Reports are emerging through the Associated Press that the Watch Tower Society may face penalties over chemical waste that was buried many years ago near the Watchtower Farms complex in upstate New York. The Times Herald-Record reports that several 55-gallon drums containing benzene, xylene, and other chemicals hazardous to human health have been unearthed. The […]
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We have written a number of times on the site about disfellowshipping and shunning of a fellow brother or sister. We know that even Jesus himself was “disfellowshipped” by the Jewish Sanhedrin. As currently practiced, this Witness doctrine goes far “beyond the things that are written” (1 Corinthians 4:6) by enforcing a list of over a hundred different things a person could be expelled for [1]. How much needless pain and suffering has this doctrine caused you or someone you love? 60,000 are added to this list by elders that are “just following orders” every year. Thousands of brothers have stepped down and resigned their position over the last several decades due to this and other aspects of the harshness and judging that they are pressed into service to do to their “fellow slaves”. (Matthew 18:28)
The following poem has been and continues to be inspirational to many that have been affected by this un-Christian practice:
(This article was written by brother Ed and posted here by Greybeard) The organization of Jehovah’s Witness is truly made up of of many God fearing people. They have made a stance which often puts them at odds with “the world”. Most people do not understand their fervent desire to please God. Many of them […]
I went to the doctor the other day for a check up on my health. I told the doctor that I wanted to start exercising and eating right in hopes of not needing to take the blood pressure medication he had me on anymore. My doctor told me this would be impossible so I said […]
Continue reading about The Watchtower, God’s Sole Channel of Communication on Earth?
Perhaps you have seen the large sign on one of the buildings of the world headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses “Read God’s Word the Holy Bible Daily”. Without doubt this is good advice. And it is true that the organization does encourage bible reading. However this good advice is counteracted by discouraging deep bible study […]
he phrase “Jesus Loves You!” (with or without the exclamation point) is well known. In fact nearly all people on planet earth have heard it which of course to some extent makes the phrase a cliché. But the fact remains that Jesus does love us. He loves you, and he loves me. It can also be admitted that we all sometimes forget that God and his Son loves us. We forget in the sense that we get so wrapped up in the day-to-day pressures of life that we forget to reflect and exemplify Godly Joy as a fruit of His Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22; 1 John 4:8) Due to pressing problems such as stress on the job, making ends meet, health issues, our sinful nature, etc. we can become discouraged. And of course a large source of turmoil for many of us relates to our awakening to the flaws within the Watchtower Organization and its leadership. It has taken the place of Christ for some Witnesses, and many of us too were enmeshed in this false conviction at one time. We are here reading and commenting together on JWS because of our shared confusion and pain, even resentment.
Hay muchos hermanos y hermanas sinceros que no se quedan despiertos preguntándose en qué va a parar la organización. Simplemente están tratando de hacer lo mejor que pueden en su servicio a Jehová y de mostrar amor a los hermanos. A pesar de que saben que algo no anda bien, están esforzándose por mantenerse en “el amor de Dios”. (Romanos 8:38,39) Hay otros entre nosotros que no podemos seguir dando apoyo a una organización que según nuestra opinión ha actuado come un profeta falso y ha causado la pérdida de tantas vidas como resultado.
Sin importar en que grupo estemos, y sin importar que tan intensa es la lucha en nuestra consciencia, es crítico mantener nuestra fe y no desanimarnos. ¿No enfatizó Jesús que una parte importante del viaje en “el camino estrecho” es aguantar hasta el fin? (Mateo 7:13,14 ; Mateo 24:13) Así es que existe un peligro para nosotros como ex-testigos o testigos despertados que pudiéramos llegar a la conclusión de que “si la organización no es la verdad entonces no hay Dios”. Este es un lugar espiritualmente peligroso. Es como el niño que llega a saber que no existe el Papa Noel y dice a su mamá, “Si no existe Papa Noel quizás no hay Dios tampoco”. Posiblemente esta revelación es de poca importancia para un adulto, pero para el niño cuando se da cuenta de que se le han mentido toda su vida su fe es sacudida. La confianza que tiene en su padres y en la autoridad es dañada.
