Posts by Wayward

114

Jehovah's Witnesses ARE Christians, why do so many ex JW's deny this?

by nicolaou in

jehovah's witnesses accept jesus as christ, the son of god.

they try, in their own way, to live by his teachings and imitate him.

they pray, read the bible and meet together regularly for worship.. i won't minimise any of the harm and damage they cause but for the life of me, i can't see how anyone can credibly deny that they are christians.. why do so many former jws have a problem with this?

Wayward

Can a group call itself 'Christian' when it sets a group of men, the Governing Body, in the place of Christ? This Governing Body has set itself up as mediators between their fellow believers and God, an idea that has no basis in the Bible. Jesus' own words, "No one comes to the Father except through ME." No mention that men could ever be go-betweens with God, cutting Christ out altogether.

Of course, I'm an atheist so it really doesn't matter much to me. Call yourself Christian or whatever you want.

19

Petty Rules

by HereIgo in

did your congregation have any petty man made rules?

i remember the elders in my cong didn't like if a single brother and single sister walked in the parking lot together after the meeting ended, to their car.

you couldn't hold the mic or give a talk without a coat (that might be a universal jw rule).

Wayward

rebelfighter, you didn't miss anything. I still despise nylons. I haven't worn them in ten years, the same time I last put on a skirt. They're too hot in the summer and your legs freeze in the winter. For some reason leggings and tights weren't allowed for 'sisters' winter wear.

Tallon, you grew up in a WAY more boring congregation than I did. I thought mine was stodgy and stuck firmly in the 1890s, but at least our parties were a little more lively. We could play most pop rock and country western, though a few of the older folks would complain. Line dances were okay but unmarried couples dancing together could get a little iffy.

19

Petty Rules

by HereIgo in

did your congregation have any petty man made rules?

i remember the elders in my cong didn't like if a single brother and single sister walked in the parking lot together after the meeting ended, to their car.

you couldn't hold the mic or give a talk without a coat (that might be a universal jw rule).

Wayward

No sports coats (less formal than a suit coat but still dressy) until a CO showed up wearing one

No colored dress shirts. White only. Until younger elders rebelled.

No facial hair of any kind, not even moustaches, if you want to be an elder

No spaghetti straps

No open-backed dresses

No denim skirts

No sundresses. 'Immodest' even for very young girls.

Nylons MUST be worn by women

No ankle jewelry

Two-piece bathing suits HIGHLY discouraged

4

"Peaceful Coexistence: Reconciling Nondiscrimination Principles With Civil Liberties

by JHK in

in the tug of war between religious freedom and nondiscrimination rights, the weight seems to be pulling toward the latter.. at least that's the view of 17 religious leaders — including lds church presiding bishop gérald caussé — who addressed their concerns with the u.s. commission on civil rights' recent report in an oct. 7 letter to president barack obama, house speaker paul ryan and utah sen. orrin hatch.. the report, titled "peaceful coexistence: reconciling nondiscrimination principles with civil liberties," comes down squarely on the side of civil liberties for individuals, the letter says, and "stigmatizes tens of millions of religious americans, their communities, and their faith-based institutions, and threatens the religious freedom of all our citizens.

" .

http://www.sltrib.com/home/4461526-155/mormon-church-others-urge-obama-to.

Wayward

I wonder if Christians would defend 'religious liberty' if it was a Jewish deli owner refusing to serve Christians because Christianity is an apostasy that goes against his/her beliefs.

6

Is it the original anointed person or their clone who will be in heaven?

by deegee in

the wt teaches that there's no part of a human being that survives the death of the body.

if the anointed do not have an immortal soul/ some immaterial part of them that survives death, then whoever will be in heaven won't be the original anointed person but their clone since once a person dies, according to wt theology, they cease to exist; so god will have to create a spirit body from nothing for that person and that created body by definition will therefore not be the original person but their clone.. so it will be a person's clone that will get to live forever in heaven and rule with christ, and not the original person.............one can now see why other religions teach the doctrine of the immortality of the soul..

