Posts by garyneal

109

The Confederate Flag

by Simon in

the latest controversy over the confederate flag just sums up to me the state of dysfunction that exists in american society.. in summary: a white supremacist nutter shoots 9 black people dead in a church.

he's clearly inspired by the messages of others which the confederate flag is often a symbol of.. it seems like a no-brainer to remove it.

not only isn't it removed, it isn't even lowered at all as a mark of respect.. and of course now there are the people who want to defend their right to have it.

garyneal

Viviane:

But, on the bright side, anytime I see someone flying, I know that I already know everything I need to know about that person. Think of it like them voluntarily putting on the dunce cap.

I am sorry you feel that way and I would have to agree with cappytan. I think it is too easy to 'go with the crowd' and just call it out as a symbol of hate when only the hate groups actually do this. TOO EASY. I am glad we live in a republic and not a democracy. When I see someone flying the confederate flag I am thankful that we have the freedom to do so, even if it means that others might be offended. I don't prejudge them as stupid.

174

The Bible is NOT Error-Free

by FusionTheism in

for many christians, the bible is viewed as the 100% error-free, perfect book straight from god, where every single word was carefully chosen by god for a reason.

but, usually, when you have a discussion on the topic, these christians will end up saying that only the original copies written directly from the hands of the prophets and apostles were error-free, and all manuscript copies since then are subject to copyist mistakes and other errors.. since zero original copies are in existence, how do we know the originals were error-free?

why should we think the originals should be error-free to begin with?

garyneal

Do you have an example of the Bible intentionally lying?

Viviane

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.

Genesis 3

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 22

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”

---

So who told the truth, Jehovah or Satan?

https://youtu.be/RI0sA6nyQKI?t=52s

17

Does This Mean JWs No Longer Point the Finger at Child Sexual Abuse in Other Religions?

by steve2 in

those who still attend meetings will be better placed to answer this question.

since the conti case - but likely some years before it became more widely known in ex-jw circles and beyond - there appear to have been no watchtower or awake news snippets on child sex abuse in the churches of christendom.

also, do rank and file still talk to householders about the churches of christendom's cover-ups of such abuse?.

garyneal

> Then, if the WBT$ really believe in Jar Hoover, they should be quaking in their boots

Thank you punk of nice. They are a religion that is every but as guilty as the religions they speak out against.

Pot, meet kettle.

26

Wife wants a Family Study after the special talk...but initially refuses Bible only study.

by garyneal in

my wife asked me to attend the special talk with her because she wants to attend something like this as a family and feels that she "enjoys worshipping together" as a family.

i have not been to church for at least a year and have pretty much abandoned the practicing of my faith but i can remember how i used to want to have a church going family so i obliged.

i feel kind of apprehensive about doing these things because she wants the kids and i to be on our best behavior and has even fussed at me for playing tablet games during other talks.

garyneal

It saddens me to think of otherwise good marriages having to deal with this mess over whos interpretation of what reads mythology.....is more accurate.

I don't care about interpretations, I was just wanting to read the Bible as is. That's what began my deconversion though I was not expecting it to also happen to her.

26

Wife wants a Family Study after the special talk...but initially refuses Bible only study.

by garyneal in

my wife asked me to attend the special talk with her because she wants to attend something like this as a family and feels that she "enjoys worshipping together" as a family.

i have not been to church for at least a year and have pretty much abandoned the practicing of my faith but i can remember how i used to want to have a church going family so i obliged.

i feel kind of apprehensive about doing these things because she wants the kids and i to be on our best behavior and has even fussed at me for playing tablet games during other talks.

garyneal

You are of course living proof that without the GB's direction you will just end up being a born again atheist hybrid who will probably cheat on her one day.

LOL Well I never quite had my "faith" put so succinctly. You're right in that she feels she will wind up like me. The irony is that she was heading there first until she became a born again publisher.

26

Wife wants a Family Study after the special talk...but initially refuses Bible only study.

by garyneal in

my wife asked me to attend the special talk with her because she wants to attend something like this as a family and feels that she "enjoys worshipping together" as a family.

i have not been to church for at least a year and have pretty much abandoned the practicing of my faith but i can remember how i used to want to have a church going family so i obliged.

i feel kind of apprehensive about doing these things because she wants the kids and i to be on our best behavior and has even fussed at me for playing tablet games during other talks.

garyneal

She is their birth mom, Giordano.

I recall a pastor making the same scenario regarding the Bible vs Watchtowers/Book of Mormom/Writings of Ellen G White, etc..

