not a captive

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Posts by not a captive

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  11

  Why Jehovah's Witnesses?

  by e-watchman in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  who are jehovahs witnesses?

  are they the true worshippers of god the true light-bearers, as the watchtower society claims?

  what makes jehovahs witnesses so special?

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  not a captive

  I got nothin to say in this thread, ya'll said it already.

  You bin answered, e-watchman.
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  347

  Why do all intelligent Christians disobey Jesus?

  by StoneWall in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-slagzjmdu.

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  not a captive

  DD,

  I try to get the drift of Jesus' teaching and go in that direction. You are the stickler for only scripture. It is very interesting to me that you assume Mark 10:21-26 has a happy ending somewhere. Why assume the rich young gets saved?It is in the scriptures as it is.

  But I am certain that we have other examples of Jesus loving the unsaved. The widow's son of Nain is not fully established as saved, the demonized child was cured but we have no evidence that he was saved. We run into trouble if we try to follow Jesus around and sort out the saved from the damned aand the loved from the not loved.

  A large problem I have with "election", "predestination" is the same problem I have with "accurate knowledge" 1Tim.3:7 and "taking in knowlege" Jn. 17:3 in the NWT Bible. The Bible translations are heavily Calvinistic. They have the spin on them. I posted the information on that earlier on this thread. Not only that but these were later teachings than the early church dealt with--no aposltles were into it like Calvin. J.Calvin couldn't have had much holy spirit. As I understand it, Calvin saw to the burning of heretics. A grisley Christian, he. Not the right spirit.

  A problem I see that I likewise hard to deal with is the teaching I heard in a Calvinistic Baptist Church was one that naturally occurs from predesination is that God planned the fall to make his mercy manifest. I have a problem with that. "God saw that it was very good?" except that it wasn't good at all.

  What practical value is there in forcing people to claim one of the many kinds of predestination men have thought up?

  Paul said he resolved to know nothing else but Jesus Christ and him crucified/impaled. I figure Paul got his fill of disputes aplenty.

  What does all this "doctrine"matter?
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  32

  Did You Experience THIS When You Were Awakening From Mind Control?

  by mentallyfree31 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  back in december, when i awakened from the wt mind control - i would wake up for several weeks in the middle of the night thinking "what are you doing?

  you know the witnesses have the truth".

  every day or so these thoughts would return.

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  not a captive

  I knew they wouldn't let me have my own conscience back. I didn't realize that's what I wanted. But it was.

  They wrapped everything up with a scripture so I had to just realize that they would look me square in the eye and tell me black was white. And in the course of a year I became a ghost. I had to realize that God gave us freedom--even to be wrong. But all the Branch or the elders or the C.O. or my friends could say was: Faithful and Discreet Slave.

  I creeped me out!

  I went to a counseling session that my oldest daughter paid for... but I knew it was worse than a counselor could do. I wouldn't answer my phone, didn't go where witnesses might be. No meetings. Then it got better once the Branch answered my letter.

  And it was passive aggressive BS. And , it took a few months, a few more meetings with elders that didn't care about Jesus, Jehovah or me. The FDS. Sick.

  I am happier than I have been in my life.
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  61

  What does Jesus do all day anyway?

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  without sounding crass or being impudent or deliberately caustic i'd just like to know one thing.. what does jesus do all day, exactly?.

  is it interesting for him?.

  is it productive?

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  not a captive

  If Jesus had been only a man like any one of us he still would have shown me a better way to live with others than through my helpless sarcasm.
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  77

  If You Still "Had" To Go To Meetings What "Disrespectful" Things Might You Do?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know some who go to meetings because they feel they have to because of family or other considerations.. imagine going to a meeting and having your iphone with you!.

  how would it look if you had a watchtower in your hands along with a tv guide?.

  think about going to a meeting with strong booze breath.. any other suggestions?

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  not a captive

  Sounds like some of the good stuff has been done already
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  77

  If You Still "Had" To Go To Meetings What "Disrespectful" Things Might You Do?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know some who go to meetings because they feel they have to because of family or other considerations.. imagine going to a meeting and having your iphone with you!.

  how would it look if you had a watchtower in your hands along with a tv guide?.

  think about going to a meeting with strong booze breath.. any other suggestions?

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  not a captive

  The last thing I said at a meeting was borderline disrespectful so maybe I'd pick it up from there.

