i've been inactive for a while and i can't remember the jws stance on gambling.
i'm kinda big into poker now and i want to know what to expect if i'm televised or spotted in a public tournament.
is it a disfellowshipping offense, public reproof offense, or conscious decision?
Gambling isn't the actual offense you will be charged with.
2 Corinthians 7:1; Colossians 3:5; Ephesians 4:19. Covetousness, Greediness, and a defilement of the flesh is what the offender will be counsoled on since "gambling" isn't actually mentioned in the scriptures. Because you covet what is not yours, you are displaying uncleanness with greediness for money, and gambling has known addiction issues and therefore is a defilement.
i was at my jw's friends house a few days ago and she had a jar on her counter that had "trip to bethel" written on it.. there was some chump change inside.
i never asked.
is bethel kind of like mecca?.
Lived, worked, ate, and slept there for 3 yrs.... to be perfectly honest its a nice place for a bunch of 19 yr olds to get energy out, make friends, and get out of the house. If you know the right people you can have a nice cushy job and be do shit and be viewed as "gods" in the local congs and back home. It gets old though and I am glad that I left when I did. Its like any congregation though complete with "hallitics" immorality, stealing, etc. Nothing special.
as a publisher, still buying the wt line that they were god's sole channel and any problems, doubts, etc... i had were all a product of my own lack of.
wisdom and or humility or failure of application, i would be shocked and puzzled at how long-time elders would resign and then fade away.
i would wonder: what could have happened.
My guess is that a LOT of brothers are fed up with how congregations are run. They either leave altogether, or cut way back so that they don't have express belief in ideas that they don't go along with (blood, 1914, generation changes) or be harsh to the poor brothers in committees. It's not so bad to be a JW if you're rank-in-file (for me anywy, everyone's different).
This is absolutely how I feel in my situation, I have determined that I can not leave the WT altogether now or I'd risk my marriage and family so I hang in. Currently still an elder but I went from Service Commitee member/Bookstudy Overseer/WT Conductor/sitting on every single committee case/troubleshooting cong issues for the last CO to basically missing at least 1 meeting a week, barely commenting at bookstudy or WT and now being ignored by 1/2 the elder body (seriously..not even a hello how are you when I walk in).
I was hoping they would delete me the last CO visit but the cowards chickened out probably because they hate confrontation and they know I have accumulated enough dirt on many of them to bury them if I wanted to...which honestly I could give a shit about anymore. I am guessing that there are many "active" elders in a similar place as me out there.
this is the situation with my congregation and i wonder if it is the same with yours.. as many of you know, the watchtower is not known for organising social gatherings of any kind for relaxation or enjoyment.. many of us only come into contact with witnesses while going to meetings and going out on field service.. as soon as you leave the hall, the congregation ceases to exist, in my mind anyway.. when you go back to the hall, the congregation exists, but only for the time you are there.. think about it - you spend 2 hours sitting and perhaps 10 minutes talking during each meeting.
if you have no friends in the hall that you see on a regular basis, then you feel like you're on your own until the next meeting.. .
my point is this: for those who still go but are not invited out anywhere, particularly if they are fading, do you feel that the congregation only exists in the kingdom hall?
Since I have started to remove myself socially from the in crowd I do understand exactly what you are saying. I think for may JWs its always like this. If are not now, nor ever were on the "A" list in the cong. then the cong. was only 3 days a week for you.
i just listened to one of those teaching tapes from that witness now for jesus convention, it was about the divine name.
it was a lot of stuff i've heard before "replacing lord for jehovah in new testament when they shouldnt have" , etc.
but towards the end the speaker gave an illustration that really hit me he said something like this:.
In the Jewish scriptures they called their "Father" YHWH more often than not.
Right, but JWs are supposedly chrtistians now Jews....Even they teach that Jesus appearance nullified the mosaic system of worship so they are supposed to follow his lead. He called YHWH father most of the time.
i just listened to one of those teaching tapes from that witness now for jesus convention, it was about the divine name.
it was a lot of stuff i've heard before "replacing lord for jehovah in new testament when they shouldnt have" , etc.
but towards the end the speaker gave an illustration that really hit me he said something like this:.
if I believe jehovah to be the true name of God, that by my using it we were somehow equal thereby losing a bit of respect for God and his name.
I think this is the point the speaker was trying to make, not defining the words title and name. Jesus never prayed using the name Jehovah, it was always "Father". In other words if we have a close relationship with god then we should call him , not by his name, but by father just a child would do to a parent. Using Jehovah has become a title to the JW's.
i just listened to one of those teaching tapes from that witness now for jesus convention, it was about the divine name.
it was a lot of stuff i've heard before "replacing lord for jehovah in new testament when they shouldnt have" , etc.
but towards the end the speaker gave an illustration that really hit me he said something like this:.
I just listened to one of those teaching tapes from that Witness now for Jesus convention, it was about the divine name. It was a lot of stuff I've heard before "replacing lord for Jehovah in new testament when they shouldnt have" , etc. But towards the end the speaker gave an illustration that really hit me he said something like this:
"I don't know about you but I like my kids to call me daddy, not by my first name. There are only 2 people on this earth that can call me that. Is daddy a name? No its a TITLE"
Wow so I really understand being a parent myself that for my kids to love and respect me they dont need to use my first name... in fact I dont want them to. Does god want us to use his name or just know what his name represents "causes to become" from original hebrew lang. Anyway I thought this was a very interesting way to illustrate his point.
question, can someone with the heavenly hope lose their position?
i remember when i became a jw.
on december 25th a ms brother invited many brothers to his house for dinner.
i was very confused.... the way he talked, it was because we didn't celebrate christmas and that we were all alone on that day, and that's why he made it look like a christmas dinner .... .
We did already at Thanksgiving.... Turkey, mashed potatoes, etc. Plus we had friends and family over. We never "celebrated" christmas though but growing up pops always made us turkey dinner and I continue the tradition.
the society claims that all appointments of elders and ministerial servants in the congregation are made by holy spirit.
now, the inexperienced or new witness is under the impression that jehovah, by means of his holy spirit, puts it into the hearts and minds of the body of elders that so-and-so is ready to serve, and the appointment happens accordingly.. but they actually employ a sort of deception with this process, because when they say, "holy spirit directs all appointments of men in the congregation", they actually mean that each brother considered for appointment is examined to see if he has the qualities listed by paul in his letter to timothy about the qualities of congregation shepherds.
so they reason that since that writing of paul's was inspired by holy spirit, then by extension, the appointments which happen as a result of using that list of qualities to examine an individual, the appointment is made by holy spirit.. this is like saying that people are hand-picked by simon for american idol because the regional producers of the show use a list of things to look for in contestants and that list just happened to be written by simon.
The JW elder arrangement is a farce, a system designed to conscript middle management so that the cult leaders in Brooklyn can maintain control and fear. Seriously though oftentimes it all depends upon who you know. If you are a regular pioneer or have the CO "simonized" then you'll be promoted for sure.
