i see some post here that want family and friends to see ttatt immediately.. i'm a gardener, a serious one.
we make sure we put in an area that gets sun, check the soil each year, put in compost and other amendments, make sure we plant seeds compatible with the ones next to them, plant far enough apart, proper amount of water.
everything can be perfect but when i go out the day after planting...nothing has broken through yet.
Thanks Blondie for your honest and balanced take on the fading/leaving process. Your well researched posts and heartfelt comments have done much to assist me (and our family) in our journey out of the religion.
Early on during my examination of my concerns about my faith, I was most turned off by strongly opinionated (militant) anti-Watchtower posters - and those who want to fight and argue.
Comments from you - and others - that were reasonable is what helped us.
ginger
this isnt a slight against any here who have married more than once.
and of course if you have left the religion you are not bound by their doctrines.. however i am concerned with jehovahs witnesses, people in good standing within the congregation who have married multiple times , and it seems it is not a rare occurence .their seems to be many who have married 2 or 3 times.
i personally knew a sister that was married 5 times and was a sister in good standing .admittedly this may have been an exception .. however divorce is not an isolated incidence with jehovahs witnesses , nor is it isolated that the witnesses themselves initiate divorce proceedings .. another thing , jehovahs witnesses are only 8 million world, a wide a small sect compared to other major religions.. so i just wonder what the ratio of jw`s compared to mainstream religion is regarding divorce .. can anybody fill in these figures ?
Every official marriage talk applies Ecclesiastes 4:12 (threefold cord not easily broken) to the new couple's relationship - including God in the marriage. This 'really' means applying bible principles - as determined by the Governing Body - in the marriage.
This produces some of the most disfunctional relationships I've ever seen - and it's rampant among the latest crop of born-in, homeschooled barely 20 year olds.
Like my first marriage, these are filled with passive/aggressive behavior, guilt, control issues, financial difficulties and the inability to be independent of the congregation and family.
Divorce is going to happen in these marriages at rates much higher than in those with people who are emotionally mature, stable and excited about life. As a friend of ours says - "you JW's do things that us 'worldly people' would never do - lying, stealing & cheating".
ginger
section 3 first!.
how was bible truth rediscovered?.
it goes in to the section and explains that false teachers were foretold to arise after jesus died (and the apostles died according to one conment).
The idea that a "small group of truth seekers fulfilled Bible prophecy" (C.T. Russell and the early Bible Students) through honest study of the Bible found the truth of God's word is a 'not-so-true' distortion of historical fact.
Research the following people:
William Miller
Ellen G. White
Henry Grew
George Storrs
John Nelson Darby
Henry Dunn
Jonas Wendell
George Stetson
Nelson Barbour
William Henry Conley
These people were the originators of the doctrines and beliefs promoted by Charles Russell - and are used today by Jehovah's Witnesses. Most of what we believe - basic, core beliefs - came from these people.
ginger
i really don't like people disparaging active jws on this site by calling them stupid, idiots, morons and that, and making out like they're willing puppets to the gb or cruel at heart.
or describing them like they're puke or as having no desire to learn or listen.. to you, all these things may be true.
we all have opinions and are entitled to them.
I've come to believe that the most aggressively vocal and judgemental members on JWN have never ceased thinking like a Jehovah's Witness - 'I'm RIGHT and you're WRONG'.
Thanks for this post, Julia!
Letting go is like taking in a breath of fresh air. Sweep out the cobwebs and move on!!
ginger
cedars story made me wonder why are parents and loved ones so quick to shun??
i mean it can be shown biblically that only people that do not believe in jesus as the messiah are apostates.
thessalonians tells us to keep admonishing one as a 'brother' and jesus christ himself said to love your enemies.
Because the majority of current Jehovah's Witnesses are not students of the Bible. They follow the direction of the Governing Body (the Faithful and Discreet Slave) by reading and studying the publications of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (the Organization).
The GB says to shun (no talking, no greetings, no meals, no visits, no phone calls, no letters, no emails, no text messages, etc) any member (or former member) who no longer abides by the 'rules' set forth in the Organizations publications.
If any active member ignores these 'rules' they will be shunned (by family, friends and any Witnesses in the congregation/circuit/district/country/world).
No compromising. Not a personal matter. Period.
ginger
evening.
i have it from 1st hand (or second) that a circuit overseer who gave a talk at twickenham in august 2013 has been disfellowshipped.. .
my dilemma?
JW's get disfellowshipped every week in congregations around the world.
So do Elders and (gasp!!!) even "representatives of the Branch". I know a dozen personally in my lifetime who were C.O.'s, city overseers, P.O.'s, COBE's and head honchos on RBC's who were bounced out - because they couldn't keep their hands to themselves or were abusive to their family or members of the congregation or they were power hungry.
Big deal. They're human too - regardless of how big a suit they wear or how much 'responsibility' they shoulder.
ginger
saw this article on yahoo.
there was a little jw kid whose teacher made him stand up and salute the flag and/or say the pledge in class.
he went to the administrator and she got suspended.....my lord the jws are going to be shouting great trib over this.
Welcome to the 'new' conservative America - a Norman Rockwell picture of middle class, white, patriotic, religious, small town, apple pie, Santa Claus and football.
JW's kids aren't the only minority getting the 'persecution'.
They stand beside the Muslim, Hispanic, Somali, gay and lesbian kids.
ginger
page 12 of the january 1,1989 wt original magazine paragraph 8 ends with the statement that the apostle paul's missionary activity laid a foundation for a work that would be completed in our 20th century.".
(a subtle prophecy that 'the end' will come by the year 2000 a.d.).
this sentence is changed in the bound volume reprint to read "a work that would be completed in our day.
marked
i just stumbled on this youtube video of some 1 minute in length.
the originator says he found this by chance when thumbing through the jan 1, 2012 watchtower magazine.
at the bottom of the last page the statement reads, "truth expiry date july 2017".
Read the Watchtower backwards. Then the secret message will be revealed...
ginger
i`m an optimist and i would say zilch .
i would bet you a million dollars ( if i had a million dollars ) that if you did a survey in the street that you live , asking the householders what is the life saving message jehovahs witnesses bring to your door on a regular basis , they would not have a clue.. and they have been preaching this message for over 100 years .
how inefective can they be .. the probable answers you would get are : they dont take blood transfusions.
Millions of people have never heard of Jehovah's Witnesses or the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.
Billions of people have never had the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses explained to them.
It is estimated that over 350 thousand babies are born EVERY DAY. That's the current population of New Orleans...
ginger
