open_mind

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Posts by open_mind

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  5

  Martial Arts

  by open_mind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i somewhat understand the jw viewpoint of martial arts.

  i am curious if anyone else has any biblical viewpoints on this topic...all posts would be much appreciated.

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  open_mind

  I somewhat understand the JW viewpoint of martial arts. I am curious if anyone else has any biblical viewpoints on this topic...all posts would be much appreciated.
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  67

  Joining

  by Daniel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i want to join the jw family but i am having trouble finding a hall in houston.

  do anyone know how i can find one or help me by giving me one in houston.

  thanks

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  open_mind

  You Know....

  there are answers to everything they are throwing at you. Oftentimes the answers are not simple but require some depth of Bible knowledge to address.

  One question......do only members of the faithful and discreet slave class have that needed depth of bible knowledge?
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  28

  hi from a newbie!

  by Princess in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi everyone, i have been "lurking" for a week or so and thought i'd join the fun.

  i am a third generation jw who was determined not to make my kids the fourth!

  my husband and i left almost five years ago and have never looked back and as a result have never been happier.. just a quick summary of the past thirteen years.... i never went to college (never even considered it) and was married two weeks after graduating from high school.

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  open_mind

  Princess.....

  Just wanted to say it is wonderful to have you here. I am also new. I am sure we will both learn alot here.

  Open_mind

  A mind is like a parachute....it must be open to work.
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  67

  Joining

  by Daniel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i want to join the jw family but i am having trouble finding a hall in houston.

  do anyone know how i can find one or help me by giving me one in houston.

  thanks

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  open_mind

  Daniel,

  You asked for a reply from a current JW? Here it is.

  I am currently know as a Jehovah's Witness. I was baptized three months ago, and have studied for over a year. I once thought exactly like you do. I was told that these people are evil, and have empty accusations. Therefore I disregarded their advice. I chose to be baptized and become part of the most loving organization on earth. Everything was ok until about 6 weeks ago. I was supposed to stand up in my sister's wedding. The elder that I was studying with knew about this for over a year. He said....long before I was baptized that it would be alright to be in the ceremony. The week before the ceremony, I was pulled aside and told that it would no longer be considered accectable to be in the wedding. I disregarded that advice of the congregation and stood up for my sister. This was a sign of spiritual weakness, I was told. Considering the fact they lied to me just so I would get baptized, I decided to see exactly what else they had lied to me about. Here are some of the things I have been researching for the last 6 weeks.

  Just so you are aware, not all of my research has been done on apostate sites. I have found numerous amounts of information from history books, encyclopedias...etc.

  1914 teaching.....fall of Jerusalem in 607.
  Biblical appropriateness of 2520 yr. prophecy
  Disfellowshipping.....odd cases
  Hellfire
  Trinity
  New World Translation.....Accuracy
  JW's are the only christians...are they christians?
  Confessing sins to elders
  Baptism......why to org.?Why not in the name of the fater, son, and holy spirit?
  Christ...my personal mediator...or only mediator for anointed class?
  Biblical understanding is not for the individual?
  Paradise Earth?
  only 144,000 go to heaven?
  False Prophecy
  Blood?

  These are just a few things. The WT arguments seem very strong and true. If you research them for yourself, you will see they are fallable, though. I am not telling you what to do. These issues may seem insignificant, but please do your own research. I am a 21 year old male....I am probably not very wise, but I know when something is wrong.

  Do I regret being in the WT? Part of me says no....because I now know what they are like. I have no unanswered questions about them. But the spiritual side of me totally regrets it because of:

  Revelation 4:11 "you are worthy, our Lord to recieve glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

  God created me and gave me life. He deserves the best worship I can give him. I feel I was not doing that in the WT. There are many other verses I could use, but I am trying to keep this post short.

  I am new here...so I am sorry to all of you for such a long post, or if I was out of line in any way.

  Christian Love....open_mind
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  67

  Joining

  by Daniel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i want to join the jw family but i am having trouble finding a hall in houston.

  do anyone know how i can find one or help me by giving me one in houston.

  thanks

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  open_mind

  Dear sir......

  You came here. Therefore it is right for us to push our thoughts off on you...actually we share our thoughts. Wait until you are a JW. Then you will know what it is like to have someone else's thoughts pushed off on you.

  If you want to be a JW, I think you will fit right in.....with your....I would go off, because I find your arrogance offensive, but we try to express christian love here.

