Posts by pirata

*** w02 5/15 p. 28 Questions From Readers ***
Questions From Readers
Would it be advisable for a true Christian to attend a funeral or a wedding in a church?
Our taking part in any form of false religion is displeasing to Jehovah and must be avoided. (2 Corinthians 6:14-17; Revelation 18:4) A church funeral is a religious service that likely involves a sermon advocating such unscriptural ideas as the immortality of the soul and a heavenly reward for all good people. It may also include such practices as making the sign of the cross and joining in prayer with the priest or minister. Prayers and other religious exercises contrary to Bible teaching may also be a part of a religious wedding ceremony held in a church or elsewhere. Being in a group where everyone else is engaging in a false religious act, a Christian may find it difficult to resist the pressure to join in. How unwise to expose oneself to such pressure!
What if a Christian feels obligated to attend a funeral or a wedding held in a church? An unbelieving husband, for example, may urge his Christian wife to be with him on such an occasion. Could she join him as a quiet observer? Out of regard for her husband’s wishes, the wife may decide to go with him, being determined not to share in any religious ceremonies. On the other hand, she may decide not to go, reasoning that the emotional pressure of the circumstances could prove to be too much for her, perhaps causing her to compromise godly principles. The decision would be hers to make. She definitely would want to be settled in her heart, having a clean conscience.—1 Timothy 1:19.
In any case, it would be to her advantage to explain to her husband that she could not conscientiously share in any religious ceremonies or join in the singing of hymns or bow her head when prayer is offered. On the basis of her explanation, he may conclude that his wife’s presence could give rise to a situation that might be unpleasant to him. He may choose to go alone out of love for his wife, respect for her beliefs, or a desire to avoid any embarrassment. But if he insists that she go with him, she might go as a mere observer.
Not to be overlooked is the effect our attending a service in a religious building might have on fellow believers. Could it injure the conscience of some? Might their resistance to avoid engaging in idolatry be weakened? “Make sure of the more important things,” admonishes the apostle Paul, “so that you may be flawless and not be stumbling others up to the day of Christ.”—Philippians 1:10.
If the occasion involves a close fleshly relative, there may be additional family pressures. In any case, a Christian must carefully weigh all the factors involved. Under certain circumstances he or she may conclude that no difficulties would arise from attending a church funeral or wedding as an observer. However, the circumstances may be such that by attending, the likely injury to one’s own conscience or to that of others would outweigh the possible benefits of being present. Whatever the situation, the Christian should make sure that the decision will not interfere with his preserving a good conscience before God and men.

37

What I think the next move is...

by TheJigsUp in

jw
friends

i'll keep it short.. you're no doubt aware of the 'if the gb say something that seems odd, just go along with it' thing.

and the 'do as the gb tell you!

dont doubt the gb!

pirata

Kind of like when we had the special campaign to distribute the Kingdom New tract "False Religion's End is Near!"?

43

Called to be Free - Dissolution of the Worldwide Church of God

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

[the time links work on my website, not good here].

called to be free - dissolution of the worldwide church of god.

[note: this presentation is over an hour long and is very well done, but i have marked key time slots from the video so if you are in a hurry you can watch the key highlites.].

pirata

Great Video!

[5:44] Armstrong predicts Jesus' return in 1975

20

For those of you that love Star Wars the prequels...

by Botzwana in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxktzmqgxri.

.

do yourself a favor and watch these....

pirata

After the Governing Body saw Episode 1 they were talking like the Gungan Boss doing his head shakey thing:

Meesa no like da apostates. Dey tink dey so smarty. Dey tink dey brains so big.

bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu

Okay, I actually made that up.

46

The Governing Body wants JWs to really, really understand this one point

by cattails in

if you had to guess what point of their teaching.

the governing body wants jws to really, really understand,.

24:45.. the comment highlights that because jesus "did not say that there would be a multitude of slaves scattered throughout the various sects of christendom.

pirata

Instead, he clearly stated that there would be only one "steward," or "slave," whom he would appoint over all his belongings.

Only one slave?

(Matthew

25:19-23)19 “After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 So the one that had received five talents came forward and brought five additional talents, saying, ‘Master, you committed five talents to me; see, I gained five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things. I will appoint you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 Next the one that had received the two talents came forward and said, ‘Master, you committed to me two talents; see, I gained two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things. I will appoint you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.’

11

Feb 1,2011 wt What makes a marriage last

by bobld in

jw
friends

why the breakdown .my mate and i are growing apart.. before you follow the advice of this publication.read the following.. robert and mary have been married for 30 years.they have a lovely daughter jennifer and a son ryan.robert,says we were a very happy family doing things together.like reading the bible,praying, going to church,weddings, funerals,christmas parties,get together with friends,vacations etc,etc.however,all that changed when mary joined the watchtower cult.now my wife declines all the above activities.all she does is read the wt/a mags.we now fight everday and are not happy.. just imagine mary said she will not go jennifers wedding because she was told by the publishers of the wt that our church is babylon the great,a whore and evil.

see wt 07/10/15 p27 and wt 05/02 qfr.. i believe their advice is hypocritical and would in fact cause this family to grow apart.they would end up in divorce court.the wife is brain-washed.after the divorce she would disown the family and will the estate and money to the wbts.. b.

pirata

@lamallcool: Joilette, they had the Watchtower magazines since 1931, not before.

The Watchtower has been in print since the 1878.

12

Family Worship Evening, The Mormons Had It First

by Franklin Massey in

jw
friends

this has been commented about on here before but since this weeks service meeting has a continuation of the article "help for families" i thought it would be appropriate to mention that the jw family worship evening, appears to be direct copy of the mormons family home evening.

if you have the january 2011 km, compare the insert to the resources found at the official latter day saints website on how to conduct the family evening.. http://lds.org/hf/fhe/welcome/0,16785,4210-1,00.html.

pirata

Have you all seen the Mormon TV campaign? Maybe JWs should try that.

We done a few in 2002/2003, but they're no longer available: http://www1.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/80938/1/Watchtower-Television-Advertisement

32

2011 Yearkbook - Provisions through the Governing Body

by pirata in

excerpts from the 2011 yearbook highlights of the past year:.

tracing all things with accuracy.

(p.9) jesus said that the faithful slave would be discreet in giving the domestics "their food at the proper time".

pirata

The Batsuit is picking up pulse fluctuations. Whoever spoke into the speakwrite to make this line was aware that they were lying. There's no need to even comment much on it. It's every so often that they tell a direct lie, but this one is a whopper. I can't believe they said it.

Within the context of the entire subheading which I'll post when I have some time, they are emphasizing the fact that they make sure what they have directly quoted is accurate, not that it is contextually accurate or that it is academically honest.

8

Satan vs God. The Final Score

by pirata in

jw armageddon arrives!.

satan loses with only 99.999% support.

7 billion people (and assorted animals) destroyed.

pirata

I guess the title of my thread is misleading. It is not really THE final one. There will be an additional cleansing after the 1000 year reign, those killed being Satan, the dmeons, and wicked humans numbering as the sands of the sea.