Posts by reniaa

104

Why do I feel like I'm losing my wife to this website?

by sarabi in

jw
friends

i'm a jw in good standing and she is too.

she has had a lot of questions.

now, i feel like there is a division between us.

reniaa

Hi I know how you feel, If you look at my history I went on this site after talking to my sister a regular member about my feelings of wanting to go back to JW's, unfortunately I found this site a disturbing mixed bag, some good people but a lot of mixed messages and subjective information stated as facts amidst relevant info.

I personally found on visiting this site you really have to step back and try and understand what you are getting on here and there are many different people :- "the Jw's with doubts and questions" people, the "never been Jw but had a family member as one and now hate them" members, the "brought up as JW but found the restrictions to harsh and want freedom to do what they want now" young people, the "Used to be long standing JW but got disfellowshiped or DA'd now deeply bitter and hating JW" group, "even some never been witness but just enjoy posting info on here" people and many more, thats only a few and the majority express bitter dislike of the watchtower and so are predjudiced from these viewpoints.

I'm not saying the information isn't correct especially on watchtower history but you have to take it in context with all christian religions applying it from isrealites onwards. You really have to know where your coming from on this site that is basically anti-witness and if you want your doubts reinforced you will get that on here! the "seek and yea shall find" scripture is aptly applied in this case, I certainly wouldn't say this is a site you will get both sides of the story, In a kingdom hall you will get pro-witness info obviously! on this site you get anti-witness info and so if you want unbiased information you won't get it but you will get lots of information to try and sift through as I did.

I wanted to explore the Jw religion as a positive in comparison to other religions but found I got side tracked with all the anti-witness people, I wanted to discuss biblical scriptures like "no fornication" etc with a view to being a modern day christian? are we progressed in christianity these days that we can now as christians do all the things the bible forbids with impunity? like fornication, adultery, gambling, getting drunk. but not sure how that will be recieved, especially as one of the main things held against the JW's is their strictness which in many cases has scriptural back-up, so in condemning the strictness in witnesses are we also condemning the bible?

Also take apostasy if you come on this site you may end up leaving JW's in most cases (although you can argue that some coming on here are already looking for a reason to leave and want justification) but genuine doubters can be influenced by what they find on here into leaving JW's so in that sense the JW's are right, in that leaving JW's is where you will end up by coming onto anti-witness sites like this one and I can see this is what you are worried about in Cognac's case and probably rightly so.

But will your marriage suffer as a result? from what I've read on here this can happen, although a strong loving relationship can survive this. It sounds like you have a good relationship and love each other and that is what counts.

27

JW Closet Drinkers

by shamus100 in

jw
friends

how many here have had jw friends that can only have a good time when they drink?

i've known plenty - ones with obvious drinking problems.

not necessarialy alcoholics, but ones that equate good times with drinking, and drinking alone.

reniaa

I agree with razor my parents were "weak witnesses" that got drunk but on leaving truth it was like a red light went ping above their heads and they went into alcohol madness zone I can only remain thankful that the JW's kept my mum from going into overdrive with drink while we were really young.

I think it is floored logic to apply this only to JW's, binge drinking is recognised as a world wide growing phenomenon.

99

It is official. I am an elder now!

by outofthebox in

jw
friends

it happened last night guys.

i got early to the kh and the boe came to talk to me.

they ask me to read the bible and asked me a couple of questions.

reniaa

Well you know my feelings from other thread OOTB :( This will be my last post on the subject because I think you get enough encitment from many on this forum and may take negatives as encouragement too but I hope your family doesn't end up feeling a massive betrayal from your actions, remember there's always a quiet way to end this if you realise its more than you can handle.

I disaprove the dishonesty and can't see much good coming from it. I hope you get out of this soon without causing hurt or getting hurt.

reniaa

181

It looks like I will become an elder this week!

by outofthebox in

jw
friends

that's right guys.

as i told you before, they boe have been considering me for the eldership.

which i don't care for, but since my family is stuck in this cult, i guess i can use the new position to help them see that the holy spirit has nothing to do with me being an elder.

reniaa

Interesting point pickles unfortunately my younger sister isn't really placed to tell me what to believe :s or share her experiences which I have some experience of anyway. and since you talk of me you get a reply from me!

I guess I have to accept being pro-witness in any way is gonna not make me popular on this forum :( although I think this thread was an unfair one to pick me up on this because to think being dishonest is wrong could be something I believe without being a JW and others on this thread said the same from their replies to ootb.

I refrained from posting on a thread with a 16 year old saying he should eat the wine and bread at memorial despite a number saying he should "Go for it" better spoken persons than I manage to say what I would have tried too against that.

