I've heard some people say that for God to reveal himself today would affect our free will. I don't think that would matter. The free will of the people who got to see God and hear his voice directly was not affected, and some of them used their freedom to turn from God. And frankly, would it be so bad if God revealed himself and we were able to make our choices with the full confidence of knowing? This is the same God who wishes for all to be saved. Why not take a step that would bring far more people to salvation?
TonusOH
JoinedPosts by TonusOH
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Does anybody ever wonder why ?
by smiddy3 insupposedly, god jehovah, el , or whatever else he may have been called many thousands of years ago, or so the storys goes ,dealt with humans on a regular basis communicating with them for either good or bad.according to how they pleased him or displeased him.. so the bible record says.. how is it that god , jehovah or whatever other name you want to call him has not communicated with humans on any level for the past 2000 years ???.
in this scientific ,technological age ,wouldn`t you think this would be the time he would communicate with the potential dangers we face in potentially destroying ourselves and ruining the planets wildlife unless he interveined ?.
that`s if you even beleive that such a god actually exists .. and if he does why so silent in this day and age,?.
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New rules for inactive ones?
by Lynnie inhave the rules changed as far as disfellowshipping inactive ones when it's clear they are engaged in "wrongdoing?".
i have a cousin in seattle who was disfellowshipped about 3 years ago or so and then went through the process of being reinstated (took only 6 months) and then proceeded to fade and do nothing regarding the jw's .
fast forward to today and now she's had a baby out of wedlock and the uber jw elder father and mother are all on board somehow.
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TonusOH
Sometimes it's easy to see the favoritism at work. If you are in long enough, you will see examples of it. And if you are close to some of the elders, you get to hear about a lot more of it. Not only is it always a bit surprising that it is happening, it is even more shocking when you realize that they are fine with breaking certain rules or looking the other way, even though the Sunday sermons are all about minding those little things and not chipping away at one another's faith.
I think it is one of the things that very quietly undermined my own faith. How can you say "no exceptions, you must be perfect like God" on Sunday and then shrug your shoulders when you see people who don't even try, and nothing happens to them?
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It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars
by Newly Enlightened inoriginal reddit post (removed).
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TonusOH
DerekMoors: Who is he to talk about evasion and deception?
An expert in both fields!
Not sure about the respectful part. "Revealing" definitely applies, after his confession video.
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Opinions on the Divine name in the New Testament? + an interesting question
by Blotty ini am genuinely curious and mainly posting this for research purposes, i do not have enough knowledge on either of these subjects to debate them in any useful manner.. (this information is as far as i am aware and may be incorrect in places)as most know the nwt is known for placing a form of the divine name in the nt (new testament) - while i agree the evidence is significantly weak for it too appear in the nt, a few things must be considered - (from my limited research)rev references the name twice (3:12, 14:1)early copies of the lxx contain the divine name (likely the versions that the nt writers copied?
stafford has a couple of videos on this subject)it was emphasized over and over the name [divine name, which ever form you prefer] would be "known" (other words used aswell) forever - if this is true, why then go against your own message in some cases and replace it with a surrogate?some also claim the nwt is dishonest for not translating some occurrences of "lord" as the divine name - common ones i notice are: phil 2:10-11, 1pe 3:14-15, heb 1:10yet these all use "lord" as a title not a proper noun, seems to be staunch trinitarians who make this claim most oftenscholar qualifications:why does a scholars qualification's matter?
sounds dumb i know.
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TonusOH
Kaleb, this is definitely not a pro-JW site.
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Looking at things from Jehovah's perspective...actually, the Watchtower Society's perspective
by RULES & REGULATIONS inthe watchtower—study edition | march 2022. study article 12. do you see what zechariah saw?.
11. what challenges do some of jehovah’s worshippers face today?.
11 change is challenging for many of us.
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TonusOH
They like to push this idea regularly, to keep the rank and file in line. They are not shy about equating the GB with Jehovah himself, in order to stress that they have the authority to make decisions that should not be questioned. It is breathtaking how arrogant they sound sometimes.
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Philosophical Question
by budbayview inaccording to the bible, there was dissention in heaven or god’s kingdom.
in god’s own courtyard, the factors existed for such, that perfect creations morphed into gods’ opposition, even in the presence of the universal creator.
accordingly, they are still at it, hell bent on destroying all.. here is my question; how is it that the creation thinks they can win a war with the universal creator?
