Posts by jworld

26

Has anyone, other than me, tried to get your friends/loved ones to prove 1919?

by garyneal in

jw
friends

has anyone, other than me, tried to get your friends/loved ones to prove 1919?.

did they really try to prove it to you or did they write you off as hopelessly lost or somewhere in between?

as some of you are aware, i have been trying to get my wife to prove it to me, and if not her, another believing jehovahs witness.

jworld

You can only argue from material in the WT Library. Anything not there simply doesn't exist to a JW.

26

Has anyone, other than me, tried to get your friends/loved ones to prove 1919?

by garyneal in

jw
friends

has anyone, other than me, tried to get your friends/loved ones to prove 1919?.

did they really try to prove it to you or did they write you off as hopelessly lost or somewhere in between?

as some of you are aware, i have been trying to get my wife to prove it to me, and if not her, another believing jehovahs witness.

I've found that it doesn't matter what is written in the past and the JW's I talked to would only debate from WT material still in circulation. Anything out of circulation they just shut down and won't even look at it. I guess old WT publications go from truth to literature from the Devil and his demon apostates.

Now I just find current stuff to pick at. There is enough there too.

8

First Attempt with my mom

by jworld in

this was to much, i had to write my mom in an attempt to see if she would think outside of the box.

i have brought this subject up with them before regarding how the truth really isn't being preached in the entire earth and what that means for all those people.. this is what i sent:.

iran's supreme court says an evangelical pastor charged with apostasy can be executed if he does not recant his faith, according to a copy of the verdict obtained by a religious rights activist group.

jworld

I had another conversation with my mom. This time she was telling me about her bible study. She said they were covering 1914. I replied and said I'm surprised that is still covered!

This is what she said:

"Well, we are doing chapter 9 in the Bible Teach Book -- Are We Living in 'the Last Days"?

I had skirted all around why we believe the kingdom was established in 1914 chronologically, but finally decided to use the information from the Appendix. She obviously has had the help of Holy Spirit in gaining the understanding of what she has already learned, so I figured we would go through it. She seemed to grasp it pretty well, but I told her to look over the information again, and go thru the scriptures, so we'll see how it goes next time. I have attached the information with this email."

I had to laugh at the idea that the holy spirit helps people learn watchtower doctrine. It's amazing just how the stars have to align to convert a JW. You have to be the luckiest person on earth. First you have to be born in a nation where there are at least some JW's. Then you have to be home when they call, and subsequent calls. You have to be in a position where you are open to religion (usually only after a major life event). Then you have to roll the dice with the holy spirit. It's shocking anyone can beat those odds.

Anyway the attachment contains the information from the What Does the Bible Really teach book.

It starts:

DECADES in advance, Bible students proclaimed that there would be significant developments in 1914. What were these, and what evidence points to 1914 as such an important year?

I replied and said that is not a transparent statement, since prior to 1914 the bible students believed that 1914 would mark the end of Armageddon and the anointed would all be taken to heaven. Only after 1914 did the significance of the date become more clear.

I chose not to refute 1914 directly (since really you can’t refute it totally you can only argie it endlessly) but simply point out what is a fact, that 1914 had a different significance for JW’s prior to 1914 and it changed after the date. It’s shocking how it’s worded just so, that the bible study is led to believe the Holy Spirit guided the organization prior to the date.

I haven’t received a response yet.

49

could your son be gay???

by searchfothetruth in

jw
friends

how would you react if doctors come up with a test that could determine if your son would turn out to be gay when he grows up?

how would you react?

i personally, having two young sons myself, would not want to know.

jworld

It's amazing, I don't think there is a topic that hasn't been discussed on this board. As a newbie I just search through and find all these old threads!

This was a comment in the thread
"If I found out my son/daughter was gay early in their life, I would use it as an opportunity to help my child learn that life as a gay wouldn't be an easy thing, and to be prepared for the challenges ahead."

Posted in 2002, its now 9 years later. One thought came to my mind. Being gay is only a challenge when the people in your inner circle make it a challenge. That obviously starts with parents. And parents only make it a challenge when they are biased by their own upbringing. It's interesting how hatred and ignorance is propegated so easily. I don't think being gay is such a challenge in 2011 when people can understand where their bias comes from and are able to move past it.

Here is the above statement reworded to a context everyone here can relate to. Would you ever say this:

"If I found out my son/daughter would reject the Watchtower early in their life, I would use it as an opportunity to help my child learn that life as an ex jw wouldn't be an easy thing, and to be prepared for the challenges ahead."

Would you be helping if you went ahead and then made sure it was a challenge for your child/loved one for either situation?

61

How Many on JWNet are still JWs?

by RayPublisher in

i've been wondering about this for some time.

if there are 60,000+ registered users on here, what percentage are actual non-dfed or non-daed witnesses?

if it was 1/3, that would be over 20,000 active/inactive witnesses that post and read these pages- and that's huge.

jworld

and that's just registered users. I know I read for months without a registered account. It would be cool to know how many unique visitors a month this site gets. Then you would know what kind of interest there is!

30

I just finished watching part 2 of Faith in Action DVD....I'm in complete shock!

by Joliette in

jw
friends

that was the biggest piece of propaganda garbage that i ever seen in my life !!!!!!!

in literally all 28 years of my life!!!!!!!.

i dont want to spoil it for anyone, so i wont mention what they didnt mention...but basically, they made themselves look like victims.. but of course, they did mention persecution, the new world translation of the holy scriptures(because jehovah's name had cruelly been taking out of the bible by the corrupt religious leaders), and the biblically based arrangement of the governing body.. i'm in utter shock .

jworld

I just watched this DVD also. I find it interesting that they believe their sandwich board marches helped show people the truth. When "apostates" do that at the convention JW's scoff and say why don't they leave us alone!

