Posts by mediator007

21

Do they realize how stupid they look?

by jam in

jw
friends

a few years ago my aunt(my mom only living sibling).

invited me my brothers and sister for dinner.

my mom had.

mediator007

nothing to add, but hey! what a great read

48

Memorial - Why do i keep going?

by maisha in

every year i attend, missing only 5 in 50 years.. i do not attend meetings nor active in anyway, my family shun me,(all devote believers) but i do feel drawn to attend each year.

i am out for sure, but i no longer have faith, or a belief in any religous body as being approved by god.. i am so screwed up now i not sure if i believe in a creator!, let alone who or what that may be.. i was born into the truth, married into the truth and my ex is devote.. i could never return to the cult now seeing it for what it is.. i served, donated, slaved for years happy to do so as has all my family.. i went out of my way to get df, sort of a wanting to die act, of rejecting the society.. i used to sit in a movie in my youth and think, wow i am so lucky, all these people are going to die and i will live forever.. even just typing this gives release to my emotions,, lol,,, yea i have many emotions,,, many regrets, basically the organisation i followed and the instructions destroyed my life in every possible way.. the power plays that i witnessed within are what first woke me up,,,at first i let it go, forgiving those involved as brothers do.

but again and again power and position is and was the thing to have, you got the power you got everything.

mediator007

Just a couple of thoughts for you Maisha,

First I personally do not think you are crazy at all. Rather I think your feelings are quite normal and are attributable to one of two things. Possibly you keep attending due to the fifty years of teaching concerning the importance of this particular event and the significance of the date and occasion. Certainly attending for that reason alone is not wrong. Additionally, although you perhaps recognize the errors of the societies teachings, you may yet realize the importance and need to show your appreciation for the ransom sacrifice of our Lord and savior. Once again, this is a proper and noble thing to do. I myself will be missing the memorial for the first time this year. (first time in 34 years) Rather, I will celebrate the Lords evening meal in private. I no longer accept that this organization is God's sole channel of communication, many reasons for this. But I more than ever am convinced that God's word is true and a person must endeavor to live his/her life by his word just as Jesus instructed.

One final thought concerning someone's comment concerning letting "listening to your heart"; the scriptures clearly warn us of putting confidence in our heart - at Jeremiah 17:9 it states "the heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate" just a thought for you to consider.

I suspect that the individual actually meant listening to your conscience and simply chose (in my opinion) a poor choice of wording. Listening to your conscience is a good thing although as the brother mentioned one's conscience can be seared.

Just my thoughts, I wish you well my friend; and yes the memorial is April 5th, 2012 Mediator007

32

Greetings and best wishes: Introduction of Mediator007

by mediator007 in

jw
friends

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i thought i should introduce myself as i have been reading your various threads.

mediator007

I wish to thank each and every one of you for your kind responses, what a wonderful group of persons! Perhaps because of the common sharing that we hold. I wish to reply to several of you but I want you all to know that I very much appreciate each of your comments and encouragement.

first to j-w; my family knows a bit concerning my doubts but not in full as I have no desire to face a charge of apostacy, having been an elder I am fully aware of how the process works. I have my own exit plans but I choose to not share them with anyone except Jehovah in prayer.

Loz - thanx, is exactly what I am doing; focusing upon my personal relationship with Jehovah and Christ, yet I recognize the command to gather together, but this can be with only two or three as Christ is with us even then.

LeavingWt - thank you, I intend to order these books soon, have read excerpts from them but not the entire books, but thank you so much for the reminder

Cedars - yes, will check out this site also, thank you so much for sharing, have enjoyed your comments on the various threads, is wise to never over react jumping from frying pan to fire as you say.

jwfacts - thank you for your post and I see that you have been here for some time (mean that in a positive manner) actually YES I do believe that Jehovah takes an active interest and is exposing falsehood both in the larger denominations as well as the less significant (at least in size) The Catholic church he is thoroughly exposing respecting the pedophile situation and corruptness of hiding those culpable, other denominations by exposing various ways in which they are not in harmony with Bible teachings, and definitely the JW organization, not because of size in numbers but rather because of their insistence upon being the only true church as well as their claim to his holy name. I firmly believe that both Christ and Jehovah have tender regard for little children and have little tolerance for abuse and the hiding of responsibility.

again I wish to thank one and all, shadow, found sheep, mrs jones5, fortis et liber and all others for your upbuilding comments

M007

32

Greetings and best wishes: Introduction of Mediator007

by mediator007 in

jw
friends

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i thought i should introduce myself as i have been reading your various threads.

mediator007

Hello everyone:

I thought I should introduce myself as I have been reading your various threads. I have enjoyed this reading as you folks certainly are a diverse group of people. I find the comments quite entertaining and at times very insightful helping me to broaden my outlook and view matters from different angles.

