after some considerable thought i have decided that i will no longer post on this forum because i want to return to jehovah.
thank you for all the kindness and many interesting discussions over the years.
i wish you all well in the future and the decisions you make.
All the best SBF!
Perhaps "SBF" has been coerced into returning.
Perhaps he has been 'found out'.
Perhaps he's grown tired of arguing and being pulled into arguments on JWN.
Perhaps he's decided that he wants to become an 'ex' ex-Jehovah's Witness.
Perhaps he's realized that some ex-JW's never stop thinking like a Jehovah's Witness.
Perhaps his life has taken a dramatic turn - a birth, illness, new love or death.
ginger
no more boes or kingdom ministries will be posted by us on this board.
there is a very important reason why!
beware of anyone encouraging you to post any boes on this board.
Atlantis - Thank you for being a risk taker. While I'll miss the BOE letters (and the hidden special instructions to the elders), I look forward to your continued insights as an 'insider'.
Take care!
ginger
so i waz reading the august 15 wt study article, elisha saw fiery chariots, do you?
and it made me think about this forum.
if you remember, syria was hunting god's prophet, elisha.
You are correct Stand for True Worship - you fail to see the point of Psalms 146:3
Please read the whole section of this scripture and apply it to the Governing Body.
And remember that the members of the GB/Board of Directors for the WT Society who shaped 99% of this belief structure are ALL dead (and they're not in heaven on thrones directing the 'earthly organization' - they're pushing up daisies in a cemetery).
ginger
so i waz reading the august 15 wt study article, elisha saw fiery chariots, do you?
and it made me think about this forum.
if you remember, syria was hunting god's prophet, elisha.
Stand for True Worship - thank you for your comments. I won't bash your opinion or criticise your reasoning.
Just do one thing for me. Please read Psalms 146:3.
ginger
tonight at our meeting we had 4 letters from "the branch" read at our meeting.
i was caught off guard since we usually have an advance warning when these letters are going to be read.
is the watchtower getting better at hiding these letters?.
Thanks James. I visit this site from time to time (I'm not a full-time ex Jehovah's Witness).
The last meeting we attended was about a month ago - so I missed these announcements.
The message has stayed the same - this wicked system of things is on the precipice of destruction - but the methods of delivering the message is changing. The focus of the Org is more and more about building construction and the WT decision makers are doing everything possible to appear up-to-date with technology.
This is the REAL new light the faithful are excited about.
Shrug off the negative comments. As I've said before on this forum, some people leave 'the truth' but continue to think like a Jehovah's Witness (judgemental, argumentative, authoritative and self-righteous).
ginger
ok i know ive been starting threads like a maniac but heres one.
where in the heck d they get the "when we survive armageddon we will probably have to start rebuilding while we resurrect ones, teach them, plant food, clean the planet, and grow to perfection"????
doesnt the scripture say that we die corrupted but raised an incorruptible body?
C.T. Russell took this 'paradise restored' notion directly from the teachings of the Adventists (140 years ago).
All Jehovah's Witnesses are now given the same picture - all the time - in the magazines, murals at assembly halls, in talks & prayers and in the calendars.
ginger
as a young teenager, i would look at "apostate" books at the city library.
i was always intrigued as to what was sooo bad and other than a few writings of some that seemed like they hated the witnesses, i would clandestinely look at literature, especially in "christian" bookstores.. it took years for me to finally disconnect.
i will say that ray franz' books enlightened me the most!.
I watched the 2002 Dateline program that featured Silent Lambs/Bill Bowen/Barbara Anderson regarding the official JW policy to not inform secular authorities about sexual abuse in congregations.
They were sincere in their motives. We were told from the platform not to watch this show. I did it anyway - and the content of the show really bothered me. Later I spoke with dozens of others and they watched the program as well - some of these folks faded out soon after.
It took ten years after seeing this 'eye opener' to finally get serious about researching my religion.
When the WT says not to view programs, read publications, visit websites or internet forums of 'apostates' because it will destroy your faith, they mean it.
Because it will destroy your faith - in the Organization and it's structure.
ginger
for those of you who are still attending meetings due to various reasons, how do you prepare yourself for each program?.
do you still read and study the wt?.
do you still read and study the okm, jeremiah, etc?.
Around three years ago I began to research in earnest the origins of our JW beliefs - the Org. encourages everyone to understand their 'spiritual heritage.'
When I realized that most of our beliefs were borrowed from other religions and religious thinkers, I really began to pay attention to the current publications. For the first time in my life as a JW (40 years) I began to study - deconstructing the reasonings and 'logic' behind the argument.
It lead me right out of the 'truth'.
ginger
there are several disturbing things that were said in the latest annual meeting.
one of the most disturbing was a comment made by david splane.
he made reference to how the clergy "howled" when the first new world bible translation committee produced the first nwt.
The WT Society's NWT uses the dynamic equivalence method of translation : not a word for word translation but an expression of the intended meanings. i.e. what the words 'really' mean. This is effective for them because words and phrases can be adjusted to fit and appear to uphold WT teachings.
Many are raving about this 'new' bible - especially among the born in youth - as a gift from God.
In the mind of the faithful, the GB becomes God.
And the truly faithful are the offspring of God and the Mother. They are spiritually fed by their Mother (the WT Organization) and saved by their father God (the Governing Body).
ginger
just wanted everyone to know that i got back today/night from my second jw funeral in less than 3 months and that both of them (2 different halls),were handled completely different than in times past.. used to be it seemed like a recruitment opportunity (as many of you have pointed out before), but these last two times it was totally different from previous times.
it didn't seem like they used the outline at all that had been posted in another thread a while back.. that was kinda interesting and refreshing at the same time to actually hear them focus more on the individual that had passed instead of only a few minutes about them and the rest all about the org.
(wt).
The funerals we've attended in the past ten years or so have been held in funeral homes - not at the KH.
This seems to give the 'minister' greater freedom with the words spoken. These funerals have been less 'funeral talk' (I've always dispised how that sounds) and more of a rememberance. Of course the deceased's activity as a JW is highlighted and usually mixed with a couple of experiences - often times humorous.
ginger
