Posts by AuntBee

85

Similarities between Roman Catholics and Jehovah`s Witnesses

by smiddy in

both claim to be the sole path to god (or did at some point ).

both claim to reach back to first century christians ,( though jw`s are a bit ambiguous about this).

the r.c church has a pope , the j.w.`s have a governing body ,both providing spiritual food to the faithful.

AuntBee

I had an interesting convo with a Witness this week, and i found some of the parallels useful to challenge her trust in the WT. For example, saying that Jesus is not Mediator for all men. Thus, you need to stay "connected" to the Annointed, who are connected to Jesus directly. Thus, making the org the Mediator between you and the Mediator Jesus. I told her it reminds me somewhat of traditional Catholicism, as you need what they provide, to get to Jesus. She was insisting it is not like that at all...

On the other hand, Catholicism is not as monolithic as it used to be - wow, the beliefs of individual Catholics vary widely! I think there is overall a more ecumenical attitude these days.

7

A list of Assembly Halls?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

is there a list of the assembly halls in the usa?

.

AuntBee

At the jw.org site, click "about us" on the top. Then another menu will come up - click "meetings". Then "find a location near you." Then you can type in a state, and the list for that state will come up. I hope that works!

28

Disfellowshipped for reading "apostate literature"?

by Vanderhoven7 in

is reading apostate literature a disfellowshipping offense?.

do you know of people being disfellowshipped for this or for receiving apostate literature?.

.

AuntBee

My daughter and i tried to give one page of apostate ( aka "We don't want you to see this") literature to her friend, and i thought he was going to have a nervous breakdown!

10

A closer look at the origins and times of Pastor C.T.Russell

by Terry in

charles taze russell was born into a time and place in history when america was rife with failed ideas, movements and philosophies about mankind's destiny.

america had been founded by mostly puritan perfectionists and other zealots chased out of europe for troublemaking and fanatical hard-headedness about god's purposes for them.. the first effort of puritan colonists was to bring about god's kingdom through hard work, self-improvement and human institutions which would raise mankind up little by little to perfection in jesus christ.. this was seen to have failed by the middle 1800's and a new approach was needed.. a rural, self-taught farmer from a baptist heritage named william miller filled the need.

using just his wits, sincerety and a bible and concordance, miller searched the scriptures and his neighbor's libraries for the answer.. miller's research led him to the unshakeable conclusion that jesus christ would return sometime in 1843. miller polished his arguments and began a preaching circuit to churches around america's most fervent centers of christian enthusiasm.

AuntBee

Terry, do you think the Finney revivalism set the stage for Miller as well? I noticed in ISaac Welcome's book, that an oft repeated justification for The Midnight Cry, dates, even failed ones, was -- look at the glorious result - people were "electrified", they were moved, they were crying, they became interested in the BIble for the first time, etc. Many of Finney's contemporaries wrote against his use of "means" to achieve what he termed revival, as merely human/emotional manipulation - like the use of music, fear, coming forward to the "anxious bench", etc. Was the preaching of dates or just the "imminent" Advent, just another type of "means"?

630

SAD news about OOMPA......

by redredrose in

jw
friends

our friend, oompa, has passed away.

just recieved the news a couple of hours ago, and have almost no details.

it happened today or yesterday, he took his own life.

AuntBee

I know Troubled mind on FB, and wrote her a message about this, which she suggested i post here:

WOw, this is so unbelievably sad about Eric. I saw one poster said, well why do you blame it on JW, etc? Well, i can tell you one thing i know for sure as an outsider! When they have threads on ....how many do you know who committed suicide? You guys seems to know MANY more than the average person. I am 52, have many friends ,family, etc, and i have known NO ONE who has. I have known OF, acquaintances of friends, maybe two i can think of?

I even talked to eric personally once, because when i was first reading JWN, i was in so much intense grief because my oldest daughter died suddenly and unexpectedly at 25 in '08. So i just wrote him a note sympathizing in general with pain and suffering. The really awful thing is, even such a death in the family cannot compare to shunning. Because you know the person didn't do it to you on purpose. Because time heals and helps. The event is "over" and does lessen in intensity in its effects. Whereas shunning is never over, it never heals for so many, it keeps festering, etc. SOOO painful unlike anything, because they are doing it to you consciously. It's worse than the grief of death.