“In like manner, you wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, in order that, if any are not obedient to the word, they may be won without a word through the conduct of their wives, because of having been eyewitnesses of your chaste conduct together with deep respect.” – 1 Peter 3:1-2, New World Translation
The above scripture is used repeatedly in Watchtower publications to define the role of a Christian wife who finds herself married to a husband who does not share her faith. The scripture advises women in such a situation that they can win over their husbands “without a word”, or by letting their actions rather than their words give evidence that faith can make one a better person. In no way does it command any wife who faces abuse from her non-believing husband to remain with him regardless, and endure a violent relationship in the blind hope that he will eventually embrace her faith and stop abusing her.
The following quotes were published in the May 1, 1997 Watchtower: “JEHOVAH GOD is the Grand Identifier of his true messengers. He identifies them by making the messages he delivers through them come true. Jehovah is also the Great Exposer of false messengers. How does he expose them? He frustrates their signs and predictions. In […]
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“Lord, whom shall we go away to? You have sayings of everlasting life; and we have believed and come to know that you are the Holy One of God.” –John 6:68-69 So answered Peter when asked by Jesus whether he wanted to abandon him along with others who had found his teachings untenable. Time and […]
There are many sincere brothers and sisters out there that don’t lie awake and wonder where the organization is heading. They are just trying to make the best of their service to Jehovah and love the friends. Despite being aware that something’s not quite right, they are trying to stay in “God’s love”. (Romans 8:38-39) Others among us cannot make that leap and continue to support an Organization that they feel has behaved as a false prophet and caused the loss of so many lives as a result.
Regardless of which camp we fall into, and no matter how intensely this struggle hovers in the back of our consciousness, keeping faith and not “losing heart” is critical. Didn’t Jesus emphasize that part of our successful journey along the narrow road is to endure to the end? (Matthew 7:13,14; Matthew 24:13) So a danger for us as awakened or former Witnesses is that we could come to feel that “if this isn’t the truth then there is no God”. This is a spiritually dangerous place to be. It’s like the boy that found out there was no Santa Clause and then said to his mother, “Well if there’s no Santa then maybe there’s no God either.” This may seem trivial to an adult, but the little boy’s realization that he had been lied to for most of his short life shook his tender faith. His parents credulity and his trust in authority was seriously damaged.
Since I know this will be a controversial article let me start off by saying that this is only my opinion on what I feel the bible teaches about the Old Testament promises to Israel. Most of the Jews of the first century A.D. did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah mainly because they misunderstood […]
At the Watchtower study on November 10, 2011, you may have noticed these two paragraphs:
14 How do you react when Jehovah, the Source of spiritual enlightenment, sheds light on “the deep things of God” found in the Bible? (1 Cor. 2:10-13) We have an excellent example in the apostle Peter’s reaction when Jesus told His listeners: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.” Taking those words literally, many disciples said: “This speech is shocking; who can listen to it?” They “went off to the things behind.” But Peter said: “Lord, whom shall we go away to? You have sayings of everlasting life.”—John 6:53, 60, 66, 68.
15 Peter did not fully understand what Jesus said about eating His flesh and drinking
His blood. But the apostle relied on God for spiritual enlightenment. When spiritual
light on some matter gets brighter, do you try to understand the underlying Scriptural
reasons for the adjustment? (Prov. 4:18)
Continue reading about Who Today Sheds Spiritual Enlightenment?
