Posts by CeriseRose

17

Those local to Vancouver.

by Mr.D.Frost in

jw
friends

i would very much enjoy meeting up with some of you, to just chill and talk.

as i am reading all these wonderful posts, i wish to put a face to some of these, hear other stories, enlightenments and the such.

Those local to Vancouver.

by Mr.D.Frost in

jw
friends

i would very much enjoy meeting up with some of you, to just chill and talk.

as i am reading all these wonderful posts, i wish to put a face to some of these, hear other stories, enlightenments and the such.

have you found some new band or artist that you would reccomend we listen to...for this to work we would need to know what style of music you normally listen to and then we can know if its what we would enjoy...eg.

i like pink floyd...genesis...yes...etc.....................and have just found mercury rev......brill

CeriseRose

I like every kind of music...these two recommends are fairly mellow.

Vienna Teng (incredibly beautiful voice)

Grey Eye Glances (these are a little peppier than Vienna, but still in a more mellow vein)

and as always, my fave Sarah McLachlan. :) (Which I'm sure is not really a new recommend for anyone).

13

The Great Crowd

by JAVA in

jw
friends

when i see how many hits various topics receive compared to the number of posts, it?s obvious to me how many benefit from this forum.

i know most of us skip around from topic to topic before posting, but i think there is a large number of lurkers that read but are not registered members.

sometimes it?s easy for me to forget about, dare i say, the great crowd.

CeriseRose

My left white eyebrow looks a little crooked in that pic...you coulda told me

But what kind of fun would we be having at your expense if we did? Sheesh.

35

Trying again...

by CeriseRose in

jw
friends

i'm sitting here with great trepidation at being here.

i logged in yesterday, compelled by i don't know what...maybe to see who was around, or what everyone had been up to.

i hadn't logged in since i left back in november (december?).

CeriseRose

Y'all are gonna make me cry! I'm SO feeling the love.

As for what I've been doing, mostly insanely busy. I have been working as a temp for about a year, bouncing from one job to another. I just sold my apartment in preparation for moving to the U.S. to marry my sweetie, and related been waiting VERY impatiently for my immigration visa to finish. So I'll be moving to a rental apartment 3 weeks, my current work assignment ends in 4 weeks and I'm taking at least a month off to sleep.

Oh yeah, also taking university courses toward my Bachelor's degree. Also going very slowly. But I'm very much enjoying it.

And although not Catholic, I gave up chocolate for Lent and since Lent is now over, just had some. SUGARSUGARSUGARSUGARSUGARSUGARSUGAR

Valis, I have no Canadian Tire money. Can I pay in pemmican?

17

Those local to Vancouver.

by Mr.D.Frost in

jw
friends

i would very much enjoy meeting up with some of you, to just chill and talk.

as i am reading all these wonderful posts, i wish to put a face to some of these, hear other stories, enlightenments and the such.

CeriseRose

heh, I live in Greater Vancouver BC, soon to be moving near the "other" Vancouver, WA when my immigration visa comes in (if it ever does). I'll be driving through Seattle.

I'm thinking there's got to be a way to get a latte out of this.

P.S. Breck - nice art!

88

Am I right about the WT being wrong?

by FreedomFrog in

jw
friends

hi everyone.... i was "raised" as a dub and got baptised in '86...so in total i had been a jw for over 20 years.

i came to realize that the "way of life" i was living was in fact made up of mostly lies.

i started "questioning" the borg about 6 years ago and finally came out with almostatheist last sept. i know in my heart that they are mostly wrong and very legalist.

CeriseRose

You have got it the wrong way round. Apostates are the ones who claim they know who is "wrong". They don't agree on who is right, but they agree on who is wrong.

