Posts by leaving

44

This week's WT study...made me so sick.....

by stuckinarut2 in

this week's study april 15th 2014 was called "do you see the one who is invisible?".

it was perhaps one of the most depressing, controlling, fear-mongering, stress inducing, doctrinally incorrect, hate-inspiring, judgemental, cult-like, irrational, hyped-up, critical, crazy, stretched out, fanciful, illogical, burdensome, inflated, coersive, manipulative, and brain-snappingly weird stuff i have read for some time.... (but i'm sure it was just a rehash and repeat of previous stuff...for the new masses....).

i had to keep up a sane appearance while in the hall, and even answer some garbage while this was being 'studied'... my cognitive disonance must be so strong now, because i found this one of the hardest ones to endure....now that i am home, i have poured a stiff drink and am trying to clear my head...... one paragraph was classic:.

leaving_quietly

Par. 8(a): What is the antidote to fear of man?

Answer: "Faith in Jehovah" (according to WT)

Answer: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts fear out, because fear restrains us" (according to the Bible at 1 John 4:18)

Par 12: Jehovah has instructed us to convey what important message?

Answer: "Under angelic direction, Jehovah's people are conveying an importang message: "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of judgement by him has arrived, so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of water".

This is completely misleading. It's not under angelic direction that JWs are to declare this. Revelation 14:6 says: "And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. He was saying in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of judgment by him has arrived, so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of water.”

The real answer: "teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you" (Matt 28:20)

Par 14: "We love Jehovah, and we love our neighbor. Jesus illustrated what love and mercy really mean in his parable of the neighborly Samaritan. We might ask ourselves, 'Am I, lie the Samaritan, "moved with pity" to give a witness?'"

OMG, I can't even begin to say how completely twisted this is. Jesus was talking about helping someone who was physically in no condition to help himself, regardless of that person's race or religious beliefs. He was not talking about preaching to someone.

Par 17,18: These two paragraphs talk about Gog and him coming against God's people. I personally do not see the connection between Ezekiel and Revelation. WT makes this connection because of the phrase "Gog and Magog" in Revelation 20:8. However, on closer inspection, we can see how far off WT is. First, Gog is NOT Satan. Notice verse 8:

and he will go out to mislead those nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Ma′gog, to gather them together for the war.

Who is "he"? In verse 7, that is identified as Satan. Who are Gog and Magog? "those nations in the four corners of the earth".

Next, WT's timing is way, way off. Let's read Revelation 20:7,8 in their entirety:

Now as soon as the 1,000 years have ended, Satan will be released from his prison, and he will go out to mislead those nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Ma′gog, to gather them together for the war. The number of these is as the sand of the sea.

Do you see it? "as soon as the 1,000 years have ended". This is not at the great tribulation.

Finally, what would be the purpose? To destroy religion? "he will go out to mislead"

48

Farewell from Confused and Alone

by confusedandalone in

jw
friends

i use to hate when people who made goodbye posts on message boards.

why would they think that just because you no longer post on a chevy truck forum or a los angeles lakers forum the world would crumble around those still left there.

this place is definitely different.

leaving_quietly

Good for you, man... good for you! Best wishes whereever life takes you.

~LQ

26

Help please!!!

by braincleaned in

my mom just hung up on me, convinced that the borg has never said that jesus was not the mediator between the sheep and him!.

i know they have presumptuously took the place of jesus as mediators can someone pleeeeeeze give me the wt references of this?.

she does not believe me..

leaving_quietly

*** w09 4/15 p. 27 pars. 14-15 Appreciating the Greater Moses ***
Like Moses, Jesus was a mediator. A mediator acts as a bridge between two parties. Moses mediated the Law covenant between Jehovah and the Israelites. If the sons of Jacob obeyed the laws of God, they would remain God’s special property, his congregation. (Ex. 19:3-8) That covenant stayed in force from 1513 B.C.E. until the first century C.E.
15 In 33 C.E., Jehovah initiated a better covenant with a new Israel, “the Israel of God,” which became a worldwide congregation made up of anointed Christians. (Gal. 6:16) While the covenant mediated by Moses included laws written by God on stone, the covenant mediated by Jesus is superior. Its laws are inscribed by God on human hearts. (Read 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:10.) Thus, “the Israel of God” is now God’s special property, ‘a nation producing the fruits’ of the Messianic Kingdom. (Matt. 21:43) Members of that spiritual nation are the participants in that new covenant. Still, they are not the only ones to benefit from it. Untold multitudes, even many who at present are asleep in death, will receive everlasting blessings because of that superlative covenant.

*** w08 12/15 p. 14 pars. 13-14 Appreciate Jesus’ Unique Role in God’s Purpose ***
What does Jesus’ role as Mediator involve? Well, Jehovah applies the value of Jesus’ blood to those being brought into the new covenant. In this way, Jehovah legally credits them with righteousness. (Rom. 3:24; Heb. 9:15) God can then take them into the new covenant with the prospect of their becoming heavenly king-priests! As their Mediator, Jesus assists them in maintaining a clean standing before God.—Heb. 2:16.
14 What about those who are not in the new covenant, those who hope to live forever on earth, not in heaven? While not participants in the new covenant, these are beneficiaries of it. They receive forgiveness of their sins and are declared righteous as God’s friends. (Jas. 2:23; 1 John 2:1, 2) Whether we have a heavenly hope or an earthly hope, each one of us has good reason to appreciate Jesus’ role as the Mediator of the new covenant.

