Timothy T,, exactly,, you are right,, that is the whole issue we "Do Not put our trust in earthling man" including those who claim to interpert to us What Gods promises are. The point I was making of course is these "Men of Faith" GB F&DS have failed in the past understanding what gods timing and purpose is. So what conclsuion should thinking people come up with. Conclusion: the bible tells us "Do Not put your trust in earthling man" this would include the GB F&DS, they are earthling man last I checked.
Lets Think
JoinedPosts by Lets Think
-
8
This Weeks Watchtower Study
by Lets Think inso paragraph 5 of todays watchtower says: people with faith see clearly the difference between the baseless claims of men and the sacred promises of jehovah god.
then i thought of every pre 1995 awake inside cover page in the box where it say why the awake is published; where it says:.
most important, this magazine builds confidence in the creators promise of a peaceful and secure new world before the generation that saw the events of 1914 passes away.. .
-
8
This Weeks Watchtower Study
by Lets Think inso paragraph 5 of todays watchtower says: people with faith see clearly the difference between the baseless claims of men and the sacred promises of jehovah god.
then i thought of every pre 1995 awake inside cover page in the box where it say why the awake is published; where it says:.
most important, this magazine builds confidence in the creators promise of a peaceful and secure new world before the generation that saw the events of 1914 passes away.. .
-
Lets Think
So Paragraph 5 of today’s Watchtower says: “People with faith see clearly the difference between the baseless claims of men and the sacred promises of Jehovah God”
Then I thought of every pre 1995 Awake inside cover page in the box where it say Why the Awake is Published; Where it says:
Most important, this magazine build’s confidence in the Creators promise of a peaceful and secure new world before the generation that saw the events of 1914 passes away.
So this got be thinking are they people of Faith? Do they know what Gods promises are? Then I realized that I need an MRI because clearly to be thinking these things I must be diseased mentally as next weeks article points out.
Is it just me?
-
33
The (study) WT November 2011 Makes Me Puke !
by Hairyhegoat inthis study edition is an absolute attack on kids going to higher education, and you all are getting too cosy at home with your sky tv and the internet, get out on the doors you idle dogs.. oh and if you have a good job already you could not be putting the kingdum first !.
here is some of the crap in the mag, and the article temporary residents in a wicked world.. 10. .
in view of the imminent end of the present system of things, as jehovahs servants.
-
Lets Think
Vigilant Christians get a university education and as much education as possible.!!!
Why because they are Tue Christians and follow what the Bible says on education.
If through education we can help people in a full way we do it. See Prov. 3:27
The Bible supports being Skilled. See Proverbs 22:29
It will make us better able to provide for our family. See 1 Tim. 5:8
God used those that were highly educated, when God and Jesus had a choice to pick someone to work out there purpose they chose the well educated. EG: Luke, Paul, Moses, Daniel etc…..
True Christians like the Boreans see what the bible has to say on the subject of education
News Flash GB the Bible condemns your position on education
-
81
Here i am....
by makersmark inhere i am - born in truth, hard-core spiritual everything all my life, early reg.pioneer, ms, elder, assembly parts, tour at bethel, etc, married now...... i'm trying to examine jw teachings a little closer...... i've spent the last two weeks reading many many posts, info , references on where ex-jw's are coming from.
i'm kind of concerned about a few things lately..... honestly - some points make sense to me - some don't - here are my general thoughts:.
-wt getting un membership for access to library - doesnt bother me - some passports and other governement documents have similar forms and requirements..... -blood issue - some counterpoints to the jw 'rules' makes sense (original intent of scripture is unbled animals, white blood cells similar in mothers milk) etc -however a lot of 'apostate' reasonings and proof are inaccurate.
-
Lets Think
Welcome Makersmark
I agree with nearly all your post. I am still an active Witness but resigned as an elder six months ago after thirty years of serving.
