by MichaelM 105 Replies latest jw friends
Hi Michael, whatever you do check out the other side and its arguments against the JWs so that you will have a proper spherical view of the issue. If you Google words like watchtower, jehovah witnesses, Charles Taze Russell, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, you will find plenty of sites covering just about every aspect of JW history and ideology.
Have in mind that baptised JWs that decide to search what the other side has to say usually get expelled or at least marked as dangerous.
Hi MichaelM,
I'd like to sell you my house. It's a great house with alot of extras. Everything is in perfect order and there are no flaws in the design.
The only condition is you cannot have a home inspector check the house out, oh and you cannot have it appraised. You can trust me right?
You'd never accept these conditions when buying a house, why would you accept them when considering a religion.
You may do the research, then decide to join anyways. At least you can say you made an informed decision.
Welcome to the site!
Michael
If you were thinking of buying a car, and the salesman said;
"One thing you must never do is listen to anyone who has owned this car in the past and then sold it; they are all liars or mislead, and you will be decieved by them and lose out on the opporunity to drive the car."
Would you buy a car off someone who tried to stop you talking to any previous owners?
If you would, I have a car you might be interested in. PM me.
If you wouldn't, then stay and learn why so many JW's are xJW's.
I'd like to sell you my house. It's a great house with alot of extras. Everything is in perfect order and there are no flaws in the design.
The only condition is you cannot have a home inspector check the house out, oh and you cannot have it appraised. You can trust me right?
You'd never accept these conditions when buying a house, why would you accept them when considering a religion.
You may do the research, then decide to join anyways. At least you can say you made an informed decision.
Look at the big picture. Many have posted sites which will help you do just that, remember you are a study, they haven't revealed their 'true colours' to you yet. They know if they did you would run screaming in the opposite direction. They say they don't use fear like christendom yet they're always talking about those that won't survive armaegeddon. You really need to do the research for yourself. Feel free to drop by here anytime. I wish you all the best.
Michael:
Please take to heart all the sincere posts here. Nobody is lying or exaggerating. These are all true accounts of what the religion is all about. If there are any "happy" stories there, they are few and far between. If you join, you will experience these very things. Remember one thing: you cannot get back time lost. It slips through your hands like sand in an hourglass. While I cannot tell you not to believe in the bible or what religion to join or even if any have the "truth", I can tell you that what many have experienced in the religion is real tragedy.
LHG
WELCOME MICHAELM AND ECLIPSE to the JWD board! Come on in, the waters fine, the people are friendly, and the conversation is lively.
MichaelM: I am a current JW. Former elder (congregation overseer). Former Regular Pioneer (full time minister). Raised as a JW most of my life. The only reason I am still in this religion is because if I leave, pressure will be put on my mom, who is also a JW, to shun me. Close JW friends will be pressured to shun me. Mom wont of course, she is rebellious. My closest friends would still sneak around to be my friend...because if they dont shun me, then THEY get shunned by THEIR JW friends.
...do ya see where this is going MichaelM? This religion is very much about mind control. Please read Crisis of Conscience (and his other book) by Raymond Franz (a former member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses.....Governing body....head of the JW organization) and books from Steve Hassan about cults.
Ultimately, if you decide to get baptized, most here will respect your decision but shudder at what your life will become. Controlled at every turn. If your profile is accurate, you are young. Did they tell you that they indirectly control who you can and cannot date? Oh, and you cannot date unless it is with the intention of marriage. Oh, did they tell you no sex before marriage? No? They will soon. Did they tell you if you are baptized you can only marry and date a fellow JW (and with only 3,000 total JWs in Alaska, that is a very very small pool to find a mate from). Did they tell you if you have sex outside of marriage and they find out (or you or the girl confess), they will either severely discipline you or kick you out if you are not repentant (repentant by their definition not yours?). NO? Hmmmmm....
Did they tell you they strongly discourage university education? No? You will be stuck in some low-paying janitorial job while you spend 10 hours a month or more knocking on peoples doors trying to peddle the JW literature and trying to suck other people into studying and becoming JW. You will be pressured to sign up to pioneer (50-70 hours a month).
