John and Cordell are coming over tomorrow. You may have seen them in your neighborhood; they get around. Over the past year they have stopped by at least five or ten times and usually our conversations are pretty scattered. Not any more. Each Saturday we meet for a few hours and just hit one topic so we can really dive in.
They are Jehovah's Witnesses. While they are nice enough guys, they are deceived by the father of lies ... that would be Satan, folks. [Did you see that coming?] JWs have been systematically taught to reject the basic tenets of the Christian faith; they have been robbed of the greatness of Jesus, the trinity, the Holy Spirit, the coming eternal Kingdom, and everything made available to us who are believers. Instead, they emphasize some minor quibbles and end up ticking more people off than helping them. Two months ago John asked if we could talk about the coming “paradise on earth”; it's one of their big current teachings. I told him no, but that we could talk about God because the King is greater than the Kingdom.
Tomorrow will be about the pre-existence of Jesus Christ. They think Michael the archangel was created by God the Father as the first of His acts, then He sent Michael to Earth as Jesus, who lived and died (although they think he could have not accomplished the purpose he was sent for), was resurrected spiritually instead of with a physical/incorruptible resurrection, and so on.
does not equal 
My take on Christianity is that the Bible should easily prove the truth and disprove the lies. As we go on I hope to post both sides of the theological debate.
I'd appreciate you keeping them in your prayers. John and Cordell have each been Witnesses for twenty years, and John is the top dog for this community (not really sure how that works, but it's a real-deal hierarchy). If Jesus wins his heart, it may provide some openings into the lives of the other Witnesses under his charge—right before they disfellowship him. I am jealous for them to find the true Gospel and to start the kind of relationship with Jesus that He desires to have with them.
4 comments:
Hey! Thanks so much for commenting on my blog. I was checking out yours a bit and you seem to lead a very interesting life. I was VERY excited to learn you are a 24 fan! :)
-Abby
You are right; the Bible - whichever one you use - should be able to clear up the topics in your discussion.... and I hope they are not overstaying their welcome ;^)
But "Top Dog"?! Nah we don't have any of those, and if he said he was one the scriptures says "Let him who thinks he is standing beware that he does not fall..."
@Abby,
Yeah, 24 is one of my few addictions. It's pretty intense from start to finish, which is why I like it; however, I could do without the eight minute recap that is put into the dialogues every episode. "Come on Chloe, don't you know we're under attack by a terrorist organization headed by the President himself?! We only have twenty more hours to prove that he is behind all this and kill eighteen more people, only five of which actually deserve to die. I need you to trust me. Ya know, so more innocent people don't die—the estimations are up to 145,000 in L.A. and Chicago alone ... your mother is in Chicago, isn't she?" Nothing like some drama to make the story drag in the first fifteen minutes. I just want to skip all that recap. Maybe that's why my wife and I get the DVDs when they come out.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
@ a ny jw,
Nah, they're not overstaying their welcome; even though we disagree, they are still really nice guys. I invited them in so I could hear their side.
Problem is, I don't buy it. It seems you have to read a pretty involved (read: convoluted) argument just to get anywhere. I'm just not sure about digesting study guides while my Bible gathers dust. The Bible should explain itself pretty well; if it doesn't, I should just abandon it and find something that is more to my "liking" ... but that is not what religion is about. Religion is, by nature, about what truly is, rather than what I would like it to be. Which is precisely why the Bible should be self-revealing and have confirmation in nature (scientific and human nature), history, etc.
You're right, he's not the top dog, but could he be called the Pioneer of the bunch? What is the name for the full-time witness who oversees the community?
So are you really a JW, or did you pick that just for this post? If so, how long have you been? Do you have a position within your congregation? Do you want to share with the other readers your experiences ... how you came to be a JW ... what you believe ... why regular Christendom is the wrong way ... the coming paradise ... etc. We'd love to hear what you have to say and I'd like to facilitate a forum of sorts with you if you are interested. We could do one subject at a time so we cover things in more than a superficial manner.
Let me know what you think. Talk with you soon hopefully.
Josh
@ a ny jw,
PS — he didn't call himself that, I just didn't know the name of his real position. Sorry for the confusion.
Josh
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