you know i have been registered here since the birth of this list.i was only a lurker from time to time, now after a recent love affair break up i have been active here.
i must say this is the most wonderful group of people i have ever seen on a db.
all respectful, and whats suprising is loving.
Claudia,
Thank you for sharing you gratefulness. I think this is a great place too. I called it a place, but it more than a "place". I it is a family. We sometimes have squabbles and misunderstandings, but we always make up. And one thing we can do is talk about anything and everything - something we couldn't do where we came from.
(Larc - from the talk about anything Class)
ok maybe this is a dumb question, but i really am curious.
why does it seem that fornication is the only "real" sin in the jw religion?
i mean people can slander, be gluttonous, get drunk and have unethical business practices, but god forbid you should have a little sex.
Lurker,
After rereading my reply to you, I thought it was accurate, but a little terse. So, let me say that I am sorry if I offended you or anyone else. I am sure that what you went through was very painful as you so well described. I am glad that that the doctors were able help you.
So now you have the body of a pro football player, the mind of an Einstein, and you are making big money, but you are still shy. Don't you worry a bit, the fine young ladies will find you. By the way, the women here will give you good advice on how to meet and treat the fairer sex, if you ask for their advice. They were very helpful to another young man a few month's back. (If you are not shy, please ignore the last part of my remarks.)
i found some interesting statistics, some of which you may know, that indicate that the wtbts is in decline.. 1. in the twenty years from 1970 to 1990, the rate of yearly increase dropped from 10% to 6%.
in the last 10 years it has dropped from 6% to about 2%.
since the world population growth is about 1.5% they are only growing at about 1/2 of 1% faster than the population.. 2. in 1999, there were 21 large countries that showed a decline.
Update,
I posted again to bring this subject to the top of the charts. After rereading this thread, I noticed that Logical deleted all his posts. I guess that's easier than admitting you are wrong.
Waiting, that site that Simon posted that looked overwhelming to you is where I got my summary conclusions. It does look overwhelming and that's why it took me all night to get it all together.
Happy reading newbies and further comments will be appreciated.
ok maybe this is a dumb question, but i really am curious.
why does it seem that fornication is the only "real" sin in the jw religion?
i mean people can slander, be gluttonous, get drunk and have unethical business practices, but god forbid you should have a little sex.
lurker,
Like any humorous post, something can be said that offends. I know there are medical problems that need to be addressed and corrected and I certainly didn't mean to make fun of anyone with such a problem. My comments were concerning those who do not have medical problems and are over eating, and ought to change for their own well being.
can you remember that distinct moment in your life when you suddenly knew that your time as a jw was truly over?.
for me, that moment came several years after the removal of my privileges in the congregation when i admitted to having known my then fiance in a way that was not fitting for a ministerial servant.. i was quickly stripped of my 2 servants jobs, group study conducting, pioneer status, public talk giving and praying in the kh.
i was also forbidden to ever be alone with the lady concerned.. about 15 months later i was assigned a public talk, after 30 minutes i dried up.
Hi folks,
Of all the subjects I have read here, this is one of the finest. Thank you Englishman for getting it started. I also thank the rest of you for your heart felt narratives.
The beginning of the end came for me in my late teens. A JW friend of mine told me about the Pyramid teaching. I didn't think it was possible, so I went to used book stores, got the old books and read them. What an eye opener! Before that I was a true believer with no doubts whatsoever. After that, I went through several stages: believer with some doubts, believer with major doubts, unbeliever that wished I could go back with feelings of nostalgia, and finaly, total dislief with no going back. A major turning point for me happened when I was engaged to my wife. At that point I was at the believer with major doubts stage. My soon to be wife was a true believer from all outward appearances. One day, with much fear, I told her I had doubts. Now, if she would have been a true believer, that would have been the end of our relationship. I knew that, but I couldn't be dishonest with her. There was a long pause after I made my admission to her. Then she said, "I have doubts also." We got married at the kingdom hall and then we slowly faded away. I have been very fortunate to have her by my side all these years. We were all alone for a long time. There no books to read to confirm our thinking, and obviously there was no internet to share ideas as we can do now. It is good to have all the support that is available now.
then the kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, "fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?".
some of the kings of the earth and their supporters are aware of what the bible book of revelation says concerning the time of the end and their destruction for not having acknowledge jehovah's rulership and sovereignty, also they have failed to acknowledge jesus as king of kings and lord of lords in subject to the great king jehovah god.. the scriptures have put satan's system on notice but few take notice.
they prefer to live like the days of noah.
Spec,
I think you should spend more time reading your own words before posting. In your zeal to give us the truth and correct the error of our ways, you make a lot of mistakes. For example, if you write someting and one of us comes back with a question or a reasonable reply, we are not mocking you. We are not showing disrespect for you. We are not ridiculing you. We are simply following the Biblical instruction, "Come let us reason together." For you to take this one step further and say that our comments show that we are mocking, ridiculing, and showing disrespect for God is patently absurd.
On a minor note: why did your bring up evolution? I have read every post written here for the last three months, and this subject has not been discussed. I think you should calm down and use reason when you post.
Your verbal flailing does not help your cause.
Your logic seems to go like this: If we agree with you, we are meek and teachable. If we question your logic, assumptions, and conclusions we are evil blastphemers. I think you should develope a more mature view of other people.
ok maybe this is a dumb question, but i really am curious.
why does it seem that fornication is the only "real" sin in the jw religion?
i mean people can slander, be gluttonous, get drunk and have unethical business practices, but god forbid you should have a little sex.
Nikl,
I also think that it is more fun for Elders to ask sisters about their sexual practices than it is to ask them about their eating habits.
ok maybe this is a dumb question, but i really am curious.
why does it seem that fornication is the only "real" sin in the jw religion?
i mean people can slander, be gluttonous, get drunk and have unethical business practices, but god forbid you should have a little sex.
Hey Frenchy,
I always wondered about gluttony in my Kingdom Hall days. Why didn't they have a little spiritual chat with the fat sisters and brothers? Seems to be fatness is evidence of gluttony. Hey, an alcoholic brother can sober up for a meeting, but over eaters can't hide their sin.
in order to qualify as spiritual israel there has to be certain fundamental characteristics or basic truths.
these basic truths are revealed in the law covenant given by moses.
and can be traced down from the nation of israel, down through the 1st century congregation, and further down until our day and time.
Jr,
It seems to me that the scriptures you have quoted, indicate that the new religion of Christianity was being opened to the Gentiles, and was not restricted to the race of Jews, that comprised Jesus' intitial followers. As you well know, this was a new idea to his followers, since Gentiles were not originaly accepted. This does not prove that one organization within Chritianity would take on the special role of "Spiritual Israel", nor does it prove that any organized body would gain such recognition or that any organization as such would fit these scriptures. If there is such a claim, I think the Catholic Church would have more right to it than the Jehovah's Witnesses.
in order to qualify as spiritual israel there has to be certain fundamental characteristics or basic truths.
these basic truths are revealed in the law covenant given by moses.
and can be traced down from the nation of israel, down through the 1st century congregation, and further down until our day and time.
Logical,
None of the scriputures you quote say that there is a spiritual Israel. That is your fallible, human, imperfect conclusion and theory building which creats a tenuous philosphy of man.
