It's my argument that Jehovah's Witnesses hate the Chinese and Pakistanis. Obviously, my tongue is in cheek...
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Jehovhah's Witnesses Once Again America's Fastest Growing Church
by David2002 inaccording to the 2009 edition of the yeabook of american and canadian churches, jehovah's christian witnesses are once again the fastest group in the united states.
meanwhile the roman cathollic church and the southern baptist convention lost thousands of members.
while the growht rate of the witnesses was 2.12%, based mainly on those that actively preach the good news, it was the highest growth percentage when compared to other groups.
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Jehovhah's Witnesses Once Again America's Fastest Growing Church
by David2002 inaccording to the 2009 edition of the yeabook of american and canadian churches, jehovah's christian witnesses are once again the fastest group in the united states.
meanwhile the roman cathollic church and the southern baptist convention lost thousands of members.
while the growht rate of the witnesses was 2.12%, based mainly on those that actively preach the good news, it was the highest growth percentage when compared to other groups.
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@ WuzLovesDubs - great point.
One of the recent WT study articles states that Jehovah is providing spiritual food in 400 languages.
Is that all?
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Jehovhah's Witnesses Once Again America's Fastest Growing Church
by David2002 inaccording to the 2009 edition of the yeabook of american and canadian churches, jehovah's christian witnesses are once again the fastest group in the united states.
meanwhile the roman cathollic church and the southern baptist convention lost thousands of members.
while the growht rate of the witnesses was 2.12%, based mainly on those that actively preach the good news, it was the highest growth percentage when compared to other groups.
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If a church of 2 people grows to 3 people in a year, that puts them a pretty good % of increase, but it doesn't mean their church is 1. relevant or 2. God's channel.
I think the point that Mormoms have grown by a larger figure is probably more important to any group claiming to be God's true channel. JWs talk of the 'small one becoming a mighty nation' and they apply that to themselves. But it's obvious that other groups are bigger and have grown faster.
I'm sure I'd seen a stat that, worldwide, Pentecostalism is the world's fastest growing religion. Does that mean they're the true religion.
The point about all of these stats is - and perhaps why apostates get in a tizzy about them - the WTS points to their stats as proof of God's blessing. So each year there's an increase, however incremental, means another year where at conventions, meeting, assemblies and in the year book the Governing Body will say they have further proof of God's blessing and backing.
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ExJWs either BAs or atheists -- do you agree?
by parakeet ina week or two ago, a poster (i forget who; sorry) noted that exjws tend to fall into two camps -- born-again christians or atheists/agnostics.
there doesn't appear to be much of a middle ground, e.g.
joining a traditional, mainstream religion.. the observation has some merit to it.
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It's my opinion that on JWD - certainly at the moment - there's a movement to examine and openly criticise the decisions of those who've chosen to leave the WTS. I'm not sure if this level of examination - and, at times, criticism - is coming more from those who still have one foot in the Org (i.e. are fading) or not.
But here's the thing. If you've been raised as a JW and you sincerely believed that way of life/type of worship was the only one accepted by your Creator (and I'm going on the assumption that you believed in God), then finding it out wasn't comes as a bit of a shock...
I'm basing my comments on my experience, that of my wife and of 3 other JWs who have left the Org locally. For us, when we came out, our faith in God was still intact. In my case, it was even stronger; I didn't have a 'relationship with Jehovah' when I was in the Org. I've looked back over my public talk notes and I spent a surprising amount of time talking about Jesus. Gail says I gave an instruction talk one time last year on the subject of the book of John and I talked about "grace" and what that means ("grace" was referred to in the reference material, I'd never heard nor understood it before). She said so many people mentioned to her afterwards how much they enjoyed that talk. One sister was in tears during it. Was I already a 'born again' trapped inside a Jehovah's Witness body? As I was leaving I started to come into a relationship with God. To some here that may be ridiculous, but frankly, I don't care.
The WTS's religion is structured in such a way that God isn't actually in the equation. It's all about 'Jehovah', a word which most JWs mentally apply to God but in their heart know actually applies to the "faithful and discreet slave", 'God's channel of communication'. The teachings of 'Jehovah' or the FDS heavily include attacking, looking for fault in and opposing every other religion on earth, must mostly Christian denominations. That doesn't include the WTS statutory denial of Christ.
So, what does a JW do when they mentally awaken to the real identity of the WTS?
They're faced with two options; if they've never really had a relationship with God, if their whole 'spiritual experience' was based around the reverance of a publishing company, but now their whole faith in that company - and by extension 'God' - has been shattered, it's fairly likely they'll reject the notion of the existance of God. God was invented by men for men, in their opinion.
