jehovah's witnesses proclaim the good news of the kingdom under the power of god's holy spirit.
jesus commanded his followers to preach in the most distant parts of the earth and promised them that the spirit of god would guide them in this life-saving work (acts 1:8).. without the spirit of god, one cannot continue preaching about jesus and god's kingdom (matthew 24:14).
one surely will not have god's spirit if one preaches a negative message (against jehovah's servants) from door to door.
Comforter, that's correct. I'm not saying all kids lie to keep their parents happy, just some. I certainly didn't. I went on the ministry because I loved Jehovah and wanted to make him happy. That doesn't mean I enjoyed the ministry, I didn't. It was something I just had to do.
Edited by - Matty on 17 June 2002 14:1:37
i had a visit this morning from a couple of older sisters from a local congregation that i'm not terribly familiar with (i don't live in the territory for the congregation that i was raised in).
anyway, i didn't have the balls or energy to question them about the usual things (recent dateline, etc.
) because they were these sweet little old black sisters that really reminded me of the witnesses at the beginning of "friday".
The Mormons have exactly the same policy. They will not announce who they are straight away either...
jehovah's witnesses proclaim the good news of the kingdom under the power of god's holy spirit.
jesus commanded his followers to preach in the most distant parts of the earth and promised them that the spirit of god would guide them in this life-saving work (acts 1:8).. without the spirit of god, one cannot continue preaching about jesus and god's kingdom (matthew 24:14).
one surely will not have god's spirit if one preaches a negative message (against jehovah's servants) from door to door.
Many kids love going from door to door and cannot wait until they can pioneer
Many kids lie to keep their parents happy.
what brings a smile to your face?
i cant help but smile when my wife laughs, or when my kids play outside.
i also smile when my boy, who is 15 wants to talk to me.
Edited by - Matty on 17 June 2002 13:29:0
a born-into-it teenager or maybe someone in their early 20's, gets df'd for an unspecified offence.
later the df'd person protests that df'ing is unscriptural and inhumane, only to be told "you knew the score, you knew what would happen, it's your fault".. but is it?
maybe it might be fairer for a converted person to be df'd for breaking the rules, after all, a converted person has joined the jw's willingly and has therefore accepted the witness rules.
Englishman
, you must have felt really cool at one time saying you got baptised there! Much sexier than saying you were baptised at Plymouth or Wolverhampton! While I was growing up, brothers and sisters fell into two camps, those who were at Yankee Stadium in '58, and those who weren't. To a lesser extent it's a similar thing in the UK with the Wembley conventions in 1963 and 1969.Puffsrule, I agree - Celtic nailed it allright. Even when someone is experienced enough to make a mature decision about whether or not to be a Jehovah's Witness, how can they if they have been bombarded with Watchtower propaganda their entire life? Us Born-Into-It's are pretty much the most enraged here.
It's all about the distorted definition of the word 'choice' and 'decision'. Nobody in my family would ever accept the charge of emotional blackmail, although this is precisely what is happening to me. The witness logic is that if someone you love is recklessly walking towards the end of a cliff, or doing anything else that would mean their imminent death, you would try and thwart their recklessness. As far as Jehovah's Witnesses are concerned the end of the world is a fait accompli, so leaving "the truth" put simply, is an act of suicide. It's little wonder that the "free to go at any time" assurance doesn't hold any water. There is also the issue that anyone leaving the organisation are insulting God and taking Satan's side. This is the kind of climate that makes leaving the single most toughest decision that any person born into the religion can make. Born-Into-It's who get disfellowshipped early and then see the Jehovah's Witness religion for what it is are lucky. Unfortunately I have led an 'exemplary' life, and so such decisions have not been forced onto me.
ok before we get off on the wrong foot this is not a flame war.
i read a comment by belbab on hillary's post this morning...he remarked that he had asked a question after the 09/11 attack, that no one answered.
well, i didn't even remember reading it, so i did a simple search.
I tend only to look at the Active threads list, and so if someone says "Great post" to bring the subject back to the top, it gives me an opportunity to read something I would have normally missed. It's embarrassing though when you read a post and forget to look at the date, and respond to it thinking that it is new, and later look at it and find that it's months old from someone who doesn't post anymore - especially if you've thought you've given them a bit of good advice! Duhh!
I guess if I've something to say, I'll say it - even if the thread is started by a nutty poster like U2K or Bleep. I have been known to initiate flame rows but conspicuously withdraw letting other people fight it out. I don't argue enough, maybe I should - I just don't like the thought of being disliked, so I try not to row with other posters. Maybe I'm a bit of a sycophant, I blame my dub training - I was always a toady around the elders.
BTW I love you all.
were you ashamed of being a witness?.
how did you feel about identifing yourself as a jehovahs witness to others?.
i often used to hide it because of the stigma attacthed to it.. was anyone actually proud to be one?
Oh, those assembly badges, and worse, the posters they got you to put in your window! Don't get me started E'man.
Been there
's comment "I knew God hated me because I was ashamed of him" struck a chord because I don't think even the most staunch Witness hasn't buckled under occasionally. It's the "Fear of Man" thing, isn't it? The point is laboured heavily in the Watchtower and also at conventions particularly. We are expected to represent God at all times. Not mentioning that you are a witness all the time is tantamount to "Denying the Christ", and this pays a heavy penalty. The guilt you feel when you keep quiet about your faith is pretty unbearable - you are almost expecting to hear a cock crow!. The pressure to conform at school is particularly strong, and my heart breaks when I think of all the problems Witness kids have, and they are doing it all for nothing.I was always known as a witness at school, and bullied badly as a result of it; I would have got on much better if I'd have kept quiet. I felt that if I denied God, God would deny me. This is so difficult for children, and you can see how concerned teachers can be about Witness kids. I suffered a lot at school, the problems I had made me a very frightened and sickly child. There's no denying that all Jehovah's Witness children are abused to a certain degree. No child should have this burden of responsibility put upon them. Childhood should be carefree, my childhood was stolen from me, and I can never get it back.
Was I ever proud to be a witness? In a way, yes, fulfilled is probably a better word. I felt that if I was a good witness I would have my reward one day, and so all the problems, the stress and the persecution I had was just Satan testing me, and if I past the tests, I would be worthy.
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at least we're not that bad!.
http://groups.msn.com/justjws/_homepage.msnw?pgmarket=en-gb
Absolutely. It's the strongest word in the Jehovah's Witness Arsenal, they reserve it for when they are seriously pissed off, never mind what it actually means!
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at least we're not that bad!.
http://groups.msn.com/justjws/_homepage.msnw?pgmarket=en-gb
For several hours today the group was subjected to abusive, apostate, offensive and pornographic posts and images.I am truly sorry if anyone was 'caught out' and shocked, please be assured that this sort of thing is dealt with as soon as it is spotted!
If it happens again please do not hesitate to email me immediately. The idiot who did this has of course been banned.
joel
Seems like apostate and pornographic are synonymous!
Whoa! Josephus, Mr hero! I remember your posts when I was just a lurker. Welcome back. It's nice to say hello to you in person!
