Posts by truth_b

8

Help needed

by NewLight in

jw
friends

i’ve been visiting this site for quite a long time, although i rarely posted.

i would like to thank simon and all the participants, for the valuable information and support that is available here, for anyone searching about the jw organization.. just a brief introduction of myself: i live in europe (english is not my native language, so please bear with any mistakes i make).

i was born in a jw family and i’m still in the organization, but i’ve been “on the fence” about leaving the organization for quite a long time.

truth_b_known

So I would first like to ask if anyone who was raised as a jw and left the organization, would like to share how easy or difficult this transition was.

I did not consider leaving until I was in a situation were I was unable to regularly attend meetings for work. I stopped studying, reading Watchtower publications, and going in field service. Then I missed months worth of consecutive meetings.

Then came a move to another state. Now I was isolated from former friends and family. I had already started relying on co-workers who befriended me instead of Witnesses.

Here is how I would look at the whole situation -

Determine if you are financially independent from JW family. Can you pay for your housing, food, and monthly expenses without any problem? Do you live in your own home? If you cannot say "yes" to both questions without hesitation leaving will be near impossible.
Do you have a support structure of non-JW family and friends? Can you start making one? Having someone who you can rely on for emotional support is essential. That is why the Watchtower preaches not making friends outside the organization. It is the number one way they maintain control over you.
Can you live happily without having regular association with your JW family members? Once you can live with this and the above two point you are ready to leave.

11

Looking at things from Jehovah's perspective...actually, the Watchtower Society's perspective

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

the watchtower—study edition | march 2022. study article 12. do you see what zechariah saw?.

11. what challenges do some of jehovah’s worshippers face today?.

11 change is challenging for many of us.

truth_b_known

Some who served in a form of special full-time service for a long time have received a change of assignment. Others have had to relinquish a cherished privilege because of their age. It is normal to feel disappointed when such a change affects us. Initially, we may not fully understand the decision or agree with it.

Let's go through this word salad -

Some who served in a form of special full-time service for a long time have received a change of assignment. Translation: The now defunct District Overseer assignment and other assignments that received full financial support were cut due to corporate downsizing.

Others have had to relinquish a cherished privilege because of their age. Translation: Bethel volunteers who took an oath of poverty and relied 100% on the Watchtower were thrown out into the cold streets. These volunteers aged-out and would have been a financial burden to the Watchtower.

Initially, we may not fully understand the decision or agree with it. Translation: You have seen the injustice and question the Watchtower's claim in being God's chosen spokes piece.

7

Philosophical Question

by budbayview in

according to the bible, there was dissention in heaven or god’s kingdom.

in god’s own courtyard, the factors existed for such, that perfect creations morphed into gods’ opposition, even in the presence of the universal creator.

accordingly, they are still at it, hell bent on destroying all.. here is my question; how is it that the creation thinks they can win a war with the universal creator?

truth_b_known

One possible explanation is that the illuminated serpent is not the bad guy in the story.

The serpent in the Garden of Eden story was not a literal snake. The Hebrew word for serpent also translates into the idea of to question. In other words, Eve in the story questioned what Adam had told her about the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Remember that historically the Jews did not have a character Satan the Devil until much later in their history. In the Old Testament the word that modern Bibles translate into Satan is a legal term, accuser. This would be the modern English equivalent to courtroom prosecutor.

Budbayview - Your question is as important as it is valid. Any spirit creation had direct access to the Almighty God of the Bible. They knew his scope and power. Any rebellion was an automatic death sentence with no hope of forgiveness.

Speaking from logic and reason, if the Bible were true, the only possibilities I can come to a conclusion are -

God made spirit creation immortal and they cannot be destroyed.
Being a spirit creation is a miserable existence and only God can end their suffering. However, the only way to get God to end their existence was to rebel.

3

UK pedestrian crossings

by BoogerMan in

jw
friends

did you know, (said with a michael caine voice) that many of the uk's pedestrian crossing consoles - upon which you find the button to press in order to cross - actually have a concealed button which is located underneath the console and out of sight!.

when the 'green man' lights up, the hidden button then rotates, letting people who are blind and deaf have a physical alert to know that it's now safe to cross the road..

truth_b_known

To use your Michael Caine voice you just have to start any conversation with "Hello. I'm Michael Caine."

