I've been studying for about a year now...

by Meow921 161 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Pathofthorns

  Meow..

  I wouldn't worry so much over translations of the Bible. Use theirs if you like. It doesn't really matter in the end.

  Just keep thinking and asking questions. These people believe what they are telling you. They are not trying to mislead you. But they will not generally tell you everything before you are ready and will put on good appearances for you so as not to discourage you.

  It might be wise to not tell them you are asking questions here. They will not like that and try to discourage you from doing this. I will tell you, if there is nothing to hide and if they really do have the truth, then why should they be afraid of what you find out here?

  Most of the Witnesses you will encounter will not really know in detail their own history. This is something generally not discussed or taught. This is because they believed many silly and ridiculous things and they would like to forget them. The sad thing is, those silly and ridiculous things were believed by Witnesses to be "the truth" from God.

  Not everything Witnesses believe today will be believed tomorrow. They will change many of their teachings, but in the meantime you are REQUIRED to believe everything they teach presently as from God and you cannot question it.

  Quite often people get drawn to them when they have a traumatic experience such as the death of someone close to them. Or they are depressed and feeling unloved and unwanted. People sometimes don't think very objectively when these things happen and are taken advantage of.

  You might want to order a book called "Crisis of Conscience" available at Amazon.com. It is the best 10 or 15 bucks you will spend at this point in your life. When you read it you will understand many things about the religion that even those that are studying with you don't even know. When you try to show them the book they will get scared and not want to talk about it with you and tell you it is all lies even though they have never read it.

  Please keep an open mind. Keep studying with them if you wish to, but don't rush into any commitments with them. We all care about you.

  Path
• 

  butalbee

  Be careful of the wolf dressed in sheep's clothing...
• 

  butalbee

  And be careful of loose dogs lurking in your neighborhood, you just might get bitten. Oh and the turkey vultures circling overhead--very bad sign...
• 

  Trotafox

  Meow:

  Remember Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when she pulled back the curtain and realized the Wizard was nothing more than a fascade? That's the WTS. They (meaning the Governing Body) are not what they appear to be and the friends(?) are not aware of it either. You can only find out the truth about them when you are outside.

  Please look OUTSIDE the Organization for background information on them. They control and slant everything that they publish, including their own Bible. You read and hear from the friends only what the WTS wants you to read and hear. They are very good at love bombing. It's called Mind Control.

  I only wish that I had done outside research on them before joining and wasting 11 years of my life with them. Unfortunately, I trusted a long-time friend who is still in and now won't speak to me. I disassociated myself when I found out what they truly were. If only 1/10th of what I found out was true, it was enough to leave them.

  I beg you to really pray on this one. If it doesn't "feel" right or you have doubts, break away from them...now. You don't owe them an explanation. If you are an obsessive person, they will completely, and I mean completely, control every aspect of your life. The WTS places a very heavy yoke around one's shoulders.

  On the contrary, Jesus' yoke is light.

  Trot

  Now is the is my 201st post and should make me a Master dag gumb it

  "Wicked men obey from fear; good men, from love".... Aristotle. You can love and obey Christ without intervention from an organization.
• 

  AuntieJane

  Meow, I am guessing, from your bio, that you are dating a JW and this is the main reason you are studying w. them. If so,is he willing to reciprocate and go w. you to another church...to investigate? Do you want to raise your children in the environment others have written about? Read some of their stories.
  Also, I think it IS a good idea to compare the NWT to any other generally accepted bible translation. The deception of the NWT is obvious. Other bibles have the same meaning, maybe the wording is a bit different. The NWT has purposely changed the words so that the meaning professes their twisted doctrine. Write me if you want a link to see some of these passages; or maybe someone can post it, as I don't have it handy.
• 

  butalbee

  Oh, no, not another sucker being sucked into the borg by love. Not good, very very bad. Say it isn't so, I thought I was the only idiot around here fitting that description.? RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, THE WT WILL DRIVE YOU INSANE. AND WHEN THE WT DRIVES THE PERSON YOUR DATING INSANE--IT WILL RUB OFF ON YOU. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE. RUN FAST AND FAR.
• 

  Meow921

  Xander- As the subject of my post indicated, I've been studying for a year. I haven't tried to hide that fact. My profile indicates, I have been a member for quite awhile, and have had a few posts previously. I don't appreciate that you think I may be beyond "help". I would think that this discussion would welcome questions from a newbie. No offense intended towards you, but I have not heard much about disassociation from the women I've been studying with. Most of what I've heard has been here. When I read your reply I felt disassociated by YOU, from this board.
• 

  jerome

  Meow

  You are obviously not beyond help because you have actually taken the time to listen to what apostates have to say.