  It's like some have said already---just answer the WTquestions straight -up:

  Over a year ago the WT had a question about how as Christians how we do kindnesses w/o "letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing". I was quiet during the commenting, then couldn't stand all the pious expressions.I was called on. Said that if we ourselves are not paying attention to our Christian actions, then no one should quiz you on why you miss meeting or field service--they should trust that you were taking care of a family matter or helping someone. You shouldn't have to explain your actions to anyone else. They should leave you alone and trust that you are doing what you should.

  The conductor said that he didn't think that that was what the FS had in mind for the paragraph.

  That's when I just had to stop going 'til things got resolved.
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  67

  Growing Up With Violence

  by compound complex in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  it was not a light slam of flesh and bone against a slanting wall of the derelict cabin.. animal rage set its talons upon an unsuspecting, trusting child and sent her hurtling into the air and, upon impact with the splintery cedar paneling, edging downward, painfully downward by a stop-go motion that could hardly be described as sliding.

  landed in a shocked but still breathing heap, she lay quiet until the beast left its lair.

  once out the ill-hung door and into the labyrinthine wood that all but put the tiny speck of four rotting walls safely off the map, mommy went to work.

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  not a captive

  Dear CoCo,

  I just read through this entire thread.There are two things that are overwhelming: the violence against children who have adoring love ready for the people who just don't see them or their love. The other overwhelming thing is the survivors have to recover that unconditional love to find healing--and you each seemed to do it--without bitterness. My husband didn't find that healing for many years.

  He was raised in foster care. He and his little brother were put on a dairy farm. But nobody loved these little boys. One was 6 and the other was 4. They had chores for them inside and out. This was seventy years ago. But even where kids get spankings ,the neighbors don't like to see abuse. There was a lot of abuse--of all sorts.

  My husband says that in his case he made a good head overcome a bad heart. I feel bad when he has said that. I asked him what it means--He says that he has to make himself act better than he feels. But I think that doesn't work so well. I think that love has to heal your heart.

  Sometimes it seems like it is like he can't receive love very well. Its like it rolls off of him. He is 77 years old and we have had seven children together. But it has been crazy alot of the time. I joke about our lives, our eccentricities--nothing is a problem for a family if there is healthy love in it. That has been a struggle for us.

  Finally my husband and I are having a deep, happy reconciliation. And, yes, some of my children have had to get counseling over the years. For a while I got counseling too.

  I must say that leaving behind the rigid and unhealthy life in the WT and dealing as honestly and lovingly as I can with my husband ,remembering the brutal and confusing childhood he went through, helped me not give up on all of us healing together.

  I thank God daily that am free and I can give God and my family the full love and affection without the guilt of always doing the"wrong thing".

  I love you guys.

  Thanks for you quiet little corner conversations, CoCo. I'm learning that there is a lot in your modest posts.
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  23

  Catholic cover-up...The pope and a stench of evil.......(Hitchens says)

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the great catholic cover-upthe pope's entire career has the stench of evil about it.by christopher hitchensposted monday, march 15, 2010, at 10:20 am et.

  pope benedict xvi on march 10, the chief exorcist of the vatican, the rev.

  gabriele amorth (who has held this demanding post for 25 years), was quoted as saying that "the devil is at work inside the vatican," and that "when one speaks of 'the smoke of satan' in the holy rooms, it is all trueincluding these latest stories of violence and pedophilia.

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  not a captive

  Jesus is not in charge of institutions, Terry. I do not subscribe to that definition of ekklesia. It seems to me that Jesus called us out of institutional religion. I don't have anyone killing animals for me anymore.
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  16

  What I don't regret about my experience with JW's

  by tec in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  they taught me to think for myself.. yes, you read that right, and no i'm not being sarcastic.

  if i had walked into the church down the street, i might not ever have walked out.

  i'm sure the doctrines are easier to swallow, and the freedoms are greater.

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  not a captive

  Quandry--You Go Girl! I'm your age. That is impressive--some other poster said a while back that being older and getting out of College gave them an edge job-hunting--Everyone thoght that they had a lot of experience in the field because they were older than the other applicants! Hope it works out.

  Thinking about the good of the JW experience is like the joke

  ---Q.Why is hitting yourself over the head with a 2x4 so great?

  A.It feels so good when you stop!
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  347

  Why do all intelligent Christians disobey Jesus?

  by StoneWall in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-slagzjmdu.

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  not a captive

  For what its worth, Mark 10:21-26 says Jesus loved a young man who rejected a direct invitation to follow Jesus. The account recognized that the young man rejected the opportunity to be "saved".