Posts by leaving

33

Moustaches vs. beards - one of the contributing factors to losing my cognitive dissonace

by Pacopoolio in

jw
friends

as a little background - i was born-in to being a witness, back in '79, in detroit, in mostly black and poor congregations.

baptized when 10-ish, stayed around, was on the fast track to ms, but faded when i moved out at 24ish.. there was a combination of a few things that got me on the road to "freedom" from the cognitive dissonance that kept me "in the truth" for so long.

the main thing was, being an artist and studying marketing, my thinking was patterned to constantly question if i was doing something "correctly," as constant improvement and questioning is what facilitates artistic and mental growth.

leaving_quietly

I keep bringing this topic up with my wife and others. A brother recently mentioned how we're not supposed to get tattoos. I retorted very quickly, "Brother, that was the old Law that was done away with. Why are we trying to keep it alive? And, just a little while later, it said not to shave the beard. Why do we have two different standards? And why is Jesus allowed a beard, but no one else?"

I think his cognitive dissonance kicked in because he gave me that, 'omg, I never thought of those things' kind of look. He kept quiet, and the conversation was over as someone else approached.

*sigh*... the silliness of it all.

16

Victoria Australia, the FDS does not exist (eliciting gasps from the observers).

by confusedandalone in

can someone please point me to anywhere that more information regartding this can be found.. i read a smidge about it in another post and would love to see if there is more info.

leaving_quietly

I, too, would like the transcript and/or recording. Please PM me.

13

I need to help to counter JW misinformation!

by Island Man in

in this yahoo answers quesiton jw apologists are trying to give the impression that the watchtower never published any information about parents fondling the genitals of their infants leading to masturbation later on.

the jw apologists claims vary from saying it's not true to accusing the questioner and one ex-jw answerer of not having proof and being untrustworthy with the truth.. i want to provide proof to the contrary but the online library doesn't go have magaizes as far back as 1973 when the article was published.

i think that the best proof would be a screenshot of the watchtower library open to the article with the statement highlighted.

leaving_quietly

http://i62.tinypic.com/es7qfs.jpg

1

RIP Shirley Temple

by leaving_quietly in

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/11/showbiz/hollywood-shirley-temple-death/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews.

leaving_quietly

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/11/showbiz/hollywood-shirley-temple-death/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

9

The numbers don't lie...or do they?

by stillin in

at a recent ca, the co was commending the r&f about mid-week meeting attendance.

he said that it was up 4% since he first began working in our circuit.

i was listening as some were patting each other on their backs about that at last nights meeting and it occurred to me that there were many empty seats.

leaving_quietly

Our C.O. totally dissed our cong his last visit. He said we were at 96% meeting attendance. Apparently, that was bad. I was totally ticked off. He failed to realize that our normal attendance was near or over 100% most of the time, but we had an in-flux of people doing Kingdom Hall shopping between the previous visit and his last one, and they showed up a few weeks before he did. Of COURSE the attendance was lower than the normal because we actually had FEWER PEOPLE! Duh!

Normally, this is a really nice C.O., but it just shows the fallacies of looking at numbers alone without regard to context. Then again, that's what this organization is good at... taking things out of context.

8

Entire Body of ELDERS make NEWS with GB. more news on FB

by Jack Miller in

http://www.mcalesternews.com/policecourts/x409169231/da-jehovah-witness-church-concealed-molestation-crimes.

if you have a facebook account you can read more details that wt has published about one of these elders involved in this illegal cover up.. https://www.facebook.com/groups/xjwrg3/permalink/10151981880490835/.

leaving_quietly

DD, they probably called the KH, and of course, no one is there during the day.

21

Powerful and Damning Awake quote, and questions to help JWs think....

by BU2B in

just thought of another question that could start someone waking up.

you could say something to the effect of, "i was thinking how if we were to come across a person in the ministry who asks us how luke 21:8 does not apply to jws in light of the comments such as the ones (quoted below) how could we respond?".

or you could say that someone at work or school presented you with the awake quote and said luke 21:8 proves jws false, then you could say you need help coming up with a response to him.. luke 21:8 .

leaving_quietly

There's an even more recent quote.

w12 3/15 p. 11 par. 4: "Another way we can “sleep on” is by ignoring the fact that Jehovah’s time to destroy the ungodly has approached."

