Posts by GLTirebiter

36

What exactly do Jehovah's Witnesses believe?

by chashathaway in

i hear a lot, both on this forum and elsewhere, about all kinds of things jehovah's witnesses believe.

but i've never felt that outsiders were a good source of information about what faithful watchtowers actually believe.

in fact, i've discovered that the worst source of information about a religion is from those who were members but left the faith.

GLTirebiter

Chas, welcome to you!

OK, since you're new here I will tell you that I'm not a former JW, and not currently a Witness either--that is my Ex's religion, it has never been mine. So while I'm not an ex-Witness, after living with Witnesses for many years I do side with those who left the organization.

I would suggest reading the works of their founder, Charles Taze Russell, but there are problems with doing that.

First, they are hard to find, especially through loyal Watchtower channels as you requested. Ironically, your best source for early Watchtower teachings will be through "apostate" groups, such as freeminds.org.

Second, the Watchtower has replaced many of those teachings with different ones since then. In particular, many doctrinal changes occurred when Joseph F. Rutherford took over the organization following Russell's death.

So if you want to read all about Watchtower doctrines and don't want to learn them from "apostates", you will need to turn to third parties: perhaps the Knights of Columbus, an evangelical like Maurice Barnett, or the Institute for Religious Research.

73

RANDY WATTER'S DAD JUST DIED

by Mary in

jw
friends

randy watters, owner of freeminds.org father just died a couple of hours ago from pneumonia and alzheimers.

he was 86 years old.

as randy has been tireless in his efforts to help countless people come out of the wts, i would like to express my sincere condolences to him at this time.. .

GLTirebiter

Randy, I'm sorry to hear of your father's passing. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

55

Is There Anyone You Truly HATE???

by minimus in

jw
friends

i thought about that question myself and i don't think i really hate anyone.

i guess i could hate bin laden or some nameless evil terrorist but no one comes to mind..

GLTirebiter

Terry: "I also firmly believe that once you start "actively" hating you end up becoming something as awful as what you hate."

How true! Though I'll add that less than "actively" hating can be enough to start down that dark path (I take "actively" to mean "acting out" hatred against another person, whether verbally or physically). If there's one lesson divorce teaches you, it's that you must drop the anger and get on with your life, starting right now (and again tomorrow, then the day after that, until the anger no longer has a hold on you). Giving in to hate accomplishes nothing. After the andrenalin rush passes you'll find it has only made a bad thing worse--never better.

The parallels to leaving the WT (or being forced out) are quite obvious.

11

What do you think Jesus really meant when he said......

by EndofMysteries in

mark 12:24-27. forget answering the question about who marries who, but the statements he said....."is not this why you are mistaken, your not knowing the scriptures or the power of god?

" "but concerning the dead, that they are raised up, did you not read in the book of moses, in the account about the thornbush, how god said to him, 'i am the god of abraham and god of isaac and god of jacob'?

he is a god, not of the dead, but of the living.

GLTirebiter

That passage is saying that the dead are raised up--not to life on Earth, but to spiritual life. Abraham, Issaac, and Jacob are no longer alive on earth, but remain alive with God. Jesus is saying that the Pharisees' long, hypothetical trick question (12:13-23) is irrelevant because life of the resurrected is not the life we know on Earth. From KJV:

[Mark 12:25] For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. [26] And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? [27] He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

Yes, this applies equally well to Rutherford's notorious "Millions now living..." heresy.

48

HELP! Future soldier looking to join!

by megawatt in

here's my situation.

i scored pretty well in the asvab and now have my pickings of the available mos in the army reserves.

pretty sure i'm shoe in, except for a minor detail.

GLTirebiter

I suspect the teachings of a religion you "were forced to be baptized into" as a 15-year-old and abandoned as an adult is not what they're asking about. Did you ever officially claim CO status, for example when registering for the draft? That's the question you should be answering, because it can (will!) turn up in a security background check. Denying something that's on record is likely to have bad consequences in the long run.

