The really amazing thing to me about wtbts' statements regarding Jesus, is what a small role he really plays in wt theology. In a recent kingdom ministry article regarding the memorial, Jesus was only mentioned four times in twenty one paragraphs. And these in passing. Hardly follows Jesus' own counsel, "that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father". (John 5:23)
tech 597
JoinedPosts by tech 597
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Jesus Leading the WTS?????
by integ ini was reading the isaiah book today, and came across the paragraph that states that jesus is the head of the organization.
jesus ate with sinners, jesus preached a gospel of love and forgiveness, not disfellowshipping.
to say that jesus is the head of the organization.
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Those with mates still in
by tech 597 ini got home a little late from work this evening, and my wife was getting ready for the bookstudy.
she was quite happy and we began to discuss the days activities.
things were going great.
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tech 597
I got home a little late from work this evening, and my wife was getting ready for the bookstudy. She was quite happy and we began to discuss the days activities. Things were going great. Until, she asked me if I was going to the bookstudy with her. I told her I wouldn't be going,as I had some things I wanted to get done around the house. She asked me if I was sick. I said no. Happiness gone for yet another evening, inspite of the fact that I attended Sunday and Tuesday with her.
We've had ongoing arguments about what I consider to be excessive amounts of meetings. She repeats the wt mantra that we, "must not forsake the gathering of ourselves together". (Heb 10:24,25) I repeat my illustration that if I were to form my own religion, and called for meeting seven nights a week, could I rightfully use Hebrews 10:24,25 to brow beat those who could not make every one. Besides, we are studying the Isaiah book, which contains so much speculation and conjecture, I have a hard time not speaking up about it. Instead, I sit there like a bump on a log doing nobody any good.
My wife and I have a great relationship and I love her dearly. It's just frustrating to have small moments of peace and joy drained from our family through an atmosphere of religious intolerance fostered by wtbts teaching.
Sorry if this sounds like ranting.
Tech 597
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Were You Successful In The Ministry?
by minimus ini know of very few people that helped bring people in the "truth".
even those who concentrated on their own families usually realize that their children do not want the "truth".
most publishers were disorganized with regard to their return visits and house-to-house records.
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tech 597
I had a few "bible studies" over the years, but these were mostly with the children of witness parents who, for some reason, did not wish or have the time to study with their own kids.
As far as the door to door ministry, I found the amount of changes an interested person would need to make to become a jw intimidating, and this was before I began to have serious doubts about the need for someone to even do it. Looking back on it now makes me even more appreciative of the simple message of the gospel.
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Witnessing to a witness
by tech 597 inhow many of you find it extremely frustrating to discuss the bible with friends and relatives who are still jw's?
i never before appreciated the amount of conjecture and speculation jw's (myself included at one time) put into every biblical passage.
for example: jesus says at luke 12:42, "who than is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?
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tech 597
How many of you find it extremely frustrating to discuss the bible with friends and relatives who are still jw's? I never before appreciated the amount of conjecture and speculation jw's (myself included at one time) put into every biblical passage. For example: Jesus says at Luke 12:42, "Who than is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?" To the jw, this verse indicates that there will be a God appointed organization of men who will be given the task of interpreting and applying the holy sciptures to a small group of bible adherents that come into existance during the last few decades of the nineteenth century. This, inspite of the fact, that Jesus makes no such statement in the text. Jesus gave the illustration of the faithful and wise servant in response to Peter's question about a previous parable, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us or to everyone?" Clearly, the intent of Jesus illustration of the wise servant, was to show the disciples that all share the responsiblity to care for one another spiritually, and will be held accountable for what we do with this responsibility.
It's very difficult to get past this type of reasoning, but I feel it is critically important to reach out to those who are still on the inside.
Just a thought... Tech 597
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Picking the parts of the Bible that YOU want to follow
by StinkyPantz inmany christians i've met like to pick and choose what parts of the bible they want to live by and ignore others.
for example, i have a friend that goes to church every sunday, reads the bible to her daughter, and prays daily.
at the same time, she lives with a man that she never plans on marrying.
