Posts by Sunbeam

4

its not good is it?

by qadreena in

jw
friends

it makes me so so sad that so many people in the org have been through the abuse thing, before coming on here i thought mine was an isolated case but when i joined these forums, it suddenly hit me about a father and his daughter and two sons being involved in an abuse thing many many years ago, i was very young, the mother took the kids away and became inactive and the father was disfellowsipped and eventually drifted away, there was a lot of gossip but no police involvement.

i am now inspired to write my full story in great detail to silent lambs, although it will take a while to muster up the courage, its easy telling bits and pieces but to tell it fully is a different matter but i *will* do it, im very determined now.

xxx angel xxx

Sunbeam

Hi Angel,

That's a very brave thing to do. If you feel that's the right thing for you, go for it. Hopefully, it will help you to lay bad memories to rest once and for all.

Love
Sunbeam
xxxx

125

Ya'll dont believe in God?

by flower in

jw
friends

i have to ask this although i have a feeling i dont really want to read the responses but anyway.

i talked to several people here today who dont believe there is a god at all.

this is disturbing!

Sunbeam

Hi Crownboy

You made some interesting points.

What exactly does that mean? It certainly couldn't mean exactly what you said, because that would mean we could do anything and still be saved because we simply "believe by faith" in Jesus. No Christain theolgian would teach that (at least not ant I know ) because it's not true.

Surprisingly, quite a few theologians have taught just that. Martin Luther shocked his contemporaries by his hyperbole, saying, "It is sufficient that we recognise through the wealth of God's glory, the lamb who bears the sins of the world; from this, sin does not sever us, even if thousands, thousands of times in one day we should fornicate or murder."

Ok, that's a bit extreme, but God did give us the example of the adulterous, murderous David to prove that salvation depends upon his grace alone, not anything that we do.

And Augustine said, "If you but love God you may do as you incline." Why's that? Because if you truly believe that Jesus died for your sins, you receive new life and are no longer a 'slave to sin'.

Paul discusses the dilemma of 'why be good if I'll be forgiven' in Romans 6-7. He likens the spiritual life to marriage. It's impossible to love someone wholeheartedly whilst thinking about how you can get away with sleeping with someone else.

The prime new testament motivation for 'being good' is gratitude. Once you comprehend what Jesus has done for you and develop love for God, you want to please him rather than think about what you could get away with. That's why Jesus and Paul summed up the entire law in one command - Love God.

[quote}The "Orthodox Christain" teaching takes one scripture, which obviously couldn't mean what it says literally and present it to the belivers as if it were a fact.[/quote]

Is this the scripture you are talking about? If so, why would you think that it wasn't meant to be taken literally?

'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - so that no-one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.'

The good works flow from the new life we receive, not in the hope that they will stop God from killing us if we step out of line. A Christian is 'a new creation in Christ - the old has gone, the new has come.' (2 Co, 5)

I think the whole thing has been summed up pretty neatly by Philip Yancey in his book, 'What's so amazing about grace?'. He answers his own question - there is nothing we can do to make God love us more, there is nothing we can do to make God love us less.

Love
Sunbeam
xxxx

125

Ya'll dont believe in God?

by flower in

jw
friends

i have to ask this although i have a feeling i dont really want to read the responses but anyway.

i talked to several people here today who dont believe there is a god at all.

this is disturbing!

Sunbeam

Mommy,

I was just reading this post and noticed your comment about Christians doing good things because of the 'thought in the back of your mind that you are doing it for your reward in the afterlife of your choice.'

No offence, but this is JW salvation-by-works doctrine, not mainstream Christian doctrine. Christians don't believe that they can do anything to earn their reward, all of their 'debts' have already been paid and their reward is guaranteed (salvation-by-faith-alone).

When I was an atheist I did 'good' to others out of the love in my heart. Now that I'm a Christian, there is more love in my heart - and it prompts me to do even more good for others. Because I want to, not in the vain hope of earning a reward.

Love
Sunbeam
xxxx

8

Valentine's Day

by LittleToe in

another poem, on this auspicious occasion.. it's great to have the freedom to send a valentine's note.. since the sender cannot be anonymous, on this board, the recipient must be.. who is it for?.

valentine's day.

a day of worth, a day of cheer,.

Sunbeam

Hi LT

I think it's for your wife. Did you go ahead with a Valentine plan?

I actually got a card from Alan - my 2nd in 7 years. It was a total surprise. JW habits die hard. And this one didn't even have Pepe le Pugh (sp?), the cartoon skunk on it!! Things are looking up :-).

Love
Sunbeam
xxxx

15

I need divorce advice !!!

by nightwing02 in

jw
friends

neither my wife or i have committed adultery ,we have just grown apart and annoy each other to death what shall i do?

Sunbeam

Hi NW

I've lived through three divorce experiences vicariously - my dad's been divorced twice and my best friend nearly killed herself whilst she was in the throes of dissolving her marriage. Believe me, it's not somewhere you want to go if you can at all avoid it.

I don't know your history, but it sounds to me as though you've got something in common - you both annoy each other (just kidding). But seriously, why don't you try ignoring the things that she does that annoy you, stop doing the things that annoy her and see what happens.

You could start today - with a Valentine (unless she's a JW).

Love
Sunbeam
xxxx

125

Ya'll dont believe in God?

by flower in

jw
friends

i have to ask this although i have a feeling i dont really want to read the responses but anyway.

i talked to several people here today who dont believe there is a god at all.

this is disturbing!

