I'm a newbie too

Flowerpetal

Hello all!
I just registered just today. I am not a dissenter from JWs--still an active member but I have an open mind and willing to listen to all who post here. There have been some questions bugging me lately that have caused me to wonder about certain scriptures pertaining to being "born again." I post on a JW board on AOL, which I have been doing for about 4 years and of course a lot of born-again Christians inhabit that messaage board. I see them stating things about being born again that we have been taught applies to the 144,000...but..I find myself disagreeing with Jws and them, and really listening to the words of Jesus. I believe Jesus' teachings are complete and nothing should have been added to them--yet it seems the apostle Paul has, OR he has made very specific some aspects of what it means to be a Christian. I just thought it would be neat to discuss this.

FP

Gianluca

Welcome to the board Flowerpetal.

Here you will notice that Truth is on the march and nothing can stop it now.

Ciao
Gianluca

OrangeBlossom

Welcome. I myself am an inactive JW, I still go to some meetings but I haven't been in field service for a couple of years. I too started getting bugged about certain things. Ironically, it was during the study of "The Greatest Man" book that I started questioning things. Like...if Jehovah disowned the Israelites because of the way they treated his flock with all of the heavy burdens they put on them, could he ever disown his so-called chosen people on earth today. That was just one of many things that bugged me. Once you start to doubt one thing, it's like a domino effect. The more you learn the more frustrated you become. You may come away from here with more determination than ever that JW's have the truth, or you may discover, as many here, that not everything you've been taught has been exactly true. Either way, you are in for a rocky road. Your whole belief system is about to be questioned. I hope that you will ponder on all things that you read here. You owe it to yourself. I wish you the best in your journey. Try not to get overwhelmed.

OB

CornerStone

Hello Flowerpetal and welcome!

As a Christian, you are quite correct in looking to Jesus words for absolute truth. Sometimes, trying to understand the scriptures can be a little like looking at a glass half filled with water. Is the glass half full or is it half empty. It just depends upon your perspective. That is not to say the correct way of looking at scripture is not out there and we should never stop looking for the truth about God and Christ but I think you understand this already. Look foward to reading your post or using the chat room and again, Welcome!

CornerStone

hippikon

Greetings There are a lot of new ones lately. Im new myself. Great to have you.

dedalus

There have been some questions bugging me lately that have caused me to wonder about certain scriptures pertaining to being "born again."

Uh-oh -- you're thinking! Stop immediately. Ask yourself: "What motives do I have even asking these questions? Am I trying to discredit Jehovah's one true Organization? Wouldn't it be presumptuous and arrogant and prideful of me to do that? Shouldn't I be spending more time out in field service?"

If you find that you cannot stop thinking, do whatever it takes to stop! Start collecting stamps, baseball cards, dead insects, anything, just stop thinking!!!

Remember, it is improper to ask whether Witnesses are God's chosen people. Why? Because they're God's chosen people! (This will be much easier once you're absorbed in your new hobby.)

Yours,

The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses

P.S. Get off the internet, immediately.

terraly

Hi Flowerpetal,

It is interesting what you say about disagreeing with both the JW's and the Born-Agains when it comes to being "born-again", but could you elaborate a little more on what these Born-Againers are suggesting is corrrect?

I am familiar with the JW viewpoint- and I certainly strongly disagree that Jesus was talking only about some 144,000. "No one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again" as my translation gives John 3:3. I cannot believe Jesus meant to limit these words, he surely knew they would be passed on to more than 144,000 people.

About Paul... what can I say? His religious philosophy is very
different from Jesus'. This does not mean that they are contradictory, just it is looking at things from a very different way. I would always trust Jesus' words. What then did Jesus say about being born again? Not a great deal, and like Nicodemus, I do not know I understand most of it.

I would be most interested to discuss what your Born-Again friends believe on the subject.

t.

riz

dedalus,

i'm loving your posts... please keep them coming. heehee

riz

Prisca

Flowerpetal,

Welcome! I was at the same stage as you are, two years ago. I could see that the way JWs practised Christianity was not the way Jesus told us to be. It lead me to really look into the religion that I had known all my life.

I hope you continue your journey in discovery. Feel free to email me if you like.

mensa163

hi flowerpetal
Im pretty new here also and dropped in your column because I like your user-name. I don't like mine but I can't change it at this point so I'm stuck with it.
Don't worry if you don't understand the meaning of "born-again". I am a born-again and cannot explain it. All I know is when I believed that Mr. Christ would be a savior and forgive me everything changed in my life. All my bad habits and foul mouth and drinking just suddenly disapeared in a split second. The bible made sense to me for the first time. The only thing remained was smoking. I could never figure this out. I think God left this piece of dirt on my exterior that I couldnt hide from anybody. Maybe that is good because I think otherwise I would have become one of those "hollier than thou " types. Anyway that was 14 years ago, still smoke (bad) and re-learned a few choice swearwords for occasional use.Otherwise I still feel pretty much re-born compared to before.
Welcome and look forward to your posts
Arnie (my real name ha!)

I'm a newbie too

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