.
this guy needs a friend...and a life.
definitely a few fries short of a happy meal.. http://www.flyinhi.freeservers.com/.
JT-you're always top drawer!
just had to agree with that earlier post.
I feel sad for you D...I hope that you do your research before getting into the pool...just know that if you change your mind about being a JW later (if you find another kind of belief system that fits your philosophies better) there is no graceful way to leave without losing everyone in your life that is JW.
Please stick around D and read, read, read.
Peace,
essie
... as i am sure some jws will spin it.
as i told my mother once, exagerating a little, they love when tragedies like these happen, as these seem to validate the beliefs they hold so dear.
as tragic and sad as these events in asia are, it's not any signs of times; it's a natural ocurrence that humankind has to learn and prepare to.
Good for your mother, Mulan, not putting JW spin on this unthinkable tragedy.
My mother, all week, keeps droning "we're all going to die if Jehovah doesn't step in and bring Armageddon...they're getting us ready, it's going to happen any moment now...you better get right with Jehovah before the end comes."
makes me want to throw up.
what a truly wonderful and gifted actor - he will be missed!
oh that's so sad. I always thought he was so great.
Rest in peace, Lumiere...(don't know why my picture link isn't working, thanks for posting one, tres...)
okay you guys here is my story.....it might be a lil' long winded, but please bear with me....it's interesting.... well i have been away for 8 years...i stopped when i was 17 and i'm 25 now.
it all started when i became a non baptized publisher at age 14. i was a very good speaker/reader.
the elders were waiting for me to get baptized and encouraged me to do so.
so i got a different haircut and switched hair products (the brothers didn't like the shine the pomade put on my hair)...but the texture of my hair stayed the same....go figure....I've never seen my father so disappointed in me. (but he didn't give a damn about any other aspect in my life)
this pretty much sums up how screwed up the priorities of the average JW parent are...glad you got out and found happiness, Snake. I'm glad you found your way here.
Yeah, I never got the beard thing either. I always wondered too about the OT scripture (forget where it is, I've blocked most of the bible reading I did out of my mind now) about the sons and daughters wearing earrings.
Always did think guys look hot in an earring LOL :)
hugs,
essie
just wanted to say hi.
ive been reading the posts for quite sometime now but never actually ever posted.
wanted to thank everyone for the posts and for helping me to break free from the guilt after 20 years of it.
welcome aboard!
i remember when i first googled "jehovah's witnesses".
i was sick to my stomach because i feared that i was disobeying jehovah.
although i was scared that i would find something "apostate" or "demonic", i still continued to click on different links.
I didn't even think of typing JWs into a search engine all those years I was on the internet. All I wanted to do was get the hell out and block out that horrible part of my life, which I did for many years. I originally came across Freeminds from a different website. Someone had mentioned dating a JW, and someone told them not to and gave a few links to Freeminds. I had no trembling or guilt because I was already out for 6 years and sinning heavily. I was stuck on Freeminds for a good 3 or 4 days, deprogramming myself.
That's pretty much what it was like for me, Nos, only I had only been out about 2 years at that point. Started at Freeminds...found my way to H2O, then eventually ended up here...it'll be the fifth year anniversary of my "online apostacy" in just a few days. I have no doubt without having met and talked with so many who have been down the same road getting out that I'd still be stuck where I was. I've come a long way, baby, in those five years. We all have. Cheers to friends, now gone or moved on...thanks for being teachers to me. I salute you. ~essie
an extrem strong earthquake happened recently in the indian ocean near island of sumatra.
level 8,5 - 8,9. no contact to many islands and coasts anymore.
no phone to the maledives and other touristic islands possible.
I'm not so arrogant to think that we deserve an answer from God when we demand it.
Andi, I don't think that it's arrogant to believe that if a being is going to accept the worship and sacrifice, even to the point of dying in many cases, of the other child-like beings who worship them (if god is superior to us) that they should give some kind of frame of reference, or meaning of life, if you will, to those doing the worshipping. Or some form of protection. If you're going to go by the Bible, god did it before, why not do it again?
I will just leave it at this; that I respect everyone's beliefs, but that I don't like to discuss god/philosophy. I guess the dubs beat that desire out of me. nor do i want to convince anyone else that they shouldn't believe. its a conclusion that each person has to come to on their own, this is why i don't believe in preaching. yes i think that discussion is key and tolerance, on all sides of the religious issues in the world would make the planet more habitable. it just doesn't work out often that discussion betters the situation much.
