Posts by siegswife

24

Any thoughts on this quote from the Bible?

by siegswife in

in luke 13:20,21 it says: "and again he said: 'with what shall i compare the kingdom of god?

it is like leaven, which a woman took and his in three large measures of flour until the whole mass was fermented.".

i've been thinking about this.

siegswife

Good thoughts everyone. It's helping me to look at this from different perspectives. I like the idea of it being looked at from a positive angle. I have to wonder what the three measures mean? I was trying to apply it to the 3 religions that stem from the same believe in God. Maybe the represent something else? And why doesn't the state of people's spirituality seem to be more enjoined in the worship of God? It appears that the opposite is happening. And who was the woman that hid the leaven? Did someone compare it to 'the church'? Why would the church 'hide' the thing that makes the bread fermented, if it's a good thing?

I realize that the leaven IS compared to the Kingdom of God, though, so I'm hesitant to stick a bad connotation to this particular thought.

Could the 'leaven' represent Jesus, who was considered to be a man of lawlessness? Because of the lawlessness in the world, things don't often appear as they seem. Maybe that is why faithful today appear to be so divided (even to themselves), yet the reality of what is going on is the fermenting which won't be fully apparent until the whole lump is done...?

24

Any thoughts on this quote from the Bible?

by siegswife in

in luke 13:20,21 it says: "and again he said: 'with what shall i compare the kingdom of god?

it is like leaven, which a woman took and his in three large measures of flour until the whole mass was fermented.".

i've been thinking about this.

siegswife

I've been trying to relate this to the reality of the situation today. I'm inclining to think that the leaven might relate to the hypocricy and falsehood that 'permeates' religion today. In other scriptures Jesus warned the disciples to watch out for the leaven of the pharisees and Herod (Rome?/governments?). That really sounds like the state of religion today. It's full of hypocricy and politics.

On the otherhand, since it's still a work in progress, maybe whatever truth is in our beliefs will grow to where we can overcome the differences.

6

No - you're wrong - I'm right!

by ballistic in

jw
friends

i would just like to re-address the balance after a number of posts both recently and over the course of time suggesting that there is too much bickering, back stabbing and trolling going on here.. i would just like to say that i have frequented a number of chat rooms and message boards on various subjects and have found this to be one of the most balanced and peaceful i've seen.. i think some peoples expectations are too high, perhaps comparing this to a highly moderated jw site, or to "group" sites run by invitation only.. one of the worst chat rooms i've been in was on aol (if you really want a fight, i'll tell you where it is and you can check it out) where i saw death threats, intimidation, constant abuse and out right anarchy, and they don't like newbies.. i think we should celebrate what we have here; religious types, people who now feel sick at the thought of religion, ex-elders, people who have just been disfellowshipped, americans and brits (and other countries), different age groups and....er... fred hall.. ok, there's the odd squirmish and i've had one or two, but don't you think we have all gained a lot from the over-all experience - otherwise, why are you still here?

siegswife

I like this board. It's neat that people of such diverse opinions can interact as well as the people here do. Even the people who seem caustic often have interesting ideas and observations. Everyone here seems to be able to overlook there differences to a degree that actually stimulates dialog. (Obvious exceptions excluded)

It's like a *choke* "worldwide brotherhood"!!!

34

It's just dawned on me...

by Billygoat in

...that jw's have a hard time forgiving others because they themselves are rarely forgiven for their own sins.

according to their beliefs jehovah keeps track of every detail of your life...good and bad.

that even if you are humble and repent of your sins, that there is still no true forgiveness until the new system.

siegswife

Andi, It's terrible that your dad continues to alienate you to the extent he does. Maybe if you looked at it from a different perspective, your pain would be less. (Maybe not)

My dad isn't a JW, but he continually does and says things that translate into rejection of his children (except my brother). It sounds to me like you actually have BETTER communication with your father on a personal level than I do with mine.

I'm sure there are many people who don't communicate well with, OR feel loved and accepted by their parents. It seems like you and your dad suffer from this more in that regard than anything directly related to JW's. (Other than that is what HE believes and you don't)

At least you can talk to him about deeper aspects of your differences on some occassions, which is more than I can say about my dad. (((HUG)))

24

Any thoughts on this quote from the Bible?

by siegswife in

in luke 13:20,21 it says: "and again he said: 'with what shall i compare the kingdom of god?

it is like leaven, which a woman took and his in three large measures of flour until the whole mass was fermented.".

i've been thinking about this.

siegswife

Here are a couple of translations that seem to put the verses in two different lights:

Luke 13:20,21 :: New Living Translation (NLT)
Luke 13
Illustration of the Yeast

20He also asked, "What else is the Kingdom of God like? 21It is like yeast used by a woman making bread. Even though she used a large amount[1] of flour, the yeast permeated every part of the dough."

