Posts by soft+gentle

778

IS GOD REAL? HOW DO YOU KNOW?

by still thinking in

jw
friends

this is an honest question on my part.

someone on this board asked me 'how do you know' a while ago and i really struggled with it.

in fact, it was a turning point for me.

browsing through this topic I found some interesting nuggets of wisdom. my own thoughts are that if God can enable one to escape fr om I and the tyranny of only focusing on one person as though all thoughts and feelings stem from the I ( when he only reflects me ), then I would support anyone saying they believe in God (although God can become an I . I think jehovahs witnesses focus on I all the time. Their conception of God is more to do with me and this is what results in sterility imo. Whereas putting "genetics and environment" (taking this from one of your posts on this thread, stillthinking) in an interface force one to constantly dismantle solely I and escape from its tyranny.

and stillthinking, you are definitely right in suggesting that there is more - there will always be more

322

My son was murdered today

by truman in

i have been on this site daily, almost from its beginning, since i left the jws in 2001, but i have been more of a reader than a poster, as you can see from my post count.

i know few here know me, although i know many of you through reading your posts.

maybe it is not right to ask for support, when i generally stay quietly in the background of this forum, but i want only to speak a human misery of the deepest kind.

soft+gentle

I'm truly sorry for your loss, Truman.

62

A new member of the thinking class

by Captain Obvious in

jw
friends

this is my first post on this forum, though it feels like i already know some of you here.

i have been lurking for a couple of months now, and i must say, there honestly seems to be more love and respect here than any forum i have ever seen on any forum of any kind.

i am 25 years old, married 3 years to my wonderful wife who is 22. we had a somewhat classic jw upbringing... which i now know has been our biggest problem.

soft+gentle

captain obvious - welcome

give your wife time. Part of our makeup is to follow rituals. So it isn't just the mind that is involved, it is the whole person. I would suggest an holistic approach. A suggestion is to do more non jw things that you both enjoy together.

10

Hoist by their own petard: Using w86 4/1 30, 31 for your own defence

by rory-ks in

jw
friends

the april 1, 1986, watchtower, questions from readers is still the basis upon which jehovah's witnesses see fit to act against so-called apostates.

it is, however, completely shot through with discrepancies and weak arguments.

all of these can be used to build a solid defence.

soft+gentle

Page 344 states, “As to just how the “faithful and discreet slave” class existed and served down through the centuries after the death of the apostles of the Master Jesus Christ, we do not have a distinct historical picture. Apparently one generation of the “slave” class fed the next succeeding generation thereof.” And yet, as previously noted, C.T. Russell studied independently. He was not fed by the preceding generation of FDS.

good point

96

Racism on the forum / Treyvon Martin

by Simon in

i've just been catching up on some of the posts that people made about this case and i am appalled at the blatant racism demonstrated by certain individuals.. yes, you are entitlted to your opinion ... but at some point your opinion needs to be kept locked inside your ignorant biggoted empty skull and not come out of your stupid fat mouth.

it especially shouldn't be posted on my forum.. such racism will not be tollerated here.. i also would like to publicly apologise to outlaw for not being on top of this earlier and making sure that he wasn't lumped in with these despicable people for simply pointing out how out-of-line their behavior was.

sorry my friend - you did not deserve that and i understand completely why you have had a break from the site..

soft+gentle

hey mrs jones - good to see you back.

alltimeJeff

121

Where is Outlaw?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

he is one of my favorite posters, i look him up from time to time.

.

soft+gentle

lol az

Outlaw was headhunted as the newest member of the Governing Body to head up the new 16 page Comic edition of the Washtowel monthly!

I want to see a full frontal spread on the cover of the first edition

121

Where is Outlaw?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

he is one of my favorite posters, i look him up from time to time.

.

soft+gentle

I had noticed that outlaw and mrs jones were MIA. both always give me a reality check and they will be sorely missed if they have left.

44

What did Raymond Franz believe after his exit?

by Botzwana in

did he start believing in the trinity and hellfire?

i have not read in search of christian freedom yet as i do not have a copy of it.

does he touch on this in that book?.

soft+gentle

heye thanks for correcting me Rory. you are right. Franz believed in the divinity of christ and had many discussions with a trinitarian member of his group. He was open to mixing in company with trinitarians. I somehow conflated the two because I read the book a long time ago. And for me personally whether or not a person believes or doesn't believe in the trinity is immaterial. the thing that I like about leavers is when they engage with the fullness of all that they were denied through totalising belief systems.

44

What did Raymond Franz believe after his exit?

by Botzwana in

did he start believing in the trinity and hellfire?

i have not read in search of christian freedom yet as i do not have a copy of it.

does he touch on this in that book?.

soft+gentle

I have read IN search of Chrisitan Freedom but don't have it to hand. Ray did believe in the trinity and was open to discussion about it with other trinitarians if I remember correctly.

this is an excellent way of putting it rory-ks - the fullness of God. I like the expression fullness and what it evokes

Actually, the trinity is an interesting subject. It could be argued that Jehovah's Witnesses believe in the trinity. The trinity is just man's clumsy way of trying to explain that in order to experience the fullness of God, one needs the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to explain the holy spirit without mentioning God. They are inseparable - one and the same, even. Christ is Jehovah's means of salvation. Don't even bother thinking about salvation if you don't accept the Christ, the Son of God. So, there you have it: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - the three necessary in the one faith.

Indded the JW hieararchy don't like fullness of any kind and stamp it out wherever they see it. this is the reason they miss the fullness of Christ. I'm so glad you took the steps you did to get out.

edt: Jw thinking is very much a product of the enlightenment and the emphasis on TRUTH as a system of belief. this to me is opposed to the fullness that Christ intuited and taught and that is eternal

16

Memorial, why isn't there the post memorial excitement like there is with an assembly

by insearchoftruth in

i know that the assembly is supposed to get the folks all excited about how close we are to the 'end of this system of things' but when my wife attends a memorial, she says nothing at all after it, even though this is supposed to be the most important night of the year for them..

soft+gentle

the whole thing is very negative and I think JWs are subconsciously aware of the negativity