  I asked you before to find out what mindcontroll is.

  If you find out what psycological cohersion is you will never have anything to fear from people or organisations who use it, because you will consciously aware that someone is trying to subject you to it.

  It can damage your ability to make critical judgements on matters as important as life or death. And also you will believe pratically anything the people in authority tell you to regardless of if it makes sense or not. That is why people call Witnesses brainwashed, because they believe anything the Watchtower tells them to no mater what the consequences. And if they somehow manage to recognise a contradiction they either
  1) Represses the information in the hopes that "Jehovah will sort it out" or
  2) They rationalize it in the most illogical and non sensible manners.

  For example:
  For years the Watchtower held to a resolution tha the "Wild Beast" of Revelation which is governed by Satan is the United Nations. They thought that anyone who had anything to do thit this organisation carried the "mark of the beast." All of Christendom had comitted spritual fornication by becoming associated with it as an Non Governmental Organisation (NGO). It was a shure sign that the Churches of orthodox Chrisendom were not from God and they had turned their back on him.
  Than came the shocking news!
  It was discovered that the Watchtower themselves had applied for association and had obtained it for 10 years! Now when a Witness is confronted with this information and they realize that it is true they may justify it by any of the following methods.

  Ttrivaliztion: "So what if they were associated with the United Nations i'm shure they had a good reason."

  Wait on Jehovah: "This is obviously a ploy by the devil to cause me to loose my faith in Jehovahs Organisation. I shurley will not fall into the same trap that the apsoates have fell into by refusing to wait for Jehovah to clarify this matter."

  My personal favourite...Blame the Apostates!: "It would appear as though the apostates have somehow managed to force Jehovahs Organisation into a comprimising position with the UN this is shurley no matter to loose faith over."

  Reasoning is meaningless when confronted with this type of situation.

  The result of any judgment made by a well seasoned Witnesses no matter what evidence he is faced with is that the Watchtower is "the truth." Anything will make sense to a Witnesses once it comes from the Watchtower or if it makes the Watchtower look good.

  I for one believe that if any person that was about to join such a religion as the Watchtower and they found out how mindcontroll works, that they would probally not want anything to do with it. because they will be able to think for themselves and indpendant thinkers are quickly gotten rid of in that organisation.

  BTW the poster known a You Know cannot defend many actions taken by the Watchtower because he knows that they are unethetcial but are true. he cannot defend lying to you just so that you can continue to be unified under the opinions of a few men.

  You will find out that Everything that the Apsotates say is and continues to be very well documented and they can give numerous references to any claims they make references usually come from the organisations literature itself.

  There is one website in particular that has been paramount in exposing contradictions within the Watchtower doctrine.

  http://www.quotes.jehovahs.witnesses.com <--This site reveals that new light does not come from God.

  The one of the most critical things that the orthodox protestant Churches teach is the Trinity. This involves the diety of christ. They consider it heracy to view Jesus Christ as anything mless than God. If you click on the link about revelation 22-12 you will see that the Governing Body dosent even appear to know who Jesus is. That is something I think that you should truly consider.

  An easy link to a site that discusses mindcontroll/psycological cohersion is

  http://www.factnet.org <---- Very important website!

  The link above could be the most important link that you ever click on. Because as I said before once you are aware of consciously mindcontroll no one can ever use it on you effectively unless you allow yourself to be subjected to it. Before you discuss doctrinal issues it is best that you look at this website so that you can spot any logical errors involved in making arguments.

  Ofcourse you know if you tell them you visited this website everything would change. So I do not think that it would be very advisible that you were to do that.