As any JW male can attest to, there exists a pressure to “climb the theocratic ladder”. At first a JW brother is given small responsibilities like carrying mics. If he is responsible he is given bigger responsibilities until he is appointed as a ministerial servant and then an elder. Then as an elder he is encouraged […]
The scripture in 1 Corinthians 1:10 is an important Bible verse. This passage teaches us that we need to be united in our brotherly love and belief in Jesus Christ. Here it is in two different translations:
Now I exhort YOU, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that YOU should all speak in agreement, and that there should not be divisions among YOU, but that YOU may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought. (1 Corinthians 1:10 NWT)
Now I entreat you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to cultivate a spirit of harmony–all of you–and that there be no divisions among you, but rather a perfect union through your having one mind and one judgment. (1 Corinthians 1:10 Weymouth New Testament)
Continue reading about Watchtower Tenets and the Bed of Procrustes
s a person who has suffered from much resentment sense learning The Truth About the Truth (TTATT). I have needed to put tools into place in order to get over it. For me, it hasn’t been easy. I believed with all my heart that I would not grow old in this system and now that is where I find myself. Growing old and unprepared to support my wife and myself through old age. As much as I hate to admit it, I realize that ultimately the blame lies with me. I could have heeded the warnings about those who claim the end is close and warnings about false prophets from Christ but I didn’t. I also ignored the Watchtowers prophetic record especially when people at the door would mention it to me.
Continue reading about Removing Resentment for The Watchtower and our Jehovah Witness Families
I came across a fascinating (but too short!) biography of a brother who used to post on JWnet. He went far in the organization, reached many goals and milestones, but like many of us, realized that things weren’t lining up with the Scriptures. The apostle Paul had this to say about his journey:
I was making greater progress in Ju′da·ism than many of my own age in my race, as I was far more zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called [me] through his undeserved kindness, thought good 16 to reveal his Son in connection with me, that I might declare the good news about him to the nations, I did not go at once into conference with flesh and blood. 17 Neither did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles previous to me, but I went off into Arabia, and I came back again to Damascus. (Galatians 1:14-17, NWT)
Continue reading about An interesting biography that shows us what’s ahead
Because of my love for Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW’s), it’s easy for me to maintain a positive tone and show kindness toward them on this blog. Also, I do not promote blogs or websites which slander, show maliciousness, bitterness or have an ax to grind – so to speak – with JW’s or the Watchtower organization. […]
Continue reading about Analyzing The Watchtower’s View Of Apostasy
It’s time for part two of my article, in which I am discussing the unnerving similarities between the methods of the Westboro Baptist Church, notorious for its picketing of soldiers’ funerals, and those of Jehovah’s Witnesses, by far a more benevolent organization, although still wielding a disproportionate influence over most of our lives. I would […]
Those of you who live in America will have been familiar for some time with the Westboro Baptist Church, a radical and hateful denomination that feels it is fulfilling its Christian ministry and following in the footsteps of Christ by holding up offensive signs and picketing funerals, most notably those of fallen soldiers. I recently […]
here is a prayer often recited by people in various types of recovery programs called the Serenity Prayer. Here the short version:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
I have received a very kind invitation from JJ to contribute to this wonderful website, and it occurred to me that I would be remiss if I were to neglect making some kind of introduction. I then realised that introductions are considerably difficult, if not impossible, when done so anonymously. Like many who frequent this website, and like JJ himself, I am a free-thinking “inactive” publisher. I live in fear of being unmasked as somebody who disagrees with a significant percentage of the teachings of the organization I grew up in and once loved.
A brother using the name AwareBeing sent this to me and I felt it was worth thinking about:
Recently, a lot of current and former Jehovah’s Witnesses have increased their calls for reform in the governing body of it’s Watchtower and Tract corporations. Many are unsure where these efforts may be headed. Yet there are intriguing parallels to another incorporated religious body; that to outsiders looks like a sister faith to WT’s beliefs. It’s The Worldwide Church of God, founded by Herbert Armstrong!
