Posts by Faithful Witness

45

Why did Jesus tell the convict on the cross next to his, that he would be joining him in Heaven TODAY??

by Faithful Witness in

maybe a silly question, but i'm curious about this part of the story of christ's crucifixion, when the 1 thief challenges jesus to save himself and "us too" from their deaths, but the 2nd thief rebukes him and pleads with jesus... .

luke 23:42-43: and he said unto jesus, lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

and jesus said unto him, verily i say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.. .

Faithful Witness

Thanks for the replies. I knew there had to be a "logical" explanation that JWs could use to explain away that question.

45

Why did Jesus tell the convict on the cross next to his, that he would be joining him in Heaven TODAY??

by Faithful Witness in

maybe a silly question, but i'm curious about this part of the story of christ's crucifixion, when the 1 thief challenges jesus to save himself and "us too" from their deaths, but the 2nd thief rebukes him and pleads with jesus... .

luke 23:42-43: and he said unto jesus, lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

and jesus said unto him, verily i say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.. .

Faithful Witness

Maybe a silly question, but I'm curious about this part of the story of Christ's crucifixion, when the 1 thief challenges Jesus to save himself and "us too" from their deaths, but the 2nd thief rebukes him and pleads with Jesus...

Luke 23:42-43: And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Since Jesus took this guy with him to heaven immediately, would he be considered "annointed" and qualified to sit as a judge with Christ, even though he was a criminal who "deserved" the death penalty?

Why would this admitted thief be worthy of going to heaven immediately after death, but now everyone else (believer and non-believier alike) who dies just lies dead in the ground until judgment day?

Wouldn't this suggest that there might be either an immortal soul, or that true believers might actually be in heaven with Jesus right now? Forgive me if I'm missing some detail here... correct me where I am misunderstanding this part of the story.

10

Yahoo answers for the question: Why do Jehovah's Witnesses shun former members?

by DuvanMuvan in

why do jehovah's witnesses shun former members?.

loads of jws answered on this one.

kind of old but thought people would still wanna see it..

Faithful Witness

Active JW's are in such denial over this lie. I can barely stand to read those comments. Ugh. Thanks for sharing the link.

Do they honestly believe what they are saying? My sister is shunning me, for the simple reason that I decided not to continue studying with the JW's!

They have been indoctrinated for so long, they don't even realize how unloving and unhappy they really are. Very sad!

2

Wrong Memorial address

by A.proclaimer in

jw
friends

because it was the memorial today (yesterday for some of you around the world), i remembered something that happened last year at my now current congregation.

it was around the time of the campaign where the invites were being released.

now keep in mind that this is a congregation that's in a foreign language and the people who speak this language are scattered all over the city so the territory is very large and takes time to cover.

Faithful Witness

We live right on the edge of the territory of one KH, but when we moved here 6 years ago, we mistakenly went to the one who shared our post office and zip code. The friends all had a good chuckle over this, since they "got" us and our babies (ages 3 and 6 months at the time). We still get "calls" from the JWs who are assigned to our territory.

(That was the long way of saying we always get invited twice).

I wasn't home for the local KH invitation drop-off, so I found it stuck in the door.

I was discussing the topic of the "faithful and discreet slave" with my elderette, when she casually slipped the invitation out of her current Awake/Watchtower combo. She seems to be in the habit of sticking one magazine inside the other (probably so you won't notice how flimsy they are). She was going through her prepared presentation of evidence to me, and asked if she had already given me the magazines. When I said that she had, she simply said, "Here. Let me give you this."

She handed me the Memorial invitation, but said nothing about it. It didn't seem important to her at all, more like something to check off her list. If I hadn't already decided that I was NOT going to allow her to change the subject, I would have made more of it... but I also thought she would be back before the Memorial. Our schedules did not connect, so she didn't even end up mentioning it.

My mother visited a few weeks ago, and when we were putting her next visit on the calendar, we did confirm the date of the Memorial. She was supposed to come on the Friday before, and I repeated back to her a few times that the Memorial was the following Monday, in case that was going to cause a conflict. She didn't seem phased. She also did not ask me to attend, and did not give me an invitation. Yes, she lives 70 miles away, but...

Nobody seemed that interested in inviting us to this most important "celebration." (SO disappointed!!)

21

I'm postponing my JW elderette and her BS session again

by Faithful Witness in

i really do have more important things to do this week, so i am postponing my elderette again.

she has not yet contacted me for her "topic of discussion" for the week.

i know she wants time to prepare her speech and presentation.

