Let the children decide.

by angel eyes 262 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Casper

  Just to chime in here, I have to ask ...

  AE, have you given any thought to how it would look to the very people you go out and preach to in the door to door work ?

  If, and that's a big "IF", one were to listen to you, study, come to the Hall and later find out that witnesses do not do Holidays, etc... what are they going to think ?

  Wouldn't they say, "But, AE's son attended my son's birthday party a few months ago, or AE's son was at the school's Halloween party", so how can it be wrong ?

  Aren't you suppose to be careful how you walk so as to be an example to the very people you witness to ? How would you justify your, or your child's behavior to the newly converted person ?

  Just my 2 cents.

  Cas
• 

  yknot

  For A/E should she desire to confirm ATJ's comments from the 'Flock' book.

  http://www.4shared.com/account/file/62487460/676fa4ef/1991-Pay-Attention-Elders-Manual_with_NOTES.html

  I think she is just in a very liberal area and her actions and POV reflects this..........
• 

  MissingLink

  Brainwashed people don't get to "decide" anything. It's an illusion. The decisions they make are made to avoid punishment (whether they realize this is the reason or not).
• 

  Out at Last!

  If she is so free to do all these things she claims, why would she not post her real name, where she lives, and what cong she goes to. I'm sure many would make the trip to see this loving and tolerant cong that she speaks so highly of. I agree with others who already said that most of what she says is BULLSHIT.
• 

  Black Sheep

  ok, im putting my neck on the line here but ive always believed that children should be raised to make their own choice, if to serve Jah or not.

  How about you get yourself down here to New Zealand and explain that to my 80 year old parents.
• 

  AGuest

  I am not sure if this has been asked before, but... dearest AE (and may you have peace!), if I may ask... exactly how long have you (and your husband) been JWs? The reason everyone who's commented is skeptical is because they KNOW that what you're asserting here is NOT true. There is no "choice" such that you are speaking of. The TRUTH is that you even mention such a thing and you will have some kind of "shepherding call"... whether by one "brother" at your Hall... or a couple/few at your home. You will.

  But I have read quite a few of your comments and it seems to ME that perhaps you are one of those "newly baptized" Witnesses, one who still believes the whole "we love you... and want you to 'serve Jehovah' because you WANT to... since you're a free moral agent'... and so, sure, you can let your child(ren) 'choose' because we're the 'Trooth' and if you "train him up' he'll make the right choice and choose us... but you need to make sure he goes to meetings and out in field service and has a personal Bible study with us... and... and" propoganda that they give ALL new studies/baptized publishers.

  I am thinking that you have been baptized less than... well, a year... from what you respond to and how. Actually, I am thinking that you have studied AND been baptized for a total time frame involving less than a year: you simply don't know enough... which is why folks questions your validity... and your motive... and thus why your comments and position are suspect. If I am not "in your business," can you tell me when you were baptized and how you studied before being so?

  To all you other responders (and may you also have peace!)... I cannot believe that dear AE studied more than, say, 3-5 months (her previous question about those who are "born in" actually kind of speaks to that)... or has been baptized more than, say, a year... IF that (I could be wrong, but highly doubt it!). I think that her honest answer to THAT question... will shed a LOT of "light" on things.

  In that light, I don't think she is delusional at all - I think she is just still in the JW "honeymoon" stage that most new Publishers (who were not "born in") go through... and, as a result, [still] has "visions of grandeur." 'Cmon, you all know how they treat "newbies" (better, sometimes, than some of us treat them here, unfortunately - ). As WE ALL KNOW "letting" her child(ren) "choose" whether they "will serve Jehovah or not," will, however, will bring those visions to a screeching halt... and quickly.

  I await her response (unless, of course, someone here (dear Sylvia?) knows and can tell us) and say that if my suspicion is correct, you think about cutting her some slack. If she is a JW "newbie"... she is merely doing the best SHE can.

  I bid you all peace!

  A slave of Christ (eaking out another few minutes online),

  SA
• 

  nelly136

  beeeezarr lolol

  i'm sitting here wondering which planet jw you're really from. its definately not the jw planet i was raised on.

  the closest comparison i can think of that youre describing was a family where the mother was studying for years and her hubby was smart enough to never commit, her kids carried on life as normal with all the jw bonuses as they were favoured. when her kids had grown up and left home she then got baptised but no one ever blinked about the continued christmases etc

  even people with mental issues werent treated as well as those who were favoured in my cong but i know patience levels can vary from place to place, so i'm guessing youre either highly favoured to be allowed to kiss off the jw rules, or they know theyre dealing with someone who just doesnt grasp the jw basics or isnt quite the ticket and theyre just hoping you'll get it with time.
• 

  Black Sheep

  I think she/he/it/them is just using normal JW tactics to try to effect some damage control. The tactics used by these types are very similar to tactics used by my JW family members
• 

  Chalam

  Hello AE,

  You say that your kids can participate in Halloween and birthdays if they choose.

  Of course, they are not the same! I have never been a single birthday celebration where people dress up in black and orange/red and celebrate the dead and death.

  Do you have a single piece of biblical evidence that Christians cannot celebrate birthdays in a godly fashion, especially that of Jesus?

  The two biblical birthday celebrations the WT cite are both ungodly people. That does not make birthdays ungodly! There is clear evidence that a believer can treat one day as special if they choose, especially that of Jesus' birthday Romans 14:6

  not apostate material no. Why would i want to poison their minds....i love my children.

  So who is teaching "apostate material"? Surely it is the WT! They create rules and regulations and JWs live by them, not the Spirit.

  Galatians 4:17-19 (New International Version)

  17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. 18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you. 19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

  AE, is Christ being "formed in you" or the WT? Blessings, Stephen
• 

  Chalam

  sooner7nc go find a mirror right away...I'll give you a moment to find one and bring it to your computer...now look in it. Yes AE, I'm afraid so, your eyes have turned a lovely shade of brown. That's because you are completely full of shit.

  AE, I would put it like this, the bible is your mirror, here take a look

  James 1:22-25 (New International Version)

  22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

  So do you have freedom or are you a slave to the WT laws which go against the bible itself?

  Here's a couple of examples

  John 3:5-8 (New International Version)

  5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

  You must be born again as Jesus says twice in quick succession.

  "...but that is for the 'anointed' only" you say. Who told you that? The WT?

  1 Corinthians 11:25 (New International Version)

  25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

  Once again, you say "that is only for the 'anointed'". Once again, where does that come from? The WT? You need to consider that 'anointed only' teaching because it negates the whole of the NT for JWs. Is that really what the bible is for, to tell us something and then say it is not for us?! Or is that's really God's plan to tell us we need to do something but it is not for us?! You do not receive life by association with the anointed. You need to receive yourself. Give the mirror a clean and have a look for yourself. All the best, Stephen