does anyone else out there remember a drama from quite a few years ago that portrayed noah trying to preach to people about the flood, and he had a friend that wasn't doing all that he should in helping noah, and at the end of the drama the friend gets locked out of the ark and drowned???
i remember at the time, sitting there and thinking...what in the holy hell is this crap?
now they are making people up??
I remember the one you'te talking about. The not-so-subtle message being sent is that if you're not part of God's plan (WT Society) when the time of judgement comes, you're dead.
The WT likens itself to Noah's Ark on many occasions. I'm too lazy right now to find the documentation...maybe someone else isn't...
lyrics that float through my head at idle moments accompanied by my off-key singing:.
"they know such won't get life eternal.
but will like green grass fade and die".
You might be surprised to know (I was) that many JWs do not subscribe to the WTs list of the dammned.
My mother (JW) told me that God judges all people based on their 'heart condition'. Now, I know that this is not official WT teaching. I was told, point-blank, during a bible study that my salvation at armageddon depended on my relationship with God's people here on the earth (WT Society). That was an elder's statement.
I believe that many JWs, deep-down, see many good people that are not JWs, and cannot convince themselves that God will destroy them at armageddon simply because they were not JWs. Thus, when talking with a non-JW, they will admit what they really believe. When talking with an elder? Well, that's a different story.....
as many may know, i'm still a teenager.
i'm not willing to reveal my age, which is one less than 17 or one more than 15. but i just wanted to get your guys' opinion on sex before marriage.
a lot of people here have kinda lost their "watchtower" and biblical standards as i have gathered.
Hey, d00d. I'm not too much older than you, so let me tell you about my scare. I had been seeing (exclusively) this certain girl for a few years. We had been thinking (and still do think) that we have a possible future together = marriage.
Well, it seems that her cycle was a bit late one month. Nothing to worry about, right? We'll wait it out. Day after day...nothing...Nothing...NOTHING. After two weeks we were pretty much convinced that she was pregnant. We cried together in her room. My whole life flashed before my eyes. We weren't ready to be parents, and an abortion was out of the question. She was in college...I was in college...what am I going to tell my parents...how will I face HER parents...they like me so much...there's so much I wanted to do with my life before kids...and so on...
I tell you...I was absolutely SICK. You, my friend, do not EVER want to feel like I did those few days. When your woman announces that she's pregnant, it should be a happy occasion for all involved. It shouldn't be a cross to bear as you sorrily inform your/her parents of your misdeed. I was almost ready to bite the bullet and take her to the doctor for confirmation...when her 'visitor' FINALLY showed up. OVER TWO WEEKS LATE!! My life was handed back to me - and I vowed to never again put us in that position.
Since that scare, we've decided to avoid sex until marriage (aw, hell...maybe engagement...how much can a guy take?!), and we've kept our promise intact. Two years later and we're still going strong!! It's not a hard promise to keep because I remind myself of our situation...we're broke and can't afford kids.
My advice is to wait to do the deed. Get your life in order first, and have fun while you finish growing up. Don't rush things - they won't turn out right.
the watchtower society is in a funk.
no doubt about it.
it is stagnant and paralyzed by its own inertia.. it has survived for one and one quarter centuries for a few very simple reasons: .
Rather than feeling contempt for loyal JWs, I am inclined to feel pity.
People like my grandparents, who slaved for years for a WT (not God's) promise of a new world which would arrive (according to the WT) before their natural lives on earth were over, now see that that promise will not be realised. Can you really picture them giving up on the WT church when they spent their whole lives within it? To leave at their old age would amount to calling it all a waste. Not a pretty thought to have, and I don't blame them for shying away from that admission.
As far as the average JW getting bolder and more rude...I chalk that up to the slow subconscious realization that over the years, God has shown them to be liars...maybe in His name...but still liars, and when you've preached a lie as THE TRUTH, as I did, you may end up feeling bitter and resentful. The WT dismisses people and says that they were serving for dates, well, I ask, if the WT wanted people to avoid doing that...why were the dates held out there as an issue in the first place. If someone was serving with a date in mind, ask the WT how that date GOT in that mind. I agree that a person should do good not because of an immediate reward, but to place the blame on individuals when they did what was expected of them is dishonest, and perhaps...immoral??
