Guess I might as well share my two cents worth.As far as wanting to do
what`s right as a child,I felt exactly the same way and believe many
kids do.You rarely see children who are just down right nasty from a
small age.I still remember the weight I felt as a child the first time
I told a lie or stole my cousin`s top.I wanted like everything to get
back a clean heart.Then when I was 9 a tornado struck our family`s
vacation spot and in an instant seven people I knew were killed.I can
still vividly remember looking into the face of my dead sister as she
flooted in the water and wondering where she had gone? The thought of
going into non-existence never crossed my mind.It was that day that I
seriously began my quest for God.I wanted a clean heart and someone
who would be with me at all times.I found my heart being particularily
drawn to Jesus Christ. Since then I have given much thought to the
reality of religion,belief and God.Living in Japan I find many people
with a different background and culture who have the same yearning.
So,it doesn`t seem that everything can be summed up as simply being environmental conditioning. But,what is it that draws people to want
to believe in God? A desire for meaning in life? A desire for some
final sorting out of right and wrong in a very un-fair world? An
urge to have a relationship with someone who can `get right inside`
you? A desire to find forgiveness for some grievious wrong? Whatever it is, it is very widespread and doesn`t seem to diminish with wealth
or education. It seems that there is an `appetite` for worship much
in the same way that there is an appetite for sex or food. You rarely
see animals building shrines for no purpose but to worship.Nor do you
see them praying before a meal.So, there must be something that sets
humans apart from animals. Perhaps it`s the existence of something
called `spirit`? JWD
Posts by JWD
-
17What makes us religious?
by bigboi inhas anyone out there ever pondered that question?
i remember when i was a little boy i always seemed to feel so close to god.
my family was not and still isn't very religious, so why did i turn out to be that way at such a young age?
-
-
JWD
-
36
The Pope a JW...!!!
by JWD inmost of the relatives on my father`s side were catholic.
i still remember the first time i went to a high mass.
it was a shock to my.
-
-
JWD
Regarding the matter of images of God in the WT.First of all, it`s
hypocrisy.That is particularily evident when viewing the WT from a
country,in my case Japan,where idolatry is a big issue.Japan is filled
with all manner of images which have religious meaning.Everything from
odd shaped rocks,to old trees, to statues of men`s organs.Thus the WT
in Japan is very, very critical of all manner of religious `objects`.
In some cases it borders on the ridiculus.For example,Japanese JWs are
forbidden to wear black clothing to a funeral.Because it might lead
someone to think they lit incense at the alter.Ironically, the gold
drawing of Jehovah in the Revelation book looks very similar to the
one of the most popular Japanese dieties,the goddess of mercy.So,
when they regularily criticize Japanese religions as well as churches
with regards to `idolatry` it tends to ring hollow.Naturally,JWs try
to make the same distinction which was brought forth saying they don`t
`worship` the images.The average Japanese would say the same thing
about photos of dead relatives,amulets, and various religious objects.
The WT ,however, takes a very hard line on those things and forces them to be burned or thrown away.
The second matter would be the issue of whether or not any representation of God is appropriate.That issue became a heated one
early on in church history.In some countries like Japan due to the culture and religious orientation it still is a major issue.In Brazil
as well,even some churches recommend destroying all religious objects since they have taken on almost a animistic meaning.
It seems that regardless of a person`s religion there is a strong tendancy to gravitate towards something visible. Could it not be said that the WTs `idols` are the many photos of `God`s Visible Organization`?
If so,then does it differ from other forms of idolatry? JWD -
49
murder letter
by silentlambs inlets dance, we have added "wt letters" section to the website.
it will offer a new letter each week added to a list with an introduction.
read the introduction, click to view the letter and see if it answers the questions.
-
-
JWD
Pork Chop,
Am I paranoid, or why is it that I get the feeling that you are
a member of the WTS legal department who`s job includes discouraging
`apostates` from taking action which might not be good for the org.
Am I being hypersensative? Mind sharing a bit about yourself? JWD -
42
WB&TS of Pennsylvania financial figures
by expatbrit ina few financial figures that happen to have fallen into my sweaty palms.
while only a small piece of the wt's financial jigsaw puzzle, they effectively illustrate the level of $ under the society's control.
watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania.
