Anyone been to a meeting?

[JP_Augustine]

Jaded27:

I’m just wondering if any of you have ever actually taken the time to go to a meeting with Jehovah’s Witnesses. I know I’ve taken the time to investigate and go to church a few times. So that I have a balanced view of religions besides my own.

So just wondering, anyone ever think to actually check it out?

Hi Jaded,

First of all, I want to commend you on your participation in this forum. I haven’t had a chance to read a lot of your posts, but I find it interesting that you are hanging out here at the Catholic Answers Forum. I’m hoping you’re getting a chance to exchange views and hopefully get a somewhat objective view of the Catholic faith.

To respond to your posting, I’ve more than been to a meeting…I was a very active JW for 20 years. Pretty much born and raised a JW and remained one until the age of 28 (11 years ago). At the time I left, I was a Ministerial Servant who had given over 10 public talks on Sunday, both in my home congregation as well as in several others where I was invited to speak.

My family remain JWs and my father is an elder and my brother is an MS

So, you might say, I know JWs, their customs, practices and theology inside and out.

With that said, I’m also an enthusiastic Catholic convert as of Easter Vigil of this year.

It’s been an interesting and amazing journey, and clearly one that God has been directing for many years. I’d be happy to share my story with you in this forum if you’re interested…

Talk to you soon,
JP Augustine

 

[TobyLue]

Jaded27

You’re free to answer in your own words. that’s how you “make the truth your own”.

How can one answer in “your own words.” Do those words have to agree with what the WT says? I mean, can you ask any of the “why’s and how come’s?” Like for example, (and again this is JUST an example)
“Why did the WTS say such and such some years ago and we had to accept it as truth but now it is saying something completely different?”
If one were to ask that would that person immediately be considered an apostate?

But disagreements would just be to stumble others and you don’t need to do that in a public forum.

How can a disagreement be a stumble to others? It would just be a different opinion and if the WT elders are honest they would accept this disagreement so that they can explain their “truth”

You can do that with the elders in private. It’s not about what you may “personally believe” it’s about what’s true. The magazines we study are mass produced.They have truth in them if you only want to learn about it and find it. If you disagree with something in them you most likely aren’t a Witness.

So in other words, one is not free to disagree and maybe get a correct answer, one must accept it without question. That would be scary for a child to think that at anytime any thought that would have even a small question, they are no longer one of the “saved”

You might be studying in which case you can ask the witness you study with. And if you feel the need to disagree in a public way like that you are most likely an apostate who is simply looking to take others away from the truth.

So why is it that if anyone at anytime questions any of the teachings of the WTS, they are immediately considered an apostate. This is not learning at all. When one is trying to learn, one has to ask questions to fully understand. When a child goes to school and is starting to learn math, the child has many question and the teacher will take time to explain. The child does not automatically accept these or goes asks the teacher in private. He ask and the whole class will then understand, because there may be others who have the same question but were afraid to ask.
These meetings, the way you have explained them, are not meetings where one goes to learn but rather to get “indoctrinated”. There is another word but I will not use it…

Again, I express what others have expressed. We are glad that you are here and I am not trying to stir up any disagreement nor make you upset. It’s very hard on a forum to show tone of voice. These questions that I’m asking you are not like this or this or even this :banghead:. They are more like this. I’m just trying to learn how JW’s think

 

[Catholic_Diva]

I agree with TobyLue, I knowit is very difficult to try to get an understanding of how Witnesses think without making them feel agressed or belittled. Not my intention. My best friend is a JW after all and I am very careful when conversing with him on the subject.

However, I sometimes do feel as if I may as well do this :banghead: because I think once people get involved in the “Truth” they do not even want to know that it may not be that, and to admit that their WT was fallable would mean they would be doubting everything they have invested in, mentally, spiritually, financially (taking inferior jobs to allow time for meetings etc) and physically…a very scary thought indeed. I know because at one stage my friend had almost totally undermined my faith in the RC and almost convinced me that it lied about so much to its faithful. I said ALMOST because throughout it all I retained a little seed of faith that made me look into the JW teachings and I found answers to all of the allegations he had made against the RC. For example, the fact that they had left out God’s name from the New Testament ( I usae the New Jerusalem Bible which has Yahweh in the OT). It is actually an archaeological fact that the original Greek manuscripts of the NT only contain the Tetragram (the Hebrew symbols for YHWH - God’s sacred name) in a couple of places where Jesus is referring to the OT. The Witnesses themselves filled in Jehovah or Jehovah God wherever God was written. If you doubt me then please consult a copy of the Kingdom Interlinear and tell me what you see.

I know this is a bit off the point of your question, but I have been to the KH with my friend a couple of times, because he wanted someone to see that they do not dance around sacrificial fires either! (Since his family, cradle RCs, are so opposed to it, and think they are dangerous). I also went to show them that he has friends outside of their clique that are not “bad associations”. While I was there I took the opportunity to call down the Holy Spirit to bless all of the JWs in the KH and give them true discernment in their knowledge of God and his will for us.

Yahweh bless,
Diva

 

[At_His_Feet]

Catholic Diva - I enjoyed your post; I thought it was very good and my intention here is not to derail your train of thought. I would like to just comment on one thing, and then see the thread continue on: You said:

**It is actually an archaeological fact that the original Greek manuscripts of the NT only contain the Tetragram (the Hebrew symbols for YHWH - God’s sacred name) in a couple of places where Jesus is referring to the OT.

**My understanding is that the Tetragrammaton appears NOWHERE in the ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, not even in any quotes made from the Old Testament.
As the author of the tetragrammaton.org site says:

“The New World Bible Translation Committee felt strongly that the original writers of the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) used the Tetragrammaton 237 times. However, there are no surviving manuscript copies which contain the Hebrew word יהוה.” tetragrammaton.org/issue.html

Which actually goes to reinforce your point and make it stronger. I think it was very good that you bring this up - it is a major issue when discussing the validity of the NWT, but often overlooked. Also - the apparant lack of emphasis on the Tetragrammaton in the New Testament stands in contrast to JW practice.

Now: let the discussion go on the way that you have directed it .

 

[b_justb]

Catholic Diva:

I agree with TobyLue, I knowit is very difficult to try to get an understanding of how Witnesses think without making them feel agressed or belittled. Not my intention. My best friend is a JW after all and I am very careful when conversing with him on the subject.

A friend is closer than a brother. Doesn’t feeling as if one must be guarded in speech about any topic around a friend toss up any red flags?