Can a Jehovah Witness explain this?

[Glacier]

irrelevant post deleted.

[carrickgirl]

Thanks for the web site Tumult. There actually is a pyramid near the tombstone of your flawed but esteemed founder. That explains alot. Was he also a Free Mason?

[JLives]

Are there any female "elders"? Do you not teach that a woman should be submissive to her husband? Do women in the JW faith have minds of their own and exactly what is their roll in the "church"? Why do the JW's deter higher education? Why can't my granddaughter join scouts? Why can't my grandchildren participate in organized sports? Can a JW get a tattoo? If not, why not? Ever seen a JW with a beard? Is it evil to have hair on your face? Perhaps someone can forward this to an elder as I know one who's daughter does have a tattoo and I'm just curious if they have once again re-written the bible to accommodate tatoos. The few times my grandchildren did come for Christmas, I was "allowed" to give them gifts as long as they were not wrapped in Christmas paper! Yeah, that made a big difference!

Is the daughter a practicing JW or just the parents?

[westsidebud]

i could say alot but i wont.

[oldhippy]

[quote="SHOZDIJIJI"]Friends of ours out of the blue decided to follow the JW path. Following this they cut of all association with us and alot of other old friends. Their kids were no longer allowed to associate with ours and others. It was hard on our kids and hard on theirs as well. To me JW seems more cultish then religion. The segregation is amazing . I've lived in the middle east where Islam rules but there at least our kids could play with the arab kids, no hassle in fact they were welcomed by the kids families....JW seems strange to me like what are they scared of....

It is called … “INSECURITY” … in ones own belief …

[carrickgirl]

Is there any real, devout, practicing jehovah witnesses on this forum? Perhaps someone from the Davies road kingdom hall could answer some of my questions. One of the "elders" would have some answers. First and formost I have it first hand that you don't have to obey the law since GOD"s law is the only one they listen too. True of false? Is it true that you will not salute the flag but are happy to let eveyone else fight to keep this country free? True or false? Do you pay taxes, and I mean all taxes due, not just the ones that are hidden in off shore accounts?
Is it just me or do all jw women look like they just stepped off the Stepford Wifes movie set. Exactly what roll does the woman have in the religion, other than bearing babies and cooking, cleaning and serving their man. Can a woman be an elder and if not why not? Is it a sin to lie?
If you are caught in a blatant lie does that disqualify you from being one of the 144000 chosen? Is it common practice to frighten your children? My grandchildren were told that they shouldn't accept candy on Halloween because it may be poisonous. True of false. I have so many questions and I would just like an answer from a practicing jw. I have proof of everything i've asked, will you have proof for all your answers?

[steven lloyd]

Exactly what roll does the woman have in the religion, other than bearing babies and cooking, cleaning and serving their man.

There’s other stuff for women to do ???










Sorry, just couldn’t leave that one alone

[Glacier]

I spent a bit of time reading about Jehovah's Witnesses this week. There are a lot of websites out there, including web forms dedicated to discussing JWs.

Once upon a time, I have had the pleasure of meeting one or two JWs, and I found them to be very nice people. Some of the internet discussions I came across called them liars and gossipers who won't let their kids play with non-witness kids, but my interaction with JWs has found this to be simply untrue. Instead, I found that JWs are very nice, honest, and trustworthy people.

[kgcayenne]

Carrickgirl, with all due respect, I have a feeling you have exhausted your in-person information sources, and that you have not gotten what you wanted out of it, whatever that may be.

If you are looking for something to validate opinions and views you already hold, you are not going to believe (or even see for that matter) anything that does not jive with what you already feel. If you, however, are seeking to actually understand and better deal with the situations you have presented, then there is a better place to do it than the Internet, it’s called in-person.

Something to keep in mind: If you are only looking validation of your anger, that's either what you'll find, or your search will be never-ending thus yielding even more resentment.

Edited to add: Perhaps your resentment has already been brewing for several years, as the Kingdom Hall on Davie was sold quite some time ago, and a new one built off Leathead (on Franklyn I think, don't know the area well).

[Glacier]

(on Franklyn I think, don't know the area well).

That does seem to be the case.

[Mr. Personality]

Not devout, practicing or even in agreement with a lot of the beliefs, however...

First and formost I have it first hand that you don't have to obey the law since GOD"s law is the only one they listen too. True of false?

Half-truth. If the Nation's law conflicts with their view of God's (say, a draft came about) then, you sort of have a point, but to blanket all law like that is misleading at best. It also contradicts Jesus' teaching of "Pay back Caesar's things to Caesar and God's things to God" which they are very fond of.

Is it true that you will not salute the flag but are happy to let eveyone else fight to keep this country free? True or false?

Again, half-truth. No they will not salute a flag or go off to war. If you want to go to war, that's your business, they won't stop you. Also, it has nothing to do with this country, there are Jehovah's Witnesses all over the world in both free and oppressed countries continually practicing their religion regardless of the government of their land (I think that's the lawbreaking you were referring to).

Do you pay taxes, and I mean all taxes due, not just the ones that are hidden in off shore accounts?

"Pay back Caesar's things to Caesar and God's things to God"
This is a stupid question. If they don't pay taxes, they suffer the same consequences as anyone else. If some have offshore accounts, that's no different from a non Jehovah's Witness doing the same thing, of which I'm sure there are more non JWs doing so. This question is a great example of underhanded lie-mongering. Nice work.

Is it just me or do all jw women look like they just stepped off the Stepford Wifes movie set. Exactly what roll does the woman have in the religion, other than bearing babies and cooking, cleaning and serving their man.