When first made aware of this quote I didn’t really believe it. I didn’t want to believe it! If it wasn’t brought to my attention by a good friend, I wouldn’t even have bothered to look it up in the Watchtower Library. Because I know this person to be a serious Christian I did look it up, still not believing this quote could ever have been printed in a serious religious journal. Guess what, the quote below was copied right out of the Watchtower Library. Do you think this is the kind of thing that an organization directed by Jehovah’s Holy Spirit would print? Hardly! While they are not condoning in print the practice they mentioned, after such a statement, most Christians likely would feel compelled to launch into a condemnation of such a practice! To call it what it is, CHILD ABUSE! No, not the spirit led organization of God. They just take the tone that it’s probably not a good idea because it could cause your children to be masturbators in the future. This is a sick example of the Watchtower going places that they NEVER should go in the pages of their magazine. Is this organization spirit directed, you decide. I have…..
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Daniel was a servant of God known for integrity. What is integrity? Definition: The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
Wikipedia says this about integrity: Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one’s actions. Integrity can be regarded as the opposite of hypocrisy,[1] in that it regards internal consistency as a virtue, and suggests that parties holding apparently conflicting values should account for the discrepancy or alter their beliefs.
Integrity is the opposite of duplicity and hypocrisy.
Duplicity: contradictory doubleness of thought, speech, or action; especially : the belying of one’s true intentions by deceptive words or action.
We are bombarded with assertions and “proofs” all day long by the media, at school, through television and radio, books, newspapers, etc. The result is that we tend to take things with a grain of salt until we have had a chance to investigate it for ourselves. A common phrase is “Don’t believe everything you hear!” and it is for good reason that it is often repeated. The Bible at 1 John 4:1-3 tells us to “test the inspired expressions” so we can see if they are God’s words or not. Under inspiration, Job said “Does not the ear itself test out words As the palate tastes food?” (Job 12:11) When we read or study any subject,Biblical or not, this principle comes into play. We have to test it out for ourselves. Is the argument logical and reasonable? Does it align with the rest of the Scriptures in the Bible, or contradict it? Does it rely on human interpretation or theory? Is it easy to grasp or is the presentation very complicated? All these questions help us to “taste” the veracity of the claim, and figure out in our own mind if it is from God. With that in mind, a question and answer essay is presented on the topic of the star mentioned in Matthew chapter 2.
The Watchtower of 2006, 2/15 “Questions From Readers” article asks this: What three dangers was Jesus warning against at Matthew 5:22?
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ warned his followers: “I say to you that everyone who continues wrathful with his brother will be accountable to the court of justice; but whoever addresses his brother with an unspeakable word of contempt will be accountable to the Supreme Court; whereas whoever says, ‘You despicable fool!’ will be liable to the fiery Gehenna.”—Matthew 5:22.
Jesus used things familiar to the Jews—the court of justice, the Supreme Court, and the fiery Gehenna—to convey to them the increasing severity of the punishments for sins of increasing seriousness.
“Blinded By New Light” – A Response to the “Anti-Apostate” WT article of 9/11/2011, found in the July 15, 2011 study copy of the Watchtower. The following song represents a response to the inflammatory rhetoric and Ad Hominem attacks found in the Watchtower. It saddens us that the friends have been misled and revved up […]
The title of this article is “Rabbinical Legalism and Bible Study”, and I’m going to get to that first point momentarily. But let’s take the second part of the title first. I have finally been getting through Ray’s second book, In Search of Christian Freedom. It is superb, logical, and thought inducing over and over again. But to really understand the content and reasoning I have been looking up many of the references, and with a length of some 700+ pages, it’s taking me some time. That’s a lot to study! But whatever we choose to study though, you’ll agree that balance is needed. If we drench ourselves in an obscure passage of Hebrew Scripture and every footnote and cross-reference available for hours, days, and weeks, is that balanced if we don’t read or study anything else during those days or weeks?
