Posts by Perry

40

Is there truth in religion

by bola in

i am asking this questions due to the teachings, beliefs and practices of different religions..

Is there truth in religion

by bola in

i am asking this questions due to the teachings, beliefs and practices of different religions..

Of course. There is some truth is probably most religions just as there is some truth in most philosophies. They are just not the Source of Truth. ANY group professing ANY ideology is led by human leaders, and that is where we get into trouble, believing in humans.

"if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" - Jesus @ Mt. 15:14

56

Southern California USA Congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses On High Alert

by JW GoneBad in

circuit overseers, elders, ministerial servants, pioneers and rank & file are stressed out over an ex-jw (kevin) who has visited nearly 20 congregations (orange county) and has high-jacked the opening prayers and done some effective witnessing before he is escorted to the back door.

and everything is caught on video!.

kevin is also visiting numerous jw cart locations from the los angeles area to orange county and giving a most effective wiitness at each location and they're all on video.

Perry

I pulled into a KH parking lot with my wife and kids late one Saturday morning and struck up a conversation with an elder. After showing him a quote from the Watchtower that Jesus was not his Mediator, he seemed genuinely surprised. I asked him if this concerned him.

He said something I'll never forget. He said, "if what you are telling me is true, then I'm in the wrong religion".

I left it at that and wished him a good day.

Witnessing to JW's can be effective, but here's the deal: You must truly care about the individual you are talking to. If you don't, it will show and you will appear disingenuous. If your goal is win an argument, show them up as hypocritical, bash their church, or just grind your axe at their expense, you will not be effective.

I appreciate this guy's desire to do "something", but he should do some soul searching, identify his own motives, and then examine what he wishes to accomplish. We should treat others the way we want to be treated. That is admittedly a tall order, but an excellent guide and goal.

6

1975 Research (sorry, even more!)

by Splash in

here's a document from the time, which exposed 1975 as it was unfolding.. i've also attached a document which is an unstructured collection of 1975 observations, reasoning on the wt teachings and comments, and looking at how they republished certain books with changes to hide their 1975 teachings etc.. if anyone fancies sorting through these they might find a new angle not previously considered.. however the bottom line is that there is a ton of evidence that wt were pedaling 1975 to the masses for years.how they try to turn around today to pretend otherwise is nothing short of hypocritical cowardice..

Perry

Armageddon coming in 1975 was talked about as a for sure thing. At five years old, I well remember my father stating after Nixon won reelection in 1972, "Well, it looks like Nixon will end this old system".

In 1975, I turned 12 years old. My uncle sold his house and business only to turn to alcoholism in the aftermath. No one attended his funeral when he died, I was told. He was Df'd.

I turned to marijuana at that time to help deal with the stress of either A. About to be annihilated or B. Being in a family dedicated to a cult where nothing was ever good or perfect enough.

Starting around age 8, at each birthday, instead of receiving presents to open up at a birthday party like other kids; I would count on my fingers how many years I had left before I would be killed at Armageddon, at age 12.

I never once thought that I would survive Armageddon. You see, I was always in trouble for talking too much. I got whipped with a belt a lot. I figured that God would just pick up where my father left off and finish me off.

I pretty much stayed stoned until age 19, when the State had to step in and save me from myself... that was after getting married at age 17, having a child at age 19, and getting divorced almost immediately thereafter..... all while still a teenager. Of course, I was from one of the prominent JW families in Houston, who were members of the original congregation there from the 1930's.

I got kicked out of school for smoking pot in the 8th grade after failing the 7th. School had a way of interfering with my pot smoking. I never got to finish even one year of High School.

The carnage created by the 1975 failed prediction robbed thousands of people of their ability to trust in God or authority figures etc. As a teen, when adults were speaking I immediately assumed they were lying, expert liars.

We always had the book study at our house. One time around 1975 the book study conductor felt obligated to tell us that it would be our task to tame the animals of the earth in the soon coming new system. He actually stated that we would have to go out in boats and tame the fish.

After the study, when all had left ( I was the youngest) everyone had a big laugh at the conductor because he said that we would have to get in little boats and tame fish in the New system.

I just stared at my family in amazement at how they could submit to a man's authority while at the same time ridicule him as ignorant. It was obviously time to twist up another fatty, and go play with the dog in the back yard.

1975 was indeed a nightmare. One created solely by the Watchtower Bible and Track Society

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. - John 3: 17

Jesus saved me from predators like the Watchtower. He saved me from the excesses of myself. He saved me from being condemned on Judgment Day after I die. In this life, he gave me real freedom, joy and peace. He blessed me with my own family.

Thank you Jesus.

12

C.T. Russell (the Faithful and Wise Servant) was identified by God as being 'the man in linen, the man with the writer's inkhorn' through an unsuspecting -- get this -- Sign Painter!

by ScenicViewer in

i was just now looking up one of the old references to c.t.

russell being the faithful and discreet slave, of mt.

24:45, in the finished mystery.

Perry

People haven't changed much.

18

The org and going beyond what is written

by CitizenofEarth in

hello there.. my father just claimed that the good thing about being a witness was how they just let the bible interpret itself.

now i know the irony in this statement, but i dont know what to show him that he just cant discard with some ignorant excuse.

any ideas?

Perry

Drink out of it, all of you, for this means my ‘blood of the covenant,’ which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins. Mt. 26: 27b & 28 (NWT)

Rev. 7 - After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues... And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb

Jesus said that the New Covenant was for the forgiveness of sins. Yet, the Watchtower says that Salvation comes from having a good-standing with the Watchtower organization. How does the average JW get their sins forgiven if they personally reject the New Covenant at each Lord's Supper?

