Posts by outbutnotdown

774

Freedom to Choose God

by UnDisfellowshipped in

come to the wedding.

' for i say to you that god is able to raise up children to abraham from these stones.

I just read PART of the first post on this topic and the last few, but I think it might be of help to all who are posting on this topic to read Ballistic's recent post entitled, "My ponderings on religion, etc."

Honest.... everyone who is giving their opinions on this topic... check it out. It MIGHT help put things into perspective...... I think Jesus, Paul, Peter, etc. all had open minds like Ballistic, etc. ...... I just think it may have been the ever evolving, ever searching human tendency to find deeper answers to their simplistic yet profound thoughts that has caused such dissention in the "religious world".

Just my two cents and we all know what that's worth....... teehee.

Brad

10

My ponderings on religion etc

by ballistic in

jw
friends

of course, we of all people know just how wrong you can be.

so what about the rest of life outside of religion?

politics maybe, or just general life situations?

outbutnotdown

Ballistic,

Interesting point!! I had a cousin, who asked me, (when I said that I was leaving the JW religion because there were just things that I couldn't accept anymore), "isn't it nice to not KNOW EVERYTHING?!!" It was shocking,when I sat back and honestly analyzed my past, how close-minded I was. I am appreciative of the fact that "I KNOW" less and less every day, in an absolute sort of way.

The interesting thing is that, as I have become less and less absolute, the more valuable and important things have become clearer and clearer for me: the simple joys found in my kids' laughter, their peaceful and worry-free times, and just an inner happiness that I think I would have been incapable of finding had I stayed in ANY high-control religion.

Thanks for reminding me!!!!

Brad

26

Dad said JW's number 6.5 million and are growing -- can anyone verify this?

by Gopher in

jw
friends

i had one of my infrequent phone conversations with my jw-elder-father yesterday.

he's been "in da troof" all his adult life, over 5 decades now.

it's all he knows.. so naturally, on those rare occasions when we talk, he launches into a "come back into the truth" soliloquy.

outbutnotdown

Their fixation on numbers being important is only due to THEIR own interpretations of which parts of the Bible are important.

It reminds me of a time, in grade 8, when I had about a three hour ~~conversation~~ argument with another classmate about ~~creation~~ evolution, wherein I was absolutely certain that I had done a great thing for Jehoober, by standing up for him. Reality was that I was a shallow-minded, uneducated jerk who never listened to a damn thing that my friend said.

Similar to their "number" fixation, we were all convinced that if people disagreed with us it PROVED that we were Jehoober's true people, when in fact reality was that we were just small-thinking people. I feel so much smarter, now that I don't "KNOW" everything.

Brad

42

Since JWs Never Helped Anyone But Themselves, What Do You Do 4 People?

by minimus in

jw
friends

we, as witnesses were taught to believe that our giving the "truth" to people was the most important gift we could give!

forget about giving money to charities or helping any other group out----we needed to give them the "real life".

do you find yourself giving back to the community or to others now that you're out?

outbutnotdown

Having four kids, my time is pretty occupied as it is, but I do coach my kids' soccer teams and help out with cross-country running and track and field. I know it sucked for me when I was younger, that we weren't allowed to participate in these things.

Does anybody know if the JW's have gotten any better in this area or do they still ~~suggest~~ order that it's better not to "associate" with worldly people?

Brad

19

When you were in school, did you dread knocking on a schoolmate?s door?

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

i did not know where most of my schoolmates lived, but i knew they were out there... somewhere.

i dreaded the thought of a door opening to a face i knew from school.

it was like walking through a minefield for me... every door was like another step... would my next step be my last???

outbutnotdown

ABSOLUTELY!!!

I wasn't the most self-confident kid to begin with, so it was traumatizing knowing that the next door I knocked on could be a schoolmate's.

Thanks for the reminder of how much nicer it is to be out, Elsewhere.....