Biggest Issue: Same as you, Generation change and overlap, to me it makes us look like nutters. Now a new dead line; those who are overlapers will by no means pass away before the end comes!! (how many dealines do we have to blow through, before we all say enough? 1914 no longer makes senes. If no one is alive that saw the events of 1914 it is not really relevent. Plus the world was worse in the 100 years before 1914 then the 100 after. I would rather live now then anytime in the 1800's.
I wish we would just drop anything to do with dates and end is nigh talk.
My seond biggest issue in the JW stand on education. This is just plan wrong on many levels.
1)Not supported by the bible. (unless you want to do a crazy spin job)
2) Hypocritical: Please,,, see if you get a call from bethel if you are an engineer, doctor, dentist etc...
3) Only those trying to oppress limit education. Truth is not afraid of higher learning.
4) None of there bisiness what the R&F may decide on this. If the bible does not have a clear ruling stay out of it. I have a son in High School he is going on to Higher Education, i saved them the trouble of deleting me. They are just going to lose a lot of elders.
This leads to my question what do you think of the GBs stand on education?
-
4
Watchtower study for week of Feb. 7, 2011
by FrankWTower inthis past weekend a quote from the wt study caught my eye.
it can be found on paragraph 14 of the article.. "however, worsening world conditions have caused many to respond when shown that alienation fromgod is at the root of human evil and suffering.".
i'm just focusing on the first par that says the world is getting worse.
-
Lets Think
In 1914 Satan was hurled down to earth having a short period of time.
So let’s see….. Before 1914 life expectancy was short, medical science was poor. In the 1800’s a large percentage of children died at birth or did not make it to 18. Children as young as six worked in coal mines legally. Child Labour was legal, Children had no rights, women had no rights, no vote no property rights. 95% of black women in the USA worked as servants, early 1800’s as slaves. Food killed you, bad water killed you, lead killed you. There were no government inspections of food or really anything. If your wife made you mad you could beat her legally.
Try going to a dentist in the 1800’s, try having an operation. Got an infection, looks like you are going to die. No antibiotics. Poor lived in squalor, no electricity, no social safety net. Your crop fails, you die. War’s rage Taiping Rebellion in China kills more then the first world war over 20 million (did you know that) European wars kill millions. The American Civil war kills more Americans than have died in every war since put together. Life was especially bad if you were, Chinese, Black, a women or any race other than white. Yes life changed in 1914, it only broke up the party that rich white men were having.
So lets see then Satan was hurled down and what did he do:
Got in there and forced the issue on slavery banning it as best he could worldwide
Tried his best to make most nations see that all races are equal in the sight of God
He helped elect a black President
He brought in women’s rights
He doubled life expectancy worldwide
He helped make huge advancements in medicine
He tried to stamp out child Labour
The percentage (as to the whole earth population) of those without food is about the lowest in history.
He made all the worlds’ knowledge available to everyone by means of the internet, not just the rich.
He is a freak about safety, brought in food safety standards, child car seats, airbags, air travel safety regulations, safe cribs, mine safety standards, work place safety standards and he keeps insisting on more safety. It’s to the point that less children and adults die due to accidents today then anytime since records were kept.
(If you doubt any of this, please research what it would be like for you in the early 1800’s if you were a black women, pregnant, poor, in need of medical attention,, I could go on and on.)
Fact is your average person today lives better then Kings and Queens did 150 years ago.
Does this make sense Satan came to earth and started to rule in 1914 and he did What?
Doubled you chance of leading a full happy life and living to old age?
Were things better in the 1600’s, 1700’s and 1800’s without Satan’s influence?
The whole theory simply does not work.
Wobble / Lore I Agree with you,, this is somthing i posted two months ago -
139
Some observations from the KM Elder School I wanted to share with you.
by miseryloveselders inmy school was a couple weeks back, and it was interesting to a degree.
to be honest with you, it reminded me of a police crime scene investigation with yellow tape.
what i mean is, in one respect it was business as usual.
