well,ive decided to go tomorrow night after all.not to my local cong but another one in the city where i have a very good friend and a few distant family members.i dont agree with much of the orgs teachings or promotions,but i do believe in jesus and really just have a very,very powerful urge to pay my respects to him.. i have been telling my "worldly"girlfriend about the religion and naturally,she is quite interested as this was part of my life since an early age.. blow me down she really wants to come with me!so when she walks into the hall tomorrow and gets a very warm welcome it will possibly shock her,after some of the stranger stories i have told her about the faith(vague stories including no xmas,disfellowshipping,no after school activities etc).i have told her that the welcome she receives will be warm and imho genuine too.she is quite a spiritual person anyway and will enjoy the occasion.. my worry would be that she will enjoy it too much and go to a follow up.it is quite probable.she has never had anything to do with jw,s before, till going out with yours truly .. i,m interested in your comments?.
thanks for listening.
flea.
**i do believe in Jesus and really just have a very, very powerful urge to pay my respects to him.
That's wonderful, fleaman, but it is all the more reason why you should not attend the Memorial service at the KH. There is very little respect for Jesus there.
.
gospel, grace, born again, the lord, saints, virgin mary... any more?.
bethel
He is risen
.
gospel, grace, born again, the lord, saints, virgin mary... any more?.
bethel
saved by grace
went to the meeting this morning and stayed for the talk.
the speaker used a text that i thought was very ironic, 1 john 4:1 which reads " beloved ones, do not believe every inspired expression, but test the inspired expressions to see whether they origanate with god, because many false prophets have gone forth into the world.
" i found this ironic becuase we were trained not to test anything in the publications and never question what we hear from the platform.
mjl,
Maybe the speaker is having doubts about the organization himself. Before David Reed was df'd, he gave hints of his doubts in his talks at the KH. He encouraged the congregation to read the Bible and reminded them that the Watchtower often taught errors that had to be corrected later.
my older sister, always a devout jw, or so we were led to believe......recently left home and went to live with her boyfriend!
hubby and self are faders, fading very nicely so far.
we went round for sunday dinner at my parents, who are devout jws and they had also invited my sister and her boyfriend.
:: I wonder if the mom knows about the after-Oscars party Prince gave.
I guess the rules are different if you are a rich and famous JW,
i am going to make a fool of myself tomorrow night .i will be featured on www.natradio.com .
about cults!!!
!producer & host of cosmic horizons just called me .
Best wishes Grace. I know you will do great.
Love (and prayers),
Marianne
I received the book today.
(according to james5:14-16) is anyone among you sick?
he should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray over him after anointing him with olive oil in the name of the lord.
15 the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
I agree with you Pennycandy. Your take on this scripture is also the view that most Christian churches have.
mark 15:25 ......and it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
john 19:13-14 when pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement, but in the hebrew, gabbatha.
and it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the jews, behold your king!
Gumby,
According to the Encyplopedia of Bible Difficulties, page 364: "Most probably John was using the Roman measurement of time when dealing with the crucifixion. Matthew, Mark and Luke used the Hebrew system (from sunup to sundown). The Roman system was from midnight to midnight. John wrote his gospel in Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia and therefore, John would likely use the Roman reckoning."
here's good bedtime story for the little ones!.
remember jeptha and his beautiful daughter that was his only child?.
just to set the theme: the ammonites took over israels land while they were in bondage in egypt.
Gumby,
I have always found the account of Jephtha disturbing.
However, some commentaries state (and I hope that they are correct) that Jephtha's fullfillment of his vow was not actually offering her as a burnt offering, but that he dedicated her for life for services at the tabernacle (such as Hannah gave up Samuel for temple services). His daughter would have to remain unmarried for the rest of her life.
Also, the rank and file (?) Isralites did not perform their own sacrifices. They had to take their offerings to the priests who performed the actual sacrifice. It would be very hard to imagine a priest that would allow such an abhorrent sacrifice.
Marianne