Faithful Witness

cultBgone: I WILL use that technique next time they come (scheduled now for April 25). Thank you thank you thank you! Give me a chance to take a breath and maybe ask a follow-up question also. Briliiant technique, and I think I can use it.

rebel8: She also approached me the first time with the comment (and an inquisitive look on her face), "I don't know what happened. Why did you stop coming to the meetings? Are you still studying with Mr. Talktoomuch?" It really came across as nosey, but she followed up with, "Is there some question I can answer, and help you?"

I had another encounter with a character in this web of JW's yesterday. I suspect that Miss K might be visiting apostate websites, but she may just be getting exposed to a lot of outside information. She has made side comments about "this other woman I study with told me..." and then she had a totally different story from "another lady..." She is struggling inside, and it does seem like her natural personality is getting in the way of her cult obedience.

Enlightenment: Welcome! I love the avatar you got. Your comments are very close to my thoughts. I will come back and connect with you when I have more time to catch up on JWN. I was never a JW, but I am literally surrounded by them. I encounter them at least once a week, and my parents and sister were baptized as JWs within the last 4 years. If you click on my name, you can read more of my experiences. I might be rocking the boat and helping my mother to wake from her trance, but now she seems to be avoiding me again. I confronted my JW family through a "reply all" email about 18 months ago, and caused a huge mess. I am still in damage-control mode from that episode, and have lost my sister and am now watching my father drift away. I am bracing myself to become a statistic, as it is obvious that the Watchtower Society DOES have something specific planned. They are being groomed to obey.

On my mother's last visit, I asked her if she really believed that the governing body spoke for Jehovah directly. She responded with "Yes." She didn't even take a breath first. I was stunned, and I wonder if she was. We were having dinner at a noisy pub at the time, so the conversation didn't get very deep... but that was a shocker and a thought-stopper!

7

Gorby's visit to the memorial 2014

by Gorbatchov in

since a week ago, gorby was a little nervous.

last years memorial was the last meeting he visited at the local hall.

since then, they all were faders.

Faithful Witness

Gorby said, " I know, they are not my people anymore. So, I know since today, we are not their people anymore, also."

That is quite a statement! You are NOT "theirs!" You have claimed and rescued your family! Thank you for sharing this story.

Another interesting observation you made: " It felt we came from another planet."

You DID come from another planet... the real world. Congratulations and happy trails to you!

18

News story about JW elderly care facility being built - Rent as low as $2,900 per month!

by Faithful Witness in

jw
friends

where is salisbury township?

who will own this residential village for elderly jw's?

spending $6.5 million to build it, housing up to 38 individuals.

Faithful Witness

Where is Salisbury Township? Who will own this residential village for elderly JW's? Spending $6.5 million to build it, housing up to 38 individuals. Rent for a single room will start at $2,900/month. Is this company legitimate? Jah-Jireh Homes of America.

Elderly care facility for Jehovah's Witnesses under construction

The Salisbury Township retirement complex will feature three 'households' to cater to residents.

By Sam Kennedy, Of The Morning Call

9:32 p.m. EDT , April 3, 2014

Bulldozers and backhoes are busy at work in Salisbury Township, clearing trees and brush to make way for a retirement complex for aging Jehovah's Witnesses.

The $6.5 million Legacy Place Cottages — to be at 2051 Bevin Drive, near the southern entrance to South Mall — will consist of two single-story buildings totaling 30,000 square feet. Serfass Construction of North Whitehall Township is overseeing the project on behalf of the nonprofit group Jah-Jireh Homes of America.

"This is an independent nonprofit that has been developing this to cater to the special needs of the community," Jah-Jireh Homes founder and Chairman Darbin T. Skeans said.

Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian group that was formed in this country in the late 1800s and is governed today by a ruling body based in Brooklyn, N.Y. They are familiar to many people through their door-to-door missionary work, responsible for distributing countless copies of "The Watchtower" and "Awake!" to homes throughout the world.

Although Christian, Jehovah's Witnesses subscribe to tenets that distinguish them from Catholics and mainstream Protestants. They reject the concept of the Trinity (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), and they do not celebrate Christmas or Easter.

Skeans, of Allentown, said his mother lives in a local facility for the elderly where, for much of the year, the social calendar revolves around religious holidays. Legacy Place Cottages will be different, he said.

"The whole thing will be geared toward the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses," which means no holiday celebrations, he said. "It's really geared toward the spiritual."

Serfass Vice President Matthias Fenstermacher told The Morning Call in February that Legacy Place Cottages is a good fit for Serfass Construction — a third-generation, family-owned enterprise established in 1948 — because the company has developed a specialty in health-care-related projects. About 20 to 30 percent of its work is tied to health care, he said.