The second option, in my opinion, is that they'll have an experience with God. Something will happen within them that causes them to take offense at the way the FDS has replaced Christ or how the Bible has been relegated to beneath WTS literature in the pecking order. They'll turn to the Bible and they'll hear God speaking to them through it. But where do they go? They've been taught that all other religious are demonic, especially those of Christendom. And Jesus? Don't even think about Jesus. Personally, I was helped by the testimonies of Chris Sanchez and David Reed. Those guys helped me enormously.
I've always believed in God, and while I didn't always have a relationship with him, I appreciated his existance and his qualities. When my faith in the WTS was shattered I started praying - for the first time - properly to God for help. My life was falling apart, remember. Everything I'd known and built up and protected from my childhood into adulthood was in pieces. The only things still intact where my marraige and my faith in God. I needed help from God.
My faith now isn't in a publishing company, my faith is squarely in Jesus. As a JW I was biting my sarcastic criticism of all things evangelical Christian, from their happy clapping singing to their ridiculously earnest love of the Bible. For God's sake, who did they think they were? I now sing those songs. I now read my Bible every single day before spending time in conversation with my Father in heaven, through Jesus.
A few streets from where I was raised, an evangelical church was constructed and I used to sneer as I passed it when I'd visit my parents. I now attend that church.
1 year ago I was a reasonably contented JW. I was serving as an elder. I had a good reputation in the congregation, although I wasn't a true 'company man'. My wife, my young son and daughter, all served loyally by my side. I would never have seen myself as a Jesus Christ loving Christian. Never. A frightened-of-Armageddon ex-JW, perhaps, but never a Christian.
So, either 'born agains' or atheists. Yes, I agree, that's probably the two biggest categories of ex-JWs. And both groups are as passionate and voluble as the other, as this post attests!
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ExJWs either BAs or atheists -- do you agree?
by parakeet ina week or two ago, a poster (i forget who; sorry) noted that exjws tend to fall into two camps -- born-again christians or atheists/agnostics.
there doesn't appear to be much of a middle ground, e.g.
joining a traditional, mainstream religion.. the observation has some merit to it.
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I think it's worth pointing out that Baptists and any other evangelical Christian group would term themselves 'born again'.
If a Christian group does not practice infant baptism, then the members of that group are usually 'born again'. Being born again just means you've repented of your sins and accepted the gift of life from Jesus sacrifice and probably been baptised - the 'believer's baptism'. It's not a religion or religious group as such.
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Jehovhah's Witnesses Once Again America's Fastest Growing Church
by David2002 inaccording to the 2009 edition of the yeabook of american and canadian churches, jehovah's christian witnesses are once again the fastest group in the united states.
meanwhile the roman cathollic church and the southern baptist convention lost thousands of members.
while the growht rate of the witnesses was 2.12%, based mainly on those that actively preach the good news, it was the highest growth percentage when compared to other groups.
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We need to remember that growth is one of the WTS's published key-identifyers of the 'true religion'. Therefore in order for JWs to be in the truth, there needs to be growth. How they get/report that growth, well, that's between them and Jehovah.
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Update on my situation
by JimmyPage inthe wife hasn't been mentioning our differences of opinion.
we're talking about other things, just not the elephant in the room.
as far as religion goes, all's quiet on the western front.
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She's thinking. If she wanted you out of the relationship, you'd be gone by now. She's thinking, she's pondering, she's stewing.
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Angry Christians.
by Anti-Christ ini still don't understand what some people who call themselves christians think they are accomplishing when they start to insult you and call you a "demonic nitwit" or something similar.
i don't get it, i think they are adults but the act like a child having a fit.
why do they get insulted when we question their beliefs?
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I still don't understand what some people who call themselves Christians
The point being, they call themselves Christians.
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Less meetings= ?
by JimmyPage indo less meetings each week =.
less indoctrination=.
the wt loses its grip?.
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Locally the stats were that the BSG was the lowest attended meeting anyway (although this wasn't always the case. I was sure the Revelation book had something to do with it).
The WTS will never loosen its grip. The closer we get to 2014 they'll start to tighten their grip. Cutting the BSG wasn't to do with cutting back on the number of meetings. It was surely to do with a legal issue, nothing more.
Also, as we've talked about before, cutting the BSG means they aren't under pressure to produce books.
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Conspiracy Nuts Are Like Rabid JWs
by minimus inonce they decide to believe or not believe something---that's it.
no evidence, no logic, no proof will change them.
what a waste!.
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Ninja said;
the bias is in the title...."nuts"..........it was looking at both sides of the argument that got me "my understanding" on 911.....and by the way guys...although you don't agree with me....I don't think you are nuts...you are all probably nice people with a different opinion.....
Well put.