20

Are you convinced what the Gospels say about Jesus is true?

by Fisherman in

probably, the greatest advocacy for the gospels is the jw publication: the greatest man that ever lived.

it convinced me.. everything else that the bible says about the resurrection and eternal life logically follows.. the testimony of a “witness” in court matters only if it is observation not commentary ( expert witness is also commentary): what did you see, what did you hear, what is the magnitude of your measurement.

not, are you convinced; that is only belief.

truth_b_known

Fisherman:

Your opinion on eye-witness testimony holds a many truths. Once again, examine the facts about the Gospels -

They were written by anonymous authors.

They were written 3 decades to 7 decades after the events that allegedly are written about took place.
The books of Matthew, Luke, and John are plagiarized versions of Mark.
The modern manuscript of the Gospels is dated to the second century CE.
Manuscripts were hand copied with each copy increasing number of errors.
One example of an error is ink leaking through the front side of the paper to the back side changing a word that implies Jesus is God.

Now consider this -

The Almighty of the Universe decides that a book should be written over a span of centuries. These words are supposed to be inspired and true. However, that same Almighty One does absolutely nothing to ensure that these books are copied accurately over the centuries for future generations to come to have accurate accounts of what happened and what was said.

The modern Bible is riddled with errors simply from copying copies of copies over and over again. For what reason would a perfect god who demands perfection allow its sacred texts to be made imperfect by human hands? Not to mention that those who took responsibility on the deciding after the fact to exclude scriptures from the Bible violated Revelation 22:18-19 and that most of the Bible is a violations of Deuteronomy 4:2.

30

Opinions on the Divine name in the New Testament? + an interesting question

by Blotty in

i am genuinely curious and mainly posting this for research purposes, i do not have enough knowledge on either of these subjects to debate them in any useful manner.. (this information is as far as i am aware and may be incorrect in places)as most know the nwt is known for placing a form of the divine name in the nt (new testament) - while i agree the evidence is significantly weak for it too appear in the nt, a few things must be considered - (from my limited research)rev references the name twice (3:12, 14:1)early copies of the lxx contain the divine name (likely the versions that the nt writers copied?

stafford has a couple of videos on this subject)it was emphasized over and over the name [divine name, which ever form you prefer] would be "known" (other words used aswell) forever - if this is true, why then go against your own message in some cases and replace it with a surrogate?some also claim the nwt is dishonest for not translating some occurrences of "lord" as the divine name - common ones i notice are: phil 2:10-11, 1pe 3:14-15, heb 1:10yet these all use "lord" as a title not a proper noun, seems to be staunch trinitarians who make this claim most oftenscholar qualifications:why does a scholars qualification's matter?

sounds dumb i know.

truth_b_known

From the historical standpoint the Israelite deity's name has changed over time.

First there was El -

He was a Canaanite God, worshiped as the Creator of the Universe and husband of Asherah by Northwest Semitic peoples and was also worshiped as the God of Israel, which he later ceased to be as he was considered a "false God". This is due to the fact that he was not an avatar of God like El Shaddai, the Ancient of Days or Allah, but was a descendant of Khaos, a very powerful amoral entity that inhabited the Endless Void before creation.

After Moses founded the worship of Yahweh, unlike Asherah, El and Yahweh began to be considered the same God. After millennia, it is not known what happened to El.

El - Canaanite God, the God of the Hebrew Bible | Mythology.net

Asherah Blog | History's Vanquished GoddessAsherah Resource & Reference Update Page

After Israel was conquered by the Assyrians they were exposed to the Zoroastrian religion and adopted the concept of monotheism. El had become YHWH.

