well i havent posted for a little while so i thought i would get back into the habit (i have had withdrawals, seriously .
it isnt big, it isnt clever but its a great bit of fun if your bored.. http://www.blogthings.com/howrareisyourpersonalityquiz.
gary.
I'm a huge Myers-Briggs fan. That has to be the shortest temperament quiz yet. I usually come out as an ENFP--but I often slide over into what this quiz found me...
| Your Personality is Very Rare (ENTP) |
 Your personality type is optimistic, curious, enthusiastic, and open.Only about 4% of all people have your personality, including 3% of all women and 5% of all men. You are Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving. |
even when i was a faithful dub, it used to bother me that the watchtower would make some point, then cite a scripture that didn't prove that point at all.
i saw time and again where they would say something like, "just as jehovah created the universe, so the faithful and discreet slave is leading his human creation today.
(gen 1:1)" and if you bothered to check the reference, you realized the point that actually needed substantiated was not covered by the verse.
Good memory, Dave. Same thing used to occur to me while a JW. Some scriptures just did not support the point in any meaningful way. I also remember how sometimes the publications' printed questions were not really answered in some of the corresponding paragraphs. You could often feel the cumulative paralysis when these questions were covered in the congregation. Someone would primarily read from the paragraph, pause here and there, and hand the microphone back. Then everyone would look up at the conductor, hoping he understood it.
i was just thinking about a co's closing remarks one sunday after the watchtower study.
he stated that he had heard that ray franz was dead.
he didn't call him by name, of course.
He stated that he had heard that Ray Franz was dead. He didn't call him by name, of course. But he stated that a former GB member who turned apostate had recently become very ill. His word were, "I imagine by now he's dead."
Far be it from me to defend a WTS representative, but what was so terrible about this? That he called him an "apostate"? That he was wrong about his being dead?
i'd like to ask you all whether or not you think that we are being petty here.
the house next door to us has been empty for a while now.
the last person to use it was a chinese doctor who used to house illegal immigrants which looked after his little cannabis factory.
I can't think of any other approach than having a specific conversation with these people. Do they speak any English at all?
i always used to cringe when the watchtower "family" and "youth" books would stereotype men and women into two mutually exclusive categories: "men think while women feel.
"one trait is not better than the other they are just different...," i recall the books went on to say in so many words.
i'm well aware both men and women have excelled in science, etc.
If you examine the study of human temperament you find that this stereotype is true in the majority of males and females. How great is that majority? Approximately 2/3 of males are more logical than emotional, and 2/3 of females are more emotional than logical. (I'm sure there is a more specific percentage, but, from what I've read, this is about right.) So, yes, it is mainly true. But there are still a significant number of males and females who do not quite fit into these stereotypes.
I believe that temperament is a better indicator of behavior than sex. I become frustrated with people who think that, because we were born of a particular sex, this means we are automatically a member of that "club." In my last JW congregation, the P.O.'s wife seemed not only to believe this, but it appeared to be her overriding and primary form of communication. "Oh, you know, that's the way men are! Ha ha ha! We women are different!" With her, it seemed no conversation was complete without several such references, followed by hearty laughter.
Recently I was conversing with three of my workmates: two other males and one female. The female began to express how she cannot abide men who cry. Throughout the conversation I was hoping to hear her make understanding concessions of this personal rule--but no. In her opinion, a man is simply not a man if he shows emotion in this way.
The other two men objected vehemently. Not being much of a crier myself, I tried calmly to get this otherwise reasonable woman to admit that it was okay sometimes. But still no. I believe that this stereotype can cause all sorts of problems for males--and I believe people such as this woman are a big part of the problem.
ha!
i just learned that a childhood witness friend, rusty, just passed away.
he was 60 and had suffered from a heart condition for many years.
My mother and father were baptized in the mid 1950s. My brother was born in 1953. Mom used to say how they laughed at the idea of his actually reaching the age of five and needing to attend school. They just knew Armageddom would come before then. Well my brother is now 54, and he came to have three other siblings. Heck, I came thirteen years after him--and I'm all of 41. And still the Watchtower's promised Armageddon has not arrived.
reading through a thread http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/133948/1.ashx apoint being discussed was whether the wt has told people to hate others.
i thought these quotes may be of value.. wt 1961 15th july page 420 .
when a person persists in a way of badness after knowing what is right, when the bad becomes so ingrained that it is an inseparable part of his make-up, then in order to hate what is bad a christian must hate the person with whom the badness is inseparably linked.
