I ended my bible study today (page 4)

Ding

Still Thinking,

I just sent you a PM.

You made the right decision.

As others have said, it wasn't a Bible study anyway.

It was a WT book and magazine study.

jgnat

You've entered a new chapter in your life; bittersweet. There are ways to continue your interest in bible study.

I indulged in a Journaling Bible a couple years ago. It's not the best translation, but it allows me to make my own notes and cross references. This is the one I mark and write in. It has become a very personal bible.
You might also consider getting an annotated bible for reference, to put passages in context in history.
To study a particular passage in-depth, I suggest the inductive bible study method.
For a word study, an online resource such as the blue letter bible is invaluable. I recently used it to study the use of the "good news"; what is it?
Here's an online tool that offers 340,000 cross references for the bible.
Olive Tree bible software mobilizes your e-bible and also offers all sorts of study aids.
For accuracy, my buddies swear by the New Jerusalem Bible.
I see you are not too keen on organized religion, but you might like joining a local house church for bible study.
There are also online discussion boards you might enjoy. I prefer the free-for-all that is JWN, but you might like a board more geared to your interest.

My best wishes on your journey of discovery.

There are plenty of ways to study any topic. Whatever topic you're interested in, you have the responsibility to check the credibility of the people teaching you. If you planned to study a topic at a university, you would check the credentials of the school. I feel confident that any accredited university would welcome critical thinking, clearly expressing questions, doubts, and also new discoveries. This is different from what a person experiences in the JW environment.

PSacramento

Still thinking, may I suggest some reading material?

http://www.amazon.com/Reason-God-Belief-Age-Skepticism/dp/1594483493/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

SweetBabyCheezits

StillThinking, I hope I didn't offend you with my earlier post. A few glasses of wine diluted my sense of tact.

I really have to stop being so gullable

We've all been gullible at some point. You've taken a great first step at overcoming it by identifying it and admitting you fell victim to it. Now you just need to continue to develop your critical thinking skills, which are the cure for naivete.

Criticalthinking.org has some excellent links and articles for fully developing these skills. The subject deserves far more attention than it receives in public schools and, IMO, should be the foundation for learning.

Again, best wishes and good luck on your journey!

LV101

Still Thinking --- you did the right thing and please hang around and ask questions and participate. there are some very knowledgeable people on this board and you can learn so much more from them than the watchtower. they take time and go into depth explaining and quoting scriptures -- they are so accommodating on some of my rudimentary questions and i learn so much. since it's memorial time in dubland, there's been good info/scriptures/debate w/respect to Jesus last supper w/his disciples and how the w/tower has twisted the true meaning to their own slant and how/what to really celebrate and observe w/it's true meaning for all.

It's a journey for sure.

djeggnog

@still thinking:

I have officially stopped my bible study today. I have been trying to for weeks (after 10 years of on/off studying).

I'm sure you had your reasons for ending your Bible study.

It got to the stage where I was asking too many of those questions that made everyone feel uncomfortable.

What do you mean by "too many ... questions"? I have no idea what it is you could possibly have asked during such a Bible study to make someone feel uncomfortable. If you feel like telling me, fine; if not, that's fine, too.

My teacher was relieved to say the least. She really didn't want to have to deal with my doubts any more or try to justify the Governing body arrangement.

If you want, you can ask me those same questions regarding the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses for which you are seeking answers.

The final straw for me was the upcoming memorial. I cannot in good conscience continue with an religion that performs this Satanic act of rejecting Christ.

I'd be curious to know why it is you believe the Memorial of Christ's death to be one of rejecting Christ, a "Satanic act."

I thought here would be a great place to discuss the bible. But I find it difficult here too.

You can discuss the Bible here on JWN, but there are folks here that do not believe in God, that ignore Jehovah God, except they will occasional use God's personal name when referring to Jehovah's Witnesses (I suppose that's something!), but some pray to Jesus, as you may have done when you were a Catholic, but many ex-Catholics still pray to Mary as the "Mother of God," thinking praying to her as their mediatrix to God to be ok.

So now I am in a kind of spiritual limbo. Knowing I don't know enough and wanting to learn and share with spiritually minded people.

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I'm a spiritually-minded person, and I would be pleased to study the Bible with you, but it isn't possible for me to do so with you in person, and we do not have an arrangement that permits Bible study via email. However, I could study the Bible with you here on JWN, but this would mean our using the Bible as our textbook -- I don't care which Bible translation you wish to use, but I will also use the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures because I think it to be a superior Bible translation when compared to many -- and I will speak only to whatever subject you decide you wish to discuss during this Bible study.

Note, though, that questions about the modern-day governing body arrangement among Jehovah's Witnesses would just be auxiliary to the Bible study, so I'd be discussing such with you to satisfy your curiosity, but we can certainly discuss any questions you have made regarding the governing body that existed during the first century, which religious body decided matters for all of the Christians congregations at that time, such as the circumcision issue, if you want.

While I am here offering to study the Bible with you right here on JWN, here are the guidelines to which you and I must agree before we begin:

(1) You are free to ask me any questions that you have regarding some passage you may have read in the Bible.

(2) The Bible study that I am here proposing to have with you will not be based on any of our publications.

(3) You are free to ask me any question that you have regarding something that you may have read in any of the Watchtower publications that Jehovah's Witnesses use.

(4) The Bible study that I am here proposing to have with you does not require the use of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures; you and I are free to use may use whichever English language version of the Bible we wish.

(5) You will pick each topic that we discuss.

(6) Of course, this is a public forum, so others here on JWN may wish to join the discussion, and they are certainly free to do so (I believe this is @Simon's website!), but I reserve the right to ignore posts from these folks: @wasblind, @cantleave, @caliber, @miseryloveselders, @undercover, @wannabefree, @Pika_Chu, @jay88, @unshackled, @Mad Sweeney, @Anony Mous, @GOrwell, DagothUR, @kurtbethel. @Sayswho, @EntirelyPossible, @yadda yadda 2, @Millions, @strymeckirules, @therevealer, @OUTLAW. If I should determine that you are being used by any of these persons as a conduit to ask me a particular question, I may refuse to answer it.

(7) This would be your Bible study, so it probably would be best if these folks would PM you their questions, but I'm not here telling you want you should or shouldn't do in your own Bible study. However, if one of your questions should turn out to be a repetition of one of their questions, again, I may refuse to answer it.

@djeggnog

OUTLAW

DjEggNogg..

(6) [THIS ITEM INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

Why would anyone agree to a blank Demand?..LOL!!..

but I reserve the right to ignore posts from @OUTLAW, @wasblind, @cantleave, @caliber, @miseryloveselders, @undercover, @wannabefree.

If I should determine that you are being used by any of these persons as a conduit to ask me a particular question, I may refuse to answer it.

Why? ..Because I know your not a JW..

Your easily proven wrong by a Real JW..You don`t like that do you?..LOL!!..

....................;-) ...OUTLAW

Joey Jo-Jo

djeggnog: djeggnog I ended my bible study too, I found that there were certain questions you could not ask , I wish more people like you were around to give me a bible study WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED, my questions about old wathctowers, new light, paradise earth, 607bce, trinity, NWT bible differences with other bibles, Jehovahs name, shunning, double standards, blood, cult mind control, lies etc.

I did ask you a question about 1914 some time back, it was read like something was copied and pasted from the insight book, maybe I could post what unlogical and assuming sense these links with other scriptures have, like how the 7 times in revelations applies to nebu's madness, you can't really prove that one scripture refers to the other.

Mad Sweeney

I wonder if DJ stands for disingenuous.

I ended my bible study today