Posts by Disillusioned JW

34

The Watchtower—Study Edition | April 2023

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

study article 19. how can we strengthen our faith in jehovah’s promise of a new world?.

17 many servants of jehovah have applied jehovah’s counsel to “keep in expectation”—even for decades.

louise, for example, began serving jehovah in 1939. she says: “at that time, i thought armageddon would come before i finished high school.

Disillusioned JW

LongHairGal, I never adopted the attitude of selling off all my belongings and giving the proceeds to the poor. The WT has taught that JWs don't have to sell all of their belongings and don't have to make themselves poor. Some of the pronouncements in the NT (including ones attributed as teachings of Jesus Christ) I thought are to extreme and unreasonable (such as cutting off one's hand to avoid sinning) and thus even while I was an active JW I refused to adhere to those.

I have tried for decades to become rich (through stock trading), but I am not rich. About 2 years ago I briefly became somewhat rich by making a stock market profit [in green energy stocks] in 3 months of over $150,000 (thus increasing my wealth momentarily to about $200,000), but I quickly lost those riches in the stock market while my stocks later sank. I now have only about $40,000 in wealth.

My mom had two years of college (between I and my sister being born) though being a JW. My sister and I both obtained a 4-year college degree while being a JW. When I joined this website using the name/handle of "Disillusioned JW" that was about 15 years ago. I joined the site years after I became disillusioned with the WT and the JW religion, which was also years after I had ceased attending JW meetings (other than the Memorial and some assemblies) and after I began intensive independent study of the Bible. A few years after joining this website I became an atheist (as a result of my ongoing research of the Bible and due to learning certain scientific facts). After I became an atheist I wanted to change my name/handle on this site to something else but it was too late (because I ceased having the email account I had when I joined this site, thus preventing me from updating my handle).

I am POMO. According to the religion I am an inactive JW, but I don't consider myself a JW except in recognizing I have not officially left the religion. I have never been disfellowshipped nor officially disassociated from the religion.

34

The Watchtower—Study Edition | April 2023

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

study article 19. how can we strengthen our faith in jehovah’s promise of a new world?.

17 many servants of jehovah have applied jehovah’s counsel to “keep in expectation”—even for decades.

louise, for example, began serving jehovah in 1939. she says: “at that time, i thought armageddon would come before i finished high school.

Disillusioned JW

But Beth Sarim, though they kept them my mom and my sister told me they want me to avoid trying to persuade them that the JW religion is false. However years ago I did show my mother and sister page 15 of Awake! 1969 May 22.

34

The Watchtower—Study Edition | April 2023

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

study article 19. how can we strengthen our faith in jehovah’s promise of a new world?.

17 many servants of jehovah have applied jehovah’s counsel to “keep in expectation”—even for decades.

louise, for example, began serving jehovah in 1939. she says: “at that time, i thought armageddon would come before i finished high school.

Disillusioned JW

My mom and sister are very devout JWs and (and my mother's mom and my mom's stepfather died as devout JWs) yet as far as I can tell they all have kept all of their old WT books (including the bound volumes). For example, my mom has kept her own books going back to the 1940s. Furthermore, my grandparents (my mother's mom and my mother's stepfather) WT books included Rutherford books from the 1930s and my mom has inherited those books and kept them.

After I stopped believing in the JW religion I sold off (for a profit on eBay) many of the WT books (including ones by Rutherford and Russell) I had accumulated.

34

The Watchtower—Study Edition | April 2023

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

study article 19. how can we strengthen our faith in jehovah’s promise of a new world?.

17 many servants of jehovah have applied jehovah’s counsel to “keep in expectation”—even for decades.

louise, for example, began serving jehovah in 1939. she says: “at that time, i thought armageddon would come before i finished high school.

Disillusioned JW

LongHairGal, according to the synoptic gospels, supposedly Jesus told a rich young man (who according to one gospel was also a ruler) that if he wanted to be perfect that he should sell everything he has and give to the poor (Matthew 19:20-27; Mark 10:17-28; Luke 18:18-27). Luke 18:28 (1984 NWT) says 'But Peter said: "Look! We have left our own things and followed you." Matthew 19:28-29, Mark 10:29-30, and Luke 18:29-30 say that Jesus said in reply that Christ's followers would be richly compensated and richly rewarded in the future for their current actions (including their giving up their belongings for the sake of the kingdom).