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Recently we discussed the meaning of Jesus’ words “this generation” in Matthew 24:34 here. Are there more texts in the Greek Scriptures that would seem to indicate that the end, conclusion of the system of things, coming of Jesus etc. would happen in the first century? I have made a partial list of a few of […]
You may have heard the expression “Where’s the beef?” It is a phrase that questions the substance of an idea, event, or product. The Watchtower of 1956, June 1 page 346 paragraph 11 entitled “Keep Pace by Conforming to Theocratic Requirements” said this: Since the “faithful and discreet slave” has been entrusted with all the […]
Brother John May was an elder in Ireland for many years. Back when Brother Ray Franz was wrongly disfellowshiped he was bothered by it so much that he actually went into debt so that he could buy a plane ticket to America. He and another brother flew to Brooklyn, New York so that he could meet with the governing body at that time. He knew a couple of the brothers serving on the body personally, and had been an elder for many years, but despite that they refused to meet with him or the other brother, or to discuss what happened at Bethel and what happened to Brother Franz.
Continue reading about One of the best testimonies I’ve heard
Learning the truth about the Watchtower Society can be very painful for a number of reasons. First, it is so disconcerting to realize that the core of your existence and the foundations of your beliefs are false that it can throw you for a real loop. As Witnesses we are so confident in all of the answers we have been given, to questions that we never asked, that we mentally put ourselves up on a pedestal above the masses of poor, blind, “wicked” humanity. It sucks to realize that you are in the same place as all of the people you would look down upon previously. It is terrible when you look back and consider that your entire life up to this point has been devoted to faulty concepts generated by similarly deluded men.
What generation was Jesus talking about when he said in Matthew 24:34 – “I assure you: This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.”? I think one thing we will all agree on is that he was not talking about the generation of 1914 or the next overlapping generation. It […]
Did you feel the 5.8 earthquake yesterday? For many of you in the east this is a very rare event and probably your first time ever feeling an earthquake. Those of us in California have felt many. I myself would fear a tornado much more by far. Tornado’s kill people in the US every year. Today is the first day after the earthquake. I would guess that many JW’s are out in service today. This weekend the Kingdom Halls will probably be full on the east coast. No doubt the GB has already assigned someone to write an article about this event and how close we are to the end.
Here are some quotes from the Watchtower concerning “imperfect men” and how we should not follow what men say:
—————————————————–
“You may wisely decide against putting your trust in imperfect men and their fallible predictions and promises.” (3/15/66 page 168)
“Build your hope on Scriptural truth, not on the imaginations of imperfect men.” 1/1/68
“How deep-seated within imperfect men can be the desire for distinction, to have prominent positions and prestige.” (10/1/68)
“The Bible’s main objective is to provide sound guidance for living in harmony with the will of God. Logically, therefore, what it says should be far superior to what imperfect men not following it have recommended and continue to recommend as a guide.” (3/1/75)
“According to First Timothy 6:20 it would be unwise to fill one’s mind with philosophies of imperfect men” (9/1/1975)
A friend of mine forwarded this reference to me recently via email, and I think that it bears looking over and discussing. The 1978 Awake article is entitled Do Others Do Your Thinking? and it makes some very good points. The deep irony is there for many of us of the “Conscious Class” to see.
Imagine boarding a bus with your family for a long anticipated vacation. The destination is a place that is promised to be beautiful warm and sunny. As you are boarding the bus you are given a ticket stub with several paragraph’s of fine print. Thinking nothing of it you stuff it in your pocket and find your seat on the bus. As you sit down you notice that all of the windows on the bus have been blacked out. The inside is lit with rows of florescent lights.
me: I wonder if i could ask u something…kind of serious…
Ben: suuuure. shoot.
Sent at 8:32 AM on Wednesday
me: Awhile back had a bro I’ve been friends w for a long time get DFed. He started emailing me all these links and I responded twice trying to defend truth but he asked to “examine all things” (scrip in Corinthians i think) and I did read a few of the pages
Ben: yeah?
