Posts by Lion Cask

25

I need help with what to believe?

by hannahmcmanus in

i've been jehovah's witness for about a year now, and recently i've been finding problems in some teachings that my parents and congregation can't answer satisfactorily.

since i began voicing my issues my mum in particular has become increasingly overbearing and, although she says there's nothing wrong with asking questions, it's obvious she doesn't like me having doubts and not accepting her answers, even though they don't explain any of my problems.

it feels like i'm being forced down a path that i don't want to take, but i don't know what to do.

Lion Cask

Hello, Hannah. In the final analysis it doesn't matter what you believe, all that matters is that you remain true to yourself and to the personal values you espouse as you live out your life. You're young and your life is just beginning. You have the great luxury of time to figure things out and you would be well advised to take advantage of it. The Society demands uniformity of thinking among its adherents and punishes those who allow their thoughts to stray, as yours are doing now. But your thoughts belong to you and to you alone. You need not share them with anyone who would deny you the freedom of your own mind.

Keep thinking, be curious and be careful.

206

I need a show of hands: who believes the Bible and to what extent?

by Terry in

i'll start off.. i don't believe anything is divine about bible writings.

i believe there may be some marginal history although not much.

i think alot of folk tales and regional myths are contained in the old testament.

Lion Cask

And yet those are just theories with, perhaps, less evidence for existsing than God.

Interesting turn of phrase, PSacramento. It implies there is evidence for the existence of God. Can you share?

206

I need a show of hands: who believes the Bible and to what extent?

by Terry in

i'll start off.. i don't believe anything is divine about bible writings.

i believe there may be some marginal history although not much.

i think alot of folk tales and regional myths are contained in the old testament.

Lion Cask

ala Isaac Newton- you don't get much brighter.

You are quite right, designs, Newton was the genius of his age and much of what he contributed to scientific understanding endures to this day, in particular calculus. I've done considerable reading on the man, however, and I would not be one to hold him up as a shining example of a deist. He was also a superstitious spiritualist and practitioner of a form of alchemy that can only be described as silly. I am particularly reminded of the short chapter on Newton in Hawking's book "A Brief History of Time" in which the great scientist is described as a horrible, vindictive and sadistic man. All that said, it should be no surprise that a 17th century man of renowned would describe himself as a believer in God whether he was or not, because to claim otherwise in that day and age would cause a storm of criticism and resentment from the social establishment and Newton valued social status and power above practically all things.

18

Is the salutation ... "Are you in The Truth?" ... still in use?

by Lion Cask in

the title is the question.

when i was actively studying with the witnesses back in the mid 70's i was often asked that question.

i guess it was a reflection of the crowd i was hanging around with and the fact that i was a friendly at the time, but on reflection i haven't been asked the question for eons.

Lion Cask

I straight away told him of our situation, and it turns out that he is a convert, not born-in, and is really questioning it now, so I directed him to JW Facts excellent site, and to here, perhaps he is one of the newbies ?

Congratulations, wobble! It would make my day to connect with a Jehovah's Witness in that way.

18

Is the salutation ... "Are you in The Truth?" ... still in use?

by Lion Cask in

the title is the question.

when i was actively studying with the witnesses back in the mid 70's i was often asked that question.

i guess it was a reflection of the crowd i was hanging around with and the fact that i was a friendly at the time, but on reflection i haven't been asked the question for eons.

Lion Cask

Stephen, that is the most refreshing post I have seen from you.

18

Is the salutation ... "Are you in The Truth?" ... still in use?

by Lion Cask in

the title is the question.

when i was actively studying with the witnesses back in the mid 70's i was often asked that question.

i guess it was a reflection of the crowd i was hanging around with and the fact that i was a friendly at the time, but on reflection i haven't been asked the question for eons.

Lion Cask

I am enlightened. Thank your for that, bigmouth.

I wonder if "The Way" changed as often back then as "The Truth" has changed in modern times.

60

Trying to Deal with MY Parental Guilt

by Lady Lee in

this is so hard for me.. my daughters don't want to talk about it.

they don't want to hear about the jws from their father.

and they don't want to hear about the jws from me.. they don't want to talk about it period.. they both seem to think i am stuck because i do talk about it.. the problem is partly that i can see just how stuck they are, especially the younger one who continues to fear armageddon is coming and has survival kits ready in her basement for when it comes - she showed me.

Lion Cask

It seems as though you've had your fair share of misery, Lady Lee. But FHN is absolutely right, of course. You should only feel regret, and even then it should be tempered by reality. Your paradigm shifted, you changed, you are who you are now and you're paying back for what you might have taken away all those years ago - I mean within the context of your personal relationships and new ones you nurture along in here. I apologised to my younger son for having put him into the hands of the Witnesses through his mother. He rebelled from the Watchtower at around age 14 without any direct help from me other than being a role model, although he didn't think much of me when he was that age, either. In any event he rejects my apology as irrelevant, which in reality it is. That was then, this is now. Interestingly enough, he also thinks the meltdown of Society is inevitable, but now from a strictly secular perspective. He has no belief in Armageddon.

Put down the discipline and pat yourself on the back instead.

18

Is the salutation ... "Are you in The Truth?" ... still in use?

by Lion Cask in

the title is the question.

when i was actively studying with the witnesses back in the mid 70's i was often asked that question.

i guess it was a reflection of the crowd i was hanging around with and the fact that i was a friendly at the time, but on reflection i haven't been asked the question for eons.

Lion Cask

They use that term as if it was a dollar at a Gentlemen's club.

What? They fold it up and stick it inside the garter belts of strippers while they cop a cheap feel? Wow. Times have changed since I was a student. Maybe should give this thing some second thought .....

206

I need a show of hands: who believes the Bible and to what extent?

by Terry in

i'll start off.. i don't believe anything is divine about bible writings.

i believe there may be some marginal history although not much.

i think alot of folk tales and regional myths are contained in the old testament.

Lion Cask

You said that far more eloquently than I, thetrueone. We have several Bibles in the house, collected by my wife. I gave back my personal copy of the NWT quite some time ago. I've read the Bible cover to cover once and probably a couple of times over piecemeal. There is actually some very beautiful prose in places and it's entertaining in others in an odd sort of way. The Bible itself is a treasure because it is a vivid linguistic reflection of our primitive past and mankind's enduring modern faith in things that cannot be proven or disproven, but it no longer inspires anything in me other than it being the historical and social curiosity it is.

18

Is the salutation ... "Are you in The Truth?" ... still in use?

by Lion Cask in

the title is the question.

when i was actively studying with the witnesses back in the mid 70's i was often asked that question.

i guess it was a reflection of the crowd i was hanging around with and the fact that i was a friendly at the time, but on reflection i haven't been asked the question for eons.

Lion Cask

The title is the question. When I was actively studying with the Witnesses back in the mid 70's I was often asked that question. I guess it was a reflection of the crowd I was hanging around with and the fact that I was a friendly at the time, but on reflection I haven't been asked the question for eons. (Maybe I have that village-of-the-damned look on my face and just don't realise it? Or maybe something more mundane like my name being put on the local Kingdom Hall no-fly list as my Witness wife and I have moved from place to place? More like it.)

But I'm still wondering if it's still in use, and what kind of response you give to the question, or would give if presented the opportunity.

Example: What version of The Truth are you referring to?