by dura-luxe 33 Replies latest jw friends
I commented on something like this recently, when I suddenly realised that there were some passages of Jesus' words that rarely got a mention by the WTS:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/79018/1.ashx
The best way to break triggers is by examining the foundation on which they are allegedly based...
Good luck
"I've been out for 8 years, and for the first time in my life I am doubting."
There are many end time religious groups that believe we are in the end times.
Does that make them Gods spokes people because of that claim?
Even IF we are in the end time, belonging to a certain religious group does not guaranty that God will save us because of this.
Especially when certain groups have proven beyond all doubt that they do NOT speak for God.
We know the WTS loves to claim that God is using them as His mouth piece.
They say all we have to do to possibly be saved is attend all meetings, be out in WTS service selling magazines and books, and believe without a doubt whatever they teach whenever they teach it.
For a group claiming to be Gods ONLY spokesman, Nowhere in the Bible will you find any of this being taught.
They claim to be the only ones using Gods name and yet in one of their publications they admit it is not Gods name. ( I can't remember which book it's in at the moment.)
They claim to be the ONLY true Christian orginization and yet they do none of the works that Jesus said His followers would be doing. ie:feeding the poor,ect..ect...
And don't forget what the scriptures say about false prophets.
The WTS has certainly proven that that is what they are.
So the WTS has NO proof to back up the claim that they are Gods spokeman.
But ther is plenty of proof that they are NOT.
neyank
One of the main reasons I joined the Watchtower in 1974 was because I was afraid of nuclear war being imminent, and the JWs seemed to be the answer. No more worries, because Jehovah will take care of things and even if you die you get a resurrection. Back then it was a lot scarier to me than today, since a world war back then would have nearly destroyed life on the planet, or at least create a nuclear winter with millions and millions dead. If I had Carl Olof Jonsson's "Sign of the Last Days" then, it would have changed things hopefully for me, but that's the way life goes. Actually, in many ways, this is the BEST time to be alive. Which other time period would YOU rather live in?
Randy
Don't feel bad about it. Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt are the downside of our unique ability to envision future scenarios in our minds. It's one of the things that makes us human, because animals don't seem to suffer from it. (If they did, they'd have invented religions too....)
All religions are simply systems for coping with "FUD." This can be a good thing, but also has a downside, namely the shameless exploitation of fear, uncertainty and doubt by religious leaders.
The JW's have been doing this for years. You should have seen them during the Cuban missle crises!
Eventually you have to stop and ask yourself, "Is this how the God I worship operates? When mankind was faced with other times of judgement, did God send forth spokesmen who got it wrong time after time after time? Does it make sense that God would hide himself from his children for so long that they begin to doubt his existence and then suddenly, one day kill everyone that did not listen to a small esoteric American religion with a 100% failure rate?"
Just before the year 2000, I heard many saying "world peace in the new millenium". I also remember that someone was trying to organize everyone to say "world peace" at midnight on new years eve 1999. That was pretty scary. It's now 2004, almost 2005 and armageddon hasn't come.
On another thread someone had provided a link to a site which explained how psychologically, ones beliefs are not necessarily tied to their reasoning. Once certain beleifs were established, the brain tended to hold onto them despite what was processed through the rational part of the brain--this tendency was a necessary component for survival. For example if by word of mouth you came to believe that washing your hands before you ate kept evil spirits from making you sick, you wouldn't easily discard that belief just because you couldn't make rational sense of it, knowing nothing about microorganisms. Apparently beliefs passed on from person to person, generation to generation, in general are one human trait that promotes survival, and the brain is wired to take advantage of that. So it's natural for one to have a tough time fully letting go of a belief, particularly a belief that the brain registers as being directly linked to survival.
All religions are simply systems for coping with "FUD."
And my three cats, they want Tuna
(cat FUD? Get it? Ok. It's been a long day.)
Time to go cook FUD.
Hugs
Brenda
Why be so pessimistic! Consider the following good news:
Middle East? Arafat's dead! The Palestinians will be forced to create a real government
or forgotten by the rest of the world and dumped in Gaza. No more excuses.
Iraq? Hold an election and leave! There have already been local elections in various
cities. They have a long tradition of secular rule. Even the mullahs there realize it
ain't Iran. Ayatollah Sistani doesn't want to rule.
Science has NEVER been so close to figuring out the aging process.
Stem cells are the icing on the cake. Artificial eyes and retinas are already in development
and being tested on humans ( OK, read my other posts)
Life for much of the human race has never been so good, warts and all
metatron
Does anyone have the link to the article that MJ is takling about?
Kinda reminds me of one of my favorite cyber-punk books, "Snowcrash" which talks about religion as a replicating virus.
I could be wrong, but I believe it was an article written by Gregory Lester entitled, " Why Bad Beliefs Don't Die"
