Posts by garyneal

15

"Put Jehovah First...." what does this mean? Anyone?

by HappyGuy in

jw
friends

i was baptized at the age of 15, my father was very opposed.

i loved god and wanted to be a spiritual person.

so, anything in the literature which told one how to be a spiritual person was of great interest to me.. i remember hearing and reading this phrase over and over and over again "put jehovah first".. don't get an education - "put jehovah first".. don't take that emt certification course that meets on tue and thursday for 6 weeks - "put jehovah first".. don't get a real career, be a janitor and "put jehovah first".. don't spend time with your "worldly" parents on the weekends, instead abandon them and fill your time up with field service and meetings and "put jehovah first".. .

garyneal

In dub-land, it really does mean putting the organization first.

Don't get an education - "PUt Jehovah First".

Translation, don't spend a lot of time studying books and attending classes in college when you could be studying WT magazines and attending meetings instead.

Don't take that EMT certification course that meets on Tue and Thursday for 6 weeks - "Put Jehovah First".

Do I really need to translate this? Looks pretty self explanatory.

Don't get a real career, be a janitor and "Put Jehovah First".

Translation, don't get a job that can take you away from or make you too tired to attend meetings and/or book studies. Get a job that does not demand much from you and therefore does not pay much in return.

Don't spend time with your "worldly" parents on the weekends, instead abandon them and fill your time up with field service and meetings and "Put Jehovah FIrst".

Pretty self explanatory.

17

Is Jehovah's Witnesses a religion of confusion?

by asilentone in

garyneal

I never joined the organization, but went through more than a year of weekly Bible studies with a team of JWs. I knew they were utterly confused when I asked them what salvation was and how to get saved. They either had no clue, or were too ashamed to tell me. Imagine, a religion that is either too confused or too ashamed to tell people how to get saved..........

You know I asked my wife a question about salvation sometime back and she gave me a hodge podge of answers and not one of them had God's amazing grace provided through Christ Jesus in any of them.

I asked her later why she felt that she needed salvation. She said that she deserved it and wanted to live forever on paradise Earth. Um, last time I checked, no one deserves salvation as it is a free gift.

18

So, is the Bible REALLY the infallible (or any other) "word" of God?

by AGuest in

jw
friends

garyneal

AGuest:

I noticed you posted that there is no book to read, assuming that all of your inspiration comes directly from God. Have you even been concerned that some of that inspiration may not have come from God? Personally, I envy you in that you really feel (and perhaps even have) such a direct relationship like that but I do feel a sense of caution since the Bible warns us not to trust every divine expression (spirit) but to test it to see if it is of God.

30

as a JW were you comfortable with this question?

by highdose in

a few times in the ministry i would find someone clued in who would ask the jw on their doorstep " so what your saying is, unless i join your religon god will kill me?

and everyone else who isn't part of your religon?

" now theres only one answer to that question as far as jw's are concerned but i never saw a single one answer that with a straight answer, mostly i suspect because they were so uncomfortable about being made to face the truth about their beliefs..

garyneal

e-watchman: Are you indeed Robert King or simply an imposter?

18

So, is the Bible REALLY the infallible (or any other) "word" of God?

by AGuest in

jw
friends

garyneal

AGuest:

If you are referring to translations of the Bible, I would definitely agree that there is some biases in all of them. I read an article today concerning the 'conservative' bible and at the end of the article, someone commented on how good translations often have a lot of scholars working on it as to balance out the biases. It made me think of the NWT committee and how a few people translated the Bible for the NWT.

30

as a JW were you comfortable with this question?

by highdose in

a few times in the ministry i would find someone clued in who would ask the jw on their doorstep " so what your saying is, unless i join your religon god will kill me?

and everyone else who isn't part of your religon?

" now theres only one answer to that question as far as jw's are concerned but i never saw a single one answer that with a straight answer, mostly i suspect because they were so uncomfortable about being made to face the truth about their beliefs..

garyneal

e-watchman:

Let's see, you say that we should call upon the name of Jehovah in order to be saved. In my prayer group, we have a Wesleyan who when he prays he often says 'Jehovah God.' I've heard that name uttered in a baptist church and a church of God. I understand this name is a Catholic invention. So what do you have to say about all of this?

21

Are the JW's just as superstitious as any other religion?

by dissed in

jw
friends

three years ago, my wife's jw sister of 55 became seriously mentally ill. hallucinations, hearing voices, acute paranoia, physically acting almost like a child.

her and her husband, both have a masters in education, while he also serves as an elder.. why the background?

because its their belief, even with their education, the demons are causing her problems and we, my wife and i, were the ones bringing the demons into her life.. for three years, she goes undiagnosed, while he refuses to get her medical help.

garyneal

That sounds as extreme as the woman in the book called 'The Spanking Room: A Child's Eye View of the Jehovah's Witnesses.' The author is the son of this strange woman who believed she saw demon eyes when she first converted to the 'truth.'

Can 'religious people' be superstituous? Perhaps but people like you in-laws and the woman in the book I describe obviously do not know about the protection of the Holy Spirit described in the Bible. I remember Angel Eyes posted a topic here about why Jehovah's Witnesses are so afraid of the devil. Chalam's answer, because they follow a powerless idol.

To me, this is just further proof that the witness religion is a false one but I do know that not all witnesses are this extreme.

17

Is Jehovah's Witnesses a religion of confusion?

by asilentone in

garyneal

Can't accept blood but allowed to accept blood fractions. Cannot donate blood but allowed to accept blood fractions that come only from blood. Able to take medicines made with blood but cannot donate blood to help hospitals make this medicine. Cannot store blood for surgeries but are allowed to have blood pump around outside your body and back in during surgery.

Can't celebrate Christmas, it has pagan roots. Pinatas are okay even though they have pagan roots. Wedding ceremonies are okay even though some of the traditions are rooted in paganism.

The trinity came from paganism and false religions but it is okay to believe in 1914 even though it originated in pyramidology and astrology.

Jesus is not your mediator as He mediates only for the 144,000 but at the same time He is your mediator because you come to Jehovah in Jesus's name.

Nah, this religion is not confusing at all.

26

Do you say "OMG"?

by highdose in

jw
friends

even if you don't belive in god?

its somthing that has become a swear phrase rather than an actual prayer.

so was wondering.... is this somthing you say?.

garyneal

My wife says it often.

3

I doubt this is a Jehovah´s witness in good standing ;-)

by InquiryMan in

just looked at this brief comment on a meeting in moscow:.

.

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10713.

garyneal

That is VERY true as I used to think that were very tolerant back when the only witness I knew was a woman who celebrated 'friendship day' on Christmas and was tolerant of people with other views in general.

BOY WAS I WRONG!

Incidentally, that witness that I knew is now a former witness who attends a baptist church.