  If you have read about the WT and enjoy what you have read, you must have only been reading WT literature.

  I only ask that you be honest to yourself.
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  67

  Joining

  by Daniel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i want to join the jw family but i am having trouble finding a hall in houston.

  do anyone know how i can find one or help me by giving me one in houston.

  thanks

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  open_mind

  Please...research the WT before you join. I know you have been told sites like this are bad, but please research everything before joining. There are multiple sites out there with a wealth of information. I am not going to tell yo not to join, that is your decision, but please let it be an informed decision, learning all sides of the organization. If you have an open mind, and research the organization, I dont think you will join...but they are very convincing.
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  13

  I need your help!

  by open_mind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have not shared my "story" with you yet.....i will give you the just of it right now, and go into further detail later.. i was baptized three months ago.

  i started having doubts right away.

  i am currently inactive and have no plans to return.

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  open_mind

  I thank all of you very much for your replies. They mean so much to me. This is a very hard time for me. This elder was my friend before I was a JW, but now I know that our friendship has ended. It is so hard to come to that realization. Christ taught to love your neighbors, and to have love amongst yourselves. I feel more loved on this board than I ever did being a member of Jehovah's Witnesses. I don't think friendship should be rationalized by what religion you are a member of. I feel that we can learn something from every person on this earth. Again, I would like to thank all of you....for your support and replies. I feel very welcome here.

  A mind is like a parachute...it must me open to work :-)
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  28

  "Have I committed the unforgiveable sin?&q...

  by LDH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  *** g94 11/8 20 have i committed the unforgivable sin?

  masturbation is an unclean habit.

  (2 corinthians 7:1) however, the bible does not class it with serious sins such as fornication.

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  open_mind

  FredHall.......isn't this site here so that we can help each other? If this is true then why should he keep his personal life at home. Don't most people here share parts of their personal life with eachother?
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  13

  I need your help!

  by open_mind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have not shared my "story" with you yet.....i will give you the just of it right now, and go into further detail later.. i was baptized three months ago.

  i started having doubts right away.

  i am currently inactive and have no plans to return.

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  open_mind

  I have not shared my "story" with you yet.....I will give you the just of it right now, and go into further detail later.

  I was baptized three months ago. I started having doubts right away. I am currently inactive and have no plans to return. I am trying to do a slow fade because of business contacts. DF or DA would disrupt that business relationship. I will go into my doubts about the WT in a later Posting.

  Right now I need your help. I am currently studying with an elder about my doubts. We have been conversing through e-mail. This first letter is one I sent him recently. I am sorry this post is so long....

  Dear __________,

  I have not had much time to meditate on the message you sent me. I thought I would share a few responses that I do have right now, though.

  It seems that you feel I am trying to stop serving Jehovah, or that I want to leave Jehovah, and no longer have him in my life. I apologize if my actions speak this way, but that is not true. I see many benefits with having a personal relationship with god. However, we may differ on the context of that relationship, or what is required to have that relationship.

  My doubts that I am currently having are not in my relationship with Jehovah, or his Loving son Christ Jesus. I am not trying to be part of the world or desire the "flesh of the world". It seems that I have been taking information that has been handed to me for granted. I have not been researching these topics and teachings all along the way. I should have. That was my responsibility. I am the one who needs to decide if what I am told is truth or not. You said in your second letter to me, "it is a good, logical step when making decisions to consider all the factors." That is what I am doing. I appreciate the insight you have provided me. I do consider you a man with an abundance of biblical knowledge. I do not disrespect that fact. But I remember what you said last week about the historians. I asked how 600 historians could be wrong. You said that if they all used the same source, and that source was wrong, they would all be wrong. I can learn the same things you have been taught, using the same books, written by the same people, and I will know what you know. I would be very honored to have the knowledge that you have. But, I need my own knowledge. That is what this is all about. I can't believe everything that is said to me anymore without first extensively researching it. I do trust you; I know that you would never intentionally mislead me, or any one else. You have a great desire to share the truth with everyone, as I do, but I need to "make the truth my own." You said that the apostate sites (that you assume I have been visiting) are full of "empty accusations". If this is so, then what is the concern? As I have previously stated, I can no longer accept anything, FROM ANYONE, with out first researching it myself. You gave me that advice before. That is all I am trying to do now. If I were to come across an "empty accusation" from an apostate, I would have to research it to see if there is any truth. If not, then there is no concern. You asked me to come to you with any questions about things I do not understand, and I will do that.

