Thx for the blown-up pic ... which looks more like a painting by some Renaissance master than a photo of Boy George, BTW. Yes, there's some correlation in nose cartilage structure. (Sounds all clinical, doesn't it?)
Take care,
George
CruithneLaLuna
JoinedPosts by CruithneLaLuna
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60
I Am a Christian
by Greenpalmtreestillmine ini am a former jw just as many here are.
i have left the watchtower just as many here also have.
i also died as many here have.. i died, i cried, i died again.
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Is There ANY JW Belief That You Still Believe In???
by minimus indo any here still believe in paradise earth, blood prohibitions, etc.??
?
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CruithneLaLuna
I'm Pagan now. Does that answer your question?
I agree with the need for honesty and heartfelt concern for others (love), and other general stances on "how to be a better person and function effectively in society" that most religions promote and strive to adhere to. But in terms of theology, I agree with basically none of it anymore.
I took beliefnet.com's Belief-O-Matic quiz in May or June, 2002. Jehovah's Witnesses were at the very bottom of the list in terms of conformity with the "beliefs" (working hypotheses) I registered. Neo-Pagan was at the top. I took the more detailed quiz to find out which kind of Neo-Paganism I aligned with most closely, and the result was "Druidism." I knew basically nothing about Druidry at the time, but figured that it might be a good idea to learn more. All has gone well with my Druid studies, and I am scheduled for a formal initiation.
Perhaps a word or two about the time that elapsed between leaving the JWs and discovering my Druidishness: I decided to walk away from the JWs in February or March, 2000. For me, that meant re-examining everything that I had accepted as truth. Re-examination does not necessarily mean rejection; yet, I found that what was spiritually meaingful for me in the aftermath of 30+ years of JWism (experiencing what DID NOT work for me), was radically different. It was like having been on a strict, restricted diet for decades and suddenly bveing presented with a buffet of exotic foods. I discovered that I liked, and thrived on, types of foods that I had been told were distasteful, disgusting, poisonous; and that JWism and even "Biblicalism" in general were like cardboard impregnated with minimal nutrients and flavoring, in comparison. (Prior to the JWs, I had had direct experience with both Catholicism and mainline Protestantism.)
[Added in short order, via the Edit button: I can't believe that I was so extreme in my statement. I don't view Christianity as necessarily being as colorless, flavorless, and unspiritual as I may seem to have implied. I know that it is very meaningful for some people. This is a Big Topic that I don't have time or inclination to give full treatment here, nor would it be appropriate for the thread - but modern Christianity in practice tends to exclude, deny, and vilify (demonize, literally) much that is historically, and in a larger context, fundamental to human spirituality. I personally have a problem with that, finding it needlessly restrictive.]
Some have come to completely different conclusions, and that's fine.
Cruithne
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DA'd on Christmas, and my mother calling me
by Redneckgurl ini knew this wouldn't be easy.
first of all, our announcement was read in 2 congregations, since we had just switched about 2 years ago.
the one my parents and longtime friends are in heard it on thursday, how ironic?
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CruithneLaLuna
The question for me was not, "Will it be easy?" but "Is it the right thing to do?" And it seems that you took the same approach. I have found that it is easier to live with the freedom and sense of self-approval that comes from having acted on principle, and letting the chips fall where they may, than with what I imagine to be the probable results of more expedient / less principled behavior. I also consider that I am setting a better example for friends and relatives who may one day choose to leave the organization.
To readers who have chosen a different course, and who may interpret your own actions based on different criteria, I do not judge you adversely; you also have my support. Each of us must live with the consequences of his/her actions. I took the course that I felt would produce the results that I could best live with.
Compassion, approval, support ~
Cruithne
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Divorcing Da Mob...
by marriedtodamob inmerry christmas and happy new year to everyone on this awesome board!!!
yes, as the subject line implies, i have decided to get a divorce.
i cannot and will not go through another christmas like the one i just went through with my 10 yr old son.
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CruithneLaLuna
Divorce is a hard road in the best of cases, and is not made any better when a "faithful Christian" (JW) is involved. I don't know what kind of man you're dealing with; I'd like to make the best assumptions about him ... but I made the best possible assumptions about wife #2, who was raised in the organization, has been a believer all her life, and is now married to an elder, and she violated many of my assumptions in harshly, painfully negative ways.
We Celts need to stick together. I'm here for ya.
Cruithne
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To My Lovely Apostates
by Valis ingreetings all and merry xmas!
i'll be making waffles on the morrow, plus eggs benedict, lots of fruit, other yummy food, alchohol, and merriment.
for any of you who don't have relatives or plans otherwise you are most definitely invited here.
