Posts by Hopeless1

85

Physically in mentally agnostic ie sitting on the fence

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

hi everyone i’m not pimi or pimo i’m pima.. i don’t think the gb have everything right but i’m sitting on the fence that maybe they do some things.. if the great trib starts i will jump that side of the fence.. this is a definite little sneaky advantage dodging but even by their own doctrine last min some could come in.. i suspect many are like me.. i spent years in bethel and am very disappointed and disillusioned by it all.. but at the end of the day i love the bible and think it is the word of god and i don’t see any other religion that comes as close to what jesus describes his true followers or who are fulfilling mat 24:14..

Hopeless1

ExBethelitenowPIMA

May I enquire, please, if you have faith in the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, that they, and they alone, are God’s chosen spokesperson at this time, and that they have the God ordained right to expect all Jehovah’s Witnesses therefore to be obedient to them?

Or do you doubt their authority, or the extent of their authority?

You seem to be saying that on two counts at least they prove themselves and their devotees alone are true Christians, that is as respects ‘preaching the kingdom’ and having ‘love amongst themselves’.

If you are resolved at this time that only the GB have God’s Holy Spirit, and the ability to command you as respects your faith, then it would seem futile to try to reason with you further.

Should you be hoping that someone on this website will convince you otherwise, then you should be aware at the end of the day, that it will be for nothing, because you will merely be exchanging one instructor for another, getting your ears ‘tickled’.

The only way is to put in the effort of deep study yourself, there are many excellent sources of study on the internet now, and many souls happy to share their discoveries with you, but to be one of Christ’s disciples is not about debating what one believes, it’s about proving it to yourself.

208

How to debunk the 1914 calculus ONLY using JW publications?

by psyco in

i remember having read somewhere, but i cannot find it anymore, that it is possible to debunk the 1914 calculus using only jw publications, like "insight on the scriptures" (chronologies) for example.. do you have any sources about that to suggest to me?.

thanks..

Hopeless1

MrMustard,

Then there's this again:

The plain sense of Jeremiah 25:29 says the calamity begins (starts) firstwith Jehovah's city (namely Jerusalem) and Judah and proceeds to gentile nations.

"See, I am beginning to bring disaster..." is not the same as saying Babylon will "start with" Jerusalem.

Seventy years of servitude, vassalage, to Babylon of many nations. One of which was Judah, but the rule of Babylon is the 70 years.

Hence 29:10 - "When seventy years have been completed for Babylon..."

The emphasis of the 70 years is always Babylon. Not just Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon. It's 70 years of Babylonian rule. And 25:12 makes it really clear because when the 70 years is up, Babylon falls ( in that order ).

Though Assyria was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon before the year 606 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II was not yet king at that time. Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Assyria while Nebuchadnezzar's father was king of Babylon.
So? I don't see where the 70 years is attributed specifically to Neb. It's "for Babylon".

Thank you very much indeed! 😊

All these years I have been reading “70 years for Babylon” and thinking to myself, ‘that verse just doesn’t sound grammatically correct,- if the writer means to imply “at, or in, Babylon” (?!), when referring to the desolation of Jerusalem.

The penny has dropped at last!

I struggled for a long time over 607 or 587, and at the end came to the conclusion that 70 years could only apply to the conquest, vassalage of Jerusalem and Judea.

6

Images

by peacefulpete in

simple question.

while the deuteronomists and later writers of the bible condemned the use of images of yahweh, they at the same time imagined him and described him in text as a man in the sky with bow and arrows or riding a chariot drawn by cherubs or sitting on a throne.

if the former is a dishonor, ought not the latter be as well?.

Hopeless1

Hmmmmmm….

possibly?, …. Quite likely?

Okay, don’t know, not sure I care right now, depends perhaps on what the Almighty wants to communicate to his faithful, and whether he wants to conceal the real truth from the less than worthy in his eyes.

(I just thank God I can even contemplate such questions now 🤪)

29

why are we interested in what is going on in the JW

by enoughisenough in

for the most of us, we have left the jws...and even though we are no longer jw, many of us are still interested in their beliefs, doctrines and practices as currently practiced.

i was trying to sort out in my mind why i still care about what they are doing.

i think the answer to that is a hope that something will develop in the jws that will wake up a lot of others, and selfishly, a lot of my friends.

Hopeless1

To be honest, I really wonder why it feels impossible to just leave that part of the past 60 odd years behind, and just get on with life now.

Why, oh why am I so drawn to anything JW or xJW? ( Except the .org website )

Probably, if I was 20 years younger I could get a job, possibly take a college course, plan some sort of future? Or possibly become a useful member of the human race?

Is it the indoctrination we underwent, - the constant drilling into our psyche that this is the ‘Truth’ and we must live accordingly, or we will be forever weeping and gnashing the teeth until we die!

