“CONSTANTLY THE QUESTION COMES UP: WHERE WAS GOD?�​—Pope Benedict XVI, while visiting the former concentration camp at Auschwitz, Poland.
WHEN TRAGEDIES STRIKE, DO YOU EVER WONDER, ‘WHERE WAS GOD?’ OR IN YOUR OWN LIFE, HAS A TRAUMATIC EVENT MADE YOU QUESTION WHETHER GOD CARES ABOUT YOU PERSONALLY?
Perhaps you feel as did Sheila, who lives in the United States. Raised in a deeply religious family, she says: “From childhood on, I was drawn to God because he is our Maker. Yet, I never felt close to him. I thought he was watching me, but only from a distance. I didn’t feel that God hated me, but neither did I believe that he cared for me.� Why did Sheila have doubts? She explains: “My family faced one tragedy after another, and it seemed that God wasn’t helping us at all.�
Source https://www.jw.org/en/publications/maga ... -god-care/
Does God care about you?
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JehovahsWitness
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Does God care about you?
Post #1INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681
"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" - Romans 14:8
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681
"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" - Romans 14:8
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WebersHome
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Re: Jehovah's Witnesses
Post #2[font=Verdana].
It's both tragic and ironic that the Watchtower Society's rank and file missionaries go worldwide advertising a kingdom that they themselves will never be allowed to enter. Here's why.
At John 3:3-12, Christ and a Jewish rabbi named Nicodemus discussed what Christ labeled "earthly things".
The primary earthly thing discussed was the kingdom of God. The other earthly thing discussed was a spirit-birth requirement to enter it. In other words: God's kingdom on earth, and a spirit birth, are joined at the hip.
The Watchtower Society's earthly class (a.k.a. the hewers of wood and haulers of water; viz: non-anointed JWs) isn't spirit-born now, nor does it ever expect to be-- neither in this life, nor in the next --yet they hope to enter God's kingdom on earth. However, seeing as how the spirit-birth requirement is a must rather than an option; they will not succeed.
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It's both tragic and ironic that the Watchtower Society's rank and file missionaries go worldwide advertising a kingdom that they themselves will never be allowed to enter. Here's why.
At John 3:3-12, Christ and a Jewish rabbi named Nicodemus discussed what Christ labeled "earthly things".
The primary earthly thing discussed was the kingdom of God. The other earthly thing discussed was a spirit-birth requirement to enter it. In other words: God's kingdom on earth, and a spirit birth, are joined at the hip.
The Watchtower Society's earthly class (a.k.a. the hewers of wood and haulers of water; viz: non-anointed JWs) isn't spirit-born now, nor does it ever expect to be-- neither in this life, nor in the next --yet they hope to enter God's kingdom on earth. However, seeing as how the spirit-birth requirement is a must rather than an option; they will not succeed.
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WebersHome
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Re:
Post #3.
[font=Verdana]For a home-spun religion whose origin is relatively recent, the Watchtower Society has done pretty well for itself. Beginning with one man shortly after the American Civil War, it currently numbers approximately 8.2 million followers spread out in approximately 118,000 congregations worldwide. (Congregations have been displaced and consolidated in recent years due to the Society liquidating a number of Kingdom Halls in order to settle its legal obligations.)
My first encounter with a Watchtower Society missionary (a.k.a. Jehovah's Witness) occurred in 1969. At the time I was young and inexperienced; and thus assumed that the hewer of wood, and hauler of water coming down my dad's driveway was a typical Christian.
But when I talked this over with an elder; he became alarmed; and urged me to read a little book titled "30 Years A Watchtower Slave" by William J. Schnell; whom the Society at one time demonized as an agent of Satan. I would not be surprised if it still does.
After getting my eyes opened by Mr. Schnell's book, I was afterwards steered towards another book titled "Kingdom Of The Cults" by Walter Martin. No doubt the Society demonizes Mr. Martin too.
Around late 1980, my wife and I attended a series of lectures sponsored by a local church titled "How To Witness To Jehovah's Witnesses". The speaker (call him Pete) was an ex Witness who had been in the Watchtower Society system for near three decades before terminating his involvement; so he knew the twists and turns of its doctrines pretty good.
Pete didn't train us to hammer the Society's missionaries in a discussion because even if you best them scripture for scripture, they will not give up on the Society. Their mind's unflinching premise is that the Society is right even when it appears to be totally wrong. They are thoroughly convinced that the Society is the voice of God, while your voice has no more validity than that of a squeaky little gerbil.
Later on, I read a book titled "Why I Left The Jehovah's Witnesses" by Ted Dencher. I also read and studied the Society's little brown book titled "Reasoning From The Scriptures". (This was all before the internet and the ready volumes of information available on YouTube.
From all that vetting, study, and training I quickly discovered that although the Watchtower Society uses many of classical Christianity's standard terms and phrases, those terms and phrases mean something entirely different in the Witness mind than what you'd expect because the Society has re-defined the meanings of those terminologies.