  I have a question for you by the way aare you romantically involved with a Witnesses? I am myself.

  jerome

  p.s. shoot me an e-mail If you have time.

  The Bible is a two edged sword wield it for evil and it you may get hurt.
• 

  Bang

  If your studying the Bible - get a real one.

  You should know though that it's not necessary for 'salvation'.

  If you read the Bible, read the bits about "what do I do".
  You'll probably read "the same as the Samaritan" or "give one of your two" or "sell what you have and give it to the poor" etc. etc.

  I'm not sure that you'll find things like "go and search the scriptures" or "study the Bible all the time" etc. etc.

  Oh, and next time, ask where the Bible came from - who put it together as a christian reference.

  Bang
• 

  You Know

  Meow:

  Thank you, so much, for all your responses. Unfortuneatly, I'm even more confused now!

  That's what the apostates want to acheive. I have seen them do this time and time again. Whenever a new person like yourself comes on the board they surround them like a pack of jackals salivating over a limping impala. You can see that many of them have gone to some length to try and persuade you not to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses and their hope is that if they can bury you under an avalanche of negativity that they will create enough suspicion in your mind to frighten you into quitting your study. Hopefully Jehovah will help you to see through their cunning.

  YouKnow- what is your response to Jeromes list of "what they tell you" and what they don't?

  Jerome is merely regurgitating what apostate JW's have fed him. Some of it is true, some of it is half-truths. For a fact though, the Watchtower has made numerous mistakes and no doubt has printed things that are now an embarrasment to them. That's neither here nor there though, because Jehovah doesn't look for the things of error. But those are the things our enemies use against us to discredit us.

  In the 24 chapter of Matthew Jesus spoke of two different types of servants that would have an assignment from him during the last days. The one servant is called the faithful and discreet slave who feeds the Master's servants, thereby strengthening them to serve God. The other slave is judged as an evil slave because he allies himself with God's enemies and beats his brothers, rationalizing that"my master is delaying." That parable of Christ explains the phenomenon that is being played out on this forum, and elsewhere in the organization, in that there is a faction of Jehovah's Witnesses and ex-JW's who are under the influence of apostate anointed ones. They are under the delusion that Christ is not going to arrive any time soon, that he is delaying, and they are manipulated into "beating" their former brothers through outright slander, ridicule, and public exposure of our mistakes. One of the foremost apostates who has a tremendous influence over the posters on this board is a guy named Ray Franz. He was a former member of the Governing Body and he wrote an insider's tell-all tale that apostate JW's consider as the gospel.

  I'm also confused because you seem to defend the JW's, but you also seem to not support their beliefs. Are you currently baptized, etc? Bottom line, where do you stand on the issues?

  I have been baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses for exactly 25 years this month. I whole-heartedly believe that Jehovah's Witnesses are God's people and that we are fulfilling numerous prophecies. However, I don't believe that there are not some problems in the organization. The whole line of reasoning of apostate Jehovah's Witnesses is that if we have been wrong on this or that then that means that we can't be Jehovah's organization as we claim. Such reasoning is twisted and in essence is a lie, and doesn't at all take into consideration how Jehovah's word describes the prescribed solution for what ails his people. For sure there are enormous tests of faith that lie ahead for us. You are facing a huge test yourself.

  Take notice though that no apostate was able to refute what I said about them being immoral. That's because they can't. So the bottom line for you is that you are being taught by people who have no regard for Jehovah's godship. They want to give you the impression that they are concerned for your spiritual welfare. But how could that possibly be the case when they have repudiated the very foundation of morality and integrity? Their issues are way beyond the Watchtower.

  Am I supposed to have two different Bible translations handy at all times to double check the JW's vs. everyone else? How do we know which translation is really correct? Is the Diaglott reliable?

  Most of Jehovah's Witnesses have numerous translations. I read and use about 5 or 6 different Bibles. The truth is tha no one translation is the correct one. As a matter of fact the Watchtower has printed and distributed numerous other translations. For the first 50 or 60 years we used the King James Bible, and our doctrines were arrived at using that translation. But, the KJV has numerous shortcomings, which even protestants realize. That's why they revise it from time to time. / You Know