Oh my indeed. 15 verses of blessings versus over 40 verses of cruel and horrible maledictions! And we are told, not just that Jehovah will "allow" them to happen, but that he will "delight" to inflict them personally! This flies in the face of JW theology.
doubtfull1799
JoinedPosts by doubtfull1799
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Reading Deuteronomy chapter 28 , oh my!
by Crazyguy inwhat's telling chapter!
in the first 15 verses if one kept the laws and pure worship of the temples god things were great and you would be blessed.
but starting in verse 16 if you didn't holy cow!
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Observations From an Ex-Elder Part 3 - Searching for the Lost Sheep
by doubtfull1799 in"what man among you with 100 sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the 99 behind in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it?
" - luke 15:4. disclaimer: by posting the following observations i am not complaining.
i am happy to be left alone.
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doubtfull1799
I think you're right millie210. There is an element of fear, and in the end they have no real answers, nothing to give.
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Observations From an Ex-Elder Part 3 - Searching for the Lost Sheep
by doubtfull1799 in"what man among you with 100 sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the 99 behind in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it?
" - luke 15:4. disclaimer: by posting the following observations i am not complaining.
i am happy to be left alone.
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doubtfull1799
Thats very sad no-zombie. Thanks for sharing your story. It does seem that the so-called "brotherhood" is very flimsy when put to the test. There are always the exceptional people that will act like true brothers, the ones Proverbs talks about that are borne for times of distress, but they don't seem to be any more prevalent in the congregation than they are in the general population... It's nice that we could enjoy the brotherhood on a superficial level (always have something in common with people no matter where we went in the world), but on a deeper level, that brotherhood disintigrates.
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Observations From an Ex-Elder Part 3 - Searching for the Lost Sheep
by doubtfull1799 in"what man among you with 100 sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the 99 behind in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it?
" - luke 15:4. disclaimer: by posting the following observations i am not complaining.
i am happy to be left alone.
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doubtfull1799
Incredible isn't it wozza that you should be discouraged from "helping" people!
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Observations From an Ex-Elder Part 3 - Searching for the Lost Sheep
by doubtfull1799 in"what man among you with 100 sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the 99 behind in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it?
" - luke 15:4. disclaimer: by posting the following observations i am not complaining.
i am happy to be left alone.
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doubtfull1799
"What man among you with 100 sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the 99 behind in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it?" - Luke 15:4
Disclaimer: By posting the following observations I am not complaining. I am happy to be left alone. I am happy not to be subject to re-indoctgrination attempts. They are just observations about the true application of scripture vss the lip service they give them.
This week is our Circuit Overseer's visit, and I just realised that this is now the second visit since the one I resigned at. How time flies. It's just hit me that given the two intervening visits, it must be about 12 months since I've been to a meeting.
I kind of expected I would receive a shepherding visit during the last visit but that never happened. So I thought surely this time they would bring the CO round to see me, especially considering my history with the org and that I was not so long ago one of their colleagues. But no, it appears they have no interest or desire to shepherd me with the CO. Of course I do not know if I have been discussed or not and what their reasons are. I can only guess that they feel there is no point as they have nothing to "offer" me that might help or change the situation in their favour. Heaven forbid they call just to see how I am?
As I may have previously mentioned there is one elder on the body that has made some attempts to message me and meet me for coffee and a social chat. And he was willing totally to me about any spiritual matters too. However none of the other 6 elders has even sent me so much as a text message, let alone communicate with me in any other way, such as call me or try to arrange a visit. They seem to think its MY responsibility to get in touch with them if I want help or social contact despite what Jesus said in the above quoted verse.
Surely I am the lost sheep in their eyes? Surely they should be seeking me out?
Their lack of effort in this regard is appalling to me and I believe it shows their true colours. That they are more concerned with, and too busy with, the 99 other sheep who remain in the fold to worry about "difficult" lost sheep like me! When I was still an elder, one of my friends in another congregation had a son that was leaving the truth, turning to evolution etc and on their request I was happy to meet with him every week for hours to discuss and debate with him evolution/creation and many other topics. I did not view him as "lost" or the "enemy" - I loved him, and I was happy to listen to and respect his point of view even though I argued opposite views. Would be nice to have the same consideration given to me and to be treated with the same dignity by all my ex-colleagues, not just one....
