if you become one of jehovah's witnesses, here are five points which will not be driven home to you until after you have been baptized as "one of jw's":.
1) you will be required to commit as much of your time and financial resources as you are able - to further the aims & acquisitions of the billion dollar corporation known as the wtbts/ccojw - namely, to recruit new members and to increase their worldwide real estate empire.. 2) you will be required to terminate "worldly" association with former friends.. 3) you will be "expected" to attend each and every meeting, assembly, convention, and kh televised broadcasts which are arranged by the self-proclaimed "governing body" (g.b.
) in brooklyn, n.y.. 4) you will be required to blindly accept any decisions/directions issuing forth from the g.b., even if you disagree with it.
Watcher, I like your attitude! You don't sound like a witness at all, but someone from my church.
Witnesses do not say you can avoid what you don't like to practice...they pressure you to do every aspect of what they define as worship, and council you if you don't. And if you don't listen, You, watcher, are going to be the one that is watched.
so my mom who sadly is still in the "truth" asked me if i was going to the circuit assembly this sunday.
she knows i don't go to meetings anymore but usually when she would mention the assemblies i would say yes and go pretty much just for her sake.
however, this time i couldn't bring my self to saying yes, i've been reading "crisis of conscience" and i just can't bring my self to go anymore, even if it's for my mother.
i've been lurking for about 3 months now and thought i'd better finally sign up.
you have all been an immense help to me as i have come to realize that this isn't the truth so i want to say a great big thank you!
what a crazy, emotional ride it is to finally face the truth about the doubts that i have carried for many years.
Very, very well said LisaRose.
Ttte, I DID grow up, I started to finally live my own life and worship God the way I believed, not the way my parents told me to believe, because I saw how flawed and deceptive their religion was. Unfortunately this religion doesn't let you still have a relationship with your parents if you decide you must change. I'm sorry if that makes me self centered and negative about it. Every day I hope this religion changes their policies. I miss them and love them. But I had to be true to myself too and finally grow up and stop trying to be their good girl when it conflicted with my own integrity.
in a previous posting i made the statement that the governing body were the world's ultimate predators.
i will now give some reasons why this may be so.. for the purpose of this post i will provide the following definitions: .
- predator - a human who lives by predation.
i'm going to be honest and from the heart when i say that for 40 years in the jw religion i was very happy in my ignorance!
man, what a trip it was.
i loved every minute of it but then i was absent the bad in my religion.
Those who leave for doctrinal reasons know the religion is a farce and a scam just as much as others who leave.
thanks Apostrate. I'm glad you are over your bitterness. I do not feel any bitterness to individual people, in fact I love most of the witnesses I have known very much. But I am very bitter toward the organization itself and those at the top who make and perpetuate their policies and deceptions.
i'm going to be honest and from the heart when i say that for 40 years in the jw religion i was very happy in my ignorance!
man, what a trip it was.
i loved every minute of it but then i was absent the bad in my religion.
i've been lurking for about 3 months now and thought i'd better finally sign up.
you have all been an immense help to me as i have come to realize that this isn't the truth so i want to say a great big thank you!
what a crazy, emotional ride it is to finally face the truth about the doubts that i have carried for many years.
Giordano I love that! The whole story. Your moment of epiphany by the school....
And you being the publishers' card servant, that's classic!
i'm going to be honest and from the heart when i say that for 40 years in the jw religion i was very happy in my ignorance!
man, what a trip it was.
i loved every minute of it but then i was absent the bad in my religion.
I had my own journey with the trinity as well. I did research, research and more research and finally came to mostly believe in it. Like freesoul, I believe Jesus being the only begotten son of God makes him the same essence of God. And I believe that man begets man, God begets God. Research the kingdom interrlinear, look at how the scriptures that support the trinity were twisted by the nwt (and probably even more so by the revised nwt). Go on websites and research the arguments of people who support the trinity. Check out the scriptures especially that are in the Old Testament speaking of God, which were actually fulfilled by Jesus. I had never heard of these before. They are on online. I said I MOSTLY believe in the trinity, because I believe the nicene creed makes the issue too cut and dry. I believe the Holy Spirit is a person, but not equal to God. Tho, offending the Holy Spirit is the only unforgiveable sin, and we are baptized in the NAME of the father, son and Holy Spirit, which indicate he is a person. The nicene creed was meant to reconcile all these scriptures and also explain why there is just one God. But as freesoul said, they are NOT the same person. Trinitarians do NOT believe Jesus was talking to himself when he was praying to his father. They are distinct persons. I also believe that the father is given respect DUE a father, and tho maybe not superior in essence, He is still the father.
When Jesus says 'the father is greater than I am' read the context of that scripture. It doesn't take much. Jesus was going to be with his father again, the disciples were mourning, he said do not feel bad for me, I am going to a higher place than here on earth, the father is greater than I am, I am going back to greatness to be with my father. God wanted Every knee to bend to his son. Obeisance means the same as worship. Same greek word. They just wanted you to believe what they wanted to believe so they couldn't bring themselves to say 'worship'. A father who wants every knee to bend to his son would not be offended by worship to him.
i've been lurking for about 3 months now and thought i'd better finally sign up.
you have all been an immense help to me as i have come to realize that this isn't the truth so i want to say a great big thank you!
what a crazy, emotional ride it is to finally face the truth about the doubts that i have carried for many years.
Phizzy you and I are in exactly! the same boat, and we have the same mental attitude too.
Thats the way I left, I lost my family tho not formally, they know I'm a danger, but I can NOT tolerate that which is false and the price for staying was too high. I miss my family so much, but freedom is worth it. My husband followed me out but was in mentally for a couple years.
It was really difficult, but truly, Give me liberty or give me death. Life is not worth living if you can't be free.
in most of the usa and canada april 10 is national sibling day.
the witnesses are all in a frenzie actually celebrating this in my area.
yet in a few months these same people will shun mother and father's day.
Hrm, I wonder what pagan god or goddess they can summon who was once worshipped and they were a sibling...Got to be one somewhere so they can spoil the fun. Can't have witnesses doing what 'the world' is doing!
lol @ Nicolau...that "spiritual brothers and sisters and their real blessings' sounds legit!
