Posts by matt2414

29

Watchtower views on Homosexuality

by ttm1988 in

afternoon all,.

a bit on my background.

i studied with the jw's a while ago in my teens, was acitve in meetings, and all the other things good witnesses do.

matt2414

ttm1988: I sent you a personal message regarding your concerns about homosexuality.

Searril: I have a question for you: What exactly is self-explanitory about Romans? Some heterosexuals read Romans 1:26-27, for instance, and immediately assume it's referring to homosexuality. Yet, gays who read it know that it is impossible for it to be referring to them. Why is that? What do gays know about homosexuality that heterosexuals don't? But getting back to basics, what exactly is Paul referring to in those verses? What was happening in that congregation that prompted him to write the Christians there? Once you can explain in detail what happened in the Roman congregation, then you can attempt to make an application today. Otherwise, it is extremely dangerous to interpet the verses there without understanding them completely. As Peter stated at 2 Peter 3:16: "[Paul's] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."

10

The Scriptures And Abortion

by Cold Steel in

i just saw the posting on the bible and abortion.

thou shalt not doubt whether a thing shall be or not be.

thou shalt not take the name of the lord in vain.

matt2414

Other than the countless scriptures on taking innnocent life, we have this passage from the Epistle of Barnabus

Cold Steel, you are correct that their are many scriptures that warn about taking an innocent life. But your argument is flawed because you assume that just because a woman is pregnant, that fertilized egg cell within her is a human life. The Bible never states that to be the case. In other words, not even God believes that.

There are many arguments that could be made here, but the simpliest is this: True life does not require a host. If it requires being attached to the mother in order to live, such as an embryo, than it is not yet a life on its own. It is still the mother's life that sustains it, and thus a part of her body.

Remember, a female human is born with 1-2 million egg cells, with about 300,000 of them still available at puberty. Of those, only about 400 are released during her reproductive life. Even then, she may only give birth to a fraction of that number, if she has children at all. If there is a God, he would know that a woman would never use all the egg cells he put in her, much like he would know that men would never utilize the billions of sperm cells their bodies produce. Putting an egg cell and a sperm cell together does not in itself make a human life. It has to grow and transform into one, and then be able to survive on its own. Since the Bible is completely silent on this aspect, it is inappropriate and sacriligious to use it to support the anti-abortion movement.

As Paul wrote at 1 Cor. 4:6: "Do not go beyond what is written."

100

CRAZINESS!!! I'M BEING 'MARKED' FOR GOING TO COLLEGE!!!

by MsGrowingGirl20 in

ohmygosh!!!

one of my friends who is a ms told me today that the elders have 'marked' me because i'm a reg.pioneer and i've decided to go to college next semester???!

he said he can't tell me anymore but to be careful---what the hell does 'mark' mean?

matt2414

Actually, there is no scriptural basis for marking you for going to college, because there is no scriptural basis for condeming higher education. By marking you for doing nothing wrong is bascially causing divisions in the congregation, which by the Governing Body's own Flock book is a disfellowshipping offense:

The Bible condemns the following:
Causing divisions and promoting sects.
This would be deliberate action disrupting the unity
of the congregation or undermining the confidence
of the brothers in Jehovah's arrangement.
It may involve or lead to apostasy. (Rom. 16:17, 18; Titus 3:10, 11 )

Now, having said all the above, I would follow the suggestions of Miles3 -- That way the elders have no authority over you. That is, if you plan to remain among people who promote the words of men over God's and who will have no respect for you.

18

Could the Governing Body be the "Evil Slave" of Matt. 24:48-51?

by matt2414 in

48 but if ever that evil slave should say in his heart, my master is delaying, 49 and should start to beat his fellow slaves and should eat and drink with the confirmed drunkards, 50 the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and in an hour that he does not know, 51 and will punish him with the greatest severity and will assign him his part with the hypocrites.

there is where [his] weeping and the gnashing of [his] teeth will be.

" mt 24:48-51 nwt.

matt2414

Thanks for your comments.

You can add to the list the way the GB has seperated and raised itself up over the rest of the anointed, stating that only the GB has authority to interpret scripture.

