Steel

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Posts by Steel

• 
  39

  "Forced" study with an Elder - The first question i will pose, help appreciated.

  by CitizenofEarth in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  hello folks.

  as some of you might know my dad couldnt keep quiet about my view of the world, so i have been "forced" to study with an elder.

  otherwise i would be dragged to questioning, which is to much pressure for a young inexperienced person like me.

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  Steel

  Ask what the new convenant is ask about the new understanding of the faithful slave is. Then state " so we believe Jesus died to give us the slave ? ". Then ask if he could tell you the story of the golden calf again.
  
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  25

  Has anyone here joined a different church after ditching the JWs?

  by NikL in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am just curious.. i have a cousin who is a baptist and his church streams their sunday services and i've been checking them out before i go to meeting with my jw wife.. i haven’t been to a church except for the occasional funeral and wedding and the only sermons i had heard were the tel-evangelist type.

  anyway, all the church bashing by jws over the years made me unsure what to expect and i was pleasantly surprised.

  they do use the bible and they don't spend the whole time begging for money.

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  Steel

  I grew up in a normal evangelical Christian church and left in my late teens, like many of us do. Met a JW girls, spent a numbers of years in the KH and went back to the church I left in my teens.

  I soon realized the KH is like bizarre world where everything was backwards. Its wasn't a church, it was a hall. We are saved though works, not grace. It was a stake, not a cross. We display our loyality to god my rejecting the emblems. We have our own bible called the NWT, all the other ones are corrupt.

  The one teaching that would make my blood boil was the great opposition you will face when become a Jehovah witness when leaving the false religions of christedom and how you would lose your family. I soon realized it was the exact opposite. Those fuckers just lie straight to your face. If you choose to go my man church , its going to cost you your family.

  I still can't get over the irony of that.
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  77

  Interpret John 1:1 by John 1:1.

  by towerwatchman in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  interpret john 1:1 by john 1:1. .

  the greek language has the definite article which has approximately thirty variations, is translated into english as “the”, and points to an identifiable personality, someone we have prior knowledge of.

  but the greek language has no indefinite article corresponding to the english “a”, or “an”.

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  Steel

  The Call of Jeremiah

  4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

  5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
  before you were born I set you apart;
  I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

  6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

  7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

  9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.

  
  God appearing as a man as the world in the old testament.

  
  

  1 Samuel 3New International Version (NIV)

  The Lord Calls Samuel

  3 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

  2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel.

  Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

  Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

  8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

  Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

  10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
  

  And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God,[a] and he failed to restrain them. 14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”

  15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”

  Samuel answered, “Here I am.”

  17 “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”

  19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

  There is also a direct ambiguity between seeing Jehovah and the word of the Jehovah. The terms seems to become interchangeable.

  When John was referring to Jesus as the " word " is a reference to the old testament
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  77

  Interpret John 1:1 by John 1:1.

  by towerwatchman in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  interpret john 1:1 by john 1:1. .

  the greek language has the definite article which has approximately thirty variations, is translated into english as “the”, and points to an identifiable personality, someone we have prior knowledge of.

  but the greek language has no indefinite article corresponding to the english “a”, or “an”.

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  Steel

  Again go back to the old testament and find the phrase " the word of the lord appeared " and see what is happening.

  Don't get caught up in the Jehovah Witness bamboozle and don't think you will out bamboozle the WTS.

  John 1:1 is a reference to Jesus being the physical manifestion of Jehovah in the old testament. Its pretty straight forward.
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  77

  Interpret John 1:1 by John 1:1.

  by towerwatchman in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  interpret john 1:1 by john 1:1. .

  the greek language has the definite article which has approximately thirty variations, is translated into english as “the”, and points to an identifiable personality, someone we have prior knowledge of.

  but the greek language has no indefinite article corresponding to the english “a”, or “an”.

