minimus' thread about research got me to thinking about a friend who recently accused me of researching just to purposely find something wrong so i could justify my actions (of becoming inactive).. how would you answer this?.
use these two bible verses, if they still object to you examining and researching the scriptures it is evident that they are not imparting truth.
Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
Bible quote, Apostle Paul, 1 Thessalonians 5: 21
Bible quote, John 8:32: The truth shall make you free.
did the thought ever cross your mind?
i have done so very recently.
i might someday - i am tired of having no friends, my life in the rearview mirror.. jeff.
Devil's Advocate ?
I am confused jeff.
an atheist friend (never a jw) sent me a link to this fun test:.
http://www.beliefnet.com/entertainment/quizzes/beliefomatic.aspx.
turns out i am 100% secular humanist, but unfortunately i am still 5% jw!.
I think the test is flawed. I took it again and this time i made sure that everything i chose was counter Jwie. no god, , no satan, ok to divorce , abortion etc it actually ranked my Jw score much higher than my original test
damn...this economy sucks.
its making me crazy.
i work for sams club and being as its a part of walmart and walmart is almost recession proof, you wouldnt think id be worried about my job going away.
I am terrified. Three hospitals have declared bankruptsy closed . The hospital that employs me is also in financial straits. I have been looking around, but there is no other jobs (in my feild) in my local area.
This may have been the first scandal , the fact that russell was not the first presidebt of the watchtower.
The Proclaimer's Book, page 576: "...Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed on Feb. 16, 1881, with W.H. Conley as president and C.T. Russell as secretary and treasurer....In 1884, Zion Watch Tower Tract Socity was legally incorporated, with C.T. Russell as president."
Not only is Conley no longer president, but he's not an officer nor a director. Moreover, there are only 3 references about him in the pages of Zion's Watch Tower, none acknowledging his previous rank!
the federal bureau of prisons does have statistics on religious affiliations of inmates.
the following are total number of inmates per religion category: .
catholic 29267 39.164% protestant 26162 35.008% muslim 5435 7.273% american indian 2408 3.222% nation 1734 2.320% rasta 1485 1.987% jewish 1325 1.773% church of christ 1303 1.744% pentecostal 1093 1.463% moorish 1066 1.426% buddhist 882 1.180% jehovah witness 665 0.890% adventist 621 0.831% orthodox 375 0.502% mormon 298 0.399% scientology 190 0.254% atheist 156 0.209% hindu 119 0.159% santeria 117 0.157% sikh 14 0.019% bahai 9 0.012% krishna 7 0.009% .
it would be interesting to plot what the religous makeup of general population of the US vs the representation in prison
an atheist friend (never a jw) sent me a link to this fun test:.
http://www.beliefnet.com/entertainment/quizzes/beliefomatic.aspx.
turns out i am 100% secular humanist, but unfortunately i am still 5% jw!.
| 1. | Unitarian Universalism(100%) |
| 2. | Liberal Quakers(95%) |
| 3. | Neo-Pagan(94%) |
| 4. | Secular Humanism(90%) |
| 5. | New Age(89%) |
| 6. | Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants(82%) |
| 7. | Theravada Buddhism(78%) |
| 8. | Mahayana Buddhism(73%) |
| 9. | Reform Judaism(68%) |
| 10. | Taoism(64%) |
| 11. | Baha'i Faith(62%) |
| 12. | Nontheist(59%) |
| 13. | Sikhism(58%) |
| 14. | Scientology(58%) |
| 15. | New Thought(54%) |
| 16. | Jainism(53%) |
| 17. | Orthodox Quaker(53%) |
| 18. | Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist)(43%) |
| 19. | Hinduism(38%) |
| 20. | Orthodox Judaism(34%) |
| 21. | Islam(32%) |
| 22. | Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant(28%) |
| 23. | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons)(26%) |
| 24. | Eastern Orthodox(24%) |
| 25. | Roman Catholic(24%) |
| 26. | Seventh Day Adventist(21%) |
| 27. | Jehovah's Witness(8%) |
damned my third most likely was neo pagan
lets say i told them something scandalious about an adherent of another demination(sp?
), would they spread it around?.
faster than you could tell it to them.
i think that the very act of questioning the teachings of the watchtower society does not make us apostates!!!
does not the bible teach us to examine what it teaches?
that is what the apostle paul says in the bible.
amen outlaw, I choose to define myself as one who is earnestly seeking truth no matter where that may lead me. The organization has proven itself to be a false prophet by their many false teachings and non biblical rhetoric. I am not trying to start a new religion or speaking against god. I am compelled to continue searching and examining . I will never allow them to define who I am.
i think that the very act of questioning the teachings of the watchtower society does not make us apostates!!!
does not the bible teach us to examine what it teaches?
that is what the apostle paul says in the bible.
Hmmm have I abandoned my religion yes, Have I abandoned my principles no. I would not mind being called an apostate if the only connotation it had was abandoning my former faith. I was born into the religion and was baptized by the time I was 12. I never had a chance to truly analyze the veracity of the religion. I do however object to being considered an apostate if the definition of apostate is the ones the JWs use. I never turned my back on god, just the organization of JWs. I know that they can not truly be speaking for a loving god. As has been pointed out earlier in this thread I firmly believe the organization of JWs has apostated themselves from the true true teachings of Christ. Hence, I feel that to allow them to label us as apostates is insulting. Perhaps I am being overly sensitive. It is just such such a loaded word when they use it in referance to those of us who question the veracity of their teachings.
