i'll start by saying, i'm a ministerial servant who is trapped in the religion.
my wife is hardcore...but i've slowly been getting her to lighten up, so i'll take it!
all my friends and family are jw's, and i am employed by a jw (who is actually a great boss).
when I first left I can recall thinking, but what if they are right...
That was more a symptom of my anxiety I think....
but it really doesn't matter if there is any divine being or not, what does matter is that I live my life with ethics and treat other people well.
besides that, there is nothing more
apparently, the carvakas in anceint hinduism were materialists and skeptics, arguing that consciousness ends with the death of the body and that therefore we should take pleasure in this life while we possess it and practice compassion toward others.
they also argued that direct observation is the only certain way to know anything, and thus the existence of supernatural forces and realities cannot be established and must be rejected.
I think there's nothing out there, which is a comfort I think, and a prompt to make sure we live well now.
but many years ago after euthanising a much loved family pet,driving home with their dead body on my knee, I told them that as they were the only one in the car who knew if there was anything out there they could send me another pet in a little while, I specified two breeds, the gender and that they had to be nice. the next day there was a phone call from the vets, they had a new family member for me, both the breeds I mentioned, the right gender and very nice....go figure...a pretty good coincidence I think.
i just stated watching this on netflix.
i don't know what to make of it.
it seems somewhat scripted.
I have watched the first three series, he's very funny. often a lot of what he says is spot on...
(a little background info before i ask my question...).
my sister-in-law (non-jw), who manages a popular chain restaurant near a kingdom hall, just found out that my wife and i have recently faded, so she decided to get something off her chest the other day... you guessed it: she wanted us to know that jws are the worst customers ever!
she then told us some really embarrassing stories about how jws would request a table for 15 to 20 people (after a sunday meeting) and then (when the bill came) some of the jws would start deliberating amongst themselves on whether or not the waiter was diligent or not (to justify the low tip he was getting anyway).
in Australia there is a definate no tipiping culture. I have only tipped in Europe and aouth East Asia, where the levels of wealth are so vastly different. but thats totally optional and never expected. I resent that employers can choose not to pay a minimum wage, and expect the customer to do so... it's somewhat of a sore topic in Australia.
if there was a pill you could give to your jw family members that would awaken their eyes to the truth about the cult, would you give it to them?.
most would probably say yes.. but what about those who are completely institutionalized, the elderly, the super zealous, the geeky kids who have no friends, the misfits?.
some people need "boundaries", they need someone to lead and give them directions, they need a sense of belonging, even in an organization that has no social programs.
my younger family members have known nothing else, have no outside friends, no social life. they live in a very isolated area, it would destroys their lives, would they thank me? I dunno............
if there was a pill you could give to your jw family members that would awaken their eyes to the truth about the cult, would you give it to them?.
most would probably say yes.. but what about those who are completely institutionalized, the elderly, the super zealous, the geeky kids who have no friends, the misfits?.
some people need "boundaries", they need someone to lead and give them directions, they need a sense of belonging, even in an organization that has no social programs.
I don't know any hard core dubs who had any doubts on their deathbeds...none... I was raised in an extremely hard core situation. they know nothing but the jw crap...none ever had doubts..
what good would it do to tell them their whole lives have been a lie and a con?
that all their friends would dump them at the drop of a hat?
that all their social ostracism was for nothing?
that the reason they were a laughing stock for decades was a con?
to whose benefit would it be ?
in my opinion it would be NOTHING but a cruelty, I refuse to be involved in any more cruelty. I have had enough of that to last the rest of my life.
if there was a pill you could give to your jw family members that would awaken their eyes to the truth about the cult, would you give it to them?.
most would probably say yes.. but what about those who are completely institutionalized, the elderly, the super zealous, the geeky kids who have no friends, the misfits?.
some people need "boundaries", they need someone to lead and give them directions, they need a sense of belonging, even in an organization that has no social programs.
my older ones were all hateful, but I am damned if I will be in return....
if there was a pill you could give to your jw family members that would awaken their eyes to the truth about the cult, would you give it to them?.
most would probably say yes.. but what about those who are completely institutionalized, the elderly, the super zealous, the geeky kids who have no friends, the misfits?.
some people need "boundaries", they need someone to lead and give them directions, they need a sense of belonging, even in an organization that has no social programs.
3rdgen, so you would give it to the older people around you to punish them??
I agree totally to save someone while young, but that's a different kettle of fish..
if there was a pill you could give to your jw family members that would awaken their eyes to the truth about the cult, would you give it to them?.
most would probably say yes.. but what about those who are completely institutionalized, the elderly, the super zealous, the geeky kids who have no friends, the misfits?.
some people need "boundaries", they need someone to lead and give them directions, they need a sense of belonging, even in an organization that has no social programs.
sorry, but I think to show someone that they have wasted their one and only shot at life, would be immensely cruel. others may disagree and be correct, but that is my honest feeling.
if there was a pill you could give to your jw family members that would awaken their eyes to the truth about the cult, would you give it to them?.
most would probably say yes.. but what about those who are completely institutionalized, the elderly, the super zealous, the geeky kids who have no friends, the misfits?.
some people need "boundaries", they need someone to lead and give them directions, they need a sense of belonging, even in an organization that has no social programs.
No, how cruel would it be to show my mother, in her seventies that her whole life has been a lie?
to make her realise how bad her treatment of others has been?? to what effect?
why be so cruel????