Sunbeam

Hi Flower

You've asked a really good question. As Julie said, it's up to you to reach your own conclusions, but you did ask for opinions so I thought I'd contribute mine too. Before I even write this post, I've got a feeling that my ideas might come out scrambled, but here goes..

I think that faith is something that is very difficult to put into words, it's a bit like the way that the annointed are supposed to be able to identify themselves - the bible speaks to you directly, it reads like a letter from God with your name on it, you just KNOW that God exists. You can't produce any hard evidence for something like this, because it's on the inside.

It's the same with 'the peace of God that passes all understanding'. I'm a completely different person since I became a Christian. I've got a new perspective on life and a new peace - and that's not just because I've been 'saved', as I never even recognised that as a need before, I was an atheist.

I can only explain this change and my faith as a gift from God - we are given sufficient faith. I didn't create it myself, I can't sustain it myself (I'm supposed to be writing an assignment right now and can't even sustain my effort on that, LOL). It doesn't depend upon rigid laws, meeting attendance, etc. Sometimes I'm amazed that it's still there as I'm not known for my stickability. I wake up in the morning and marvel at the fact that I know God exists.

As I said, I can't offer any hard evidence. But Jesus said seek and you will find, ask and it will be given to you.

Flower, pray for understanding and you will receive the gift - the mind of Christ.

Love
Sunbeam
xxxx

(PS apologies to non-Christians for this schmalzy post - it's just for Flower)

255

Going out with a bang

by LittleToe in

jw
friends

after much deliberation, i decided to go "out" at the end of a public talk.

it didn't go down too well, but at least i was able to give some of my reasons for leaving.. i've put some of the details on my homepage.

i'll update it more when i get the time and the strength.

Sunbeam

I can vouch for LittleToe too. We've been corresponding via e-mail for a few months now. If he's trying to run a scam, he's put months of work into it. Does that sound like a troll to you, PC?

Love
Sunbeam
xxxx

29

new one!!!

by qadreena in

jw
friends

hi, im angel, an ex like many others on here i gather.

ill be on regularly so speak to you all soon.

xxx angel xxx

Sunbeam

Hi Qadreena/Angel and welcome to the board

I'm sorry to hear your sad story, but glad that you seem to have managed to put most of your JW experience behind you.

I'm a bit of a metaller too. We used to have the best rock venue in the UK here in Newcastle. You may have heard of it - the Mayfair. It was a groovy ball room with a huge sprung dance floor. That was where I was introduced to JW-dom, as I met my (now ex-JW) husband there. Unfortunately the council saw fit to turn it into a car park recently.

Your website looks cool. I'm into more prog metal these days - Savatage, Dream Theater, etc. Let us know if you hear of any more groovy new bands!

Feel free to vent on this board - that's why it's here.

Looking forward to hearing more from you.

Love
Sunbeam
xxxx

58

UK Posters: C'mon Gimme a Smiley :)

by philo in

jw
friends

hello britains .

i am trying to get as many uk posters to sign in.

so post up please, whether you love the queen's corgis or think they should be nationalised!.

Sunbeam

I'm in Tyneside.

Love
Sunbeam
xxxx

10

scriptural intentional distortions

by tosko in

hi all!.

can anyone point out clear and intentional distortions in jws translations and interpretations?

dishonesty in translation?

Sunbeam

Hiya

You might find the following useful - especially the part about the NWT.

http://www.kevinquick.com/kkministries/books/reasoning/

In terms of deliberate distortion and divergence from mainstream Christianity, you will see that there is a pattern. Scriptures that relate to the deity of Christ and the work of the holy spirit, in particular, have been rendered in such a way that they support the org's continued power over their members.

E.g. Christ could not die for everyone's sins (he was only a man not God and so could only die to cover a man's, Adam's, sins) so you have to work for your own salvation.
E.g. the holy spirit is just an 'active force' rather than the power of God and the way in which God dwells in believers.

Upshot - you have to do all the good works we suggest (meetings, door-to-door) in the hope that you can earn your way into paradise, and you can't understand the Bible without us.

Contrast with mainstream Christianity - Christ died for everyone's sins so that those who trust in him can know they are saved and don't have to work for salvation, the holy spirit 'will teach us all things' and help us to grow as Christians and the result will be good works - so no-one needs an org to set standards, rules, translate the bible etc.

WTS - do everything we tell you all your life and you might be saved.
Mainstream Christianity - Christ's perfect standards are unattainable so we can never get there this side of heaven, Christians are to meet to encourage and support each other in their journey.

As well as deliberate mis-translation (sometimes in accordance with the view held by a minority of 'scholars'), texts are taken out of context or mis-interpreted, generally to create a fear of Satan/outsiders/people who have left the sect/dying at Armageddon - i.e. create phobias. At the same time, the WT proclaims itself and its members as the only true Christians - hence the arrogant, self-righteous attitute of many JWs. This is all supported by jargon and buzzwords that only JW's understand.

Thesis have already been written about some of these topics. Like the rest of us, you'll just need to spend plenty of time online, reading and digesting.

BTW, their may be differing opinions about minor points within mainstream Christianity - but the churches are in agreement about the important points: deity of Christ, work of the holy spirit, resurrection, etc. People shouldn't be thrown out for having their own opinions, as they are with the WTS.

Good luck. Would be interested in seeing the finished work if you decide to go ahead.

Sunbeam
xxxx