Also, when the GB changes doctrine without admitting any fault of their own, as if to blame God for giving them false information, isn't that basically blasphemy against the Almighty? Jesus said at John 17:16 that God's "word is truth," and Paul wrote at Romans 3:4: "Let God be true, and every man a liar." According to these verses, would the "men" in this case be the members of the governing body who refuse to apologize to the worldwide congregation in talks and their main publication the Watchtower, and humbly beg for God's forgiveness for speaking lies? Jesus said that Satan is the "father of the lie" and Revelation warns that liars would be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Doesn't this sound like God has already expelled this group?

So even though no human judicial committee has been formed against them, haven't they basically disfellowshipped themselves by their actions? That being the case, would real Christians want to associate with these ones?

So many questions. But I guess actions speak louder than mere (GB) words.

18

Could the Governing Body be the "Evil Slave" of Matt. 24:48-51?

by matt2414 in

48 but if ever that evil slave should say in his heart, my master is delaying, 49 and should start to beat his fellow slaves and should eat and drink with the confirmed drunkards, 50 the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and in an hour that he does not know, 51 and will punish him with the greatest severity and will assign him his part with the hypocrites.

there is where [his] weeping and the gnashing of [his] teeth will be.

" mt 24:48-51 nwt.

matt2414

48 “But if ever that evil slave should say in his heart, ‘My master is delaying,’ 49 and should start to beat his fellow slaves and should eat and drink with the confirmed drunkards, 50 the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and in an hour that he does not know, 51 and will punish him with the greatest severity and will assign him his part with the hypocrites. There is where [his] weeping and the gnashing of [his] teeth will be." Mt 24:48-51 NWT

The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses fancy themselves members of a "faithful and discreet slave class." But don't their actions in recent years more likely fit the decription of the "Evil Slave" that is mentioned in the above verse? Aren't they really saying "my master is delaying" when they repeatedly change their doctrine on the time of the end as well as their "generation" teaching?

When they reprimand, disfellowship and use God's word to assault and call "mentally diseased" anyone who questions their authority, aren't they in effect "beating" their fellow slaves?

In their own "Insight" book under figurative "Drunkenness" it says the "priests and leaders of Judah became figuratively drunk. As religious guides, they added traditions of men; they saw and spoke false things about God’s holy nation." Well, isn't the governing body also figuratively drunk when it makes up false things about higher education and its handling of child molestation cases in the organization?

By being repeatedly wrong about when the end will come, isn't that proof that the Master will come at an hour that the GB doesn't expect?

Although there are many more comparisons that can be made, isn't this enough to show that the Governing Body is indeed the Evil Slave?

21

This good news of the kingdom will be preached ...

by biometrics in

so some of my jw friends can't answer a lot of the questions i put to them.

invariably they end up with the comback line of "this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.

" and state that jws are the only ones doing the preaching.. i suspect most jws who've left have come across this.

matt2414

"This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come." Matt. 24:14

"JWs are the only ones doing the preaching." Better yet, they're the only ones who believe that they're doing this preaching. Not even GOD believes they're doing it. Why not? Because the Witnesses have been at it since 1879 and the end still hasn't come! So obviously it's not being done the way HE wants it to. Either that, or the Witnesses have completely misinterpreted this scripture.

5

Gay Jehovah's Witness Victims

by God_Delusion in

howdy guys and gals,.

ben, a fellow jehovah's witness blog.com author, wrote this great article - http://www.jehovahswitnessblog.com/jehovahs-witness-beliefs/gay-jehovahs-witness-victims/.

we would really appreciate it if you could tell us what you think about this subject and also let us know your personal experiences.. it's completely out of order the way this cult deals with homosexuals.

matt2414

If they are gay because they failed to mature past their early teens, the condition might correct itself without intervention. But if not, that's their choice. If it's because of genetics, exposure to poisons in pesticides and phude (including BPA and phthalates in plastic), or because of having parents that effectively beat being straight out of them, people should accept them like that.

... And if they are gay or bisexual because God designed and created them that way, just like he obviously designed and created hundreds, and perhaps even thousands, of animal and plant species, then gay haters need to be careful because they will only finds themselves "fighting against God.” Acts 5:39 NIV

9

Who did Jesus command to preach, the anointed or the great crowd?

by matt2414 in

when one becomes filled with the knowledge of the promised earthly paradise under christ's kingdom, one wants to share it with others.

it is good news!acts 5:41, 42.. doing this is an important way of showing that you are a disciple of jesus christ.

in the bible, jesus is called "the faithful and true witness.

matt2414

The other sheep should never forget that their salvation depends on their active support of Christ's anointed "brothers" still on earth. (Matt. 25:34-40) The anointed will enter into their reward, but the hope of the other sheep will just as certainly be fulfilled. (Read Hebrews 11:39, 40.) First, let us examine the hope set before the anointed.