So your first challenge in coping with a Watchtower Society missionary is to scale the language barrier. That by itself is an Herculean task because you'll not only be up against a tangle of semantics, but also a Jumanji of twisted scriptures, double speak, humanistic reasoning, rationalizing, and clever sophistry.
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[font=Verdana]For a home-spun religion whose origin is relatively recent, the Watchtower Society has done pretty well for itself. Beginning with one man shortly after the American Civil War, it currently numbers approximately 8.2 million followers spread out in approximately 118,000 congregations worldwide. (Congregations have been displaced and consolidated in recent years due to the Society liquidating a number of Kingdom Halls in order to settle its legal obligations.)
My first encounter with a Watchtower Society missionary (a.k.a. Jehovah's Witness) occurred in 1969. At the time I was young and inexperienced; and thus assumed that the hewer of wood, and hauler of water coming down my dad's driveway was a typical Christian.
But when I talked this over with an elder; he became alarmed; and urged me to read a little book titled "30 Years A Watchtower Slave" by William J. Schnell; whom the Society at one time demonized as an agent of Satan. I would not be surprised if it still does.
After getting my eyes opened by Mr. Schnell's book, I was afterwards steered towards another book titled "Kingdom Of The Cults" by Walter Martin. No doubt the Society demonizes Mr. Martin too.
Around late 1980, my wife and I attended a series of lectures sponsored by a local church titled "How To Witness To Jehovah's Witnesses". The speaker (call him Pete) was an ex Witness who had been in the Watchtower Society system for near three decades before terminating his involvement; so he knew the twists and turns of its doctrines pretty good.
Pete didn't train us to hammer the Society's missionaries in a discussion because even if you best them scripture for scripture, they will not give up on the Society. Their mind's unflinching premise is that the Society is right even when it appears to be totally wrong. They are thoroughly convinced that the Society is the voice of God, while your voice has no more validity than that of a squeaky little gerbil.
Later on, I read a book titled "Why I Left The Jehovah's Witnesses" by Ted Dencher. I also read and studied the Society's little brown book titled "Reasoning From The Scriptures". (This was all before the internet and the ready volumes of information available on YouTube.
From all that vetting, study, and training I quickly discovered that although the Watchtower Society uses many of classical Christianity's standard terms and phrases, those terms and phrases mean something entirely different in the Witness mind than what you'd expect because the Society has re-defined the meanings of those terminologies.
So your first challenge in coping with a Watchtower Society missionary is to scale the language barrier. That by itself is an Herculean task because you'll not only be up against a tangle of semantics, but also a Jumanji of twisted scriptures, double speak, humanistic reasoning, rationalizing, and clever sophistry.
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WebersHome
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Re:
Post #4.
[font=Verdana]Raymond Victor Franz was a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses from October 20, 1971 until his removal on May 22, 1980, and served at the organization's world headquarters for fifteen years, from 1965 until 1980.
Mr. Franz resigned, and stated that the request for his resignation, and his subsequent dis-fellowshipping, resulted from allegations of apostasy.
Following his departure, Mr. Franz wrote two books relating his personal experiences with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, and his views on Jehovah's Witness teachings.
One of his books is called "Crisis Of Conscience". It's a bit expensive in print form, but as of the date of this writing could be heard audibly for free on YouTube and/or as a free pdf download.
Mr. Franz's books, and his interviews, are helpful aids for people wondering if they made the right decision leaving the Society's fold. They're also helpful for people thinking about becoming a Jehovah's Witness but not too sure whether they'd be making a really big, life-changing mistake not easily corrected.
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[font=Verdana]Raymond Victor Franz was a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses from October 20, 1971 until his removal on May 22, 1980, and served at the organization's world headquarters for fifteen years, from 1965 until 1980.
Mr. Franz resigned, and stated that the request for his resignation, and his subsequent dis-fellowshipping, resulted from allegations of apostasy.
Following his departure, Mr. Franz wrote two books relating his personal experiences with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, and his views on Jehovah's Witness teachings.
One of his books is called "Crisis Of Conscience". It's a bit expensive in print form, but as of the date of this writing could be heard audibly for free on YouTube and/or as a free pdf download.
Mr. Franz's books, and his interviews, are helpful aids for people wondering if they made the right decision leaving the Society's fold. They're also helpful for people thinking about becoming a Jehovah's Witness but not too sure whether they'd be making a really big, life-changing mistake not easily corrected.
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ttruscott
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Re: Does God care about you?
Post #5Most people have no problem knowing GOD is listening to them when they curse HIM for not looking after them and their families as they want HIM to do ...JehovahsWitness wrote: “CONSTANTLY THE QUESTION COMES UP: WHERE WAS GOD?�​—Pope Benedict XVI, while visiting the former concentration camp at Auschwitz, Poland.
WHEN TRAGEDIES STRIKE, DO YOU EVER WONDER, ‘WHERE WAS GOD?’ OR IN YOUR OWN LIFE, HAS A TRAUMATIC EVENT MADE YOU QUESTION WHETHER GOD CARES ABOUT YOU PERSONALLY?