-
Lets Think
Hi Misery
Loved your post. I resigned as an elder three months ago. I have a son in High School, we have saved money for his education. As the GB has taken a stronger stance against education, the more turned off I got. Last year at our elders meeting with the CO he read in his outline that an Elders qualifacations would be questioned if thier son or daughter received higher education I thought thats it,, I can't support this. (plus overlap crap, and other nutter stuff) Also i could not bear another Elders school and the feeling of being a double agent. They just don't get it its not there right or Job to put limits on anyones right to become what they want to be Doctor, Lawyer or whatever. The bible does NOT support limiting education. The GB is losing those that think, and those who learn critical thinking give them grief. Fact is truth can stand critical thinking,,,unless,,, some things are not true at all and maybe made up? Could that be mmmmmmmmmmm.
-
42
Is the World really getting worse?
by Nickolas ina fundamental platform of the watchtower bible and tract society, from which its fearsome prognostications are launched, is the inexorable deterioration of the world.
the world is becoming a less and less hospitable place in which to live.
it seems with news of every earthquake, every natural catastrophe, every epidemic, every atrocity, and every disaster manmade or otherwise, there is the inevitable shaking of the finger and stern proclamation, "see?
-
Lets Think
I beleive the world is a much better place now. Note portions of some of past posts on this:
This all lead me down another road of “personal” study. What about the worsening world conditions does that not prove we are in the time of the end? I went to a two day elder’s school they had a demo how to deal with someone who doubted the time of the end. We were to ask them are things getting better or worse as you look around the world. They of course say worse, and then Joe Elder say’s see we are at the end of the last days. All simple and clear cut. I had just been NYC and walked through central park at night, never felt safer. Murder rate in NYC in the late 70’s and 80’s was 1500 a year now 500 a year. Getting better? Violent crime way down! I went to the lower east side Tenement museum in NYC. (Well worth it by the way) Conditions for the average person in the 1800 really really sucked, infant mortality terrible, I could go on and on. We are taught the WW1 ushered a time of death and violence. That we are living in the wickedest and most turbulent time in world history. This is absolutely untrue. The only way you could think that we are living in the worst time in human history is if you had little or no knowledge of history. Interesting that there were deadlier wars then WW1 in the 1800’s Wikipedia say 15 million died in WW1 but in the supposed peaceful 1800’s 20 million died in the Taiping Rebellion. (Or do we just count European wars) More Americans died in the civil war then every war put together since the civil war. If you still have doubts about this, here is some recommended reading.
It's getting better all the time : 100 greatest trends of the last 100 years. by
Stephen Moore , Julian Lincoln Simon
The new Bill Bryson book “At Home” What life was like for the average person 1800’s.
“Before the Dawn” By Nicholas Wade
Maybe you think the Morals are in big decline please read.
The Way we never Were. By Stephanie Coontz.
I think you get the point of how I feel.
-
18
1914 - What is the importance of this date?
by sabastious in"we don't live for dates".
i have heard this a lot in my lifetime when witnesses get approached with any critical thinking of the 1914 year date.. this sounds good, at face value, but it's so disconcerting to hear them minimize this date when they will jump all over it as "proof" of their organization's divinity.. without dates such as 1914 societies like the watchtower simply would not exist.
the watchtower needed these dates to anticipate and use as selling points.. remember, before 1914 there were not very many witnesses.
-
Lets Think
In 1914 Satan was hurled down to earth having a short period of time.
So let’s see….. Before 1914 life expectancy was short, medical science was poor. In the 1800’s a large percentage of children died at birth or did not make it to 18. Children as young as six worked in coal mines legally. Child Labour was legal, Children had no rights, women had no rights, no vote no property rights. 95% of black women in the USA worked as servants, early 1800’s as slaves. Food killed you, bad water killed you, lead killed you. There were no government inspections of food or really anything. If your wife made you mad you could beat her legally.
Try going to a dentist in the 1800’s, try having an operation. Got an infection, looks like you are going to die. No antibiotics. Poor lived in squalor, no electricity, no social safety net. Your crop fails, you die. War’s rage Taiping Rebellion in China kills more then the first world war over 20 million (did you know that) European wars kill millions. The American Civil war kills more Americans than have died in every war since put together. Life was especially bad if you were, Chinese, Black, a women or any race other than white. Yes life changed in 1914, it only broke up the party that rich white men were having.