Or maybe perhaps just the fact I cannot stop kicking myself for being so dumb all this time, it comforts me that I’m not the only one😒

Many thanks to all of you who share your thoughts and feelings, 😊, it helps!

6

Images

by peacefulpete in

simple question.

while the deuteronomists and later writers of the bible condemned the use of images of yahweh, they at the same time imagined him and described him in text as a man in the sky with bow and arrows or riding a chariot drawn by cherubs or sitting on a throne.

if the former is a dishonor, ought not the latter be as well?.

Hopeless1

Perhaps the Almighty God was using an anthropomorphism to get a point across?

To depict or describe a quality about himself to the receiver of such visions, which could not be understood from a human perspective (such as his ability to act as a mighty warrior on behalf of his devotees).

Or could the visions depict analogies? Describing the unseen and unknown in terms more easily understood by humans, - but not meant to be taken as literal.

170

Staying in physically for all the benefits

by Indoubtbigtime in

i wonder how many are like me staying pimo for the great association and gathering etc.

also find it very interesting having a front row seat watching the collapse of borg.. im not wasting any more time or money on anything i don’t want to do like preaching and mostly just go on zoom .

there is nothing i want to do that would be considered disfellowshiping sin, i’m married and want to live by bible principles but i have serious doubts that the gb were chosen by god and are his one and only spokesmen on earth.

Hopeless1

(Absolutely no benefits whatever ! )

170

Staying in physically for all the benefits

by Indoubtbigtime in

i wonder how many are like me staying pimo for the great association and gathering etc.

also find it very interesting having a front row seat watching the collapse of borg.. im not wasting any more time or money on anything i don’t want to do like preaching and mostly just go on zoom .

there is nothing i want to do that would be considered disfellowshiping sin, i’m married and want to live by bible principles but i have serious doubts that the gb were chosen by god and are his one and only spokesmen on earth.

Hopeless1

Thanks, Vanderhoven, I had forgotten what this thread was about!

Just looked up ‘Graeme Hammond’ on the internet and found the Aussie newspaper article, great anti-witness given…

Speaking personally, cannot say I can see any advantage to having been one of Jehovah’s Witnesses at any time of my life,… plenty of disadvantages though -

43

Sunday January 15 is my 76th birthday. I answer some of your questions.

by Terry in

jw
friends

happy birthday 2 me!!.

sunday is my 76th birthday and i know that you want to know how it "feels" to have outlived my usefulness, to have lost my natural beauty (being reduced to wrinkles and flab), and constantly walking into a room not knowing why i'm there.

you also are curious as to how i can continue to find a reason to live since none of my kids think my opinions have any possible value, most of my facebooks friends i wouldn't recognize if i tripped over them on my way into starbucks, and my monthly expenditure on bird treats exceeds u.s. spending on the military.

Hopeless1

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 thank you thank you thank you !!!

bought myself some Bluetooth earphones yesterday so l could hear better!

Favourite track is now ‘Concerto’….

Feel that asking for more now would betray a greediness on my part, but your compositions are very calming, very easy to listen to!

many thanks again, you have a true gift!

28

Should Jehovah's Witnesses Trust the Governing Body?

by Vanderhoven7 in

if there is evidence that jesus invisibly chose specific men at headquarters in brooklyn new york in 1919 to be his faithful slave and that mandate and ability passed on to future directors...then the answer might just be a resounding maybe.. what is the evidence for this invisible appointment and what is the evidence that this is just watchtower mythology?.

i hope jws like scholar and fisherman will explain why the trust the gb.. i must be honest, i see no evidence at all to put trust in either the 1919 selection or the current men taking the lead in warwick.

.

Hopeless1

Punky,

many thanks for the list of Watchtower quotes, reading them one after the other really emphasises how much they think of themselves. They condemn themselves out of their own mouths.

How presumptuous, how hypocritical when reading the quote from the Feb 2017 Watchtower claiming they are not inspired or infallible!

If I ever get a chance I shall be handing out this list of quotes to the local trolley pushers!

43

Sunday January 15 is my 76th birthday. I answer some of your questions.

by Terry in

jw
friends

happy birthday 2 me!!.

sunday is my 76th birthday and i know that you want to know how it "feels" to have outlived my usefulness, to have lost my natural beauty (being reduced to wrinkles and flab), and constantly walking into a room not knowing why i'm there.

you also are curious as to how i can continue to find a reason to live since none of my kids think my opinions have any possible value, most of my facebooks friends i wouldn't recognize if i tripped over them on my way into starbucks, and my monthly expenditure on bird treats exceeds u.s. spending on the military.

Hopeless1

Thank you for the music Terry!

🙂Please can we have some more?…