Crofty,
Which Scandanavian Country do you live in?
my personal perception of my own would be that religion is an organized agreement.
to a set of lies, cultivated upon human ignorance, fear and superstitions, structured.
on a framework of power and control.
Crofty,
Which Scandanavian Country do you live in?
my personal perception of my own would be that religion is an organized agreement.
to a set of lies, cultivated upon human ignorance, fear and superstitions, structured.
on a framework of power and control.
Just an addition to my previous post. North Korea is officially an atheist state. The USA has religious freedom. I personally prefer living in the USA with the freedom of religion.
Thanks giving is enjoyed by many. I don't know who the Atheists are giving thanks too. May be they don't celebrate it.
my personal perception of my own would be that religion is an organized agreement.
to a set of lies, cultivated upon human ignorance, fear and superstitions, structured.
on a framework of power and control.
I think billions of people belong to many different religions. I think there is a need for hope in most people. Atheism offers none as far as I can see.
(2 peter 3:1-13) ... niv....."in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.they will say, where is this coming he promised?
ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.
waaaaay back when these words were written an embarassing awareness of delay was in the air among christians.. shortly after jesus was executed the story was circulated that he arose from the dead and was witnessed by a great many people.. but, jesus (it was said) went up to his father in heaven and would soon return.. time passed.. more time passed.. ....and still more time passed without jesus coming back.. the idea that deliverance was "near" began to make believers squirm with discomfort.. instead of standing around waiting, enduring persecution and praying constantly for reward....a new task emerged for christians to take.
78 years is the average lifespan in the US I think, so the average person will not wait any longer than that.
this explanation was taken from the reasoning book, page 204.. how do jehovahs witnesses arrive at their explanation of the bible?.
a key factor is that the witnesses really believe that the bible is gods word and that what it contains is there for our instruction.
(2 tim.
My heart goes out to those who lost their relatives. But note this, No doctor would provide 100% assurance of survival to patient even if He/She agreed to a transplant, so it is all about a trial and error.
That is true there is no 100% assurance. However they would have had a chance. This chance was denied them.
Therefore there can be no joy for the relatives that the position on these matters was changed. Wouldn't you agree mankkeli?
this explanation was taken from the reasoning book, page 204.. how do jehovahs witnesses arrive at their explanation of the bible?.
a key factor is that the witnesses really believe that the bible is gods word and that what it contains is there for our instruction.
(2 tim.
The WT's inconsistent interpretation shouldn't be a big deal, it is part of the organization's effort to ensure that lovers of God's word enjoy and experience a progression in their study of the bible.
Two people I know died. One due to their stand on blood in line with the organizations understanding at the time. The other due to the understanding of the organizations view of organ transplants.
The progression or change hasn't brought joy to the those who lost their relatives.
i figure i can do more to wake friends and family up on the inside than the outside and i didn't come to that decision without a great deal of pain.
i know it's not "the truth" but it isn't a bad life for me,and i still very much believe in god.
the witnesses aren't right but neither are the mormons, the catholics, etc and i have other family devoted to both those faiths.
Is there any way around this? (Preaching when you don't believe)
I think that if you are identified as a JW. Then I think it identifies one as a believer in the birth of the kingdom in 1914/18 which is fine if you believe it.
I dont think there is any way around this.
say you were god, and you happen to have fallen asleep for these past couple of thousand years.
you wake up to see all the turmoil and such happening in the world.. what would you do to make yourself known and to improve things in the world?.
i'll start it off.
What would you do to make yourself known and to improve things in the world?
I don't know.
In Luke it tells us that the rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus back to warn his brothers to change their opinion. " ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ (NIV)
Jesus suffered outside the city and was scorned by men and was crucified. He rose from the dead.
"A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here." Matthew 12:39-41(NIV)
If this didn't work. I dont know what would.
that the runners in a race all run, but only.
in the christian race, all who finish win that.
you do to finish and thus win that race?.
if one were running a in race and had a great cloud of witnesses I would think that they were spectators and witnessed the race.
on this forum, i have carefully read most of the experiences of those who left the jw religion, i have even read experiences that have dated back to 2001, i have read the different circumstances surrounding their exits and what ensued upon leaving.
for the majority, i observed they are better remainning in the religion than leaving.
what benefit is there to strain family relationship because you want to be free?, please tell me, of what value is that freedom?,.
"Not only is this hypocritical, generating anxiety which in turn is detrimental to people's health, but it is also selfish. JWs are expected to preach, that is, to try to convert people to the JW religion."
Jeffro's comment I agree with.
Preaching something I no longer believed, in regard to the good news spoken of in the bible, I found impossible. So I couldn't engage in the preaching work. I couldn't preach something about God that I didn't believe, if I did it would show my disregard for him.
Are you sure leaving the JW religion has made your life better?.
It's difficult to define what you mean by better.
I lost most of my friends. I'm not any better off financial. I have continually examined why I believe in God and if I've done the right thing.
To stay I would have had pressure to join in the preaching and could not express my views to others freely as to why I couldn't. I was forced out I think.
Others who are JW's I think must think about what they believe and teach but as to them leaving and possibly losing faith in God altogether could be worse than staying.