Posts by TeaBiscuit

51

Help needed: transgender people and other unclear topics

by TeaBiscuit in

first of all, i am not quite sure whether this is the right place to ask my questions.

if this is not really appropriate, please tell me in advance, but i really did not know who to turn to, so i thought why not ask the internet... now, i know many of you are apostates and i'm not really looking for "leave it all behind you" answers, but really for experiences, thoughts and ideas... as well as maybe some verses if you can think of any.. anyway, first things first.

since this is very anonymous and i'd like to keep it that way, i will not give you my name, but still, i think some background info might be helpful.

TeaBiscuit

Anders Andersen. Thank you! Well, I asked for peoples opinions and I am grateful that all of you answered and that all of you answered very honestly. It's okay to have diverse opinions as long as people are respectful to one another. I cannot say I've made the same experiences as you regarding the "talking about the subjects that matter" but that might just be because my JW history is significantly shorter than yours. But I've recognized that whatever the GB says is valued very highly though the sister studying with me once said "the most important thing is what's in the bible not what's in the literature. After all, the literature is made by men and not inspired like the Holy Scriptures". You might have by now realized that I value freedom of speech and thought very highly. As for your point, I will have to really think about it. Thanks for putting it so politely ;)

Lieu. Well, chit-chat can be very nice. One of my best friends is a protestant and I love discussing topics like this with her.

rebel8. Thank you for the links. I read a few quotes and actually I love the Scripture you hinted at. Acts 17:11 is a big encouragement and I will try to study the bible by myself to verify what I believe in.

51

Help needed: transgender people and other unclear topics

by TeaBiscuit in

first of all, i am not quite sure whether this is the right place to ask my questions.

if this is not really appropriate, please tell me in advance, but i really did not know who to turn to, so i thought why not ask the internet... now, i know many of you are apostates and i'm not really looking for "leave it all behind you" answers, but really for experiences, thoughts and ideas... as well as maybe some verses if you can think of any.. anyway, first things first.

since this is very anonymous and i'd like to keep it that way, i will not give you my name, but still, i think some background info might be helpful.

TeaBiscuit

Hey all, thank you all for all your answers. It is really nice to get so much input from so many people. Thanks a lot! In the following I will try to comment on all you said chronologically, so bear with my, this might be a bit long...

sparrowdown. As I said before, this is a big issue for me. I will definitely keep in mind what you wrote, thank you!

jwfacts. Thank you for the link. I've just read the beginning of it, since it's quite long I will read the rest later. As I'm not transgender myself this particular issue has not affected my personally. It was just a trigger that started a sh*tload of questions all bustling about in my head (excuse the language, but this is just exactly what it feels like). I'm just very confused right now...Thanks for your invitation to meet up. Unfortunately, I'm right on the other side of the globe and it does not look as if I'd make it to Australia very soon. Also, I'm very scared of spiders which might lead to never visit it at all :D ;) (though I've been told it's wonderful there)

LisaRose. Exactly that was also my impression after talking to the bethelite and after reading the posts here. I like your comparison to diabetes. As you said, it seems extremely cruel!

Giordano. First of all thank you for your encouragement.I was not aware of the child abuse issue. The numbers you gave are scary! I knew about the two witness rule but I wasn't aware of the fact that child abuse was also handled that way. I don't want to think about what those children had (or maybe even still have?!) to go through! This is really alarming...

Anders Andersen. well, truth be told I always had a slight problem with the old testament. Sure, I get most of it & I get most of the rules and why they had to obey them. But the ones you quoted are hard. You gave the interpretation (if I got that right) that either the God who created them is not a loving one or that they are not of divine but of human origin. I already asked myself the same question - honestly? I could not answer it. My faith is based on two premisses: That God is love and that the bible is his word. Considering the verses you gave, only one of the premisses can be true - and this brings me into a great dilemma... also a reason I'm here right now. It is of course a possibility that there is another explanation that we can't grasp yet. But this is a highly philosophical topic that would need some talking over while drinking a good glass of wine or a nice cup of tea :D talking this over in this thread would probably go a bit to far I think. But you sure got me thinking... Maybe we can come back to that later or via private messages, if you'd like.

