Posts by lepermessiah

i am really on the fence on this issue right now and would love some opinions.. i find that i dont sit down and read the bible for long periods since becoming inactive, but on the other hand, individual scriptures mean much more to me now.. i will sit down and look up some favorite passages from time to time and feel like its the first time i really "got it" - without the jw goggles on.

i love matthew chapter 23, since i think it describes to a tee the situation in jw congregations.

i think if jesus returned today, he would blast the elders and "leaders" of the borg in a similar fashion (along with most religious leaders) .matthew 24 is actually more interesting to me now, simply because my whole life was waiting for the 1914 generation to end sometime during the reagan era!

lepermessiah

I am really on the fence on this issue right now and would love some opinions.

I find that I dont sit down and read the bible for long periods since becoming inactive, but on the other hand, individual scriptures mean much more to me now.

I will sit down and look up some favorite passages from time to time and feel like its the first time I really "got it" - without the JW goggles on.

I LOVE Matthew Chapter 23, since I think it describes to a tee the situation in JW congregations. I think if Jesus returned today, he would blast the elders and "leaders" of the BORG in a similar fashion (along with most religious leaders) .Matthew 24 is actually MORE interesting to me now, simply because my whole life was waiting for the 1914 generation to end sometime during the Reagan era! I remember people at the hall calling Reagan the "Armageddon President" - LOL. What a reassuring outlook for a kid just getting into his teenage years!

On the other hand, I dont see myself reading large portions of the Bible again. The Hebrew scriptures are pretty boring to me in large parts - I enjoy the Greek scriptures much more. After reading Crisis of Conscience and In Search of Christian Freedom, I feel that I really share most of Ray's viewpoints on the Greek scriptures - there is much more joy in the scriptures without the chains of a religion binding you.

I still value the Bible, but I strongly feel that from now on in my life, it will be my interpretations of it that guide me - not those of any religious group.

31

who had a child molester in their congregation ?

by looloo in

i have done this thread a long time ago , but a few newbies have joined recently and may have had some experiances to share , there was 2 in the congregation i was involved with (i was a "study" ) one was from bethel in america and got deported after his prison sentence and the other was reprooved for abuse then carried on abusing in the congregation , years later he abused my daughter and after i found out i reported him to the police , but he had got off "scot free" for 20 years untill i reported him .

i believe the one from bethel was reported to the police simply because elders kids were affected ..

lepermessiah

Every congregation I have been in has had at least one.....

The first one was the worst - the grandfatherly elder who loved the little girls...............

(5 congregations)

7

Obedience to Jehovah Is.......

by lepermessiah in

jw
friends

a good friend of mine gave his first public talk sunday.. after much prodding, i decided to attend the meeting.

the wt study on sunday (as blondie commented on so well) was more mindless drivel about total obedience to jehovah the elders and the governing body.. two comments struck me - on paragraph 4, the wt conductor asked a specific question on this statement:.

and there have always been some individuals who chose to subject themselves to god, even though they were.

lepermessiah

it’s always the ‘corporate men’ and the self righteous witnesses that comment on paragraphs like these.

Thats a great point. I totally agree. The corporate self-righteous men are a mighty army.....

7

Obedience to Jehovah Is.......

by lepermessiah in

jw
friends

a good friend of mine gave his first public talk sunday.. after much prodding, i decided to attend the meeting.

the wt study on sunday (as blondie commented on so well) was more mindless drivel about total obedience to jehovah the elders and the governing body.. two comments struck me - on paragraph 4, the wt conductor asked a specific question on this statement:.

and there have always been some individuals who chose to subject themselves to god, even though they were.

lepermessiah

A good friend of mine gave his first public talk Sunday.

After much prodding, I decided to attend the meeting.

The WT Study on Sunday (as Blondie commented on so well) was more mindless drivel about total obedience to Jehovah the elders and the governing body.

Two comments struck me - on paragraph 4, the WT conductor asked a specific question on this statement:

And there have always been some individuals who chose to subject themselves to God, even though they were

living in a world ruled by God's great Adversary.

An elder in the congregation commented "Obedience to Jehovah and subjection to him is following the direction of the elders and the governing body."

And of course, paragraph 15 was a peach......

Do I fully recognize the responsibilities that I should shoulder within the

Christian congregation? Am I properly supporting Jehovah's way of governing? Am I proud to be a subject of

Jehovah's ruling Kingdom? Am I determined to continue telling others about God's Kingdom to the extent that I

reasonably can?' As a group, we willingly submit ourselves to the direction given by the Governing Body and cooperate

with the appointed elders in the congregations.

8

Do more! Not enough! Sacrifice of praise! Inspired by Minimus' thread

by 5thGeneration in

jw
friends

my father was well off.

elder for 40 years.. he pioneered for 25 years and the attitude was, 'well it's nothing for him, no sacrifice, he has money!".

when he quit for health reasons the attitude was, 'why isn't bro.

lepermessiah

With apologies to Lou Reed's Dirty Blvd:

Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I'll piss on 'em
that's what the Statue of Bigotry WT says
Your poor huddled masses, let's club 'em to death
and get it over with and just dump 'em on the boulevard outside of the KH

33

As A Witness You Never Can Do Enough!

by minimus in

jw
friends

the jw rollercoaster continues!

if you still have to go to meetings, i sympathize with you.

i know a few that keep up appearances so that they do not lose their loved family members.

lepermessiah

That is very true!

Its a religion based on what you are NOT doing, instead of what you are doing.

Its like working for a nasty sales organization.

If you sold 20 cars, why didnt you sell 25?

No wonder most of the people are frustrated, feel inadequate, etc.....

35

Did you feel embarassed explaining the Memorial to people?

by lepermessiah in

jw
friends

i did...... by the time you were done, they looked at you like you were from another planet.. it was the "you actually believe all of this?

" look.. .

lepermessiah

"This is something thought up by a White guy, right?"

LOL! - Thats funny. I had a call one time on an older gentleman and his buddy was over one time and told me to get lost since I was from "THE MAN".....

I actually calmed him down and told him I wasnt - that I personally hated all the racial divide. He then went on to tell me a bunch of great stories about the 60's and early 70's about his experiences fighting "THE MAN"......

Then I invited them to the memorial - hahaha.

35

Did you feel embarassed explaining the Memorial to people?

by lepermessiah in

jw
friends

i did...... by the time you were done, they looked at you like you were from another planet.. it was the "you actually believe all of this?

" look.. .

lepermessiah

I did.....

By the time you were done, they looked at you like you were from another planet.

It was the "you actually believe all of this?" look.