Posts by passwordprotected

25

How Many JWs Are 100% Committed?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think most are not.

i think most do what they must simply to continue their social and family life..

passwordprotected

True enough Mark. I hear there was a time (older people than myself remember) when some Witnesses would not bother with pensions, and if you were open about making such plans you were viewed as a bit weak. That attitude seems to be a thing of the past now, which is quite telling I my opinion.

I remember hearing a public talk delivered by Philip Jones of Riddrie Congregation wherein he criticised a brother who'd taken a job because of its pension policy. However, this talk was delivered over 20 years ago. I wonder if that brother is already drawing his pension.

Do you remember a time when even having a mortgage was frowned upon and viewed as being materialistic due to you not really believing that the system was about to end. Of course, that was about 30 years ago. Most of those who didn't buy a home are still living in rented property. Those who did buy a home are likely mortgage-free and financially better off.

Oh well.

25

How Many JWs Are 100% Committed?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think most are not.

i think most do what they must simply to continue their social and family life..

passwordprotected

Close JW relatives of mine are carrying out serious renovations of their home (some of the renovations are of renovations that were carried out just 2 years ago...). This is costing them a lot of money, money they have borrowed. If they truly believed the end was imminent, they'd be content with sustenance and covering.

Other JW relatives of mine (one of whom is an elder) pay large amounts of money into a pension fund. If they believed the end was imminent they wouldn't believe they'd ever need to draw a pension (they are only in their early 40s).

An elder in the local congregation has been paying a large sum of money into a trust fund for his daughter for the past 17 years. If he believed the end was imminent, even 17 years ago, he wouldn't have believed his daughter would reach the age of 18 and thus be in a position to benefit from the fund.

18

Why do the JW's say miracles are from Beelzebub

by androb31 in

the jw's claim that modern day miracles (prophesying, healing, tongues) are from the devil.

the following is their reasoning why they believe this (from an article on the jw official website).

this is rather arbitrary when the cited scripture is read.

passwordprotected

Can someone provide me with scriptural examples of demons healing people? Cheers.

39

The Last (Lord's) Supper

by PSacramento in

i wanted to ask this question beacuse at the last memorial supper it caught my attention more than it ever did:.

why do some (not just the jw's) believe that judas did not partkae of the lord's supper, the bread and the wine?.

in the synoptic gospels of matt, mark and luke, there is nomention of judas being sent away, indeed in luke jesus says "behold the hand of the betrayer at the table with me".. while in john judas is sent away, he is sent after the supper, though it is not clear if this was the lord's supper since there is no mention of the the partaking of the wine and bread in john.. help would be greatly appreciated.. .

passwordprotected

The WTS can't have Judas at the "most important meeting of the year" as it would make partaking of the emblems open to anyone.

54

Romans 10:13

by PSacramento in

we all know that the passage from paul's letter to romans, romans 10:13 says:.

"all those who call on the name of the lord will be saved".. now, in the nwt they translate that as jehovah instead of the word "lord", because this is a quote from joel 2:32 and in the ot the tetragrammaton yhwh is used, which the nwt translates as "jehovah" (not only the nwt does that, the asv,yng and dby, do it also in regards to joel).. however, of the 16 translations i have seen, all translate that passage in romans as lords and all the commentaries i have read so far, point to view that paul was applying that passage to jesus, being his name that is salvation.. commentaries by james, fausset and brown, by matthew henry and by barnes, to name only 3.. comments?.

passwordprotected

Acts 4:10-12 (New International Version)

10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 He is
" 'the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.' 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

4

Annointed for 2009

by donny in

have they released the count of the annointed for 2009?.

passwordprotected

Note that the August 2009 Study WT has 3 articles on how good it is to have the earthly hope. I think this shows that the GB are aware of the rising numbers of JWs who aren't satisfied with being locked into an earthly future.

27

Watchtower says "Field Service Report NOT a Major Concern!"

by UnDisfellowshipped in

jw
friends

the watchtower, june 1st, 2005 issue, pages 14-15:.

"saved, not by works alone, but by undeserved kindness" (study article).

(paragraph 1): "christians [...] realize that in jehovah's service, right motives are more important than personal accomplishments.

passwordprotected

To my mind, this is another example of a certain 'element' present in the Writing Dept.

44

hi everybody and my story

by inbetween in

jw
friends

as mentioned in my very first port here, i will now give my story and some thoughts i have so far.. i ve been lurking here for about a month, before i registered.

well, a few months ago something like that would be unthinkable for me.. i was raised as a jw, and serve currently as an elder in a congregation.

i have family, also jws.

passwordprotected

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Pros and Cons lists are always a good idea. I hope you take the time to read over yours again in a few month's time and see how you feel about how you've stacked them up!

Re. the Bible not being used much in churches. I've visited several churches since leaving the Watch Tower Society last summer and I can state that in evangelical Christian churches the Bible is used prolifically. The biggest difference in Bible usage is that it's unlikely that a church service will contain 15 or 20 scriptures. Rather it will likely focus on one passage of scripture and the speaker will develop it as the sermon progresses.

122

Could Watchtower Collapse Be Sooner Than You Think?

by metatron in

jw
friends

there have been a number of developments over the past few months and they paint an interesting picture.. witnesses can keep dragging themselves to meetings ad infinitum however, the future of the watchtower itself is another story.

the evidence of continuing cash flow problems is now overwhelming.

if you talk to well placed witnesses, most won't deny it but simply blame it on the publishers financial problems.. they have cut off loans to congregations many of whom genuinely need new kingdom halls.

passwordprotected

Great thread.

On top of all the other comments thus far I think it's important to remember that the Watch Tower Society only had a shelf life of 40 years; the world was supposed to end in 1914, remember. We're almost 100 years past that date...

42

Protesting and Demonstrating at District Convention

by jabberwock in

has anyone who has attended a district convention this year seen any protestors or demonstrators?.

have you ever protested or demonstrated or maybe even handed out literature at a convention or assembly?

what happened?

passwordprotected

@ designs; what if you believe that salvation does not come through Christ's sacrifice alone? Does that still mean you're a Christian? What if you don't believe that the Holy Spirit is yours to live in you?