by diamondblue1974 36 Replies latest jw friends
I hear and read alot about peoples experiences and some are pretty horrendous....does anyone actually feel they have benefited from being a JW at least in one way or another...me personally i feel i benefited from the Ministry School as public speaking is part of my job and has definately improved career prospects?
G
Same here. Also going door to door with a message that no one wants to hear builds character and makes it easier to talk to strangers in the real world.
Ditto. It was different and very eye opening to be a dub. I do appreciate that despite all the doctrinal lies and deception I have come away with a deeper appreciation of a loving creator who doesn't require one to work without letup for a book pimping corporation to have a relationship with him.
Yep, I don't have a fear of public speaking, and I get all the biblical questions on Jeopardy right.
Yes. i am convinced they are right that hell means death and not everlasting torment. i spent along time being scared over that - much prefer the idea of dying to burning forever - although paradise earth has its pull!!
they did make the bible seem so much clearer - their interpretation of it seems far superior to the churches interpretation on many scriptures - and they dont have all the additional doctrine - praying to saints, praying to the virgin mary, pergatory etc etc.
i think many things in life leave us with something positive, even if we dont always see it at the time.
oh sorry i wasnt a jw, but i got something positive from them - think thats clearer!!! in a rush. not reading properly
Though an atheist/agnostic I believe that the basic Christian teachings as I understand them are a sound philosophy. The courage to talk to people about my ideas/beliefs knowing that anything I say can't be as stupid as what I had to try and sell door to door.
It makes me appreciate my current freedom a lot more. :) Honestly, it probably did keep me out of some trouble as a teen. I was one of those who had no choice but to do my best to toe the line (domineering elder father). Oh, and I too get the Biblical questions on quiz shows right. :D
Yep, I don't have a fear of public speaking, and I get all the biblical questions on Jeopardy right.Well I didn't get all the questions on Jeopardy right. They asked "Which ancient city was destroyed by Babylon in 587bc" and that is what got me questioning everything as I went to prove it was 607...
On the other hand, yes having a healthy dose of bible principles examined was good and made me a better person, more conscience of who I see in the mirror - like James said.
Although as it turns out conditional, I had good friends for 20 years.
Hello, For me , who met the JW at the age of 20 years in France,(i'am french, nobody is perfect!), they brought me the Bible, which is the best thing I ever met in my life. From the very beginning of my study, i read the Bible many times,(3 our 4 times in one year), and began to learn by myself hebrew and greek, in order to dig deeper in it. I have never been in total agreement with the idea of "F&DS", neither with the number of 144000. To the contrary I still share the beliefs on one God, Jesus as Archangel, no immortality of the souls,no Hell,no saints, worship of Myriam, and so forth. To summarize I would say, doctrinal teachings, Yes, Prophetic understandings, No, administration of the congregations by made man-made Elders no. At the moment, I think that the Witnesses have been for a while a touchstone in the hands of God, in order to pinpoint the erroneous teachings among Christianity. But like many others, wether organizations or individuals in the past, they became puffed up with pride, thinking that they are "the people of God", and that there is no salvation outside them. More than that their overly legalistic approach on the ground of required Christian Behavior, brought many, many pains ans sorrow, among us Ex JW's, and for that too , I think they are accountable to God. Greetings. Mahaba