  Brian, you cited 1 Corinthians 10:13 in your letter. The B part of that verse caught my attention, "but along with the temptation he will also make the way out in order for you to be able to endure it."
  
  I am not leaving Jehovah, and I have faith that he will not leave me.

  You talked about being no part of the world. Are you considering me part of the world because I have not been attending meetings? I do not feel that I am being "worldly". I have studied more in the last month than I have in the whole last year. I have read, and understood more from the bible, things I can apply to MY life, than I have in a long time. Maybe it is because I am reading from a critical point of view, I don't know. All I know right now is that I am not throwing God out of my life, and I have an incredible thirst for knowledge.

  Please know, I am not trying to do anything that would be considered as hostile towards the congregation, or any of its members. I do not desire to be disfellowshiped for any of my actions. I am just trying to resolve some concerns and questions that I have. Yet, I understand that as an elder, you have to do what you have to do. I already feel that I have been "shunned" by some for having concerns. I do not need to mention any names, but it is quite evident.

  I appreciate your insight on these issues. You have been a wonderful help to me and a wonderful friend. So many friendships are conditional these days. I just want to let you know that I value yours. I can provide more scriptural responses later. I just thought I would send this for now.

  Thank you for your help, and for being concerned about me.

  This is the response I received this morning.......

  -The email just tried to clarify a few things in our discussion..... but it would probably be nicer to talk about them in person. It seems that in email the correct feelings & intent does not always get expressed. I am hesitant to write by email... for concern of just offending you more & more. I really am not trying to do that.

  Here is one item that I made mention of:

  Regarding 1 Tim 2:5,6, the mediator. Before I can reply I need to know a few things. Do you believe that some people will live forever on the earth? Do you believe that others go to heaven to rule as kings & priests with Christ?

  As an additional point.... this whole thing has kind of shocked me. Are you willing to get together any days besides Monday for 1 hour? I will meet with your friend as well if you want.

  -Just for my peace of mind, please remember:
  I always encouraged you to be like the Beroeans in Acts Ch. 17. They checked what Paul said with the scriptures - then followed through. The Beroeans were "more noble-minded" than those in Thesolonica that just accepted every teacher that came through town. I really believed that you were checking the scriptures like the Beroeans. I would never have encouraged you to dedicate your life to Jehovah if I thought you were just following me.

  I never told you to accept it because I said so.
  I encouraged you to read the Bible.
  I encouraged you to compare Bible translations.
  I showed you EVERYTHING from the Bible.

  As I said... I am very distressed over this situation. I am very sorry if you made decisions because of following man. I truly thought that I was building you up on the foundation of Christ. (1 Cor. Ch 3)
  I did not learn what I shared with you on my own, or 'from the books I
  have'. Christs congregation taught me the truth. Again.. for my peace of mind. If the above statement is not true, please let
  me know. I am in anguish about this situation.

  For my understanding please let me know how you feel about the following doctrinal teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses:

  1) No Trinity
  2) No immortal soul
  3) No eternal torment
  4) No predestination
  5) God's name is Jehovah
  6) Christ is the head of a unified Christian Congregation
  7) God's Kingdom is a heavenly government
  8) Christ is overseeing the global preaching work for a witness to all
  nations before the end comes

  Now.... I am not asking this to offend you. If you still hold to these Bible truths, GREAT! If you do.... then please have appreciation for the global organization that Jehovah is using to teach mankind these truths.. freeing them from Babylonish captivity. There does not exist another global educational program like ours that brings these teachings to mankind. Do you still agree with this?
  If you disagree with any of these teachings, then we could review them if you want to.

  Sincerely,
  _________

  It is obvious that he did not read my letter nery closely, but any input you would have would be wonderful.

  Please note, I have no desire to be a JW anymore.

  Open_Mind
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  5

  usadbunchagays

  by Devilman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  get alife

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  open_mind

  DM,

  I would ask why you are so hostile towards others, but seeing as I am currently a JW (not for long) I know the answer. This board is a wonderful way to voice your opinion on many topics that you are not free to express to any JW friends. (it is hard to call them friends...to many conditions) Why don't you take your WT blinders off and try to learn something new. (the true "truth")

  Always remember DevilMan.....Christ Jesus Loves You....I just hope he can see beyond your ignorance and lack of love for others.

  A mind is like a parachute....it must be open to work :-)