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  Steel

  John 1:1 is a reference to the beginning of the Genesis ( with in the beginning meaning from without a start or end ) and it references the plurality of god ( let US make man in our own image). The term word is used because several times in the old testament god appears as a man to people as " the word of the lord ".

  Then it goes on to say no one at any time has seen the father , only the son.

  Then it goes on to quote the book of Isaiah when Jesus is coming " make way for the lord etc etc " .

  All of this is in the first freakin chapter of John. Now who did John or the writer of John believe Jesus was ?

  God in the Flesh or " a god " or very important person.

  There is no need to learn koine greek or Hebrew here people. Just read the stupid book.
  
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  2

  WTS unholy alliance

  by Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  sorry this is copy and paste but still i very interesting read imho.

  often, civil libertarians, and even occasionally christian conservatives, praise the watchtower society and jehovah's witnesses for what those ignoramuses erroneously characterize as the cult's decades-long fight to expand religious and other civil rights/liberties in american society.

  (erroneous because jws could care less about expanding rights/liberties for anyone but themselves.

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  Steel

  So the fact that WTS legal department uses Planned Parenthood rulings as basis for their HLC to fight with hospitals , does not kind of blow you away ?

  It kind of makes you think if you are doing gods work when you are on the same side as the abortonists.
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  2

  WTS unholy alliance

  by Steel in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  sorry this is copy and paste but still i very interesting read imho.

  often, civil libertarians, and even occasionally christian conservatives, praise the watchtower society and jehovah's witnesses for what those ignoramuses erroneously characterize as the cult's decades-long fight to expand religious and other civil rights/liberties in american society.

  (erroneous because jws could care less about expanding rights/liberties for anyone but themselves.

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  Steel

  Sorry this is copy and paste but still I very interesting read IMHO. Taken from JWdivorces.com
  

  
  

  
  

  Often, civil libertarians, and even occasionally Christian Conservatives, praise the WatchTower Society and Jehovah's Witnesses for what those ignoramuses erroneously characterize as the Cult's decades-long fight to expand religious and other civil rights/liberties in American society. (Erroneous because JWs could care less about expanding rights/liberties for anyone but themselves. JWs look forward to "Armageddon", when Jesus Christ returns to destroy everyone but the JWs.) Despite the self-serving intentions of the WatchTower Cult, BUT-FOR its' many courtroom victories over the decades, other religious minorities such as Muslims, Hindus, Wiccans, Pagans, and other heathens would not be able to exercise their "freedom of religion" in America's classrooms, government buildings, and elsewhere. Today, even children and ignorant adults who are not Jehovah's Witnesses frequently refuse to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and/or stand in respect for a performance of the National Anthem.

  
  

  Over the decades, the WatchTower Cult has shared ideals, goals, and legal precedents with other groups which have common legal causes, interests, and goals. Opening the way for Jehovah's Witnesses to reject blood transfusions opens the way for other life-saving medical procedures to be refused by all others. "Right-to-die" and "assisted suicide" advocates share common legal arguments with the Jehovah's Witnesses.

  
  

  The continued legal fight for unfettered abortion shares some of the same arguments as does the continuing blood transfusions issues as such relate to "unborn children", or as the WatchTower Cult's Legal Department prefers to label them when arguing such court cases -- "fetuses". Legal precedents have been shared by abortionists and Jehovah's Witnesses, alike. The milestone abortion legalization decision, ROE v. WADE (1973), was not an isolated legal decision that jumped up out of nowhere. No, ROE "stood on the backs" of many predecessors, just as subsequent pro-abortion court decisions have stood on the back of ROE. ROE's predecessors had to slowly chip away at many entrenched ideas found in prior legal precedent. The rights of adult females had to take priority over the rights of their unborn children. Unborn children had to be devalued. Unborn children were not even children, or even babies. They first had to become "fetuses". They had to become "its". [Trivia lovers might be interested to know that "Jane Roe", the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, had been reared in the Jehovah's Witnesses.]

