here is the situation.... a young 19 year old in our congo had a fallout with his parents because of all the restrictions and jw dogma and moved out of the house last wednesday.. to make the story short, the parents went running to the elders and what was the comfort?.
coe said: i saw that coming!
your son never reached out to get baptized.. then the other elder said: don't worry, you still have one left that will be saved.
I was born in and it took me over 30 years to get out. I no longer believe in the god of the bible. I also have theories on the true origins of chrsitianity.
With that being said, I believe you should read the gospel accounts. Pay close attention to what Jesus says, the way he acts, the way he treats people. It should start to raise questions as there is a difference between being a follower of the teachings of Jesus and a christian.
many emails are sent to me through my website, watchtowerdocuments.com.
all are answered.
remember 1corinthians 6: 1-2 (i'll answer this question.
4. I understand your emotional feeling as a woman regarding the molestation of teenage girls and women by members of the organization and the manner the in which the policies are applied in managing the issues, but shouldn't you have waited for Jehovah's own time? Deuteronomy 32:35
I'm glad someone brought up Romans 13:1-7. Those scriptures basically outline that the earthly authorities are God's ministers. When they use the sword he gave them, they are doing his will.
Here in Texas we have a law that states it is a crime to fail to report:
Sec. 261.109. FAILURE TO REPORT; PENALTY. (a) A person commits an offense if the person has cause to believe that a child's physical or mental health or welfare has been or may be adversely affected by abuse or neglect and knowingly fails to report as provided in this chapter.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the child was a person with mental retardation who resided in a state supported living center, the ICF-MR component of the Rio Grande State Center, or a facility licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety Code, and the actor knew that the child had suffered serious bodily injury as a result of the abuse or neglect.
So, a person who fails to report is looking at spending up to a year in the county jail or 2 years in prison if the child is mentally retarded if they do not report child abuse to the authorities.
so these last few wts have definitely eroded my wife's faith in the org.
she is definitely seeing the bs, and i even overheard her talking openly about it to a family member.
good for her!.
Someone beat me to the punch on Romans 13 dealing with the fact that the God has given a "sword" to the earthly government and when they use it they are doing his will.
In addition, when Exodus 20:13 is PROPERLY translated it reads: "“You shall not murder," which is very different from "You shall not kill". Murder is the unlawful killing of one human by another.
Also, Isaiah 2:4 " They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore," refers to a future time. Not the present.
The preaching work is an epic fail argument. There is a list of religions that carry on in a public preaching work.
as an apostate, i'm currently compiling a list of changed doctrines and "new light" changes over the years.
this is mainly for discussing with witnesses in the future.
i feel if i don't present full truth of their own doctrine, they will knock me down and rightfully say that i did not give full infomation(hypocrites much?).
This topic also made me dwell on the point that there is only 1 general reason people are disfellowshipped: The acted in a way or failed to cease acting in a way that is in opposition to a current belief being taught by the Watchtower Society.
A person could be disfellowshipped for accepting a heart transplant and the very next day the newest Watchtower magazine is released that states it is now alright to accept a transplant. There would be no change in the decision to disfellowship as it was "wrong" at that time. People are not reinstated when doctrine changes to support the disfellowshipped person's point of view.
i visited my sister in a small town in the midst of the country, the town has a population of 3,000 and there's about 70 in the cong.
anyway, there was a local needs talk a few months ago about associating with family members who didn't live under your roof and no longer went to meetings.
one family of an elder dad and three sons (one an elder too, the others have stopped going) and a daughter (still going but married a 'worldly') are quite prominent and one half of a typical congregational feud.
I was a victim of this. Due to my work schedule and required overtime, I could only make the School/Service Meeting and even then I would miss some of those. After a year of that I tried making a comeback. No one would speak to me at the Kingdom Hall.
was talking to an elder about beards.
he said that at bethel, only black and hispanic brothers can have mustaches (any actual facts supporting this decision?).
he mentioned that we don't want to stumble anyone so that they won't hear our message.
Like so many other things inside the Watchtower Society, the rule is made and then they look for ways to justify the rule. This one is classic. What is even funnier is the history of beards and shaving. It was Alexander the Great who required his soldiers to shave as an enemy could grab them by the beard. The Romans shaved as a status symbol. Only free men were allowed to. The word "barbarian" comes from the Latin for "beared man". So, shaving your beard is both "learning war" and exalting yourself above your fellow man. Both are highly "unchristian" practices.
elections are coming up in australia in a couple of weeks.
do most of you after leaving the 'truth' vote?.
i've never been enrolled so as long as i don't enrol now i can get away with out doing it.
I vote. I also help politicians with their election campaigns. I'm also a volunteer lobbyist for legislative issues involving law enforcement.
i'm about 90% finished on a book i started nine years ago.
it will deal with jehovah's witness policy on conscientious objectors during war time.
from the 1800's through the end of the draft in the early 1970's.. i am also giving a personal biographical account of my own introduction to the religion, process of assimilation and ministry experience.. additionally, i'm working in timelines connecting the 2nd adventist teachings with russell, rutherford and mainstream watchtower doctrines.. .
I think under the political/social climate of the united states, the best thing to do is stick with your main topic. Since 9/11 there has be a resurgence in support for the United States military. The anti-military message of Jehovah's Witnesses is not well know by the public.
In addition, I remember back in the mid-1990's when the Watchtower Society changed its stance and said the accepting alternative service to compelled military service was alright. Think of all the young brothers like yourself who needlessly spent time in prison due to the flip-flopping philosphies of the WB&TS. It sickens to me.
The big regret in my life is that I did not serve in the military was I was younger. I wasted my youth pioneering and postponed my college education as well as my law enforcement career.
at the thread about jaracz steve2 made the following interesting comment.
by now, ted should be finding his heavenly posting a routinized bore: 4 years and still counting.
he will have chaffed at the notion that all decisions are made by jehovah god who consults no one and who brooks no questioning or independent thinking.
I believe the answer to your question goes a little something like this:
When Adam & Eve sinned and became "imperfect" Jehovah washed his hands of creation. He refuses to get involved until it has been restored to perfection. So he has handed everything off to his son to repair thing as he is above dealing with imperfection.
The 144,000 are Jehovah's way of giving Satan the finger. Satan wanted to be worshipped by creation. Now, 144,000 humans will be raised above the level of Satan and be used to destroy him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-vjlssg3xi.
We had one who was disfellowshipped for his felony. He actually surrended to the police asking to serve his time in the prison that was in our terrirtory because of the arrangement. He was reinstated and pioneered while in the pen.
Most the inmates who attended the meetings were raised as Witnesses, got into drugs, and went to prison for their illegal activities.
I also lost track of the number of people I booked into the county and, while inventorying their personal property, came across their "blood card".