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TonusOH
That always struck me, the notion that the beings closest to God would ever turn from him. I had the impression -as did many other Christians I knew- that God is the ultimate being, a person of vast intellect, wisdom, and love. The perfect father, the great teacher. To meet Him would be an unimaginable experience.
And yet... one angel is so unimpressed that he turns against God, to such a degree that he earns the title of "opposer" (or something to that effect). The two humans who were direct creations of God are easily turned away from Him as well, by a talking animal of all things. Other angels apparently chose their own boners over fealty to God. That is insane.
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The Great Tribulation
by Fisherman inwill the great tribulation hurt individuals more than what job, jesus, roman punishment, naz&i germany, hiroshima, jail, capital punishment, disease, pain, terror, horror, soldier in the battlefield or some terrible pain people experience this very moment?
how worse can pain and suffering get.
it is very common.
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TonusOH
He means "Y". As in, "not Z."
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Help needed
by NewLight ini’ve been visiting this site for quite a long time, although i rarely posted.
i would like to thank simon and all the participants, for the valuable information and support that is available here, for anyone searching about the jw organization.. just a brief introduction of myself: i live in europe (english is not my native language, so please bear with any mistakes i make).
i was born in a jw family and i’m still in the organization, but i’ve been “on the fence” about leaving the organization for quite a long time.
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TonusOH
Hi NewLight,
I faded over a very long time, and it wasn't deliberate. I just found it harder and harder to make the effort to go to meetings or go on field service. But I believed in what they taught and figured it was my own failings, so when elders tried to encourage me, I was earnest in my desire to 'improve.' But it simply wasn't happening.
By the time I realized I wasn't a JW, I had faded pretty completely. I had even stopped going to the memorial for a few years at that point. I think they took it easy on me because I wasn't stirring up trouble and because my mom is still a diehard JW, and I think they did not want to do anything to upset her.
I can't really say what the best option is, because we're all different. If I had not wanted so badly to remain a JW, I doubt I would have faded so gradually. I would not have been able to make even the half-hearted effort I was making until the early 2000s, when I stopped trying but kept telling myself I'd get back in. I think that, once you realize it's not for you, you need to consider all of the factors before you decide on a course of action. Good luck.
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The Great Tribulation
by Fisherman inwill the great tribulation hurt individuals more than what job, jesus, roman punishment, naz&i germany, hiroshima, jail, capital punishment, disease, pain, terror, horror, soldier in the battlefield or some terrible pain people experience this very moment?
how worse can pain and suffering get.
it is very common.
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TonusOH
Perhaps a more interesting discussion would be to ask what each person thinks the great tribulation will be like. Russell saw it as a period of anarchy, with conditions getting worse until such time as Jesus stepped in to establish the kingdom of God and destroy man-made governments. But what would that be like? 2019-2021 USA? Present day Venezuela? Russia? North Korea? Ukraine? Some other example? Something even worse?
Either of the world wars would seem to have been an example of a great tribulation. People dying in large numbers, the economies of many nations being almost wiped out, humanity in such disarray that either disease or despots took advantage to introduce even more suffering. But we have kept on going. So the great tribulation would need to be even worse, since it would need to be cut short to save humanity from extinction. What else could happen that was worse than those times?
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Article: The Crypto Ponzi Scheme Avenger - [A former JW]
by AndersonsInfo in(this article is available by subscription only so i copied and pasted it below.).
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/11/business/crypto-ponzi-scheme-hyperfund.html.
here's part of the information about mr. de hek's past as a jw:.
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TonusOH
FOMO = Fear of missing out
Crypto is the latest speculative bubble, IMO. They occur with a certain regularity, and it's always the same thing-- people assign a quickly inflating value to an item that is far beyond its actual worth. The early investors make impressive returns because the rush to invest drives up prices, and their success makes it difficult to point out the flaw in the bubble, because everyone thinks you're just a jealous buzzkill. Eventually it reaches a point where no one can afford to invest, and prices begin to drop, and panic selling starts, and the people who are the most leveraged watch as their massive investment disappears.