  For those pregnant Jehovah's Witnesses whom courts were requiring to accept blood transfusions medically necessary to preserve the health and/or life of their unborn children, it was essential that those unborn children stopped being considered as living, breathing "humans", or "babies", or 'infants", or "children", or "boys" and "girls". Those globs of human tissue instead had to become "fetuses". Then, liberal judges with no souls could more easily determine that a Jehovah's Witness Mother owed that glob of tissue no duty to preserve its life. (That attitude will change quickly if and when a doctor or hospital is at fault for causing the harm. See below.) One can't help but wonder how often attorneys from the WatchTower Cult assisted some of these other groups with their own causes in order to establish precedents which would further the WatchTower Cult's own legal goals.

  Note carefully the selected verbiage of this previously distributed "DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE" form once provided to all Jehovah's Witnesses: (Accenting ours.)

  (9) [This paragraph applies only to pregnant women.] In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 860 (1992), the Supreme Court confirmed that “viability marks the earliest point at which the State’s interest in fetal life is constitutionally adequate to justify a legislative ban on therapeutic abortions.” Thus, since I have the right to abort my pregnancy before viability I necessarily have the lesser right to refuse blood transfusions before viability. In addition, even if my fetus is viable, the Supreme Court has said that mothers cannot be exposed to increased medical risks for the sake of their fetuses and that the state’s interest in the potential life of the fetus is insufficient to override the mother’s interest in preserving her own health. Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, 476 U.S. 747, 768-71 (1986); see Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 846 (1992). Also, in the cases of In re A.C., 573 A.2d 1235 (D.C. 1990), and In re Doe, 632 N.E.2d 326 (Ill. App. Ct.), cert. denied, 114 S. Ct. 1198 (1994), refusals of treatment by women with viable fetuses were upheld. Although both of these cases involved Caesarean sections, as a matter of principle and logic they show that it is the pregnant woman who should decide what is to be done to herself and her fetus. Therefore, I demand that my refusal of blood and choice of alternative nonblood management be followed and that my doctors manage my care and the care of my fetus without transfused blood.
  
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  10

  JW VS Catholic

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  most of us know that jw despise the catholic church the most among many religions for many years.

  my question is do catholic church despise jw as much as the witnesses despise the catholic faith?.

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  Steel

  I grew up in a normal non denominational evangelical church and about once a year there was a sermon warning about the Jehovah witnesses. Its wasn't hate filled or anything. They basically told us that the WTS is a stupid cult teaching a false gospel that destroys lives and families.

  It is really shocking how hate filled the WTS is when you are raised away from it. For everything other churches say about the WTS , it is literally 100X worse coming back.

  Hell, I would have to say about 25% of what is taught now in the KH is just villainizing ex members or other Christian sects.
  
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  36

  What is the basis for advising “Don’t pursue higher studies”?

  by venus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  two elders who visited my friend last week encouraged her not to pursue higher studies.

  it seems they are dishing out the same old stuff: “the end is imminent, and this is the time to do more in the service; hence don’t waste your resources on higher studies.”.

  i wonder whether there was some official communiqué (something that is sent out recently like letter to the elders, or kingdom ministry article …).

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  Steel

  I always wonder how educated witnesses take this stuff with any seriousness or the whole wts as a whole serious.

  Ever cong seems to have that engineer or accountant or doctor.
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  23

  Looking for my little sister.

  by DeadmanWalking in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have a little sister havnt seen or heard from in 20 years she was da for attending a church she was 17 at the time she moved out and lived with a family not jw's in fact they are very a posed to jw's the past 20 years i've tried to make contact she won't respond all i know is she's got kids 2 or 3 of them she lives outside charlotte nc and works for a insurance company as an underwriter.

  i think her husband is a police officer ?

  being back in her life having a niece or nephew to watch grow up would be nice.

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  Steel

  Don't worry. You haven't given up any real personal details.

  Serious, how far away does she live? Go visit her.