Dunedain. Yes, I'm very much enjoying this discussion. And Im very thankful for everyone participating in it. Thank you also for your personal experience. I can imagine that hearing something like that can have a very imprinting effect. Though I can understand that someone might say that being homosexual is against God's laws I don't like the way people judge others. The thing is: If I PERSONALLY think that it is not the right thing to do than I PERSONALLY should not do it - I should not point on others but rather work on myself - we all have enough things to work on.

freddo. Though I'm not sure how serious your comment was meant by you I actually liked your idea. Who knows - I might actually do that. Thank you!

Half banana. Thanks for your input. I especially liked your last sentence, the one about seeing the other side of the coin before taking the leap. That's what I try to do... And I deeply hope that it will whelp to get rid of my confusion right now.

Vanderhoven7. Thanks for your words. I will try to read and understand the bible myself, though I'm not quite sure where or how to start that project.

Lieu. Well, that's how my problem started with this issue. I could not find scriptures that really support what that brother told me and because of that their regulations just seemed very "men-made" which was weird since they always try to support all of their rules with bible principles. Also about the insemination thing: I thought the same thing! Mary's pregnancy is basically artificial insemination - at least it is not natural... What was also surprising about this topic to me was that the JWs values families so high. Why deny a couple the wish for a family of their own if they cannot have it the natural way due to medical issues?!

LoveUniHateExams. well, the transgender issue was just a trigger that started a lot of thinking and confusion...

Vanderhoven7. Before I got in contact with the JWs I wasn't a member of a church. You said that it is possible to worship God on our own, without a group or church of any kind and I think you a right to some degree (John 4:23, 24). But how would you see or explain a verse like Hebrews 10: 24, 25 ("And let us consider one another so as to incite to love and fine works not forsaking our meeting together, as some have the costume, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near"). I would be very interested in hearing your personal thoughts on this.

Heartsafire. As you said I already made my dedication to God and that's exactly why I want to dig deeper and really see if becoming a part of this org is what He wants me to do. Thanks also for giving me the YouTube channel. I will definitely check her out!

To all of you who participated (and who will participate) in this discussion: Thank you so much. When starting this topic I was afraid no one would answer or I would only get "leave them"-kind of answers but all of you have been very supportive and the variety of different ideas and perspective is really inspiring. I'm still very confused, though. Thanks for helping me and pointing things out that I was not aware of.

51

Help needed: transgender people and other unclear topics

by TeaBiscuit in

first of all, i am not quite sure whether this is the right place to ask my questions.

if this is not really appropriate, please tell me in advance, but i really did not know who to turn to, so i thought why not ask the internet... now, i know many of you are apostates and i'm not really looking for "leave it all behind you" answers, but really for experiences, thoughts and ideas... as well as maybe some verses if you can think of any.. anyway, first things first.

since this is very anonymous and i'd like to keep it that way, i will not give you my name, but still, i think some background info might be helpful.

TeaBiscuit

Hecce. Oh, I'm sorry, I just very quickly read your comment and missed that part. My fault.

Gefangene. Thank you. I'll try to find it via Google. If not I'll come back to you. Love from some other (or maybe the same?) middle European country :)

spartowdown. I think what you just said really is the core of my problem. I want to have a relationship to God, but on my terms, guided by my conscience. In the end I am the one responsible for myself, not the GB. That's why I have to deal with things the way I see them as right and wrong...

51

Help needed: transgender people and other unclear topics

by TeaBiscuit in

first of all, i am not quite sure whether this is the right place to ask my questions.

if this is not really appropriate, please tell me in advance, but i really did not know who to turn to, so i thought why not ask the internet... now, i know many of you are apostates and i'm not really looking for "leave it all behind you" answers, but really for experiences, thoughts and ideas... as well as maybe some verses if you can think of any.. anyway, first things first.

since this is very anonymous and i'd like to keep it that way, i will not give you my name, but still, i think some background info might be helpful.

TeaBiscuit

Guys, you're so quick and full of input for me, thank you. Again I missed out two posts, so here are my answers.

Hecce. Though I already thought about that issue I did not research that further. Do you have a source for your statement that they all left the congregation? This sounds pretty interesting.

sparrowdown. Thank you for the encouragement! I naturally came across these scriptures, but I don't see that deut 22:5 applies here, since a trans-woman is in my opinion a woman, not a man. But if course, the organisation sees this differently...