22

Do JWs use the Baptizmal formula?

by Hortenzie in

do the elders say: "in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit" when they are immersing the one being baptized?.

leaving_quietly

Hmm. Makes one think even more, now, doesn't it. (Thanks for sharing, by the way.)

In the course of events, while A·pol′los was in Corinth, Paul went through the inland parts and came down to Eph′e·sus, and found some disciples; 2 and he said to them: “Did you receive holy spirit when YOU became believers?” They said to him: “Why, we have never heard whether there is a holy spirit.” 3 And he said: “In what, then, were YOU baptized?” They said: “In John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said: “John baptized with the baptism [in symbol] of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they got baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. - Acts 19:1-5

But, now we know WHY this is.

w08 6/15 29 "Highlights From the Letter to the Romans"

6:3-5—What is meant by baptism into Christ Jesus and baptism into his death? When Jehovah anoints followers of Christ with the holy spirit, they are united with Jesus and become members of the congregation that is the body of Christ, he being the Head. (1 Cor. 12:12, 13, 27; Col. 1:18) This is their baptism into Christ Jesus. Anointed Christians are also “baptized into [Christ’s] death” in that they live a life of sacrifice and renounce any hope of everlasting life on earth. Their death, therefore, is a sacrificial one, as was Jesus’ death, though their death does not have ransoming value. This baptism into Christ’s death is completed when they die and are resurrected to life in heaven.

Apparently, only ANOINTED CHRISTIANS are baptized into Christ. So, not only is Christ the Mediator ONLY for the 144,000, only THEY get baptized into him.

JWs baptize the baptism of John (in symbol of repentence), and they add "and a dedication to do God's will". The first baptism question includes the words: "have you repented of your sins".

Talk about eye-opening!!!

61

How did you tell your spouse you want out of the JW religion?

by leaving_quietly in

what did you imagine would happen?

did they react the way you expected?

how did you bring it up?.

leaving_quietly

But the question that keeps coming up in my mind, and it has been aired here by others of course, is how could a spirit-directed org make so many mistakes?

I've answered this question in my own mind, and a dear friend just today asked me: which religion did CHRIST say was the true religion? Did he say to go following a religion? Or did he say, 'I am... the truth', 'come to me.'

Here's the answer to your question (at least, in my opinion):

Matt 24:24: "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones."

Why do JWs say they are the truth? "Because no one else has such a global preaching work as we do." Great signs and wonders, indeed. Who else boasts on an annual basis about their branches, their kingdom halls, their accomplishments in the ministry, the number of hours they spent in the preaching activity, and so on and so on. The aggrandizement is exactly what this verse describes: great signs and wonders. This is probably the one big thing that keeps people hanging on: 'Look at how much, how big, how many <you name it>. Look at how Jehovah is blessing his people. This MUST be the truth!'

Of course, some of it HAS to be true in order to mislead the chosen ones.

2 Cor 11:13-14: "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light."

In order to make it appear to be truth, SOME of it MUST be true, just like the serpent said to Eve that they would be like God, knowing good and bad. That part was true. (Gen 3:5, 22). And those who are claiming it are themselves saying they are Christ's followers. Noteworthy, and I didn't even notice this before now, they are transforming themselves into APOSTLES of Christ. Not DISCIPLES. APOSTLES. Apostles are, by definition, messengers of God. Who claims that they are chosen by God and are his "visible representation" on earth?

Trust me, brother, I keep looking for ways to find that the WTS is the right religion. The more I look, the more I find they cannot possibly be. This is gut-wrenching for me, an almost-born-in, with plenty of family in. I have a lot to lose by walking away from this religion. In order to come to Christ, though, I have no choice but to do so, I'm afraid.

Yes, there are many individual members who are good people. No question about it. And, frankly, I can think of very, very few that I don't much care for. I love most of them. It's some of the doctrines that I cannot square with what the Bible really teaches. And some of those doctrines are key, such as who are part of the New Covenant.

22

Do JWs use the Baptizmal formula?

by Hortenzie in

do the elders say: "in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit" when they are immersing the one being baptized?.

leaving_quietly

Avoidance dance? Do tell! I'm curious why they don't do this. Did you ask them?

leaving_quietly

Posts by leaving_quietly