-
-
JWD
Please e-mail it to me at ` [email protected]`
-
36
The Pope a JW...!!!
by JWD inmost of the relatives on my father`s side were catholic.
i still remember the first time i went to a high mass.
it was a shock to my.
-
-
JWD
As far as lack of global unity.That could be said for the WTS as well.
Here in Japan, there are many aspects of JW life which are unique to
the society here.It`s not uncommon for bros. to go to the US and visit
congregations there only to come back and say...brace yourself for
this...the JWs are SO MUCH FREER in the US. Can you believe that!
That should give you an idea of the rigidness of life for bros. here
in the land of the rising sun.
It`s probably unrealistic for any religion to expect or claim `unity`
on an international basis. JWD -
36
The Pope a JW...!!!
by JWD inmost of the relatives on my father`s side were catholic.
i still remember the first time i went to a high mass.
it was a shock to my.
-
-
JWD
Thanx for conceding, Julie. My sister-in-law`s name is Julie.
`Julie`s must be nice people. JWD -
21
Disfellowshipping Doesn't Sever Family Ties?
by tergiversator in"disfellowshipping does not sever family ties.".
or so claims the watchtower's official faq.
so, i would like to take an informal poll: how has being disfellowshippid/ disassociated/ inactive/ just having doubts affected relations with your family?
-
-
JWD
Here`s a couple of cases which show how the `LOVING` discipline of
disfellowshipping encourages family unity! (These are the experiences
of two sisters in Japan )
Sister `D` sent in a letter of disassociation to the WT.She then talked to her oldest daughter (16 yrs. at the time).The daughter
thought the mother had been deceived by the non-JW father.Never-the-
less,since she viewed her mother as an apostate, she refused to eat
with her,refused to talk to her and refused to let her mother even
wash her clothes. The mother became desparate and tried to tell the
daughter why she had chosen to leave the WT.After several months the
daughter finally turned to the mother and said,and I quote `I`ll
laugh when Jehovah destroys you at Armageddon !` The daughter then ran away from home.That was 6 years ago.She hasn`t come home since and only sent an occasional post-card so the WT couldn`t be accused of kidnapping.The post-cards stopped after she became 20 and was no longer a `minor`.
One other sister`s three children all left home after the mother
sent in a letter of disassociation.They refuse to tell her their new
address.They said any necessary communication should go thru the elder
and he will in turn notify them.
It`s interesting to note that Christ`s words to Judas when he came to
betray him were `Friend,what have you come to do?`. Christ also said
that there is nothing special about greeting our brothers,rather in
order to be truly perfect we must love our enemies. To say that
shunning is an expression of love is to re-define the meaning of the
very word love and thus render it meaningless. Re-defining terms is
a specialty of cults... JWD -
36
The Pope a JW...!!!
by JWD inmost of the relatives on my father`s side were catholic.
i still remember the first time i went to a high mass.
it was a shock to my.
-
-
JWD
Thank-you all for your comments. Several people refered to the RCC as
being much more open-minded than I potrayed in my first post.That is
no doubt true in many western settings.I remember having a study in a
priest`s home in the mid-west.It is also true that unlike cults, the
RCC will do works of compassion for the non-Catholic, i.e. hospital,
refuge work,etc. As far as openess towards other religions,however,I
would like to point out that the attitude varies greatly from place to
place.I have encountered the Catholic church in both Mexico and in the
Philippines and there was by no means that `glastnot` openess that
several of the posts refered to. Much to the contrary.In the Philippines a priest ranted and raved with great anger and told the
villagers, `If you listen to these people,your baptism will be dis-
avowed!`.The fear tactic worked.Most people fled.In Mexico a priest
did a flyer distribution telling villagers not to listen to protestant
missionary aquaintances,etc.In both countries,the attitude towards
images was not educational, but rather that of worship. In the Philippines, where I lived for a year,the kissing of statues and
lighting candles,etc. is almost identical to what goes on here in
Japan in the guise of Budhism. So, while I don`t question the previous posts evaluation of modern Catholicism in the west, I would
suggest that the actual state of affairs varies greatly from country
to country. JWD -
36
The Pope a JW...!!!
by JWD inmost of the relatives on my father`s side were catholic.
i still remember the first time i went to a high mass.
it was a shock to my.