This is something I don't think most JWs even know: The WTS teaches that they must hate some people. And what is the criterion?
"Falling away" from the organization? No.
Failing to heed the direction of the WTS while remaining an active, believing JW? No.
Performing horrific acts (murder, rape, child sexual abuse)? No.
All those things are not grounds to "hate" someone. What is? No longer believing that the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is God's sole channel of communication to the planet. Yes, it is only when you stop supporting the authority of this religious hierarchy that they instruct others to "hate" you.
The question I've posed many times: If these people are not setting themselves up to be "masters over your faith," who are!!??
that my baby is 6 months old tom, its going so fast.. she is a great little girl couldnt have asked for a better baby.
.
.
Total cutie pie!
suit claims years of abuse by father vote and add comment.
victorville daily press, ca - 8 minutes ago.
there was no corroborative witness to the sexual abuse, so the crimes against children unit could not recommend to the district attorneys office to press .... suit claims years of abuse by fatherryan orr2007-04-28 00:02:00apple valley a former apple valley resident has filed a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse against the apple valley cheyenne kingdom hall of jehovahs witnesses, which is named in the complaint as roe, and her biological father, a church minister.
This has been an interesting thread for me. I'm pretty sure we've read Ms. Popper's story before. I think Randy posted it some months back. What I've noticed in this thread (first by Black Swan--but then others) is an attempt to be rational about an emotionally charged subject. Not easy to do.
About a year and a half ago, I posted my four-part story about having served on the judicial committee (and subsequent disfellowshipping) of a close elder friend accused of pedophilia. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/103545/1.ashx One of my reasons for doing so was finding a fair number of contributors here on JWD who expressed anger at me for not (at the time of the committee) recognizing the need to go to the police on this matter. My explanation that, as a fully indoctrinated JW, the thought of doing so never occurred to me was of no interest to some of these people.
Interestingly I once asked those coming to this forum this question: "If you had a female friend who was raped--but who decided not to press charges against the perpetrator--would you, against her wishes, go to the police to turn him in?" Almost everyone said they would not.
In this thread we read of the sad case of JW Daughter who, along with at least two other people, was sexually abused by her own husband. She herself admits that at the present time she has still not come forward to turn him in to the authorities.
It would appear that, in the particular case brought out in this thread, lots of contributors recognize that the congregation (as far as we know) can't be implicated. Previously I've asked folks on JWD to consider this scenario: A friend of yours tells you that he walked into a room where his child was being sexually abused by a neighbor you both know. For whatever reason he does not go to the police. It's true that you could go to them yourself. But if you don't, who is more culpable? You? Or the parent who actually witnessed the abuse?
Of course it's true that, in the past, the WTS had strongly discouraged the congregation from going to the authorities. That was terribly wrong. It's also true that, even if they have now discontinued this discouragement, with no encouragement to do so, the average JW still feels that he or she may be bringing reproach on Jehovah and/or the congregation by going to the authorities. Considering the strong position of authority the WTS assumes, to me it seems incumbent upon them to take a proactive approach, clearly informing victims and their parents of their rights and even responsibilities to go to the police. This seems plain to me only now--after exiting the organization and freeing my mind.
I suppose the intent of my post can be considered self-indulgent. It was hard to be the recipient of strong comments about my having been a horrible person--when in the depth of my heart I truly never understood (at the time) that going to the police was the right thing to do. But I submit that if we can provide a measure of understanding to women who don't turn in rapists or parents who don't turn in pedophiles, we should be able to see how well-intentioned-but-mentally-captive elders might have acted similarly.
I've been in the process of trying to contact the victims of that pedophile to try and move them to come forward. If they don't, I've decided to contact a law firm that I know will attempt some action. I hope that they, Melanie and everyone else can find the healing they need--and do their part to keep these individuals from acting again.
suit claims years of abuse by father vote and add comment.
victorville daily press, ca - 8 minutes ago.
there was no corroborative witness to the sexual abuse, so the crimes against children unit could not recommend to the district attorneys office to press .... suit claims years of abuse by fatherryan orr2007-04-28 00:02:00apple valley a former apple valley resident has filed a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse against the apple valley cheyenne kingdom hall of jehovahs witnesses, which is named in the complaint as roe, and her biological father, a church minister.
(Sorry! Double post.)
