Posts by exjw2814

18

Have any of you had experiences with a spouse who puts loyalty to thier parents and the organisation over you?

by captain in

jw
friends

i'm going through this at the moment and very disillusioned - especially when i find that people who i thought were my good friends (read: elders) are actually siding with my spouse..

exjw2814

Yes, actually being raised as a Witness my mother would value and listen to the congregation elders over my own father. I did NOT agree with this. This caused ALOT of problems in my family.

Also, when I was teenager I was dating a certain girl and she would always value the elders in her congregation over myself. The elders were slandering my name at the time and they didn't want her dating me.

It's heartbreaking to see the level of power these congregational elders can really have over a family. It's WRONG.

God Bless

63

The Born Again Experience

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

i enjoyed this essay by psychologist valerie tarico.

the born again experience.

i prayed harder and just then i felt like everything i was saying was being sucked into a vacuum.

exjw2814

Everyone who considers themselves a "born again christian" doesn't neccasarily have to have the above feelings or characteristics. Personally, for me it was a process. It just never happened at one single moment in my life, maybe it did, but I never noticed it.

But I do know God gave me the holy spirit as a pledge sometime last summer. That's when a remarkable change was instilled in my spirit after reading ALOT of my bible but more importantly with the use of prayer.

It seems to me Jesus helped me out when I was in need of it most, I was completely and utterly exhausted, mentally, emotionally, and even physically. He was the only one who could help me, and that he did.

I realized I was hiding my face from God all this time, and trying to live out my life on MY OWN, and being proud. But I felt a strong desire for repentance, and after that everything changed.

Now I rely on God each day for strength and peace, and to ask forgiveness and to give thanks.

It was truly a humbling experience!. I hope everyone experiences this at some point in their life, it's EVERYTHING you need. God is good, see for yourself!

God Bless.

37

PARADISE EARTH OR HEAVEN? OR BOTH?

by exjw2814 in

the jw's teach about the hope we have for living on a paradise earth.

is that what jesus taught when he came to the earth ?

the last time i checked he was referring to heaven, not earth.

exjw2814

Aguest, you are officially the MAN! thankyou for that post. Very interesting. It seems very beleivable, and it does seem to make ALOT of sense.

Very good point, I never seen someone describe it like this before:

"However, since "we", those who make UP that City will be spirit beings... in substance (incorruptible) as well as essence ("clean" in spirit, the "man" we are on the INSIDE), and thus "celestial" (of the heavens/spirit realm)... it will also be "spiritual".

I have the same feeling about being born again as you, and other similar viewpoints. Thankyou for sharing, and may all the praise and glory go to our father and his son Christ Jesus. God Bless!

Thanks for all the posts everyone, keep posting! It's indeed a very interesting topic of discussion.

37

PARADISE EARTH OR HEAVEN? OR BOTH?

by exjw2814 in

the jw's teach about the hope we have for living on a paradise earth.

is that what jesus taught when he came to the earth ?

the last time i checked he was referring to heaven, not earth.

exjw2814

Thankyou for the post Aguest! I appreciate your insight into the matter. It's very encouraging. So the NEW JERUSALEM isn't really a physical thing, it's just spiritual ? If so, why would the bible give a precise and detailed measurement of the NEW JERUSALEM if it was something spiritual ?. It seems to me it's hard to understand what is symbolic and what isn't. Do you beleive in the rapture ? Are you a born again Christian? Just wondering. Once again thankyou and God Bless!

20

The point in time when I realised that I would one day no longer be a Jehovahs Witness

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

this was after my 'honeymoon' period of being a new jw.

yet, it was still a couple of years before i actually left.. i remember sitting in the kh listening to the meeting & my mind wandered.

i started looking around the congregation.

exjw2814

I realized I didn't want to be a Witness when the elders in our hall came up with false accusations against me and my family to kick us out of the congregation. Although it was eventually all cleared up by the "brothers in bethel", it wasn't good enough for me. And as a matter of fact, nothing they do or teach is good enough for me. Gladly, ill never return.

37

PARADISE EARTH OR HEAVEN? OR BOTH?

by exjw2814 in

the jw's teach about the hope we have for living on a paradise earth.

is that what jesus taught when he came to the earth ?

the last time i checked he was referring to heaven, not earth.

exjw2814

Thanks Stephen, that's great information right there! I know in the OT the JWs talked about the paradise on earth mentioned in the book of Isaiah , but that's referring to the Israelites and the promise land. God Bless.