26

Wife wants a Family Study after the special talk...but initially refuses Bible only study.

by garyneal in

my wife asked me to attend the special talk with her because she wants to attend something like this as a family and feels that she "enjoys worshipping together" as a family.

i have not been to church for at least a year and have pretty much abandoned the practicing of my faith but i can remember how i used to want to have a church going family so i obliged.

i feel kind of apprehensive about doing these things because she wants the kids and i to be on our best behavior and has even fussed at me for playing tablet games during other talks.

garyneal

No, I hold no such hope anymore that she can ever be reasoned with on matters of TTATT. I just try to get my kids to reason on matters of faith whenever we talk about it.

Thanks everyone. I will do this Bible reading but I fear the worse happening and we will ultimately just scrap the whole thing.

26

Wife wants a Family Study after the special talk...but initially refuses Bible only study.

by garyneal in

my wife asked me to attend the special talk with her because she wants to attend something like this as a family and feels that she "enjoys worshipping together" as a family.

i have not been to church for at least a year and have pretty much abandoned the practicing of my faith but i can remember how i used to want to have a church going family so i obliged.

i feel kind of apprehensive about doing these things because she wants the kids and i to be on our best behavior and has even fussed at me for playing tablet games during other talks.

garyneal

I think my wife seems to forget that we live in a divided household no matter how many times I try to remind her of it. I try not to used the headship card and prefer to be egalitarian in our marriage but she is so often disrespectful to my opinions are perspective, particularly when it regards the Bible and religion, that I sometimes wonder if she really pays attention when they say that wives should respect their husbands. She certainly does not look any different than any other Christian who cherry picks the teachings they like and ignore the rest.

26

Wife wants a Family Study after the special talk...but initially refuses Bible only study.

by garyneal in

my wife asked me to attend the special talk with her because she wants to attend something like this as a family and feels that she "enjoys worshipping together" as a family.

i have not been to church for at least a year and have pretty much abandoned the practicing of my faith but i can remember how i used to want to have a church going family so i obliged.

i feel kind of apprehensive about doing these things because she wants the kids and i to be on our best behavior and has even fussed at me for playing tablet games during other talks.

garyneal

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I have asked her before why she feels like she cannot learn about God by reading the Bible alone and her answers range from "we cannot rely on our own reasoning" to "you've done it yourself, what have you learned?" I only agreed to the NWT because I know that if I made too big an issue over the translation (as I have done in the past) she will not concede. I guess I had to at least give some ground in order to keep the ragazines out.

Funny thing is, she would not even concede that bible gateway was a valid site for biblical translations until one of the brothers from her congregation mentioned it to me at his last visit. It is amazing the level of brainwashing these witnesses have that prohibit them from looking at any information that did not originate from the Watchtower. I guess all I can do is pity them.

The Searcher: Does that man still attend meetings at your last congregation?

DATA-DOG: I told her about the Candice Conti case and even posted the video of it on my facebook wall (that she can see). I normally, out of respect for my wife, don't post unflattering things about Jehovah's Witnesses on facebook but this one made me think because the abuses happened during field service and my wife will on occasion take the kids out in service.

Carla: Thanks for the response and suggestions. I know for a long time you have had problems with your witness and I recall you stating that you would (or perhaps had) taken your children to various churches. I was thinking of attending church with my kids again to at least expose them to what other Christians really are because I know they will get a generalized (and often wrong) view if them Jehovah's Witnesses. However, I am reluctant as I no longer believe in the exclusive claim that Christian have to God's grace and I do not want my children learning to fear Hell as much as I did.

26

Wife wants a Family Study after the special talk...but initially refuses Bible only study.

by garyneal in

my wife asked me to attend the special talk with her because she wants to attend something like this as a family and feels that she "enjoys worshipping together" as a family.

i have not been to church for at least a year and have pretty much abandoned the practicing of my faith but i can remember how i used to want to have a church going family so i obliged.

i feel kind of apprehensive about doing these things because she wants the kids and i to be on our best behavior and has even fussed at me for playing tablet games during other talks.

garyneal

Thanks for the quotes, Agape. I can imagine how this is going to play out. We come across a passage that may cause her to question some of the WT teachings. She either consults JW.ORG or one of the elders at her hall and then she tries to convince me with what she learned. If I do not find her research convincing, she will consider me defiant.

Maybe we should simply go back to our original agreement and stop discussing religion in our household.