I don't regret it, because it was my first step away from the Organization. I even told the Elders to disfellowship me as I felt it was correct since I no longer believed JW's had or ever had the Truth. I pointed out to them how their judicial committe wasn't in line with scripture, because King David confessed his sins to God on more than one occasion and Paul says that matters of this nature are to be brought to the attention of the entire congregation IF the first and second set of witnesses doesn't bring the person to his senses and he/she is unrepentent. So they were adding to the Bible, something condemned in the scriptures.
Posts by Awen
-
59Do you regret confessing your sins to the elders?
by asilentone inyes, i do!
i did it 20 years ago, but the elders still remember what i did, sometimes i wish they never knew about it.
.
-
-
-
2
Christian matyres not faithfull?
by Luo bou to ini remember reading a wt where they quoted a source that said 300.000 christians died in the first century as martyrs.
the obvious conclusion was that the 144,000 number was filled back then.
no doubt many witnesses thought this for a question from readers was later published addressing it.
-
-
Awen
According to Revelation, the number is symbolic, not literal as the WT teaches. This is stated in the first chapter and verse of the Book. What the number actually means is anyone's guess. Why they always miss this, I'll never know. Well actually, I do know, They're false prophets. Interestingly enough a "false prophet" is hurled into Gehenna along with the Wild beast and all those proven unworthy to Jesus.
When you consider that JW's are well known for predicting the End Times and being consistently wrong this could be an indication that the WT is THE false prophet mentioned in Revelation.
-
19
The Last Extinction What Caused It?
by frankiespeakin ini've been hunting around on the nova site-"last extinction".
http://video.pbs.org/video/1108903659/.
-
-
Awen
A huge meteor striking the Yucatan Penisnsula, causing the earth's axis to tilt, giving us seasons and no longer a tropical environment in which the dinosaurs lived. Also it could have caused a global flood, and threw huge amounts of debris into the sky that would have blotted out the sun for a year, the same amount of time Noah was in the Ark.
Never thought of that one did ya?
-
55
To the "Believers" - A Sincere Question...
by AGuest into: "non-believers" (i am speaking to the "adult" among you as there are some who simply won't be able to resist... and you know who you are), i would like to ask that you please refrain from commenting, if you would be so kind.
if possible, it would be greatly appreciated if you would hold your comments for another thread, please.
thank you... and may you have peace!.
-
-
Awen
I put my faith in God, his Son Jesus and receive instruction by way of the Holy Spirit, which according the Jesus' words in the Bible I would.
That being said, the Bible nor the Holyspirit contradict one another. The scriptures tell us that all things were recorded aforetime for our instruction. Also that we should read the Law of God when we get up in the morning, when we lay down, when we walk on the road, etc. The Holy Spirit is called a "helper" by Jesus. A helper for what? To understand the things that were recorded for our instruction. Those things found in the Bible.
-
34
Time of The END ????
by wobble ina number of religions ,not just the wacky dubs, claim we are in the "time of the end ".
now, leaving out silly numbers and 1914, which was blown away years ago, what do such apocalyptic doom-mongerers have from scripture to give this idea credence ?.
the only thing i can think of , apart from the "cry of peace and security " which is no proof at all, is daniels dream image in dan chap.
-
-
Awen
The prophecy concerning the return of the Messiah states, "No man knows the day and the hour in which our Lord is coming", what about the year? As stated previously many people look to 2012 as that year. Personally I don't care, because if I look towards a particular time, then I am doing something wrong. IMO, people should not be doing good works in the hopes of being saved, "for if anyone wants to save his soul will lose it, but he that loses his soul on my behalf, will by no means lose his reward".
IMO no one should do things for a reward. They should do things because it is the right thing to do, plus it follows Christ's example. What was his reward for all the good things he did? Pain, suffering and death on a cross, then raised to heavenly life. We should expect no less. If I am doing what I know I should be doing, then whatever the time of the end proves to be doesn't matter. Such is why Jesus said we should not be looking at dates and trying to figure things out, only that when we see these things occuring to know that our deliverance is near.
When the WT kept pronouncing the World would end on such and such year or that we do not expect the sysytem to last more than five years, I knew them to be false prophets. My faith has always been in YHWH and His Son, never in a man made organization that is too blinded by it's own pride to admit mistakes, nor to correct them. When they do make mistakes, they blame God. YHWH has given us new light, rather than admitting they were in error. YHWH has never in the Bible given incorrect information, although at times it has been misinterpreted by his people who kept looking for signs and portents, rather than just waiting and trusting in Him. When you honestly trust God, your problems melt away. I don't need to know the answer to every question or why a good person suffered and an evil person thrived. I trust that there is a reason for God inaction, a reason that I might not understand anyway, considering my inability to process things or understand long-reaching inplications of certain actions which I may not live to see the conclusion of.
Like a trusting child, I feel/know that God has only my best interests at heart, even if I am going thru hard times. Those hard times made me a better person, which i wouldn't be had I not experienced those hard times.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
The WT gave me a fish, Jesus taught me how to be a fisher of men.
-
120
Name Some Stupid Watchtower Rules or Ideas
by minimus inthere's a lot.. one rule that is dumb is that a brother must wear a suit for a sunday public talk that he is giving.
any other time, the brother could wear a suit coat with a different pair of pants and not be counseled for it.. another dumb idea is that you cannot date a person unless you seriously might marry them.
if you're on a date, you were supposed to always have a chaperone and holding hands might not be allowed as well as sitting together.. what other dumb rules and ideas can you add?.
