warp wrote this on the forum......"god views apostacy as a much graver sin than pedophilia, and that is a biblical fact.".
http://www.touchstoneforum.com/htdocs/dcforum/dcforumid2/81.html.
that's pretty sick coming from a jw in good standing!
BigTex:
Oscar Wilde might change his philosophy today. What "was outside of him" brought him down in disgrace and infamy. One now hardly remembers him for what he was as an author. He is mostly remembered for his sensational trial and his subsequent jail term.
i was asked how come the bible says that god forgives blasphemy to the father and the son, but not the holy spirit.
if they all are god, what makes the person of the holy spirit more important regarding blasphemy than the father or the son.
sorry, i don't know much about the bible, but i'm trying to learn here, alright?
peacefulpate:
The last I read was that there were still many questions about the community in Qumran and the scrolls that have been found. Some scholars feel that it was not a community of Essenes at all. So it is difficult to draw conclusions about these scrolls until a clear identity is made. It is even more difficult to speculate about the impact of a religious community upon Christianity when so little is actually known.
I'm always concerned by the scholars who are quick to cast doubts upon the teachings of Christ. The New Testament writings have been well established and accepted by Christians for nearly two millenia. But some scholars seem quick to establish a theory upon every new discovery. One really has to question their motives.
announcer: youre listening to the laurie roth show.
lr: and what did they tell you?
lr: so where has it gone from here.
I just read this transcript on the Watchtower News site. I was touched by Bill Bowen's comments about giving all the credit to the victims who had the courage to come forth and report their tragic experiences. But I am sure that most of us also give Bill the credit for standing up for these "silent lambs" and giving them a loud and clear voice that has resounded around the world.
Thanks to his courage the Watchtower's "dirty little secret" is now public knowledge.
warp wrote this on the forum......"god views apostacy as a much graver sin than pedophilia, and that is a biblical fact.".
http://www.touchstoneforum.com/htdocs/dcforum/dcforumid2/81.html.
that's pretty sick coming from a jw in good standing!
It is true that Jehovah's Witnesses put disfellowshipping offenses in degrees. And apostasy ranks the highest. Some years ago a group of friends, all who had been disfellowshipped, met together. One woman who had been df'd for "adultery" seriously said to the rest of us that we were far worse off than she because we had been df'd for "apostasy." I thought to myself this woman is going to return to the organization one day. And sure enough, a few years later we heard she had done just that.
The rest of us who were there had made a conscious decision that the Watchtower Society was not God's organization. We were not Christian apostates as each of us still maintained our Christ faith in God and Christ. We were only Watchtower "apostates" because we rejected the Watchtower claim of being "God's organization." She, on the other hand, had morally violated a Christian principle.
It was always significant to me that she alone among us returned to the Watchtower. The rest of us had rejected the Watchtower precisely because we saw that it was not a christian organization. All of us wear our badge of "Watchtower Apostates" with pride. It means that we made our decisions based on sound Christian principles that allowed us to choose Christ over a human organization.
i've made a few posts on the forum to date, and have read more.
i'm in a really bad mood and looking for some shoulders to cry on.
i will try to keep my story brief.. i left the jw's 9 years ago and never went back.
Rush:
You are very fortunate to have contact with your family. I think you will find it to your advantage not to discuss doctrine with your mother. Just be a loving and caring son. When zealous JWs are challenged they become very defensive. They are usually not open to reason. And, like good lawyers, they can always argue an opposite view.
The one thing that can't argue with is love. When they observe people outside the organization who still maintain a good life and are kind and considerate of others, their defenses have to come down. The old adage that "actions speak louder than words" can apply in this case too.
i was thinking recently about a fundamental scripture that jw's base their religion on, matthew 24:45-51. although i now know this is basically a parable they have interpreted as a prophecy, a more interesting question came to mind that i'm going to ask the elders if they ever show up again (they promised to investigate the un situation and get back to me - that was about 3 months ago).
if jesus is really the ruling over the christian congregation since 1914 and matthew 28:20 is true, why does he need to turn over all his belongings (i.e.
authority) to men.
Twenty years ago, I confronted the elders who were visiting my home with similar questions. They were unable to give me satisfactory answers. For example, I asked them about the parable of the "faithful and discreet slave." I said that I noticed in the parallel account in Luke (12) that a third condition was introduced. He mentions a servant "who does not know and does things deserving of punishment" but who "will be beaten with FEW blows." I wanted to know how and by whom this was fulfilled. Of course, they didn't know. But they promised to return with an answer.
They didn't. But I did get a call "inviting" me to meet with them at the Kingdom Hall. I found out that this was going to be a full judicial meeting. So, I refused to attend. The end result was that they disfellowshipped me "in absentia."
I tell you this only because visits from elders can have consequences other than to answer your questions.
i know that jehovah's witness say only two birthday celebrations are spoken of in the bible and that neither were held by persons who worshiped jehovah.
or were there any other celebrations that were simular to birthday celebrations?.
inquiring minds need to know.
freewill:
I'm sure that this is the case with some JWs who had unbelieving mates. It must have put an extra burden on the heavy load already carried. But I've also known cases where the believing mate seemed relieved to have an unbelieving mate as an excuse to share in the festivities. I've even known of situations where the believing mate really didn't want the unbeliever to "come into the truth." I think some JWs used their faith as a source of freedom from their mates.
I know of a case right now where a mother (JW) who has a unbelieving mate is only too happy to have an excuse to associate with her disfellowshipped son and his family. The husband refused to put up with her "shunning" when her son was first disfellowshipped. MInd you, I don't blame the woman at all. I give her credit for getting around the rules to have a normal family relationship.,
i dont know if im putting this in the rite place.... .
when a young jw teen ( 13-16) disassociates themselves, or is disfellowshipped, will the parents kick them out of the house?
or are they required to let them stay?
missylissy:
Generally speaking, when a person makes a "fade out" it is usually because he moves to a different area and never makes contact with the local Kingdom Hall. If he tries to do this in the area where he is familiar, elders will usually make a call upon him to determine his status in the congregation. They will try to encourage him to return and to participate in the activities of the congregation. If he refuses, they will then try to determine whether or not he wants to "disassociate" himself from the congregation.
If a rumor about a person in this category gets around the congregation "gossip line"(and it usually does) the "cold shoulder" treatment will be meted out by the "brothers and sisters" in the congregation. However, this person will not be officially "shunned" unless it is announced that he is disfellowshipped or disassociated.
i was asked how come the bible says that god forgives blasphemy to the father and the son, but not the holy spirit.
if they all are god, what makes the person of the holy spirit more important regarding blasphemy than the father or the son.
sorry, i don't know much about the bible, but i'm trying to learn here, alright?
CA Here is just a thought:
The working of God's holy spirit was providing absolute proof that Jesus was the Son of God. So a conscious rejection of this evidence would have been an unforgivenable sin. This would have been a stinging rebuke of the Jews who rejected Christ even though they were observing the miracles and powerful works he was performing by means of God's holy spirit.
good afternoon everyone,.
does anyone know what daniel the prophet meant when he talked about the abomination that causes desolation?
the book says that when we come to understand what the abomination that causes desolation is to flee to the mountains.
Gopher:
The same questions were asked by Habakkuk. And I'm sure the same answers of God still apply.