51

Help needed: transgender people and other unclear topics

by TeaBiscuit in

first of all, i am not quite sure whether this is the right place to ask my questions.

if this is not really appropriate, please tell me in advance, but i really did not know who to turn to, so i thought why not ask the internet... now, i know many of you are apostates and i'm not really looking for "leave it all behind you" answers, but really for experiences, thoughts and ideas... as well as maybe some verses if you can think of any.. anyway, first things first.

since this is very anonymous and i'd like to keep it that way, i will not give you my name, but still, i think some background info might be helpful.

TeaBiscuit

Oh, wow, when I wrote my last comment already three more of you replied! Than you so much!ni really appreciate it.

Dagney. I agree with your point. That was also a thing that got me thinking. I hear stories of people giving up their passion (music, sports, art, ...) for the truth. Though this might me admirable, it somehow seems very hard. I "gave up" acting (or rather perusing an acting career, i still do theatre occasionally) when I studied for about a year since I realised that I might have to violate bible principles in order to work in this field. I don't really regret it, since I'm very happy with what I do now and I don't know if it would have worked out at all, but I just wanted to share this to show you why I've already thought of what you said... I know that this can be hard to a person. However, there are also other examples of people being JWs and "living their dream" aren't there?

Giordani. Thanks for the link, I will read that later. The list is quite long and honestly, most of them did not surprise me, though it seemed pretty rough. However, I was not aware that artificial insemination was prohibited. Like the transgender i don't really get why they have this attitude towards it... Thanks for showing me all this. Like I said, I will look through it again later - I just had a quick glimpse.

problemaddict2. Again for a formal thing: I did not mean apostate in a derogatory way, this just somehow poped up in my mind as the right term. So again, sorry if I hurt anyone by this, it was not my intention. Is the term ex-JW better? Or what do you generally use?

you said you would encourage me to learn more. Well, I'm here willing to learn more.

cofty, well, we can now start a very philosophical discussion about what counts as facts and what does not and how we want to deal with the notion of feelings and such... But actually, what I wrote (or rather how I wrote it) was just an expression. What I meant by it was, that this is my personal opinion based on my personal knowledge and general understanding of the bible, religion in general and human interaction with God.

Anders Anderson. Thank you for the example.

incognito. Thanks for your input. I actually already thought about the two questions the candidates have to answer right before changing clothes. They have seemed a bit dodgy to me...

The questions you have to answer before being able to get baptised are of course not biblically relevant (I can't remember anyone on the NT getting baptised after telling someone about fundamental biblical teachings). Anyway, I get why JWs are doing this and though it has no biblical background I see the practicality of it...

Nonetheless, it think I have to clarify something: when I mentioned before that I think baptism is something wanted by God I did not strictly refer to being baptised as a JW but to baptism in general. I hope this makes it clearer.

Millie210. Thank you for your input. I will definitely read the letter since it seems very closely connected to my original question thanks!

51

Help needed: transgender people and other unclear topics

by TeaBiscuit in

first of all, i am not quite sure whether this is the right place to ask my questions.

if this is not really appropriate, please tell me in advance, but i really did not know who to turn to, so i thought why not ask the internet... now, i know many of you are apostates and i'm not really looking for "leave it all behind you" answers, but really for experiences, thoughts and ideas... as well as maybe some verses if you can think of any.. anyway, first things first.

since this is very anonymous and i'd like to keep it that way, i will not give you my name, but still, i think some background info might be helpful.

TeaBiscuit

redvip2000. Well it does get some gears turning, that's exactly why I'm here asking questions... I still believe in the bible (especially in the basis of Christian belief that God is love) and the teachings I'm just not as sure as I used to be if the JWs actually are what they appear to be: the "one true" religion. Since I do believe in God (I always have, even before I met the JW) I jus try to figure out what's right and wrong. There were other things I was struggling with but I understood why they are important. However, this one particular thing just seemed totally unjustified in terms of biblical teachings and more importantly in terms of love (both agape and philia). And that is what (to borrow your words again) got my gears turning.

cofty. as stated in my reply above I have always believed in God and I still do. But, to answer your question: no, I don't think so. That's why I'm here asking questions. I want to examine the religion I might be a part of. As stated before I believe in baptism as important for the faith (that does not necessarily mean JW baptism but just generally, I do think you should - if you want to - somehow commit to God and show your commitment. But that is just a personal feeling and anyone who wants to object is free to do so)

51

Help needed: transgender people and other unclear topics

by TeaBiscuit in

first of all, i am not quite sure whether this is the right place to ask my questions.

if this is not really appropriate, please tell me in advance, but i really did not know who to turn to, so i thought why not ask the internet... now, i know many of you are apostates and i'm not really looking for "leave it all behind you" answers, but really for experiences, thoughts and ideas... as well as maybe some verses if you can think of any.. anyway, first things first.

since this is very anonymous and i'd like to keep it that way, i will not give you my name, but still, i think some background info might be helpful.