A BIT ABOUT ME

I will begin by telling you a bit about myself: my handle ‘mediator007’ I am a professional mediator (perhaps I should rather say I WAS, as right now I am not practicing), I have worked in a couple of circuit courts in this capacity in civil, family and general matters. I am yet an active JW but extremely irregular in meeting attendance and my f/s is only from informal witnessing. I had been an elder for eleven years, a ms for four years prior to that; served in every capacity but only temporarily as PO and Secretary, stepped down due to children issues as they grew and had difficulties. One child was dfd (now reinstated) and others simply drifted away. Been baptized for over thirty years. I have a great deal of education contrary to the societies advice. (hmmmm, maybe that is my problem ya think?) including a masters degree and a couple of years of law school. The 007 is simply because I like the James Bond movies. I limit myself to giving only Bible readings in the TMS as I refuse to use my talents and abilities to parrot the society’s information. I tend to be a person of all or nothing respecting commitment and allegiance.

WHY I AM HERE

So what brought me to this junction in life? Good question - glad you asked. I have always, from the beginning, been turned off by the sheer arrogance of a religion claiming to be the “one and only” channel of God. Yet the teachings definitely appealed to me of a paradise and the logical explanations of why mankind find themselves in the predicament we are in. Perhaps a bit more about me will help to understand. I am also a Viet nam veteran and was rather messed up in the head upon returning some forty odd years ago. I prayed intensely and was directed to JW’s, in one sense I was a prime candidate for mind control; on the other hand the explanations concerning the destruction of mankind’s governments made a great deal of sense - at least to me. (my favorite scripture then and now is Daniel 2:44) By the way: from the view within a helicopter over jungle the earth is a gorgeous sight to behold, now if man could just get his head out of his rear life could be very good.

There are several points that disturb me concerning the WTBTS teachings: the arrogance and conceit of being the “only true religion”, but even greater than that is the teaching and emphasis concerning the “faithful and discreet slave” that in my opinion takes on an extreme nearing them eclipsing the role of Christ. The many failed predictions "of the end". Then the teaching that Christ is not the mediator of the great crowd but only of the 144,000 (the Bible states differently stating that Christ is the mediator between God and men and being a ransom for all) the continued emphasis on not gaining an education, the cover up concerning pedophiles within the organization and the fact that “Bible study” within the organization is not really study at all – it is clearly programming by means of the Watchtower. Oh yes and the second phrase concerning baptism in effect to the organization, and that many of these teachings are not made clear until after you have made your dedication. Your threads have supplied more thought to my already active mind.

WHERE I AM AT PRESENTLY IN MY SPIRITUAL GROWTH

I am perhaps in a bit of a different frame of mind than some but perhaps not all. I yet fully believe what I call the primary, basic teachings of the Bible as presented by the JW organization:– Jehovah, Jesus, the kingdom being a heavenly government, death being non existence in the grave, no hellfire, no immortal soul the fall of Adam My problem is in giving full allegiance to an imperfect organization. I have no problem in giving full allegiance to Jehovah and Christ. Yet the Bible makes it clear that one should not forsake the gathering of fellow believers. Also the Bible tells us to get out of Babylon the Great. I could be much more comfortable with a more flexible position as Russell expressed in his writings. I have read both of Ray Franz’s books from cover to cover and although not agreeing with all that he wrote I am very impressed with his lack of neither being bitter nor being judgmental. He certainly gives a person a great inside view of the GB and how the organization really works. I am currently reading The Studies in the Scriptures and am amazed at the teachings then and now after being Rutherized. I have been intrigued by the exposing of J F Rutherford’s personal conduct, the letter from the lawyer and the lawsuit etc.. I find this very interesting indeed. And yes, I am very tired of the same dribble over and over again at each assembly and each meeting.

Now as to the basic teachings, the majority of them are pre Rutherford (not all) but in reality most of these teachings can also be found in the writings of John Milton (Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained) back in the 15 th or 16 th century.

I am not frustrated overly much as I have complete confidence in our creator Jehovah respecting that in due time truth will be revealed and along with falsehood, cover ups etc. Actually I think this is happening right before our eyes as the internet is allowing the exposure of years of deceit and coverups by the WTBTS.

Well I could write on and on but this will give you a bit of understanding as to where and what I am as a person. I have no real axe to grind with anyone; I simply search for “truth”. Problem is it becomes obvious that the WTBTS has covered and sanitized many, many things over the course of time. Although they claim to be such an upright honorable and forthright organization in admitting error this is simply not true. So where does one go? I always come back to Christ’s statement, “I am the way the truth and the life” I believe that. But where do you associate with like minded “truthseekers”? That is my dilemma.

I sincerely welcome all comments, encouragement, and insights that any and all might share.

Thanks for reading, I apologize for the length.

M-007

754

Theists, why does God allow suffering..

by The Quiet One in

..specifically, the suffering of animals.

you can talk about free will/sin/people choosing to not listen to god etc to explain human suffering being allowed.. but how can you love a god that allows animals, that haven't sinned or chosen to not have anything to do with god, to have their short lives ended in often long, drawn out, painful ways.

i could list stories i've read that would probably make you feel ill, but i'm not looking to shock anyone or start an emotional debate.

mediator007

why did Jesus allow the demons to enter the herd of swine and cause them to run off the cliff?