by lynnmelo 175 Replies latest members adult
Welcome to the board....i guess while your still studying they will never show there other side....you said you wont ever get baptized wait until you tell them that and see how they treat you. Ive been a JW all my life up until 3 years ago, i have seen alot of things go on...but i also understand how you wouldnt see these things. I hope that you dont.
es
WHY AM I ANGRY?
OK here are some more:
1. A close relative of mine was molested by a man in her congregation when she was a minor; she was one of almost a dozen. This man raped his sister, who was so threatened by it that it was several years before she could be persuaded by friends to go to the elders. What did they do? They persuaded her to drop the case, and the man was publicly reproved for touching my relative on her thigh.
My relative sued the society; the society denied:
That they receive most of their income from the congregations;
That they direct the local congregations;
That the elders decide judicial cases based on information they get from the society;
That the elders got the policy of requiring 2 witnesses to child sexual abuse from the headquarters in Brooklyn, NY.
HOW MUCH MORE DO YOU NEED?
I got all day.
IF you want your daughters and sons to walk around with pedophiles who haven't been reported because of confidentiality rules and 2 witness rules, GO AHEAD. BE MY GUEST. The elders won't have this problem, because while they won't tell you that Brother McFeely has finger abused 3 little girls, they know all about it and keep their kids away.
Nate....LOL. I started reading your post and when you said "horse party" I was picturing this nice equestrian outdoor event with tents and balloons....then I read horse is heroin. Oooops. Nevermind.
You have no idea how many of us can only wish that we had the chance that is before you now
to hear both the pros and cons of the jw religions
i firmly beleive any person who joins the jw should have full knowledge of what to expect, this way they make a decision with full knowledge
in our day we never had the opportunity to have the NET were we could ask the very question that you asked-
instead we had to ask a jw ----why do folks seem to hate you guys and the jw provided the ansser and we never heard the other side of the story
i think Paul Harvey puts it best "And that is the REST of the STory"
i encourage you do do the following
read read read as much as you can and remember :
The Freedom to Think means:
"I'd rather have Questions that I can't Answer ----Than Questions, I can't Ask.
(or Answers that I can't Question)."
when you get the chance you may like to read my BIO
thanks
Mouthy,
I can't hear you!
sKally
skally WHY???? Are you still deaf???? I said it LOUD enough
Hi, guys. I want to thank all those who responded. I have a few specific comments/questions:
Ozzie, you wrote: "Every instance of the word "require" in the Bible is OT and Mosaic Law based. Christ came to fulfill the Law, so that now we under the "law of love". Does God require anything from us? No works are necessary, eternal life is a "free gift" and just like any gift you can't earn it. Please read the Bible book of Romans, and do it without referring to WT publications, and preferably read it in a different translation to the NWT. It'll amaze you"
I understand that Jesus died for our sins and that we cannot earn our way into paradise. I take this to mean that there's absolutely no way we can live without sin, so Jesus' sacrifice was necessary to pay for these sins. However, I don't take this to mean that we can just live any way that we please (I'm not saying that this is what you meant; I'm just explaining my view on this). Jehovah does use the bible to set out for us what is acceptable to him and what is not. For example, it is clear that God disapproves of adulterers, drunkards, etc. With this in mind, those who love God will try to avoid those behaviors that He abhors. Jesus gave us two commands: love God with all our heart and love our neighbors as ourselves. How can we love God if we practice doing things he abhors? If we do, that would be, in my opinion, willful sinning, and I don't believe that willful sinners will inhabit any kind of paradise (if they could, how could it be a paradise for those who get hurt by those sins?). I'm not judging anyone or making myself exempt from this, just in case anyone was wondering.
Serendipity, you wrote, "When you tell your study conductor that you don't want to get baptized and give the reasons, see what happens. It will give you an inkling of JW love and may help you understand the feelings many have against JW's."
Actually, my book study conductor has discouraged me from getting baptized. She doesn't think I'm spiritually ready since I can't attend all the meetings. This is one of my biggest beefs with the Witnesses. From my perspective, there are too many hurdles in place to getting baptized.
Dave, you wrote, "Honestly, think about it. What you're saying is that the smart people in your life would think you were making a bad move if you involved yourself with JW's."
Actually, I don't have all that much confidence in any spiritual advice I might get from my colleagues. Most of them either are atheists, agnostics, or are going through the motions of another convenient religion. To them, humankind is the ultimate arbiter of all things. I believe Jehovah is the ultimate arbiter of all things. That major difference means that they wouldn't understand where I'm coming from at all. I'd bet my next three paychecks that none of them know that much about the Witnesses, yet they'd condemn them based solely on hearsay or by the fact that they seem like kooks for going door to door. At least you guys have specific reasons for what you think of the Witnesses; many people don't have a clue, yet they still condemn them.
Luna2, you wrote, "When I make up silly variations on the name "Jehovah", it is a way of de-sanctifying the WTS and the god they purport to worship. I'm sure it looks nasty and disrespectful to some, but making fun like that has helped me break the bonds that twenty years being a part of this cultish religion have forged."
I will probably get flamed or banned for writing this, but I had some pretty strong feelings when I read this. First, I felt angry that Jehovah's name was being used so disrespectfully. I am not a Witness, but these feelings have nothing to do with being a Witness and everything to do with being a human being thankful for being given life from our Creator. However, after my anger, I became very sad. Even if you're not a Witness or even though you may dislike the Witnesses, what does that have to do with Jehovah? He still loves you. He still created you. He is not synonymous with the Witnesses. Please reconsider this way of expressing yourself. I'm not your judge, but I felt compelled to say this.
Mouthy, you wrote, "I wanted to die... I loved Jehovah so much,,,"
Mouthy, I hope you haven't lost that love. Don't let any organization do that to you. If what everyone on this board is writing is true, then that means that we can have a personal relationship with Jehovah without any organization as the mediator.
To all, the one concern I have about not joining the Witnesses is not being able to fulfill the requirement for witnessing unless I join. I certainly won't go door to door on my own, so how will I do it? How do you guys do it? Also, how do you fulfill the command in Hebrews to assemble together to worship God? I'm concerned about not joining because I'm just not sure how I would fulfill some of these things without joining an organization, and I don't really agree with any other religion I've explored (I don't believe in the major doctrines of the Trinity, Hellfire, Immortality of the soul, etc.).
Thank you.
Lynn, Well, there's alot of experience here. Whatever you do won't affect people here. Sometimes people have to open that door for themselves and see what's inside. That's what many of us did, only to find ourselves here warning other people. If you do go ahead and eventually get baptised, best of luck, but just remember.... we warned ya. PS Did you read Crumpets thread?
Welcome lynn,, no venom here. Just wondering though..why do you limit yourself to the bible? Have you made the conscious decision that all the other "revelation" writing is of no value? If not then by default you have kept yourself ignorant..
Oh, one more thing. You didn't answer Tetra!
carmel
crumpet's link is not working, it's coming up page not found