170

Staying in physically for all the benefits

by Indoubtbigtime in

i wonder how many are like me staying pimo for the great association and gathering etc.

also find it very interesting having a front row seat watching the collapse of borg.. im not wasting any more time or money on anything i don’t want to do like preaching and mostly just go on zoom .

there is nothing i want to do that would be considered disfellowshiping sin, i’m married and want to live by bible principles but i have serious doubts that the gb were chosen by god and are his one and only spokesmen on earth.

Disillusioned JW

Indoubtbigtime, you can believe all you want the false idea that everything the Bible teaches happened really did happen. You can believe all you want the false idea that everything the Bible teaches will happen really will happen.

In my view it takes a tremendous amount of figurative mind twisting to accept that everything taught in the Bible is true (see my revised and expanded prior post). In contrast, from what I know of science and from my personal experience (including from direct experience with objects and from observations), it is very easy for me to accept that NASA has been telling the truth about having sent spacecraft and humans to the Moon.

Interestingly, you don't say that the U.S.S.R. or Russia lied in claiming to have sent spacecraft to the Moon. I wonder why you don't claim such since you deny that NASA sent spacecraft to the Moon.

170

Staying in physically for all the benefits

by Indoubtbigtime in

i wonder how many are like me staying pimo for the great association and gathering etc.

also find it very interesting having a front row seat watching the collapse of borg.. im not wasting any more time or money on anything i don’t want to do like preaching and mostly just go on zoom .

there is nothing i want to do that would be considered disfellowshiping sin, i’m married and want to live by bible principles but i have serious doubts that the gb were chosen by god and are his one and only spokesmen on earth.

Disillusioned JW

There is absolutely zero evidence that NASA lied of sending spacecraft and astronauts to the Moon. But, Indoubtbigtime you can believe all you want that lied NASA about sending spacecraft and astronauts to the Moon.

You can also believe all you want the incorrect idea that humans did not come into existence by means of biological evolution. You can also believe all you want the incorrect idea that humans have existed for only less than 10,000 years (or even only less than 7,000 years).

You can believe all you want the false idea that Jehovah God (and/or Jesus Christ) will eventually kill/destroy billions of humans of planet Earth. You can believe all want the false idea that Jehovah God caused a worldwide flood sometime during the past 5,000 years and that the only humans to survive the flood were only 8 humans on an ark (with the ark loaded with 2 to 14 of every kind of animal then in existence).

You can believe all you want the false idea that that Jesus Christ (nearly 2,000 years ago) performed supernatural miracles on Earth, that he later was resurrected from the dead and later ascended to heaven, and began sitting at the right hand of God the Father.

You can believe all you want the false idea that Satan the Devil, angels, and demons exist, and they influence many humans. You can believe all want the false idea that demons have possessed and tormented humans and even pigs.

You can believe all you want the false idea that a snake/serpent spoke (or that the Devil spoke through the animal) to a woman (the first human woman) named Eve and deceived her to eat fruit from a Tree of Knowledge.

You can believe all you want the false idea that there existed a Garden in Eden (on Earth) which had a Tree of Life, such that if any human (such as Adam and Eve) were to the eat the fruit of that tree they would never ever die.

You can believe all you want the false idea that there is a temple in heaven.

You can believe all you want the false idea that there is a supernatural heaven with Jehovah God sitting on a throne, and with angels playing harps and offering praise to Jehovah God and Jesus Christ.

You can believe all you want the false idea that Jesus Christ is a savior for all humans who believe in him and put their trust in him and obey both him and Jehovah God.

34

The Watchtower—Study Edition | April 2023

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

study article 19. how can we strengthen our faith in jehovah’s promise of a new world?.

17 many servants of jehovah have applied jehovah’s counsel to “keep in expectation”—even for decades.

louise, for example, began serving jehovah in 1939. she says: “at that time, i thought armageddon would come before i finished high school.

Disillusioned JW

LongHairGal I agree with your post in which you replied to my post, except that I think that the synoptic gospels portray Jesus as teaching the following: that people should focus on kingdom interests (put kingdom interests first in their lives) if they wish to enter the Kingdom of God and receive its blessings instead of being punished when the Son of Man comes.

