Posts by Vanderhoven7

13

NWT released in modern Hebrew

by Wonderment in

on february 21, 2020, the wt society made the announcement in their website of the release of the new world translation in modern hebrew (hebrew scriptures - "tanakh") in haifa, israel.

now, the complete nwt is available in modern hebrew.. some time ago, a poster here said that releasing (in theory, i.e.

) the hebrew bible in a modern version, such as the nwt, would be irrational.

Please help

by Dano3456 in

jw
friends

my wife and i are not religious nor do we want to be.

we are very set in our spiritual beliefs.

we have worked with a jw who's family have been like a part of our family for 6 years.

Vanderhoven7

No more baby sitting services for a start.

55

Circuit Overseer to Answer My Questions + Concerns...or Not

by Research in

hello all, i'm 'researching', a jw who is in the first steps of taking a look at their beliefs.. i've semi-recently (about a couple weeks ago) heard about the sexual abuse cases (pennsylvania attorney general’s investigation request) and then the arc in 2015. this lead to a deep investigation, which lead to many questions arising.

a jw friend of mine suggested i be careful (due to apostates) and ask the brothers.

so i typed up my questions + concerns and emailed an elder my mother has known for a long time.

Vanderhoven7

What Cofty et al said.

Researching outside of the cult is a no no in and of itself. I'm afraid you are setting yourself up for loss through your honest questions. Glad that your dad is not a Witness and that he will stand up for you.

46

Believers: How do you know your view of your chosen holy book is the correct one?

by punkofnice in

don't start fighting, darlings.

i am genuinely curious.

after all i was a jobo 50 years and thought the wbt$ was 100% correct.. i ask this because i see that, for example, christian denominations (or whatever), likely have differing interpretations of the same writing.

Vanderhoven7

As I see it, and probably as I've said before on this forum, I don't believe there are over 4000 religions. I believe there are just 2...and even that is not completely true. The 2 religions are , "Do" and "Done".

All religions are "Do" while Christianity is "Done".

Religion is man's attempt to find, please, placate, God or gods. Do religion offers no assurance. One never knows if one is good enough, ones works are meritous enough to outweigh our sins and misdeeds of the past. Do religion is "I hope I make it religion". Essentially we save ourselves by our own efforts.

Christianity on the other hand is done; his death and resurrection, his work on our behalf, are completely adequate to save, to sanctify and heal us and overwhelm us with the fact that we are loved and secure eternally despite our past. Our response to this grace is love out of a pure heart, and joy unspeakable. God becomes our Father and Jesus our Friend and Lord.

37

"Do you believe that the 'faithful slave' is God's channel of communication?"

by The Fall Guy in

if a jw had the nerve to ask me this question, i'd say to them, "you go first.

using only scriptural proof, show me why you believe that the wtbts/ccojw is god's choice and i'll tell you if i agree with your scriptural reasoning.".

wait for the silence and the rabbit in the headlights moment.. i searched on the wt cd rom for references of "channel of communication.".

Vanderhoven7

Right on. The alleged FDS in 1919 had no clue of such appointment. They were teaching that Pastor Russell was that slave....right up to 1931 when Rutherford changed it back to the 144,000.

Good questions to ask JWs

Can you name the original members Jesus appointed?

How do you know they were appointed when they didn't know themselves?

On what bases were they selected?

Who told you these men were selected?

How do you know this mandate was passed on to WT leaders right up to the present?

15

Is Jesus Christ Your Mediator? Watchtower's Position is Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit!

by RottenRiley in

2. p. 363; emphasis added) .

(ibid., p. 362; emphasis added) .. to say jesus is mediator only for the 144,000 is actually to deny the possibility of forgiveness of sins for any others.

; emphasis added) .

Vanderhoven7

In effect, a publishing house becomes the mediator of 99% of Watchtower believers today. But are there quotations from Watchtower literature that say this specifically?

12

Marital sex

by Tedeily in

my wife and i have always shared naked photos respectfully over the years.

being the only thing to fill that void in our relationship due to being apart.

recently my wife has become jehovah, and we’re not sure if my wife is allowed to respectfully share herself with me while i am away.

Vanderhoven7

Don't think the elders would support sexting even between married couples. If they get wind of this they might want to thoroughly investigate the matter. But on the positive side, at least you have a backlog of prior photos to review.

40

Double Standards of the Watchtower

by Vanderhoven7 in

are you aware of any double standards promoted by the organization of jehovah's witnesses?

here a a few i am aware of:.

1. the wts equated joining the ymca with apostasy but felt free to join the un for 10 years (1991-2001).

Vanderhoven7

JWs readily assume reports of widespread child abuse in other churches are true while rejecting as persecution....reports of widespread child abuse amongst Jehovah's Witnesses.

28

Do You Support Police and Law Enforcement?

by minimus in

jw
friends

recently black lives matter representatives have encouraged people to spit in law enforcement officials foods.

some people are going into police stations and trying to kill innocent officers.

federal officials are marked for death because they try to administer the law.. what is your opinion of this type of lawlessness?.

Vanderhoven7

We find out how much better we are off when police go on strike for a day or two.

13

I want to try something new, any ideas?

by Tameria2001 in

normally when jws come to my door, i very quickly tell them i'm not interested in the jws.

and for about a year or so they don't come until that time passes.

well, they came by today, but this time i decided to not tell them to go away but had a nice conversation with the two that were at my door.

Vanderhoven7

I try to start with personal experience. I tell them I graduated from high school in 1968. I asked a JW student before graduating what his plans after high school were. He told me there was not enough time to get a college degree and that if I did not become a JW by 1975 I would be destroyed at Armageddon. I told him he would wake up in 1976 with egg all over his face.

Then the jws usually start fumbling about how some individuals carried things too far. That's when I would ask why JWs were looking forward to 1975? Why were jws lauded for selling their homes in the late 60's and students warned it would be dangerous to pursue post secondary education?

In Watchtower literature, wasn't there an historic pattern of prophetic speculation and false predictions about the end of the world? 1914, 1918, 1925 and the millions campaign where millions were promised to survive into the new system in 1926...

Do Witnesses still believe that many of those who saw the events of 1914 will still be around to witness the inauguration of the new system of things? Weren't JWs saying that such was God's promise. Awake masthead 1980 - 1995.

Do you think those who trusted Harold Camping should have continued to put their faith in him if he came up another sure date after his first prediction was totally off base? Of course not... so how do you expect me to put my trust in incompetent men in New York who claim to be led of God but have no idea what they are talking about?