i'm fully aware that this is a cult, and i was waiting for the social elements to kick in.
so far, i have just been doing the "bible study," discussing doctrine, etc.
however, recently one of the elders said he wants to get together with me to do other activities.
I read your situation. Females were allowed to witness to men in my day. Nothing can douse romance like the WTBTS. Your heading sounded like the elder was suggesting some untoward and unwanted sexual activity with you. It would not be a first, either.
I hope your friendship survives. She spent long hours with you on the phone. Did she discuss anything personal? Wanting to be loved is the Catch-22 of Witness doctrine.
hey folks!.
i made another propaganda-esque video for the vast apostate army's first mission which is to attend the memorial.
since alot of people liked my last video for the vast apostate army i figured i'd post this one too.
Focusing on JW too much is still being in bondage to them. I'm leaving this site soon b/c I don't want the Witnesses to sap my attention. My solution would be for everyone to gather at a local bar or go to a rock concert and celebrate our freedom.
Even ex-Witnesses can boogey.
is liberal christianity smug and arrogant?.
the liberal christian finds himself in a belief system that would be unfamiliar to the overwhelming majority of christians who've lived and died before him, over the past two thousand years.
is the liberal christian, in effect, saying to these previous christians, "you were doing it wrong.
I just so happen to have my J.D. from NYU School of Law. The school awarded me a full merit scholarship. Frankly, I have much contact with lawyers and I have never come across a single one who expresses themselves the way you do.
I disagree with your content but I adamantly object to your attitude.
is liberal christianity smug and arrogant?.
the liberal christian finds himself in a belief system that would be unfamiliar to the overwhelming majority of christians who've lived and died before him, over the past two thousand years.
is the liberal christian, in effect, saying to these previous christians, "you were doing it wrong.
I just so happen to have my J.D. from NYU School of Law. The school awarded me a full merit scholarship. Frankly, I have much contact with lawyers and I have never come across a single one who expresses themselves the way you do.
I disagree with your content but I adamantly object to your attitude.
you spent months,years or even decades as a christian.you sacrificed everything for god,gave him everything you had,you would speak every day for him to others and would live as a person dedicated to god.what did you receive in return after all your efforts?did he help you when you were in need?if yes,are you 100% sure that he was the one who helped you?could you feel his holy spirit in your life?.
p.s:this topic has nothing to do with the org.
i am talking exclusively about god and your relationship with him.
Yes, I have. My parents were both born in the Witnesses. My mom's family since Pastor Russell. My father's family I am not certain. As I related in another post, I was severely abused by my father. I fought for my very life several times. School was so impt b/c it was a haven from the Witnesses. He undertook a campaign to pull me out of school because I was so bad. He wanted to supervise me bagging groceries in a store. An Ivy League scholarship was at stake. The agency my mom and I sought help from promised he could not. I knew I had to admit the abuse to the principal and go to a foster home. Leaving my mom and siblings was tough. Also, no restraining order could keep him from me. I had a rape monitoring system in place. Shortly before he died from heart disease, he announced I was so bad and worldly I was killing him and I would watch him die. He trapped me in the bathroom and jammed his body in the door sill. I completely freaked out. The police came. It was decided I had to go in exile far away to be safe. I sought guns and knifes to protect myself. I always let him beat me. Something snapped and I fought back with all my might. He wasn't a body guard for no reason.
He died in the hospital. People were so worried that he would die beating me. We, the family, could breathe. It was glorious. Freedom! I'm free at last. Later, I graduated from an Ivy League college and law school. I practiced on Wall St and the U.S. Senate. It was glorious. I had subscriptions to two ballet companies and two opera companies in NY. My life was better than I ever imagined. I partied in Paris. Seeing the Capitol for the first time, knowing I would be a lawyer there, was awesome.
I've known great tragedy, too. I became active at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. In my time of trial when I was suicidal from pain, the relationships I formed there sustained me. People showered me with God's love. I experienced God at the Sistine Chapel and at the Picasso Retrospective at MOMA. This past week I took a downtown bus with a friend. I felt God as I laughed.
There is another side that bothers me. Where was God when I was abused? Where was God when I suffered utter agony with facial neuralgia? I volunteered in homeless ministires at two Manhattan churches. Where was God for those people? Why are little children abused? How could God allow the Holocaust and the other genocides? The God I encounter is very reminiscent of Job. I have no answers. Perhaps God cannot have answers. I have felt God, though.
is liberal christianity smug and arrogant?.
the liberal christian finds himself in a belief system that would be unfamiliar to the overwhelming majority of christians who've lived and died before him, over the past two thousand years.
is the liberal christian, in effect, saying to these previous christians, "you were doing it wrong.
I don't appreciate my comments chopped up piecemeal. Would you like some smug person to break up your statements and proclaim their truth. Not an objective truth, for certain. Rather, a truth that can only be gleaned by one person. You do not speak for me. Further, you do have my permission to correct me. What are your credentials? It seems nutty Jehovah's Witnesses come here to act in other nutty manners.
I give you no credence. Also, I wish no conversation with you. You do not determine what I believe. The Holy Spirit does not revolve around you. Neither does the Bible. Countless generations of Christians have confronted these issues and come to much more eloquent and honest explanations. The best minds of Western civilization have struggle with the different aspects of God. It is sick for someone to think they have it all solved in a short, not very illuminating statement.
