ITHINKISEE Request: Noticing little things that I could use some help on.

ithinkisee

Now that my wife is basically beyond the point of no return, some new issues are slowly creeping up. I don't think they are necessarily bad, but I could use some suggestions.

For instance, my wife is keenly interested in the evening news all of a sudden. She is suddenly finding a need to be more aware of her place in the big wide world, instead of letting the JWs define it for her. This is a good thing IMO. She is trying to make "some" sense of it all. For instance, last night she had to ask me why those Jews were being removed from the settlements near Gaza. My wife is a bright girl too - but it is just sad that JW's in general are so far removed from world events - basically uncaring.

So my question is .... what are some things I can say to her when atrocious things are shown on the news, and the glut of bad news the evening news seems to focus on?

My next issue is with being a Christian.
(NOTE: On this question, I would appreciate it if the atheists and stuff please keep the snide comments to yourself. I respect you guys greatly and will eventually be looking into your side of the story ... but baby steps for me ...)
Without getting too deep how does a Christian deal with the hypocrisy of many Christian leaders (Pat Robertson comes to mind ... lol). Do I just remind my wife that it is a personal relationship with Jesus and that these guys are basically crazy?

On that note, how would I answer regarding war, and politics, and so forth - when the Scriptures do seem to point to unfavorable alliances between religion and government - or am I still thinking too much like a JW and reading too much into "Babylon The Great's" fornication with government?

Do I sound completely retarded?

Thanks in advance.

-ithinkisee

stevenyc

ITIS,

A good place to start with regards the Arab-Israel conflict is with the New York Time columist Thomas Freidman:http://www.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/thomaslfriedman/

He's written many books and articles on the subject. And is broadly respected for his opinions.

steve

kwintestal

Without getting too deep how does a Christian deal with the hypocrisy of many Christian leaders

This is just my onpinion, but a Christian has one Leader, Christ. Anyone else is taking from that. A Christian can have other TEACHERS, but not other Leaders.

Kwin

googlemagoogle

to 1.)
bad news = good news for the media. there's nothing that interesting as bad news. that's why news mostly cover tragic events.

but we don't have more tragic events today, as in a "special time" or "the time of the end". the only reason why it could seem that more things happen today, is because information is passed on so quickly. something happens and we can watch it live on tv. some 100 years ago this wouldn't have been possible.

compared to the past we live in the best time ever.

to 2.)
i'm atheist, but i can switch my mind back to christian without a problem ;-)

first of all, christians shouldn't have "leaders", for they have one leader, christ. and second, if you don't want to look into organized religion anymore, leaders have no impact on you anyway.

to your last question (trying to surpess my atheist answer that the bible does not have ONE SINGLE view on things), as a christian i'd stay away from war as much as possible. but it's impossible to have a state without a government or military.

remember also that in pre-christian times, the jews had a government (king) too. and daniel even was said to have a position in the babylonian and persian governments... just some thoughts.

jeeprube

I had a very similar discussion with my wife yesterday. I still cannot stomach most of the leaders or churches in Christianity. The best I can do with her, is point to what Christianity is at it's core. Accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Placing faith in that sacrifice, and allowing it to cleanse your sins. She still can't accept that, fully. I think it's too simple for her. She NEEDS works to validate her faith. That was a real breakthrough for me, to see just how deeply the JW's have works in their brains. They truly do believe that works lead to salvation.

The best advice I got about the whole world events issue, is to point out that faith in God is still important. As JW's we always looked at world events through Matthew 24 goggles. All the turmoil in the world just seems to validate the WTS publications. Do you think she's still trying to validate her belief system, or is she just scared? One of my biggest fears was, oh my God there actually could be a nuclear war. Pretty scary stuff.

Oh one more thing......my wife started researching 607 B.C. also. I didn't know about it till yesterday. I asked her if she'd been able to find any secular historical evidence to back up the WTS claim of 607. No, she said, but the search engine brings up all kinds of stuff about Jeruselum being destroyed in 537 (or whatever the real date was). I think it opened her eyes a bit.

Legolas

So my question is .... what are some things I can say to her when atrocious things are shown on the news, and the glut of bad news the evening news seems to focus on?

That's right that's all they focus on. The news that I watch,CBC, is locked out or are on strike so I havent seen much news lately but I think Israel is giving them back the land.

As for christian....did you read Raymond Franz' ..'In Search Of Christian Freedom'? I think that will help you and your wife.

cruzanheart

Everyone stands or falls before God on an individual basis, not on the basis of what religion they belong to or what religious leader they follow. You can learn a little from each religion but ultimately have to make up your own mind about who/what God is and what your responsibilities are in the universe.

(And that bit of wisdom is BEFORE my coffee!)

Nina

ithinkisee

Thanks all. That is the kind of stuff I need from time to time. I imagine I am probably overthinking it and need to keep it simple like that.

I wasn't asking for specifics on the Israel-Palestinean thing .... I have always followed that stuff. I was just pointing out the lack of interest most JWs as a whole have of the world. Likely because they are kept too busy to take an interest.

Anyone have any thoughts on the Christians-and-war, and Christians-and-politics stuff?

Thanks in advance for all the help!

-ithinkisee

AK - Jeff

ITIS - We are two years out and still trying to find our place to some extent. On the Christian side of things - I do enjoy the Bible discussions I hear on my local Christian radio stations - I particularly like Jon Courson's discussions. But most of them seem down to earth, and if they start in on trying to set dates and end times as some do occasionally, I just turn them off. I think I might even order some of the cd's they offer.

Getting new perspective [as your wife seems to be doing already ] is a good first step.

Jeff

jgnat

Yes, my hubby pounces on the news as evidence of the end as well.

I think news reports depersonalize disaster. If you look closely, you will also see examples of individual heroism, communities rallying to a cause. Leap on those examples and ask your wife about those people. As much as possible, try and connect with neigbours and friends. Keep the mind out of the theory and in to the reality of how people live.

As for government and church leaders...idiots abound. The WTS is nothing special in this regard.

ITHINKISEE Request: Noticing little things that I could use some help on.

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