-
-
Awen
Talks from the platform can only be given using WT approved literature, not from the Bible. I thought the WT adhered to the Bible as it's authority? So why not just eliminate the WT stuff and use the Bible? Coz we need someone to interpret it for us, even though interpretations belong to God.
You couldn't be one of the Annointed unless you were over 70 and well thought of by everyone, coz Bro Rutherford said so. Even though Timothy was 30 years of age and one of the Annointed. Paul was disliked by many of his "brothers', but still of the Annointed and under 40 when converted. Explain that one GB.
If you partook at the Memorial and you didn't meet the above criteria, you weren't counted, coz the Elders know better than YHWH and you as to the nature/condition of your relationship/spirituality.
Married or unmarried Sisters had to sit in the back seat of a car if alone with a Married or Single Brother while out in service, coz you know groping will commence otherwise.
Brothers have to wear terribly hot suits in 100+ F weather, yet in other countries they could wear traditional dress. Being of Scottish descent doesn't mean I could wear a kilt to a convention, although a Japanese Sister could wear a Kimono, coz it's traditional for their culture (saw pics in a WT to prove this point).
Magazines with pictures of the Paradise Earth showed white brothers in a shirt and tie and African Brothers in Traditional dress, both without beards. Yet the evil doer next to Jesus on the Cross, I mean "torture stake" in a robe and sporting a beard.
Counting time shows how much you love YHWH, not how kind you are to others, or helping the widow or the fatherless boy.
You can now take partial blood products, but you cannot contribute to the blood supply.
Interpreting the No Blood rule as you cannot receive blood from yourself or a living donor, although Jesus showed in his explanation of doing good works on the Sabbath that rules can be broken if a life was at stake, as Life is more important than a rule. Afterall, the Sabbath came into being for the sake of man and not man for the sake of the Sabbath. The Blood rule is the same. No blood was to be ingested from a DEAD animal, the Bible is mute on the subject of a living one.
Birthdays cannot be celebrated because according to the WT, all recorded Birthdays ended in a death and were only celebrated by Pagans. Actually there were three recorded birthdays. Jesus' birthday was celebrated as well. He was brought gold, frankensinse and mirrh, no mention is made of Mary and Joseph declining these gifts. The angels also sang at the time of the birth. Quite the celebration afterall.
-
13
Would you save your life ? or die for your religion?
by LadyxNova inim non- jehovan witness, i am athiest/christian.
im 15.. i just want to ask why would people die for a belief instead of saving a life.
a life is much more sacred then a religion.. life is everything, it gives you good and bad choices etc.. the blood transfusion, i was reading couple of articles on how jehovahs witness people actually would die for a belief.. it really got me mad.
-
-
Awen
I would die to protect a friend's life. I would die because my religious beliefs do not coincide with others and they choose to kill me because of that. I would do my best to escape them, but if caught, I wouldn't recant my beliefs. For if we disown Jesus in front of men, he will dosown us in front of the Father and the heavenly angels.
-
45
Confirmation on statement made at assembly this past weekend
by koolaid-man ini received a message on my telephone voice mail by a person who attended a jehovah's witness assembly this past weekend.
i believe the assembly was in michigan.
the caller told me it was announced from the platform that if a person is not attending the meetings on a regular basis active witnesses should not be associating with them.
-
-
Awen
I recall something like this being said to me and hearing such nonsense from the platform many times. An Elder once approached me and said I would have been a MS long ago if I attended the meetings regularly. I replied that "my life keeps intruding, such as needing to keep a roof over my head and feeding myself so I think YHWH understands. I don't recall anything in the Bible about attending so many meetings would show how faithful you are, but that faith is based upon your works." I was regular in FS and commented on every paragraph in the WT study and put the comments in my own words and looked up alternate scriptures, since any child could parrot what was written and cite what was quoted.
I recall once giving a talk in the Ministry School straight out of the Bible with no WT references. After the talk I was approached by an Elder and asked what my references were. I held up my Bible. He then wanted to know my WT references to which I replied "None". He then emphasized to me that any future talks should include WT references to be acceptable. I replied "So in other words, you are making the Word of God invalid without WT references. You're saying that the Bible cannot be understood without the GB putting their own spin on things?" To which he replied "yes".
-
14
"What should you do when directed to stop preaching?" KM question box
by slimboyfat inwe had that question as an item in the service meeting tonight.
the answer was that we should comply immediately whether it is a police officer or just a caretaker of a block of flats who asks us to stop.
we shouldn't answer back or dispute the issue.
-
-
Awen
Also Jesus said that if anyone did not want to hear the message, we should kick the dust from our shoes and move on. It really depends upon the situation. Notice that when before government and religious leaders, people were encouraged to continue preaching, but when in fron of the common person, they were to give the common person a choice. Government and religious leaders had far reaching influence, more so than the everyday person. Hence the differences in when and how to preach.
-
32
No where in the bible does it say that people will be raised from the dead...
by ex-perfectdaughter in -
-
Awen
The WTS loves to quote from old prophecies and apply them to our modern day, such as each person sitting under their own fig tree and no one making them tremble, or the lion laying down with the sheep, etc. All the prophecies applied to Israel in times past and have already been fulfilled. The Apostle Paul said there are a new heavens and a new earth which we are awaiting according to his promise and in these, righteosness is to dwell. So if righteousness dwells in heaven and on earth, then either the earth will be peaceful because there are no humans upon it or because there will indeed be a paradise earth.
Personally, I don't care. I know Jesus has my best interests at heart and where ever he wants to put me, is fine by me.