1. 13:21 Greek 3 measures.
*This sounds like it's saying that a little truth will prevail.

Luke 13:20,21 :: Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
Luke 13
20
And again he said, `To what shall I liken the reign of God?
21
It is like leaven, which a woman, having taken, did hide in three measures of meal, till that all was leavened.'

*In this one it sounds as if the leaven was stolen and hidden.

24

Any thoughts on this quote from the Bible?

by siegswife in

in luke 13:20,21 it says: "and again he said: 'with what shall i compare the kingdom of god?

it is like leaven, which a woman took and his in three large measures of flour until the whole mass was fermented.".

i've been thinking about this.

siegswife

In Luke 13:20,21 it says: "And again He said: 'With what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and his in three large measures of flour until the whole mass was fermented."

I've been thinking about this. Now, discounting religions that don't share the common God of the OT, we have Islam, Judaism and Christianity. All three of these religions claim to have dibs on the 'truth' about God. Yet all three have different sects, views and classes within them. All three of these religions come from the same 'Source' yet each one is 'leavened' in its own way. All of them are developing separately.
A question, would this 'leaven' be the leaven of the pharisees or the ingredient of 'truth' needed in each one to develop into a finished product? Or both?

21

Who has UNconditional love?

by patio34 in

jw
friends

i have seen the term 'unconditional love' used often in reference to jws.

now, i understand the import: they love someone only on the condition that someone remains a jw "in good standing.

however, the term 'unconditional love' is proferred in a positive light.

siegswife

If someone that you love suddenly 'turns into' someone else, did you ever really love that person to begin with? How does someone change so drastically without you knowing it?

All of us have experienced being let down by other people, and those experiences have changed our opinion of the people involved. Changing that opinion can lead to changing feelings about the person. When we feel like we no longer love a person, isn't it really because we feel we never really knew them to begin with? Chances are we didn't. If we didn't know them did we ever really love them? I doubt it.

I've often had to grow in my relationship with my husband, and we've been through some really tough times. We even separated for awhile. But what it came down to was that we knew each other well enough to be able forgive any misconceptions we had about each other. We also loved each other enough to want to change the negative behavior that was coming between us. Unconditionally? I think so. I'll love him no matter what he does and always hope his life goes in a positive direction. I won't subject myself to abuse, though. I know he feels the same about me.

24

Are you stable? (Mentally, that is)

by ashitaka in

jw
friends

ok.....any response will do, but if you're going to post a funny one, please also type your real thoughts along with it.. as for me, i'm pretty wild, but stable.

i never mention or show my fears; especially if my wife is around.

i can't bear to make her nervous.. ashi

siegswife

It depends who you ask.

I think I'm stable and my life seems to reflect that. I do occasionally entertain some odd or unpopular ideas (I was a JW wasn't I?), but I usually manage to achieve some level of balance. My family just thinks I'm strange.

Like I said, it depends who you ask.

26

"Mom, why would He do such a thing?"

by Esmeralda in

jw
friends

tonight, as my husband was driving our daughter home from ballet lessons, she spoke up quietly from her booster seat in the rear of the car..

"justin?".

"yes, leah?".

siegswife

That's one of the most horrible things I've ever heard! I'm so sorry that your little girl has to be exposed to that abuse! I'm glad that she has you in her life to give her a sense of balance. It's a damned shame that those people can be so hateful and blind. He probably has no clue about the effect his words have on her. What a jerk!

13

UPDATE ON "PRESENT THE TRUTH" ...

by Bill Parker in

jw
friends

purgatory is still another.

what method of teaching did he impart to the 1st century christians?

how did he say that we should worship his father jehovah?

siegswife

(((yes...us "guys" have all the "angels" covered ..funny
things like this happen when you have Gods blessing)))

ROFL...and when you ignore the OBVIOUS (or make it a no-no to even discuss it).

Hey maybe you can tell me who the false prophets and messiahs were around the time period of 1914? Didn't Jesus say that when ALL the signs were present it meant that He was? I've heard 'you guys' talk about the earthquakes and wars and pestilence and the other stuff outlined in Matthew 24, but never about the false prophets. Who do you think they were?

When Matthew 24 speaks of the 'evil slave' its funny how it's worded. The evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is delaying.' Wouldn't one have to be EXPECTING something to happen to feel that there's a delay? Apparently they do because it goes on to say that the master will arive at a time he DOESN'T expect (after he starts beating his fellow slaves). Can you explain to me how this DOESN'T apply to the WTS? When is Armeggedon expected to arrive these days?