Posts by jhine

44

Differences Between JWs in the US and Europe

by BU2B in

jw
friends

there are many cultural differences between the general population of the us and europe, what about jws?

i have heard about such things as beards being allowed, movies that a jw cant watch in the us or would be frowned upon watching being ok, same with tv shows, and even the way they dress in public.

seems more laid back over there if this is true.. any truth to this?

jhine

As already stated elsewhere I have never bin a JW but do have quite a lot of contact with JW's . Now this is surprising as I make no bones about my opinion of the org. and have had many "discussions " with witnesses about theology etc . Most of the local JWs are still quite friendly with me and two in partic like to have me sit in on a study they have with a lady who has no knowledge of the bible and no intention of ever becoming a witness . Makes for an interesting mix ! If for some reason the lady cancels the study any week they will still come round to my house and discuss stuff , reading me articles from Watchtowers and asking my thoughts . Now ,as far as I know, I have not influenced them in any way , but they like the debate and say that it makes them dig deper into things (unfortunately only within JW boundaries )

NOw after that long winded intro my point is that I am constantly amazed that they are allowed to continue their association with me ( I am known by the local cong as Trinity Janet ) I do wonder if that contact would be allowed in US , other things that I find out about the lives of local Witnesses also makes me think that at least this local cong is quite lenient and liberal .

I also wonder if my local JW's do realise how strict people are in US and if it would make them question if they did .

26

Do other churches use the name Jehovah?

by barry in

i have seen on this site recordings of jw elders at tribunal meetings claim other churches hate the name jehovah.

one former baptist now jw elder said other churches hate the name and never use it.

please look at the following and there are many more hymns not included than these.

jhine

Yes , lots of Christian teachers that I listen to on T'internet use the Name Jehovah . Not used so much in my local C of E church , but then it isn't actually God's name, I believe that Yaweh is a better pronounciation . I don't use it for the same reason as Humbled cus of it's association with the org . The irony also strikes me that , in fact , the last thing that they are is a witness to Yahweh , with their twisted theology . Satan sure does have a sense of humour !!!

24

Do WT Bible NWT pick and choose word meanings to suit their agenda?

by *lost* in

can anyone offer thoughts on this.

any examples.

i just discovered this.. nwt v kjb isaaiah 14;12. kjv - uses lucifer.

jhine

they also add the word "other " where it is not in the original . They do this where where the bible says that Jesus created ALL things that were created , meaning that He is not created . They render it as He created all OTHER created things , implying that Jesus is part of creation , so created Himself . The word "other" is not in the interlinear part of their bible but is inserted in the other texts . This is really naughty, that one word completely changes the meaning of the message to make it fit with their teaching about Christ , not the bibles teaching .

229

How exactly did Jesus fulfill the law NOT the prophecies.

by mP in

theres a clear difference between prophecies (predictions of future events) and laws(stuff you should and shouldnt do).. now since xians always says jesus fullfilled the law, how does one fullfill a bunch of requirements like dont murder, dont worship idols, shave your beard like this etc.. there are 613 laws in the torah, jewish rabbis have done all the hard work and we have a nice list on wiki.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_mitzvot.

im confused which of those some how select a unique individual to be the unique messiah ?

then again there were many messiahs, every king and priest of israel and judea was a messiah.

jhine

sorry I have not posted fpr a while , have had a week off . It seems to me that mp , you just do not want to believe , you keep accusing Christians of lying , when in fact it is to be fair, more a matter of interpretation . Yu cannot prove that Christians are lying ,it is a matter of how you read and inerpet scripture . You say that Jesus does not command because no-one has heard from Jesus for 1900+ years yet many people say that they have , heard very recently . Anyone from Dave Wilkerson ( think I got that right , the Cross and the Switchblade bloke ) ,Jackie Pullinger (Chasing the Dragon ) to me will tell you that yes we do get direction .

Also you talk about Rabbis not believing that Jesus is refered to in the O T . well they would say that wouldn't they ? There are many Messianic Jews (including some Rabbis ) who do believe that prophecies in the O t.refer to Jesus . Again it is a matter of interpretation and belief and experience . I am not sure why you keep coming onto this site , if you are only going to keep banging the same drum , as you can't prove your assertions and will never accept the claims of those who believe in Christ .

What is your background , please tell . Were you frightened by a vicar when you were young or something ?