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tech 597
1 Corinthians 6:9- "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral... will inherit the kingdom of God."
In verse 18 of this same chapter, Paul opens by saying, "Flee from sexual immorality"
It seems that the Bible's position on sexual immorality, although not popular, is pretty clear.
Hope this helps,
Tech 597
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One foot in and one foot out.
by tech 597 ini have to say that at one time i wouldn't even consider reading material at a discussion group like this one.
but in the last two years, discussion groups like this one have been indispensable to my dealing with a very personal crisis of faith, and i want to thank the brave and loving persons who sponsor sites like this, and the brave and loving persons who participate in them.
like many here, i was raised as one of jehovah's witnesses and never questioned the validity of the wbts view.
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tech 597
Thanks everyone for the welcomes and encouragment.
Mustang:
My screen name comes from my work. I'm a telephone lineman and not very creative when it comes to picking screen names.
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One foot in and one foot out.
by tech 597 ini have to say that at one time i wouldn't even consider reading material at a discussion group like this one.
but in the last two years, discussion groups like this one have been indispensable to my dealing with a very personal crisis of faith, and i want to thank the brave and loving persons who sponsor sites like this, and the brave and loving persons who participate in them.
like many here, i was raised as one of jehovah's witnesses and never questioned the validity of the wbts view.
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tech 597
I have to say that at one time I wouldn't even consider reading material at a discussion group like this one. But in the last two years, discussion groups like this one have been indispensable to my dealing with a very personal crisis of faith, and I want to thank the brave and loving persons who sponsor sites like this, and the brave and loving persons who participate in them.
Like many here, I was raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses and never questioned the validity of the wbts view. I was baptized during my teenage years, and later served as an elder in my local congregation. I have a beautiful and loving wife who remains a devout jw. As you can probably imagine, we have quite heated discussions regarding wt theology, but that is a topic for future posts.
Several years ago I began to question my faith when, while serving as an elder, a fellow elder and I were assigned to visit some older ones to discuss their concerns regarding the blood card and dpa. One sister was going in for surgery and wanted to be sure that her dpa was properly filled out. When we got to the section in the document regarding non-blood alternatives, the sister just said to mark everything NO. The brother with me tried desperately to describe to this faithful sister the many non-blood alternatives available to her that would not violate God's laws on blood. Inspite of his sincere efforts, this wonderful older lady could not grasp the medical complexities of the ever changing jw stand on non-blood alternatives and procedures.
It was an epiphony for me.
Did Jehovah really expect his servants to be experts on medical procedures and treatments? Did the first century christian congregation really have in mind twentieth century medical procedures when the prohibiton on blood was given at Acts 15:28,29?
Later that year, the society sponsored a talk and QandA session with a member of the bethel hospital liaison committee at a local kingdom hall. In an unusual, and quite propitious twist, the society invited the elders to bring their wives. After the bethel speaker discussed in depth the many non-blood products and procedures that would be available to a conscientious jw, he opened the floor for questions. I have to add here, that the brother dealt with many products that, while they were not in themselves any of the four main components of blood, they were derived from them. One of the elder's wives raised her hand and asked one of the clearest and most thought provoking questions of the evening.
"If Jehovah prohibits the medical use of blood, how can we, as conscientious jw's, take products that are derived from a prohibited procedure?" The speaker had no answer! After nervously adjusting his notes and not speaking for nearly 3 minutes, his only response was, "That's a great question." It really was! Needless to say, it started me thinking about the wbts's position on blood with a more open mind.
After many months of struggling with this and many other questions, I reached a cross roads. I got down on my hands and knees and begged God to show me the truth. I started reading the bible without the "help" of the societies publications, and was astonished at what I was reading and learning. Show much of what I had accepted as irrefutable bible truth simply was simply not to be found in scripture. One thing that really impressed me was that the christian greek scriptures were primarily a Jesus book. Something I take for granted now, but at the time, was astonishing to me.
I have since stepped down as an elder and continue to struggle with stepping away from the watchtower. Sorry if this post seems a bit disjointed and lacking in details, but I'm hastily writing this while my wife is away at book study.
Looking forward to some christian fellowship... tech 597