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Australian Congregations announce Child Safeguarding Policy is available upon request
by wifibandit inthis week all congregations in australia have been instructed to make the following announcement:.
if a member of the congregation would like a copy of the child safeguarding policy of jehovah’s witnesses in australia, please see the coordinator of the body of elders or the secretary.. .
childsafeguardingpolicy-eau.pdf.
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doubtfull1799
It doesn't even really read like a policy document so much as a list of all their apologetic arguments as to why they they don't need to have policies in place for child abuse.
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Today's WT.... Modesty & Presumption...Missing Questions
by krismalone intoday's wt study spoke about being modest and avoid presumptuousness.
here are 7 questions that the watchtower forgot to add in the article.
questions to ask: .
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doubtfull1799
Don't forget this one:
08. How did the GB show modesty by presumptuously proclaiming for over 100 years that they had been "appointed over ALL the Masters belongings" when they had not in fact received that appointment, as admitted to in the 2013 Watchtower study, which brought out the new light that that appointment will happen at the Great Tribulation?
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Part of Growing Up - Saying Goodbye to Invisible Friends?
by doubtfull1799 ini don’t remember having any invisible friends when i was a really little boy, i don’t know if such a thing actually exists, i’ve only ever seen it in movies?
of course it might have looked to others like i was talking to someone on occasions, but i’m sure it would have just been me talking to myself.
the thing is though, i got introduced to an invisible friend in my pre-teens, and i kept the relationship going well into adulthood.
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doubtfull1799
I challenged my wife to provide JUST ONE example of a prayer that we have had answered. Something that we could be absolutely sure was Jehovah's intervention, that there was no other possible explanation, such as results due to our own efforts (from working in harmony with our prayers), the random kindness of strangers etc etc
Result: SILENCE
For anyone who still believes in prayer, can you answer the challenge any better? Can you provide one example, let alone a consistent pattern? Something to think about personally.
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Part of Growing Up - Saying Goodbye to Invisible Friends?
by doubtfull1799 ini don’t remember having any invisible friends when i was a really little boy, i don’t know if such a thing actually exists, i’ve only ever seen it in movies?
of course it might have looked to others like i was talking to someone on occasions, but i’m sure it would have just been me talking to myself.
the thing is though, i got introduced to an invisible friend in my pre-teens, and i kept the relationship going well into adulthood.
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doubtfull1799
@S K Ditta - thank you, I did put it at the top - in the title! The end was for emphasis! ;-)
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Part of Growing Up - Saying Goodbye to Invisible Friends?
by doubtfull1799 ini don’t remember having any invisible friends when i was a really little boy, i don’t know if such a thing actually exists, i’ve only ever seen it in movies?
of course it might have looked to others like i was talking to someone on occasions, but i’m sure it would have just been me talking to myself.
the thing is though, i got introduced to an invisible friend in my pre-teens, and i kept the relationship going well into adulthood.
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doubtfull1799
I don’t remember having any invisible friends when I was a really little boy, I don’t know if such a thing actually exists, I’ve only ever seen it in movies? Of course it might have looked to others like I was talking to someone on occasions, but I’m sure it would have just been me talking to myself.
The thing is though, I got introduced to an invisible friend in my pre-teens, and I kept the relationship going well into adulthood. Only it was an invisible friend I also shared with my wife and family too! So now I’m thinking, does this mean I never really grew up fully? Was I clinging to an immature remnant of childhood?
I am, of course, referring to prayer. I think the majority of us here have come to accept that prayer does not work. Most because they don’t believe there is an invisible friend listening, perhaps some others who are still religious but accept this mantra when they’re prayers are seemingly not answered:- The answer is no, or 2. The answer is not yet.
The problem with those answers is they don't fit the guarantee that comes with the product, found clearly outlined in the warranty documents at John 14:14; 15:16; 16:23
I was discussing with a new ex-jw friend (you know who you are) yesterday how the JW mentality means we don’t take any real responsibility for our life, or or try to improve the world in any meaningful way, because everything will be fixed in the new system. And I think that also contributes to this kind of immaturity that goes hand in hand with talking to an invisible friend. You can leave everything up to him.
I’ve always considered myself a very mature person, I was very serious and driven, even as a teenager. But I’m just now realising that one doesn't fully grow up until one says goodbye to their invisible friend!
- The answer is no, or 2. The answer is not yet.