i am a catholic who was recently visited by a jehovah's witness who had some things to say which i had never known about.
this got me to thinking, and so i am now curious about the full teachings of the wts in this regard.
basically i was informed that witnesses cannot vote nor serve in the military, or even fly a flag.
Hello
Yes, that is correct and the police / military stance was one of the reasons I left the Witnesses. It showed a hypocrisy there I could not reconcile in my mind. "Oh, no, they have guns and are bad" along with "there is someone breaking into my house - send the cops, quick!" - it made little sense even when explained to me and I tried to explain it to others.
Thanks for posting! (:
i sometimes feel this spiritual void inside, like i'm standing at the edge of an abyss, and it's so much that i can hardly take it.
the odd thing about it is that i always feel it when i'm starting to get close to a lady, close enough to where those deep feelings start to arise - where a momentary look into her eyes feels like a thousand years of life experience and the ephemeral nature of life becomes most painfully plain.
i think that i need to believe in god, somehow, someway, if i'm gonna get through life without going nuts and/or doing myself harm.
Hi Dan
I understand what you mean. Something that has been helping me lately is concentrating less on 'me' and more on my family. I don't know if you have family or not but maybe some friends or something.
Anyway, I took my wife and children, grandchildren to the Aquarium last weekend and then out to eat. They had a lot of fun and even though it was not 'my thing' (I like video games) their enjoying it made me fill a bit more whole inside. At work, I have been actually trying to help people more insead of just 'doing my job' to get by. That has helped to.
I am new to doing this so I am no authority..but it has helped. After my best friend died recently it made me start thinking about the 'point' of our lives. If there is a Creator who cares, it may be very likely that our time here is a test in how we treat our fellow man and family. After I do those things for my wife, coworkers, and family and I am drained (I am an introvert who likes to be alone) then I made an agreement with my wife that I could play all the video games I want (: Balance, and giving back to others I think is what makes like worthwhile.
i'm sure this has been touched on before, but i just thought about it tonight.
i was thinking about the appointment of ministerial servants (deacons) and elders (bishops) in the kingdom hall.
the watchtower society runs down the list of requirements in acts, that they must be good examples, pure, etc.
" always saw this scripture as a validation for polygamy.
Think about it. If the writer had to make a point that the elders should only have one wife. It meant that there must have been Christian husbands around with more than one wife and they would have been accepted members of the Christian community, although not ideal candidates for the role congregation elders. "
Hello all. Well, you may not be aware, but there was no scriptural command in the 'old testament' or 'hebrew scriptures' that a man had to have only one wife. Polygamy was common in Arab lands and still is. A number of prominent, 'loyal' friends of God in the Old Testament had more than one wife / lover / child bearer. So, the early Christians felt it necessary to clarify this was a no-go.
i wanted to say thank you to the wbts for enforcing a 'no-contact' rule on all those that have left the organization.. only by experiencing first-hand my former best-friends treating me like a complete stranger (see 'garbage') for standing up for my own beliefs was i finally able to tell the society 'good-bye' forever and not feel guilty about it.. i know this was not the wbts's intention from the alienation practice.
it's intention was to make me feel guilty and lonely enough to come back to them.
however, it has backfired on them and finally given me my freedom.. thank you, society, for lacking kindness and understanding.
Thank you for all the responses!
By the way, for those out there who responded with 'you just had a problem, and left, and just showed up here', well..you are way off (not that there is anythign wrong with that).
I have been out 9 years and no, I didn't drift away. Check out a little of my bio. I am using my full name. I am proud of finally standing up to what I knew didn't make sense and leaving despite the hardship it has put me through and my family, ex-friends.
I was a very 'strong' witness until my late 20's. I was a regular pioneer for several years along with my wife, was on several circuit assembly parts (doesn't really matter, just establishing background) and decided to leave when my questions could not be answered well. I even wrote the Society several times asking questions - eventually they no longer answered. One of my big contentions was how they dealt with rape victims in the past. Until the last decade, the Society actually considered the victim partially at fault.
Anyway, I am proud to be here. My post here was after being out 9 years, being in the Army, and going back to a Kingdom Hall to attend my best-friends funeral. This is what inspired my comments. Those you grew up with and loved and who loved you like a son or brother will ignore you. The talk will be only about 5 minutes about the deceased - the rest is all preaching. Glad to meet you all! Even the 'witnesses' who hide behind screen names ...lol (:
