my mother has been expressing to us how she reluctantly is beginning to see that the organization indeed has some problems.
she is starting to "feel" that things aren't right.
this past thursday, they gave a "marking" talk for my daughter who hasn't attended a meeting in years.
Wow, way to go Minimus! I am so very happy for you. It begins with baby steps, you know.
I still have a grown daughter who is in the org. that I love very much. I can just hope that one day she will have her eyes opened, too. There is always hope, and stories like yours are great to hear.
Good luck!
Mrs. Shakita
a longtime friend of my daughters, we will call him "c", called my daughter, nancy, yesterday.
he is the 17-year-old son of an elder in my ex-wife?s congregation.
c?s father and mother are highly controlling and abusive to the young man.
Hey Corvin,
I'm so glad that you went to the authorities. This poor child needs help and I agree that he has reached out to you knowing what happened with your own daughter and how you supported her all the way.
These parents are going to lose their child forever. Tightening the noose will drive their son away. And then when their son refuses to have anything to do with this sick religion and with them, they will wring their hands and moan and groan, totally oblivious to their own abusive behavior that led to this situation. Where is the love that is supposed to characterize THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ON THE EARTH? What a joke that is. If parents can't show love to their own children, then how can they show that love to anyone else?
I remember the things that I did when I was a teenager. Thank God I didn't grow up as a Witness. My life would have been a living hell. I would most certainly have been disfellowshipped for the things that I did. That would have been devestating. Please let us know how things work out.
Mr. Shakita
warning examples for our times was a wt release video that came out a couple of years ago.
at the times i was given it to watch so i could know the seriousness of my daughter marrying an unbeliever (any of you who have heard my story know she had never become a believer herself, so technically was an unbeliever too, thus not qualified to marry a believer either, but made guilty by association with the jws--catch 22 situation).
anyway, the video horrified me at the time.
Hey TS1,
That account is found at Numbers 25:6-8. Makes ya wince, doesn't it?
Mr. Shakita
i've had a thing against hearing about "end times prophecies" for some time now, no doubt as a reaction against what i had been raised with by the wts.. recently, however, i had cause to re-read luke 21 in "the message".. it suddenly struck me how we would always use matthew 24 to support 1914, but only dipped into mark 13 and luke 21 occasionally.
you may remember the "tote" watchtower in 1995 (?
) which was used to dismantle the "generation" teaching we'd all previously believed, but there was no parallel study from luke.
Hey Steve,
The pretereist point of view makes a lot of sense. Although, I believe that the scriptures dealing with Christ's return will have a future fulfillment. I do now believe that most of what is contained at Matthew 24, Mark 13 and luke 21 had solely a first century application.
When you think about it logically: Who was Jesus speaking to? He was speaking to his first century followers. He wasn't speaking to people that wouldn't be born for 1,900 or 2,000 years. If what he told his followers were to be fulfilled in one generation, then how could what Jesus said be applied to a time period that would occur 1,900 to 2,000 years later. It makes sense to understand that Jesus was telling his followers about events that would be fulfilled during the first century. Jesus said that THIS GENERATION would not pass away until all these things took place. The THIS GENERATION Jesus was referring to was the Jews of the first century. When one applies this understanding to Jesus's words then alot of confusion is taken away.
If Jesus uttered those words in 33 AD and the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, then certainly it could be said that the things that Jesus foretold were fulfilled on the Jews of the first century. There would not be another generation that would see the signs that Jesus had foretold for the Jews. How could a modern day Christian apply Jesus's warning to flee from Jerusalem when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies? If those words at Matthew 24 had a future fulfillment, how does that make any sense? Christians are located around the world, so how could they obey Jesus's command to flee from Jerusalem, when the vast majority live in places around the world? When one realizes that these words of Jesus were to be fulfilled only in the first century, then many things are cleared up.
All the signs of the end that Jesus expounded on was in reference to the end of the Jewish system. The wars, earthquakes, famines, diseases, lawlessness, preaching of the good news, etc., all were fulfilled in the first century. If the average JW knew this then they wouldn't be suckered in by false prophets that claim that the signs that Jesus foretold have a dual application and that the end is near.
Mr. Shakita
i've had a thing against hearing about "end times prophecies" for some time now, no doubt as a reaction against what i had been raised with by the wts.. recently, however, i had cause to re-read luke 21 in "the message".. it suddenly struck me how we would always use matthew 24 to support 1914, but only dipped into mark 13 and luke 21 occasionally.
you may remember the "tote" watchtower in 1995 (?
) which was used to dismantle the "generation" teaching we'd all previously believed, but there was no parallel study from luke.
Hey LT,
I like how The Message words that passage:
7They asked him, "Teacher, when is this going to happen? What clue will we get that it's about to take place?"
8He said, "Watch out for the doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities claiming, "I'm the One,' or, "The end is near.' Don't fall for any of that. 9When you hear of wars and uprisings, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history and no sign of the end."
Throughout the centuries various self proclaimed prophets have pointed to their time as being unique. They claimed that the signs of the times proved that the return of Christ was near. Invariably, their time would come and go, without the realized return of Christ. In the meantime, these false prophets would draw too much attention to themselves. They would also claim that they had some special knowledge and that one could only be saved by listening to their version of the truth.
Carl Olof Jonsson made a similar point in his book: "The Signs of The Last Days, When?" His point was that Jesus was warning his followers not to be misled by the wars, earthquakes, famines, diseases, etc. as if these events would point to his imminent return. All these events are "routine" as The Message makes clear. It makes sense to understand the scripture that way since Jesus said that no one would know the day or hour of his return. If we could figure out Jesus's arrival time due to so called signs, then we would know the day and hour of his return.
Since the average person is unaware of the correct understanding of those verses, they can be manipulated to believe that Jesus was indicating these events as signs of his return. The Jehovah's Witnesses have twisted these verses in such a way as to cause their adherents to fear that the end is near based on these supposed signs. So, it is very hard to convince the average JW of the true meaning of these verses because they are in a great deal of fear since they fear the end is so close. Jesus's message is clear: "Don't fall for any of that." Did you catch that any of you JW lurkers out there?
Mr. Shakita
victory!
the court appointed attorney will be recommending to the judge the following at the hearing tomorrow morning.
unsupervised visits with mom at the children?s request only, away from her home and away from stepfather.
Hey Corvin,
That is great news. I was worried about you and your daughters. They will finally be able to use their own brains in deciding how they are going to live their lives. The court ordered counseling sessions sounds like just the right thing. Maybe your ex will finally understand the damage that she has done. I like the fact that your daughters will call their shots and that they get to choose when they will see their mother. The power is in their hands. Your hard work to save your children paid off big time. Yahoo, It's party time!
Mr. Shakita
today, i am taking the girls to meet with the court appointed attorney.
he will interview the girls and me together, then he will interview sara and the girls together.
it is his recommendation to the judge that will decide the outcome of this custody battle.
Hey Corvin,
I am so sorry that your ex failed to see reason. She is downright psycho. Why can't she put aside her venom for just a minute and put first her own daughters? You have my support Corvin. I am rooting for you that the court appointed attorney will recommend that you gain custody of your daughters. It seems to me that your ex needs psychiatric care. Either that or a Watchtowerectomy.
My wife and I send our love to you and to your daughters.
Mr. + Mrs. Shakita
just stopping in to say hi and i?m ok. thanks to those who sent concerned emails.. update on nancy: she is going through counseling at a voluntary facility where she will remain for another 1.5 weeks.
we visit her often and she is very homesick by now.
she is looking forward to a fresh start, which we are all working hard to give her.
Hey Corvin,
Great news about Nancy. I hope that judge and the court appointed attorney will be able to see the damage that your ex has done to your daughter. If I had known that I had caused one of my children so much distress that they wanted to commit suicide, I would never forgive myself. It is unconscionable that your ex would lie.
Please let Nancy know that alot of people are rooting for her and we hope for her recovery. Knowing that complete strangers care about her and wish for her recovery may help her to heal. I hope that your ex will put aside her hostility and realize that it is your daughter that matters in all of this. I hope that you are granted custody.
Mr. Shakita
i have to move the newspaper back and forth.
i am having a very hard time reading the forum too.
i look pretty silly moving my head towards and away from my computer screen.
Hi Robdar,
I don't wear bifocals, but I do wear "progressive lenses." Shouldn't it be regressive? It is actually a trifocal lens. I still have to remove them to read up close. I can see better up close with them off. It took me a while to get used to them, but I am doing better with them now.
There is a new procedure that has been developed to correct up close vision problems. A surgeon implants a device in the eye that looks like a clear cornea with clasps on either end. This takes the place of our weakened eye muscles. As we age, the eye muscles weaken, making it difficult to focus up close. One elderly lady that had this done was amazed at the results. She no longer needs any reading glasses to read up close. One problem though: The procedure is very costly. I believe it was about five thousand dollars per eye. Unless you got the dough, maybe it's better to be half blind.
Mr. Shakita
spring, 1991 to december, 1991. we had already moved into the two-bedroom bungalow, i was working at a convalescent hospital (very carefully because of my back condition).... and we had changed to lake hodges congregation, a very nice congregation overall.
in march, i re-injured my back on the job by helping another nurse aide to transfer a very heavy male patient to his wheelchair.
then began a steady round of doctor?s office visits to both an orthopedic doc and a neurosurgeon.....and i was sent to physical therapy.
Hey Frannie,
I've been reading your story with great interest. It is like a cliffhanger. Don't leave us waiting too long. You have had some amazing experiences. That's too much for the WT to handle. I'm looking forward to your next installment.
Mr. Shakita