I devoted my life to civil rights but that does not mean I have to endorse racists, bigots, and stupid people. If you are enthrenched here and continue to cut my comments up, I can easily leave. This is not civilized discourse. Rather, it is hazing. And I have zero apetite for hazing involving the Bible.
is liberal christianity smug and arrogant?.
the liberal christian finds himself in a belief system that would be unfamiliar to the overwhelming majority of christians who've lived and died before him, over the past two thousand years.
is the liberal christian, in effect, saying to these previous christians, "you were doing it wrong.
I find it the highest delusion that a human can perfectly know the Holy Spirit. It is the Society in a nutshell. I join with the masses of true Christians proclaiming the triune God but realize that I am an imperfect human. I grope to find a solution for myself based on knowledge and experience. No one knows it all (except for Manson and the WTBTS). Isn't there an inspirational quote that may be from the Bible that we know God but through a glass darkly in this life.
I know that nontrinitarians call themselves Christian but I personally fail to see how this is a different from a HIndu or Buddhist or Muslim who may believe in Jesus as a special teacher. My experience is what makes me believe the Trinity. As I said before, both the Trinity or lack of Trinity are extrapolitions from the Bible. The Gospels and Paul's epistle (which are much earlier so I tend to believe worship statements in Paul) lack neat, precise Creeds. There is no way to understand what Paul believed or what the Jersualem group with James as head believed. My personal take is that the Jerusalem Apostles did not believe a new religion was founded. They worshipped in the Temple as Jews. Obviously, Stephen proclaimed something that was complete heresy to Jews. It is confusing. Why engage in Temple worship after the Resurrection? The apostles are completely clueless and dense in the gospels. Yet Stephen is emboldened to speak of the nature of Jesus to ignite the passions of the Jews to stone him. I don't believe Jesus as a doer of good works or miracle worker would cause a stoning. The Jews had many self-proclaimed Messiahs. Jesus did not proclaim himself the Son of Man. He is rather coy at his trial.
In any event, the lack of a defined formula for belief in Paul and the Gospels, well into the next century with John, is telling. The disputes between Paul and Peter and the discovery of the Nag Hammadi scriptures shows there was not agreement even in the years immediately following Christs' death and resurrection.
I am Anglican, which is mostly progressive. The traditions of centuries appealled to me, esp. after being raised a Witness. Compare the complex in Brooklyn to the wonders of Medieval and Renaissance Art. Michelangelo's Last Judgment contains very unflattering portraits of his enemies at the Vatican. I wept at the Sistine Chapel and looking at Giotto and Duccio. Why must every Witness creation be so bad. Music and art can reveal human truths the Watchtower writing never will. Of course, I marveled that I could be at the Vatican and Fiorenze. My eyeballs were not singed by Jehovah's wrath.
i read somewhere that the vatican has to approve all translations.. if they had to approve the nwt, wouldn't that mean that the jws come under the jurisdiction of the papacy?.
The Beatles were my beacon out of the WTS. Imagine their fame and their power. Yet John was not bragging that the Beatles were popular. He was remarking how sick society was. They were always humble concerning their music. Fans viewed them as unique. They never saw themselves that way. Indeed, they cited music and social trends that influenced them. Even John at his craziest Yoko period would never proclaim he was the sole organ of the Holy Spirit.
Their early music was so inspiring and unabashedly joyful. The Kingdom Hall was agony. I was severely punished for liking them.
They brought me much joy and continue to do so. Rather than using their power for evil or to brainwash, they used their music to have fun.
is liberal christianity smug and arrogant?.
the liberal christian finds himself in a belief system that would be unfamiliar to the overwhelming majority of christians who've lived and died before him, over the past two thousand years.
is the liberal christian, in effect, saying to these previous christians, "you were doing it wrong.
Whoever started this thread had good Jehovah's Witness training in proclaiming their truth without any facts or even defining their terms. As a progressive Christian, I believe Jesus was fully human, fully God and will come again. It is hard to respond to drivel. Part of my progressive Christianity is believing in the good will of others. The opening statement does not evoke Jesus but narrowmindness. In the end, though, I can say that your journey has brought you to a nut jobs version of Christianity but it is your and valid for you. Perhaps if you had some facts and a smidgen of sophistication, your result would be different.
I am wrong to take the inflammatory bait. Christians proclaim the triune God. They don't belittle others within the same flock. Love one another in my name. Your statement is as inane as any Witness one. What your fruits of the spirit? I can understand a difference of opinion. The thread starter shows a fundamental disrespect for others and ignorance.
from memory once a month someone would read out the accounts report from the platform.
this usually said how much went in, how much went out and what the balance was.
details were given as to utility bills etc.. at circuit and district assemblies no details were given, apart from the fact that we were always in a deficit by the sunday lunchtime.. has anyone asked or can anyone ask to see the details?
May I ask a question about auditing of the KH accounts? The poster describes frequent audits. Who does the auditing? Auditors charge fees. Is it a bookkeeper or a true audit?
What is the justification for trasnparency at the KH level but not at the conventions/assemblies?