Sent at 8:35 AM on Wednesday
me: we’ve all come across that stuff before, like when you read an news article about the blood issue and then there’s all these haters that post cr@p. I’ve never read any of that junk but he made a point with me
Ben: Yeah??
me: just wondered if that ever happened to you
Ben: Man……
When a JW awakens he soon becomes aware of the vast number of false prophecies that the Watchtower society has given. Recently that topic was addressed on the post http://www.jwstruggle.com/2011/06/a-review-of-the-societys-prophetic-record/ The scripture in Deuteronomy 18:20-22 is familiar to most of us which lets us know how to identify a false prophet and a true prophet. […]
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At Romans 6:1-7 Paul speaks of sin. It is a cruel master and we all struggle to break free from it. Whether it is an addiction, unclean thinking, jealousy, anger, hate, etc. we as sincere servants of God struggle against these bad leanings. Verse six of this chapter says “that we should no longer go on being slaves to sin” and how true that is. (Romans 6:6) In waking up to the fact that we have been misled by the Watchtower leadership for so many years, it dawns on us that we are not just enslaved to sin as imperfect humans. We are (or have been) enslaved to men to one degree or another also.
A saying perhaps we have heard is “There are no atheists in foxholes”. It basically means that under extreme duress or when facing an extreme threat the human tendency is to look to a higher power, to look beyond ourselves. When faced with situations that are more than we can handle oftentimes we are changed […]
Jehovah’s Witnesses are well-known for their knowledge of the scriptures. We train our children to learn Bible scriptures at an early age. We make scripture flash cards and quiz ourselves. It would be hard to argue that this is anything but a good thing for a Christian to do. However, there can be a downside to this. (1 Corinthians 8:1) Memorized scriptures are learned solely to become “proof texts”. A proof text is a bible verse that is quoted or read to “prove” a certain doctrinal point or idea.
This Was the title of an article in 22 of April 1970, Awake! Magazine. As the title indicates people became disturbed by certain changes. What changes? Let the Awake! Tell us:
“Changes That Disturb People
One of the reasons is that people are disturbed by what is happening in their churches. Yes, millions of persons have been shocked to learn that things they were taught as being vital for salvation are now considered by their church to be wrong. Have you, too, felt discouragement, or even despair, because of what is happening in your church?”
Awake! April 22, 1970, p.8.
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If you are a Jehovah’s Witness you know for a fact they teach that only Jehovah’s Witness have any hope for surviving Armageddon as the following Watchtower quotes explain: “Only Jehovah’s Witnesses, those of the anointed remnant and the “great crowd,” as a united organization under the protection of the Supreme Organizer, have any Scriptural […]
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This was the theme of the Watchtower study for June 20-26 2011. Throughout the study the importance of allowing God’s spirit to lead us is emphasized. Notice parr. 2 and 3: 2 Does holy spirit operate only on special occasions or under extraordinary circumstances? No. God’s Word speaks of Christians’ “walking by spirit,” “being led […]
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What are some of the results of following the Watchtower organization in all things and “keeping up with Jehovah’s celestial chariot”? The Watchtower society feels it has the right to establish rules on conscience and decide on matters which the bible is silent. One of these matters is blood transfusions. When the Society decided to […]
Does the Society claim to be a prophet? Let’s see a few quotes:
*** w59 1/15 p. 39 pars. 7-8 Down with the Old—Up with the New! ***
For an answer, people should listen to the plain preaching by the remnant prefigured by Jeremiah, for these preach to men the present-day fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecies. 8 Who made them a prophet to speak with the authority that they claim? Well, who made Jeremiah a prophet?
*** w59 1/15 p. 40 par. 13 Down with the Old—Up with the New! ***
Do all the clergy of Roman Catholicism and of Protestantism agree that Jehovah’s witnesses have been and are God’s prophet to the nations? but, Who discerned the divine will for Christians in this time of the world’s end and offered themselves to do it? Who have undertaken God’s foreordained work for this day of judgment of the nations? Who have answered the call to the work and have done it down till this year 1958? Whom has God actually used as his prophet?