*** w03 2/15 p. 22 par. 19 What Does the Lord’s Evening Meal Mean to You? ***
Anointed Christians are certain of their heavenly hope, of their having been taken into the new covenant. Jesus mentioned it when he instituted the Memorial and said: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf.” (Luke 22:20) The parties to the new covenant are God and anointed ones. (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 12:22-24) Jesus is the mediator. Made operative by Christ’s shed blood, the new covenant took out not only from the Jews but also from the nations a people for Jehovah’s name and made them part of Abraham’s “seed.” (Galatians 3:26-29; Acts 15:14) This “everlasting covenant” provides for all spiritual Israelites to be resurrected to immortal life in heaven.—Hebrews 13:20.

70

How do you shut your mind down so you can get a good night sleep???

by jam in

jw
friends

the more i learn about jw's the harder it is.

to sleep at night.

the wife hit the pillow and within 5 min.. she is snoring.

leaving_quietly

I haven't had a good night's sleep in over two years. The last thought before I finally doze off is usually around how to implement my exit plan. And that's the first thought when I wake up. It's an obsession.

63

What is your biggest gripe with the WT and it's teachings?

by FL_Panthers in

jw
friends

as the title says, please list what you find annoying with the organization..

leaving_quietly

Wow... most of the grievances are around how they handle people who disagree with their teachings.

And I agree. My biggest complaint is that they are extremists in their dogmatism and I can't disagree openly. And by disagree, I don't mean outright calling them liars, but instead having rational conversations with family and friends. Doing so labels me spiritually weak and even apostate.

My next grievance is not being allow to quietly leave without being shunned in some fashion, up to and including expulsion.

13

Idiotic WT reasoning for birthdays

by Batman89 in

jw
friends

additionally, birthday celebrations tend to give excessive importance to an individual, no doubt one reason why early christians shunned them.

(ecclesiastes 7:1) so you will find that jehovahs witnesses do not share in birthday festivities (the parties, singing, gift giving, and so forth).

school and jehovah's witnesses p.18.

leaving_quietly

You forgot that murders always happen at birthdays.

Well, at least at one: John the Baptist was murdered because Herodius found "a convenient day" to do so. (Mark 6:21)

The baker was NOT murdered. He was executed. Remember, the baker and the cupbearer were both in jail with Joseph. Both "sinned against their lord, the king of Egypt." (Gen 40:1). We don't know what the offense was, whether they were both in on one offense together, or whether they each offended Pharaoh separately. All we know is that the cupbearer was released and went back to his duties and the baker was executed. (Gen 40:20,21) It was Pharaoh's birthday, true, but it was not a murder. It was an execution.

25

A few thoughts on the District, um, Regional... sigh....

by Apognophos in

i don't even know what the bloody event is called anymore.

i think it's still a district convention until it goes to two days, isn't it?

my convention program leaflet just says "convention of jehovah's witnesses", seemingly intentionally avoiding the change in wording.

leaving_quietly

Thanks apognophos, I don't understand why they change irrelevant doctrines that don't really effect anyone, just makes them look silly for no purpose.

Very simple... reading the Bible alone destroys their view of paradise. By coming up with a 'new understanding' for what Paul wrote about paradise simply serves to allow them to hold onto their current doctrine while spinning what the Bible says so it 'fits' their doctrine. If they can somehow make it fit, all but the few of us who actually think will accept it as pure doctrine without ever questioning it. If there's something in print about a subject, that is "doctrine" above the Bible. Period. And these conventions are a prelude to what goes in print. Expect any 'new understanding' to appear in a WT within the year.

6

Baptism?

by Brainfloss in

i know what the questions ask of baptismal candidates are, but does the one doing the dunking say anything as he immerses the one being baptised?.

leaving_quietly

"Hold on to your arm with your hand at the wrist... like this. Bend your knees so you go all the way under. If you don't we'll have to do it again."

25

A few thoughts on the District, um, Regional... sigh....

by Apognophos in

i don't even know what the bloody event is called anymore.

i think it's still a district convention until it goes to two days, isn't it?

my convention program leaflet just says "convention of jehovah's witnesses", seemingly intentionally avoiding the change in wording.

leaving_quietly

One of the OT sections of the Bible WT uses frequently is Isa 65. For example, verses 21 and 22:

They will build houses and live in them, And they will plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build for someone else to inhabit, Nor will they plant for others to eat. For the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, And the work of their hands my chosen ones will enjoy to the full.

But, they conveniently skip verses in the very same chapter that shows this to NOT be refering to the "earthly paradise". Verse 20, for example:

No more will there be an infant from that place who lives but a few days, Nor an old man who fails to live out his days. For anyone who dies at a hundred will be considered a mere boy, And the sinner will be cursed, even though he is a hundred years of age.

Sin and death will be no more in the "earthly paradise", so how could someone sin or die? Go research that and see the WT spin on it.

25

A few thoughts on the District, um, Regional... sigh....

by Apognophos in

i don't even know what the bloody event is called anymore.

i think it's still a district convention until it goes to two days, isn't it?

my convention program leaflet just says "convention of jehovah's witnesses", seemingly intentionally avoiding the change in wording.

leaving_quietly

Maybe Loesch was doing a Freudian slip when he said "gw.org". He was probably thinking "gb.org".

leaving_quietly

Posts by leaving_quietly