One of the first things that I realized after I left the organization was that I could actually have human heroes who weren't Bible characters. Now this will give you an idea of how much of a nerd I am, but the first person I began to idolize as a 17-18 year old teenager was Richard P. Feynman, the mid 20th century theoretical physicist. Of course, now I'm on my way to becoming a physicist myself, although I'm going into the experimental side instead of theory.
My second "worldly" human hero was R. Buckminster Fuller, American inventor, architect, and design scientist. I now own a small collection of rare and out of print books of his. He helped turn me on to the idea of doing "more with less" and the idea of long term human survival through continuously improving our way of living through human intuition and ingenuity--none of this just waiting around for God's Kingdom anymore. One of his early books was Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, which I believe is actually freely available on the internet if you look for it.
So does anyone else have any stories about their first "worldly" human heroes? Why do you admire them and what did they do/say/write that helped you move beyond your life as JW? Just a fun question, I thought.
Your first "worldly" heroes?
by apfergus 21 Replies latest jw friends
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apfergus
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looking_glass
I don't remember my first worldly hero. But they have always been people I know. I do much better with people I have a relationship with because I am able to recognize their weakness and see that they work beyond them to become a better person. There was an old woman who lived across the street from us growing up and she was a hero to me because of everything she had lived thru. She was a feminist before the word was invented. I could picture her fighting for women's rights. She was a spit fire, but an amazing human being.
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TresHappy
The late Princess Diana...
My favorite photo of her. -
Apostate Kate
Wow Apfergus that is awesome! Good for you!
My first hero was Mother Teresa. She meant so much to me. She gave her whole life to help end the suffering of the world. She will always be my hero. Here is a biography but they left some charities she founded out.
Mother Teresa – Biography
Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje*, Macedonia, on August 27, 1910. Her family was of Albanian descent. At the age of twelve, she felt strongly the call of God. She knew she had to be a missionary to spread the love of Christ. At the age of eighteen she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. After a few months' training in Dublin she was sent to India, where on May 24, 1931, she took her initial vows as a nun. From 1931 to 1948 Mother Teresa taught at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta, but the suffering and poverty she glimpsed outside the convent walls made such a deep impression on her that in 1948 she received permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. Although she had no funds, she depended on Divine Providence, and started an open-air school for slum children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and financial support was also forthcoming. This made it possible for her to extend the scope of her work.On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Holy See to start her own order, "The Missionaries of Charity", whose primary task was to love and care for those persons nobody was prepared to look after. In 1965 the Society became an International Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul VI.
Today the order comprises Active and Contemplative branches of Sisters and Brothers in many countries. In 1963 both the Contemplative branch of the Sisters and the Active branch of the Brothers was founded. In 1979 the Contemplative branch of the Brothers was added, and in 1984 the Priest branch was established.
The Society of Missionaries has spread all over the world, including the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. They provide effective help to the poorest of the poor in a number of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and they undertake relief work in the wake of natural catastrophes such as floods, epidemics, and famine, and for refugees. The order also has houses in North America, Europe and Australia, where they take care of the shut-ins, alcoholics, homeless, and AIDS sufferers.
The Missionaries of Charity throughout the world are aided and assisted by Co-Workers who became an official International Association on March 29, 1969. By the 1990s there were over one million Co-Workers in more than 40 countries. Along with the Co-Workers, the lay Missionaries of Charity try to follow Mother Teresa's spirit and charism in their families.
Mother Teresa's work has been recognised and acclaimed throughout the world and she has received a number of awards and distinctions, including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding (1972). She also received the Balzan Prize (1979) and the Templeton and Magsaysay awards.
This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and later published in the book series Les Prix Nobel/Nobel Lectures. The information is sometimes updated with an addendum submitted by the Laureate. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.
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SickofLies
William Shatner
Need I say more?
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TresHappy
Denny Crane!
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Cognitive_Dissident
Tom Waits
"Are you pretending to love
Well I hear that it pays well
How do your pistol and your Bible and your
Sleeping pills go?
Are you still jumping out of windows in expensive clothes?" -
mavie
Ok ok, I'll bite...someone *has* to say
My Dad.
I also devoured books by Asimov and Herbert as a teenager. Classic sci-fi made me think beyond the walls of my bedroom, especially the Dune series. Think of a 13 year old kid reading about geopolitics and environmentalism set in a world 10,000 years distant. That blew my mind.
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apfergus
I've looked up to people I know personally, my own unbelieving father included. He was raised Southern Baptist and was told repeatedly growing up that he was just going to burn in Hell, so I've always felt a little bit of a connection there.
I can also hear you on the sci-fi. I was way into Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and the like. -
Lilycurly
Tori Amos---
Actually, she was my hero even before I left the dubs, her music, her ideas and her spunk helped me out of the mind control.
If anyone knows the song "Crucify" they'll know what I mean, and that just one song..."God" is pretty nice to.;P
Quotes....
"If I couldn't play, I've no idea what kind of bitter person I would've become.
Because that's where I was able to express some kind of freedom without guilt. Guilt for passion.""I think that happiness is when you can let yourself feel every emotion you want at any time
instead of being a lying little fuck.""We put men under pressure too much by expecting them to make us happy. I want to get happy by my inner energy."
"I've decided Lucifer is a woman, wears white, and drives an ice cream truck."
"You know when people smile too much? It's painful, I find that really painful. Happy is not very reliable.
I'm trying to live like um, with a fierce calm.""If you believe in the spirit world, you believe in it, if you don't, that's your arrogance.
But if you go to Ireland and talk about fairies negatively, you'll get punched out."Song Quotes: (That made me think)
Every finger in the room is pointing at me I wanna spit in their faces Then I get affraid what that could bring
Why do we crucify ourselves Every day I crucify myself Nothing I do is good enough for you
And my HEART is sick of being in chains
Got enough GUILT to start My own religion
God sometimes you just don't come through Do you need a woman to look after you
Past the mission behind the prison tower past the mission I once knew a hot girl past the mission they're closing every hour past the mission I smell the roses
Building tumbling down didn't know our love was so small couldn't stand at all
If the Divine master plan is perfection maybe next i'll give Judas a try
I know we're dying and there's no sign of a parachute we scream in cathedrals why can't it be beautiful why does there gotta be a sacrifice
I will wander out test my tether to see if I'm still free from you
What it means to be made of you but not enough for you
You know what you know so you go break the terror of the urban spell.....
Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje