Sounds like you are ahead of the game. Congratulations.
straightshooter
JoinedPosts by straightshooter
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30
On the watchtower.org site: Can a Pagan Holiday Be Made Christian?
by Elsewhere inhttp://www.watchtower.org/e/20071215/article_01.htm.
do you find it acceptable that a religious leader would give a seemingly christian meaning to events and symbols whose roots go back to ancient paganism?
as to the proper course, the scriptures admonish true christians: what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have?
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straightshooter
Of course the WTS provides double talk about "acceptable" pagan practices (Awake 1/8/2000 p 27):
When a Christian must decide whether or not to follow a certain custom, his main concern should be, What is God’s viewpoint as expressed in the Bible? Likewise, certain customs that are common today are clearly not in harmony with Bible principles. Among these are non-Biblical traditions connected with religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter or with superstitious practices related to spiritism.
But what about customs that may once have been linked to questionable practices but that today are primarily viewed as social etiquette? For example, many popular wedding customs—including the exchanging of rings and the eating of cake—may have pagan origins. Does this mean that Christians are forbidden to observe such customs? Are Christians required to scrutinize meticulously each custom of the community to see whether somewhere or at some time it had negative connotations?
Paul points out that “where the spirit of Jehovah is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17; James 1:25) God wants us to use this freedom, not as an inducement for selfish cravings, but to train our perceptive powers to distinguish right from wrong. (Galatians 5:13; Hebrews 5:14; 1 Peter 2:16) Hence, in a matter where there is no clear violation of Bible principles, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not create a hard-and-fast rule. Instead, each Christian must weigh the circumstances at hand and make a personal decision.
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I laughed so hard when I saw this advertisement!
by hubert ini just signed on a few minutes ago.
you of course realize that everytime a subject comes up, a few advertisements come up on the page, as well, usually about the topic discussed.
all i did was go into the "active topics" page, and at the left was this huge mouth with teeth!
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straightshooter
Yes, but I did not laugh. It just shows that we are individuals and often times see the same thing in a different light.
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Do you belive in UFO's?
by highdose inas jw's we were meant to say no, but as free thinking people, i wonder what your opionion is?.
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straightshooter
I keep telling myself that there are no such things as UFOs, yet something down within me says it is a possibility.
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Family Worship -- a page at the end of 10/15/09 WT
by sd-7 inin reading this short article, oooooh, let's just post some quotes:.
page 32, paragraph 1:.
"last year, the governing body announced an adjustment to the congregation meeting schedule that allows more time for bible study and discussion as a family.
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straightshooter
By not shopping or traveling to a meeting, this Family Study night will save time in travel and money from gas.
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are they the "happy" people?
by highdose inthe gb is fond of saying that jw's are happy, often showing a picture of a posing/smiling dub to prove the point.
however tell me, do you see loads of smiling faces at the hall, assembly hall and ministry?
i don't remember that i did, and the only time they really smile... is for the soveniuer photo... to show just how happy they were.
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straightshooter
To be fair I remember the majority smiling and being friendly. Of course I now realize that a few of these smiles were fake and that they would spiritually stab you if you crossed their path.
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What are you Thankful for this year?
by lovelylil2 inin the spirit of thanksgiving, thought i ask what everyone is thankful for.. i am thankful for my family's good health and happiness, for the great friends i have, for my job that i absolutely love, for celebrating my 7th year of freedom this month from the wt publishing cult.. anyone else?.
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straightshooter
I am thankful for my lovely wife and children. I am thankful for my job with the good work and nice fellow workers and boss. I am thankful I discovered this forum to get an interchange of encouragement and insight into life.
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Blondie's Comments You Won't Hear at the 11-22-09 WT Study (DIVINE EDUCATION)
by blondie in6:9; isaiah 9:6.. comments.
what is one way that divine education helps us prepare for the future?.
divine education.
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straightshooter
Thanks Blondie for your insight. I remember when I was young where ones commented how they thought the end would have came before their children grew up. They sacrificed much to the WTS. Sadly many of those who made such comments have passed away. Luckily I did not become a JW until I had some college education. In reality it was the college education that provided me with the jobs I have had and not divine education.
My wife told me that the conductor said that the Watchtower and Awake provides one with an equivalent of 7 years of college. I wonder how far that would go on a resume.
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2 questions for JW's from a Christian
by solafide in1. what is the most fundamental reason you do not accept the roman catholic church to be the one true institution of god?.
2. what is the most fundamental reason that you accept your organization to be the one true organization of god?.
just curious, please let me know :).
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straightshooter
Basically jws do not believe in the Trinity, hellfire, an eternal soul, or Mary being the mother of God. The October 1, 2009 Watchtower highlights the detailed explanation you are looking for. Of course there are other reasons such as neutrality from politics and therefore not getting involved in secular wars and actively sharing the good news with others. Many of the jws believe that these ideas separate them as the only true religion.
As blondie put it, almost all on this forum have realized that the WTS is not the only true religion. Some because of doctrines such as how jws view the use of blood. Or how the WTS changes their views such as forbidding organ transplants or alienating minor disfellowshipped children to allowing organ transplants and allowing destitute minor children to remain at home. Others because of how the WTS handles organizational matters or how they handle "so-called" wrongdoing in the congregation. Though the jws claim that they are the only ones that display Christlike love, many of us found that this love is often times just to get one into the organization then this love becomes very conditional in nature.
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I feel a lot better now
by doublelife inmy dad's funeral was last saturday.
i won't go into details about it cause it's over with and i want to move on.
but, i'm feeling a lot better about things.
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straightshooter
Glad to hear that the acting workshop went well. Being busy in such activities will keep you moving forward.
As you know that the jws are programmed to call on every door and on any interest to return back. The only way to absolutely keep them from knocking on your dooor is to put up a "No tresspassing" sign.