Posts by dssynergy

one thing this site has made me reflect on the baptism practice in jw land.. many of us were raised in the religion, thus you were given the pressure early on to shoot for baptism as a goal.. i remember feeling bad because i waited until the ripe old age of 14 to take the plunge.. looking back, i realize that when i was 14, i didnt even know what my favorite color was, let alone have enough knowledge to make a life altering decision.

yet, growing up in that climate, i would say anyone who waited past their early teens to get baptised was viewed with great suspicion and was likely to be viewed as "bad association".

kids who took the dip at 8-9 years of age were viewed as "wise beyond their years" and the like.. how old were some of you when you were baptised, and what are your feelings on the matter?.

dssynergy

I was baptized at 16 under duress.

39

on the fence

by In in

jw
friends

boy i gotta say, i just can't make up my damned mind.

everytime i'm starting to feel better about the jw's, a brother or sister or the watchtower will say something just totally wacky.

did anyone get that bit in the watchtower last week about no questions allowed what so ever!!

dssynergy

Truthseeker,

Thanks. I hope I do too.

DS

39

on the fence

by In in

jw
friends

boy i gotta say, i just can't make up my damned mind.

everytime i'm starting to feel better about the jw's, a brother or sister or the watchtower will say something just totally wacky.

did anyone get that bit in the watchtower last week about no questions allowed what so ever!!

dssynergy

It seems that those of us "on the fence", those who are "out" but still "in" face a dilemma that those of you who made a clean break didn't face. I for example, am a fourth generation born in to JW. My entire family, and nearly everyone I have known my entire life are JW. On top of that, I have lived in the same metro area the entire time. The impact of my leaving outright or being DF'd would be enormous. It is a price I am simply not willing to pay.

I have two young nephews who live with a crazy self-righteous, daughter of a partaker, mother and their out to lunch dad. She has scriptures for them to remember posted on their bedroom walls. That in and of itself is not bad, but given her demeanor and how she interprets things ~ it gave me the creeps. It is not spiritual training, it is brain washing. It made me sick the other night to find out that my nephew told the brothers he wanted to join the TMS because he wanted to be in paradise. I shutter to think that he already is being groomed for the "it doesn't matter who you are, it matters what you do and how it looks to others" kind of christianity that she subscribes to. If I am out, really out ~ that will just emphasize her points more and will eliminate any influence I could be on the boys. On the other hand, if I am "out/in" then at least I can present some counter balance to the craziness that will be no doubt promoted in their family.

Part of my struggle with this, is not the going to meeting and maintaining an " agreeing to disagree" stance, but the confusion I am experiencing about what I really think, and the amount of research I need to do to figure out what the Bible really teaches, if it can be known. Once I am clear on that, then I can find where I stand. I am slowly, with purpose, building a network of people I know on the outside, and will be building friendships to support me as I fade. This takes time. And, there are people who I really like who are "in/in" ~ and I want to keep that communication open without giving them cause to fear or question me.

I have been noticing, that I can spend an extraordinary amount of time with JWs, alone or in a group, and spend little to no time discussing doctrine. Therefore, I think it might not be as difficult as I expect to mix among them in social situations. When they do say something I don't agree with, I just don't say anything, or I might offer a neutral counter point without being overly aggressive. This seems to be accepted up to a certain point. At the meetings, it is more difficult to ignore because of course you are listening to the theology coming from the stage.

At any rate, none of this is easy ~ which is why we come here to sort it out, right?

DS

39

on the fence

by In in

jw
friends

boy i gotta say, i just can't make up my damned mind.

everytime i'm starting to feel better about the jw's, a brother or sister or the watchtower will say something just totally wacky.

did anyone get that bit in the watchtower last week about no questions allowed what so ever!!

dssynergy

In,

I am right there with you. I am on the fence as well, and I understand what you mean about waffling back and forth. I try to tell people as little as possible about my life (such as my going back to school), while trying to find some foothold to help me stick around.

I'm still in, but fading. If you want to have a more in depth conversation ~ PM me. I'd be happy to chat.