170

Staying in physically for all the benefits

by Indoubtbigtime in

i wonder how many are like me staying pimo for the great association and gathering etc.

also find it very interesting having a front row seat watching the collapse of borg.. im not wasting any more time or money on anything i don’t want to do like preaching and mostly just go on zoom .

there is nothing i want to do that would be considered disfellowshiping sin, i’m married and want to live by bible principles but i have serious doubts that the gb were chosen by god and are his one and only spokesmen on earth.

Disillusioned JW

Indoubtbigtime, actually discerning the truth sometimes does require more work, since our minds can easily fool us and since matters are often more complex than they seem. For examples, the following are truths: the universe has existed for billions of years, biological evolution is true, humans descended from non-human animals by means of biological evolution, humans do not have an immortal soul, and there is no creator God of humans (nor of any other life on Earth) nor any God who is personally involved with humans.

I had thought that if you were to view TD's post of the photo of the Gumby figure and the cup (and especially if you were to do your own similar experiment) that then you would realize that the NASA photos (showing both the Earth and the Moon) are not fake. But sadly I see that your delusion on this topic is vastly much greater ingrained in you than I thought.

170

Staying in physically for all the benefits

by Indoubtbigtime in

i wonder how many are like me staying pimo for the great association and gathering etc.

also find it very interesting having a front row seat watching the collapse of borg.. im not wasting any more time or money on anything i don’t want to do like preaching and mostly just go on zoom .

there is nothing i want to do that would be considered disfellowshiping sin, i’m married and want to live by bible principles but i have serious doubts that the gb were chosen by god and are his one and only spokesmen on earth.

Disillusioned JW

Thanks TD for your post about the distance between the Gumby figure and the cup. Your inclusion of the photos makes it simple and very easy to explain matters to Indoubtbigtime and other readers.

For about a week I had been thinking along the same lines pertaining the distance between the Earth and the Moon in the NASA photos, but it was trying to think of how to state it simply without me making and uploading any photos (I hadn't even though of taking pictures). Expressing the ideas only in words seemed more tedious and complex to me. I was thinking of saying something along the lines of the following.

"The appearance of the relative size of the Earth and the Moon varies by the distance to the closest of the two celestial objects, especially when one object is vastly greater than the other. Thus, if a camera is very close to the Moon (such as by being on a spacecraft on the Moon or in a low orbit of the Moon), then the Moon looks much larger than the Earth even though the Earth is actually much larger. That is because the relative distance of the camera to the Earth is much greater than that of the camera to the Moon. But, the further away the camera is from both the Earth and Moon, then the Earth is seen as being much larger, because the camera's distance to the Earth on a relative (or percentage) basis is much more nearly the same as camera's distance from the Moon, coupled with the fact that the Earth is much larger than the Moon."

I also thought of suggesting to Indoubtbigtime the following. "Do an experiment of objects in your home, where one object is much larger than another, and then without moving the objects, vary your distance from the pair of objects to see what effect that has on the apparent relative size of the objects and the apparent distance between the pair of objects." At the time I wasn't in the mood of wrihting the above (or something like it) to Indoubtbigtime, especially since I later got a different impression of what Indoubtbigtime thought was the problem with NASA's photos, thus instead I made post about how the Sun and Moon can appear to be very close to a tree or a rooftop, despite actually being immensely away from a tree or a rooftop.

34

The Watchtower—Study Edition | April 2023

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

study article 19. how can we strengthen our faith in jehovah’s promise of a new world?.

17 many servants of jehovah have applied jehovah’s counsel to “keep in expectation”—even for decades.

louise, for example, began serving jehovah in 1939. she says: “at that time, i thought armageddon would come before i finished high school.

Disillusioned JW

Not only should the WT be blamed for the "false expectations'' and the ''waiting accounts'' but also the New Testament/Covenant Bible itself for it teaches the underlying false expectations (including urging people to wait expectantly) and the false teachings of the nearness of the great tribulation, Armageddon, coming of Christ, and a new order. See the following NT Bible verses: Matthew 24:42-44, Matthew 25:13, Revelation 1:1, 22:18, 20. The Bible is also to blame.

If it wasn't for what the 'Holy' Scriptures Bible (both the OT and NT) itself also says, I would never have accepted the false expectations proclaimed by the WT and I would never had accepted the WT's teaching of urging (through its literature and public meetings) me (and others) to wait for the proclaimed events to happen.