Posts by The Firm

5

Hello and welcome, lilwolf. Wow! How was it that he married a non-JW? I thought mixed marriages were VERY discouraged in the society (I should know, I tried to marry a JW ). Anyway, there are a few key things to know:

+ know that he may leave you outright

+ know that he/WBTS might rope you in. Get to know some of the JW doctrine to prepare yourself for the inevitable. We've all been there--it's not difficult to give into the extreme pressure gradient of joining the society.

+ know the vows you and your husband took--"for better or worse, till death do us part". (is that about right?)

+ know that the WBTS teaches a hidden, separate vow: "...til death {or fornication} do us part..." In other words, cheating by one party or another can break the marriage vow. (Also know that that is a novel tradition NOT taught by Christ or the early church.) What that means is that if push comes to shove down the line, if he should someday cheat on you, that would break the marriage bond with God and he's miraculously be free to marry again. Or, he may put you in a situation so deprived that "cheating" is encouraged on your part.

+ know that you may be able to save him. You see, the fear levied agains the rank-&-file JW is so severe that it's almost impossible to leave. It's a very bitter reality, but hope is not lost. There's lots of great folks here to help you work through it, so get your lasso ready. You're actually at an advantage because you have access to more information than your husband does. Keep in touch!!!

41

Russell the messenger

by Beans in

here is some interesting views of the former leader.. http://quotes.jehovahswitnesses.com/russell.htm.

*** watchtower 1917 november 1 p.323 ***.

[note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 cd-rom] .

The Firm

Who were messengers 2,3,4,5,6?

According to Studies in the Scriptures, series 7 "The Finished Mystery", Messenger 2 was John; #3= Arius, #4=Waldo, #5= Wycliffe, #6=Luther. Hope this helps!

-alan

8

Jehovah is a forgiving God

by Beans2 in

as jehovah leads the faithful and discreet slave how has it contributed to your life and what does the slave mean to you?.

to me it is the right spiritual food at the right time!.

agapa.

The Firm

Wow, beans, that was quite a funny couple 'o posts! Took me a minute to see the 2nd person "beans2". You know, you're only one step from a "trinity" of sorts.

Reminds me of a joke: Roses are red; violets are blue; I'm a skitzophrenic, and so am I. (enter rim shot here).

33

Reformed Episcopal View of Christ

by thepreacher in

necessity of the old testament in understanding the work of christ

by curtis i. crenshaw .

i n the volume of the book, it is written of christ (

The Firm

Well clash, there is no such thing as "papist", and yes, I mean Christ's presence in a "spritual" sense. Oh, also in the actual sense. But don't take my word for it, take Jesus'. Historically it's the same beliefs of your very own forefathers since the time of Christ. Denial of Jesus Christ's true presence in the Eucharist is a modern human tradition....and you know what the NT says about human tradition, don't you?

Hebrews 6 testifies not against the Mass, but against falling away from the first rudiments of Christian doctrine, which all prespertyrians' forefathers have done since John Knox made himself "pope" in 1560. Besides, Hebrews was written by a "papist".

Thanks for the fun debate. I really have a large heart especially for JW, so perhaps we can join forces in that effort. Strategizing from different points of view should be quite helpful in that regard. Peace be with you clash!

33

Reformed Episcopal View of Christ

by thepreacher in

necessity of the old testament in understanding the work of christ

by curtis i. crenshaw .

i n the volume of the book, it is written of christ (

The Firm

"As far as I have seen, the Bible does not say that Attending Church is required for Salvation."

It's certainly not because it's not there. I think the problem is with perceived authority. For some reason, many people tend to believe that the Bible is the "pillar and foundation of truth", when it's not, it's the "church" (1 tim 3:15). The Bible, as a fruit of said church, certainly points to the church's authority (example, Matt 18:17). Among dozens of OT texts that anticipate Christ as the clean oblation, He mandates that we must eat his body and blood or else face the consequences (Jn 6, of course , and often in Epistles and Revelation). Attending church--Christ's church--is His divine arrangement and means by which to receive it. Abstaining from church= abstaining from Him. In light of JW's though, I doubt that anyone would understand the efficacy and necessity of the sacraments (esp. Christ's true presence in the Eucharist) without the proper mindset of "the church" as the ultimate authority (as opposed to the Bible).

