i really like this board.
i hate making this statement bec i dont want you to all start hating me.
but since i came on here i have been researching a lot.
Holly,
"To each his own"
If following the JWs brings you happiness; by all means pursue it.
It is a free world ...... we are free to make our OWN CHOICES IN LIFE.....don't ever let THEM make you forget that !
Those of us who have been there and left; all had some VERY VALID reasons for doing so.
i thought of a question i'd like to ask my sister-in-law (who's a fanatical dub).
i'd like to say to her: "...if it could be proven to you beyond any doubt that this was not the "one true religion", would you still go to the kingdom hall?...
i figure it's a catch-22 that really ought to make them stop and think.
I think a dedicated JW would tactfully try to explain that answering such questions is counterproductive to the preaching work.
They would somehow turn it around and start to preach to you....and continue to count time.
You would never get ANY answer; much less the desired one.
been there, done that,
Frank
yep - you read that right.. i had a message on my answering machine - a jw i used to know long ago, left a message, wanting me to help out with some legal matters (i have worked for the criminal justice system for about 15 yrs now).. my husband just about had a cow - here's someone who wouldn't talk to me at the grocery store, but has no problem talking to me if they need something?
i thought to myself, could this person really be that nieve about human social situations - ie: if you're going to be mean to someone, don't expect a favor from them .
ok ok, i know - i should show more christian attitude, turn the other cheek, and call this person back.
why should you have to "turn the other cheek'? Business is Business.
Why do you have to do them a favor?
IF the person is callous enough to call you back, you can ask them WHY THEY ARE SUDDENLY ABLE TO TALK TO YOU? This is not an unreasonable question given the circumstance. Why can they shun you and treat you with no respect and then suddenly call you when they need professional help?
These Jehovahs Witnesses can really change hats quickly.....yes, I like the one with the feather in it.....
Of course if you like them and just want to be nice; this is your opportunity. As to charging them a professional fee for your professional services; you can always do that, but I would not be expecting them to pay you anytime soon.
.."screw me once; shame on you. Screw me twice; shame on me...."
Personally I think you did the right thing.
for those of you who dont know who btk is give this link a look .
http://www.catchbtk.com/ .
police have someone in custody at the moment and have said that they are 90% sure that they have caught him.
..if this is the right guy that they have captured...I hope he gets the "fry treatment". Why should someone as ruthless as this be entitled to live? And at taxpayer expense!
Yes, I have some definite opinions on the death penalty. Hot topic these days.
i have read so many posts and topics about how people are treated after leaving the org.
so i would like to share with you my take on this.. i cannot help but notice that most people seem to feel that they are looked down upon by the jw's.
whether it be from shunning: a mean look,comments, avoiding someone etc... i can honestly say that i have never felt this way, and i have run into several jw's since i left.
Brooke,
I related to your post. My family was well off financially and we were always made to feel materialistic because of it. The community the congregation was in was an affluent one; you had to be affluent to live there. Most of the families were fairly comfortable , middle to high middle class. But a good deal of the congregation was not. And when my father bought me a flashy sports car for my 16th birthday ( one that I would pioneer with) ; there was many a negative comment.
My father was an elder and my parents were always very generous opening up the house to visiting Bethelites and to the CO to stay; even if we were away. My mother entertained constantly. The result was that after we faded away and my father passed on ; NO ONE even called my mother to offer condolences. Some loving bunch of "friends".
yesterday at 5:00 am i awoke to a rooster crowing.
he crowed for 10 minutes and then kept quiet for 10 minutes.
just enough to allow me to fall back to sleep before starting up again.
when I was a kid we had a similar problem.
One of our neighbors had beautiful male peacocks that roamed the property. Their mating call was like something out of a horror movie. A blood curtling scream These birds would literally strut their stuff. They would stop traffic and if they wandered onto your property ( no fences) they would scare little kids ( they were not the friendliest birds in the bird roster). After a while we would let the dog out to chase them. They stayed away.
i have read so many posts and topics about how people are treated after leaving the org.
so i would like to share with you my take on this.. i cannot help but notice that most people seem to feel that they are looked down upon by the jw's.
whether it be from shunning: a mean look,comments, avoiding someone etc... i can honestly say that i have never felt this way, and i have run into several jw's since i left.
I have been away from them for 20 years. My life is at a point where I can look back, from a point of comfortable security both emotional and financial, and laugh at them and their dsyfunctional lifestyle.
I do not allow them to talk down to me. EVER. When I encounter any old "friends" I am always friendlly and cordial and they just do not expect to see an XJW doing so well. I am expected to be a down and out drug addict ....a loser for "turning my back on Jehovah".
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Most of my contemporaries growing up as a JW have been married ( at a young age) and are now divorced. They are still plugging away at meetings and their menial jobs.....I do not--never have been threatened by them, and now actually am beginning to pity them.
I never try to hide when I see one coming in a public place. But if they see me they cross the street to avoid me.
Good riddance....my life will go on with out them.
when will it stop!
i know the answer, when i'm the one in the casket.. my good friend that my brother and i bowl with on mondays died saturday.
we went over today and the guy that runs the place ask, "did you hear about gurney?
my condolence to you.
I know what this is like; having dealt with the death of so many in so short a period of time. There is no answer; except to say "I am sorry for your loss",
Frank
do you think the governing body really knows it??
the lawyers??
the average elder or ministerial servant?
HAH!
Alan, your description of Jaracz personality fits the bill as a personality profile of every CEO in the American business world; paranoid and strong willed with the ability to eliminate anyone who gets in their way.
I can see this in business with all of its financial rewards; but what kind of reward is there in the WT? Yes, I know they believe they have Jehovahs blessing, but that in itself does not seem like it is enough. Power and Control? Possibly.....
my wife's grandmother passed away recently.
we were at her mother's place yesterday.
now, her mother takes care of her father and mother's financial situation.
...pioneers will do ANYTHING to count time....
