i have a friend that has recently confided in me his doubts about the society being god's one and only organization.
his doubts run pretty deep.....but he is very much held in check by "but who else is preaching about the kingdom of god world-wide like jesus said"?
how would you combat that thinking?
I have a friend that has recently confided in me his doubts about the society being God's one and only organization. His doubts run pretty deep.....but he is very much held in check by "but who else is preaching about the kingdom of God world-wide like Jesus said"?
How would you combat that thinking?
i have an issue with preaching.
specifically, going door to door, talking to people who, for the most part, have no desire whatsoever to hear what i have to say.
more specifically, being required to do so as a means of salvation.
JWs have been diligent about "keeping awake". How does one respond to: "at least we're trying"?
Really? Or have they been crying "wolf" for over 100 years....thus dulling the responsiveness of the ones they attempt to preach to? Moreover....please read Galations 1:6-9. I'll quote just part of it. "Whoever it is that is declaring to YOU as good news something beyond what YOU accepted, let him be accursed." Do you think that just maybe.....MAYBE the Watchtower organization might have declared something beyond what is accepted by telling everyone that the faithful men of old would be resurrected in 1925? Do you think that maybe they declared something beyond what is accepted by telling the world that God promised the end of this system of things before those that saw the events of 1914 pass away?
I have an interesting quote for you. Awake magazine of March 22, 1993 says the following, "Down through the centuries since Jesus' day, so many unfulfilled predictions have been made that many no longer take them seriously. Undeterred by previous failures, some seem to have been spurred on by the approach of the year 2000 and have made further predictions of the end of the world. The flood of false alarms is unfortunate. They are like the wolf-wolf cries of the shepherd boy. People soon dismiss them, and when the true warning comes, it too is ignored." Yet somehow this doesn't apply to the WT and all of their false predictions?
Is it ok to make reckless predictions on behalf of God....so long as you THINK you are acting in accordance with Luke 23:43-44 and 2 Pet 3:3 and 4?
i have an issue with preaching.
specifically, going door to door, talking to people who, for the most part, have no desire whatsoever to hear what i have to say.
more specifically, being required to do so as a means of salvation.
1 Tim 4:16 - Pay constant attention to yourself and to your teaching. Stay by these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who listen to you. (this was Paul's advice to Timothy.....who....like Paul.....was a teacher.....a LEADER)
Rom 10:14,15 - how, in turn will they hear without someone to preach? (Exactly.....SOMEONE to preach....not EVERYONE)
Luke 19:40 - I tell YOU, If these remained silent, the stones would cry out. (Again....his disciples that were traveling with him. There is no mention of the thousands of believers across the land that stayed at home to take care of their families and did NOT travel with Jesus. The bible does not say whether or not THEY were out preaching)
2 Tim 4:2 - preach the word, be at it urgently in favorable season, in troublesome season, reprove, reprimand, exhort, with all long-suffering and [art of] teaching (IN FAVORABLE SEASON - As you alluded to....every Christian that believes WILL be moved to make a witness to his faith at the right time. Or as you put it....when they are so moved. There is nothing in the bible that indicates that all much preach door to door consecutively several times per month to complete strangers so as to turn in a pharasaical monthly report.)
i'm not going to post the link here as i both want it to be completely anonymous (no connection to me on any other website) and i don't want to violate forum rules.
they are theories i developed based on being raised as a jw and taking philosophy classes.
please reply to this if you'd like to check it out and give me feedback and i will pm you the link.. thanks.
PM sent
if jesus was never my mediator, as taught by the wts, .... .
worldwide security under the "prince of peace" (1986) pp.10-11 ch.1 the desire for peace and security worldwide .
likewise, the greater moses, jesus christ, is not the mediator between jehovah god and all mankind.
VERY good point!
my dear mother and aunt were always worrying about those pesky demons and their father, the devil.. did you obsess over the deminz??
?.
"LOL Char. In my group, they were always insisting that you shouldn't voice your weaknesses because the demunz will hear. I got tired of it and asked how did that flush with praying out loud and talking to the elders?"
It's ok if you talk to the elders.....cause even though all the demons heard your confession that you once rounded 9 and 1/2 hours in service up to 10 for two straight months (thus giving you an hour more than you really had).....and even though all the demons in the entire world will now be working on you to try to get you to round up again......you now have a counter weight. Yep. You have two elders that are going to pray for you. Surely their prayers combined with yours will be too much for even the world-wide network of demons to handle.
If you never round up your service time again.....it will be proof that Jehovah's spirit was upon your meeting with the elders. But if you someday in the future decide to round up again......it is proof that you have withdrawn from Jehovah's love.
did it bug you as a witness that jesus only had to go from door to door for 3.5 years, and he was done; while he demanded that you do it for your whole life without preparing for the morrow?
i just remember a few years back reflecting on the daunting prospect of doing it my whole life if the end didn't come - "sooner rather than later".
what are your thoughts?.
"The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
The apostles carried on the ministry the way they were taught from Jesus unless I'm missing something."
I agree with Mr. Freeze. They did not go door to door. The Greek term used was kata'oikos. It can mean "door to door" and it can also mean "in private homes". Jesus preached on a mountain top, in private homes, by a well, on a boat etc. Paul preached by a river, in private homes, in the synagogue, in the marketplace etc. There are dozens of biblical examples of preaching.....yet not one of them indicates that either Jesus or any of his followers or any of the apostles ever engaged in a consecutive door to door preaching work. Knowing that there are 0 examples of door to door preaching in the bible.....what way do you think that scripture should be translated? As "house to house" or as "in private homes"? I think it was translated as "house to house" simply to match ORGANIZATIONAL history since the witnesses had already been well known for their house to house proseletyzing for decades by the time the NWT came out.
my dear mother and aunt were always worrying about those pesky demons and their father, the devil.. did you obsess over the deminz??
?.
"One woman was being attacked regularly by demunz, and instead of getting her medical help, they searched the house for demunz."
I guess that makes sense. Cause....ya know....demons are famous for forgetting to transform into invisible mode when hiding from humans
my dear mother and aunt were always worrying about those pesky demons and their father, the devil.. did you obsess over the deminz??
?.
I recall as a small boy....a story that went around our kingdom hall that a witness had bought a lamp at a garage sale and the lamp was demonized and the demons came out at night and held her down in bed all night and wouldn't let her up. Garage sale shopping was all but prohibited in our area from that point on because....well....it is obvious. Demons are bargain shoppers. They only attach themselves to personally used items. So you may rest assured that if it still has a factory tag on it....it is likely to be demon free.
Isnt it amazing that all the stories we hear (I've heard everything from the lamp......to blood coming out of the walls of a house that was haunted.....to smurfs trying to smother a baby.....to an old chest in an attic causing people to fall down the stairs etc) are always heresay? It is always "I know of a guy......" or "my grandmother new......" I am yet to talk to anyone that can look me in the eye and say "yes.....a demon carried me across the room and threw a toaster at my head". They are always 3rd person stories.
i was driving home the other evening pondering the past couple of turbulant years for me and my family.
i reflected back on my appointment as a ministerial servant and my attitude, beliefs and thinking at the time.
i thought about the subsequent misery that being a servant brings once the the glow wears off and people stop "commending you on your fine spiritual progress.
TMS - That was an incredible story. Ya know what the problem is? If I try to share it with my wife, I'll be met with......"you actually believe that? It came from an apostate website! He is obviously making it up!" It is so sad that you cannot get them to see anything outside of their Truman Show type bubble