Farkel makes a great point about how love towards others comes in many forms. To me, it is a great love towards humanity (and self-rewarding) to use whatever gifts we have for a positive influence on those around us, and ultimately, the world at large. Some people are born with aptitude in art and music (art for the ears), and I think it would be an affront to God to dismiss those talents, especially in favor of a life of uninspirational servitude.
i found this a few years back on one of the sites which has since closed down ..... .
remember: there is a time for everything under the sun.
helpful techniques for getting in your pioneer time .
My JW grandpa proudly jokes, 'I start counting time when I get up in the morning!'
I'm not sure he's joking. WTG, Gramps.
that's the title of another poxy thread on witnesses online that has me scratching my head in disbelief that anyone could be so deluded.. i would love to be able to post a reply in the thread saying something like: "well, i guess none of you have any unbelieving relatives, then?"..
link: http://www.witnessesonline.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/witnessesonline/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000345.
expatbrit
The fact that this is a subject there at all shows that some of them aren't correctly parroting the WT society.
The whole point of paradise is...there isn't SUPPOSED to be something to miss from this 'old system'. Is there?!
The fact that they are dwelling on aspects of Satan's World shows that they are certainly not in the right frame of mind for such an event. Anyone remember being taught that looking back fondly upon this system would make one like Lot's wife?
jesus, save me from your followers!.
i do work for food!
I can think of 2...
'Born-Again Pagan'
'Jesus is coming and he is pissed'
has anyone on this board ever experienced contact with demons?.
i have heard demons talked about for years, however i have never known anyone that has had any real experiences with them, i have only heard storys.. .
(some quotes).
My admittedly goofy JW dad has been telling of his supernatural experience for years.
When he was a teenager, he went with his brothers and/or friends to a 'known' haunted area to look for the famous ghost. He swears that an apparition approached them and chased them away. He says that he was terrified; a younger friend was screaming for his mother. They made it out, only to gather some other friends who doubted the story, and return to the location. According to my dad, the same thing happened. He will never, EVER, look for another opportunity to see something like that. He says that he went back the second time, because if he didn't, he would doubt what happened for the rest of his life.
That's his story, anyway. Since I've heard it from childhood, I'm at a disadvantage trying to determine how much credibility to lend it. Apparently, the elders at the hall had no doubts, because when they heard what happened, they tore a new hole in his behind for him.
i've made this point before but it bears repeating.. the watchtower, with its extreme standards, injures.
families and hurts kids.. parents have a responsibility to teach and safeguard.
their kids.
Wow, what a great post. Count me as another one who, because of the f-ed up WT religion, went off the deep end when I got old enough to. I know exactly what you're talking about.
I had enough of leading the overly sheltered and protected JW life. I had enough of not doing all the normal 'bad' things that normal kids did. So I did EVERYTHING...which led me to some REALLY BAD things. Overall, I can chalk it up to a lack of balance during my formative years. Somehow, I made it through my period of 'backlash'. I thank God every day that I didn't die driving hammered or die overdosed on coke.
All you witness parents lurking out there, listen to this! Imagine the exact life you don't want your kids to lead...I led it. And I will not, for one moment, place the blame on mother. She did what she thought she had to...follow the instructions of the WT cult leaders. She allowed as much as she could, but the line was still there...that was 'them'...this was 'us'. I had/have almost no friends from school. I was determined to make up for all I missed, or thought I missed.
You know what? I don't think that these feelings were unintentional. These freakish life rules were carefully created to 'section off' JW kids from other kids. If you're running a cult, you want your members seperated from others, somehow. I'm too worked up now...maybe I'll add more on this later.
i just recieved this today and thought i'd post it!.
a friend heard (already hearsay, right?
) that the wt society is thinking about or is already in the process of setting up a college.
A great quote from my grandad...'College(university) isn't great because of what you learn...it's great because it teaches you how to think.'
I really believe that. I'm working my way through a science degree, and the more I learn, the more I see that I don't know squat. I think that it's really true...ignorance IS bliss.
Given that, I would be very surprised to see the WT set up any kind of official college or university. I don't know how many of you have current/everyday contact with JWs, but you you might be surprised to know how many still have a negative view of education (besides the TMS). I just think that it wouldn't go over well with the old-timers (or old-minded).
The WT would be committing suicide by educating the JW youth. Learn to research a topic and evaluate information, and that skill will stay with you, through ALL things you might research. Think the WT wants its members to research its past & former beliefs? I don't.
Anyways, I don't think it will happen, but I would be delighted if it did.
