i don't know how many times i have heard that lie from the platform.
i have heard that line of rubbish at big and great boasting sessions as well.
the witlesses act as if they get as many toys as worldly people, just scattered throughout the year.. now, i have seen many cases where that simply isn't true.
^^^I too am a terrible gift wrapper. Bags with tissue are my best friend.
To be honest, I have zero interest in Christmas.
I will say this though. My family did a good job of not making me feel left out. They always did what they could, bought me things when they could, and we had our own little rituals and things that I remember fondly. I know I am one of the lucky ones, but it isn't universal.
i just wanted to give an overall apology regarding how i was speaking to people on friday.
but the shooting really shook me up.
i think i said some things that were offensive to people, and even if my words were not offensive, the way i expressed myself was.
I didn't catch it, but I think its understandable. Who could blame God for something so nuts? This is a complex problem with no solution. Its something that is often irrationally explained using hindsight as preventable. There is no such thing.
I thought of those kids, and tears rolled. I have children now. I didn't in 9/11. That is maybe the main difference.
I catch myself wondering where God was sometimes. My comfort is in knowing he is the God of "the living and the dead" because to him they are all living. It is impossible to make sense out of.
hi guys,.
i was asked to give final prayer today after the field service meeting.
i asked for jah to bless and comfort the families of the newtown, ct massacre.
Hey FTF,
I condusted an informal experiment. I went to my meeting on Sunday. Nothing. i asked my sister. Nothing. I asked my mother and father. Nothing. I asked the people that work for me (3 different halls). Nothing. I called my friends in other states. Nothing.
Out of 12 people I asked, only one said the hall mentioned anything about the tragedy, and that is was vague, did not ention the event, and just said that people need hope in trying times.
Nothing in print has been written about this. I also believe most JW's do not agree with this, if they even notice. It speaks to the larger issue the religion has. That it is engrained in the very culture, to be "separate" from everything to an extreme un non-christian degree.
The reason nobody in any of those halls prayer for the victems, is because they weren't JW's. Maybe they didn't even think about it, but that is why. This young brother was couseled for doing so. I was counseled last year for praying for those that "oppose" us.
Nothing send you down the road of opposition faster, that feeling like you are on the wrong side of compassion!!
I'm telling you man. I know someone in the writing dept. If you say it is a matter of physical health, and (this is very important), it is STARTING TO EFFECT YOU MENTALY, it is a done deal from the CO's perspective.
Happy hunting. Your prayer in FS thread made me sick to my stomach.
just had a couple of jws stop by my house.
they had been before several times and know that i'm a pretty devout catholic, so i'm sure they were just swinging by to get more time for the card.. well, this time the opening line was about the tragedy in ct. i mean, really?
you're going to try to get converts by capitalizing on this tragedy?
Really Catholics don't believe that we are in the "last days"? I don't thingk that is what the Vicar of Christ believes.
just had a couple of jws stop by my house.
they had been before several times and know that i'm a pretty devout catholic, so i'm sure they were just swinging by to get more time for the card.. well, this time the opening line was about the tragedy in ct. i mean, really?
you're going to try to get converts by capitalizing on this tragedy?
Hmmmmm, I don't know if Catholics have much of a leg to stand on here. Fear and judgement is the order of the day, especially in the less informed parts of the world.
They tie these things into their message as "proof" of the end times. You probably believe it is the end times too don't you?
hi guys,.
i was asked to give final prayer today after the field service meeting.
i asked for jah to bless and comfort the families of the newtown, ct massacre.
Dude I still can't get over that I was counseled for EXACTLY what the scripture says to do. Pray for our "enemies".
You cna't make sense of it. Someone asks if you are ok, just say no, that is why I want to step down. Please just let me do it without the back and forth.
Cofy is correct. Once you begin to really feel and understand compassion for NON-JW's in addition ot your "brotherhood", you can see where the issues are.
Since you don't want to be a servant, and it is somehow inappropriate to pray for people suffering (use the scriptures shared with you above.....there is no comeback for them), you probably should just claim "discouragement" which is a code to the CO that you need to be taken out of that position.
This thread is making me angry. I called and asked 5 of my friends in different halls. Nobody prayed for the families. I mean I get that it isn't a foregone conclusion, but come on.
going for a word by word bible reading/study with a jw, no literature involved and maybe using more than one versions.
is that a wise move and is there any advantage?.
Hey FC,
Well now that we are into this it seems the reasons are a little more clear. Just my 2 cents.
1) Some people here disparage the NWT. I quite frankly other than the use of Jehovah in the NT in places not quoting the OT, have no problem with the NWT at all. Some people feel it is biased, and quite frankly that charge could go both ways. Most of the scriptures up for discussion, are trinitarian related in my humble opinion.
2) More important than the bible you use, its the CONTEXT of what you read. Make sure to develope your critical thinking. i myself consider my self a Christian (trying to be anyways), but I hold no fundamentalist views really.
3) Try to avoid doctrine.
4) Accept the good for what it is. Gary gave you great advise. He probably has always had in his mind what a perfect family is, and what would make him happy. He is probbaly trying to "settle down".
5) THIS IS KEY. If the point of this study is to get you to be a JW, and at the end you already know that if you are not one he will not be with you, stop this now. You should be frank with him up front. Ask if you were not to be a JW, would he still love you or be with you. Even after you gave it a fair shot. if the answer is no.....step.
DO NOT FORGET NUMBER 5!
hi guys,.
i was asked to give final prayer today after the field service meeting.
i asked for jah to bless and comfort the families of the newtown, ct massacre.
I think even if there is a prayer, its more along the lines of "please help them find the truth", than it is to just plain help people who have lost their children. I asked my wife if they prayed for the families like every other church in the world did on Sunday. It is literally the LEAST that can be done.
She just looked down, and was upset. I never really thought about why it is so rare ot have local events or tragedies prayed for. I remember one time praying after a public talk, and I prayed for "those that may oppose us" (yeah thats right.......you guys), and I went on from there. I was counseled that while we pray for our enemies, the word oppose makes people think apostate and it is not appropraite to pray for apostates.
I asked them why not?.....silence. Like I was the stupid one.
hi guys,.
i was asked to give final prayer today after the field service meeting.
i asked for jah to bless and comfort the families of the newtown, ct massacre.
Man your elders seem especially terrible. Just sayin.
