Posts by Markfromcali

27

A question for the Christians...

by misspeaches in

hi guys.

wondering if you have any input on this one.. now that you are no longer a jw what is your interpratation of the lords prayer where it says 'let your will take place in heaven also upon earth'.. i would love to hear your opinions on this matter.

as a christian the belief is that you are going to heaven right?

Markfromcali

Now that you are no longer a JW what is your interpratation of the Lords Prayer where it says 'Let your will take place in heaven also upon earth'.
... As a christian the belief is that you are going to heaven right? So what is the relevance about the will taking place on earth?

Well I'm not a Christian, or anything really but you might want to consider this as a statement of principle, you might also consider any coherent idea rather than just thoughts of ones who identifiy with Christian for the same reason. From a sort of yogic perspective (watch all the minds have a problem with that word in this context) of union, it is simply the idea of aligning the mind and any higher faculties - Spirit. Mind or what have you, with the physical. Isn't that why they say "as above, so below"?

edited upon re-reading original post, non-relevant portion deleted

13

JW Holidays

by Qcmbr in

jw
friends

about ten years ago i went to centre parcs in the uk and was surprised to find that loads of jws were taking a christmas avoidance holiday.

does this mass holidaying still take place ?

- seems kinda fun.

Markfromcali

"... the way we were...."

39

Please advise.

by embalmed in

jw
friends

after years of waiting, i finally turned 18. i remember distinctly that my mother said during an argument that i would not have to attend meetings once i turned 18. well that was a lie.

she denied ever having said such, and pulled the "under my roof" card.

so now she is saying i have to continue attending meetings until i move out.

Markfromcali

You can either avoid being around like some have suggested, or if you are ready to move out (which includes other factors besides meetings) then have a practical plan of action on how you can actually make it happen.

13

JW Holidays

by Qcmbr in

jw
friends

about ten years ago i went to centre parcs in the uk and was surprised to find that loads of jws were taking a christmas avoidance holiday.

does this mass holidaying still take place ?

- seems kinda fun.

Markfromcali

I know around here they would have get togethers and parties like on Christmas and Halloween. I remember they even rent out a place for Halloween night to avoid the trick or treaters. Ahhh a restaurant full of JWs, what a social bash.. It's like a really bad after school special or something, kill me now.

32

Do you "now" look for more reasons to dislike or hate the JW's?

by free2beme in

jw
friends

i have noticed from reading over this site and from having contact with former witnesses in my personal life, that a lot of time is consumed in the beginning of your exit from the witnesses, with finding further reasons to hate or dislike the jehovah's witnesses.

with this i was wondering, is this done to give yourself more reason not to return or is it an expression of your freedom to find out what you want without borders.

from a pure psychological stand-point, i am prone to wonder if it is a means of feeding an inner anger to bring one a faults sense of security, when they are challenged from within to decide if what they are really dealing with is correct thinking or a path that is truly wrong.

Markfromcali

we all left or were expelled for a reason.

Actually this isn't true of everybody. As I've said before in passing, (I'm not a story or experience guy) I essentially left due to what you might call an existential incompatibility. That may sound like a reason, but it's not really. It isn't as if I had this specific thought in my mind, it just got to be too much and I simply realized I can't do this anymore, so in spite of the fact that I still believed it all at that point I just walked away.

I mention this because it opens up to more than just a way of thinking. For example, I don't really care about anybody's position and opinion on the JWs, I really don't. I also don't care if they consider themselves a JW or apostate or whatever. But that doesn't mean I don't care about people, I just don't care about those things that they consider so important and identify with. (I'm sure there are some who wouldn't like that, even if I do actually care about them - just not what they're wrapped up with) So basically, reasons, whatever they are or whatever they are for, are not that significant to me. I'm not concerned about one's position on the JWs because if your mind is free, you will naturally not be so stuck.

