Posts by Fernando

40

So I'm going through a really difficult time right now.

by scaredtospeak in

i was publicly reproved last year and the elders have taken their sweet time in reinstating my "privileges".

it's been six months and i can't answer at the meetings or participate in the theocratic ministry school.

in all honesty- i don't care about the privileges.

Fernando

The gospel versus religion.

Being able to participate in worshipping the god of religion is no privilege at all. You might choose to let them keep their "privilege".

Did you know that your mom would find it impossible to pursue the "Good News" according to Paul, and remain a follower of the Watchtower Organisation?

You could "agree" to a family study of the book of Romans, and focus on the "free gift" of "imputed righteousness" (aka Justification) as taught by Paul. In time your mom will be unable to avoid comparing this with the self-righteousness (works-righteousness) common in the Watchtower.

17

The Governing Body et al Should Have Been Disfellowshipped!

by The Searcher in

when the wtbts association with the un & the osce was exposed, their own rules should have been rammed down their corrupt and lying throats!.

thank you so much for the watchtower cd rom.

you made a huge rod for your own back.

Fernando

They have.

By Jesus.

16

New methods?

by manda63 in

hi, had some strange things happen this week that have made me ponder what on earth is going on with the man made organisation.. 1/ while picking up some train tickets i was approached by a young man with an ipad of sorts who engaged me in a chap and then asked to show me a new website i asked what he was trying to sell or promote he assured me that he was selling nothing the website he showed me was jw.org so i quickly said so you are promoting an organisation with a brand name similar to how a christian would promote jesus and the bible he looked confused but then said yes, so i said that i thought that to be quite shamefull, he froze for a bit and didnt comment so i asked is this new symbol a trade mark of some marketting firm to which he said "no we are jehovahs witnesses" no one else was around so not sure of the "we" but anyway i said if god has given us the bible whats with a website that produces snippets out the bible with an opinion on the meaning he avoided the question and asked me what i believed in so i said my religions leeders dont let me discuss belief with anybody so i obey,listen to them and dont question he said "you have been blessed by j with a brain and freedom of thought to look and question" i said ok but i think its strange that you use a name for god thats perhaps made up by man, blindly follow and dont question a group of self appointed men as well as showing signs of idoatory to an organisation that has pushed jesus to one side, at this he suddenly he had to dash off.

2/ when out shopping i was apprehended by a group of people with a stand giving free literature and promoting the jw.org website so i had had to ask whats with this name change after all these years and are you a similar religion to the catholic church which led to a chat about how the catholic religion is false and how they wickedly have covered up sex abuse!

i didnt bite on this one but asked if birth control was banned in the jw.org religion a lady stepped forward and explained that it was cruel and not biblical to ban contreception i said i had been shown a bit in the bible that gives rise to this ban and she said they(catholic church) dont understand the bible and use it to control and miss inform people so i replied similar to how your organisation bans blood and birthdays by misinterpreting the bible i went on to say that i believe the organisation to be hypocritical,false , cult like and shamefull how it covers up sex abuse i also got in that the organisation had totally corrupted its self with its un membership and also with the sheer amount of false prophecy over its relatively short history at which the senior man at the table politely told me if i wasnt interested in the literature to be on my way and that hopefully i would mature enough to let jehovah into my heart before it was to late and that he felt sorry for me and the people i obviously associated with.

Fernando

I would have liked to ask them why the "Good News" according to Paul is not on their lips and not in their hearts.

They refer to themselves as "publishers of the good news" (159 times in wt lib 2012).

More than half their Bible's 152-odd references to "Good News" are by Paul.

23

Can a religion claim: Only we have the truth?

by Kalos in

truth is self-evident (things like: the whole is greater than its part ....).. truth is always right (things like: caring for the accident victim helplessly bleeding on the road ....).. claiming: only we have the truth is like claiming: only my university is useful.

history shows that many school/college drop-outs have made significant contributions to the society like many those who completed their education!

and on the contrary, many school/college drop-outs have made significant damage to the society like some of those who completed their education!

Fernando

Religion versus the gospel

In my experience religion by design leads us away from "the truth" namely our creator's message (the liberating gospel of grace and peace) and the personification of that message (Jesus).

29

How good a commincator are you on this site?

by new hope and happiness in

jw
friends

me i try my best but my spelling is bad and some times i get missunerstood...any funny exsperiences?.

.

Fernando

Those who write well are not necessarily good communicators.

A good communicator is a good listener who takes careful note of what others are saying and offers the validation they are seeking when and where possible.

