IWant2Know

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Posts by IWant2Know

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  6

  The Power Beyond What Is Normal

  by IWant2Know in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  related to this topic:.

  isaiah 40:29-31 and being gay (jehovahs-witness.com).

  i would like to know if any former or current jws have ever experienced any type of superhuman strength from god?

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  IWant2Know

  Related to this topic:

  Isaiah 40:29-31 and Being Gay (jehovahs-witness.com)
  

  I would like to know if any former or current JWs have ever experienced any type of superhuman strength from God? (Also, see Philippians 4:13, 2 Corinthians 4:7, Colossians 1:11, and 1 Corinthians 10:13.) Because thinking that I could or should fulfill what those verses and other similar verses were saying, was one of the most painful things for me when I was a JW.

  However, I've seen JWs on the internet, when pressed with this topic end up saying that there really is no 'power,' but is more of a mind set and a determination that a Witness has from reading and following the Bible and having Jehovah's holy spirit guide him with encouragement from the Bible.

  But wait... Is that a legitimate assessment? Is that what those verses are saying what happens? Because personally, the answers that I've seen from JWs sounds more like mind over matter.

  Any comments?
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  52

  Manners and Respectfulness

  by IWant2Know in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like to know if there are any ex's or formers who still appreciate good manners and respectfulness?

  but i hope this question isn't offensive to this forum.

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  IWant2Know

  • 
    

    Queequeg said:
    

    Can you give us some examples of disrespect, orneryness etc. on this forum? Please?

    
    Lack of manners?

    So, are you asking for a specific person, example, or post? Or are you asking for something in general?
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  52

  Manners and Respectfulness

  by IWant2Know in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like to know if there are any ex's or formers who still appreciate good manners and respectfulness?

  but i hope this question isn't offensive to this forum.

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  IWant2Know

  MeanMrMustard said:
  

  I've had no issues changing mine...

  So, how did you change yours?
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  74

  Doctrines and Bible Interpretations

  by IWant2Know in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like to know if ex's and formers who are not church christians, believe that many of jws' doctrines and bible interpretations are correct, or do you feel that they aren't?

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  IWant2Know

  Here is something clearer than my previous answer about Jews and blood:

  Is Human Blood Kosher?

  By Eliezer Posner

  Question:

  I know that the Torah prohibits the consumption of blood. Does this apply to my own blood as well?

  Answer:

  When the Torah tells us that we are allowed to eat the meat of kosher animals, we are warned that "…you shall not eat the blood…."

  Although human blood is not included in this Biblical prohibition, it is nevertheless forbidden. This is because human blood resembles animal blood; one who observes people eating human blood might believe it is permitted to consume animal blood.

  Is Human Blood Kosher? - Chabad.org
  
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  74

  Doctrines and Bible Interpretations

  by IWant2Know in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like to know if ex's and formers who are not church christians, believe that many of jws' doctrines and bible interpretations are correct, or do you feel that they aren't?

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  IWant2Know

  NotFormer said:
  

  
  

  "But JWs aren't the only ones who interpret Michael to be Jesus."

  There's a small amount of truth in that. I believe I heard (this was decades ago, so my memory may be faulty) a Christadelphian say that Jesus was Michael in some prophetic sense. But they wouldn't have had the same belief as JWs, even though Russell probably got his non-Trinitarian views from the Christadelphians. The Christadelphians don't believe in any pre-existance of Jesus before his conception, while Michael was around before that.

  Because of Michael’s prominent position in the rank of angels, there are some cult and religious groups who teach that the archangel Michael is none other than Jesus Himself. By claiming that Christ is only an angel, Jehovah’s Witnesses seek to portray Jesus as a created being instead of Almighty God. Seventh-day Adventists also claim that Jesus is the archangel, Michael.

  Why Is Jesus Thought to Be the Archangel Michael? (christianity.com)
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  74

  Doctrines and Bible Interpretations

  by IWant2Know in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like to know if ex's and formers who are not church christians, believe that many of jws' doctrines and bible interpretations are correct, or do you feel that they aren't?

