( it assumed she knows nothing about this or knows and still wants him) and he will find some satisfaction in knowing that at least she is happy. He will hurt terribly knowing that the other woman will hurt just as much as him. In this terrible, no-win situation, duty (as he perceives it) wins out over happiness….because his perception of his duty will not allow happiness without it anyway. In the end, a measure of satisfaction (contentment, peace) is achieved in the performance of his duty. Such is the power of the sense of duty and responsibility, of committment.
To a JW, his dedication to Jehovah God on the basis of what he has been taught by the WTS is stronger than his union with his mate. To leave the organization is more traumatic than a divorce. The person has to first convince himself that this organization has been 'unfaithful' and is unrepentant in its acts of 'unfaithfulness' and that this organization no longer (he believed it once did) loves him before he can detach himself emotionally and mentally from it. Even then...it is no easy task, memories remain, emotions still surface from time to time...No, my friend, there is nothing simple about it at all...

13

Matthew 28-- the whole chapter.

by somebody in

jw
friends

good afternoon all,.

i was read the 28th chapter of matthew today.

after jesus' disciples saw he was resurrected, he told them that all power in heaven and in earth was given to him.

Frenchy

Somebody: Hello and welcome to the forum. I read your post and I quite agree with what you say about the Scriptures not authorizing the baptizing of people in the name of an organization. I am also amused at how JW's consider themselves 'publishers' instead of 'disciples' as you noted.
However, I have to disagree with you on a couple of points. JW's do teach the resurrection of Jesus and that his position next to Jehovah is one of great power over all creation. That might not be the opening statement in the door to door work but it certainly is one of their teachings.
As for the persecution, they have indeed undergone quite a bit of persecution. Inasmuch as they consider themselves Christians, it's not hard to see how they consider this persecution to be for the sake of Jesus' name.

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-