PCE Theology as I see it...
We had an existence with a free will in Sheol before the creation of the physical universe. Here we chose to be able to become holy or to be eternally evil in YHWH's sight. Then the physical universe was created and all sinners were sent to earth.
This theology debunks the need to base Christianity upon the blasphemy of creating us in Adam's sin.
We had an existence with a free will in Sheol before the creation of the physical universe. Here we chose to be able to become holy or to be eternally evil in YHWH's sight. Then the physical universe was created and all sinners were sent to earth.
This theology debunks the need to base Christianity upon the blasphemy of creating us in Adam's sin.
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WebersHome
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Re:
Post #6.
[font=Verdana]I do not recommend toying with the Watchtower Society's missionaries coming to our doors. Many of them are honestly, and sincerely, hoping to enter the kingdom of God; which is why Christians really ought to know something about New Testament hope before engaging JWs in a conversation about it.
â—� 1Pet 3:15 . . Always ready to make a defense before everyone that demands of you a reason for the hope in you,
The New Testament Greek word for "hope" in Peter's command is elpis (el pece') which means to anticipate (usually with pleasure) and to expect with confidence. Note the elements of anticipation, and expectation, and confidence.
Webster's definition of hope as a verb is very similar: 1) to desire with expectation of obtainment, and 2) to expect with confidence and trust. Note the elements of expectation, and confidence, and trust.
Webster's definition of hope as a noun is: 1) a desire accompanied by expectation of, or belief in, fulfillment, and 2) expectation of fulfillment or success. Note the elements of expectation, and belief.
In other words: elpis hope is a know-so hope rather than a cross your fingers hope.
So, unless someone knows for proof-positive, beyond even the slightest glimmer of sensible doubt, that they have a passport to the kingdom of God locked in and irrevocable, then of course it is impossible for them to comply with Peter's instructions seeing as they would not yet have the kind of hope about which he wrote.
â—� Rom 12:12 . . Rejoice in the hope.
When people are praying for the best, while in the back of their mind dreading the worst, they have absolutely no cause for rejoicing; no; but they do have plenty of cause to fear the unknown.[/font]
[font=Georgia]BTW[/font][font=Verdana]: The kind of hope spoken of by 1Pet 3:15 and Rom 12:12 is a "calling".
â—� Eph 4:4 . . There is the one hope to which you were called
When people are lacking the kind of hope described by the Greek word elpis, then I believe it is sensible to assume that they have not yet responded to God's call; or worse, He has not called them; and quite possibly never will.
â—� Rom 9:15-16 . . He says to Moses: I will have mercy upon whomever I do have mercy, and I will show compassion to whomever I do show compassion. So, then, it depends not upon the one wishing nor upon the one running, but upon God, who has mercy.
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[font=Verdana]I do not recommend toying with the Watchtower Society's missionaries coming to our doors. Many of them are honestly, and sincerely, hoping to enter the kingdom of God; which is why Christians really ought to know something about New Testament hope before engaging JWs in a conversation about it.
â—� 1Pet 3:15 . . Always ready to make a defense before everyone that demands of you a reason for the hope in you,
The New Testament Greek word for "hope" in Peter's command is elpis (el pece') which means to anticipate (usually with pleasure) and to expect with confidence. Note the elements of anticipation, and expectation, and confidence.
Webster's definition of hope as a verb is very similar: 1) to desire with expectation of obtainment, and 2) to expect with confidence and trust. Note the elements of expectation, and confidence, and trust.
Webster's definition of hope as a noun is: 1) a desire accompanied by expectation of, or belief in, fulfillment, and 2) expectation of fulfillment or success. Note the elements of expectation, and belief.
In other words: elpis hope is a know-so hope rather than a cross your fingers hope.
So, unless someone knows for proof-positive, beyond even the slightest glimmer of sensible doubt, that they have a passport to the kingdom of God locked in and irrevocable, then of course it is impossible for them to comply with Peter's instructions seeing as they would not yet have the kind of hope about which he wrote.
â—� Rom 12:12 . . Rejoice in the hope.
When people are praying for the best, while in the back of their mind dreading the worst, they have absolutely no cause for rejoicing; no; but they do have plenty of cause to fear the unknown.[/font]
[font=Georgia]BTW[/font][font=Verdana]: The kind of hope spoken of by 1Pet 3:15 and Rom 12:12 is a "calling".
â—� Eph 4:4 . . There is the one hope to which you were called
When people are lacking the kind of hope described by the Greek word elpis, then I believe it is sensible to assume that they have not yet responded to God's call; or worse, He has not called them; and quite possibly never will.
â—� Rom 9:15-16 . . He says to Moses: I will have mercy upon whomever I do have mercy, and I will show compassion to whomever I do show compassion. So, then, it depends not upon the one wishing nor upon the one running, but upon God, who has mercy.
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