Continue reading about A Review of the Society’s Prophetic Record
A brother that resigned as an elder wrote this letter to the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses less than a year ago. Now it has been emailed to thousands of elders and ministerial servants. It is also being re-circulated and sent to many publishers. It is reproduced below:
Continue reading about “Open Letter to the Governing Body” is Creating a Stir
Some of you may have noticed JJ has not written as much or posted as much as usual lately. You are about to see the reason why. He has spent many long hours over the last few weeks producing this new video. In an e-mail to me JJ said, “My aching fingers, I got carpal […]
The following was taken from jwfacts.com
“Therefore now with your mouth make a public declaration of your faith by answering these two questions that I shall ask you, and let your answers be hearable, that all those about you may be witnesses to the declaration that you solemnly make:
(1) Have you recognized yourself before Jehovah God as a sinner who needs salvation, and have you acknowledged to him that this salvation proceeds from him the Father through his Son Jesus Christ?
(2) On the basis of this faith in God and in his provision for salvation, have you dedicated yourself unreservedly to God to do his will henceforth as he reveals it to you through Jesus Christ and through the Bible under the enlightenment of the holy spirit?” Watchtower 1956 July 1 p.407
Continue reading about Watchtower changes Baptism Questions to include Dedication to Organization
This was the JW position on excommunicating as of 1947: This article shows that the Watchtower society thought excommunication was unbiblical. It finds “no support in these scriptures” and is “foreign to Bible teachings”. A change happened in the fifties regarding this view of shunning. Notice these cites from 1970: *** w70 6/1 […]
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After learning “the truth about the truth” (TTATT) at times I would experience cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. While I had learned the facts about the Watchtower organization I still had feelings rooted in almost 50 years of being a Jehovah’s Witness. My guess is that […]
Continue reading about Is Your Faith Based on Facts or Feelings?
We’ve all heard the story about the man that refuses to listen to the Witness who comes to his door, saying, “I was born a Catholic and I’m going to die a Catholic!” We are saddened that he is that closed-minded and unwilling to listen. We would never consider ourselves to anything like him. I once asked a lady this question after a few minutes of speaking with her at her door:
“If I could show you something from your own Bible that was the opposite of what you had been taught at your church, would you want to change?”
She paused, looked up in the air for several seconds, and then said, “I don’t think so.”
The main scripture that is used for the shunning of disfellowshipped people is this passage at 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 “9 In my letter I wrote YOU to quit mixing in company with fornicators, 10 not [meaning] entirely with the fornicators of this world or the greedy persons and extortioners or idolaters. Otherwise, YOU would actually […]
Continue reading about A Balanced View of 1 Corinthians 5:9-13
One year ago Brother Ray Franz finished his earthly course. Hundreds of thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been personally touched by this gentle brother who served Jehovah God and Jesus Christ zealously for so many years.
Many of us are in a similar situation in that our spouses are blind to the “truth about the truth”. Very often they refuse to even investigate and consider the possibility that the Watchtower org. is not God’s chosen channel. How can we break through to them? How can we get them to do an […]
I have often wondered about this question, “Does God only love those who love him?” What about all the ones he killed throughout history? Is that loving your enemy? My opinion is that many religions throughout history have painted a very ugly picture of God. However Jesus has painted a very different picture and tells […]
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Considering the context of a bible verse is essential to correctly interpret it’s meaning. We need to consider things such as: Who wrote the book? To whom was it directed? What was going on at the time it was written? What was the culture of the writer and his audience? What is the topic being […]
We had a great conversation with a fellow struggler last week and his conversation is now online. Our goal is to do more of these and if you have someone you think would be a good candidate and be an encouragement, let us know!
Continue reading about PODCAST- Interview with Brother Mark Martin
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