Women do the same door-to-door work as the men. While a woman, as far as I know, cannot become an elder, neither can a woman become Pope, so this is hardly a "Jehovah's Witness" issue and largely a "Religion" issue. If you honestly think this of Jehovah's Witness women, you should go hang out with some. You'll be bored as crap, I'm sure, but your view of them will be changed. Most whom I've met are some of the strongest women I've ever known. I'll thank you not to insult them.

Can a woman be an elder and if not why not?

See above.

Is it a sin to lie?

Isn't it in most religions? Of course, a lying Jehovah's Witness is telling of the person, not the religion, same goes with any member of any other religion.

If you are caught in a blatant lie does that disqualify you from being one of the 144000 chosen?

I'm curious as to what you know (or think you know) about the 144,000 "chosen ones." This question leads me to believe you know nothing more than the misinformation that floats around so constantly.

Is it common practice to frighten your children? My grandchildren were told that they shouldn't accept candy on Halloween because it may be poisonous. True of false.

I received the same warning from many non-Jws when I was growing up. JWs don't frighten or lie to their children any more than any other religion (be good or Santa, the easter bunny and the tooth fairy won't bring you anything)

I have so many questions and I would just like an answer from a practicing jw. I have proof of everything i've asked, will you have proof for all your answers?

Again, not practicing, but my only proof is what I've seen and experienced. If you'd like further information from an "outsiders insider" perspective, I'd be more than happy. I just ask that you stop spreading lies and get your facts straight. Ultimately I think your grandchildren's parents fall into the "zealot" end of things (my grandmother, rest her soul, fell into the same category). Do not blame the religion for the zealots. If you believe everything you say you do about JWs you must then also believe that all Muslims are wife-beating, war mongering murderers.
Of course you don't think that because you've chosen to better inform yourself of that religion, instead of taking the easy way and listening to hearsay that makes no sense.

Good day.

[vernongal]

I grew up in the JW faith (left at 19 yrs of age), and throughout Canadian provinces as well all the areas we visited in the US, and the rules apply straight across the board. There was no intermingling with non JW ('worldly') people, unless we are calling on their door, or recruiting them via bible study and having them come to meetings (intention is always to have them become a Jehovah's Witness). Unless they were 'fresh new meat' there was little to no association. Working with 'worldly' people was a must, couldn't get around it unless you were self-employed, but the rules are 'no getting close to people!', witness to as many as you possibly could get away with (at work, without getting into too much trouble 'preaching' to others) but they take it very seriously to keep the 'congregation' clean. (which means free of 'worldly people and their bad habits....' the scripture that is always used is: "Bad associations spoil useful habits" 1Cor. 15:33) Its *bleep* and so utterly wrong....its basically right up there with racial segregation ....same principles apply. Its even more harsh once you become a 'baptised JW'.....you can actually get 'shunned/disfellowshipped' for mingling with non JWs, if you are associating with 'worldly' people too much, you are yanked aside and questioned. If it continues, you are 'disassociated or disfellowshipped' depending on your rank within the congregation.

[Thinktank]

DEFINITION OF CHURCH:
- it's a building
- it could be smaller or biger and cost $millions to build
- it could be managed by one man, or a group of men
- it could be part of a big denomination or non-denominational
- it needs money for heating, electricity and repairs etc - but they don't pay property taxes
- people sit inside it on Sunday and sing songs, listen, pray or do other things
- it could have thirty five people, or thousands of people
- the people in the church range from 'very nice' to 'dirty rats.'
- the singing is 'always nice.'
- the smiles are 'always nice.'
- the pastor earns money. sometimes he earns $100,000. sometimes he earns not much.
- the church could take in as much as $2 million for the bigger churches, each year.
- the people in the church believe in God, and the bible is God's word.
- the people in the church do some things the bible tells them to do, and ignore other things in the bible.
- people in a church aren't usually impressed with people in other churches for some reason.
- JWs could be the least impressed with other churches, of all the churches out there.
- JWs could be some of the most brainwashed of all the church people out there.
- of course, many JWs are decent people, just like many other Christians in all denominations.
- is the $billions of dollars we spend on churches in Canada 'worth it?' Do we get our money's worth?
Churches are like vaccines. Some people believe in vaccines religiously. Other people think vaccines are useless.
And other people avoid vaccines like the plague. We still spend $billions on vaccines. We spend $billions on churches too.

[Omnitheo]

except vaccines actually help people

[LilyJ]

I can understand all of this woman's concerns regarding JW faith. I too was full of questions when entering the world of Christian religions. I did find in my search of many Christian denominations that hypocrisy was fluent and so I chose to be free from religion all together. So I faced the Bible alone for many many years. I couldn't understand why these Jesus people were fight those Jesus ppl. And why on earth would GOD, the father of Jesus, burn and torment ppl after death in judgement!! It was the love I had for Jesus to allow JW's to come in, when they knocked on my door. I always believed that if you have question or concerns regarding any aspect, always resort to the direct source for your answers. So by allowing them to come in, all my pre conceived ideas of their faith, from other sources, were thrown in the garbage. They even showed me scriptures in the bible that I knew so well as to the reason why they are the way they are. Here's a people who do their best to emulate what Jesus and God the father have been implementing since the beginning of the bibles first hand. It makes perfect sense why they are the way they are. It's healthy to have questions and to question religion. Never say yes to what anyone has to say about how you should be living your life. Search it out, find the facts resort to history, pick up your Bible. The truth can be found, if you really want to learn it.
I am studying The Bible in my 4th year with Jehovah's Witnesses and I have found this Christian religion to be the cleanest and most rewarding of all the Christian religions I have participated in. I am a realist and a seeker for the truth and its my right. Jehovahs witnesses are clearly a people being picked out of the nations, for God's name sake.

jw.org
For all your questions and concerns. Here you will get the facts and answers to your questions
Lilyj