37

PARADISE EARTH OR HEAVEN? OR BOTH?

by exjw2814 in

the jw's teach about the hope we have for living on a paradise earth.

is that what jesus taught when he came to the earth ?

the last time i checked he was referring to heaven, not earth.

exjw2814

Agonus, thanks for that, you're elaboration definetely made things clear to me. Also, what you wrote there "when i wanted to be w/jesus i felt my home was heaven, now not so sure - to me "home" just means god/christ's presence". Im very interested in that one sentence. That's a sign to me that you've been previously blessed and also sealed, with the holy spirit. You might be unsure and doubt different things, but that's the way we're made as humans in general. THAT'S OK. You do know the bible speaks truth, and their is a scripture in the bible where it states "one part of our body is heavenly (our spirit), and the other is earthly (our physical body). Like Paul said in the scriptures, he wished to be away from the body (in spirit) and at home with the Lord. Keep the faith my friend! God Bless!.

Aguest, thanks and good point! The earth wasn't destroyed but the world and the people living in it were. Which is soon to happen again im sure of that. Regarding the NEW JERUSALEM, the bible did give accurate measurements concerning the size. And ill tell you one thing, it's quite too large to fit on the earth. Actually, if it were placed on this earth, the highest point of the NEW JERUSALEM would be in outter space, or even farther. I guess we will have to wait and see. God Bless!

22

Why do even inactive Jw's play the shunning game?

by AK - Jeff in

i have contacted a half dozen people thru facebook.

all of these people i have known for 2 decades, most more than that.

in every case, i have not been overly apostate in my statements - just a simple hi, hello, and how ya' doin' type message to them in private.. nearly all of them fall into one of two categories: never been a jw, just studied, maybe attended meetings for a while, likely not doing so nowadays.

exjw2814

Jeff! Wonderful observation!. I have had the same experience. I was a witness for close to 20 years of my life. And three years later here I am, 100% out of the JW CULT. But it took a good 3 years to get out of it mentally, because it took ALOT of heart/tears and ALOT of research. I'm now a born again Christian and have a very different, and very rewarding beleif system through our Lord Christ Jesus. I cannot beleive how BLINDE I was before. And to see the people I grew up with still in the organization is somewhat depressing. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light, we need to beleive in him!. The JWS miss out on that, and it's horrible. I know many young people who have left and don't go to meetings, but they are still shedding the "WT tears" as someone previously mentioned. They still beleive in it, they never really left at all. Isn't it SAD? I know. Don't be alarmed if they don't talk to you, or even want to hear why you left. Their brain is wired to be a certain way, and most of them don't wanna see things any differently. I hope all the best!.

37

PARADISE EARTH OR HEAVEN? OR BOTH?

by exjw2814 in

the jw's teach about the hope we have for living on a paradise earth.

is that what jesus taught when he came to the earth ?

the last time i checked he was referring to heaven, not earth.

exjw2814

Agonus, thanks for your reply. Yes it does matter what we do and where we go, at least to me it does. That's like saying you're NOT concerned about your future. OF COURSE your concerned about it. Just by saying "the important thing is you'll be happy, reunited w/your lost loved ones" doesn't answer the question , where's your basis for beleiving that? You must have at one point been concerned about life after death, enough to look into it and come up with that statement.

Aguest, thankyou, you provided accurate scriptures from the Bible. I am too, a soldier in Christ Jesus our Lord. God Bless.

Jonathan, thanks for your reply. Good point. I do think Christ and the great crowd will reign (not in the way world governments do) over the Earth. It will be interesting indeed to see what happens, especially regarding the NEW JERUSALEM.

37

PARADISE EARTH OR HEAVEN? OR BOTH?

by exjw2814 in

the jw's teach about the hope we have for living on a paradise earth.

is that what jesus taught when he came to the earth ?

the last time i checked he was referring to heaven, not earth.

exjw2814

The JW's teach about the hope we have for living on a paradise earth. IS THAT WHAT JESUS TAUGHT WHEN HE CAME TO THE EARTH ? The last time I checked he was referring to HEAVEN, NOT EARTH. Explain.