Great introduction bio and an excellent read! Also wonderful that your wife is out with you.
And you are right, the demonizing of higher education should be criminal!
Welcome again, Retro
hi everyone, i would like to introduce myself and tell my story.
from the standpoint of being one of jehovahs witnesses, my whole family is deeply involved as i was the 5th generation of witness and any children that my brothers or sister have will be the sixth generation.
as some of my brothers and sisters are grandparents, i guess that makes their grandchildren a potential 7th generation.
Great introduction bio and an excellent read! Also wonderful that your wife is out with you.
And you are right, the demonizing of higher education should be criminal!
Welcome again, Retro
i had a conversation on the phone today with two different elders today.
i dont want to post the topic that we discussed on here at this time.
they had a problem with something going on in my life and i said where is it written that this is a problem.
Hi 2tone, just to clear up, I didn't mean that you had indulged in brazen conduct, but whether the elders could use it as a catch all.
The situation as you described it is certainly no business of anyone else. when I was "studying" I was often amazed at how pushy my study conductor and the other one could be; enquiring into any problem I hinted at, asking openly about the "attitude" of family members, insisting that I fin time for a visit from the CO etc.
They don't seem to understand privacy and boundaries.
i had a conversation on the phone today with two different elders today.
i dont want to post the topic that we discussed on here at this time.
they had a problem with something going on in my life and i said where is it written that this is a problem.
Brazen conduct?
http://www.newschannel9.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_368.shtml .
marion county assault victim remains hospitalized.
by karen zatkulak .
Hi and welcome, nonjwspouse!
Perhaps you could start a topic with as much of your story as you'd like to share? From the home page, select your
forum and hit "New Topic" on the blue bar at the top.
Look forward to more of your posts, Retro
saw this on jwtalk they were putting down apostates and posted this quote:.
watchtower 1982 3/1 p. 8. .
identifying marks of true religion .
OK, I'll give it a go:
1. Those who practice it have genuine love among themselves
The "genuine" is a classic jw weasel word, implying that any love in the "worldly" world is fake. Ask them to define "genuine" vs "non-genuine" love and how to identify it.
2. (I'll leave to @Vanderhoven7)
3. They pray for God to sanctify his name
And so do all Christians who use the Lord's Prayer. They just don't incorrectly call that name "Jehovah".
4. They proclaim God’s kingdom in all the earth
Many Christian churches have missionaries and evangelists. Nor is the jw "coverage" in any way complete, or likely to be so "soon".
5. They keep separate from the world’s affairs
Not exactly. They accept pensions, health benefits and other allowances wherever they can. There's nothing creditable about taking and sneering at the giver.
6. They cultivate the fruitage of God’s spirit
Whatever that may mean. I think it means expelling (disfellowshipping) any deemed to fall short; so much for "genuine" love! Also, once again they cannot define exactly how they do this "better" than other denominations.
7. They obey all human laws not contrary to God’s law
And other denomination do not? This is not a distinguishing mark. Worse, they have flagrantly disobeyed the Working With Children legislation in Victoria until called on it. Even now many go door to door without a WWC card.
So how do these "prove" that they are the One True Faith?
Retro
bearing in mind that every experience in the watchtower has some kind of agenda behind it , what about this experience of a london girl going to ireland to preach & have a holiday.
i was just waiting for the inevitable "i came home & passed all my exams with flying colours.
" but it didn't say.. and what kind of responsible parent would take a child on holiday so that she could " take her mind off her exams.
From the same article . .
". . and I took the ferry to tiny Heir Island, home to fewer than 30 people. Jesus did say that the
good news must be preached in
all the inhabited earth!"
Hope her exam wasn't in geography!
i was brought up around the truth.
my dad was disfellowshiped when i was young, around 6-7. he was a elder and very devoted even going to jail when he was younger for the truth.
he had a stroke and started preaching things that the society was not teaching and he was disfellowshiped.
Welcome, So Confused!
Yes, the Bible does say the heart is treacherous, but since the governing body selectively claim not to be prophets, isn't it possible that their hearts are treacherous too? Despite many backtrackings and changes of mind, they seem to have a problem with lowering their crests enough to admit they were wrong!
I'm not a jw but did raise my children as a single parent, and I understand your need to keep your son happy and safe. Perhaps you could read through some experiences of jw childhoods - they don't sound all that happy to me!
Also remember that many young born-ins are leaving the organisation, even when both parents are still believers. My SIL is a JW (brother is not) and their children have chosen not to be JWs. If you could remain a believer, would you ever shun your child?
Best wishes, and keep researching. God gave us brains for a reason!
Retro
see www.jwnews.net, steven unthank's private blog site where he posted the following material.
i enlarged and put in bold the third paragraph of the wt's letter where the elder, an ex-bethelite, made some fascinating errors while reading the letter by using the words, "borg" and "perp.
" does this mean what i think it means?
From the transcript:
However, this is the second point, if we are in regular contact with a minor, someone under the age of 18, we may still be required by law to have a Working with Children Check (my underlining)
This is simply wrong. As I understand WWC (and I live in Melbourne) you need the WWC card if there is a possiblility that your work or volunteering could be with children, and you need the card before you come into contact with children.
For example I'm a palliative care volunteer, and have so far not worked with children, but as a condition of being a recognised volunteer I do have a current WWC card. So surely any JW who engages in field service should have to get the WWC card first?
Retro
as most of us know the wt society has always claimed that it's dissapproved in god's sight to marry a non-jw .
although they've never made it a disfellowshipping offense, any jw who marries outside the jw organization is looked at as " weak " or lacking " spirituality " and loses certain alleged " privileges " in the congregations.
they use scriptures in the old testament as support for this.
Hi Mr Flipper,
This topic reminded me of the horrible example in the Feb 15th, 2012(?) study edition of the Watchtower called "Happiness can be found in a divided household" , depicting domestic violence. As I remember it, a wife in an abusive marriage was counselled by her Bible study giver to submit and avoid provocation, and after 14 years her husband finally came to the "truth" .
I wonder now if that article was also intended to reinforce believers' view that marriages "outside" are violent and unhappy, and so discourage any interest that they might have in a non-jw as a spouse?
Retro
....so you didn't have to go through the process of being reinstated?
please, share your experiences!
.
Hi and welcome, Sofi!
Just wanted to welcome you. I cannot answer your question as I'm a never-jw, but with friends and family in. I did "study" with
two very pleasant ladies, but couldn't cope with the bias, rules and being told what questions to ask, what to believe and how to feel about it!
. Honestly don't know how anyone else could either.
From your earlier post about the convention, you didn't seem to be entirely at one with it all either; may I ask why you are interested in reinstatement?
Retro