Are you bored with your study yet? NO? That's because its all NEW and FRESH. Let me illustrate it this way. You buy underwear or socks and since they are new it feels sooooo nice. But after awhile, its just underwear or socks. After awhile, you decide to go out and buy a new package and put them on.....ahhhhhh...NICE again...then you realize what you had before was not so nice. Right now MichaelM you are at the NEW and FRESH stage. Wait until you see the skidmarks of the JW! (Sorry, could not resist)
You sound intelligent, do your research, both in the WT literature and then compare with non-JW literature. Doesn't have to be ANTI-JW literature. Just another non-JW resource so you can get a balanced opinion before giving your LIFE to this religion. Remember, when you get baptized, you DEDICATE your life to Jehovah (in their minds, but in reality you are dedicating your life to a publishing company).
YOU DONT NEED JW TO DEDICATE YOUR LIFE TO GOD. If there is a god, dont you think he/she/it can read your heart?
Enjoy the journey, but be cautious as a snake.....
SnakesInTheTower (of the cautious Sheep Class) ...michaelM...this tag line is an inside joke about "sheep class" in the bible and JW...maybe someone else can explain it...
PS...I would be interested to know who is studying with you and where in Alaska you are at. I know someone up there but cant say who because it would reveal my identity. Since you are not JW, you can get away with saying it openly. Or you can PM me and let me know....any questions feel free to PM me here.
Michael..There`s all kinds of JW`s here..Most have a problem with the WBT$,they make the rules..JW`s have no say.....Cross`s don`t kill Messiah`s,Romans do!..Would you wear a Roman around your neck?..LOL!!...OUTLAW
This site is PRO-THINKER.
If that means ANTI-JW, you'll have to decide.
I would recommend the Bible software E-Sword - it has many free Bible translations, and the NWT is unofficially available for it.
You WILL find that secular referencing is discouraged when you are deeper in the rabbit hole. It is common for other translations to be allowed in initial Bible studies, but you will soon be taught that all other translations suffer from "errors" of one sort or another.
You are being very careful in checking things out on the web beforehand. That is a wise thing to do. Infact it is what the Bereans did (execpt they didn't have the internet then !)
How far into your studies are you ?
This is not an anti-JW site. Many of the posters now have a much deeper relationship with Jesus than they did before, they just don't believe that you need an organisation to stand between Man and God, thanks to the acts of Jesus. That organisation may be the Papacy, the priesthood, or it may be the Faithful and Discreet Slave.
You will find that the further into your studies you go, there is an increasing importance placed on the Governing Body of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Culminating in the point where you will be told that you have to "come to them for salvation". This makes many of us feel uneasy as Jesus told us "not to call anyone your leader".
Having an organisation may seem the logical thing to do as a group of Jesus' followers grows, and it may well be, but check out the organisation first as the two questions that you will be asked when getting baptised are :
***w064/1p.22 ‘Go and Make Disciples, Baptizing Them’***
[Box/Picture on page22]
The Two Baptismal Questions
On the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?
Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with God’s spirit-directed organization?
Yet, we are comanded in the Bible to "Baptise in the name of the Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit"
However the "What Does The Bible Really Teach?" says...
bh chap.18p.183par.24 Baptism and Your Relationship With God******
... Remember, too, that you have made a dedication to Jehovah God himself, not to a work, a cause, other humans, or an organization.
This didn't seem like a very honest start to me when I was studying.
As has already been said here, if you EVER have any questions then please don't be afraid to post them, likewise if you would like anyone to check out any references that come up in the studies then please ask away.
Welcome Michael
I was raised into the JW religion, and bought it hook, line, and sinker. I started feeling uncomfortable when I had to quit Band (I played flute and piccolo, an aspiring musician) to be baptized. (you couldn't play any religious, or political songs: National Anthem). I was also valedictorian and couldn't go to college as that was "taboo".
Fast forward to May 2002, when I was 45, I saw the last ten minutes of Dateline which exposed the WTBS for their pedophile coverup. As Dr. Phil would say, that was "a defining moment" to me. I realized the hypocrisy of the JW's as they had always put down the Catholic religion for their preist/pedophile problem. The victims that were on Dateline were disfellowshipped for telling their story on TV.
I went in the door to door, one more time. I couldn't in good faith, tell my nieghbors we had a religion that was better then others when they covered up the pedophile issue. There are pedophiles still knocking on doors!
So, please do your research. As you have noticed there are many rules that are not Bible based, but man inforced. Nowhere in the Bible does it say we need to report our monthly field service time. They don't want to know how much money we give them, but they want to know how much time we donate? Rediculous!
Codeblue
