My mother is 89, my brother 65 and my sister 64, and none have spoken or have been allowed to speak with me since 8 years ago when I DA'd. My father died 4 years ago, and I found out about it 2 years later from a distant Catholic relative. Ah, how often I reminisce about "God's loving organization"!
Posts by fjtoth
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46Who here is shunned by family?
by Brummie inremember the watchtower that asked "are jws a cult?
" and then listed things that cleared it of the accusations of being such?
cant remember the date.. anyway one of the things it said was that "cults" usually have a lot of ex members testifying against it and the damage it has caused to their family lives.
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40
You will never grow old
by Elsewhere ini was looking at the quotes web site and came across a jewel: *** awake!
because all the evidence in fulfillment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years.
of the generation that observed the beginning of the 'last days' in 1914, jesus foretold: 'this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.
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fjtoth
I became a JW in the early 1940s. The natural brother and sister that studied with our family gave us that assurance and urged us kids not to think about marriage until "the new system of things." We would never see old age in this system. Both were on their deathbeds in the 1970s and both were greatly disappointed that the end hadn't come yet. But until the very day they died, they both believed that the end would come before they fell asleep in death, that it was perhaps only hours away. We told an "anointed" sister in her 90s, who was dying around the same time, that it would be wonderful for her that she would be changed instantly and see Jesus the instant she died. She and her husband had been Brooklyn Bethelites for about 40 years. Her reply: "We can't be sure. We will have to wait and see. I am not so certain about anything anymore."
fjtoth
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55
everone is in confusion
by zolensky ini joined this site last week hoping to meet people that would steer me back to the organization.
instead the people i have talked to her are all trying to tell me too see the light and get out of the organization.
in my opinion, not that it matters, i really think that if a person had the truth deeply ingrained in them, they would never leave the truth.
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fjtoth
Zo,
One of the strongest teachings of the WT Society is that God works through an organization. He doesn't. Think about this:
For nearly 3/4 of the time since the days of Jesus, from about 250 to 1550, the only two "organizations" on earth that professed Christianity were the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. Neither was God's "organization," and there was nothing like the WT Society anywhere on the planet. Yet, there must have been Christians during all that long period, since Jesus said he would be with his disciples "all the days," even to the end.
Since the Reformation we've had a larger selection of "organizations" to choose from. But every one of them, including Jehovah's Witnesses, was founded and built up by men and women. Jesus didn't come down and tell any of them that they were better than the rest. He just doesn't work through any organization.
It's hard for a JW to accept it, but there are devout Christians in many of those denominations, and there are many who belong to no denomination at all. I would suggest that you seek out Bible-loving ex-JWs and attend church or Bible class with them. If you don't accept the Trinity, there are many among the ex-JWs who are just like you. I urge you to seek them out and see what it is that has led them to have a peaceful relationship with God. If you believe in the Trinity, there are also ex-JWs aplenty who share your belief. Seek them out. I'm sure that you will find that a rich spiritual life beyond your wildest imagination awaits you outside the rigid man-made religion that is run by the corporation known as the Watch Tower Society.
fjtoth
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55
everone is in confusion
by zolensky ini joined this site last week hoping to meet people that would steer me back to the organization.
instead the people i have talked to her are all trying to tell me too see the light and get out of the organization.
in my opinion, not that it matters, i really think that if a person had the truth deeply ingrained in them, they would never leave the truth.
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fjtoth
Zolensky,
I was a JW for 50 years. I left for Bible reasons, not because of being disgruntled. It was the best thing I ever did for myself. Now my prayers are answered, and now I understand the Bible for what it really says, not according to the way the WT Society filters it first.
For most of those 50 years, I felt as you do now. I had doubts at times, but I stifled them because of the Society's warnings against so-called "independent thinking." It wasn't until I decided to read the Bible cover-to-cover for the first time in my life that I came to realize all the errors in what the WT teaches. Because of full-time service most of my JW days, I never had time to read the Bible as it should be read. Before you go back to the organization, I just wish you would make it a point to do what I did. You will often discover that, right in the context of many Bible chapters, there is a strong contradiction to what the WT teaches.
You've got to read the Bible as though it was written for you. God did not intend for someone else to spoon-feed you their interpretation of what it means.
fjoth
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29
Does praying "work"?
by SpannerintheWorks inhas anybody got any hard evidence that asking for something, through prayer, actually gives them what they were asking for?.
jesus promised to give anything to them that asked.
have you asked for something (in prayer), but it hasn't been given?.
