Have any ex-jws considered joining the Bible Students?

by Rainbow_Troll 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Rainbow_Troll

  Their fundamental beliefs are much like Jehovah's Witnesses sans the paranoia, authoritarianism, stifling rules, and end-times enthusiasm. You don't even have to become a Bible student to be saved, you could be an idol worshipping heathen and still get resurrected in the milenium. If I still believed in the divine inspiration of the scriptures, I would be a Bible student. Alas, I know too much...

  As a JW I was taught that the JWs are the Bible Students, having just changed their names for some odd reason. It was only later that I discovered that the JWs are the true apostates, Rutherford having changed the name to JW after the original Bible Students objected to his coup de tat of the WTBTS (which was really just a publishing company at the time) as well as his very wacky, paranoid, anti-semetic ideas. Rutherford knew that his new religion was radically different from Russell's teaching, so he actually did the honest thing and gave it a new name.
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  DATA-DOG

  When I was discovering TTATT, I listened to many recorded talks of Bible Students. The talks were much more interesting and had an element of warmth not found in the WTBTS's propaganda.

  So, yeah...I thought about it...

  DD
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  Steel

  Something I didn't realize till years after the borg was the authors of the new testament didnt have the new testament. There bible was the old testament. Sounds stupid but I never really thought about it.

  There is a great author named Michael Heiser who really explains seeing the bible though first century Jewish eyes, what is being referenced from the old testament and explains who jesus was and why the first century church is so christ centered.

  Once you see the bible with a somewhat academic religious based Context, it really makes the obscure old testament stories and Revelations based theology of the wts utter nonsense.
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  Village Idiot

  The Bible Students still put out a reprint of Russell's first six books Studies in the Scriptures. It's printed as the 1916 edition and still has Russell's prophecy that 1799-1914 are the last days" and 1914 the beginning of the Millennium.

  You can still order the set of all six books from the Chicago Bible Students for $18.
  
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  Londo111

  Having learned at the same time about Russell and the Second Adventist background where the Bible Students sprouted from, never in a million years.
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  scratchme1010

  ...You don't even have to become a Bible student to be saved...
  

  Saved from what? Sounds to me like the same bible nonsense. To many of us ex-JWs, our leaving has nothing to do with doctrine. Some of us are not looking for anything bible related, nor religion related, not even spirituality related.

  Some of us just don't believe in the bible. And why on Earth anyone who wants to worship GOD, still wants to follow the writings of Charles T. Russell, a MAN?
  
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  Rainbow_Troll

  You can still order the set of all six books from the Chicago Bible Students for $18.

  Save your money and buy the Kindle version for $1.99.

  Saved from what? Sounds to me like the same bible nonsense. To many of us ex-JWs, our leaving has nothing to do with doctrine. Some of us are not looking for anything bible related, nor religion related, not even spirituality related.

  Well, I did leave over doctrine and, though I'm not Christian, I was interested in knowing if any ex-jws might have found the Bible Students a welcoming alternative. Some people need to believe and I would rather they be in a group like the Bible Students or some other religion that doesn't promote bigotry, superstition, and paranoid schizophrenia. My mom is never going to question her fundamental beliefs, but if she left the JWs and joined the BSs, I think she would be a much happier person
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  slimboyfat

  Do Bible Students actually exist as local congregations? Or are they largely a collection of online ex-JWs? I've never found evidence that they still have any kind of organisational or community structure left in the UK at least. Maybe there are still Bible Student groups in the US worth speaking about.
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  Bruisedandbleeding12

  I have since April of last year and I'm enjoying it, the groups are nice and small (called classes).
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  jookbeard

  I think the boredom of studying Russel's crap week after week would make me lose the will! , the exjw friend of mine who helped me leaving all those years back was heavily into it and was a member Of The Layman's Home Missionary Movement, he is now a Mormon! SBF I believe there are two LHMM congregations in London I think the Dawn Movement have a little more plus one in Manchester, plus they have an annual convention