The Watchtower organisation provides one of the most powerful contrasts between religion and the liberating gospel hidden in plain sight throughout scripture.
Kind of what the RCC did for Luther nearly 500 years ago.
Fernando
JoinedPosts by Fernando
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33
Just Curious About Something
by EmptyInside insorry,couldn't think of a better title for this post,without it being long.. i was thinking this morning,if ex-jws, who were born into the group less likely to join another religion after leaving.
vs. the witnesses who belonged to a church before joining the religion.. from my own prespective,being raised a witness,i have no intention of joining any religion.
and it seems that born-ins are less likely to join a religion after leaving the cult.. in my own experience,i think it's religious burn-out to tell the truth.
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94
just what am I supposed to believe now??
by purrpurr inwhile i'm glad i found this site, it has also crumbled to bits everything i've believed in my whole life.
i feel like the certainty, magic and wonder has gone out of my life.
this has left a huge hole in my soul.
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Fernando
"The endeavor to compel all men to think alike on all subjects, culminated in the great apostasy and the development of the great papal system, and thereby the gospel, the one faith that Paul and the other apostles set forth, was lost - buried under the mass of uninspired decrees of popes and councils. The unity of the early church, based upon the simple gospel and bound only by love, gave place to the bondage of the church of Rome ... Each new reform movement (like Protestantism) has made the failure of attempting to make a creed just large enough for its prime movers ." --WT, Sep. 1893, p. 1572
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just what am I supposed to believe now??
by purrpurr inwhile i'm glad i found this site, it has also crumbled to bits everything i've believed in my whole life.
i feel like the certainty, magic and wonder has gone out of my life.
this has left a huge hole in my soul.
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Fernando
What you choose to believe is deeply personal, and should be arrived at through patient personal investigation and reflection. This is a process, not an event.
The worst thing one can do is allow others to choose our beliefs for us. Human agendas are often self-serving, although disguised as "help".
And when you hear "thus saith the Lord" or "we've been appointed over you by God", run for your life. Seriously.
Personally I believe in God and have found a vibrant spiritual life and faith due to rejecting religion and pursuing instead the liberating and transformative gospel map hidden in plain sight throughout scripture.
I now self identify as a follower of Jesus, a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, and someone who has received the free gift of faith by grace or unmerited favour. I am non-religious, non-sectarian and non-denominational. I also identify as SBNR (Spiritual But Not Religious).
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42
My Elderette returns for a final Bible Study session, after I avoided her for 2 months (very long post)
by Faithful Witness insome of this will be repeat, since it's been a little while since i posted about my "bible study" sessions with miss k, my elderette.
we are talking about the name of jehovah.
thanks for talking with us today.
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Fernando
An important principle I try to remember and observe when trying to help JWs is: "do not come near or touch their idols".
(Doctrine, God's name, GB, FDS, Elders, and so on...)
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42
My Elderette returns for a final Bible Study session, after I avoided her for 2 months (very long post)
by Faithful Witness insome of this will be repeat, since it's been a little while since i posted about my "bible study" sessions with miss k, my elderette.
we are talking about the name of jehovah.
thanks for talking with us today.
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Fernando
Wow Faithful Witness!
What patience, stamina, persistence and love.
Personally I'm not as well resourced and have no choice but to seek out ways to save time and energy.
To that end I would get them to agree to sessions where we research answers to questions on the liberating gospel of grace in their own Watchtower library which does contain a lot that a believer can agree with and that JW should get to know about.
And of course one imagines the possibility of making much more headway by instead agreeing with their current publications which they idolise.
JWs claim to be Christians. Yet they have no idea what the gospel is. This is like a motorcar salesman that has no idea that a Ford is a motorcar!
Personally I would ask them to explain to me what the gospel is in one word, maybe even in writing.
Then I would help them use the great search facility in their own Watchtower library.
They would then discover that the gospel is a message.
Suggested (sentence scope) searches:
- gospel message
- "good news" message
- (gospel/"good news"/evangel/"glad tidings"/"sacred secret") message
Then I would help them identify the 30 or more ingredients or components of this message, one-by-one, in their own Watchtower library. Of course after first asking them to list as many ingredients as they could in writing.
I would use objective, "innocuous" and viewpoint questions as much as possible.
For example:
- How do you feel about a "Good News" that contains an ingredient called "salvation"?
- How do you feel about a "Good News" that does not contain an ingredient called "salvation"?
Simple (sentence scope) Watchtower library searches can be used to support this process:
- gospel salvation
- "good news" salvation
- (gospel/"good news") salvation
Only once we have covered around 30 ingredients, over several weeks, would I consider moving to more meaty topics such as:
- Is legalism apostasy?
- What is your view on law vs grace?
- What is your view on faith vs works?
- What is your view on imputed righteousness (a right standing by imputation)?
- What is your view on imputed holiness (a clean standing by imputation)?
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vRemember Those in the Full-Time Service
by thedog1 inforgive me if this has been posted before by somebody else but i am outraged by the wt study edition for sep 15 2014 and the study article about remembering those in full-time service.
some choice quotes:.
of course, some have circumstances that do not allow them to share in the ministry full-time at this point.
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Fernando
Greetings thedog1
Going door-to-door to teach religion (proselytising), instead of the liberating gospel of grace (evangelising) is morally reprehensible at best, and apostasy at worst.
(Matt 23 esp v15. Also search "legalism" and "experiment that failed" and "custodial function" in the Watchtower library.)
Why is it that the gospel (according to Paul, Moses, Isaiah and Psalms) can be found in the Watchtower library, but not in the hearts nor on the lips of those who follow the Watchtower hierarchy and organisation?
How do they manage to call themselves "publishers of the Good News" whilst ignorant of it, and whilst promoting its very opposite?
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97
First post
by thedog1 inthis is a very strange thing for me to do.
i have been an active witness for over 25 years.
i currently serve as an elder and i conduct the watchtower study.
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Fernando
Best wishes on the journey thedog1.
Great news that you've been able to step down and stay calm and steady.
It is possible to be true to yourself and still maintain positive relationships in the family with most people if you can create a warm, loving and supportive space where it is OK to agree to disagree. Even the Watchtower literature will support following one's conscience instead of the traditions of men.
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Hubby's tempted to go back
by jgnat intoday he kept bumping in to (or rather dodging and weaving from) fellow witnesses.
he's talking about returning but can't figure out a way to do it without enduring a fair amount of humiliation.
i did not panic.
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Fernando
One wonders how he would feel if he realised to what extent the Watchtower has betrayed his trust, and as Blondie said, if he could see the rotten core, particularly in the hierarchy...
It seems a question to ask may be, what makes "right brain" dominant individuals leave for good, and guilt free too?
(So called "right brain" thinking = intuitive, thoughtful, and subjective. So called "left brain" thinking = logical, analytical, and objective. Source.)
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48
Hubby's tempted to go back
by jgnat intoday he kept bumping in to (or rather dodging and weaving from) fellow witnesses.
he's talking about returning but can't figure out a way to do it without enduring a fair amount of humiliation.
i did not panic.
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Fernando
Personally I believe there may be merit in understanding and dealing with the addiction mechanics involved, from a Psychological and Pneumatological perspective.
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48
Hubby's tempted to go back
by jgnat intoday he kept bumping in to (or rather dodging and weaving from) fellow witnesses.
he's talking about returning but can't figure out a way to do it without enduring a fair amount of humiliation.
i did not panic.
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Fernando
I wonder if it might help him and us if there was more detail or clarity on:
- His reasons for going back.
- His reasons for not going back.