21

The "Conscious of their Spiritual Need" Class

by cattails in

jw
friends

i've started considering myself one of the members of the conscious class.

and this post is aimed at those still in and feeling trapped.. at matthew 5:3 jesus said: happy are those conscious of their spiritual need, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.".

that being the case i'm going to be partaking of the emblems this march 30th, god willing.. if you're still in and your eyes have been opened, if you are conscious of a spiritual need within you that the wt isn't recognizing.... then praise god and christ and keep remembering the ransom sacrifice that purchased your salvation and that for all people.. if you're of the "conscious class" partake this year.

dssynergy

Conversations like these, where everything is so open to interpretation are what lead me to feel so agnostic. The truth is ~ we don't know. We can identify the spiritual principles that Jesus taught to deal with others in our every day life, etc. But as far as who goes to heaven, when the "end times" are starting or stopping ~ we don't know. Why can't the WTBS or any other religion simply say that?

DS

21

The "Conscious of their Spiritual Need" Class

by cattails in

jw
friends

i've started considering myself one of the members of the conscious class.

and this post is aimed at those still in and feeling trapped.. at matthew 5:3 jesus said: happy are those conscious of their spiritual need, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.".

that being the case i'm going to be partaking of the emblems this march 30th, god willing.. if you're still in and your eyes have been opened, if you are conscious of a spiritual need within you that the wt isn't recognizing.... then praise god and christ and keep remembering the ransom sacrifice that purchased your salvation and that for all people.. if you're of the "conscious class" partake this year.

dssynergy

startingover, I think they are one in the same. People become conscious, then follow their conscience. :-)

I have been working in a university that teaches theology from a catholic perspective. From sitting in on numerous theology classes, I observe that basically, they are very freeform and encourage the students to form their own theology.These catholic scholars tend to be very liberal, and encourage interfaith ~ which not all of them do. At any rate, catholics do tend to be more flexible in the tolerance of differences in theology. So, it might be the "official" doctrine of a particular seminary that heaven is just a rest stop, but if the priest or theologian sees it differently, there is nothing stopping them from preaching that instead.

I'm very intrigued as to why the WTBS changed their idea of two heavenly classes to just one heavenly and one earthly. Even if that is true, I don't feel a heavenly calling. Where does that leave me? I really still don't get why humans need to go to heaven in the first place. Does not make any sense to me whatsoever. Does anyone have any suggested reading??

DS

21

The "Conscious of their Spiritual Need" Class

by cattails in

jw
friends

i've started considering myself one of the members of the conscious class.

and this post is aimed at those still in and feeling trapped.. at matthew 5:3 jesus said: happy are those conscious of their spiritual need, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.".

that being the case i'm going to be partaking of the emblems this march 30th, god willing.. if you're still in and your eyes have been opened, if you are conscious of a spiritual need within you that the wt isn't recognizing.... then praise god and christ and keep remembering the ransom sacrifice that purchased your salvation and that for all people.. if you're of the "conscious class" partake this year.

dssynergy

I am in and feeling trapped. Consider myself part of the Consciousness Class in that I believe we must follow God's word and our conscious, rather than any man, including the elders, or GB. I'm very intrigued by this discussion about the NC. I can see that it could apply to all men, that Jesus is said to be the mediator between God and men, and that there was no distinction between which men those were, anointed or not.

However, if the NC applies to me, does that mean that I would change my "calling" and suddenly become aware that I have a heavenly hope? I don't believe I do. Although I still need to do more research, the whole idea of Jehovah needing 144,000 in heaven never made sense to me in the first place. If Jesus is the perfect judge ~ why would he need 144,000 helpers?

Am I missing something?

Just on a side note, if the Conscious Class really does believe that they are part of the anointed, and that the memorial emblems do pertain to them ~ then I wholeheartedly agree that partaking is the way to get the GB's attention. If there are enough who feel the same way, perhaps it will cause the GB to reexamine their theology and entertain some "new light"

DS