Brad

8

My son and another cult

by edge3 in

jw
friends

sadly i feel like my son is moving toward another paranoid cult like group.

after extracting him, his mom and myself from the jw's 12 years ago my son is now exposed to and possibly buying into another bazzare belief system.

after our divorce, his mother remarried to a guy who believes all sorts of conspiracy theories such as : .

outbutnotdown

RR,

How do you know that for sure RR?

Brad

25

Feild service just became totally optional. July 1 watchtower 2004.

by XQsThaiPoes in

"today we likewise do not use fear or simular negative emotions, such as shame, to coerce others into obeying christ.

only whole souled obedience based on love for god and christ makes jehovahs heart rejoyce.".

so if you feel half-a* about door knocking stay home..

outbutnotdown

They don't coerce them with negative emotions, etc.? That's weird!!!!!! I could swear that after reading that quote, I felt coerced into believing that for me to be acceptable in Jehoober's eyes, I would have to be whole-souled in my devotion to their organization, which has always been and still is based on how many hours you put in ~~brain-washing~~ teaching others.

When an organization's whole premise is that they are chosen by God, they can be nothing other than be coercive. (IMHO)

Brad

10

Another TRUE Sheep and Wolves Story... Must Read.

by Confucious in

jw
friends

the analogy first... .

a sheep wanders off and gets jumped by a wolf.

the sheep finds her way back home.

outbutnotdown

What this girl is going through is very sad indeed!!!

I have a personal example that is somewhat similar to that, although it pales in severity to what she has come upon in her struggles.

When the elders did their "judicial meeting" thing with me, I had admitted that the times that my fiance and I got into "trouble"........ ....... was when I had been drinking. So AFTER I got df'd, I went back to one of the elders and asked if they could give me help with my possible drinking problem.

The elder said, "You're on your own now. We had grounds to disfellowship you so we did. You have to prove that you are repentant and get reinstated before we will have any further involvement with you."

The good news about it is that it shocked me into realizing how hypocritical they are and that they REALLY HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT WHAT LOVE AND CARING IS. I never went back and I hope that people can convey to this woman who is going through this travesty of justice that despite her pain she will be better off if she never goes back. My thoughts are with her.

Brad

28

Woohoo... I had a great day in family court yesterday!!!

by outbutnotdown in

jw
friends

my ex-wife and i were to start our custody/equalization trial yesterday but due to time constrictions we had a settlement conference instead and it is over!!!!!

woohoo!!!!.

financially, i will end up having to pay $5,000.00 more than what i should.. (only because my ex lied about a few things) but i get joint custody of the kids now.

outbutnotdown

Update on my family!!!

My kids are with me for the first time since the court day and, much like Shamus said, they have already said stuff that their grandmother has said to them that she of course is not supposed to. What boggles my mind is that she seems to think that she has such control over the kids, that her telling them to not tell me will work. I don't even ask them if she has said anything but it comes out anyway.

I certainly wish my kids didn't have to hear that negative stuff, but one thing I feel pretty sure of is that all this may cause my ex wife to realize that she has to alienate herself from her mother if she doesn't want to lose the joint custody status. It's been a long time coming but my kids need it, my ex needs it and it'll be good for everyone.

Brad

28

Woohoo... I had a great day in family court yesterday!!!

by outbutnotdown in

jw
friends

my ex-wife and i were to start our custody/equalization trial yesterday but due to time constrictions we had a settlement conference instead and it is over!!!!!

woohoo!!!!.

financially, i will end up having to pay $5,000.00 more than what i should.. (only because my ex lied about a few things) but i get joint custody of the kids now.

outbutnotdown

Thank you, thank you, thank you all for your thoughts and comments.

Mary, I appreciate your advice about looking out for my kids regarding my ex mother-in-law. What is amazing is that she brought my four year old daughter to the doctor right after my first court appointed visit with them. My four year old daughter said later that her nanny had told her to tell the doctor that I had "pushed her peepee in". She mentioned this on May 30th., the second visit that I had with them.

I have so much more to say, but I would like to express that we tend to think it will never happen to us, yet it does.

Brad