Taking off my hat and bowing to the many lurkers on JWN...

12

Still no word on Will and Bonnie Gorham?

by humbled in

jw
friends

some time ago this couple who had been in the circuit work disappeared--was this the greatest ever fade or what?.

they were remarkable for kindness and good sense.

and humility.

Fernando

Yes, it is true, there were some real gems.

It is also sad that so many who definitely did not belong were taken in and held captive by this corrupt organisation and its poisonous message.

9

The Tree of The Knowledge of Good and BadHave JWs got it correctly?

by Kalos in

as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.

(genesis 2:17).

jws interpret this tree as the symbol knowledge of good and bad, right of god to set standards for us; hence eating of it means snatching gods right to rule over usthus self-rule means ruination and death, and conversely gods rule means blessings and eternal life.. this interpretation has some intrinsic problems!.

Fernando

Religion versus the gospel

Personally, I've come to conclude that both the "tree of life" and the "Holy Grail" are symbols of the same thing: the liberating gospel message of grace and peace sponsored by our creator.

Similarly, I believe that both the "tree of the knowledge of good and bad" and the "poison chalice" (containing the "wine" of Revelation 14, 16, 17, 18) are symbols of the same thing: religion (sponsored by the enemy of both God and man).

Related references:

A very graphic 20 minute portrayal in the Harrisson Ford movie "Indiana Jones and the The Last Crusade".
The book "Two Trees" by Robert Ingleson.

49

Terminology the Society Hates?

by toweragent in

in my most recent talk, i got counseled for using some terms that were not prefered.

for example i said "new testament" rather than "the christian greek scriptures".

i also used the term "gospel", but even worse, i made reference to the "synoptic gospels" and the "gnostic gospel".. i guess i never thought of it before, but when i looked at the societies information on the matter they always say things like, "the so-called new testament..." or "the so-called synoptic gospels..." why with all the "so-called?".

Fernando

Yup, they sure don't like the word "gospel".

Oddly enough it appears more than 3,000 times in the Watchtower Library 2012.

48

A few questions for believers

by keyser soze in

jw
friends

when confronted with all of the inconsistencies and atrocities of the bible, many believers invariably claim that they don't base their faith in christ on what's written in the bible.

so what is the basis then, if not scripture?.

and please don't tell me "the lord has revealed himself to me".

Fernando

@keyser soze

According to Romans, none is more or less worthy of receiving revelation.

Personally I believe revelation can and should be commonplace.

How much information would you share with (reveal to) someone who ignored you and your message?

The same with our creator.

When we give time, energy, and money to religion we not only ignore, but also offend our creator.

His message is not religion.

As some interpret Karl Barth: "the revelation of God is the abolition of religion" and "religion is unbelief".

Our creator's message/plan/map has several names: the gospel, the good message, the good news, the evangel, the sacred secret, glad tidings, bissar (Hebrew), injil/injeel (Arabic/Urdu), Evangelium (Latin), and Euagellion/Evangelion (Greek).

Pursuit of this message/plan/map (instead of religion) is game changing, and the door to (commonplace) revelation.

Best wishes on life's journey.

Fernando

29

Do we know for sure what happens after death?

by Yondaime in

christian denominations say we go to heaven, witness say we stay alseep until ressurection.

quran says when we go we grt 72 virgins, unless we blow some people up.. .

i'm not really concerned with death atm, i'm not dead.

Fernando

@Yondaime

"I want to have faith in god but I don't see any evidence that proves he exists."

According to Romans 10:17, and according to my personal experience, Faith (a wide opening of higher dimensions and realities to our spiritual eyes) is a "free gift" that results from setting aside religion, and instead sincerely pursuing the map (hidden in plain sight throughout scripture), which is known variously as:

the 5 solas (of the reformation)
the liberating gospel of grace
the plan/message/map of salvation
the plan/message/map of liberation
the plan/message/map of reconciliation
the plan/message/map of restoration
imputed righteousness (justification)
imputed holiness (sanctification)
bissar (in Hebrew), injil/injeel (in Arabic/Urdu/Quran)

None of the priceless "free gifts" attached to this plan/message/map can be earned, deserved or paid for. This creates a very level playing field that anyone can choose to step onto at any time, without reference to any human/s or organisation/s.

By the way, this plan/message/map was revealed to Abraham who was not a Jew, Christian, or Muslim, although all these groups see him as their earthly spiritual father.

Abraham was also not a religionist.

Some reading that may help (in the Message Bible): Romans, Introduction to Galatians, Galatians.

Best wishes on life's journey.

Fernando