Posts by seattleniceguy

I remember in my old hall there was this brother who was always talking about what incredible success he used to have on university campuses. He talked about giving out a questionaire in which students could indicate what subjects particularly interested them, and then Witnesses could call on them with information specific to those interests. I can still remember his eyes going wide as he'd recall the "hundreds" of responses they got.

Of course, the congregational numbers did not jump by the hundreds. Why? Students are smart. They're open minded. That doesn't fit well with the Society.

SNG

53

Are The Holidays Bothering You At All?

by minimus in

jw
friends

this is the first time i say, "merry christmas" back to someone.

seattleniceguy

On a side note, my neighbor and I were discussing what would be the most politically correct thing to say for a season's greeting. After all, you can't say Merry Christmas, because the person might be Jewish. And the reverse is true. Or the person could be atheist or agnostic. So we figured you could merge everything together and just say:

Happy Agnosticas Day

(equals: Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Have a nice day)

53

Are The Holidays Bothering You At All?

by minimus in

jw
friends

this is the first time i say, "merry christmas" back to someone.

seattleniceguy

Hi Minimus,

I think I figured out my view on Christmas. I like the holiday for the lights and the trees and the gatherings of friends and family, but I don't like the consumerism or obliged giving. I'm opposed to consumerism anyway, and I'd much rather get someone a present when I didn't feel under pressure to do so, and when it could be more spontaneous. I think I'd be likely to get you a better present if you weren't on a checklist.

So I told my non-Witness family, "Don't get me anything. I'd rather just spend time with you. I don't really need any thing anyway."

My neighbor up the street is an ex-Catholic, and she shares almost the exact same view. The only exception is that since she did the traditional Western Christmas for so long, she expresses her views with a bit more force than me (it's really fun to watch ). Personally, I feel kind of liberated to know that I can do Christmas on whatever terms really suit me - not the JW terms, and not the terms handed down by the majority culture. I like that. That's true freedom.

Just my take on it.

SNG

6

Had my first bible study

by Frantic in

jw
friends

a long one at 3 hours!

i was extremely tired at the end, however, probably due to lack of sleep the night before.

found it interesting, we opened with a prayer, thanking jehovah for drawing me here today.

seattleniceguy

Hi Frantic,

So you're looking at both sides as you study? Excellent. I commend you. You will enjoy Crisis of Conscience. Keep an open mind and observe how all sides deal with opposing information. I'm sure you'll find it very enlightening. I look forward to future posts from you.

Seattle

11

Just wait five years

by Euphemism in

i was just reading crisis of conscience, and i was struck by something a judicial committee said to ed dunlap.the committee urged him to "wait on the organization," saying, "who knows?

perhaps five years from now many or all of these things you are saying will be published and taught.".

it struck me because when i had my meeting with the elders, one of them said almost the exact same thing.. ironic, isn't it?

seattleniceguy

Yeah, that's really true. I had a lot of people tell me that they could see where I was coming from, but that if it were true the Society would eventually get there. Well, why not just be a Catholic and wait for the Pope to get there? What's the difference?

35

Debunking the Skeptics

by Tashawaa in

jw
friends

http://www.abc.net.au/centralvic/stories/s1006138.htm

i thought the above link provides a good argument for those who doubt "his" existance.

sometimes we get so caught up in the "science" - we forget that with him "...anything is possible".. imo, i'd still believe due to my faith and evidence - there are the writings, personal experiences, songs, miracles, plus he has touched my heart..

seattleniceguy

When I was in high school band, we had this marching song (which of course I sat out on) called "Step with Santa." Everyone changed the title to "Step with Satan." Pretty soon even the teacher was calling it that. And he always abbreviated the song names during class, so he'd just call out, "Okay, next up is Satan."

17

Oh LORD!!! What are they trying to do to me????

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

first they place small kirspy kreme booths in no less than two stores within a quarter mile of my home... now they go and start building a full-blown krispy kream shop right across the street!!!

they should know that i cannot resist their wonderful pastries!!!

i'm doomed, i tell you!!!

seattleniceguy

I agree with Stephanus. Americans like things so sweet it borders on disgusting. Do you know a 16 oz Code Red Mountain Dew has 75 grams of sugar?

10

An almost normal day in dubdom

by Mysterious in

jw
friends

wow i must say today was an almost normal day in dubdom if you ignore the few points of terror.

i got to go hang with a world friend for a few hours and get my christmas present.

and of course today was my last day ever to go door to door and my second last watchtower preparation.

seattleniceguy

Hi Mysterious,

What a great feeling! No more Sunday meetings! I remember the first Sunday I didn't go to meeting. It was a beautiful day. I thought about all the suckers reading the dumb ol' Watchtower, trying to muster an original comment. Are you going to have just a major breakout party, or what?

SNG