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CruithneLaLuna
My day has been a very good one, thanks. I was able to spend time with a select group of friends, enjoyed some good food and friendly interaction, even returned home with some "loot," ha ha ha.
I hope your holiday was choice, as well.
The nice thing about being Pagan is that it isn't "wrong," or even necessarily hypocritical, to celebrate the holidays of other religions.
George
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CruithneLaLuna
I feel a little hurried right now ... but in love with life.
I sent PMs to a couple of you who are feeling down.
Warmest & best regards,
George
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The WTS and Dictatorship
by Defender ina lot of comparisons have been made between the wts and political dictatorial governments.
some hope that while the political dictatorial governments tend to develop fatal flaws that eventually bring about their demise, the same may be happening in the wts.
while there may be outward similarities between wts and dictatorial regimes, but the inherent political and social power structure is different.
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CruithneLaLuna
Yes, dictatorship is in many ways the most effective form of government, and Christ's Kingdom as understood by the Witnesses is nothing if not a benevolent dictatorship. Theocracy has always been understood as organized from the top down. For many years, I supported benevolent dictatorship by Jehovah and Jesus, as expressed and represented on earth by the "faithful and discreet slave." I even explained the nature of the Kingdom and the JW org to others as "benevolent dictatorship."
What I eventually realized was that the (JWs' version of) Theocracy had not treated me benevolently. My self-talk in expressing my realization went something like this: "There is nothing I have gained from association with the Witnesses that I could not have gained (as effectively, if not better) by other means, and my association with them has, in many ways, done me tremendous harm." This is of course, a summary. I could and did enumerate and explain (to myself) a lot of specific examples in support of my conclusions.
As soon as I felt confident that my analysis was correct, the next point to be assimilated was that a religion that could and did have such effects on a person's life could not originate with a God of love, a God who was worthy of my worship. Thereupon, I immediately terminated my association with the Witnesses (although my DA letter came some time later), and stopped worshipping "Jehovah" as I had understood him / as the Witnesses present him.
George
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The WTS and Dictatorship
by Defender ina lot of comparisons have been made between the wts and political dictatorial governments.
some hope that while the political dictatorial governments tend to develop fatal flaws that eventually bring about their demise, the same may be happening in the wts.
while there may be outward similarities between wts and dictatorial regimes, but the inherent political and social power structure is different.
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CruithneLaLuna
defender,
While your analysis is accurate in that subjects of the WTS dictatorship are there willingly, and ardently defend it, it is also true that those who want to leave are free to do so. In fact, the Witnesses are anxious to immediately eject opposers from their ranks. This is one of the ways that they protect themselves. (Or rather, it's a way in which their God protects them.)
Infiltration by opposers would be an effective way to bring down the organization, but it would have to be a fairly massive infiltration, lasting and growing for many years. I don't know of any ex-JWs or other opposers who would be willing to participate in something like that. We all have better things to do with our lives.
Although it is difficult and traumatic, those who discover the truth (as we here see it) about the organization may leave, and often do leave. We here can help these people gather the courage to make the break, and help them clean up the mess afterward and create new lives for themselves. This is a good service. We are serving the cause of humanity, and of love, justice, widowm and power, which is to say (for those who are religiously inclined) God/dess.
Maybe there is a way to organize those who become opposers-in-spirit, and for whatever reasons, choose not to leave.... Maybe this is already being done. Is anyone aware of such an organization of opposers within? It seems that it would be extremely difficult to maintain an effective organized oppositional effort, under such circumstances. And what could be done to cause trouble from within?
George
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Do any of you preach on yahoo or MSN chat rooms?
by Singing Man ini have caught myself preaching while in a few of those rooms, till i had to tone it down a bit and say just tell them what you personaly think, not what the wt says.
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CruithneLaLuna
Or if there "is," it's in someone's interpretation, rather than anything that reasonably can be called "objective fact."
Now, back to what I was doing ....
Cruithne
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Pagan University ... lol
by Vivamus inlast week, while i was sitting at work, i noticed something i had never noticed before.
mind you, i work at the university library, so i have been walking around that building for six years or so, while studying, and now while working.
four of those years ... i was a jw.
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CruithneLaLuna
I am (nominally) taking courses at the Sacramento Grove of the Oak Druid College. The Grove's founder is a former professor, who dreams of creating an accredited institution with a fairly broad curriculum, of course emphasizing material of particular interest to Neo-Pagans. I should suggest to Michael that if he wants to get realy busy, he could start offering correspondence courses....
George