Really good thread.
Of course, it's not just Jehovah's Witnesses, but Christians and Jews claim to love the God of the Hebrew Scriptures too.
if one reads genesis from the first chapter through the end with an open mind, it is clear that not only is it not true, but that god is potrayed as a cruel, petty, childish micromanaging tyrant.
if one continues reading the ot this is just further solidified.
how do jws not see the obvious?
Really good thread.
Of course, it's not just Jehovah's Witnesses, but Christians and Jews claim to love the God of the Hebrew Scriptures too.
some of you are aware of where i'm at with this whole thing.
i still occasionally go to meetings for family reasons but my attendance has been lack luster at best.
i'd say i go about once a month if that.. i empathize with those who are wary of taking the ultimate stand for fear of losing their family.
When I was an elder, I'd sometimes stand at the back of the auditorium during the meetings, and just look at those in attendance sitting in their seats. I'd say to myself 'if not for them (their willingness to obey jw doctrine), I'd have no authority'.
This is how it likely is with the GB. Take away the rank-and-file, and their authority is gone.
here are some highlights from the magazine.
the first article, "imitate the faith of moses", teaches how moses didn't remain in pharohs court, they then skillfully spin getting a decent paying job and career as equaling "enjoyment of sin", and how those who have "enjoyment of sin" will die at armageddon with everyone else who enjoys their job.
here are some quotes from the article.... "when tempted to engage in sinful conduct, ask, what future do i want for myself?....
Poor Sophie gave up here career, but meanwhile, Serena Williams continues on her quest for yet another tennis Grand Slam championship this week, and if she wins, you can bet she'll thank Jehovah for all she has accomplished.
And bear in mind, I'm not blaming Ms Williams one bit. I applaud her for pursuing a rewarding career. I pity "Sophie" for surrendering the chance for the same thing.
And meanwhile, "Sophie" depends totally on her husband, apparently, for support, and has no skills of her own to rely on should her marriage tank.
Ex.
It was being an elder that truly turned me off to many things within the religion. Prior to that, I was a star-struck JW who saw the organization through rose-colored classes. It was only after seeing how an elder body was just a bunch of guys trying not to screw things up did I realize what the rest of the organization was like.
though he is a typical wt slave, we are like david and jonathan.. in my most intimate conversation with him, i asked him:.
how do you manage serving an organization built on inherent contradictions?.
he said: organization helps people to grow spiritual, like any other religious organizations do.
I wonder if he was either referring to jw.org and accidentally called it .net, or if he's thinking of that jw board (the name escapes me at the moment) that consists of jws only?
In any case, I'm having trouble buying this, although I wouldn't dismiss it entirely as fiction. I mean, it is conceivable.
i was chatting today in the sauna, as one does if you don't go to meetings about dining out.
one pleasant fellow said he would never return food, he explained it was because he is convinced the staff would do something to the food.. do you agree?.
kate xx.
I returned a steak recently at a Longhorn Steak House. I ordered it medium, so I expected some rareness. But it was barely cooked at all and qualified as very rare, not medium. The baked potato was also sub-par, but I didn't complain.
Normally they're pretty good there, and I did go back and found the baked potato much more to my liking - a 'whiter' inside that kind of blooms when it's cut open. rather than a darker interior that kind of just 'chunks' when you open it.
i am just watching my neighbours across the road putting up christmas lights while their children run around bursting with excitement.
i am feeling all christmassy now.
can't wait for my daughter to come home from uni next weekend so we can go and buy a tree from the garden centre.
Christmas is my least favorite holiday. It's a holiday hijacked by retailers.
just asking for help from the vast number of very knowledgeable people here.
when was the "stake" doctrine adopted by jw's and what publication contains that information.
thank you..
"The JW's get hung up on these details" - pun intended, Faithful Witness?
i see people mentioning this and have visited the site looking at all posted wt's.......i see no paragraph's discussing 'generations'....does anyone have any direction?.
Doug Mason commented: "The anonymous people who wrote that Gospel and put the word "this generation" on to Jesus' lips were meaning their own generation, not some people living at some arbitary time in the future.
They got it wrong, just as Paul got it wrong (1 Thess), as did the writer of Revelation. They all thought the Coming was imminent, during their own time, the time of their generation."
This hints at the simplest way to understand it. Let's say that Jesus actually did say "this generation". The simplest way to understand it is that Jesus was referring to the people he was talking to and who lived at that time. And the destruction of Jersusalem in 70 A.D. fits that "generation" by any measure of the definition, since it occured only 37 years afterward.
Any other attempt to apply to some future time is problematic, which the folly of the WTS's speculations has born out.
2014 in jwlandia has begun with a tired embrace of the hoary 1914 doctrine.
any speculation they'd 'ignore' the centenary of this doctrinal embarrassment is thus shown to be if not wrong, then premature.
the wind-up watchtower toy prattles the same old nonsense.. look at the public edition watchtower for february 2014:.
And so it begins...2014 ought to be interesting as far as the Watchtower's handling (or lack thereof) of it is concerned.