i ask this respectfully, and do so after watching a favorite show of mine's season opener which had a new years storyline.
hollywood tends to make movies and television show episodes centered around holiday themes appear warm and blissful.
while i'm thankful to have never participated in such holidays, i can't deny my curiosity about ex-jws that do celebrate.
Tootired2care said "I didn't leave "the truth" (please stop calling it that), I left a mind controlling cult". Well as a matter of fact, it is the truth. However it is presented by a mind controlling cult, which erases its meaning and effectiveness.
Even if I weren't raised a JW, I would not get into the holidays because I like my freedom and do not want to be enslaved by the holidays.
they do not do a good job of exploring why different people stop going to the meetings and make any improvements.. this is a quote from another topic.
it reminds me of the may 15 2012 study article about marry only in the lord, p 4 para7.
they are not trying to improve their product (the people).
"Marry only in the lord means to marry another Christian. Doesn't mean to marry only in your own CULT religion. That's what the G.B. want so they can be controlled."
When Paul wrote "Marry only in the lord", he did not limit it to only those who read his writing and followed his writings and went to the meetings that he arranged. He focused on the belief and following of the Christ. But the GB wants it to be only people who follow what they wrote and their meetings.
for me it is the smugness.
it's their inability and refusal to admit they are wrong....ever...even in the face of irrefutable evidence.
isn't pride a sin?
I will add that what is irritating is that the belief that what people do matters.
The celebration of the holidays, the icons, blood transfusions, marrying one not a Witness, nationalism, the meetings and field service, as if those things matter to God.
There have been 10 billion people over these past 6000 years. To think that what one does or wears is important to the Almighty, is arrogant.
Then to think that people who do not please God will die at armageddon. What happens when one dies? That one is dead, unconscious. To focus one's conscious life on a time that one is not conscious on the hope of not being unconscious, does not make sense.
do the jw's have any scriptural basis for this, since these scriptures clearly state otherwise, john 3:3,5,7 romans 8:9 1john 5;12-13????
?.
Raven: you said " look at verse jesus words unless "anyone" verse 15 vesre 16 everyone verse 7 no it was not just him"
You wouldn't know Jesus' word unless John had written them down, and how do we know that they are fully accurate. The problem that I have is that it was a one to one conversation with Nicodemus, not his speaking to his disciples as a whole, or the crowd of 5000.
Why are people drawing their faith on a one to one conversation?
Even if Jesus said 'unless anyone', then it was not meant for everyone to know unless he said it in a way for everyone to hear.
do the jw's have any scriptural basis for this, since these scriptures clearly state otherwise, john 3:3,5,7 romans 8:9 1john 5;12-13????
?.
Being born again is not necessary to enter into in the kingdom.
That was a specific statement that Jesus said to Nicodemus.
And the Bible can not be the basis of what happens because those are conversations and letters, not statements of declarations to everyone.
for me it is the smugness.
it's their inability and refusal to admit they are wrong....ever...even in the face of irrefutable evidence.
isn't pride a sin?
Most irritating thing is how everything is a privilege.
Pioneering, working at Bethel, cleaning the kingdom Hall, field service, missionary work on your own dime, giving a talk on the school
is a privilege. Everything literally is a privilege.
ones that have themes that come uncomfortabllly close to the cult dynamic.. i already got him to watch the obsolete man on twilight zone.
he sauggested watching some old tz again tonight so i wioll pick where is everybody, and escape clause.. i have heard oters say the movie truman show was a good movie as is the matrix ( though i detest violence).
any more suggestions for my personal handy dandy list?.
Swingkids
Nazi Germany and propaganda
against some suspicions about security that i had, i just downloaded the new jw library app onto my ipad.
among its top features, it has an "introduction that answers 20 bible questions.
(click introduction tab at top).
The bible does have a single message or theme running through it. The seed ending with Jesus will redeem from sin and death.
"one of the bible study was listening and singing the song by jason mraz titled lucky with the chorus going like this;.
quote.
'i'm lucky i'm in love with my best friend.. lucky to have been where i have been.. lucky to be coming home again.. lucky we're in love in every way.. lucky to have stayed where we have stayed.. lucky to be coming home someday..'.
Can't say "ass" as that has been replaced with donkey.
"one of the bible study was listening and singing the song by jason mraz titled lucky with the chorus going like this;.
quote.
'i'm lucky i'm in love with my best friend.. lucky to have been where i have been.. lucky to be coming home again.. lucky we're in love in every way.. lucky to have stayed where we have stayed.. lucky to be coming home someday..'.
Can't say "ass" as that has been replaced with donkey.