Edited by - The Firm on 19 November 2002 4:48:55

3

re Planting seeds

by A Paduan in

i started a thread in 'friends' about this, but it seems no one has plain evidence one way or the other, so i'll put this in under practices and wait.. the name of jesus has been preached through most of the world, but is the watchtower responsible?

they claim that their preaching clearly sets them apart, but hasn't the seed already been planted where they are tramping ?

i remember praying for a friar at my school who was going off to engage with a highland new guinea tribe - indeed going out and sowing seed.. it seems that people assume odds are that jws must have done this too, but have they ?.

The Firm

In the same vein, Mary Kochan, a 3rd gen. convert from JW to Catholicism, recommends mentioning this stinger (among others) to a pioneer: "Your missionary work is nothing like the early Christians. The Apostles preached the good news of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection--those were events in the past. Jehovah's Witnesses travel door-to-door making predictions about the future: all of which have failed."

9

Northeast Ohio?

by The Firm in

my first post :-).

wondering if anyone here is from northeast ohio.

not necessarily looking for any specific reunion, but really anyone online here that may be geographically available to discuss jw matters.

The Firm

Wow, quite the grouping from lil' 'ol Ohio!! Must be those Midswest values... Welp, I'm up here in/near Kent (Kent State area), and know many great folks from the Kent and Stow East congregations. Lindy, you're closeby. Might you or someone you know care to talk about JW matters? I know of an x-JW support group in Medina that might interest you or someone you know.

Thanks for all the responses.

Agape,

alan

7

The JW's celebrate birthdays

by nonjwalltheway in

i have a nagging question.

jw's state that celebrating the birth of an individual is of pagan origin.

well, what about baby showers?

The Firm

So if a baby shower or pre-birthday party is ok, according to your reasoning, then celebrating a 5th, 21st, 43rd, or any birthday is ok the day before as long as it hasn't happened yet. And you're right on one thing--a birth day happens only once. Someone isn't born again (ha ha, pardon the pun) each year. Therefore each birthday is really an anniversary because the anniversary is marked and celebrated each year.

Biblically, the "baddie" birthdays were only one in particular of Herod (maybe Pharoa), not every birthday. So if the Society bans all birthdays because of Herod, then they should likewise reject all of the apostles because of Judas. The only recourse for the Society is to attempt to estimate the nominal birthday year of Herod and ban that one, just as they exclude Judas as a "Witness". I'm sure they can do it--it's not like the "faithful and discreet slave" hasn't attempted date-pegging before.

5

Whats up with that

by showme in

okay, i have heard mention here a couple of times about how jw's are not supposed to drive a two door car.

whats up with that?

last place i read it was the stupid rules topic some one posted(which was very entertaining by the way) i am really curious what the reasons for all those stupid rules are for?

The Firm

Craig--

You mentioned "coffee shop"!

Months ago I became frustrated that I couldn't find any JW's in the neighborhood for several Saturdays. Well, one Saturday I went to the local coffee shop and they came in droves! 4 by 4 at 10 am!!. They stayed there, too, until after 12 noon. I couldn't believe it. I asked one friend there if she counted her Java time as service time. She coyly replied "It depends". (How perfect.) I let her off the hook by telling her she could count the time futzing and squirming with some of my questions. Amazing that, contrary to what they proclaim, they'd rather be at the coffee shop than out canvassing (in their 4-door vehicle of choice ).

Anyway, I just thought I'd toss that in since I picked up on your apt post. -alan

9

Northeast Ohio?

by The Firm in

my first post :-).

wondering if anyone here is from northeast ohio.

not necessarily looking for any specific reunion, but really anyone online here that may be geographically available to discuss jw matters.

The Firm

Hi! My first post :-). Wondering if anyone here is from Northeast Ohio. Not necessarily looking for any specific reunion, but really anyone online here that may be geographically available to discuss JW matters. Thanks!