More than 20 local trades will work on the project, and as many as 50 workers will be on site on any given day during nine months of construction, according to Serfass.

The land on which Legacy Place Cottages will be built is in a residential area between the busy Auto Mile on Lehigh Street and the Little Lehigh Creek.

"The lot has been eyesore," said Chris Kinsella, who lives in a house down the street from the project.

Kinsella and his neighbors have reviewed the architectural renderings of the facility and like what they see, he said. "Our concern is that what we saw actually gets built there."

According to Skeans, Legacy Place Cottages will be comprised of three "households," one of which will specialize in "memory care" for residents with Alzheimer's or dementia.

The memory care household will be in a stand-alone building with 12 bedrooms and a maximum capacity of 14 individuals. The other two households, each with 10 rooms and a capacity of 13 individuals, will be attached through a shared kitchen.

Also distinguishing Legacy Place Cottages from other personal care facilities will be its approach to day-to-day care.

Rather than employing separate staff for different kinds of work, such as cooking, cleaning and doing laundry, it will have "universal workers" trained to do all those tasks while also attending to and interacting with residents.

"It's kind of an integrated approach. The advantage is it's a resident-centric model," Skeans said. "The caregiver sits down and eats with the residents, rather than just serving the residents."

He said single-room rent will start around $2,900 a month , which is competitive with other personal-care facilities in the area. But prices could come down in the future, he said, as Jah-Jireh Homes seeks donations to subsidize costs.

Initially, Kinsella said, he and his neighbors were worried the project would create excess storm-water runoff, but their concerns have since been addressed.

The project will include a number of provisions to protect the Little Lehigh Creek watershed, according to Fenstermacher. For example, he said, captured runoff from a sprinkler system will be used to irrigate landscaped areas.

Although, Legacy Place Cottages will be geared toward Jehovah's Witnesses, Jah-Jireh Homes is not officially affiliated with the church, which declined repeated requests for comment on the project.

Jah-Jireh's board consists of members from throughout the state and from as far as Honolulu, Hawaii.

34

How did you find the truth about the truth (TTATT)

by Maat13 in

i am sure there has been a post about this subject, however being a recent addition to the network i don't know how to do a search.

and i'm sure new folks have joined since then.

i am really curious of how others came to know ttatt.. for me is was a real bad experience with one elder after another.

Faithful Witness

Accidental exposure to apostates on the John Ankerberg Show on YouTube. We had no idea what we were hearing... my husband and I were Bible students. We showed the video to our BS conductor. He almost had a seizure, telling us they were APOSTATES!! Fornicators!!

We had been hoping for a simple answer to our question, but he threw a little fit instead. After we asked him some history questions, and he denied 1975 predictions (a 77-year old born-in), we did a little more research and found out they were liars from top to bottom. We quit attending meetings after that.

About 4 months later, my sister forwarded me a copy of a study article that warned JW's about the dangers of reading any outside information. We became completely convinced that it was a cult after that, but it was already too late for my parents and sister.

24

Why cant I format and make paragraphs.

by James Brown in

i would appreciate some help.. if someone could tell me why i can no longer format or make paragraphs.. .

i ued to be able to it seems like a couple of years ago now.. .

in fact this posting has several paragraphs but they don't show up when i submit.. .

Faithful Witness

I love that picture of the guy drooling over the Canadian Tire money!

I have intermittent success with the formatting ribbon appearing on my screan, but when it does, it seems to work. It rarely comes up on my iPad, but usually will on our desktop computer.

Why did it take me 6 months to find a whole 2nd page of emoticons to insert?

What I'd really like to know, is how to insert pictures in posts.

87

July 2014 WT cracks down on apostate debates and 'dance parties'

by EndofMysteries in

in the july 2014 study wt article titled "jehovah's people "renouce unrighteousness".

par 9 and 10 .

9. how did foolish and ignorant debates affect the early christian congregation?.

Faithful Witness

Doesn't the warning to avoid and reject "apostates," go directly against the instructions from Christ about seeking out the lost sheep? Wouldn't apostates be considered lost sheep?

From the article quoted above: " Even when the intention is to help the individual, such conversation would be contrary to the Scriptural direction we just considered."

What about the directions given by Christ himself... ??? (are they non-scriptural?)

Luke 15:4 NWT: “What man among you with 100 sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the 99 behind in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it?"

Matthew 18:12 NWT: “What do you think? If a man has 100 sheep and one of them strays, will he not leave the 99 on the mountains and set out on a search for the one that is straying?"