Posts by EdenOne

99

New development in my life

by EdenOne in

jw
friends

no longer a ms ........................... can't give details atm, for it might be a dead-giveaway and it ain't quite over yet.

but, it really taught me one thing: if you're trying to fade or stay in, trust no one.

and i mean no one.. eden.

My son had a curious experience at school the other day, at a philosophy forum. Some evangelical colleagues stated that faith can solve every problem; he asked them why people of great faith have problems that cannot be solved. Their reply was that if a problem cannot be solved by faith, then such person is lacking faith. My son then went to tell his classmates that he has never known anyone of greater faith than his grandmother (JW) and yet she is being slowly eaten away by cancer. They told him that obviously she hasn't got enough faith, otherwise she would be healed by now. My son came home furious and commented that there are other religions that can be more ignorant than the JW's, after all. I thought it was a fair remark lol

He doesn't go to meetings nor field service, but when there's some social meeting in the congregation he goes and manages to have a good time; I'm glad that no one is snubbing him.

As for me, I file a couple of FS hours a month and the motley crew leaves me to my devices.

The other week I had the n.2 bible reading and my ex co-elder had to give me the counsel from the School book. He was soo uncomfortable I had to laugh. I've usually been The top speaker of The congregation on The public talks :P I'm happy to report I made a "model reading" lol. How happyfying!

Eden

33

Would You Become A JW Again If Local Congregations Could Become Independent?

by Space Madness in

jw
friends

for those who still believe in god, if local congregations could break away from the watchtower would you consider becoming a witness again.

this would mean no more governing body, circuit overseers, watchtower magazines, and each congregation could have its own "new light".

most of us left because of the control (no college, disfellowsipping) but if the watchtower was out of the picture, all of this would disappear.

EdenOne

The major problem with the JW's is the flawed theology. Once you realize that, it's of little consequence the issue of how autonomous are the congregations. First, the theology must undergo a vast overhaul (and the question of just how reliable the Bible is must be faced with honesty, not with the self-blinding mantra: "the Bible is God's inerrant word"). If some day this issue would be dealt with properly ...but I'm afraid that is only wishful thinking.

Eden

63

Great campagne in Portugal (ex-JW)

by TJ Curioso in

i like to tell you what we've been doing these past few days here in portugal (ex-jw).

we create a brochure and printing, so we can send to the maximum of congregations in portugal.

some individuals were also covered in this campaign.. the title of the pamphlet is: "when will the kingdom arrive?".

EdenOne

I'm yet to see it in the flesh ....

Eden

45

WITNESSES CAN STOP REPORTING FIELD SERVICE!

by The Searcher in

the lawyers acting on behalf of the wtbts/g.b./'mother' during a paedophile case a couple of years ago, have stated on record that - .

a) "field ministry is not controlled or monitored by the elders, the congregation, or watchtower".

b) "an individual publisher's field ministry activity, including the time and manner it is carried out, is a personal matter between the publisher and his god.".

EdenOne

marked

29

TTATT in a Can... finally finished!!

by ILoveTTATT in

jw
friends

ok so... how to condense all the flip-flops and doctrinal changes, and show graphically how the different doctrines changed, and when?.

ttatt in a can!!.

enjoy ;).

EdenOne

Good job! Marked.

Eden

21

The Cat out of the Bag: the story of the release of the NEW WORLD TRANSLATION

by Terry in

when jehovah's witnesses began distributing door to door the new world translation beginning in the early 1950's a firestorm of protest broke out in mainstream churches.

the alarm cry was "they've changed the bible to fit their own crooked teachings!".

you can imagine the discord as church members tried to figure out how jehovah's witnesses could prove by reading from the nwt the king james version was full of omissions and errors and outright fraud concerning, for instance, the trinity doctrine or the name of god!!.

EdenOne

Terry, do you really think that the NWT deserves as much credit as starting a 'revolution', as mainstream christian churches felt threatened by the non-orthodox interpretations lend by the text of the Jehovah's Witnesses' NWT and started to sponsor more serious scholarship on the Bible? I find it a bit of a stretch, such conclusion.

To wit:

1862 - Young's Literal Translation

1885 - Revised Version (Based on King James Bible)

1890 - Darby Bible

1901 - American Standard Version

1926 - Moffatt Translation

1935 - An American Translation

1936 - Westminster Bible

1949 - Bible in English

It seems to me that, much more than the NWT, it was the discovery, study and publishing of the Dead Sea Scrolls that prompted the new scholarly approach to translations.

Eden

26

If the historical Jesus was simply human, would YOU be a Christian ?

by EdenOne in

jw
friends

i've been reading a lot lately about the historical jesus, and the latest archaeological findings and what a comparative, horizontal, reading of the 4 canonic gospels actually do tell us about the historical jesus and his teachings.

pick your side, but let me ask you this, because that's the core question i have been asking myself lately:.

if the historical jesus wasn't the son of god, but simply a human prophet with no previous super-human existence, hence, merely the "son of man", with very appealing teachings, but no previous super-human existence, hence, not "son of god" as we commonly believe as jw's, would you still be a christian?

EdenOne

Good point, VdH ... if Jesus wasn't of super-human origin, then how could his death mean "salvation" / atonement for anyone?

Eden

26

If the historical Jesus was simply human, would YOU be a Christian ?

by EdenOne in

jw
friends

i've been reading a lot lately about the historical jesus, and the latest archaeological findings and what a comparative, horizontal, reading of the 4 canonic gospels actually do tell us about the historical jesus and his teachings.

pick your side, but let me ask you this, because that's the core question i have been asking myself lately:.

if the historical jesus wasn't the son of god, but simply a human prophet with no previous super-human existence, hence, merely the "son of man", with very appealing teachings, but no previous super-human existence, hence, not "son of god" as we commonly believe as jw's, would you still be a christian?

EdenOne

I've been reading a lot lately about the historical Jesus, and the latest archaeological findings and what a comparative, horizontal, reading of the 4 canonic gospels actually do tell us about the historical Jesus and his teachings. Pick your side, but let me ask you this, because that's the core question I have been asking myself lately:

If the historical Jesus wasn't the Son of God, but simply a human prophet with no previous super-human existence, hence, merely the "son of man", with very appealing teachings, but NO PREVIOUS SUPER-HUMAN EXISTENCE, hence, not "Son of God" as we commonly believe as JW's, WOULD YOU STILL BE A CHRISTIAN? And if so, on what grounds?

Eden

90

10 good reasons why celebrating birthdays should be allowed

by bluecanary in

i cannot take credit for any of the gems below but i did want to polish and organize them.

much of the information was borrowed from this thread.

if you can come up with any more, please post them.. the bible does not ban birthdays.

EdenOne

marked

99

New development in my life

by EdenOne in

jw
friends

no longer a ms ........................... can't give details atm, for it might be a dead-giveaway and it ain't quite over yet.

but, it really taught me one thing: if you're trying to fade or stay in, trust no one.

and i mean no one.. eden.

EdenOne

Yes, anyone fading should trust no one. That's the best advise i can give. It's a lonely place, but don't screw it all by trusting someone who's still IN. You just can't tell ultimately where their alliegence is.

Eden