Lumping a group of ex-JWs that meet, say on a message board, as all being apostates with singleness of thought is as damaging as lumping all JWs "in good standing" as being deluded hypocritical jerks. Speaking in generalizations does no one any good. The interesting thing is, I am an "apostate" because JWs have deemed me to be one, not because of any specific action or inaction on my part. Simply leaving an emotionally and spiritually abusive situation because the organization doesn't have any other means to allow a person to leave with dignity, has resulted in my "great apostasy". I have one JW friend who remains in contact with me. She's the one who TOLD me they were calling me an apostate, and actually ASKED me. I was honest with her and she was satisfied...and she still talks to me. My flesh and blood JW sister is the one spreading the gossip (hmm, isn't that frowned upon?) that has gone from northern Alberta to here in southern B.C. about my great apostasy, based on one communication via letter over a family matter. What is right? What is wrong? Well, my definition is to put your money where your mouth is. Who in the scenario above, both JWs in good standing, acted with love and in a Christ-like manner? Who didn't? My friend who is not supposed to talk to me and does on rare occasions keep in loose touch with me, or my sister who is ALLOWED on occasion to keep in loose touch with me and chooses not to. My friend who did me the courtesy of at least ASKING me and finding out the truth of the matter, as opposed to my sister (and the 10 or so JWs she told) who spent a good deal of time stabbing my character in the back? Many of those doing the backstabbing have known me for well over 10 years, and are elders and long-time pioneers who really should know better than to spread gossip, even over a disassociated person. It's not upbuilding talk that they're supposed to be promoting. Right? Wrong is saying you have love and not acting like it. Wrong is treating people like less than human beings in the name of rules. I don't care if you're a Catholic, Protestant, LDS, JW, or Buddhist...if you tell me you treat others with love and Christlike feeling and it's obvious you're not, it's hypocritical. Oh, and the reason I left? I have a social anxiety disorder and after losing both parents in 6 months to cancer, had a breakdown and couldn't leave the house to buy milk, much less attend meetings. After months of being forgotten (they couldn't be bothered to drop off my magazines, or remember to hook me up by phone for the meetings...and I can count the people on half a hand who called me to see how I was) I decided that this wasn't a loving organization. I had more friendship and concern coming from virtual strangers on the internet from halfway around the world, then from people who had been my friends for 15 years. The elders knew what was going on with me and I had at least one very loving elder advocating on my behalf with the others. I was still marked as bad association for my lack of meeting attendance. Now based on the help offered by the Bible at James 5 with regard to elders and their comfort and solace, is that "right"? Or is it "wrong?" Shepherding calls? I requested two during that time period. They never came. I've wiped the dust off my feet. There are some sincere and loving JWs and I miss them. There are also a lot of damaging people there as well. I don't miss them. Now you know a little more about me. Are you going to continue to label me? Are you going to continue to pigeonhole each of us into a lump sum group?

36

Do you think the more you learn the Bible, the less you believe in it?

by jeanniebeanz in

?

CeriseRose

"Who Wrote the Bible" was recommended to me here, and I got a copy for Christmas last year. It was very eye opening and interesting...it talks about the writing styles and political and religious climate during the time of the writing and really focuses on motives and motivations for why it was written. Fascinating read, even if you don't believe the argument.

After doing a lot of research in a variety of areas, I'm less inclined to believe the Bible is anything more than a bunch of stories. Personally, I cannot worship such a fickle diety as the one portrayed within.

However, that being said, I don't condemn or judge others if they they find its message(s) valuable. I mean, there are *some* good, practical morals in it (love your neighbour, do unto others, etc.). If it has power to make people happier or find peace in their lives, then why not.

It's when it's twisted and used for evil that it becomes a problem (aka most organized religions if not all).

My 2 cents.

32

About Terri Schiavo and Disability

by Yizuman in

jw
friends

rwagoner wrote: kennedy, f. (1942).

the problem of social control of the congenital defective - education, sterilization, euthanasia.

american journal of psychiatry, 99, 13-16.. .

CeriseRose

I wasn't attacking you or trying to twist your words. If it was interpreted that way, I am sorry. I was merely speaking in general terms, I was simply making the point that many people say she is on life support when, considering the abilities of her body to function on its on, is not true. I was actually only going to copy the little bit about life support and contrast it, but I didn't as I thought that it would be poor form to take things out of context.

Eh, no worries really. I just wanted to make the point very clear that yes, there is a difference between Terri's case and the terminal illness I described.

Can someone explain something to me please, in a fairly calm and rational manner? Because I just don't get how people (not just here but in many boards) keep saying a feeding tube is not life support. I'm not trying to be stupid here, but a basic premise of life is that if you don't eat, you die. If you physically can't eat (which I understand Terri cannot do at this time although years ago she could and when that declined they started the feeding tube), you will die. So how is a feeding tube, when you don't have another option to get nourishment, not a measure of supporting life?

I realize it's not a breathing, or heart/lung machine, but I'm really and truly not seeing the distinction many seem to be making. Help?

35

Trying again...

by CeriseRose in

jw
friends

i'm sitting here with great trepidation at being here.

i logged in yesterday, compelled by i don't know what...maybe to see who was around, or what everyone had been up to.

i hadn't logged in since i left back in november (december?).

CeriseRose

Thanks again guys and gals.

I agree that this forum is very easy to come back to. (eek, my participles dangling, but I'm too sleepy to figure out how to fix it...hehe).

It is about not sweating the small stuff. Just have to remember to tell myself that when the world becomes overwhelming. I'm not too good at dropping years of conditioning to perform (JWs really pushed the envelope on an already difficult-to-manage problem ) and just relaxing. Working on it though.