"I showed him the Watchtower's own writings saying that "even if a prophet is right most of the time, if he is wrong once, he isn't a prophet of Jehovah."
Arko - Do you have the publication this quote was taken from?
this is my first post here, and i don't know if this has been talked about yet.
but today i was on the jw-media site to see what it was about.
i was curious how they handled their stance on blood and it was a bit of an annoying read.. from the site (http://www.jw-media.org/aboutjw/article01.htm#accept):.
"I showed him the Watchtower's own writings saying that "even if a prophet is right most of the time, if he is wrong once, he isn't a prophet of Jehovah."
Arko - Do you have the publication this quote was taken from?
at the kind advice of so many of you (and hassan) on this board....i ceased attempting to discuss doctrine/failures with my wife many months ago.
but unfortunately that does not prevent her from grilling me from time to time.
during one of our infamous "discussions" she said she was going to "investigate" this supposed "proof" that is out there regarding 587bc.
Thanks atrapado. Your words are encouraging
at the kind advice of so many of you (and hassan) on this board....i ceased attempting to discuss doctrine/failures with my wife many months ago.
but unfortunately that does not prevent her from grilling me from time to time.
during one of our infamous "discussions" she said she was going to "investigate" this supposed "proof" that is out there regarding 587bc.
"Outsmartthesystem, if you ask your wife to study the "good news" according to Paul with you, and she agrees, you will have got her started on a one-way out of the Watchtower - and she will be the one doing all the heavy lifting. It took our family 3½ years."
I've tried something similar. She will not study the bible without publications. Her reasoning is that we peasants aren't smart enough to read the bible for what it says. We NEED the GB to interpret it for us. If we were to study the bible by ourselves and come to a different conclusion that what the GB says we should then that is in her mind....."proof that Satan makes himself into an angel of light.....even taking God's Holy word and making it seem like it says something other than what God's channel has approved".
I am seriously ill at this point
Not to mention drinking more than I should be.
I despise this cult and now understand why so many former members are so bitter
i've been meaning to ask for some time about software programs that have been developed by witness nerds who clearly have way too much time on their hands, and which are subsequently circulated among jws.
has anybody had any experience with them?.
i'll set the ball rolling with a program called service meetings study (i have a copy of version 3.8.5 - having been given it years ago).
I certainly would not be surprised if the society were to begin distributing such software in the near future. Think about it. If every witness used such software like they do the CD ROM.....you would no longer have thousands of JWs "wondering" how many "spiritual" hours they've put in this week vs how many "fleshly" hours they've put in. The software would be right there in front of you. All you have to do is use it.
Yet another way to guilt more witnesses into spending more time in "theocratic" activities
at the kind advice of so many of you (and hassan) on this board....i ceased attempting to discuss doctrine/failures with my wife many months ago.
but unfortunately that does not prevent her from grilling me from time to time.
during one of our infamous "discussions" she said she was going to "investigate" this supposed "proof" that is out there regarding 587bc.
"Is your wife willing to read Crisis of Conscious?"
No. Although she has read a little of what Jonsson wrote...she views his work as being simply factual (or trying to be) in regard to history and astronomy. She would view Franz as being a disgruntled ex that is only trying a smear tactic.
"One thing that made me doubt about 1914 was the reference of Psalm 110:1. This was before I read CoC. We use that text to say look when Jesus went to the heavens he didn't start his rule he had to wait until God would put his enemies as his footstool. If you think about it one of his enemies is Satan, so how come he rid the heavens of Satan after he started his rule. Also one of the references to PSlams 110:1 is 1Corinthians 15:25,26 and there it says Jesus would be ruling until his enemies including death would become his footstools, nothing happend to death in 1914. So you can't use Psalms to say Jesus had to wait is the other way around. Compare that to Matthew 28:18 if Jesus received a ll authority why didn't he start to rule at that moment? Those texts made me doubt of 1914 hence 607."
Thank you. These are good suggestions.
at the kind advice of so many of you (and hassan) on this board....i ceased attempting to discuss doctrine/failures with my wife many months ago.
but unfortunately that does not prevent her from grilling me from time to time.
during one of our infamous "discussions" she said she was going to "investigate" this supposed "proof" that is out there regarding 587bc.
"You don't even need to go that far. Tell her to PROVE to you, and arrive at 1914CE - using the BIBLE as the only tool. Can't be done... "
But that is when she engages her circular reasoning methods. "of course you can't arrive at 1914 using JUST the bible! That's why we NEED the faithful slave!"