Wayward

I asked my mom once what part of an anointed person went to Heaven since they died but there is no soul. She told me that it was their energy that went to Heaven. So I asked what was the difference? Energy, soul, same basic thing. Crickets. What it came down to is this was a subject Mom didn't want to think about and hoped no one else ever asked her about. Because this makes no sense when you think about it and looking for sense in JW teachings is a no-no.

Either there is a soul or there is not. If there is NOT, then the anointed aren't going to Heaven. They're dead in the ground, like all the rest of us. If there IS a soul, what's to stop the rest of us from going to Heaven?

19

What if all JWs had put off having children?

by keyser soze in

could the religion have survived?.

i know it was never forbidden, but i remember growing up, how we were encouraged to put it off until the new system, and instead focus on a career in the full time service.. can you imagine if every young jw had chosen to follow that counsel?

it's difficult to imagine the religion being sustainable without the next generation of born-ins..

Wayward

It was never forbidden as in a straight-up "Thou shalt NOT have children" but the view of having kids was portrayed in such a negative light that it might as well have been forbidden. It was before my family converted but I've heard stories from the 60s about how couples who had kids were looked down on as 'spiritually weak'.

16

Extreme rules on Dating – is this for all congregations?

by Bonnie_Clyde in

just found out that in the congregation we used to attend there are two young brothers, both are sons of elders and recently engaged to girls in neighboring congregations.

instructions are that they may not sit together at assemblies or meetings.

but get this….they can’t even ride in the same car even if their parents are also in the car.

Wayward

That's extreme. Sounds more like the Duggers than even the strictest JWs I knew.

19

We are imperfect

by HereIgo in

i can't tell you how many times i have heard this while growing up as a witness.

every time i questioned hypocrisy in the org i was told " well we are imperfect" and its was beyond annoying.

at what point does "imperfect" turn into just not christian?

Wayward

I HATED that excuse! Yes, we're all imperfect. We all screw up. BUT not all of us claim to be the faithful and discreet slave who is spirit-directed by god to make doctrine. Either god is directing you or you're a fallible human who opened your big fat mouth and put your foot in it. Can't have it both ways. Sorry, but you just can't.

41

what are your thoughts on this quote from the elders book?

by aboveusonlysky in

'in order to extend mercy, the committee must be convinced that the wrongdoer has a changed heart condition and that he has a zeal to right the wrong and is absolutely determined to avoid it in the future.'.

shepherd the flock page 91. i remember this is one of the first things that concerned me as an elder because it seemed to sound like a person is guilty until proven innocent rather than 'love believes all things', especially given the word 'convinced' appears in bold.. then in a training video one elder said something like 'unless we are convinced of repentance the shepherd the flock book says we must disfellowship'.

that was the begining of the end for me as i thought surely true christians would reason the other way round and show mercy wherever possible.. any thoughts?.

Wayward

If we're supposed to be able to go to god in prayer and ask forgiveness direct from on high, why do we need a pack of men sitting in judgment on us? Do they have the power to read hearts and minds? Nope. Do they have the power to forgive sins? Nope. Are they often corrupt, power drunk men who need JCs themselves? Yep, sometimes. So what right do they have to judge others and destroy lives?

31

JW Carts Cause Thousands to Start Studying!!!

by Drifting Away in

jw
friends

i would love to know the stats of how many hours were spent, standing by a cart, or sitting at a local town fair with jw table tent set up, compared to the number of bible studies started that led to baptism since the inception of the carts.

anyone have any idea?

if i had to guess i would say thousands of hours pent standing by a cart, and maybe less then 5 that actually got baptized.

Wayward

Don't know how many people actually even take mags and tracts from carts and booths. I saw a lady at a JW booth once pick up a mag, realize what it was and drop it like a snake bit her. She couldn't get out of there fast enough.