Posts by PhilJonesIII

50

My friends don't believe dinosaurs existed ....

by wannabefree in

i just found this out last night.

(preface: this is a husband and wife that i have come to be friends with after leaving the borg, they are christians).

we were sitting around visiting last night and having a good time when my friend starts in on illegal immigration and politics and starts throwing out his hate speech which eventually turns to homosexuals.

PhilJonesIII

This is strange. From the comments here I can only conclude the WTS has changed its ideas about creation. Been a long time 'out' but certainly back in the 70s the official view that there was no 'time of creation' for the universe or the Earth. In fact I remember a line from one of the publications actually saying that any suggestion that the Earth was just 6000 years old was 'absurd'.

The seven 'days' of creation were of indeterminate length. There was some oblique comment in the Greek Scriptures that suggested 6 or 7 thousand years but I always felt the JW chronology was about looking at things that weren't actually there.

At the time of my zombie-like faith-adhering ways I'd assumed the dinosaurs were the 'monsters' referred to in the early part of Genesis. Only tells you what you need to know...right? Turned out to be what they thought the knew but that's a another story.

Dinosaurs wiped out in the flood? I suspect mankind would have spent more time building better walls than sinning if those things were wandering around looking for lunch. No one has ever seen a living T-Rex. Even the fossil record shows this.

The early dinosaur reconstructions were more about getting the punters in than scientific accuracy, even allowing for the lack of knowledge at the time. Early palaeontologists were not exactly low on ambition. Check out Sir Richard Owen and be grateful you never worked for him.

27

What happy, wonderful thing happened to you since you left the "truth"?

by Jeannette in

more than one thing for me, but i have learned to enjoy festivals, and just enjoying free time.

it's not that the org wouldn't allow it, i just felt i shouldn't.

there are others, of course, and i really have been happier and good things have come my way since i left.

PhilJonesIII

Learning that 'worldly' people are not all out to get you but can be very loyal and supportive friends.

Falling crazy in love with someone and still being crazy in love a decade later.

Spending a night alone in the French Alps, sleeping under the stars just to watch a sunrise.

A 'Jacques Cousteau' moment when diving in Mauritius. Surrounded by a huge shoal of fish and remembering an 8-year-old me touching the TV screen and wanting to be Jacques Cousteau. Under water, no one can hear you cry.

Not trying to be good out of fear but because I want to be. I still fail but I'm kicking my own ass on that one.

15

Poverty in China in 2014.

by fulltimestudent in

china daily recently published this overview of poverty in china: reference: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-10/16/content_18755643.htm.

under the general heading of, behind the glamour.. .

.

PhilJonesIII

Considering they have 1.3 billion people to feed, the progress they have made is nothing short of remarkable. Still a long long ways from ideal but Id hesitate to accuse them of not trying.

8

Organic molecules detected by Philae

by konceptual99 in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30097648.

lots of detail to be added but very interesting news..... .

PhilJonesIII

Alcohol is an organic compound and it makes up a sizeable cloud in space.

http://phys.org/news/2014-09-alcohol-clouds-space.html

Do take any and all media announcements with a pinch of salt. The BBC, once a bastion of impartiality and lack of bias has long joined the ranks of the sensationalist media, relying more on implication than what is actually said.

Organic materials, which are common, are not the same as living organisms though living things are made up from organic materials whose source does not have to be organic.

The Bible from a JW standpoint is that 'God breathed life' and that only God can give life. Cant say I was ever comfortable with that viewpoint. There is nothing chemically 'special' in living things that cant be found elsewhere on Earth or in space.

Earth might be 'mankind's domain' and the absence of any mention of organic life elsewhere does not preclude it. ( My point of view )

34

AUTISM and JW children

by apostatekate in

i was a jw kid.

i remember having to sit still through long, boring meetings.

i remember being taken to the book room for numerous spankings.

PhilJonesIII

Take an autistic child to the meetings? Good luck on that one. Although the condition varies considerably from child-to-child I cant imagine a more damaging environment. My own son (14) has a routine set in stone and is by no means misbehaved but asking him to sit for an hour in silence....not a chance.

If he is not engaged then he just loses it. Attention span is short though he will return time and again until he grasps what he is trying to learn. Im very fortunate in that I get a ton of professional support from people who are genuinely fond of him.

I left the org years ago and given the attitude toward dicipline at the time I can see no way an autistic child could go through that without the treatment amounting to abuse: the kind that will lead to regression.

Its a special day when I get a hug from Louis. In the last two years he has gone from not being able to tie his shoelaces to making stop-motion films with Lego and a DSLR. Credit to him for his determination. That ability was bought with a lot of effort: 5 mins here, 10 there and maybe half an hour elsewhere. For those with an autistic child of the same type, you know all about it.

You also know that one negative experience will knock it all down like a house of cards.

What would he learn in a Kingdom Hall? Nothing actually. Unless engaged directly you might as well be speaking in Swahili.

You are braver than me for even trying.

29

wow, shaking my head

by Hortensia in

jw
friends

my neighbor told me she had been talking about me recently.

