Unclepenn1

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Posts by Unclepenn1

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  16

  hello from new person

  by morrigan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just wanted to post to say hi and introduce myself.

  im a female whose favorite family member had fought against jws all her life, then died a few years ago.

  her children are now being raised as jws against her will.

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  Unclepenn1

  Hello! I am glad that you are here. Feel free to ask lots of questions. Oh yea, ignore the 'meanies' on this board. (You know who you are)

  Penn
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  14

  Photo shock!

  by Marilyn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my kids recently met my older brother.

  they took photo's.

  i had forgotten that they'd seen him and i was thumbing thru my daughter's pictures and came across a picture of my brother with my daugher and one with my son.

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  Unclepenn1

  That is so terribly sad. I am sorry

  Penn
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  29

  A Doubting JW

  by swyzzel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey all.

  i very much enjoy the website because i have been doubting jw's for years and now i finally get enough courage to check out what other people think.

  i am a third generation jw so i have been apart of this religion since before i was born.

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  Unclepenn1

  Swyzzel, I am so thankful that you are here. Read the scriptuires and throw away the WT magazines. The Word of God is beautiful and was written to you. You need nothing other than trust in God and the Holy Spirit to understand His will for your life. There is freedom in Christ. Can you imagine the thought of Paul preaching freedom in Christ for these former Jews and then strapping a load on their backs that is 3 times larger than what the law was doing to them? That is what the WT does. God loves you, Jesus died for you and wants to spend eternity with you. Also, read Crisis of Conscience. If you want, I can send you my copy. Email me ( [email protected])

  Penn
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  21

  I think we've been found out!

  by TweetieBird in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there have been a few things that have happened the past couple of weeks that makes me think that the word is being spread that we are "apostate.".

  first, a sister that i have known since i was a teenager, looked me dead in the eyes and did not even acknowledge me, twice in the same store.

  that didn't bother me because i have never liked her.

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  Unclepenn1

  Family dinner is different from Thanksgiving how? What do they think we worship the Turkey or something?

  Rom 14:4-6 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
  5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
  6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

  Penn 'full of turkey'

  Mohammed- 'My teachings lead to the attainment of truth'
  Buddha- 'The truth has been revealed to me'
  Jesus- 'I am the truth'
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  58

  Do You Still Believe a God Cares for You?

  by JosephAlward in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been a part of this forum for about one month, and during that time i've been struck by the willingness of many so former jehovah witnesses either to ridicule the bible, or to stand by while it's being ridiculed.

  so, i'm wondering how many of them while witnesses suffered through experiences so searing that they no longer believe in the god of the old testament.. who among you still believe that underneath the layers of contradictions, inconsistencies, and errors in the bible there may be found the words of a god who created the universe, and who also cares about you, personally?.

  joseph f. alward.

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  Unclepenn1

  >Christianity today found that 20% of born again christians believe in it.

  Unfortunately, people do not understand what it means to be 'born again'. I have a guy at work I took to an Easter service once and he told me he was born again back in the 80's. He lives a life of carousing bars and sleeping with women. He obviously uses it as a title and has no idea what it means. So do a lot of people I am sure.

  >In essence, Jesus is stating that John the Baptist was the reincarnation of Elijah.

  Luke1: 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the *spirit and power* of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

  John the baptist was similar to Elijah in that he was used by God as a prophet. This has nothing to do with reincarntation. He came in the 'spirit and power' of Elijah. You really have to do some stretching and twisting to make this fit your view.

  >John9:2,3Another incident has Jesus healing the man born blind, and the disciples asking him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" , and it contains the idea that the blind man might have been born that way because he sinned in a previous life.

  Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him." The idea that the man sinned in a previous life must have been acceptable, or the disciples never would have asked Jesus about it. And Jesus certainly was calm enough about his answer, saying in effect, "No, in this case, what the man had done in his former life was not the cause of his blindness."

  Wow SS, your exegesis is horrible ( and I do not say that to be argumentative) 'Jesus was saying in effect' and 'it contains the idea ' gives neither of your assertions any weight.

  The prevailing idea at the time was that bad things happened to you because you had sinned. Not in a previous life, but in this one. Let me give you a couple of examples from scripture.

  Acts 28 :2-4 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.
  3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.
  4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live."

  Notice they immediately thought that he had commited some heinous crime. Not in a past life, but before he came to the island. Why? Because something bad had just happened to him. They thought God was giving him justice for his sin.

  Luke 13:1-5 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
  2 Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?
  3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
  4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?
  5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

  Here are 2 tradgedies that happened and Jesus clearly tells them that it has nothing to do with sins they have committed. Pilate had slaughtered Galileans while they were sacrificing to God. Also, a tower fell on a bunch of people and they were killed. Jesus's response? If you think that they were worse sinners than most folks, I tell you, repent or you too will perish. The idea was that you were being punished by God for sinning. If you sinned and then broke your arm because you fell into a ditch, you assumed it was because of the sin. Past life ideas have nothing to do with any statements in the Bible.

  >And jesus himself reincarnated when he supposedly raised his physical body after 3 days.

  Jesus rose from the dead and defeated death. His resurrection has nothing to do with reincarnation. At all! Why do you think this way SS? Did you read it somewhere? Curious. Thanks for the conversation :)

  Heb 9:27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment

  1 Pet 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

  Penn

  Mohammed- 'My teachings lead to the attainment of truth'
  Buddha- 'The truth has been revealed to me'
  Jesus- 'I am the truth'
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  58

  Do You Still Believe a God Cares for You?

  by JosephAlward in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been a part of this forum for about one month, and during that time i've been struck by the willingness of many so former jehovah witnesses either to ridicule the bible, or to stand by while it's being ridiculed.

  so, i'm wondering how many of them while witnesses suffered through experiences so searing that they no longer believe in the god of the old testament.. who among you still believe that underneath the layers of contradictions, inconsistencies, and errors in the bible there may be found the words of a god who created the universe, and who also cares about you, personally?.

  joseph f. alward.

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  Unclepenn1

  >You seem like an honest, sincere guy. I don't take exception to where you are, i was once there.

  Thanks SS, I will be straightforward with you. If I think you have a point on something, I will tell you. I am not here to just spew out some rehearsed jargon that someone told me. I will share with you what I *know* to be true.

  >This is not really a fair illustration, if you break it down and examine it. First of all, the general public that got upset w this didn't have unconditional love, not to mention ordinary love for either hitler or his victims before or during the events. As you say at the end of the sentence, it was about percieved justice, not love.

  I think you have a problem understanding what love means. Love is caring for someone to the point that you would want to be cared for. Putting someone else in as high a priority as yourself. Love is selfless. (see1 Cor 13) But, love is also *inseparable* from justice.

  >But, let's take hitler as an example. Suppose god loved him unconditionally. If his love stopped because of his atrocities, then it wasn't unconditional.

  The love that God has/is is based on justice and truth. He loves us enough to give us free will and the ability to make our own choices. He loves us enough to give us the option to choose Him or reject Him. For perfect love to be possible there must be justice involved or you do not have perfect love. If I love my neighbor but I let Him be mugged while I stand there, then that is not love. If God ignores the killing of 6 million Jews then that is not love. In fact, it is the anithesis of love. God loves Hitler not because who Hitler is but because who God is.

  > Would endless torture show unconditional love for hitler.

  God, loving him enough to give him free will, has also given him the choice to choose evil and reject Him. God will not force Hitler to spend eternity with a God whom he hates. Since God loves justice, Hitler will pay for His crimes against God and against humanity, in a world without God, in darkness and despair. (Believe me, Hitler will not want to be in hell, but likewise he will not want to be with God either)

  >After his death, god could help his spirit to overcome his fear and insecurities by replaying the causal events. God could allow him to experience these events, not just through his own little boy eyes, but through the feelings of the various other persons involved, be it one person or 1000.

  SO, now God has adopted the thoughts of modern psychologists and psychiatrists?!? Now, it's not really Hitlers fault that he killed all those people, he was a victim because of some insecurity or fear?!? I think you would see it differently if you were humiliated and stripped of everything you had, stuffed into a camp with thousands of people , sitting in your own urine and being starved to death and given a common burial. All because of Hitlers insecurities.?! You are not speaking about God my friend but the devil. Think about it SS.

  >So hitlers spirit would get the big picture, and would see the error of his attempts at overcompensating, thus being won over/saved.

  No SS, Hitler had his chance on earth to repent. Do you think Hitler was killing people and had no idea that killing people was wrong? There's a local group here in town that has been rounding up neighborhood cats and torturing them and setting them on fire and superglueing their eyes shut. Are these people doing this without the knowledge that it is wrong?! Of couse not! They all know it's wrong. God has given us a conscience that sets off a 'red alert' whenever we violate it. Modern man goes to the psychiatrists and is told that the guilt he feels in 'not his fault' and he believes his conscience is lying to him and covers it all up with a nice little prescription. (But that's a different topic altogether) Of course people do evil with the knowledge that it is wrong. The word conscience means 'with knowledge'. All God needs to teach you or show you is all built in. He has already set the boundaries in place. We choose to reject them.

  >Remember that all sins were paid for by jesus death

  I am not even sure how to address this one.......... People that reject God and hate God and live a life in opposition to God will in no way take the sacrifice of the King of Glory and use it as a ticket to paradise. God did not become incarnate and have His back ripped apart and have his body nailed to a Roman cross so people can live in opposition to everything that He is. You are not getting it SS. You do not understand perfect love (justice) nor do you understand what happened at Calvary. I say this with due respect, but the god that you believe in doesnt exist. he is a figment of your imagination and you have created him in your mind to suit your sins. Then, you cling to some philosophies like 'Conversations w/God' and they reinforce your ideas and your desire to silence your conscience by thinking that God is actually 'Barney' the purple dinosaur, and that he is just so giddy in love with everybody that there really is no right and wrong, just misunderstandings.

  > I always read a lot and tried to figure things out logically.

  And you logically concluded that right and wrong are not really that much different.

  >'Not religion, not church, but Jesus.' Go a step further and say, 'not bible', because if you run into jesus then, don't you have everything you need? Won't he teach you all things?

  John 14: 25-27

  25 "All this I have spoken while still with you.26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

  (2 Tim 3: 14-17)But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,
  15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
  16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
  17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

  Penn

  Every human being, but especially the adult, prefers to keep on believing what he already believes, and to accept ideas only when they reinforce the ideas he already has. He tends, in other words, to become less and less intellectually curious and to have more and more of a closed mind as he grows older. - Charles Adrian
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  4

  Anti JW Tracts

  by VeniceIT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does anyone have any copies of, or know where i can get some of, the anti jw tracts that have been used in places like japan and such???.

  ven.

  "injustice will continue until those who are not affected by it are as outraged as those who are.

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  Unclepenn1

  I know Randy at freeminds.org has some tracts but I dont know if those are the kind you are looking for. Have a great day :)

  Penn

  Mohammed- 'My teachings lead to the attainment of truth'
  Buddha- 'The truth has been revealed to me'
  Jesus- 'I am the truth'
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  28

  New York Evolution Proof

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you ever get stuck going to brooklyn bethel and.

  hearing about watchtower propaganda, you might want.

  to look at an antidote.. the museum of natural history - in manhattan.. in the section on human origins, they have a skeleton.

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  Unclepenn1

  >An animal with a light sensitive patch (not a fully formed eye) could use it to its advantage

  Please inform this ignorant and uneducated person on how this mysterious 'light sensitive patch' can come about by mutations. How many of the nerve endings and parts of the eye needed for sight, would this 'light sensitive patched' animal need to see lights and darks? Answer: pretty much all of them. Here is a brief example.

  Light from an object enters the eye first through the clear cornea and then through the pupil, the circular opening in the iris. Next, the light is converged by the crystalline lens to a point immediately behind the lens; at that point, the image becomes inverted. The light progresses through the gelatinous vitreous humor and, ideally, back to a clear focus on the retina, the central area of which is the macula. In the retina, light impulses are changed into electrical signals and then sent along the optic nerve and back to the occipital (posterior) lobe of the brain, which interprets these electrical signals as visual images.

  Even if the eye has not 'evolved' to this stage, most of all the things I mentioned must be in place for the brain to know what is light and what is dark. You just disregard the complexity needed and disguise your poor arguments with attacks on my character. Ad Hominem remarks saying that I am 'reveling in my ignorance' and 'embarrasing myself'. It's amazing to me that everytime I question the most basic fundamentals of evolutionary theory, my arguments are not dismantled but rather I am attacked as being ignorant or uneducated. Is that all you got REM? Namecalling? I am here to have a respectful conversation and all I am getting in a condescending attitude.

  Penn

  Mohammed- 'My teachings lead to the attainment of truth'
  Buddha- 'The truth has been revealed to me'
  Jesus- 'I am the truth'
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  58

  Do You Still Believe a God Cares for You?

  by JosephAlward in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been a part of this forum for about one month, and during that time i've been struck by the willingness of many so former jehovah witnesses either to ridicule the bible, or to stand by while it's being ridiculed.

  so, i'm wondering how many of them while witnesses suffered through experiences so searing that they no longer believe in the god of the old testament.. who among you still believe that underneath the layers of contradictions, inconsistencies, and errors in the bible there may be found the words of a god who created the universe, and who also cares about you, personally?.

  joseph f. alward.

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  Unclepenn1

  REM, my mistake. Thats what I get for not going back to page one. I thought we were talking about Jesus. I will look into those links you provided. I have already browsed the J. McDowell one a few weeks ago. Perhaps we can pick this up at a later date. Also, what type of evidence are you looking (or should I say not looking) for? I mean, I am assuming that you don't believe most of history then right? If 2 people see a man rob a liquor store, he's going to jail. If hundreds of people see an event happen, including unbiased historians (Roman and Jewish) then I think it's a safe bet.

  Penn

  P.S. A red herring is a fallacy of diversion. I was not trying to divert the argument or change the subject, I was merely trying to back up my claims.

  Penn

  Mohammed- 'My teachings lead to the attainment of truth'
  Buddha- 'The truth has been revealed to me'
  Jesus- 'I am the truth'
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  15

  What's the worst cult?

  by Abaddon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this was inspired by another poster whole claimed in another thread that jw's were catagorically the worst cult.. i've done a little reading on other cults.

  okay, being a jw is quite bad.

  oh boy!

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  Unclepenn1

  Buddha, your comments about C. Smith are totally wrong. Calvary Chapel is not a cult and Smiths teachings never change. How about some examples. References or quotes would be good :)

  >Both religions share the same zeal for being gods only
  channel of salvation.

  Calvary's teaching is that Christ Jesus is the only 'channel' of salvation. Not a church or a teacher, but Jesus.

  Penn

  Mohammed- 'My teachings lead to the attainment of truth'
  Buddha- 'The truth has been revealed to me'
  Jesus- 'I am the truth'