Topics Started by Larsinger58

3
A lovely story of FALSE PROPHECY run amok on lovely real estate
by Terry in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
if i told you that some very famous people were coming back from the dead you'd ask, "who?

if i then told you it was abraham, enoch, moses and david coming back to life in just 7 years from today wouldn't you say:.

"great!
18
Analysis of the Book of Daniel
by Londo111 in
1. watchtower
2. bible
i had hoped one or two others were about to start a thread on the book of daniel, springing off from the nwt conversation, but alas, nobody has yet.

therefore, i thought i'd start one--i hope that was not too presumptuous of me.

personally, i have nothing meaty to contribute to this thread, only questions and gut feelings.
7
Interview Needed- Anyone willing to help?
by madeleine in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
my name is madeleine.

i am working on an assignment for my religion class, in which i am to interview a jehovah's witness.

i have written up some questions already, so all i would need you to do is to answer them.
2
Modern Day Prophets
by Ding in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
end times speculation can be a harmless hobby for some, but it seems to me that all too often the problem with modern day prophets (those who announce end times dates) is the disturbing spiral it leads to:.

1. the prophet announces his dates and reasoning.. 2. he develops a following.. 3. most people scoff at or ignore the prophecy, which leads the prophet and his followers to feel persecuted.. 4. they become convinced that non-believers are agents or dupes of satan.. 5. they then convince themselves that they are the only ones god is pleased with because they are the only true believers.. 6. the followers come to see the prophet as god's sole spokesman and authority figure and give their lives to his control.. 7. the prophet makes demands on his followers' time and money as a test of loyalty.. 8. the followers recruit more and more people with their zeal and promise of "hidden knowledge" and special favor with god.. 9. the prophet alienates his followers from non-believing family and friends so they look down on anyone with different opinions, often considering them to be doomed because of their unbelief.. 10. the prophecy fails.. 11. outsiders laugh the prophet and his followers to scorn.. 12. in the best case scenario (rare), the prophet and his followers admit they were wrong and give up with a relatively small amount of harm being caused.. 13. in the worst case scenario (all too common), instead of coming back to reality, the prophet sets a new date, revises expectations, or claims invisible fulfillments, which his followers swallow wholesale.. 14. the prophet comes up with more and more bizarre teachings that the followers must accept as proof of loyalty and devotion.. 15. some people fall away, but those who remain become even more devoted, redouble their efforts, and suck even more people in, many of whom have no idea of the history of failure.. 16. any recruiting success is seen as a sign of god's blessing and favor, while any down periods and bad publicity are seen as evidence of persecution of the truth.. 17. more and more people and families get hurt.. 18. the whole vicious cycle keeps repeating..
8
God will YET choose Israel ... In light of somethig I just read in another topic
by Bella15 in
1. watchtower
2. bible
sharing .... god will yet choose israelisaiah 14:1 says, "for the lord will have mercy on jacob, and will yet choose israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of jacob.".

many denominations hold to the view that god has forsaken the nation of israel forever.

they feel that because israel crucified their messiah, jesus christ, that god has taken away the promises he made to israel, and has applied those promises to the present day predominantly gentile church.
11
Christmas Origins VS. Watchtower's 1914
by Butterflyleia85 in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
ok sooo this of course has nothing to do with each other but the reasoning is beneficial for critical thinkers.

christmas is one of the most popular holidays that has spread throughout the world.

what one can think is that this holiday must have its significance, yes greatly influenced but in order for something to be so influenced it has to have ground of truth and honesty behind it.
29
How to silence family/elders, and not be labeled apostate, prove the 1,000 year reign understanding is false....
by EndofMysteries in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
my reason for leaving or fading is because after actually reading the bible, i began to gain understanding and seeing everywhere what the bible teaches is not what jw's teach.

there is no need to bring up 'apostate' material, the history of jw's, etc, as that sets up a mental block (if you ever were a strong jw you may remember yourself it wouldn't work).

the foundation of the faith is that the bible is the final authority, the bible trumps everything, and that only jw's follow the bible everyone else twists it to their traditions and customs.
17
When...JERUSALEM DESTROYED? PART TWO - c.o.Jonsson
by diamondiiz in
1. watchtower
2. bible
http://kristenfrihet.se/vtsvar/vtsvar2.pdf.

i loved part 1 by jonsson so this one should be great read as well..
17
My first conversation with an "anointed"
by Terry in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i was not "born in".. i was recruited.. i've told the story dozens of times.. it began as a "best friend" at school comraderie and ended with my baptism 4 or 5 years later.. i had no desire up front to join any church or attend any services or even to associate myself with people who talk about "god" and "faith".. it creeped me out.. my family was not sociable.

they were like hermits.. my grandmother had been reared catholic and had attended convent school.

she told horror stories about the stern, disciplinarian mother superior and corporal punishments by the nuns.. i had the bible read to me barely at all.
10
Ancient Israelites were the original JWs!
by serenitynow! in
1. watchtower
2. bible
so sayeth the f&ds on page 26 of the 2/2012 wt.

under the title "why does god have an organization?

" it says "god chose the israelites to be his witnesses.