Even though the Great Crowd (Tribulation Believers) are headed for life on earth during the Millennium Reign, they too are declared righteous by the Blood Covenant of the Lamb:

Rev. 22: 14 NWT - Happy are those who wash their robes, so that they may have authority to go to the trees of life and that they may gain entrance into the city through its gates.

The Watchtower has gone far beyond the scriptures in preaching a different salvation than the one offered in the Blood Covenant. Regardless of our destination, all are declared righteous the same way. "There is only ONE MEDIATOR, between God and men". And what does he Mediate?

"he is a mediator of a new covenant" - Hebrews 9: 15 NWT

Secondly, the Watchtower teaches that we are being judged now, by how we respond to the teachings and publications of the Watchtower.

The bible teaches the opposite: that we will be judged after we die.

How will the average JW avoid Judgment if the object of their faith is in religion and men and not the Blood Covering of the New Covenant?

Drink out of it, all of you, for this means my ‘blood of the covenant,’ which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins. Mt. 26: 27b & 28 (NWT)

52

last convention before global attack on witnesses

by Phoebe in

jw
friends

so it's not enough that i'm dealing with post traumatic stress/anxiety and panic attacks all related to my life as a jw (50 years baptized -- i stopped going a couple of months ago) at 3 a.m. i get an email from the other side of the world.

'you have to go to the convention.

bro sanderson says we must watch the news, things are happening.

Perry

Sorry to hear about all your anxiety Phoebe. You are in the process of jettisoning your faith in man-made organizations.

Over and over believers are asked to not put too much trust in men, but to direct it toward God:

Psalms 118:8 - [It is] better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

Jeremiah 17:5 - Thus saith the LORD; Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

Psalms 118:8-9 - [It is] better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

Galatians 6:3 - For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

Romans 13:8 - Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

2 Timothy 3:13-17 - But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Ephesians 2:8 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

Galatians 5:17 - For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

John 15:4 - Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

At first I went from trust in the organization to trusting in secular "experts". That lasted for about 8 years. Slowly I began to deal with my beliefs and ended up dealing with God on his terms- through Christ and none other.

Take your time. Do your homework. Relax. Have some fun.

133

Why is the white race so different?

by Crazyguy in

jw
friends

what i'm saying is the white race is the only one that has a verity of eye and hair colors , so what gives?

is it that this race was influenced genetically by a group of pre humans that didn't mix with other races?

.

Perry

I was thinking that maybe Caucasians maybe had Neanderthal DNA

Yes they do! We all do because Neanderthals are human. Just more natural variation based on breeding.

Notice the prominent brow ridges. Must be a primitive human, right? Many Aborigines have this feature as well. One well-know Russian boxer has what looks like a "neanderthal" shaped skull:

And no, he was not thawed from Siberian ice and taught to shave with his ax, though it was humorous & gracious of him to pose for this image.

He was elected to a Russian legislature after retiring.

133

Why is the white race so different?

by Crazyguy in

jw
friends

what i'm saying is the white race is the only one that has a verity of eye and hair colors , so what gives?

is it that this race was influenced genetically by a group of pre humans that didn't mix with other races?

.

Perry

When I used to go to China a lot, I got to know and make many friends. Many believed that the Chinese were the original race.

Blue eye color is the result of an absence of melanin. Brown eyes get their color from melanin, the same pigment that colors your skin. But blue eyes don’t have any blue pigment in them. Blue eyes get their color the same way water and the sky get their blue color. They scatter light so that more blue light reflects back out.

All natural variations caused by bottlenecking of genes..... no "pre-human" cause necessary.

27

A chapter on The Trinity

by Doug Mason in

as i work my way through the history of judaeo-christian salvation, i have drafted a chapter on the trinity and early christology.

as before, i am seeking corrections, advice, and suggestions.. the chapter is available at: http://www.jwstudies.com/formative_christianity_s_christological_combats.pdf.

while preparing this chapter, i realised that i am not looking at the "evolution" of soteriology.

Perry

John 12 in New World Translation:

Although he had performed so many signs before them, they were not putting faith in him, so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, ... The reason why they were not able to believe is that again Isaiah said: “He has blinded their eyes and has made their hearts hard, so that they would not see with their eyes and understand with their hearts and turn around and I heal them.”Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory, and he spoke about him.

All the same, many even of the rulers actually put faith in him, but they would not acknowledge him because of the Pharisees, so that they would not be expelled from the synagogue;for they loved the glory of men even more than the glory of God. - NWT

Isaiah saw God in heaven in Isaiah Ch. 6. The Apostle John says Isaiah saw Jesus. He equates the disbelieving of God in Isaiah, to the unbelieving Jews in John 12.

Also:

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Acts: 20: 28 (KJV)

The NWT was forced to add "Son" to change the meaning of this scripture:

"Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd to congregation of God, which he purchased with the blood of his own [Son]." Acts 20;24 (NWT 1984 edition)

The brackets in the NWT indicate words that are not in the original text.The 2013 NWT edition eliminates the parenthesis, but leaves "Son" anyway.

Conclusion: The earliest Christians understood that Jehovah (God) took on human flesh in Jesus, the son of Mary, because they plainly wrote about it.

Reading Hebrews 1 & Revelation 1 in most anything but a NWT, also makes this crystal clear.