TeaBiscuit

Cofty. I do get your point and I did not want to upset or even hurt any of you. With my comment I just wanted to illustrate my concerns and feelings in order to show you what's currently on my mind and why I am here. Really, I am sorry if what I said was not appropriate or if it hurt someone, that was not my intention. With my comment I only wanted to show that my personal belief in God is important to me and that I don't want to give up spirituality. I hope this makes it a bit clearer, I did not want to insult anyone...

also, I did not ask this question because I thought it might be important at some time in my life. As I tried to state before it was just the starting point of asking myself if this is the right thing for me and if this is what God wants from me.

incognito. Thanks for your explanations. This is no big surprise to me given the things the bethelite told me. However, he did not support his statement with verses - mainly because it was a very non-formal convo and it was just an example for a completely different topic...

To answer your question: I studied the bible by studying the What does the Bible really teach? book and the Keep Yourself in God's Love book. I also did some minor research on specific topics like Christmas and birthdays and such.

51

Help needed: transgender people and other unclear topics

by TeaBiscuit in

first of all, i am not quite sure whether this is the right place to ask my questions.

if this is not really appropriate, please tell me in advance, but i really did not know who to turn to, so i thought why not ask the internet... now, i know many of you are apostates and i'm not really looking for "leave it all behind you" answers, but really for experiences, thoughts and ideas... as well as maybe some verses if you can think of any.. anyway, first things first.

since this is very anonymous and i'd like to keep it that way, i will not give you my name, but still, i think some background info might be helpful.

TeaBiscuit

Well Steve, it is like that - I really do think that God wants us to be baptised. I do not want to give up my faith... And there are many thinks I particularly like about the JW - things I did not experience in other churches... I just want to make sure it is the right thing to do. It would be very interesting to hear if anyone has made experience in opposing the rule of living as the gender he/she was born with or if anyone has opposed the rule of addressing someone as male/female who identified as the other. If a woman would come into my hall and I would find out she was born a man, I would still see her as a woman and I don't think I could do differently...

51

Help needed: transgender people and other unclear topics

by TeaBiscuit in

first of all, i am not quite sure whether this is the right place to ask my questions.

if this is not really appropriate, please tell me in advance, but i really did not know who to turn to, so i thought why not ask the internet... now, i know many of you are apostates and i'm not really looking for "leave it all behind you" answers, but really for experiences, thoughts and ideas... as well as maybe some verses if you can think of any.. anyway, first things first.

since this is very anonymous and i'd like to keep it that way, i will not give you my name, but still, i think some background info might be helpful.

TeaBiscuit

Thank you for your comment, Sylvia.

Still, I would be very interested in hearing other people's advise and/or experience.

28

Being Transgendered

by mariemcg in

jw
friends

hi my name is marie.

i was brought up in the truth from birth being born xy.

i went through torture as a child being born this way and apearing female in every way, even wearing boy clothes.. at the age of 15 years old decided that going through the amendment of my gender identity was a must and sought medical adv at the earliest oppertunity... this lead to me being thrown out of my home at the tender age of 15.... as time past they accepted me as their daughter a few months later.. thanks to jehovah as i was getting involved in a lot of bad things to keep a roof over my head.. at the age of 20 they paid for my surgery for which i've never looked back from and feel so much more comfortable with my body and myself.. i'm quite sure if i'd remained as my birth sex that i would not be here now writing this.. i started going back to the meetings shortly after having surgery and was met with some love and predjudice to the extent of which toilet i should be using and what clothes i should be wearing.... i've started to study again but am afraid of being stumbled again in regards to going to the meetings... after a lot of prayer and considering scriptures like -.

TeaBiscuit

Hello Marie,

thank you for your honest story. Though not a transgender myself, the issue really concerns me in many ways. I just posted about this. Your experience might be of big help for me, so if you'd like to see what I've wrote see this: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5084435691077632/help-needed-transgender-people-other-unclear-topics