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  IWant2Know

  NotFormer
  

  "But JWs aren't the only ones who interpret Michael to be Jesus."

  There's a small amount of truth in that. I believe I heard (this was decades ago, so my memory may be faulty) a Christadelphian say that Jesus was Michael in some prophetic sense. But they wouldn't have had the same belief as JWs, even though Russell probably got his non-Trinitarian views from the Christadelphians. The Christadelphians don't believe in any pre-existance of Jesus before his conception, while Michael was around before that.

  Well, actually, if you Google this topic, you will see that the whole Michael/Jesus thing isn't as unique as some people think it is:

  I’ve discussed the fact before that the first Christians believed Jesus was secretly an angel who came down from heaven in the guise of a man (a conclusion with which even Bart Ehrman now concurs). Even if Jesus was a historical person they believed this (a key point in my new book Jesus from Outer Space). And even if semantically you dislike the word “angel” and imagine the first Christians employed some other term for what he was, still they believed he was an eternal being who descended from what they understood to be outer space. And this idea features as well-documented background information in my peer reviewed study On the Historicity of Jesus (index, “angels and angelology,” “Logos,” “Melchizedek,” and of interest to today’s topic, “Michael”). For articles on my blog covering this subject in more focus, see The Original Scriptural Concept of ‘The Lord’ Jesus, Can Paul’s Human Jesus Not Be a Celestial Jesus?, and my two articles on Larry Hurtado’s bizarre attempt to deny this: The Bizarre Fugue of Larry Hurtado and The Difference Between a Historian and an Apologist. Of course the Jehovah’s Witnesses have long claimed to have uncovered the secret truth that, in fact, Jesus was none other than the Archangel Michael, traveling under another name (one that just happens to mean God’s Messianic Savior, suggesting that name, in this case, is fabricated: Christ means Anointed ergo Messiah/Messianic; and Jesus, i.e. Joshua, i.e. Yeshua, means God’s Savior). And there is a good case to be made that they are right. And this case is most expertly laid out in Darrell Hannah’s doctoral dissertation, later revised and published by Moer Siebeck and then Wipf & Stock in 1999: Michael and Christ: Michael Tradition and Angel Christology in Early Christianity.

  Was Jesus-Is-Michael an Early Christian Mystery Teaching? • Richard Carrier Blogs

  The blood doctrine is totally unique to JWs. . .

  Actually, it's not. Many Orthodox Jews have the same doctrine:

  FACTS-REL-Judaism-20191106.pdf (defenseculture.mil)

  144000 Israelite male virgins referring to Christians of both genders and not being necessarily celibate is unique. The nature of those people is apparently "symbolic", but their number (12×12×1000, extremely symbolic biblical numbers) is apparently absolute.

  I haven't looked into this enough to really give an intelligent answer to this subject, however, I would like to ask: Why wouldn't the number 144,000 in Revelation be a symbolic number?

  
  
  
  
  
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  74

  Doctrines and Bible Interpretations

  by IWant2Know in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like to know if ex's and formers who are not church christians, believe that many of jws' doctrines and bible interpretations are correct, or do you feel that they aren't?

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  IWant2Know

  Sea Breeze
  

  The nice thing about freedom is that you get to read the promises of God for yourself and choose whether or not to receive them. You don't need anyone's permission.

  Well, perhaps not permission, but doesn't reading those promises incorrectly result in either everlasting destruction or everlasting pain and torment in an eternal hellfire? Or whatever sort of comeuppance that one believes in.