Now having said that, I would have to say from the same perspective it is also not all that significant to psychoanalyze the whole thing. Maybe you might gain an insight or two in that process, but to me the bottom line is you are either free of your mind or not, the insights just mean you are a bit more skillful. What I'd like to see is people actually being free, rather than just being psychologically well adjusted, and only with particular issues at that. Those who know where I'm coming from might consider it a goal that's hard to reach, but I say why shoot for anything else?

32

Do you "now" look for more reasons to dislike or hate the JW's?

by free2beme in

jw
friends

i have noticed from reading over this site and from having contact with former witnesses in my personal life, that a lot of time is consumed in the beginning of your exit from the witnesses, with finding further reasons to hate or dislike the jehovah's witnesses.

with this i was wondering, is this done to give yourself more reason not to return or is it an expression of your freedom to find out what you want without borders.

from a pure psychological stand-point, i am prone to wonder if it is a means of feeding an inner anger to bring one a faults sense of security, when they are challenged from within to decide if what they are really dealing with is correct thinking or a path that is truly wrong.

Markfromcali

I guess what I am trying to say, and I am perhaps saying it wrong, is that we all left or were expelled for a reason. If that reason was so weak that we had to look for something later to make it more solid, then are we truly being true to ourselves about what life has brought us to or are we merely just making it up as we go along to make ourselves feel better about something we really do not truly believe.

That's a good observation. For many I think it's a matter of having a new identity, that of the exJW/anti-JW/apostate or just some new religious identity. It all depends on how seriously you take it, obviously a label is just a label. There are some who honestly don't know what to think, certainly in the beginning that tends to be the case, whereas with others it is a 180 degree flip. In a recent thread about beliefs I made the observation that beliefs in themselves do not necessarily create a problem, but when you identify with them ("I AM a Jehovah's WItness") you naturally will feel threatened and want to preserve that identity because your sense of self is wrapped up in it, perhaps just as much as you would from physical threats that might do you bodily harm. This belief of identity is I think the central belief, everything else really revolves around that self identity. And of course there is the social dimension too, this kind of forum is largely made up of people who are anti-JW.

I think you make a good point about being true to ourselves, because all the information in the world isn't going to make a difference if you have not resolved it within yourself, and of course as far as being mentally free that's what it's all about. This would be very different from taking one side or the other, it's a matter of your freedom and your responsibility to yourself.

31

Question About The Religion

by ImACatholic in

jehovah's witnesses do not believe or teach some of the very basic tenets of christian doctrine.

1. the trinity.

2. the omnipresence of god.

Markfromcali

Vote for Pedro.

50

Apostafest T Shirt Slogans.

by Englishman in

jw
friends

the first time that i met simon, he was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the word "apostate".

it was all spelt out in evil-type letters, in fact it looked suitably demonic.. when i encountered him at another 'fest, his t-shirt slogan simply read: "no!

i will not fix your computer!"..

Markfromcali

Maybe: "The bible speaks of the sign of the last days ... blah blah war, famine, etc. etc... But I do have good news - I just saved a bunch of money by switching my car insurance to Geicko!"

50

Apostafest T Shirt Slogans.

by Englishman in

jw
friends

the first time that i met simon, he was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the word "apostate".

it was all spelt out in evil-type letters, in fact it looked suitably demonic.. when i encountered him at another 'fest, his t-shirt slogan simply read: "no!

i will not fix your computer!"..

Markfromcali

How about something a little more subtle: "We all lived in a yellow subroutine."

Climbing machines

by Markfromcali in

i just joined a gym and while taking the tour i happend to notice it, which the guy didn't point out.

i would imagine it would be a nice full body workout, more so than ellipticals with the handles - even if you look like you're training to be spiderman or something.

is it designed for cardio?

Markfromcali

Has anyone tried these? I just joined a gym and while taking the tour I happend to notice it, which the guy didn't point out. I would imagine it would be a nice full body workout, more so than ellipticals with the handles - even if you look like you're training to be Spiderman or something. Is it designed for cardio?