greetings, friends:.
the opening query is presented, loosely, in the past tense, assuming that you are not currently a reader of watchtower publications.. not that i'm already rather certain of your reply, it's just that i would like to know if in your english-speaking country (or esl [english as second language]) the society deigned to tailor the publications to your spellings, expressions, idiomatic renderings, etc.
as you will read below, so-called american english is a dialect of english.. i found this online under american english vs. british english:.
Well, not in the WT as such but something that always makes me giggle everytime I read it. (As I did in a novel today; story set in the US)
A 'fanny pack'...............
here in the uk it's known as a 'bum bag'......... 'fanny' is NOT a word you go around using in everyday language the UK!
for those of you that can remember.... did you really believe that armageddon was going to come in 1975?
i was a child of the 60s, in my teens in the 70s and can honestly say that i never bought into it.
i saw brothers and sisters selling their homes and moving into rented property.
Some great answers!
Yes Dozy, it doesn't make sense that they are trying to blame the R&F for being taken in... by what was clearly a teaching from the top at the time. Trying to hoodwink the younger generations no doubt. Even my own hubby thinks anyone who believed it shouldn't have done... yet there's no waking him up!
for those of you that can remember.... did you really believe that armageddon was going to come in 1975?
i was a child of the 60s, in my teens in the 70s and can honestly say that i never bought into it.
i saw brothers and sisters selling their homes and moving into rented property.
For those of you that can remember.... did you really believe that Armageddon was going to come in 1975? I was a child of the 60s, in my teens in the 70s and can honestly say that I never bought into it. I saw brothers and sisters selling their homes and moving into rented property. Going pioneering etc. Fortunately my parents didn't sell up. I did go pioneering after school but it wasn't because I believed the end was near, it was just something I thought I should do. When 1975 came and went I was actually pleased nothing happened. Though it did start me wondering what else they had got wrong. When I look back, I realise there was a lot of things I didn't buy into but you don't really think at the time that it's because it's a cult and they've got your mind trapped. For me, the key to the lock was Raymond Franz's book CoC. It opened the door to my mind and everything came tumbling out that I'd had stored in there for years. I think 1975 coming and going was probably one of the first things that I had stored in that cupboard....
i am prepared for shunning when i send in my da letter.
my dad was furious when he comes back from overseas and find out that i have da myself.
yes, i do regret not talking to him first before i da...i also know that my mom is crying in her room.. but they didn't chase me out of the house.
Doing something kind for your mum obviously moved her. Behaving in the best way possible, doing things to please your parents (rather than going out drinking and smoking), is the best way to go. Don't give them any reason to want to carry on shunning. They are hurt and upset that you have Da'ed yourself. They feel they must follow the cult rules to be pleasing to God, that hurts them too. That's why your mum cries. She cries because she loves you and feels as though she's lost you. Their minds are controlled by the indoctrination and they don't or can't see that what they are doing is cruel and unloving. They think that treating you this way will make you come 'back to Jehovah'. Try and rise above that if you can, see it for what it is. It doesn't stop you being a loving son and by treating them kindly they may just come round to talking to you again. Don't give up!
anyone who questions the governing bodys authority is labelled as an apostate and almost always they bring up the story of korah and his revolt against moses.. watchtower august 1st, 2002, the article loyally submit to godly authority paragraphs 8-15.. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2002563.
in not so subtle hint, the gb likens themselves to moses, and those who disagree with the gb are korah.. paragraph 15 is actually quite damaging to the gb's argument though:.
it was so unnecessary for all those people to lose their lives.
The thing is, they've got it all wrong....back to front! Is the GB themselves to be compared with Moses? Isn't Jesus supposed to be the 'Greater Moses'? Didn't he condemn the Pharisees for 'sitting in the seat of Moses? So if Jesus is to be compared with Moses then who is it that should be compared with Korah? It certainly isn't the R&F!!
just wanted to ask a question of those who were born in as i was.. how did you feel to have been "privileged to have been born into the only true faith - the truth"?.
did this make you feel confident, or proud - or perhaps arrogant?.
how did you reconcile the fact that 99% of the earth's population was not born "into the truth"?.
I never felt 'privileged' but thought about my 'fortune' of having been born into it, my mother and father both having been converted a few years before they met and married (they were both in their teens). I often wondered to myself how I would have reacted if someone had knocked on my door. As an introvert and hating people knocking on my door for whatever reason I think I'd have sent them a way with a 'sorry, not interested'.
I never felt totally confident that I had 'the truth', some things niggled away at me at times but i would put them aside and I would do the usual talking to myself that it must be the truth, because of all the reasons spouted in the WT literature and from the platform.
I never believed that God would destroy 99% of the earth's population, just because they weren't JWs, it never sat well with me. I would tell myself that God knows hearts and he'd never do something like that. That it would only be the truly wicked and evil ones that would be dealt with.
I questioned things a lot. I'd sit in the meetings and get side tracked by the bible (from the time I could read at 5). I always loved books and the bible was a way to entertain myself at the meetings (they always bored me). I was fascinated by the stories and gained a good knowledge at quite a young age. As I got older some things just didn't add up but I would tell myself maybe I had got it wrong... after all this was 'God's Organisation'..... wasn't it????
i have been sneakily looking at this forum, almost every day, ever since it began!
it has taken me till now to actually register and contribute.
(actually i did register with a different name in the beginning but never commented).. i am a pimo elder with a fairly long history of senior "positions" in the organization.
Hi pimojw, I don't often comment on here anymore though I still read quite a bit but just felt I had to say hi as your words touched a cord with me. I too have struggled with many thoughts and teachings , trying to get my head round everything. Once you lose your faith in the WT it's so easy to lose faith in everything else too. I'm still unsure what to make of everything so I have just decided to enjoy the present, discard the WT teachings and try and live a good life. I still believe in God and still pray but not sure how much of the bible to still believe. I too love reading meletivivlon's website and it does help me to keep my faith somewhat, even though I still have lots of questions. I've had a little dabble with buddhist teachings too and like some of them very much. I found a good book to read called 'without buddha I could not be a christian' by Paul F Knitter. His wife is buddhist and he found a lot of ways to consider buddhist teachings and incorporate them into his christianity. It made a lot of sense to me. Hope you can find your way!
tragic occurrence:.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/steve-scalise-shot-in-virginia-aide-also-hit/ar-bbcfakv?li=bbnb7kz.
i saw another report indicating that the gunman may have targetting gop members.
Just had to login to give Outlaw's post a like! Only someone with hate in their heart and a screw loose in their head goes around shooting people!
In the UK guns are not so easily come by, so they pick up a cheap bread knife from the local supermarket. If their hatred makes them want to kill they'll do it with whatever they have at hand.
absolutely beautiful!.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vbmfx4isku.
Brilliant! I wonder if this made a few in the audience think a bit!
i never realised there was such a thing as 'christian agnosticism' until recently.
i've been wondering for a long time where my beliefs where at.
i still believe in god and still believe in jesus but not sure exactly what else.
Yes, it does seem like a misnomer which is why I was surprised the term even existed. Being a follower of Christ doesn't necessarily mean believing in a talking snake. What if it was a metaphor for something else? A legend or a parable for some kind of rebellion? Were Adam and Eve real people? Or did they represent 1)Man of the earth- mankind 2)Mother of humankind- womankind. This is the thing... we don't know, we weren't there. A believer is someone who believes and has faith in something that cannot be explained. That's why it's called 'faith'. So I actually think 'christian agnostic' is quite a good term for someone like me, who has faith that God exists and that Jesus exists but isn't too sure about what to believe about them, other than the writings of Bible, which can be very confusing at times.