"i was saying to carrie in the office i just don't see how anyone can deny the existence of a higher power.

she needed some q-tips, and found a box of them on the free table by the office.

PhilJonesIII

Oh what a terrible bunch of cynics you people are! God works in mysterious ways don't you know?

I was once browsing a shop with just enough cash to buy a Mars Bar or a scratch-card. Feeling hungry I bought the Mars Bar. The guy behind me got the next scratch-card and moments later was dancing around the shop like someone demented. He had won 10000 UK pounds.

Now clearly that was god teaching me to appreciate Mars Bars because he felt I didn't appreciate them enough. At around 2000 pounds a bite you could say I really took my time to appreciate.

And just the other day I sneaked to the bolangerie while my son was at school ( god's way of telling me I have enough children) to buy one of those strawberry tarts that I like to eat. They were running a sort of tombola type thing and I won a special bag to carry baguettes in. 'About as useful as a bicycle to a goldfish' thinks cynical me because I don't buy baguettes.

But that evening I was invited to a picnic and 'could I bring some baguettes'? I had just the bag for the job!

There! What more evidence of god's help do you want?

I was rather hoping he might resurrect my partner or come up with some treatment to help my second son's autism......should I wait in hope?

50

My family has known I'm an apostate

by cognac in

jw
friends

i found out that my husband has not only gone to the elders, but has been going to members of my family about me over a period of a few years.

this piece of news is just so depressing.

i've been wondering how my family knew i didn't go and thats why so many of them have becoming more and more distant.

PhilJonesIII

The society has indeed become like a sad old man : Much fear of the apostate band.

10

Guilt, Regret or Denial

by game1914over in

in your time of being a witness, have you witnessed a jw experience death of a loved one due to refusal of a blood transfusion?

i know this is an extremely sensitive subject and can reopen deep emotional wounds.

if you're willing to share, i am interested.

PhilJonesIII

I knew of a couple of cases of bereavement where blood transfusion was an issue. This was at a time when the society counselled against outward expressions of grief because it apparently suggested a lack of faith in god's ability to resurrect the dead.

Not sure how you pretend it doesn't hurt when your heart gets ripped out but there you go.

What struck me at the funerals was the complete lack of emotion. And immediately after it was 'business as usual'. But this was very much about putting on a show. Not only do we believe in a resurrection but we are supposed to be immune to pain as well it seems.

How do people handle the death of a loved one? Lose a child and you shorten your own life. More so for mothers than fathers. Add to that any number of debilitating physical and/or physiological conditions and you have a pretty grim picture. The older you are, the more pronounced the effects.

Widows tend to live longer than widowers by the way. Sorry if I sound flippant but this is how it is.

Death of a loved one is negative. Be you mum, dad, brother, sister, best friend, close friend, that boy/girl in the shop that has a secret crush on you, everyone.

Yes you are perfectly entitled to die for what you believe but remember those that also love you. One ways or another they will ALL be taking a hit. Some might not even survive.

Let me dispel another modern myth: 'Closure' There is no such thing. The pain is now, its an amputation that you can learn to live with but not recover from, a permanent disability.

Someone once wrote: 'Love is about needing and being needed'. Death removes the 'needed' part but leaves you needing.

If god loves you so much then why are you dying? ( Yes I know the JW response. Ive also seen enough to know its the wrong answer.)

18

Ever since I learned TTATT, I stopped contacting a sister who I wanted to date

by Yondaime in

i was head over heels for this girl, but when i realized i was in a self destructive cult i realized tieing the knot with her would screw up my future.

this makes me think of the highschool sweethearts i turned down that were worldly.

now she gives me dirty looks whenever our eyes meet a the hall or at gatherings.

PhilJonesIII

Im with Millie210 on this one: Hats off to you for your thinking.

As for the dirty looks: "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned," That was by William Congreve (1670-1729) by the way and my own experience backs it up.

What I will say is that if you were brought up a witness and played by witness rules then take your time when learning to measure people on the outside. In the org the 'rules' for what they are worth do give a general control of conduct. Ourside they make their own rules. I wish you happiness. You have made a good start.

75

My Parents have gone FULL CULT MODE! Having a job is SATANIC!

by BU2B in

jw
friends

to give a little background, my parents are in their late 50s.

around a year ago, my elder dad got laid off from his job.

he worked as a auto mechanic making ok money.

PhilJonesIII

'He that does not provide for his family is worse than a man without faith.' 'Any man that does not work, should not eat.'

The society must have changed a lot since I left. No way would the local elders have stood by and watched a family fall in to finantial ruin. He would have been praised for his zeal while at the same time brought up to speed in double-quick time on where his responsibilites lay.

Im talking of the early 70s when people were selling homes to pioneer ( That was around 100 hours a month as well ). For all that took that path the message was clear: 'You are on your own'. But 1975 was written in stone and the 'future' only extended a handful of years.

Ive not attended a meeting since forever yet the 'no work, no eat' message still stands out and expecting the congregation to support you was a no-no.

Either the local elders have no balls or simply dont know the principals here, I cant say.