  Jesus is quoting Ps. 118: 26. Here it is in context.
  A stone which the builders rejected
  Has become the chief cornerstone.
  This came about from the LORD;
  It is marvelous in our eyes.
  This is the day which the LORD has made;
  Let’s rejoice and be glad in it.
  Please, O LORD, do save us;
  Please, O LORD, do send prosperity!
  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD;
  We have blessed you [Jesus] from the house of the LORD.
  Jesus knew that his first coming would be a curse for him - "cursed is every man that hangeth upon a tree"... (Gal. 3: 13; 2 Cor 5: 21)) Israel pronounced a curse upon their King and in so doing liberated all believing mankind from the authority of Hell. Because that verse also says he became a curse "for us" not just Adam..... thus satisfying the harsh demands of the LAW which is the death penalty for all who receive it.
  When Jesus comes a second time, it will not to be to become a curse - but a blessing as he destroys the Anti-Christ and his human armies and demon hordes that gang up on the nation of Israel and squeeze them until they are literally begging Jesus to show up. As a nation they will have come all the way to their end. This is the time of Jacobs trouble. Not many Jews will be left, perhaps less than a third. But, enough will be left to welcome their Savior.
  Roman 9: 27 - And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,
  Christianity is just a parenthesis in the over-all plan of God. And what a marvellous parentheis it is. But, the main theme of the bible centers around the King of Kings and Lord of Lords as the replacement for King Adam who gave away his kingdom for little more than a whim from his wife.
  Instead of a prison planet, the Milleniuim Reign will be a time of ubelievable freedom and peace as King Jesus shepards the nations with a rod of iron.
  All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. - Ps. 86: 9

  Well, I would say that whatever works for you.
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  52

  Manners and Respectfulness

  by IWant2Know in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like to know if there are any ex's or formers who still appreciate good manners and respectfulness?

  but i hope this question isn't offensive to this forum.

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  IWant2Know

  NotFormer said:
  

  
  

  IWant2Know: He pops in from time to time. The avatar issue has been on the backburner for some time. This is just a hobby for him. That it works so well as such should be congratulated.

  Oh, well. It looks like I'll have to get used to the baby-poop green coloring of my avatar. 😵‍💫😉
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  52

  Manners and Respectfulness

  by IWant2Know in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i would like to know if there are any ex's or formers who still appreciate good manners and respectfulness?

  but i hope this question isn't offensive to this forum.

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  IWant2Know

  TonusOH said:
  

  
  

  The Watchtower organization will find any number of ways to justify their attitude towards those who leave. One way is to focus on those whose behavior they think is easy to condemn, even though there are certainly plenty of such examples within the organization itself. Or are people not rude or aggressive or foul-mouthed when they are JWs?

  Well, from what I recall, a lot of them are not.

  I am 100% certain that if I had browsed this forum when I was PIMI, I would have an endless list of things to object to, which would have fed my view of exJWs and apostates. I would also have found no end of excuses for similar behavior among JWs. Confirmation bias is a very real thing, and it paints our view of the world. Knowing this, I don't worry what the organization or PIMI JWs think about this site.

  Well, I partially agree with what you're saying. However, my concern is for those who are POPMI (Physically Out Partially Mentally In). Because for me personally, that was my experience with the organization. And if others who are POPMI are anything like I was, then they would be looking for answers. However, when coming to this forum, they may see a lot of behavior, which seems to confirm and support what Jehovah's Witnesses say about apostates. Even though in all fairness, they would also see a lot of knowledge and helpful answers.
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  45

  Isaiah 40:29-31 and Being Gay

  by IWant2Know in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'm new here and i have perhaps an unusual question.

  it's just something that i would like to know from ex's or formers rather than from other jehovah's witnesses.

  but i would like to know what your experience and your struggle was for former jws who were gay when they were jws.

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  IWant2Know

  PioneerSchmioneer said:
  

  
  

  iwant2know-- I have talked @ length to this Caleb guy. While he is of Jewish heritage, you are aware that is merely due to birth and upbringing/education. He is a Christian who taught religion after leaving the Borg.
  He makes it a practices of not writing down what he personally believes in his answers. Just academic answers.

  Oh, brother. 🙄 Well, I was looking forward to hearing what his answer was mainly because (and excuse me for my lack of manners and respectfulness) I was trying to assess the type of stick that he had up his ass. But, thank you, PioneerSchmioneer.