20

Are you convinced what the Gospels say about Jesus is true?

by Fisherman in

probably, the greatest advocacy for the gospels is the jw publication: the greatest man that ever lived.

it convinced me.. everything else that the bible says about the resurrection and eternal life logically follows.. the testimony of a “witness” in court matters only if it is observation not commentary ( expert witness is also commentary): what did you see, what did you hear, what is the magnitude of your measurement.

not, are you convinced; that is only belief.

truth_b_known

Using the above analogy I can provide the following information for your consideration -

"Eye-witness" testimony has been shown to be the most erroneous evidence at a trial. Two contributing factors are 1) point-of-view and 2) memory. Human memory has been shown to misremember or even invent information the memory holder swears to be true.

What do we known about The Gospels -

The first Gospel believed to be written is The Book of Mark
The other Gospel books plagiarized Mark
The most erroneous Gospel being The Book of John which manufactured miracles and alleged divinity of Jesus
The Gospel authors are anonymous
Modern Bibles are erroneous copies of copies based on erroneous manuscripts that are dated centuries after the events contained in the books allegedly happened.
The Gospels were written between 66CE to 110CE
The Gospels were written 33 to 77 years after the events written about are alleged to have taken place

Conclusion -

The Gospels are a document written by anonymous sources 3 to 7 decades after the events that are alleged to have occurred. If this is your only evidence you do not hold truth or knowledge, but rather belief which is the same as faith. In other words you hold a venerated opinion.

Fisherman, you are 100% correct. Knowledge comes only from personal experience.

13

Songs that help recovery

by peacefulpete in

jw
friends

are there songs that seem to speak to you?

maybe especially when leaving the church and losing friends and family.

i still pause when i hear hennly's heart of the matter.

truth_b_known

About 3 years ago I had to face facts about how toxic I was. This song summed things up rather well. I would sing it to myself while looking into a mirror as a statement that I was no longer going to be "that guy" in the mirror.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LfZcmv8BMg

I want to break free, I want to break free

I want to break free from your lies

You're so self-satisfied I don't need you

I've got to break free

God knows, God knows I want to break free

I've fallen in love

I've fallen in love for the first time

This time I know it's for real

I've fallen in love, yeah

God knows, God knows I've fallen in love

It's strange but it's true, hey

I can't get over the way you love me like you do

But I have to be sure when I walk out that door

Oh, I want to be free, baby

Oh, how I want to be free

Oh, I want to break free

But life still goes on

I can't get used to living without, living without

Living without you by my side

I don't want to live alone, hey

God knows, got to make it on my own

So, baby, can't you see I've got to break free?

I've got to break free

I want to break free, yeah

I want, I want, I want

I want to break free

20

How do Jehovah's Witnesses differ from first century Christians?

by Vanderhoven7 in

let me start with a couple of distinctions.. first century christians:.

1. baptized military personnel.. 2. baptized men with political authority.

.

truth_b_known

The first Christians were Jews practicing Judaism while practicing the altruistic lifestyle Jesus' preached about.

In addition -

14. There were no books used to interpret scripture.

15. There were no extra-scriptural books or magazines.

16. There was no Bible. Just the Torah and some letters written (Mostly by Paul).

17. There were no requirements to become baptized.

18. There was no obsession with being different.

19. There was no obsession with man-made rules and regulations (exception: Paul did this).

20. The practice of Apostolic Succession (exception: Paul. Paul pulled a Rutherford and declared himself an Apostle).

21. Christians were required to sell all personal property and donate the proceeds to the church (communal living).

22. Those who travelled to visit the various churches were self-employed instead of living off donations and "green-handshakes".

52

List of Things We Were NOT Allowed To Do as JW's

by Sea Breeze in

jw
friends

here's my list of jw no-no's as i recall: .

1. no giving or accepting valentine candy for students.

2. no going to home coming football games.

truth_b_known

Was "Cannot obtain higher education" mention?

Also, how about -

Cannot refuse to indoctrinate your child or give them the freedom to decided whether or not they want to join the cult.
Cannot be in a romantic relationship unless your intention is marriage (Men - this means you have to be able to financially support a family before dating. Women - this means you have to be of legal age to marry...that's it?!?)

truth_b_known

Posts by truth_b_known