this is the first time i've read through a watchtower magazine in about a year.
although i've been our only 8 months it really git me how crazy i must have sounded when i was a jw talking to non jws.. while other bible based religions talk about the 4 horsemen and back up their theories with other scriptures or historical evidence, the watchtower have taken so such steps.
1914 is thrown in there as if it's universally agreed that jesus started ruling since then.. even when i was a jw i never really understood why, if the pale horse represents jesus, why is he first?
In most Christian eschatologies I am familar with Jesus has a duel role. In his first incarnation he could be described as peaceful because his mission was to become a human sacrifice to free humanity from the debt of sin.
However, now that this has been achieved, his role has changed. In his second coming he will act as judge and executioner of those who refuse to accept him as lord, hence his inclusion as one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
satan loves his own people and hates those who do not share his views, hence only he can use shunning as a weapon.. on the contrary, god is love (agape = unconditional love), cannot have his own people.
(mathew 5:44-48).
all the accounts not in conformity with this principle originated from cleric’s pen (jeremiah 7:31; 8:8).
So... Jehovah is Satan?
i understand people love their family but i also don't understand why you end up caring in the end.
i'm ready to leave and i 100% don't expecting my family to have any contact with me nor do i want them to contact me.
if they are going to chose a man made religion over me, that's their choice and i will sleep easy at night.
All I know for certain is what is here and now. My children are only young once. When they are grown it's over. When my nieces, nephews, and friends children are grown I will never get back the time when we could have enriched each others lives. This is one of the many reasons I mourn the shunning policy. Life is precious and short, and we waste so much time with nonsense that it's depressing.
I know how you feel. Two of my friends are married now; but I wasn't invited (or even informed) about the weddings and I haven't met either of their spouses. If it weren't for Facebook I wouldn't know anything.
i've noticed several posts recently claiming that jw friends and family members give out conditional love.
well, i'm not so sure that is entirely accurate, in fact, i would say they tend to be very steadfast in their love.
the issue is this, they have been taught a poor form of love.
I suppose that if a JW sincerely believes that:
Then shunning could be a (misguided) display of love or a form of "tough love". However, I often got the impression as a JW that it was really more about protecting one's own reputation by not consorting with unclean people like apostates and nonbelievers. Apostasy is analogous to a disease and so the wisest thing to do is to enforce a quarantine until the diseased person is cured.
hey all,.
we have purchased a bunch of great books recently, and one of them is from author kyria abrahams called "i'm perfect, you're doomed".
i'm only 5 chapters in at this stage, but i just have to share that this is a great read!.
schnell23 minutes ago
Smurf thing? What, that they're "DEMONIZED?!"
I haven't read the book, but I remember some crazy shit back in the day about the dumbest things. Smurfs, Mork and Mindy, the Legend of Zelda... Just ugh.
I don't remember anything about Mork & Mindy, but there were several smurf urban legends circulation among JW congregation in the mid nineties (and obviously before).
Keep in mind that these were not just funny stories told between JW kids during sleepovers. Adult JWs believed this nonsense, otherwise they wouldn't have forbidden their kids from owning smurf paraphernalia.
i understand people love their family but i also don't understand why you end up caring in the end.
i'm ready to leave and i 100% don't expecting my family to have any contact with me nor do i want them to contact me.
if they are going to chose a man made religion over me, that's their choice and i will sleep easy at night.
When they're all old, sick, in a nursing home I'll simply walk in, ask them if it was worth wasting their whole life shunning their family members instead of enjoying the little time you get with them. I'll then remind them that in actuality, we only get one shot at this life and that I hope they are happy with how they spent there's.
I take it that you don't like your family that much.
I guess it is pretty easy to shrug off rejection if you already despise the ones rejecting you. Understand, however, that most of us actually like our family to some degree.
hey all,.
we have purchased a bunch of great books recently, and one of them is from author kyria abrahams called "i'm perfect, you're doomed".
i'm only 5 chapters in at this stage, but i just have to share that this is a great read!.
I loved that book so much I read it twice! She describes the gloomy banality of the JW life with the wit and humor that only a jew could could muster.
And yes, it brought back so many memories. Until I read her book I thought the whole smurf thing was unique to my congregation.
8 months df'd.
loving a life of freedom.
however, my family are all shunning me.
Your post makes me appreciate how moderate my own mother is by comparison. She's still a fanatic relative to most mainstream Christians, but compared to your mum she's a paragon of tolerance and understanding.
religions wealth has always made me squirm.
from the catholic church, with its golden city and priceless relics, to the mormons and their absurd temple and huge big fat bank account.
the jw's are the same.
Religions do not want to use their money to relieve suffering because most of them thrive on it. If the people aren't suffering, they are a lot less likely to turn to God. It's totally irrational, that we should feel the presence of a benevolent deity at just those times when all the evidence in front of our eyes suggests his absence. People never fail to thank God for escaping a burning building or surviving a hurricane, but they very often fail to thank him for a full stomach or good health.
jehovah's witnesses cannot do a lot of things.
i remember pioneers having to quit their jobs because they could not work in a convenience store and sell cigarettes.
i know of a young man who was offered a scholarship to any college or university if he wanted to go to because of his football abilities.
I would have liked to participate in more holiday activities in school like exchanging Christmas gifts and Valentines. I really wanted to, but there were JW kids who would have told on me if I did.
I think my most shameful memory in this regard was when I was in sixth grade. A boy in my class handed me a Valentine card and said: "I know I shouldn't do this this because you're a JW, but here you go." I was both flattered and surprised. This was the first and only valentine I had ever received! I was probably blushing like a rose. I wanted to say thank you and give him something in exchange, but I didn't dare.
That boy could have been my friend. A REAL friend who would not have tossed me aside like my JW 'friends' did a few years later. I still regret it, but I did learn something from this incident. Ever since I've always spoken from the heart and never censored myself in fear of what others might think.