If there is no God, why do so many become upset when disasters and death occur? Why blame someone who doesn't exist? And why demand from believers an explanation, when you have none better to offer?Never did I blame god, that is what gets me the most about the believers in this thread! They keep saying that the non-believers are blaming god. Well speaking as a strong doubter/near total nonbeliever, all I can say is that I don't believe that god caused it, I don't believe god could have prevented it, I don't believe that god chose some to live and some to die, because I don't believe in god at all. Why am I upset that disasters occur? Because thousands of people died! That's upsetting to any human with a shred of heart and soul in them. That's why. I don't have all the answers and I didn't expect anyone else to either; but you know what really gets under my skin is when people say "i don't have all the answers" but then go on to quote what could be coming straight from the Borg cliche's about god having a greater purpose, all of that. it's like you say on the surface "i don't have all the answers' but deep down, you really do believe you do, otherwise you wouldn't feel the need to convince anyone else. You wouldn't need to explain to me why you believe. You'd be happy to say "I believe in God" and leave it at that. I used to believe. I believed with the best of them. I believed with the heart of a child believing that the world is safe and people can be trusted. But then, I grew up and realized that belief system does not work for me. It takes my power away, it places the ultimate fate of what happens in my life out of my hands and into a set of hands that cannot be trusted or counted upon to even give reasons why things are the way they are. That does not work for me. You may think that its strange that I hang out here if I don't want to discuss god. But there are enough viewpoints here that make it possible for me to do so. I don't hang out in any other religious forums for the sake of discussing religion, like I said before, I guess I'm all 'religioned" out. I don't understand why some get defensive (please notice i said some not all!) . if god is almighty and all knowing, and I'm wrong and he does exist, then I can bet he's not offended that i don' t believe in him. cause i'm just one lowly human of no consequence. it doesn't matter if i live to be 100 or die tomorrow. it matters to no one but the people who may, or may not miss me if i were gone. outside that circle, it means nothing in the grand scheme of things. i think that it would be arrogant to believe that it did. my life is no more important than anyone who got swept away in those torrents of water. yet I live, and they died. there is no sense in that to me. I cannot believe that god has a greater purpose for me than he could have had for any of the children who died in Asia, or who will die in the days to come from the aftermath of this tragedy. g'night all... ~essie p.s. to cyber; oh, i hope your friend is okay. i have ties to that area of the world that i cannot discuss here, but needless to say my family was very lucky, and the people that we have in one of the hardest hit areas have been accounted for, alive thus far.
so on christmas day we were staying with my fiancee's parents.
my fiancee was not feeling well and i offered to go to 7-eleven to get him some pepto (this was about 8:30 a.m.) this older man (probably in his 70s) asked me if they had any milk that was less than a gallon container.
i said that i didn't work there, but i went over and found a half gallon for him.
Oh, Purza. Bless your heart for caring so much about that man, it made me cry to read your post!
You can start by seeking out the local senior center, if there is one. Or you can do a search online to see if your town has a volunteer program like meals on wheels that visits seniors. There are so many amazing projects out there...making blankets for nursing home residents, volunteering at hospitals...believe me there are opportunities out there if you are looking for them. Or you can see if you can find a therapy pets charity near you to get your furry babies involved!
Old people do so often get overlooked. Thank you for caring so much.
(((((((((((purza))))))))
hugs
essie
.....a marriage mate, a mate to come into the "truth", "new light", etc........?????
?
An answer to all the suffering in the world.
No answer has come yet.
I never expected God to fix my own problems, despite the elders told me to "pray more" and "be a better wife" when my (now ex) husband mistreated me.
I found that "god" helps those who help themselves.
an extrem strong earthquake happened recently in the indian ocean near island of sumatra.
level 8,5 - 8,9. no contact to many islands and coasts anymore.
no phone to the maledives and other touristic islands possible.
Sword of jah, you can kiss my a**. My devoutly JW mother said today that my grandmother is 'better off' now that she's dead and 'closer to the prize'. I don't think so. Why is she, and so many other of Jehovah's Happy People TM so envious of the dead? I've seen it all my life. My grandmother said the same thing about her dead husband after he passed on. I don't believe that a truly happy person envies the dead. Where is the joy of god's chosen people? I sure don't see it.
The destruction caused in Indonesia was not caused by Jehovah, so he is not a murder as you strongly accuse. This is blasphemy, and you will answer for this if not repentant.
I didn't say that god was a murderer. I said that if it exists it doesn't give a damn about what happens to us lowly ant-like humans. we're on our own, in my estimation. If you're right, if god IS there then BRING THE FREAKING END already, and kill me if you have to to save the millions of people who are dying in the most hideous ways. Just make the insanity stop!
Oh, he's not ready to bring it until it's firmly established that only he can save us? I think that point has long since passed if that is what he's waiting for!
Andi, maybe you're right and it is a cycle of giving. That is certainly a more palatable explanation than a lot of them...in my own heart I just don't think that the suffering of the hundreds of thousands of people who are going through this tsunami will be of help to others in the long run...many more people are going to die before this is over and it's just incomprehensible how any loving god could allow it. Same with the people who suffered in Beslan earlier this year. I can't see anything that justifies that, least of all comforting others when 'god' allows it to happen again elsewhere.
You know I love you, girl. Please know that I don't expect you or anyone else to explain your faith in a higher power to anyone, least of all me. I mean, I'm nobody LOL. If you believe, you have reasons in your heart that no one can know and that's more than good enough...likely the same way I have reasons in mine not to believe that no one can know. Does that make sense? like I said i really shouldn't be posting today, i can hardly see what i'm typing let alone articulate what i want to say.
love,
essie
