at romans 6:1-14, we read in part, but especially at 6:7, " for he who has died has been freed from sin.
... we have died with respect to the wrath that sin incurs, having had our sins forgiven".
now stop and think.
Mary - And lets add a bit more to your point. Every generation of mankind since Revelation was written has come up with their own interpretations of how this nonsense "fits" their specific time period. It's been an unending cycle of apocalyptic interpretations that have never come true.
-MF31-
at romans 6:1-14, we read in part, but especially at 6:7, " for he who has died has been freed from sin.
... we have died with respect to the wrath that sin incurs, having had our sins forgiven".
now stop and think.
On the line of this subject, I can recommend the book "History of the End of the World" by Jonathon Kirsch. It's an excellent read, and outlines the history of apocalyptic groups from Jesus' day to right now. Very enlightening.
-mentallyfree31-
at romans 6:1-14, we read in part, but especially at 6:7, " for he who has died has been freed from sin.
... we have died with respect to the wrath that sin incurs, having had our sins forgiven".
now stop and think.
My former presiding overseer has been a Witness for 69 years. He told me in our last conversation that he feels Armageddon is only weeks away. Or perhaps months.
69 years. 9 Armageddon predictions later. Still just a heartbeat away.
-mentallyfree31-
a few months ago i began researching my doubts on the internet about the wtbts and i came across a bunch of crazy facts.
this helped me realize this isn't "the truth.".
when i was growing up, i believed the society was always right, and we needed to obey what was in the publications.
Yes, the Gubberning Body had me 100%. I used to tell my bible studies that the GB is "faithful and discreet" and they give us exactly what we need at just the right time. And that they have always done what is in our best interests.
As you can see, I was seriously deluded!
LOL
-mentallyfree31-
i started reading the book "who wrote the bible" by richard elliot friedman this week.
i'm a little over halfway through it today, and have found it to be quite informative and enlightening.
with every page i read, i realize again what a tiny jw bubble i have spent my life inside.. have you read this book?
It really is an eye opener, Sherah. It has about 250 pages, excluding the appendix and stuff, and I'm on page 180. So I've almost got it finished.
-mentallyfree31-
i started reading the book "who wrote the bible" by richard elliot friedman this week.
i'm a little over halfway through it today, and have found it to be quite informative and enlightening.
with every page i read, i realize again what a tiny jw bubble i have spent my life inside.. have you read this book?
I started reading the book "Who Wrote The Bible" by Richard Elliot Friedman this week. I'm a little over halfway through it today, and have found it to be quite informative and enlightening. With every page I read, I realize again what a tiny JW bubble I have spent my life inside.
Have you read this book? What did you think?
-mentallyfree31-
okay gang, warning!.
this is going to sound real new-christian preachy to some of you, but hey, this was 1982ish, so don't come down too hard on me.
i just tend to put all i got into my work, but i've mellowed out (called "getting older").. i am not a fan of churches or institutions personally; more of a loner.
Great article Randy.
Thanks!
-mentallyfree31-
thank you all.. it seems that we former jw's have excellent reasons to be be upset.
between being lied to about how russell and rutherford started this fruity little cult, having to deal with the coverups of pedophiles and other criminals, the mysoginistic treatment of women, being lied to about 1914 and the related date of 607 bce, the ridiculous and ever changing blood doctrine, being lied to about gb involvement in the un, the changed it once and now back again understanding of what a "generation" is, being lied to about when the end of this system was supposed to come, being lied to about 1975, being told not to go to college and instead explore the underrated world of window washing with the outstanding income potential it produces...... *panting* i am sorry, i am out of breath...... my point is this, (and i speak from experience): former jw's are pretty raw.
and thus, easily exploitable on internet boards by trolls.. trolls see this.
-MF31-
If a non-JW only read Crisis of Conscience, they would clearly see how insane this religion is. What they would fail to understand is how anybody could ever get involved in this. They might even conclude that a person would have to mentally unstable to join this religion.
I agree that Combatting Cult Mind Control would be a much better first read for a non-JW. It explains "HOW" a person can be drawn in by a cult that teaches things that have no basis in reality.
All things considered though, it would probably be quite boring for the average person. Even after reading about mind control, they still wouldn't be able to grasp just how real it is. And how a person is willing to give their life for a complete fantasy.
On the other hand, I would venture to think that for myself, having been in the WT cult, perhaps I could understand much better how a mormon feels - even though our beliefs are different - it would seem that ex-JW's could relate in a big way what it's like to be a mormon.
Please give your comments on the above observation in green.
Thanks,
-mentallyfree31-
i haven't attened a meeting in 5 years.
i was wondering what the wtbts has to say about the popularity of vampires we see currently in pop culture.
are they saying its evil and from satan?.
There was a thread a few weeks ago after the Circuit Assembly where the speaker mentioned Vampire movies, if I remember correctly.
They will probably throw it right in there with facebook, myspace, and any other current trend in the world.
-mentallyfree31-
