Luke 3:8 (New International Version)
8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
I think this scripture implies that JWs should never have begun to say these things to/about themselves.
I think this scripture implies that no group should claim a 'special' position in relation to God.
OK, so many people might think so instinctively, but how come JWs never ever apply such scriptures to themselves?
What do you think?
By the way, I was too scared to comment on this scripture - and express my opinion - when we were reading Luke earlier this year ... Chicken!
ID Crisis
JoinedPosts by ID Crisis
-
4
'We have God ...'
by ID Crisis inluke 3:8 (new international version) .
8produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'we have abraham as our father.
-
ID Crisis
-
ID Crisis
2 Thessalonians 2
The Man of Lawlessness
1Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness[a] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
I have long held the belief that this applied to the Watchtower and the Governing Body in particular. I think that logically Babylon the Great must be the umbrella term for ALL organised religion, including the WT. In my view the above description fits the GB perfectly. -
6
university-educated congregations?
by ID Crisis indoes anyone know of (eg central city) congregations that have many people with uni degrees and/or professional careers/occupations?
if yes, can you comment on how the anti-university talks are delivered in these congregations?
-
ID Crisis
Does anyone know of (eg central city) congregations that have many people with uni degrees and/or professional careers/occupations? If yes, can you comment on how the anti-university talks are delivered in these congregations?
-
11
regarding penny2 post about Sept 1 WT comments
by heyfea inregarding penny2 post about sept 1 wt comments:.
what will be the "end afterward"?.
young people are often exposed to temptations and pressures to experiment with things that seem popular.
-
ID Crisis
PS: I don't need to be 'excused', I don't think I need it, I just like to highlight the hypocrisy.
-
11
regarding penny2 post about Sept 1 WT comments
by heyfea inregarding penny2 post about sept 1 wt comments:.
what will be the "end afterward"?.
young people are often exposed to temptations and pressures to experiment with things that seem popular.
-
ID Crisis
The reality is that there must be a lot of JWs with uni degrees and professional jobs. I'm one, and there are 3 others in our congregation who are completing their degrees. And two who have recently completed technical college diplomas. And it IS uncomfortable to listen to all this uni-related crap when I earn my living from a uni degree and associated profession. I try to 'step up' and I have raised this issue with my elders a number of times. I reminded them how 'rich' brothers and sisters in our congregation are excused again and again when 'the love of money' is discussed by a speaker but we are never excused when these anti-uni talks are given. I told my elders that it would be nice to hear an 'excuse', comparable to what our 'rich' brothers and sisters receive. I have not received a satisfying response yet. The responses are always that the GB must have a good reason for instructing the brothers to give these talks. However, I do suspect that congregations with larger numbers of people with degrees would receive these talks packaged differently.
-
34
Annoying comment in Sep 1 WT about higher education
by penny2 inthere's a box on page 10:.
quote:.
what will be the "end afterward"?.
-
ID Crisis
I often wonder what it would be like to be in a congregation with many others with uni degrees. In my congregation, whenever a talk is given about 'the love of money', there is always clarification that 'there is nothing wrong with having money (or being rich) - we have many brothers and sisters in this congregation who have a lot of money (or who are rich)' ... In contrast, whenever the topic of university education comes up, there is never such clarification: no speaker ever says 'there is nothing wrong with having a university education - we have a sister in this congregation who has a degree' ... I can only dream! However, our numbers are increasing - soon there will be 3 more with uni degrees. Perhaps then we'll be excused - together with our rich brothers and sisters.
-
16
Shouldn't JWs Ban Wedding Receptions Because of their Pagan Origins?
by neverendingjourney inwell, nah, because jesus attended a wedding reception and provided kick a$$ wine.
but, modern day jw's are all about removing anything fun from life, so they should consider it for this reason alone.
one more fun thing bites the dust.
-
ID Crisis
Recently, in a car-load of JWs, including an elder, I raised some questions about the Babylonian origins of the wedding ring. I even referred to a footnote in the Revelation book which we were studying at the time. I asked how come adult JWs can partake in celebrations involving Babylonian/pagan symbols such as the wedding ring, but JWs' kids are not allowed to do so as part of birthday celebrations. The elder and my fellow passengers argued this way and that. However, in my view, they were unable to satisfactorily differentiate between the two. Which meant that, in my view, the birthday v wedding stance is hypocritical and discriminates against children v adults. I also believe that the JW celebration of wedding anniversaries is equally hypocritical: there's no biblical mention of such celebrations by the early Christians, is there? Blah, blah. Anyway, the discussion was raised by the others when they asked why my husband (a non-JW) and I don't wear wedding rings. I explained that neither of us wears rings and we don't particularly like the symbolism of it and we don't really see a need for it etc.. It was after more questions that I thought OK, let's have it out about weddings v birthdays. So I had a go. It didn't go down very well of course and I 'gave in' by just nodding in the end and letting them run out of steam. But it's just so illogical and hypocritical that adults can enjoy pagan/Babylonian symbolisms and activities in today's modern/non-religious context but kids cannot. One of their arguments was that the wedding ring today has a purely legal symbolism. So, I ask, what kid has spiritism on their mind when they're blowing out a candle? Conversely, how come it's acceptable for a married couple to be the centre of attention every year (but not so for a kid to be), once they married using Babylonian symbols? I get so angry over this birthdays (bad) v weddings / anniversaries (good) issue. It's illogical and hypocritical but JWs just don't see/acknowledge it. The adults are allowed but the kids aren't. Drives me nuts.
-
34
cheating on you Feild service time
by Iwonder17 ini'm curious how many people do this and what is the most that you ever wrote down that you didn't do?.
my highest was 12 when i only went out 1 hour .
-
ID Crisis
Welcome Kelley!
-
34
cheating on you Feild service time
by Iwonder17 ini'm curious how many people do this and what is the most that you ever wrote down that you didn't do?.
my highest was 12 when i only went out 1 hour .
-
ID Crisis
Yknot what do you mean 'why else do you think we go out Mon-Thur'? And what's the (someone else wrote)'Star of David pioneer route'? By the way, I haven't cheated but I refer to the report as my 'stats' and 'performance indicators' when I hand them in to the elders. They just smile now - since I explained that handing in these slips is like working for a government department (which I have done) under a contractual/funding agreement. When I first said that to a MS, he said 'but this is God's government'. Yeah, right.
-
ID Crisis
Is this specific to the USA?