this verse from the gospel of luke came to mind considering how many poor jws donate in the hope that they will get a new kingdom hall only to find out that their money have been stolen..
Growing up the Book Study was a big deal. I always remembered hearing as a kid that one day we might only be able to meet in homes during the Great Tribulation. Conventions was the other big thing.
Now all meetings have to be at a Kingdom Hall and Conventions are being held at Assembly Halls. Meanwhile, the super studio is being build so that no structure will be needed. All Watchtower properties can be sold for a profit.
genesis 6. .
5 the lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
6 the lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.
Here's a theory - the god of the Old Testament is not the god of the New Testament Jesus speaks of.
i will not take credit for the following.
the idea came to me during a funeral (non-jw).
the so of the deceased read 1 corinthians 13:4-8a.
Well you cannot substitute WT
Exactly!
i will not take credit for the following.
the idea came to me during a funeral (non-jw).
the so of the deceased read 1 corinthians 13:4-8a.
I will not take credit for the following. The idea came to me during a funeral (non-JW). The so of the deceased read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a. The son then read it, but changed the word "love" to his father's name. That gave me an idea...
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous. It does not brag, does not get puffed up, 5 does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. 6 It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails.
Try replacing the word "love" or its pronoun with whatever word, person, organization you like.
4 _____ is patient and kind. Love is not jealous. _____ does not brag, does not get puffed up, 5 does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. _____ does not keep account of the injury. 6 _____ does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. 7 _____ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 _____ never fails.
birthday wisdom magnum opus.
i was born 2 years after the end of wwii.. everything was in black and white.. harry truman was president.. mahatma gandhi was the spiritual leader of india.. .
by the time i was 5, a new-fangled invention called television.
"Smile because it happened."
Best advice ever to be given.
denial..
Sometimes people get so invested in something the refuse to listen. I mean really listen. As in they set aside beliefs, preconceptions, biases, preferences, likes, dislikes, opinions, and the like. Instead they listen for the echo of their own thoughts in the other's words or just don't listen at all.
The reason for this is fear. There is a lot of cognitive dissonance these days. If a person sacrificed every dream, wish, want, and desire to live a highly controlled life because the reward was going to be worth it I would imagine it would be difficult to come to terms with the fact that the reward was always just a creation of someone's egocentric imagination.
The human Ego is a highly defensive construct. It will not allow damage to itself or its owner, even at the expense of the owner. Your Ego doesn't care about you. The worst part is that the Ego is a mental construct. That is to say, it does not exist.
This is where the Sunk Cost Fallacy comes into play. That is why I rejoice when I see people in their 50s, 60, and 70s who wake up to realize the Watchtower sells fantasy. The price of that fantasy is extremely high.
friendly and good gorby smiled and waved towards 2 local jw's yesterday, and they turned with an angry face their back to me.
.
has something changed regarding faders recently?.
I was under the impression that language has appeared in the Watchtower that states Jehovah's Witnesses should treat those who intentionally stop associating (i.e. go to meetings, etc.) as those who disassociate themselves.
denial..
Many of us on here have read...
Beth Sarim could have stopped with that statement. It is well documented that the Watchtower's publication site non-Watchtower sources to prove their teachings, but do so unethically by giving quotes out of context. Look no further than Life! How Did it Get Here? By Creation or Evolution?
denial..
TBK- I don't cause divisions. That is a personal choice. I've made my views known to all the elders at every congregation I've been too.
Your POINT?
https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jehovah-witness-beliefs/
As Jehovah’s Witnesses, we strive to adhere to the form of Christianity that Jesus taught and that his apostles practiced. This article summarizes our basic beliefs.
Our organization. We are organized into congregations, each of which is overseen by a body of elders. However, the elders do not form a clergy class, and they are unsalaried. (Matthew 10:8; 23:8) We do not practice tithing, and no collections are ever taken at our meetings. (2 Corinthians 9:7) All our activities are supported by anonymous donations.
12. The Governing Body, a small group of mature Christians who serve at our world headquarters, provides direction for Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide.—Matthew 24:45.
45 “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time?" Matthew 24:45 NWT
DoubtingThomas - You asked a question. I gave you a test to find out the answer on your own. Why would the test be divisive if the answer to your question were "Yes"?
I provided direct quotes, in context, from JW.com on the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses. It clearly states in belief #12 that Jehovah's Witnesses believe the Governing body "provides direction" and then uses Matthew 24:45 as scriptural proof of this claim. Matthew 24:25 in the NWT reads that the master (Jesus) has "appointed over domestics" this faithful and discreet slave. That means Jehovah's Witnesses statement of belief declares they believe Jesus appointed the Governing Body over the rest of the congregation
You state you "don't cause divisions" and that your belief, which is clearly in contrast to those of Jehovah's Witnesses, is a "personal choice." Fair enough. However, this is a clear example of wanting to eat your cake and have it too. Jehovah's Witnesses pride themselves in that all members and all congregations are in agreement on doctrine, worldwide. Any deviation of belief held by Jehovah's Witnesses by a Jehovah's Witness is apostasy according to the definition of Jehovah's Witnesses.
https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/Reasoning-From-the-Scriptures/Apostasy/
They may claim to serve God but reject his representatives, his visible organization
According to JW.org, a mark of an apostate is one of Jehovah's Witnesses who "claim to serve God but reject representatives."
There is no degree of rejection required. There is no defense such as "one who claims to serve God but openly reject representatives." So, if you keep it to yourself or only mention it to the elders you're good, but if you proclaim to the entire congregation that you reject the Governing Body then you are a divisive apostate.
denial..
Doubting Thomas:
You ask the question of users of this forum -
"Why do Anti-Jws refuse to answer questions- and ignore our answers?"
You asked a specific question - "Can a person be one of Jehovah's Witnesses without acknowledging the Governing Body as his leader?"
Users of this forum consist mostly of former Jehovah's Witnesses. A few users have never been one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Some are as we say PIMO (Physically In Mentally Out). They attend meetings and go through the motions, but they no longer believe it is the one, true religion. Some who have left have gone on to join other Christian religions. Many are no professed atheists or antitheists.
What all of us who were Jehovah's Witnesses and left or who are still holding oneself out to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses, but secretly no longer are a believer all agree on is this - If one of Jehovah's Witnesses openly denies the position of the Governing Body as the only leaders of the organization such a person would face some consequences up to and including being disfellowshipped.
DoubtingThomas - I won't tell you that you are not one of Jehovah's Witnesses because you do not believe the Governing Body is the leader of the organization. I won't tell you whether Jehovah accepts your worship or not because of your beliefs. What I will tell you is real knowledge can only come from personal experience.
If you want true and real knowledge you must validate the answers through personal experience. It is the only way. I realize COVID-19 has done a lot to interfere with Jehovah's Witnesses' meetings and the like. However, the next time there is an in person meeting or even a Zoom meeting I encourage you to test your answer to your own question. Test our answer to your question. Raise your hand to answer a question. At some point when you answer make the statement: "I do not believe the Governing Body is anything more than brothers like me and they are not my leaders." Then see what response you receive.
After you complete your experiment come back here with the results. I encourage conducting the experiment at least twice. Possibly 3 times to validate your data. If the data shows you are correct I will humbly accept your data and apologize for any harm my contradictory claim has caused. If the data shows we were correct, look on the bright side - you have a place to come to share in experienced truth.
