i am back from my trip home.. .
i have brought back with me three pieces of jw lit given to me by my stepmother: bible teach, was life created & the origin of life.. .
i didn't get much time to discuss religion with my stepmother, as i was pretty busy running around catching up with people.. .
Hi Tuber!
Are you close to your little sisters? When you visit, make time for them, take them out and exchange email addresses or phone numbers.
However it goes with you stepmother, they will need an alternative viewpoint and someone "outside" they can trust. Or turn to, if ever they get baptised and then decide to leave. Remember less than half the born-in young people stick with it these days.
Retro
i was thinking it would be helpful if we put together a wt lexicon for those that are not too familiar with wt terminology.
it's important for them to understand these theocratic expressions so that they too can understand and speak the "pure language" of truth.
- zeph.
Welcome, man oh man!
Philosophers - enemies of the truth
Apostates - enemies of the truth
Free thinkers - enemies of the truth
Thanks, Mankkeli, from here
Opposers - enemies of the truth
isn't it depressing to believe that this is all there is to life?, an elder told me today that philosophers, apostates, free thinkers and many other enemies of the truth alike do not offer any hope for the future.
but this is the only organisation offering the hope.. what do you think?, the thought of living for just 70 or 80 yrs and not returning back is very depressing or do some other line of reasonings offer any hope?.
i am just curious..
An elder told me today that philosophers, apostates, free thinkers and many other enemies of the truth alike do not offer any hope for the future. But this is the only organisation offering the hope.
As others have pointed out, the second sentence is not true. How is telling untruths consistent with the Bible?
"enemies of the truth" is name calling; ad-hominem. How is that consistent with the Golden Rule in the Bible?
Hope for the future. The future is in God's hands (if/however you believe in God). If God is our loving father, all we need to do is love, trust and live happily in the present. Where did you lose your faith? When did the elder lose his faith? Have any jws real faith?
the co is at my husbands hall this week so i tied in to the meeting he was going on and on about how there are 140 elders in the circuit and only 80 something ms's.
of the elders 25 are over 75 years old.
of the ms's it was about 20 are over 75 years old.
Just wanted to say hello and welcome to isojourn (on p2 of this thread)
It is so obvious they are desperate. My 78 year father (who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s over 6 years ago) was appointed elder over a month ago. Scary, but mostly sad.
That's a worry for you! Hope he's coping with the workload.
Retro
i enjoyed reading the bible and my favourite was an asv i purchased at an a$$emby.. however, when i wanted to bone up on a passage or verse, i'd look at the insight or watchtowers and found the wtb$ really did ruin my enjoyment when they explained what i was reading.
i think it must have been the self serving spin the wtb$ put on the scriptures!.
anyone else get this and can comment why this happened?.
I'd always enjoyed reading the KJV so the watchtower phrases grated on me. I'm not a bible scholar so cannot say about accuracy . . but "till time indefinite" and "taking in accurate knowledge" etc sound so dreary. Added to that the smug way they were pointed out,(perhaps you didn't know, but... ) it really diminished the Bible for that "study" session.
And what NRFG said - they were always right. If another verse seemed to contradict, it was "allegorical". No exploration, no scholarly sources, no debate. Sad.
i was thinking it would be helpful if we put together a wt lexicon for those that are not too familiar with wt terminology.
it's important for them to understand these theocratic expressions so that they too can understand and speak the "pure language" of truth.
- zeph.
Bible Study - Puppy training
i don't believe in the bible either, but i'm just curious as to why others don't.
ridiculous misogyny and mass murder by a petty little god are two reasons for me.
(ilovehigh-lighting) .
Because its about an all-powerful, loving, vengeful, jealous, ineffective God who can't tell a straight story, let alone prophesy.
Right, just read your last post. Perhaps educate yourself about the crazy beliefs of this "religion", and then join your husband and the elders, and just ask a few questions. that's all it takes. The beliefs are quite impossible to defend.
Expect a lot of complicated replies that are not answers, but change the topic, want to know why you are asking, etc. . .Keep returning to the original question and don't let them off.
The later, with your husband, express disappointment, and say you really wanted to understand. The idea is to get him wondering and perhaps researching. . .
Good luck
Welcome, NY23brown!
Like you, I've never been a jw. My former SIL is, and over the years has made many attempts to convert me. More importantly, her religion was the major factor in wrecking their marriage, although both tried their hardest to stay together for the children.
The trouble is that compromise with jws is never an option. They have the "truth" ( ) and we worldlies do not. And they are trained to put compliance with their elders well ahead of family ties.
Is your husband completely certain that it is not "the truth"? If he has the least uncertainty, you'll be recommended excellent books here, including those of Ray Franz. I'll just recommend that you both thoroughly check out jwfacts.
You can best protect your family by limiting involvement with your in-laws, and ensuring that your husband is not vulnerable to the attempts to get him back in.
And very well done for standing up for your child!
Keep reading and posting, Retro
hey all :) i'm new to this website, just happened to of stumbled across it and learning lots from all of your posts!
i just need a bit of guidance, not for my self but for my boyfriend.
i myself have never been a jw but he has grown up in "the truth" and recently realized the real truth ;) both his mom, his dad, his step mom, and step dad are all witnesses and try to bring him back continuously, even though he has only gone to the odd meeting or 2 in the past 3 years.
Hi and welcome, manda-xo!
I'm a non-jw with some friends and family in, and cannot even maintain regular contact with my two jw "friends", so don't know how helpful I can be.
I'd say whether your BF can maintain contact with his jw family will depend mostly on how hardline they are, rather than on him. This religion is quite effective at breaking up families, unfortunately!
Perhaps geographic distance could help; if his family doesn't constantly see him living a non-jw life it might be less of an irritant.
Most importantly, if you plan a future together, make sure he is really free of jw thinking and there is no danger of him reverting to the religion he grew up in. Keep reading here and you'll see exactly why. It's important that you understand the issues also.
Best wishes, and hope you stay around, Retro