It's really rediculous how they claim they prophesied about the UN. Its grasping at straws. I guess anyone can make themselves look good with the passage of time and a rewrite of history.

8

Rebellion Much?

by truthseeker1969 in

one of my friends, a disfellowshipped person, recently started attending the hall again.. firstly, he went to the convention and told me tonight that members of his congregation came and spoke to him and he told them of his status and they apologized and left.. any elderly sister from the congregation who has known him all his life came and spoke and again he said he couldn't.

he was stunned when she said she "didn't care" and spoke to him anyway which he found touching.

the mother of this person did nothing to stop her from talking to him.. the older lady (a wife of an elder) said that she and many others are fed up with the "hatred" being talked about and that if people are to be helped then it is nonsense the way things are being done.. he then went to his hall and was surprised at one brother he had known for years who said that he wanted to take his picture along with his parents since he had known him since childhood.

jworld

I think this is common. There was an older sister in my congregation that was considered a "pillar" of the congregation. She would make sure to say hi to DF'd people that would attend the hall. I have noticed that as people get older they become more independent. I don't think its a rebellion, but life experience that overrides the unbalance of youth. Really, the things that seems soooo important when you are young just don't matter towards the end of life. That is true of politics, religion, etc.

8

First Attempt with my mom

by jworld in

this was to much, i had to write my mom in an attempt to see if she would think outside of the box.

i have brought this subject up with them before regarding how the truth really isn't being preached in the entire earth and what that means for all those people.. this is what i sent:.

iran's supreme court says an evangelical pastor charged with apostasy can be executed if he does not recant his faith, according to a copy of the verdict obtained by a religious rights activist group.

jworld

Why is my mother a JW? That is a question I have recently been asking myself. I think she was looking for some religious answers during what was a turbulent time in American History (she came of age in the 60’s) and JW’s have an answer for everything! I think that was amazing to her at first. Now though I wonder what has kept her in. I suppose a degree of “godly fear”. I agree with the comical assessment of people here, the WT’s killer God will get you if you don’t do what we say. I suppose that becomes your life after a while.

Thanks JWfacts. As always your line of reasoning is spot on. I’ve been reading your website a lot lately. I know the increase in memorial partakers, the latest write up about the new anointed being mentally unstable, and the generation flip flop has given her what seems like doubts. I have never heard her talk negatively about this stuff and over the last few months she has. I don’t want to screw this up because I know each individual has to connect the dots on their own. It’s difficult to know where to apply pressure. I guess through a casual conversation over time it will develop. I might reply with something about the organization. Or just that I agree, Jehovah is the one who will read people’s hearts in the end.

8

First Attempt with my mom

by jworld in

this was to much, i had to write my mom in an attempt to see if she would think outside of the box.

i have brought this subject up with them before regarding how the truth really isn't being preached in the entire earth and what that means for all those people.. this is what i sent:.

iran's supreme court says an evangelical pastor charged with apostasy can be executed if he does not recant his faith, according to a copy of the verdict obtained by a religious rights activist group.

jworld

This was to much, I had to write my mom in an attempt to see if she would think outside of the box. I have brought this subject up with them before regarding how the Truth really isn't being preached in the entire earth and what that means for all those people.

This is what I sent:

Iran's Supreme Court says an evangelical pastor charged with apostasy can be executed if he does not recant his faith, according to a copy of the verdict obtained by a religious rights activist group.

It's an interesting topic. I always have wondered how Jehovah will deal with this situation and all of the people trapped by a very militant form of religion? If you were unlucky enough to be born in a place like that the deck is really stacked against you!

Sadly she replied with a sort of canned response:

Well, there are accounts in the Bible of people who were in nations that
didn't worship Jehovah (Rahab, for one). She recognized the truth, and
took a chance with not only HER life, but the lives of her family.
Jehovah saved her and she became an ancestress of Jesus -- despite the
fact that for the first part of her life she was a pagan worshipper. I
guess Jehovah knows the hearts of individuals, and can protect them.

Any suggestions on a follow up? I don't want to directly attack WT doctine but try to get her to think more. My mom has already admited the Governing Body doesn't know what the generation in Jesus parable means. I'm trying to get her to think about other teachings.

37

Logical Questions to Make Them Think?

by sweet pea in

this has no doubt been covered before and if anyone has any favourite threads on this subject perhaps they could post them here .

what are your best one liners/questions to make jw's think?.

i had a heated conversation with my mum this weekend and apart from mainly going round in circles (as is often the case with brainwashed cult members) one thing made her stop and i could see that she was having major trouble processing the logic.

jworld

For older ones with years in the Truth, the constant "putting off" of THE END, which is always right-around-the-corner, is taking its toll. The new overlapping-generation doctrine is confusing and many JDubs that I know secretly feel it will be adjusted again

Since I don't go meeting the only person I talk about WT Doctrine is with my mom. This subject has come up over the last few months...Last week I said its obvious the WT doesn't know what the generation is at this point and my mom agreed! I was a bit surprised. I know she believes it will be adjusted again also.

In her case though she doesn't believe that that is an issue though. She still thinks the end is very close. Hell it may be. I just wish at some point I could make the connection that the WT's obbession with the end (and commenting on biblical prophecy that they have no business commenting on) has stumbled way more people than its helped and that is their serious sin. Now that I am entering my 30's, our relationship is getting better. I wonder where the discussion will go next.