This a gross twisting of the JW's own doctrine. Matt. 25:34-40 isn't referring to both the "other sheep" and anointed "brothers." In verse 34, Jesus directed his words to those on his right: "Come, you who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world." Christ then describes many ways they helped and slaved for him, so much so that they wonder when they could have possibly done all those things. He responds: "To the extent that you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." To fit in with JW dogma, it would be the anointed doing all the heavy lifting, such as preaching, on behalf of Christ's "brothers." The NWT refers to Matt 10:40-42, where the brothers seem to be called "little ones" and "disciples." Based on the JW's own Bible, it is the GB and other anointed who slave for the great crowd., not the other way around.

9

Who did Jesus command to preach, the anointed or the great crowd?

by matt2414 in

when one becomes filled with the knowledge of the promised earthly paradise under christ's kingdom, one wants to share it with others.

it is good news!acts 5:41, 42.. doing this is an important way of showing that you are a disciple of jesus christ.

in the bible, jesus is called "the faithful and true witness.

matt2414

When one becomes filled with the knowledge of the promised earthly Paradise under Christ's Kingdom, one wants to share it with others. You will too. It is good news!— Acts 5:41, 42 .

Doing this is an important way of showing that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ. In the Bible, Jesus is called "the faithful and true witness." When on earth he preached, saying: "The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near," and he sent out his disciples to do the same. ( Revelation 3:14 ; Matthew 4:17 ; 10:7 ) Later, Jesus commanded his followers: "Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, . . . teaching them." He also foretold that before the end, "this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations."— Matthew 24:14 ; 28:19, 20 .

An earlier thread got me thinking: The governing body has implied, suggested and taught that the majority of Jesus' promises in the New Testament, such as going to heaven, apply just to them and the other "anointed." If that's the case, wouldn't Jesus' command to preach and go door to door apply just to them, too? Also, if it's true that the anointed aren't all old and dead but still being called to be part of the 144,000 to this day -- as they recently expressed with new light -- why aren't they carrying the bulk of the preaching work instead of just doing "street witnessing" on occasion or pressuring the great crowd to do it? The governing body is much younger now, they can surely do more. They don't appoint any of the "great crowd" to become members of their elite body, so why would they delegate their main responsiblity as preachers to mere, lowly members of the great crowd? It doesn't make sense.

16

UK Gay Marriage 2015! :)

by TimothyT in

there is a huge debate going on about it now between governments and religions.

i say bring it on.

i wonder what the jw stance on this issue is!

matt2414

Nic, that's a really good question. But I think some gay people who have faith in Christ and want to be accepted by a church are just like straight people. They may have been raised in religion or seek validation that someone higher loves them and made them the way they are. Although I'm gay, I'm not sure what I believe anymore. That's why I ask a lot of sincere questions and listen to the answers. I do not believe I know it all.

On the other hand, I don't see the "clear homophobia" in the Bible you talk about. At one time, people said the Bible was anti-black. Later, they said the Bible condemns mixed marriages. Others have said the Bible denegrates women. So this is what I did. I stopped listening to the voices of religious leaders and their followers, I ignored the traditions of the people of Bible times, and just focused on Jesus. It was then I realized that Jesus never put down women; he didn't insult prostitutes or those who were suffering from women's health problems. He got along with women great, and he trusted them more than some men, and they trusted him. (He appeared to women first, after his resurrection.) I also saw that he never used racism in his comments, although it was common at the time. For example, he never ridiculed Samaritans or gentiles like some of his Jewish opponents did, or as historians tell us was common at the time. (John 8:48: Jewish opponents attempted to insult Jesus by saying he was a "Samaritan and demon-possessed." Jesus denied being demon-possessed while ignoring the comment about being a Samaritan, not lowering himself to their level.) He was kind to lepers, something that was unheard of at the time. Also, he never criticized gays or lesbians, even though they surely existed. He doesn't even mention them; it wasn't an issue with him. When he said God loved the world, he meant everybody. John 3:16.

It seems that the Bible can act as a mirror. People who see hate in there, are really seeing what's in their own hearts, or at least in the heart of the person preaching to them at their church. That's my opinion, but I'm not sure what I believe anymore. But I do find it all very fascinating though.