Sin is an invention of religion, designed to make people feel guilty toward God for violating some man-made rules supposedly from said God. Religion then provides a way for people to feel less guilty by donating their lives, or at least their money, to the religion.
I cannot pretend and answer within your hypothetical situation.
There are laws and morals outside of religion. You may break the law. You may act immorally. But to sin, you need religion.
OnTheWayOut
JoinedPosts by OnTheWayOut
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28
What is sin?
by sinboi inwhat do you consider sinful?
okay, i know many of you no longer believe that there is a god.
just bear with me a little, just assumed that there is a creator or god.
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OnTheWayOut
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40
How Many Here EVER Considered Going Back To Meetings?
by minimus inonce i left ,i was done.
in over 10 years i didn't return except for my mother's funeral.
did you ever re enter the kh after you left?.
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OnTheWayOut
I left after the Memorial of 2007, but I have been back a few times. I went to the Memorial one year later, but that was on a tropical island and due to specific circumstances. I went to one wedding and two funeral talks, the latter being my father-in-law last year.
It's tough, being married to an active JW, to just say NO to entering a Kingdom Hall. It sort of feels like giving power to tWatchtower the same way some members say that used furniture from a garage sale is possessed by demons. The way to prove this is nonsense is to keep your garage sale chair. Well, to prove it has no power over me, I will attend an occasional event like a funeral talk. I doubt I will be going to any JW weddings anymore. -
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Make Your Excellent Point to a JW, But- Remember, it's a Mind Control Cult.
by OnTheWayOut inso i am reading from many that they have an excellent thought-stopper for jw's.
(remember reasoning from the scriptures used "thought-stoppers?
)"if you just show them [this scripture or use this logic or expose this problem with the organization], you will shut them down.".
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OnTheWayOut
So I am reading from many that they have an excellent thought-stopper for JW's.
(Remember REASONING FROM THE SCRIPTURES used "thought-stoppers?)
"If you just show them [this scripture or use this logic or expose this problem with the organization], you will shut them down."I say this because many think this will win them brownie points, either with the strangers at the literature cart or with their family members.
Use your point if you can. It could help. I was freed from Watchtower because of a revealing that it was not really "the truth."
But don't be over-excited that your excellent point will work. Most of the things we come up with are either over a JW's head or beyond their boxed-in thinking. And when it is something they can compute (or can reach their strong sense of right-and-wrong), Watchtower has taught them to automatically reject it.I read often, that "They have no answer for [this]." And yet, when I read it, I know the standard JW answer. Even if a current JW doesn't know how to answer, they first reject the thought and then either dismiss it or go find the standard JW answer.
I don't mean to be so negative. Points CAN work sometimes to start a JW down the path of discovering the truth about The Truth. I just know that I have commented a few times recently to those that are so sure of their doctrinal flaws that they think virtually any JW will be disturbed by it.
I would say what works for me, but my loved ones are still JW. I will say that I tend to follow the Steve Hassan recommendations to be genuine and be "there" for these people. Send a card and/or photos, give a call if they let you. Just let them know you are ready to have a proper relationship. Good day. -
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J.W. dogma refuted by their own RNWT Bible
by The Fall Guy inperhaps potential j.w.
recruits can use this example on their study conductors - and then witness the cognitive dissonance at first hand.. w98 2/1 p. 11 par.
13 – “when jehovah made his covenant, it was only with israel; those of the “vast mixed company,” although present, were not named as participants.”.
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OnTheWayOut
I was schooled by old-time JW's. I don't even have to really fully understand your point to give a JW answer.
NO, Christendom is not just being selective with scriptures. They take them out of context and they twist them.
Watchtower enlightens us with understanding using the whole Bible. If you think a point is taken out of context or too selective, we will be glad to study with you and show you how the entire Bible is in harmony and points to God's Kingdom as the solution to man's problems.(Hold on while I pile on.) And Christendom refuses to keep up with the chariot. Any seeming contradictions are eventually cleared up by continually examining the scriptures and praying for guidance (and reading the latest crap from WTS).
(We will show you that Watchtower somehow covers both sides of an issue over the years and refers back to whichever quote we need to prove the current understanding.)
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What really should be the role of Women in the congregations?
by Old Navy inthe presumably "biblical" practice of limiting the way women participate in congregational matters of the wtborg cult inc. (as well as certain other sects of christendom) may be a gross mis-interpretation of what paul meant.
i'm inclined to agree completely with this account of what paul really meant.. thoughts anyone?
aren't women more deserving of greater participation and respect?.
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OnTheWayOut
In any religion that doesn't treat women as equals, as we have finally been enlightened about sometime in the 20th century, the only place we should find women is outside the doors on the way out.
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Your Top Ten Favourite Movies?
by LoveUniHateExams injust thought i'd start a thread about favourite movies.
mine, in no particular order, are .... alien - a great visual film.
the chest-bursting scene is still great to watch, no matter how many times i've seen the movie.
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OnTheWayOut
My answer depends on my mood. Here's a list from right now when I typed this, but it could change tomorrow:
The Matrix
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Unforgiven
Runaway Train
Blade Runner
The Sting
Star Wars, A New Hope
The Terminator
12 Monkeys....and Rocky would be in most mood lists.
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My Mothers Ultimate Rejection
by What Now? ini went into my mother's office to leave her a small note to say that we love and miss her and would love to get together.
i found this on her desk.
this is jehovah's witnesses.
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OnTheWayOut
Just wanted to say I am so saddened to read this.
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Freudian slip in last Sunday's WT?
by The Fall Guy ini had this point highlighted to me yesterday by a dyed-in-the-wool j.w.
who is beginning to see cracks in his beloved golden calf of warwick.
so encouraging to hear his disgruntlement with org-related topics.. “many in the christian congregation may not have expected their loved ones to die this side of armageddon.” (july 2017 study wt).
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OnTheWayOut
I am starting to suspect that they are trying to just say what they know is on the minds of believing members.
They say the GB (or anointed or whatever) are not "inspired" and can make errors in direction.
They say how members did not expect to die "in this system."It's a way of saying you addressed these issues when members use them to question the organization.
It sounds like a bad idea to me, but who knows?
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Free to sin but still cannot bring myself to do it
by sinboi inhave da'd myself nearly 3 months ago.
now i am part of this world but i feel myself the odd one out.
something inside me is still blocking me to do the things i have been longing to do while i was still a jw, such as attending birthday parties, sex, etc.... just last nite, i was on the way to attend a birthday party.
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OnTheWayOut
I faded and took a few baby steps. I was such a rebel to wear a red sweater instead of a suit jacket at the Kingdom Hall.
My point is that you will be able to laugh at your progress afterward.
I hope this helps- It is not immoral to attend a party, as long as you don't intend to behead anyone. I hope you start to discard the idea that you "engage in immorality" when you violate their stupid rules.
Go buy a lottery ticket or say a curse word. Donate blood. See a movie they would never approve of. Do somethings that help you see that lightning won't strike you. -
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10 Graphs that show that the Watchtower is in trouble in Mexico
by ILoveTTATT2 inmexico is by far the country where the witnesses have had the most success in the entire world.
almost any statistic except the total amount of witnesses shows that mexico is where the witnesses have had the wildest success in the world.proportional to population, the witnesses in mexico are double, or nearly triple, what they are in the us or brazil.but there is "trouble in paradise".
if mexico falls, pretty much the whole watchtower falls.which is why it is so important to have jwfacts translated to spanish.i made an analysis and things are looking bad in mexico... if trends continue, mexico will become just like the 1st-world countries.here is the first graph:maximum publisher % increase:.
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OnTheWayOut
Well, THEY STILL HAVE GROWTH IN MEXICO as long as it's above Zero %.
But the stats show that might go away. Surely, they are running out of kids willing to be baptized or forced into it.
I can imagine the retired English-only JW's are such a minority. Most probably could go to Spanish language congregations. They might even like going to Spanish if they don't speak the language, just sitting there like bumps on a log as usual, but with a language-barrier excuse.If they close English-only, it's a money thing. The retired JW's probably give minimal amounts to keep the congregation expenses at bay, but not much toward the worldwide work.