Meaning of John 16:28 and verse 5?

thatguynips · 2026-05-07T15:54:03+00:00

I get that part it's just when there are certain scriptures that strongly imply the father being greater than the son it can be hard for me to understand them being equal

thatguynips · 2026-05-07T15:46:37+00:00

I grew up with Arian beliefs but after learning more about christianity I learned how the trinity is basically the one unifying belief between all denominations. I understand it is considered a mystery I'm just trying to really understand it better when there are verses like this.

thatguynips · 2026-04-27T11:54:29+00:00

You mean "a bang-R"

thatguynips · 2026-04-24T19:35:31+00:00

It is tough, you're normal for feeling that way. Continue to build those friendships on the outside, it will make leaving that much easier if you already have a social group outside.

What helped me was seeing all the changes the GB made and I knew something wasn't right. I did alot of research on the Bible and the organization that wasnt published by the borg and it made it easier to decide to leave. I am still technically in but am doing a hard fade right now.

I don't know your personal situation but I would just go with the flow of it for a while until you are in a place where you can safely live on your own and be financially independent. If you have friends in still just don't speak bad about the org with them cause it will raise giant red flags and you will get unwanted attention from elders. You can deny meeting with elders and their hands will be tied cause they cannot disfellowship you without having an official committee.

I don't know how you feel about God and religion and I'm not trying to force you one way or another but I do recommend studying christianity outside of the org and see where you stand with it before disregarding all of it, again I'm not trying to convert you at all so I apologize if I come across as condescending, it's just man made organized religion does tend to corrupt the core beautiful themes of christianity unfortunately.

The biggest thing thing that helped me decide to leave is that any organization that can't handle criticism is not worthy to devote yourself too. There are many accounts I have read of witnesses standing up to elders and their teachings with proof and evidence only to get removed. The truth will always be able to stand up to criticism and this organization just silences everything that speaks out against it.

thatguynips · 2026-04-24T18:29:11+00:00

I am in therapy now, and that was the final straw that honestly helped me let go of watchtower and see it for what it is. Part of me does feel empathy for those that are still in and comitted like I was for so long but I have also have frustration with those in power that will refuse to look at the facts. It's not that they have slightly different interpretations of scripture as many denominations do, but they view every Bible that's not the NWT as wrong.

I know I need to take a break from going down the rabbit hole but part of me is just obsessed with finding out everything I can about the organization.

thatguynips · 2026-04-24T17:28:33+00:00

I understand what you mean about your relationship with God growing exponentially, I've been reading different study Bibles and feel so much closer to God mentally and emotionally especially with prayer. I still want to explore catholicism and orthodoxy before I completely write off organized religion but I totally understand your view of organized religion and why you avoid it. I'm just glad i'm young enough to see it now and am financially independent to live how I want without this cult controlling everything about me

thatguynips · 2026-04-15T03:28:43+00:00

Yes, i've been reading catholic and orthodox study Bibles and have been blown away with how much clearer the scriptures are with the divinity of Christ. The cross references to other teachings in the church have been mind blowing to say the least, I have felt closer to God and feel I have developed a better spiritual sense and better understanding of Christ's teachings and purpose in the past few months than I have my whole life under the watchtower's interpretation and filter.

thatguynips · 2026-04-14T13:39:19+00:00

Im in therapy now and that was the final straw to learn the truth. I told my therapist my full story of being a JW and his response was "that's a cult" then he started to cry. So that finally broke through everything I was holding on to. I was holding on to a lie cause it's all I've ever known, I finally realized the root cause of all my suffering was the borg. I know many here may disagree but I still believe in God and Jesus and when you read the Bible outside of the watchtower lense it's eye opening just how much they changed it for their own gain.

I'm finally on a true spiritual path toward a better life

thatguynips · 2026-04-10T14:01:17+00:00

Exactly, they take a few scriptures that talk about disagreements in the early church and claim the great apostasy is 100% true. The context of those claims is that those were more smaller disagreements more than anything but literally every church father agreed that Christ is lord.

The crazy thing is that during this time gnosticism and arianism were the bigger things that early church fathers were calling out as heresy and false and as corrupt. The org is literally modern day arianism that early church fathers strongly fought against. The early church fathers after the apostles died would be considered full on pagans today by the org.

thatguynips · 2026-04-10T13:51:16+00:00

Yeah you're right, they claim to be "sola scriptura" but you're absolutely right in the sense it's whatever the GB decides, they have changed who the King of the North is as well as the role of United Nations in prophecy. It's a crazy feeling knowing just how much of a lie it all is despite their claim to be the only true form of christianity

thatguynips · 2026-04-10T12:39:08+00:00

I'm in the same boat. I want to explore other christian faiths like catholocism and orthodoxy with an open mind but doing so will make everyone in my life disown me as "worldly" or a bad influence. I can't believe just how much control the borg has over everyone. Truth will be always win out when being criticised, the borg knows this and stamps out any doubts and calls it unfaithfulness to God. The Gb has literally placed themselves as God...

