Posts by FairMind

8

How many ex-jw's that are christians now believe jews are going to hell?

by booker-t in

jw
friends

my born-again christian friend that help me leave the wts is devoted to telling jews that they are going to hell for not believing in jesus christ.

i tell him all the time that i believe that jehovah and jesus going to save jews if their worship is sincere.

he insist that jews and anybody that is not a born-again christian is going to burn in hell for eternity.

FairMind

There is (according to the NT) only one road to everlasting life and that is acceptance of Jesus Christ as the messiah. Along with that acceptance one must have works that give credence to their faith (faith without works is dead). So this means that everybody else loses out on eternal life (of course I don’t believe in a literal burning hell). Now it would seem to many that this means that a lot of good people are going to lose out on eternal life simply because they are not “Christians”. Is this true? Consider that most who have died will have a resurrection (second chance, IMHO) and opportunity to do God’s will under absolutely favorable circumstances.

A side thought here is what is it that makes a person good in God’s eyes? 1John 2:17 says, “He who does the will of God lives forever”. This seems to imply that a person who is not doing God’s will is by default not a “good” person. This may seem unfair but it is God who makes the rules and not man. IMHO, God is a lot fairer then men.

FM

20

Awake = college education?

by seattleniceguy in

jw
friends

we've all heard the jw claim that a lifetime spent reading the awake!

magazine is equivalent to a college education.

is this really true?

FairMind

It is true that you can learn much from some of the Awake articles. Their articles on time-management, budgeting your money and basic economics for example provide practical information for the readers. They won’t however prepare you for a career or profession, which college courses do. Comparing an education gained by reading Awake magazines to a college education is like comparing the 8 th grade to a year in college.

FM

49

MJ Prediction thread..all prophets apply...

by Brummie in

jw
friends

mr michael jacksons trial starts in a couple of weeks.

predict the outcome here and i'll check back after the trial is over to see who amongst us really has the gift of prophecy.... guilty/not guilty...?

you decide.

FairMind

I think MJ is a pedophile. He may or not be guilty in this case but my prediction is he will be found not guilty. If MJ is actually a pedophile he will be in trouble later as these offenders do not (cannot) stop what they do. They must be stopped by circumstances like prison, drugs, surgery or death.

FM

8

A line they won't cross

by JH in

jw
friends

i've been inactive since 1991, and nothing changed in my way of acting nor in their way of acting.

it's who will blink first.

the witness don't all shun me.

FairMind

I was inactive for years and would occasionally receive a visit from the CO and an accompanying Elder. They would always ask me if I still believed it was the “Truth”. A yes answer seemed to satisfy them. At the time this going on, I felt that their motivation was that they cared for me. Based on what I know now I think they wanted me to say “NO” to their question so that they would have a basis to DF me

FM.

33

Why do we expexct Jehovah to be nice to people?

by Gill in

who said god had to be nice to anyone?

i was just reading gumby's thread on 'a big old lie' he'd found in the bible.. as far as i got reading, folks were discussing jehovah killing everyone most of the time and i suppose threatening to do again in the future, according to the wtbts.

but why do we expect god to be nice to people?

FairMind

God is real (IMHO) and all the rest of us are only temporary. If it is true that we all are under a sentence of “death” due to inherited sin, then when God exercises his will to end someone’s life the death sentence is merely being carried out a little earlier. Since God has the power and desire to resurrect the dead then it matters little if we die at age 5 or 95. What matters (from human perspective) is that we are in the resurrection.

FM

4

Conscientious objection was it a factor in attracting you to the JWs

by barry in

jw
friends

well it was with my first wife athough she never joined or was baptised she allways had a soft spot for the witnesses and their stand on war.. i pointed out to her other denominations dont beleive in war who does.

in my own church many take a non combatancy or a concientious objector stand.

some go in as full combat though, but it is a concience issue.

FairMind

Not at all! I was a pretty war-like young man but now as an older person detest the senseless slaughter of people on both sides.

FM

31

I'm not alone

by imnottheonlyone! in

for years i have felt i was the only one on earth that was reeling from my involvement with jw.

i stumbled upon this website and feel an overwhelming desire to dance.

here is my story:.

FairMind

Welcome! JW life can be very hard and I've not seen too much gentleness within the organization. Pleased to hear you're happy, you deserve to be.

FM

25

Are Dubs warned about JWD at Meetings?

by Low-Key Lysmith in

jw
friends

i havn't been to a meeting in years.

i was just wondering if this site is talked about @ meetings, and/or in the publicatons.

i'm sure reproof or disfellowshipping would be instant if a dub was found looking into such "apostacy".

FairMind

Most of us that post on this website share personal JW experiences. Also, many of us have identified the general location where we live (state, town, etc.). I’m sure that the WTS monitors this site. I have also wondered if they might be collecting tidbits of information about each of us anonymous entities and have a program in place to try to piece together the puzzle of, (1) are we active JWs? And (2) “who are we”? This type of information could be fed back to elders in our general areas to see if they know of anyone it might point to.

I believe that eventually most JWs who have an ounce of curiosity and access to the Internet will visit an apostate website at least one time. If they read something, say an experience that strikes a responsive cord, they’ll read-on and probably be back.

FM

40

1975 and all that

by helios in

i well recall the husband of my sister-law telling us the most earth shattering news.

this was around 1973 and 1975 fever was starting to take over many individuals.

with breathless excitement he told us the follow story.

FairMind

I was a fairly new JW back in 1975 and never took the date seriously. Many took it very seriously and felt deceived when it didn't happen and the Society pinned the blame for "wrong expectations" on the rank and file. The pioneer couple that studied with my wife and me (very fine people) and who had been birth JWs both left the organization. Their primary reason for leaving was the guilt they felt for misleading so many people into the organization based on the 1975 date.

FM

11

Why did you "choose" to become a Witness?

by JH in

jw
friends

.

this question is for those who weren't born in the org, or whose parents didn't drag them into the org.

why did you chose to become a jw?

FairMind

Initially what attracted me to Jehovah’s Witnesses was the soundness of their core doctrines. I did not automatically accept or reject the basic teachings (soul, hell, paradise earth, no trinity) but spent a considerable amount of time consulting various Bible translations and thinking deeply on these doctrines. I became and still am convinced that the core doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses are what the Bible supports. I never had a problem with not celebrating holidays or birthdays although I don’t accept the reasoning the WTS has for not celebrating birthdays. Of course there are many things that the WTS teaches that fall into the realm of “going beyond what is written” and “adding to and taking away”.

Also, I was at a fairly early age convinced that the churches were full of hypocrites and MONEY was the primary force driving the religious clergy. What I thought I saw in Jehovah’s Witnesses (and it is true of many) was a more sincerely spiritual mindset.

While the foregoing is what attracted me to become one of to Jehovah’s Witnesses , being one and seeing up-close how things really are is what is leading me away. FM