What my sister won't tell you is she and I were both brought up by weak witnesses who barely could be said to be JW's they went to meetings enough to qualify but then went drinking and getting drunk afterwards with fellow witnesses who were weak too, as oldest child I was left at home to look after my sisters. I often used to hear my dad's conversations when he got home slagging off more faithful witnesses as a way to justify he own weakness, He left the Witnesses and left my mother eventually enjoyed his new "Freedom" which included majuana, a new wife and I have only seen him once since, his choice not mine. My mother did her best to stay a witness for a while but 7 kids to look after made it impossible, I do remember witnesses continually visiting and helping as they could but mum finally made it clear she too wasn't interested,

The last witness that kept visiting was an annointed witness I don't think he ever filled in a time sheet he just loved people, I don't know if any English EX-Jw's will remember him Walter Cook. He was a lovely man and would have been in or out of the WTS, maybe with him I have rose-coloured glasses but I don't remember any bad just him smiling at me and enjoying friendly cups of tea with mum asking how she was, I certainly don't remember any intense witnessing just genuine human kindness.

I am now a hopeless cynic and maybe a little arrogant as shell says (who knows) but I hate dishonesty with a passion, I've had a lot of hurt inflicted by dishonesty and none of it by witnesses. Do I think witnesses are incapable of dishonesty Hell no! I think they are equally capable of it but I won't condemn witness for things that would have happenned as well outside of the WTS. Have I got rose-coloured glasses about all witnesses hmmm I don't think so lol i once had a JW sister call me "Devil's spawn". For me the attraction is the teachings about the bible with JW's not imperfect people.

reniaa

343

I hate the Watchtower but I really still hate the Trinity Jesus is NOT God!

by Witness 007 in

some bibles use the term "worship" when refering to jesus...at times people did fall down and bow to him........this doesn't show he was god!

the greek term; proskeyneo, means to prostrate oneself, to bow down and show honour.

now, this was done for jehovah.....and his representatives....jesus israelite kings and priests....but for the honour of jehovah not as creature worship which even angels would refuse.. also i studied the non-biblical early church gospels which really does show a slow decline over 150 years, into the trinity as the watchtower claims...........although i still hate the watchtower society at least i learnt something that wasn't a lie..

reniaa

Mmm I wonder if you'd use the leaders are mentioned only answer like in fiction, but the bible also mentions verifyable grunts/workers too, I can't research the immediate archaelogical info but in one example it mentions nebuchnessars lower down workers and it was confirmed by a stone mentioning the same people, place and Neb and event too.

You can't just dismiss archaelogical as "thats just archaeology" as back up confirmation because that ignores the fact of how much archaeology there is for the bible (more than any other ancient writing) , places, people, events (often the oppositions side) and practices.. a slave price changes through centuries and archaeologist were able to verify that the slave price asked for in the bible at a particular century was exactly right from other sources. Would a fiction writer be able to get that right oops let me qualify that would a fiction writer get all that right without the aid of libraries, internet, computers TV documentaries, as the bible writers had none of these resources.

reniaa

181

It looks like I will become an elder this week!

by outofthebox in

jw
friends

that's right guys.

as i told you before, they boe have been considering me for the eldership.

which i don't care for, but since my family is stuck in this cult, i guess i can use the new position to help them see that the holy spirit has nothing to do with me being an elder.

reniaa

Well you are welcome to your viewpoint sirona!

I would say in concerns to me and my sister though you only have to see how we write to see we are different

leolaia pretty much showed the IP thing was hogwash by showing others had same ip as us to in the same accidental way, long standing members. Come on sirona thats a bit below the belt still using that ip thing and misinformation considering what leolaia found out.

AM I still a witness? No i am not! but I am pro-witness recently and humanitarian in views, so that may make me predjudiced in my words. but even if I was a witness why are my words/presence to be vilified? this site is supposed to welcome witnesses too? and presumably their take on things? ( I repeat I am not a witness, 10 years absent and an inclination to go back is all I will admit too)

Sirona what do you hope to achieve by your words? people shunning me on this forum?

reniaa

we are derailing this thread so whatever your reply I will say no more on the subject your welcome to pm me on the subject sirona if you feel that strongly :)

181

It looks like I will become an elder this week!

by outofthebox in

jw
friends

that's right guys.

as i told you before, they boe have been considering me for the eldership.

which i don't care for, but since my family is stuck in this cult, i guess i can use the new position to help them see that the holy spirit has nothing to do with me being an elder.

reniaa

Eeek sirona you found me :) I am pro-witness lol my first post was i'm tempted to go back, so there i'm been very very honest

Its ins't merely a JW slagging off site.

If this is a halfway house and not an incite to hate JW forum, It should allow for people like me that are in two-minds and don't hate WTS? thats for you too sirona?

