Thanks for the advice.
I think I just need to be patient and test the water now and again.
And yes quite true AllTimeJeff.
i was wrong when i was so sure i was right before.
.
i feel a responsibility but i am confused.. also, any ideas for preparing vulnerable family members prior to pulling the rug out from under them?.
Thanks for the advice.
I think I just need to be patient and test the water now and again.
And yes quite true AllTimeJeff.
i was wrong when i was so sure i was right before.
.
i feel a responsibility but i am confused.. also, any ideas for preparing vulnerable family members prior to pulling the rug out from under them?.
I was wrong when I was so sure I was right before.
I feel a responsibility but I am confused.
Also, any ideas for preparing vulnerable family members prior to pulling the rug out from under them?
I agree with all of the above and would describe a spiritual experience as a beautiful feeling of inner connection and harmony with life from something as simple as "Finding God in a Garden" as my Grandfather used to say, and the feeling of appreciation at watching a sunset. Or having a profound life-changing experience.
The Bible describes it in Romans 8:2 and 9 as being "in harmony with the spirit" and being "free from the law." And Galatians 5:22 shows the emotions of "love, joy and peace" etc. we feel in the moments when we are in harmony with the spirit.
The criteria for a spiritual man is certainly NOT someone who gets all his hours in and follows law. He would be a religious man. But such a man could have spiritual experiences, just as a non-religious person could.
"the truth"it's like someone giving you a box of puzzle pieces and the person tells you that the puzzle is from god.and that you should be so happy and humbled by the fact that it was given to you.
then you are told how to put it together when to put it together, who should help you, who should not help you,only marry other puzzle workers, only associate with other puzzle workers, you must dress and act like a puzzle worker and you can only use their instructions etc etc if you read any other instructions or use any other art form andif you don't do exactly as you are told to do with this puzzle you will die...and as you start to put it together you notice thatthe pieces don't all fit, but your constantly told that they do, so don't complain or else your puzzle will be taken away.
and you won't get the wonderful chance of putting it together and you will die.
I LOVE IT TOO
i have a new take on the 587/586 "controversy".
this is of course, speaking for me over 3 years after i left.
i realize that if you are first leaving, this is a big deal.
I can appreciate what you are saying, AllTimeJeff, as I have all the proof I need now to draw my conclusions, and have got over the shock that I could have been deceived so easily. All those years I searched for the truth and thought I had found it, and now I realise the truth is what you want it to be. We see what we want to see and we believe what we want to believe. At least this subject is more tangible than the trinity. What in the world makes anyone think they can be an authority on that subject? That one can not be proved one way or another until we are dead and see for ourselves, and then we can't be sure we get that opportunity either. All that wasted time and energy! And yes TD JW's even trying to tell the Jews what their own customs mean!!!!
I'll sing with you, and I wish I could apologise to my parents because they kept telling me I was brainwashed and it has taken me 40 years to realise they were right.
when you people were witnesses, was there one thing (or many) that really told you non-jw's were not that bad people after all?
was there anything other people did to you that got you thinking or, better yet, feeling that you hadn't been told the truth about us?.
thank you for your answers..
Nelson Mandela carrying no hate or revenge. Then mentioning this and the time he spent in prison to an elder, who promptly started talking about Bro. King in prison and refusing to discuss Mandela.
And feeling the same as you Moshe about Mother Teresa, and again the ridiculous comments of some JW's to her work.
Moshe, I appreciate your comment to me as a cautious newcomer, and all your comments.
" (the watchtower july 1st 1963 issue, page 411).
" (the watchtower july 1st 1963 issue, page 413).
" (the watchtower july 15th 1963 issue, page 446).
That is horrific seeing all that hate and venom detailed like that.
The continual push in the JW literature to hate people and quoting Psalm 139:21 & 22 about David hating, puzzles me. He was a man of war and not allowed to build the temple. I do not want to hate like that.
I can not imagine Jesus saying that. In fact I have never found one single reference in the Greek scriptures to Jehovah hating a person, only to hating evil acts.
I guess that as I have never hated anyone who has been disfellowshipped then I have never really been a true JW in all the 40 years I have carried that name. I've just been trying to love people!!!!!!!!!!
i am still a member of the jw's organization.
i have been puzzled over some of the teachings for many years but as i seemed to be the only one querying things among my local jw's i felt as if i was going crazy.
i was very relieved to find this site, a few months ago, full of evidence to back up my findings, and so much more.. i am so grateful to you all.. i do not want to leave the organization until i have planted some seeds in my family to open their eyes.
It is such a relief to take this step. It strikes me as amusing though that I am creeping about like a criminal and I have done nothing wrong.
Thank you for your welcome and astute comments.
Yes AllTimeJeff, that is the hard part being honest with ourselves.
and cameo-d, I do feel the responsibility of snatching them out of the fire that I helped put them in - all of them!
and chickpea, cautious yes, innocent not now, getting more and more devious. LOL
Yknot, Good suggestions I would never have thought of that.
xmky, I have not read Crises of Conscience yet, but I kept hearing people speaking highly of Ray Franz and it just didn't add up with JW's version. That was what made me start seriously investigating.
i am still a member of the jw's organization.
i have been puzzled over some of the teachings for many years but as i seemed to be the only one querying things among my local jw's i felt as if i was going crazy.
i was very relieved to find this site, a few months ago, full of evidence to back up my findings, and so much more.. i am so grateful to you all.. i do not want to leave the organization until i have planted some seeds in my family to open their eyes.
Hello Everyone
I am still a member of the JW's organization. I have been puzzled over some of the teachings for many years but as I seemed to be the only one querying things among my local JW's I felt as if I was going crazy. I was very relieved to find this site, a few months ago, full of evidence to back up my findings, and so much more.
I AM SO GRATEFUL TO YOU ALL.
I do not want to leave the organization until I have planted some seeds in my family to open their eyes. Because of my circumstances I do not have to go out in field service or take part in the meetings, so I do not have to go against my conscience too much.
I will not be revealing too much personal detail at this time but I hope to join in some discussions.