229

How exactly did Jesus fulfill the law NOT the prophecies.

by mP in

theres a clear difference between prophecies (predictions of future events) and laws(stuff you should and shouldnt do).. now since xians always says jesus fullfilled the law, how does one fullfill a bunch of requirements like dont murder, dont worship idols, shave your beard like this etc.. there are 613 laws in the torah, jewish rabbis have done all the hard work and we have a nice list on wiki.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_mitzvot.

im confused which of those some how select a unique individual to be the unique messiah ?

then again there were many messiahs, every king and priest of israel and judea was a messiah.

jhine

mp , what about the suffering servant in Isaiah , there are many passages which talk about a future event of of death and ressurection . If someone else can pin point some , please help me out cus off the top of my head I can't remember exact references , but as a believer in Christ I have , over the years read many OT passages which reference a messiah and suffering .

211

New light Watchtower magazine leaked from organization weeks ahead of general release

by cedars in

http://jwsurvey.org/governing-body-2/new-light-watchtower-magazine-leaked-from-organization-weeks-ahead-of-general-release.

if doctrinal explanations are missing from the article, it is because they are also missing from the magazine.. i would like to give my thanks again to my source for supplying me with the magazine article weeks ahead of its scheduled release.

it showed remarkable courage, because risks were taken.

jhine

thank you Cedars , I am fairly new to the site , but I know that many on the site have tremendous respect for you and having read many of your articles I can see why .

229

How exactly did Jesus fulfill the law NOT the prophecies.

by mP in

theres a clear difference between prophecies (predictions of future events) and laws(stuff you should and shouldnt do).. now since xians always says jesus fullfilled the law, how does one fullfill a bunch of requirements like dont murder, dont worship idols, shave your beard like this etc.. there are 613 laws in the torah, jewish rabbis have done all the hard work and we have a nice list on wiki.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_mitzvot.

im confused which of those some how select a unique individual to be the unique messiah ?

then again there were many messiahs, every king and priest of israel and judea was a messiah.

jhine

Never said that Jesus had offspring , where the heck does that come from ? KNow that you don't agree but the general Christain view is that , as I am sure you know , the Genesis passage refers to Jesus death on the cross where HE finally overcame Satan . As I said you will never agree but why do you argue over points on which we agree like Jesus never saying that He came to replace the law . He said that He came to fulfill the law . I agree with you about that . Do you just wnat to argue for the sake of arguing ? Don't get it . You just sound so angry all the time , sorry if I have that wrong , never mean to upset anyone just to give my opinion .

9

To believers: Is Blasphemy really the Unforgivable sin?

by cantleave in

jw
friends

mark 3:29 seems to indicate that this is so.. so please theists explain what is meant by this scripture?

is god really that petty?

do you believe that blasphemy is a greater sin than murder or paedophilia (which isn't even mentioned as a sin) or genocide?.

jhine

Someone said that if you have the attitude of the Pharisees so turning good into evil, as explained by Bobcat's post then in a sense you are making yourself unforgivable because you will never see God and Jesus as they really are and understand your need for forgiveness , so you will never turn from your sins . Can't remember who made this comment , but it kind of puts the onus on the person as putting themselves outside of God's love rather than God saying" I will not forgive you ." Maybe a bit like the man who beats his wfe but who insists it is her fault for making him angry so he will never aknowledge his need for help .

Hope that I have explained that o.k.

4

What I take from the Watchtower's cunning efforts to keep us away from God and his message the gospel.

by Fernando in

from my experience, by telling us ordinary folk jesus is not our mediator, the watchtower keeps us from a personal relationship with god.

misdirection.. similarly by keeping us away from god's message, the unabridged gospel, the watchtower keeps us blind, ignorant, subservient, passive, docile and captive.

suppression.. because there is a conflict between our "authentic self" and "cult self" mental distress or "cognitive dissonance" arises.

jhine

yes !!

17

how valid are commitments made while being a jw.

by man in black in

several times on this board i have read comments from people who were considering joining a new religion.

and how a jw baptism was not "valid", so there should be no problem while getting ready to join the new church.. if a baptism is not real, what about other aspects of life,, such as a marriage ?

outside of the legal requirements that are written down and recorded, from a spiritual standpoint, is it just a bunch of nonsense ?.

jhine

The Watchtower blatently lies to its members and certainly before baptism presents itself very differently from its true nature , so even if someone as an adult makes a vow at baptism which they really mean at the time , the organisation to which they are commiting themselves is in their head different to the one that they are actually being baptised into . I think that this makes any vow null and void when someone realises the true nature of the org.