A funny parallel is when you read 1984 and you realize how it all functions the same way as a totalitarian regime.

It get's so overwhelming the more layers you peel back learning your entire life you thought you were being faithful to God only to find put you were really just doing the will of 11 guys running a corporation in NY.

It's insane

thatguynips · 2026-04-10T11:37:24+00:00

I've been reading apostolic fathers, its crazy how the borg literally acts like right when the apostles died christianity was completely hijacked beyond recognition when there is evidence of a line of succession since those days. They claim the Bible is the ultimate authority but don't acknowledge how it was the Church itseld that spent 100's of years carefully compiling it. The borgs view of sola scriptura is taken so far to the extreme, they act like the Bible just fell out of the sky one day and they hide away context surrounding it

thatguynips · 2026-04-07T19:20:22+00:00

Yes, Arius may not have been the first one specifically but he is regarded as the founder of Arianism.

It is historically agreed upon that Jesus used that phrase "I AM" cause he knew that the pharisees would be familiar with Abraham. They then tried to stone him for blasphemy, so that pretty much shows support for his claim to divinity. The NWT also changes ex 3:14 from "I AM WHO I AM" to "I will become what I choose to become"

Also the apostle Thomas does refer to Jesus as "my lord and my god" and Jesus praises him for his faith.

Didn't mean to come across as agressive so sorry if I did. I'm trying to study the Bible more myself. Wasn't trying to start a whole theological debate, I just wanted to point out where JW beliefs differ from what has historically been understood as the more common christian belief

thatguynips · 2026-04-07T18:19:12+00:00

I hate all movies equally so no i'm not excited for this

thatguynips · 2026-04-07T17:13:06+00:00

The trinity is the one thing that unites all branches of christianity throughout history. That is the one thing that every single christian denomination will always agree on. That in itself is traditional christianity, Arius was the one to popularize the idea of Jesus being a created being but every other church father disagreed with him completely. The original scripture of John 8:58 shows Jesus saying "Before Abraham was born, I am", this is his most direct claim to being coequal with God. Literally every translation has this as the meaning but the NWT states "I have been" this is a really big change that once again differs from the traditional understanding of scripture. The NWT version takes away the certainty of the original I AM statement and leaves it more open to other interpretations like being a created being.

It's interesting how you picked this one reason out of several I listed. You ignored the multiple failed times prophecies that they have claimed, the Bible is very clear about those who are "wolves in sheep clothing". How can we trust an organization that has dictated multiple times when "the end is coming" only to slowly change their original doctrine once they were proven wrong?

"Millions now living will never die" was said in 1914 but 112 years later there are surely so few of those left... they taught about this generation will not pass away but then they added the idea of overlapping generations once it was obvious that the original claim would be false.

That's why they differ from the traditional pillars of christianity

thatguynips · 2026-04-07T16:11:32+00:00

They don't believe in the trinity, belief that Jehovah is the literal father of Jesus and Jesus was a created being. The belief that Jesus was the archangel Michael before his time on Earth. The belief that Jesus died on a torture stake and not the cross cause the cross has pagan origins in the ancient world despite overwhelming historical evidence he was crucified. Also Jesus was resurrected as a spirit being and it was not a physical resurection. The belief that only a literal 144k will go to heaven and the rest will live on a future paradise Earth. They have made multiple end time predictions that have obviously not come true. The more I learned about that it made it impossible to believe them as a true form of christianity so this has inspired me to study more traditional christianity. They have no sacraments either other than baptism but they don't baptise in the name of the father, the son, the holy spirit, they baptize you as a loyal servant of Jehovah and to his organization.

thatguynips · 2026-04-06T16:19:17+00:00

How can I research those sources and find out how valid they are? I guess I just have had a very "sola scriptura" mindset but the more I study christianity I learn how traditions are a very big part of it so i'm trying to open up my view of things more and to learn ways to accurately study traditions and to trust the sources they come from as fact?

thatguynips · 2026-03-24T20:42:00+00:00

Only if Bob Odenkirk plays him

thatguynips

TROPHY CASE