I told Eric that what he was writing on JWN was very valuable because it takes reading a detailed account for outsiders to get some kind of take on this issue. You can read somewhere - WT practices severe shunning, but in your mind, you don't really get this, or have a clue about what it means in people's lives.
Do they really think God wants people supposedly serving Him, because they are forced, blackmailed to it?

32

Stories you've heard from what makes one believe they are 'anointed'.

by EndofMysteries in

it's funny, how the bible describes it is far different from those i had spoken with or heard about.

let's all start listing the many different stories.

i'll start.

AuntBee

Two pioneer ladies were at my house for an extended convo. I asked this very question. One of them went into this long story about beavers finding their mates by various ways, including scent, etc, and how they "just Know." And how it's kind of like that.

The other pioneer, the smart one, looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole!

13

One Random Dude's Conclusion about the WTBTS based on an Awake he Got

by AuntBee in

jw
friends

we just chat occasionally through my blog.

i've tried several times to tell him stuff about the wt, but he's in that know-it-all stage, and prefers talking to listening.

oh well... here's his take on it, after receiving an awake.

AuntBee

Kurtbethel - I'm kind of out of the loop on Awake magazine - around here they just give out WTs. Are all those images real? Even the one of the guy on his laptop in the igloo? Or are they just designed as part of the guy's parody?

13

One Random Dude's Conclusion about the WTBTS based on an Awake he Got

by AuntBee in

jw
friends

we just chat occasionally through my blog.

i've tried several times to tell him stuff about the wt, but he's in that know-it-all stage, and prefers talking to listening.

oh well... here's his take on it, after receiving an awake.

AuntBee

We just chat occasionally through my blog. He's a twenty-something. I've tried several times to tell him stuff about the WT, but he's in that know-it-all stage, and prefers talking to listening. Oh well... Here's his take on it, after receiving an Awake. I guess it shows the purpose the "Awake" serves; it's so low-key it can disarm people?

"That reminds me, I was handed an issue of "awake" magazine, the companion mag to the watchtower and I skimmed it - it's practically a secular magazine, they just give a scripture verse every now and then and talk about things barely related to the bible. The cover story is "Is your food safe?" They go on for pages then talk a little about hygene in the bible. I tell ya they're going the way of the church of england and getting all mellow and secular. I think this is a good thing because christianity does much better as a philosophy than a "religion" imo."

"all mellow and secular".....

83

Relationship Issues: Boundaries, Freedom of Choice and Codependency

by 00DAD in

relationship issues: boundaries, freedom of choice and codependency .

i just read a very interesting thought in the book, "boundaries" by cloud & townsend.

the basic problem in human relationship is that of freedom.

AuntBee

000DAD: I'm SO glad you mentioned that book! It's an awesome book for anyone, and i can see how it applies to people who grew up JW in particular. As an 'outsider", this issue was something that i found just heart breaking in young JWs i and my kids have known fairly well in real life. The complete enmeshment is unbelievable. They are so smothered and controlled. Now they are in their twenties, and seem like little boys still in many ways. The CONTROL thing does NOT Work anyway, these guys have done "stuff" just like other teenagers, it's just that the parents don't know much about it. There are four of them, and last i heard, they all still live at home, aren't married or even close to it, none could support a family financially, not even close. :( For me as a parent, one of the most satisfying things is when kids MOVE OUT, and DO STUFF in life! These parents are missing out on one of the greatest pleasures and rewards, and what should be our GOAL - for them to make their own decisions, grow up, move out, move on, etc.

Quendi: Thanks for those additional titles, they sound really interesting. I love this topic!

5

Some JWs this morning told me a "heart warming" story about a child baptism!

by AuntBee in

apparently this gal was a relative, and was baptized at the ripe old age of 10!

i let them tell the story, after i had begun talking about how wt splits up families.

i responded that i did not agree with this at all, that this girl could not possibly have the mental capacity, the research/analytical ability, (or even the freedom, considering the info control!

AuntBee

Yes, PTN, they didn't say too much to that. Just kept insisting that this young girl was so zealous, and really ready, and understood. A relative suggested that maybe she was too young, but the girl was so insistent.