Welcome TS12 - I enjoyed your post. See you around the board!
Cult Classic
i am a third generation of jehovah witnesses, even if i never got baptized.
however, they disfellowship me when i was around 15. this was around 1987. even if i have not been in the "truth" for so many years it has affected all my life in many ways not only negative.
a couple of years ago i thought the events in the world maybe proved to me that they were right after all.
Welcome TS12 - I enjoyed your post. See you around the board!
Cult Classic
any 'proof' or quotes or experiences one way or other.
.
You know this has got me thinking back.
I learned of the situation when a mutual friend of the couple and myself were talking. She was catching me up on all the gossip and told me about the situation. The wife and my friend were actually good friends. They were bridesmaids in each other's weddings. I remember being shocked at how angry she was that the couple were questioning the blood teaching. Now this lady is a very liberal JW. And it totally took my breath away at how much venom she had in her voice about the situation. I remember her saying, "And I just know he took a blood transfusion. They are going to pay for this."
Crazy huh?
any 'proof' or quotes or experiences one way or other.
.
There was a "brother" in our area who received a transfusion about 11 yrs. ago. He was battling leukemia and some other disorder. His prognosis wasn't good. It seemed he got better overnight. So the "friends" assumed he'd taken blood. It became "common knowledge" that he had accepted a blood transfusion. And neither he nor his wife denied it when asked.
No announcement was ever made. But they were blacklisted so badly in their congregation/circuit that they just stopped coming. In effect they were disfellowshipped.
edited to add: I do remember the couple starting to question the blood doctrine openly with close friends. These friends in turn told the elders that they were questioning the doctrine, so when he got better the assumption was he'd taken blood.
I just remembered that part of the story. I was sad when I saw them out shopping one day. I hadn't seen them in years and I waved to the wife and she turned away........ I'm sure the whole situation really caused them pain.
man, i did it again in messing up my post.
anyway, after reading many exjw responses to questions from posters, i see there is a wide variety of opinions on faith and religion in general such as still believing that there is a god to no belief in god at all.
for those of you who still believe that there is a god, i'd like to know whether or not you still believe in the doctrines of the watchtower, but you just don't believe that it is gods "only true religion"?.
No. And that's no big deal because their teachings change like the wind.
no tv.. no radio.. no internet.. no daily newspaper.. how did a pre-technology world get information?.
word-of-mouth.. rumor.. visiting strangers.. commerce.. the stories of jesus were oral urban legends that probably began this way:.
"hey did you hear about that rabbi in jerusalem who could walk on top of water?".
Thinking about my post above. Since the Bible isn't one continuous story but rather a compilation of books I guess I'm asking the wrong questions, huh?
No, if it's God's word he could just start another book. Then we'd have to verify its authenticity too. Guess we'd better stick with what we've got.... lol
for me, it's the pm system.. sylvia.
you guys are so funny. I love the board. I agree about the pm system and it would be nice to be able to see where you left off. trying to navigate when you come back in to your last post is time consuming. But I've found that to be the case on a lot of boards.
no tv.. no radio.. no internet.. no daily newspaper.. how did a pre-technology world get information?.
word-of-mouth.. rumor.. visiting strangers.. commerce.. the stories of jesus were oral urban legends that probably began this way:.
"hey did you hear about that rabbi in jerusalem who could walk on top of water?".
Good post Terry. I've asked that same question PSac. What was so special about the time periods covered in the bible? Did God get tired of talking/inspiring? He can't talk to just one other sane person and keep the wheel rolling? Not really feeling the Bible thing.
has anyone ever felt the presence of demons in the past?a lot of jws have told me that they had or got beaten,heard voices,whispers etc.is it true?.
I have never had a demonic/satanic experience. I have heard lots of stories like everyone else.
When humans come together after a disaster (like say 9/11) and demonstrate enormous love and compassion, rarely do we attribute that to the angels or God. So I conclude that when humans come together and demonstrate enormous hate and selfishness, we shouldn't blame the evil deeds on the demons or Satan. We can't have it both ways.
As far as odd off-the-wall experiences, I'm not sure of the cause. I don't discredit these types of experiences. I'm just a huge skeptic and have lots of questions. I tend to lean towards the good energy/bad energy explanation also.
I've had that reaction a few times myself....... lol. don't worry we'll be here when you get back.
hello..i have been lurking for quite some time and am finally ready to make my first post!.
i was raised a witness and am still "active" in the congregation and am married to husband who is also and have been having some doubts for some time and voiced some of them to my husband a few months back and he immediatly called the elders who provided a sheparding call.
doubts were mainly on the harshness of the disfellowshipping and the blood issue.
welcome lostinnj83,
You're in a tough position. Having close family in is very challenging. You will get lots of good advice here. I think the main thing is to proceed with caution. It is so unfair that your mom won't talk with you as a mother should. Mine hasn't either. The JWs do not show unconditional love to their family and friends.That is the harsh reality.
I think it's important to decide which relationships are important for you to save before you make any major decisions. Then decide how much you are willing to sacrifice in order to preserve them. This will take some time. You'll be getting lots of good feedback soon. So I'll bow out for now.