-
-
JWD
Most of the relatives on my father`s side were Catholic. I still remember the first time I went to a high mass. It was a shock to my
system. I felt wierd and wanted to leave as soon as possible. Then
one day I began to put some ideas together and came up with a number
of parallels between the Roman Catholic Chruch and the WTBTS. Here
they are, let me know what you think.
The Catholic Church claims to be the only true church. They use the
term `the Mother Church` .Likewise the WTS claims sole possesion of
the TRUTH and calls the org.`mother`.The RCC has a hierarchal arrangement with priests being the local conduit of TRUTH from on
high.Much like the elder arrangement. The RCC uses fear tactics to
encourage people to stay in the org. In both religions non-believers
get a second chance in the after-life, while apostates are damned.
Both religions have an additional avenue for truth other than the
Bible alone.And both discourage (if not forbid) learning the Bible
on your own,lest you come to a different conclusion than `Mother`.
Both religions rely heavily on visual aids. With the RCC it`s statuary
in the church and robes whereas with the WTS it`s drawings and pictures in their publications. Both include visual representations
of God (Jehovah).Check out the Revelation book and see how many drawings there are of Jehovah all gold and sitting on a throne.I
thought the 10 commandments forbade ANY image of God...! Both religions boast of a unified world-wide organization. Both feature
several extra-biblical prohibitions based on the orgs. interpretation.
With the RCC it includes contraception and marriage of priests as well
as some dietary restrictions. With the WTS the list would include
blood issues (in Japan JWs can`t eat whale meat because it contains
too much blood) as well as dress codes,reporting time,etc.
There are many more similarities which could be mentioned.Maybe,
someone would like to add a few.
I own Russells `Studies in the Scriptures` and while reading how he
(Rutherford perhaps even more so) lashed out at the Catholic church
it struck me that over time the WTS had become very much like the
group it criticized the most. Then I was reminded of the verse in
Romans 2 which says something to the effect that when you judge someone else you often commit the same sins as the `person`you judge.
Perhaps the WTS would best be descibed as the modern American version
of the Catholic church...? JWD -
22
White man`s religion
by JWD ini was in the philippines some time ago.
the big religion there is a group called `iglesia ni cristo`(literally church of christ).
an indigenous group which sprung up around the turn of the century.. it has since become hugh(in the philippines).
-
-
JWD
Moxy,
As to the role of White missionaries in Japan, since WWII white(mostly North American) missionaries have had a big impact in Japan.
A recent example would be the boom in `Christian style` weddings. In
the cities a full 80% of all weddings are `chapel` weddings with a
premium being placed on `White` foreigners doing the service. It fits
the mystic which has been built partly by Hollywood and partly by
virtue of many Japanese traveling abroad.As far as the WT is concerned; currently very few missionaries play a role in the work
here.They did in the 50`s and 60`s, but from the 80`s on there was
a strong growth in numbers and even leadership positions were turned
over to Japanese bros.The head here in Japan is a man named Oda-san.
However,the indirect influence of `western culture` is still all to
very obvious in the WT.Everywhere from the photos of Americans plastered all over the literature to the style of dress and the methods of operations. For example, going door-to-door; while some
other religions do it, it is not at all a natural way of approaching
people in Japan.Most transactions of anything important take place
on a personal, `someone-you-can-trust` type of basis.The cold call to
someone`s home is exceedingly un-natural.The only reason it worked for
a time is that JWs were very persistent and forcibly built `trust`
relationships over time.Interestingly, that is no longer working here
now so the Kingdom Ministry is urging bros. to take advantage of
already existing relationships to get new studies going.
Another interesting topic raised was the similarities between the WT
and the Catholic Church. It has perhaps been touched on before, but is
worth another look sometime. JWD