19

New Here - My First Rambling.

by SearchingForMe in

jw
friends

newbie, born-in, 30+ yrs, still trying to decide what i believe since all my options are now open...i can say i no longer feel the need to follow men.... i've lurked here for quite a while and enjoyed the ramblings of many, so since i'm now a member here are some of my ramblings.. it makes me sad that so many people will continue to do something just because they feel they have too much time and/or energy invested to stop and make a course correction, even if they see it's leading nowhere or to an undesirable end.

it also saddens me how some people are so preprogrammed to follow what others say that they feel extremely uncomfortable changing their views, deep seated or not, even when presented with uncontrovertable evidence that their views are at best unproven, and at worst simply not possible or even plausible.. but i also realize, that just like in the sci-fi fantasy world of the matrix, some sheeple just are not mentally prepared to leave their fantasy world.

it works for them, and who am i to tell them how they should live.

GLTirebiter

Searching for me, it sounds like you're on the right track to finding what you seek. You're right about some people not being able to function without the group to lead them. Welcome, I hope you enjoy being here!

12

How long should I hold my breath?

by BackRoomBilly in

how long do you think it will take before the wts is exposed for what it really is?.

i sort of thought the whole 1914 thing would blow the lid off this thing.

it's obvious they wormed their way out of another one.. do you think there will ever be a grand climax and jws will just start leaving in record numbers?

GLTirebiter

I believe if the WT disappears or "goes mainstream" tomorrow, somebody else would turn up to fill the void (much like the "Whack-a-Mole" arcade game). That's why I think it's more important to work with individual members and set a good example for them than it is to try to "bring down the Watchtower". Contrary to what the Watchtower says, there are too many answers to the question "Where else can you go?".

31

The effect of this religion on my children & the action I had to take - Part III

by jambon1 in

here is parts i & ii.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/191112/1/the-effect-of-this-religion-on-my-children-the-action-i-had-to-take-part-i.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/191251/1/the-effect-of-this-religion-on-my-children-the-action-i-had-to-take-part-ii.

GLTirebiter

Jambon, wow! You did well, I don't see how you could have handled this any better. You have expressed your concern, you have made your wife see what's happening to the children, and you did it by being reasonable instead of argumentaive. It sounds like thigns have taken a turn for the better. Congratulations, and I hope things continue to improve for you and your family.

GLT

13

A question for all JWs, regarding women

by dgp in

my reason to ask this question was another thread by highdose, on whether people felt sorry for subjugated women in the organization.. with all the advances that women have undoubtedly made, is there any well-hidden anger among the sisters, for the role they have to play?

are there any complaints about it?

do you see the society responding to those complaints as, say, the catholic church sort of has, by allowing women to give the host at mass?

GLTirebiter

Are women allowed by the Vatican to give the host at mass?

Blondie,

I haven't been able to find an authoritative article with all the details but I can explain the situation. In the RCC, it is preferred that the host and wine is distributed by ordained priests and deacons. But when there are not enough clergymen to handle the number of congregants, the diocese can appoint "extraordinary ministers of the eucharist" to assist with distributing communion. In most of the US, there is a shortage of priests so these "extraordinary" ministers are used every Sunday. The diocese (i.e. local Bishop) decides who is qualified; extraordinary ministers are not ordained and thus they can be women if the local diocese chooses to appoint them.

So yes, women can sometimes distribute communion at a Catholic mass, but no, this does not mean the church is ordaining women.

GLT

161

What Are You Reading?

by zoiks in

jw
friends

ok, here's my current list:.

i just finished the greatest show on earth by richard dawkins, and am almost finished crisis of conscience by...some guy.. currently in hand, i have:.

the power of myth, joseph campbell and bill moyers.

GLTirebiter

Why Evolution is True, Jerry Coyne

Likewise. Also The Complete Sherlock Holmes Anthology (Arthur Conan Doyle), Deuteronomy, and The Associate (John Grisham).