So lets see then Satan was hurled down and what did he do:
Got in there and forced the issue on slavery banning it as best he could worldwide
Tried his best to make most nations see that all races are equal in the sight of God
He helped elect a black President
He brought in women’s rights
He doubled life expectancy worldwide
He helped make huge advancements in medicine
He tried to stamp out child Labour
The percentage (as to the whole earth population) of those without food is about the lowest in history.
He made all the worlds’ knowledge available to everyone by means of the internet, not just the rich.
He is a freak about safety, brought in food safety standards, child car seats, airbags, air travel safety regulations, safe cribs, mine safety standards, work place safety standards and he keeps insisting on more safety. It’s to the point that less children and adults die due to accidents today then anytime since records were kept.
(If you doubt any of this, please research what it would be like for you in the early 1800’s if you were a black women, pregnant, poor, in need of medical attention,, I could go on and on.)
Fact is your average person today lives better then Kings and Queens did 150 years ago.
Does this make sense Satan came to earth and started to rule in 1914 and he did What?
Doubled you chance of leading a full happy life and living to old age?
Were things better in the 1600’s, 1700’s and 1800’s without Satan’s influence?
The whole theory simply does not work.
-
40
The Society, having lost its younger generation, now appears to be doing its darndest to lose the older ones as well
by sir82 infrom all the "annual general meeting" notes floating around, one quotation stands out in particular:.
many older ones already are telling the younger ones how they regretted not getting an education, pursuing a lucrative career, saving up money or not having a retirement plan.
the sad truth is that such ones are like the murmurers of israel when coming out of egypt.. what does this remark tell us?.
-
Lets Think
Good one Billy. That is the truth.
Metatron that is where I am at ,as a just resigned elder. I am not going to fight things, just chill and back off. I tried fighting things, does not work, there is an extreme need to have aboslute unity. So what has happened is the extremeists have control, moderate Or liberal elders get pushed out. The extremeists promote only the extreme and on it goes..... those who even point out things out that are true and accurate like i was told that i would not get old,, are branded as rebels.
What has driven me crazy is facts are branded as evil. I once told a few publishers that Violent crime has been going down for the last 20 years (in the USA) and this should make us think about really where we are in the stream of time. A fellow elder got wind of that and said I had apostate leanings. Can't win.
Things are getting worse every day don't you know, please do not bring up facts.
-
44
According to the WT Study this past Sunday, questioning the Slave is equivalent to questioning God & Jesus.
by miseryloveselders ini didn't see if blondie did a wt review or not, but i wondered if anybody else caught this?
paragraph 15.. .
sadly, though, some have become casual or even cynical about reminders concerning the need to stay awake.
-
Lets Think
What is completely lost sight of in FDS’s rant in paragraph 15 page 6 July 15 th Watchtower is the fact the many do not have an issue with the FDS keeping on the watch. Matt 24:42 or keeping Jehovah’s day close in mind 2Pet 3:11. It’s not at all that some have “become cynical about the reminders concerning the need to stay awake”. It’s the fact that they have told us for decades that the end is imminent, very soon etc. It’s the fact that deadlines have been made and blown through. Keeping on “The Watch” is a fairly quiet job. A watchman does not stand on the walls of the castle screaming I see the infidel’s I see the infidel’s they are coming and then have nothing happen. They don’t say the infidels will attack before my grandmother dies. Or the infidels will attack before someone who met my grandmother when she was very old will die.
What we have heard “For Decades” is the statements, inferences and deadlines that the end is months away and that they have special knowledge. So the Decades go by and we wake up and go, you don’t have a clue when the end is coming and the bible even tells us you would not have a clue.
Its not god and Jesus being criticized , they did not make deadlines, or make promises on timing. It was not god and Jesus that told my now dead grandparents that they would not die in is system, that I would not finish high school. I so wish they would just say look, we are unsure of the timing of events we are really sorry that we have mislead so many of you on this, we will just leave it Gods hands.