"Try going through the latest 607 magazines, asking questions you get from the threads on them and from Doug Mason."
This doesn't work either. Because when you point out willful deception or claims that are not backed up (such as the ever famous "research" that was done by unnamed.....ahem....Furuli......sources that "proves" the lunar positions fit 607 as opposed to 587) she simply says...."that's beyond my level of knowledge.....there HAS to be an answer......SEE! this is why we NEED the elders here so they can explain it to us!"
it has taken me almost 2 years to get to the bottom of the watchtower society rabbit hole.
being fully convinced that i was duped....i am still a little ashamed of myself for being so narrow minded.
i have vowed never to close off my mind like that again.
Yeah I seriously underestimated how touchy this topic would be.
I thought I might get just a few responses with a link or two. 'member....I am a newbie to this concept and there is a LOT to learn. Reading this thread gave me an instant headache. :)
at the kind advice of so many of you (and hassan) on this board....i ceased attempting to discuss doctrine/failures with my wife many months ago.
but unfortunately that does not prevent her from grilling me from time to time.
during one of our infamous "discussions" she said she was going to "investigate" this supposed "proof" that is out there regarding 587bc.
At the kind advice of so many of you (and Hassan) on this board....I ceased attempting to discuss doctrine/failures with my wife many months ago. But unfortunately that does not prevent her from grilling me from time to time. During one of our infamous "discussions" she said she was going to "investigate" this supposed "proof" that is out there regarding 587BC. To her credit she has spent quite some time researching the topic.....even reading a bit of The Gentile Times Reconsidered. Her conclusion? She looked at me and said....."I've looked at all of it...and there is no more evidence for 587BC then there is for 607". At that point, I could not help myself. I felt the need to go through each piece of evidence with her. The synchronic links with egyptian history. The fact that cuneiform documents can be found for every month of every year of the accepted Neo-Babylonian rule.....yet not one for the 20 years that the society needs for their accounting. The celestial observations. Everything. No matter what I came up with...she came up with a wild assed excuse. No cuneiform documents? Her response was they just haven't dug enough to find them. When I brought up that the documents that have been discovered have been found all over the country side over a number of decades.....and that by her logic....somehow...someway the documents that prove the additional 20 years of reign that the society needs.....must be all perfectly clumped together in an unfindable spot....she simply said "well........that is clearly what has happened".
And then it hit me. This woman has been conditioned so heavily to believe no matter what that it does not matter what information is presented....she doesn't see it. What floors me is that she isn't in willful denial....like I guessed would happen. I thought she would investigate.....find how much info there truly is supporting 587BC and then say...."I know it seems overwhelming....but my gut tells me to stick with the organization anyway". But no. She will look me in the eyes and say that the info supporting 587 to her isn't impressive at all.
In essence she honestly looks at the knife.....blade dripping with blood and DNA of the victim.....the handle covered in the fingerprints and hair fibers of the defendant and says "I don't see any connection between the defendant and the victim".
For some witnesses.....especially those that are older.....the truth about "the truth" is simply too much to handle. They see the problems. They know in their heart that it isn't the truth....but they hold on to that last shred of hope because letting go is too painful. I am not saying I agree with that POV....but I understand it. I get it. Then there are others....like my wife. Is it really possible that she looks at all the evidence and truly doesn't see it? I think the answer is yes. The control that the borg exerts is so powerful that it prevents her mind from processing the importance of evidence against their teachings. At this point I am confident that God himself could visit her and tell her that the society is full of shit.....and she would say "that was Satan posing as God.....I must not allow him to destroy my faith".
Simply........amazing
since leaving the jw life.
i see people for there good, even if it is hard to find.
sure people get under my skin at times.
the transformation that occurs is amazing, isn't it? I was homophobic before I began thinking for myself. And I realized that "apostates" aren't the dimented and twisted antichrists the borg plays them to be.....rather they are just individuals that are tired of being controlled and lied to.
soooo many witnesses that i knew of had great potential to be somebody, to do something in their lives and instead, they simply existed in a way of life that never really ever gave them back anything in return.
so sad, when you think of the waste!.
The WT steals everything that is good from a person. I knew a couple of guys that would have had D1 athletic scholarships. Alas....they proudly refused to go to college....instead....focusing on preaching since the time left is minimal.
I know a guy that is a walking encyclopedia. He works on an assembly line. He does this because he wanted his "intellectual focus" to be on "the organization" instead of "mundane secular pursuits".
So much potential is lost when a person submits to WT authority