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fjtoth
Spanner,
I'm glad I can say that, yes, I've often received specific answers to my prayers, sometimes immediately (as within the hour) but sometimes over a period of time (like 6 months or more). But there have been some prayers that seemed never to receive an answer, and yet I can't say that with certainty since an answer might have come that I didn't notice and that was probably different from what I was expecting.
As for providing "hard evidence" for others, I hesitate to do that since my prayers are personal. I think the best hard evidence is available to anyone who simply puts this powerful aspect of Christianity to work during good times and bad. Like most people, I often tend to let days and even weeks go by before I remember that prayer is often the key to better times and a better life.
I have to honestly admit that I got some answers even when I was a JW. But the answers during those many years were few and far between, to the best of my recollection.
fjtoth
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25
6 months out and at times doubtful
by Leander init was in may of this year that i resigned as a minsterial servant and stopped attending jw meetings.
i made a fairly clean break from my congregation without the typical disassociation process.
while some areas of my exit were very smooth others were extremely difficult.
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fjtoth
Leander,
I expressed my doubts to my wife only once, and almost immediately she reported me to an elder. Because I wasn't prepared to be thrown out of the organization, it was fortunate for me that he was a friend and that he was tactful and kind in trying to get me to stop thinking independently of the organization. He didn't tell me that my wife had spoken to him, but he betrayed their little secret several weeks later. When I confronted my wife, she wept for over an hour, explaining that she did it because she didn't want to see me die at Armageddon.
My wife has since died, and I have nothing but admiration for the devotion she had for her beliefs. I never again expressed in her presence my doubts, even though they were growing in number. An awareness that the WTS is in error has to come from the inside, I believe. During the many years when I had no doubts at all, I probably would have reacted as my wife did if I ran into another JW who said anything against the Society's teachings.
In many cases, I think it's really the Lord who opens our eyes to the WT's false teachings. We can help by right living and by the right answers when they ask questions, but in some cases it just might take years before they finally see the light. In my own case, the doubts went on for nearly 20 years before I became convinced that I had to leave. I wouldn't be surprised that it takes a similar amount of time for many others to come to that decision.
fjtoth
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740
The Trinity
by meadow77 intop reasons the wts is lying about the trinity.
their translation of john 1:1 is not only a complete farce but falls apart upon closer examination of their own beliefs.
the insertion of the phrase a god, instead of god is just a clear misinterpretation.
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fjtoth
SwedishChef,
You said something interesting back on page 18:
This will be a rather lengthy post, and probably my last one on the subject.
But you keep going on and on with basically the same points as when you started about 30 pages ago. I'd find you more interesting, but you're like a bull in a china shop. You don't stop and really pay attention to what your opponents are saying. You just keep plodding and trudging along as if they had said nothing. For the most part, it seems to me, they do analyze your posts and deal with the points you try to make. What's disappointing to me about your responses is that you often simply brush aside some very reasonable objections to what you're saying. It's as if evidence against the Trinity ought to be treated like the pseudo-evidence raised against the Bible. There is a big difference. Just as you have, I've tested the evidence against the Bible and found it lacking in any credibility. I've also tested the Trinity and found that the evidence for it is likewise faulty. I wish you were willing to open your mind a little, just long enough to sift and weigh the evidence against the Trinity, but you leave the impression that there's not a chance of that ever happening.
fjtoth
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740
The Trinity
by meadow77 intop reasons the wts is lying about the trinity.
their translation of john 1:1 is not only a complete farce but falls apart upon closer examination of their own beliefs.
the insertion of the phrase a god, instead of god is just a clear misinterpretation.
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fjtoth
Edited by - fjtoth on 7 December 2002 9:40:29
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740
The Trinity
by meadow77 intop reasons the wts is lying about the trinity.
their translation of john 1:1 is not only a complete farce but falls apart upon closer examination of their own beliefs.
the insertion of the phrase a god, instead of god is just a clear misinterpretation.
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fjtoth
LittleToe,
You are only partially correct when you state that the texts I quoted speak of having a relationship with God. It is absurd to think that we can have a true relationship with someone we hardly know factually. To have a relationship with God, we need to know who he is and who we are dealing with.
fjtoth
Edited by - fjtoth on 7 December 2002 9:39:58
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740
The Trinity
by meadow77 intop reasons the wts is lying about the trinity.
their translation of john 1:1 is not only a complete farce but falls apart upon closer examination of their own beliefs.
the insertion of the phrase a god, instead of god is just a clear misinterpretation.
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fjtoth
IW,
As long as you're happy with the belief that Herk and I are one and the same, he and I are happy too. He does resent the idea, though, that you think he's as ugly as I am, even if he's a few years older. (I'm 66 and he's 70.)
fjtoth