Posts by Hoffnung

207

Honest Questions About Child Abuse

by Richard Oliver in

i have two honest questions for everyone here.

i understand that most here want retribution from the courts against watchtower for child abuse allegations.

but let us take away the instances where someone was accused of child abuse and then later put back into a position of authority, such as an elder or an ms. let us just take the cases where a regular publisher or even an appointed person, with no previous accusation of child abuse has come up against that person.

Hoffnung

Let s keep our heads cool. The subject is very important.

28

Fading or Disassociating

by Saethydd in

hello, i'm new here.. i'm a college student who has been raised in the "truth" for my entire life.

i was baptized at 10 years old, and looking back now i know i didn't fully grasp everything involved, for one thing i don't even recall ever going to jehovah in a special prayer to dedicate myself to him, but anyway that's the past and my focus is really on the present.

i'm currently pursuing an associates degree, but i find myself desiring to pursue a bachelors in my chosen field so that i may have a somewhat more secure future.

Hoffnung

Getting reinstated and fading worked out fine for me. it takes a lot of self control though, not fall in loyalty trap questions though. If you choose this road, prepare for ways to deflect awkward questions. Keeping contact with your family makes it worthwhile. Something you should remember.

13

Would crime rate go up if we were 100% positive this is the only life???

by James Mixon in

no resurrection, no 70 virgins, no 7 millions jw's living for thousand of years, no coming.

back as dog or cat you are dead and done..

Hoffnung

High crime rates are always related to high poverty. If you reduce poverty, crime rates will drop too

73

organization obsesion

by Richard C B in

why are you guys so obsessed with organizations?

there has to be order in the world and organised people!

Hoffnung

Watchtower is wielding its power by means of the organization. The jw.org, and before that 'the society', is the holy cow, way more important than god or christ. The original church was not centrally organized. Hence the watchtower model is in discrepancy with what it claims to be in its very foundations

40

Terrorist attack in Belgium

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

check the news.

there was a terrorist attack in brussells, couple of bombs detonated in the brussell airport and the metro.. 36 dead so far.. i send my sincerest condolences to the people of belgium.. the motive seems to be revenge for the capture of the last surviving member of the paris terrorist attacks..

Hoffnung

They allowed radical imams financed by Saudi oil money to unleash their views upon young, jobless men from north-African descent without any future.

21

Why dont you go to the memorial?

by atomant in

l guess we all have our own reasons and thought it would give insight to others considering going to reconsider and not go.

Hoffnung

We have done so much effort to accomplish a successful fade, we are really enjoying the freedoms, so I am not going to put myself on the radar of the elders again.

Further I already considered the memorial ceremony completely incorrect, even when I was still in. They ignore Jesus command to eat and drink, and the symbolic they use actually shows they refuse to partake, thereby excluding themselves from salvation. Further it is entirely used to promote a 2 class system and an earthly paradise, an idea that is not supported by anything that was taught in the Greek Scriptures.

And I don't want to give anyone of our family the slightest hope we will come back, we have finally convinced them that we will not return and have a happy life outside of the witnesses

32

Self-Driving vehicles and delivery robots - why?

by FadeToBlack in

i saw a 'news' article today about pizza hut (i think) delivering pizzas via a robotic vehicle in nz.

also another article headline saying it is not a question of if, but when.

my immediate thought was, why?

Hoffnung

Automatic cars indeed will probably be much safer. Drivers in public transportation might also be replaced by remote supervisors, similar to how the air force pilots are flying drones. and corporations have no intent in preservation of low end jobs, that is a worry for politicians. and for witnesses who are strongly admonished to miss out on university education

13

Forgiveness Yesterday, Today and Forever

by Cold Steel in

i was just watching the jw broadcasting network and the topic being discussed was forgiveness.

the fellow presenting the topic was talking a brother who had sinned many years ago.

he finally came clean with the local elders, accepted his discipline and got on with his life.

Hoffnung

There are people who need to unload their conscience and there are others who do not have this need. The watchtower likes to misuse this need to establish their power. Honestly, if you have something on your chest, it is way better to confide in a trustworthy friend than onto elders who are instructed to retaliate if you do not behave like a sheep.

And yes, the witnesses baptize convicted and suspected murderers. They have special assigned brothers who study with prisoners.

475

What is the alternative to JW?

by Formerbrother in

i mean this with all due respect, i would like to hear from genuine people who think jw have it wrong and then what is the truth?.

im not talking about silly little quibbles here and there.. is jehovah real?

the the bible is word?

Hoffnung

The most complete answer to the 'where else to go' question is written by Ray Franz in 'in search for christian freedom. Entirely in agreement with the bible.

The belief system that Jesus founded was existing out of loosely connected churches (or congregations if you like), and no centralized organization. So if you are looking for a 'true' religion as per the bible, it must be a hard to notice group. The churches mentioned in the bible were not uniform in their beliefs and their acts, however Jesus did not condemn them for this, neither did Paul. There is a framework that needs to be the same (Jesus as messiah, gave his life for us,...) others are optional. However both Jesus and Paul also showed the options have boundaries, such as sleeping with your fathers wife is not to be tolerated.

their most outstanding mark should be love amongst themselves and love for their fellowmen, NOT the preaching work. That's what the bible says. If you are looking for a group that is known for their preaching, automatically that won't be the right one. Neither Jesus, his disciples, apostles, or Paul went EVER from door to door. And if you have ever been to the middle east, you will immediately know why: it would make you look as if you are trying to hide something. If you want to attract an audience out there, you have to go to the market place or square, and start talking. If there are people interested they will invite you to their own house. If you take the emphatic diaglott (published by the Watchtower) you will find that in the original Greek text, there is no support for the Watchtowers way of preaching. So then using this way of preaching as your touchstone, you will never find the 'true religion'

25

Has a 'Christian' ever murdered somebody?

by goddidit in

a jw made the claim "no christian [jw] has ever murdered anyone".. when i showed examples of such, the goalposts moved a bit with "was he a baptized, dedicated witness?".

can anyone provide examples of murders committed by "baptized, dedicated" jws?.

thanks.

Hoffnung

Roughly 5 years ago a brother got stabbed to death by another brother in a kingdom hall in Germany. the congregation is close to bethel, and at least one bethelite was present at the occurrence. The killer committed suicide the same day