Way to go! It sounds like you're finding out What the Bible REALLY Teaches!!
cheers,auntbee
ephesians is a letter in the nt, typically supposed to have ben authour by paul to the ephesians but not only the authorship is debated but so is the target audience, the ephesians part not being noted in the earliest available scriptures.. dated at around 8-100 ad and supposedly during paul's captivity, it does gives us some insight into (perhaps) 2nd generation chrisianity and paul's effect on them.. chapter 1 has some passages of note:.
grace is given freely (we are blessed with it) by jesus ( called beloved or the one he, god, loved) -1:6. in jesus we have redemption, forgiveness of sins according to god's grace - 1:7. god's plan is to bring everything ( heaven and earth) together under jesus, god has an (unknown to us) timeline for that.
- 1:10. we have been chosen ( are heirs), predestined according to god - 1:11 and, being the first to have hope in christ, might be for the praise of hid glory - 1:12.. 1:13 -"and you were also included when you heard the word of truth, the gospel and having believed, were marked by the holy spirit with a seal".
Way to go! It sounds like you're finding out What the Bible REALLY Teaches!!
cheers,auntbee
thank you facebook!.....i so regret breaking off all my "worldly" friendships once i graduated.......they are all still friends as i could see all my buddies friends on his facebook page....it was weird as i knew just about all of them....i guess they stayed lifelong friends like i thought i had with my dub group............. .anyhoo he gets me a bit since he had a jw aunt and he knew my family were dubs..........funny we talked about my exit a bit and he tells me he knows a guy who left recently and it cause a lot of family problems!
!.....sure hope to meet that guy too..........anyhoo, im not just making new friends, i am finding old ones now..........oompa.
Hey Oompa, is it common for JW teens to break off the worldly friends after graduating high school? Is it like, ok to hang with them, while you're still in high school, but considered a lot worse once you graduated?
Too long to go into, but i'm interested in this because of a personal situation.
thanks
i recieved a couple of books in the mail this week, and feel moved express a very sincere "thank you".
i will make sure these books go on to help others.
i know a few "inactive" ones that will be so appreciative in being able to free their minds by recognizing their former involvement for what it is.
I'm so glad it got there ok, and that you'll pass it on! It's always fun to make finds like that in the used bookstores. take care.
our second annual jwn night will take place this saturday august 15,2009 7p.m.est.
this will be a great opportunity to hear the voices and connect with the real personalities of the people behind the avatars.
chat with people who are, in their own unique way, have made jwn the most popular ex-jw forum on the net.
Can someone repeat the instructions on how to listen in the Paltalk chat room? Last time i tried, i couldn't find it. Does that go on for every conference call, or just some of them? Thanks
the other day, i was with a car full of kids, and we saw a car group going out in service.
the kids , mostly young teens, were fascinated with the suits, ties, dresses, etc.
i was explaining a little about it, and they kept asking questions like, "wow, can they go swimming?
THe other day, i was with a car full of kids, and we saw a car group going out in service. The kids , mostly young teens, were fascinated with the suits, ties, dresses, etc. I was explaining a little about it, and they kept asking questions like, "Wow, can they go swimming?" "Do they have to dress like that all the time?" "what a drag.", etc.
It got me to thinking that the era where this type of dressing up had a strong appeal is just about over. I think it was VERY attractive/appealing to the adult generation during the years that our culture was changing over to being much more casual, even sloppy. But now, To anyone in their forties or younger, it is actually an anti-witness. To us, it might as well be a group that has to wear prairie dresses, etc, and doesn't hold any special appeal at all. I've read in many of the stories/testimonies about the householder being SO impressed with the spiffy dressing. Now it just seems anachronistic.
both robert lifton and steve hassan list the use of 'loaded language' as a key element of cults.
every cult has terminologies that are unique to itself, and often the intent is to polarize the membership into a black and white language style.
the cliches of cultish groups tend to stop thought, or restrict into a a single accepted viewpoint.. this is almost never recognized by the members while they are trapped inside - but is clearly evident the effects this had upon us once we exit the religion.
AK-Jeff: Your post was "loaded" with insight! amazing. I'm a never been JW, but in transcribing parts of the convention for a few people, and for my own study, WOW, i kept noticing this over and over. I was already pretty familiar with some of the more 'loaded", "negative" terms and what they imply, etc. But there are also a lot of words/phrases that are.........strange, or archaic, etc. One of the words that intrigue me is the constant use of "imperfection" as opposed to "sin." My theory on this is that even in the midst of the heavy guilt and legalism, the WTBS view of sin is actually shallow and insufficient, as compared with traditional Christian views. I believe this ties in with their unique ransom theory, for various reasons.
Maybe i'll pm you later some more of the strange wordings i noticed, if you are interested in this topic.
ive been lurking this site for quite a while but for some reason never could muster up the courage to post.. let me give a little background on my self.. i am 18 and male an still living with my parents.
i was baptised at 15 basically against my will (by cracking under the pressure) but only truly broke out of the drone like mindswhen i was 17. since then its been totall choas in my life all of it stemming from the orginization of course.
my parents are the defenition of brainwashed wittnesses, my father even belives he is anointed.. after i got baptised i suffered from intense deppression and with a little soul searching, after a year i realized that i need some time for my self.
Comment on FAFSA: WE've gone through the FAFSA process recently with several kids. One thing that did surprise me is that it is only for VERY rare circumstances that they will process your application without the parental information. I believe it's until you are age 23, or around there. For example, they are in jail, you have no contact whatsoever, etc. -- This can be very detrimental to some of the college-age students who need it the most! One gal i knew - her parents just refused to give the info. She had no idea why, and they would not help her financially with college either! (i wondered if they were into conspiracy theories, and didn't want the gov to have their info? Or involved in something shady?)
I wonder if it would be worth researching more in depth, and producing some kind of paper or article, explaining why students leaving Jehovahs Witnesses NEED and DESERVE Fafsa help, without their parents' info.
this might interest some who are researchers into cults in general.
i had only vaguely heard of this guy harold camping, when he predicted the end in the nineties.
here at this link, you can hear him debating dr james white.
This might interest some who are researchers into cults in general. I had only vaguely heard of this guy Harold Camping, when he predicted the end in the nineties. Here at this link, you can hear him debating Dr James White. ( He is coming from a Reformed Prot perspective.) Part 1 is up, i believe they will also post part 2 soon.
It is unbelievable how JW-esque he sounds. He just rambles on and on with numbers, calculations, etc. Tells everyone to come out of their churches, he has the truth, it's being revealed for the first time now that the end is near, yada yada, you know the drill. -- His opponent actually observes how Camping for all practical purposes puts him on 'mute' when he speaks, not really responding to anything he says, but just goes back into his spiel.
i know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but i thought some might be interested.
"count your many blessings, name them one by one.
" (words of the song).
i'm interested in hearing from believers.
I once told a JW pioneer that when i lay my head down at night, i do not look back on the day and think how much i did for Jehovah. I don't assume that it's all good with Him because He knows i have a good heart. I realize the sins i have committed, the people i still lack love for after many years, the grudges i find hard to let go of, the impatience, the lack of compassion, the things i should have done but didn't..........And with all this and more, i thank God for the amazing gratuitous GIFT of the forgiveness of sins through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the joy of being clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness. :) This is good news indeed, is it not?
Sola Gratia!
auntbee, bridget, tucson
i just found a very cheap but nice copy of hassan's book "combatting mind control".
i will mail it gratis to whoever wants it.
first pmed address i get!
WE HAVE A WINNER: lurk3r.