I would have thought in this thread you'd see all i'm saying is... don't become a elder if you don't believe because you may get hurt or hurt others by the consequences and any "Good" you may do may get negated. wheres the hidden agenda in that

Or do you think i'm the secret JW police out to reconvert you all? hehe thats sounds kinda cool do I get wear black leather :P

reniaa

91

To all Bible believers... and non

by dawg in

jw
friends

my questions to you that believe the bible are this .

ok, so you come on this site and attack the jws, why cant you see that you are the same as the jws when you defend the bible?

after all, arent you defending the already dis proven faith that you believe?

reniaa

hi dawg, what alternatives are you offering though to a belief in God and if your a christian belief in the bible?

We are well into the heydey of science, But as Inkling said "there is a void" why is there a void that religion eagerly fills?

I have tried to find the answers by looking into atheism and science but it gives none, if you research evolution especially with recent finds it asks more questions than it answers and differing opinions are abundant from every different scholar in evolution as to what things mean. Evolution bares little resemblance to what darwin originally concieved of.

Then we have abiogenesis, how did life start? Stephen hawkins has spent 40 years to end up saying the same as all other scholars on the subject that there is no answer to this question! That is a massive void!

There are so many questions, deep meaning of life questions and atm I think to be someone who doesn't believe in God you have no choice to but to ignore them and live in the here and now, thats all that science can offer you! for some that is enough for others it isn't.

I also find in myself a dislike of self made-up Gods of what we want him to be like, usually like ourselves with a lovely way of allowing us to do whatever we want in life, that only seems one step up from atheism.

The bible offers us a real God with all his complexities, I prefer that, until proven otherwise :)

reniaa

181

It looks like I will become an elder this week!

by outofthebox in

jw
friends

that's right guys.

as i told you before, they boe have been considering me for the eldership.

which i don't care for, but since my family is stuck in this cult, i guess i can use the new position to help them see that the holy spirit has nothing to do with me being an elder.

reniaa

heheh no I never was an elders wife in fact I barely got to be an aux pioneer when I was a witness I've been away 10 years now and what you guys don't appreciate is i'm talking from an humanitarian viewpoint not just a JW one.

because I've had a few replies to my last post I won't address anyone personally instead I'll be honest in what I don't like about this forum having been on it a week and why this thread particularily hit a nerve.

There is a lot of hate for JW's however genuine the reasons for it, it automatically predjudices your judgement over the JW's, I've also been on an Atheist forum and basically heard the same arguments you've said but against all religion saying "it's all evil and mindcontrolling" and "all religion should be banned and people should be stopped from having religion"....sound familiar replace WTS with religion and you hear the same thing on here.

I'm not arguing that if you feel strongly you shouldn't try and maybe be honest and tell people this but my problem is twofold in this scenario of ootb's......

1/ he is not being honest and that will severely effect his judgement and counciling abilities (you are right normal elders are not qualified and can make a total hash of it too) but with ootb he will have added pressure of how to give advice when his motivations are so mixed up and from different sources, will he be able to step back and help people without his "set them free from the evil" attitude effecting his words and actions?

2/ you guys are inciting a person you do not know, never met, are only hearing his side of the story which he already explains involves family and friends to actions that may hurt, upset etc (although a lot of sane and sensible people on this thread have said same as me probably in less words though lol)

Considering what Ootb has said, so far he is already on the way out of WTS it's only the means that is in question, I like other think his elders life will be short because of what he has already explained to us, all i'm saying is surely we can advise him to do this in a way that inflicts less hurt and upset?

reniaa

P.s I think elders are very human! thats something I have seen in any organisation that has leaders, men in charge, supervisors etc that have all been inflicted by the faults you find in elders whether governments, in workplace, other religions, these faults unfortunately come with leadership, in that the bible is also very honest. You only have to see King David sending a man to death so he can hide the fact he got this man's wife pregnant, with power comes responsibility and you have to accept that you will make mistakes and the consequences of that mistake. I don't envy elders their job at all (or their wives).

A question for OOTB if he does become an elder...could you have enough judgement to see when it is wise not to use a counciling situation to advise some to leave WTS? as with old and infirm whose whole life is wrapped up in JW's and would have nothing to replace it?

343

I hate the Watchtower but I really still hate the Trinity Jesus is NOT God!

by Witness 007 in

some bibles use the term "worship" when refering to jesus...at times people did fall down and bow to him........this doesn't show he was god!

the greek term; proskeyneo, means to prostrate oneself, to bow down and show honour.

now, this was done for jehovah.....and his representatives....jesus israelite kings and priests....but for the honour of jehovah not as creature worship which even angels would refuse.. also i studied the non-biblical early church gospels which really does show a slow decline over 150 years, into the trinity as the watchtower claims...........although i still hate the watchtower society at least i learnt something that wasn't a lie..

reniaa

I agree with fjtoth, explanations of trinity are numerous but very vague in their essence if you can quote a scripture but have add more to make it fit than surely you can see that it's wrong, we don't have to add to scriptures to find one that says I am "One God" but you have to add words to make it say i am "One God" but 3 in 1 :s

reniaa