Posts by Jez

45

I am scared of my future marriage

by jwbot in

i am watching oprah (right now actually) and the topic hits close to home.

good timing actually, because yesterday i was thinking of talking with my fiance, mike about this very thing.

you see, mike really loves kids, and we plan to have them eventually, its a very important part in our relationship (to him, mostly).

Living with Soundness of Mind in an Electronic Age - KM Part this week

by ezekiel3 in

looks like it is time to remind the flock that jwd is deathdealing.

this week service meetings are recycling old kingdom ministry articles regarding the danger of electronic communication such as the internet and email.. .

like i heard at a recent circuit assembly, "don't let your mouse turn you into a rat!".

Jez

I hope it will peak people's interest.

"What are they hiding?" "What don't they want us to see?" "What are they so afraid of?" "If we have 'the truth', what do we have to fear?"

There is a scripture that says, "We can do nothing against the truth, only for the truth." I have it written at home. If this is the case, and they have "the truth", then what harm can come from researching other ppl's views about their religion?

Jez

19

"If WTS is so intent on recruiting new members then...

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

...why are they also so intent on kicking people out?

you'd think they'd want to be more lax in order to keep their membership numbers up.

"--question asked by my non-jw husband.

Jez

Eck, this question means i would have to think like a jw
This question will take some thinking

An oxymoron.....JW...thinking...together?????

34

how can you stay?

by zaphod in

.

speaking as someone who believed it all right up until about a year after i was df'd i just cannot understand the reasoning of people who don't go out on field service, don't go to meetings, don't participate or believe and still stay in the organisation.. i know that it is hard to leave, it's made to be hard, but some of the postings on this site make me think that it must be harder still living a lie and keeping up the pretense.. if you don't believe, why would you want to conform to all the petty rules and subject yourself to men that you don't believe have any authority.. i really do hope that as soon as possible you can all take a deep breath and finally be true to yourself.. zaphod

Jez

finally be true to yourself.

What does that statement mean? People throw it around because it gives the pretense that they are 'being true to themselves' while others are not. Are you true to yourself? Is every aspect of your life lived in accordance with your 'true self'?

My family is at the very core of myself. Without them, I am missing a part of 'me'.

deny something so fundemental to their own health and well-being

What are we denying ourselves again? Family is fundemental to MY own health and well-being. If it is not to YOURS, then that is YOUR decision.

encouraging them to think about it

Are you SERIOUS? You really think that those of us doing things 'for family only' do not think of it almost every single day??? We are on the same road as all of you, we have just taken a different path.

Jez

31

What do I tell my children?

by Nellie in

i have four kids - ages 18, 13, 10 and 6. .

first some clarification: i have been in the "truth" for 35 years, and although i have never been particularly active in the ministry .

for example: my 18 year old son really wants his ear pierced.

Jez

Sit down with them and tell them the truth. It is what I had to do. I told them that I believe that having strong morals is important, that strong family ties are key, that choosing friends wisely is always right, that love is the most important thing in the world, that God loves all people, that God is love, etc. In other words, tell them what you DO believe still. Tell them strongly that these are fundemental beliefs in your life. Tell them that recently some of the less important things, like celebrating holidays, after school sports, going to meetings 5x a week, shunning, (whatever you want), no longer jive with your belief system.

Let them know that YOU have not changed. The JW religion has. Tell them it has gotten too burdensome and manmade for you and you dn't want to live your life chained to manmade rules and regulations and neither does God.

Keep is simple and to the point. Let them ask questions. If they say "Are we celebrating Christmas now?" Tell them you will cross that bridge when you get to it, for now, one thing at a time.

Welcome! And WOW for giving your children a chance, most ppl will stay just to not be wrong. You are amazing. Jez

41

I hate living with effing psycho parents

by tsunami_rid3r in

jw
friends

i have a mom who would rather me not go to college, keep me locked up in the house, and just serve jehovah.

i have a weak dad, instead of her being subjected to him, he's subjected to her.

he's on my side on most of the part but he's just weak on setting her straight.

Jez

:my mom having a stroke and dieing would solve a lot of things right now.

I warned people that he has this death obsession with his mother. Please be careful what advice you offer him as I don't think he is very stable. GO TELL YOUR SCHOOL COUNSELLER that you are wishing your mother dead. Please.

Jez

31

DOES THE BIBLE CONTAIN ANY VALUABLE OR USEFUL FACTS AT ALL???

by Terry in

fact: a statement or assertion of verified information about something that is the case or has happened

i've read the bible many times in many ways with many methods.

but, i don't really see in it any information that contains factual material that benefits anybody.

Jez

So too in the time following Jesus' death. Stories circulated everywhere as each viewpoint was told by word of mouth. Questions, arguments, counterarguments always end up calling for an arbitration process. Voila! Things get written down and attributed to the highest authority possible to prove who is right and who is wrong.

Great post Terry. I agree. I have always thought about the time when Jesus was on the earth. SO much of the story had no eye-witnesses. Ie. How do we know what Pilate really said to Jesus and how Jesus responded? The disciples were not there. How do we know how the Mary/ressurected Jesus conversation really went? Mary did not write it down? She TOLD someone, who told someone, who told someone.....How do we know about the 3 wise men? Mary and Joseph did not write a bible book, no they told someone, who told someone, who told someone....I could go on and on, but i am sure you get the picture.

Ever play the telephone game? Passing a simple sentence down the line and then see what the last person heard? It is never the same as the original message.

Nope, the ol' "the bible tells me so" or "God inspired it." doesn't work for me. And if you believe just because someone says, "God inspired it" or "God inspired them to write down the facts.", you scare me.

Jez

29

left out in the cold

by donald in

jw
friends

hello im new to this...my wife and i are still baptized....but weve not gone to meetings regulary...for some time now...even though we still go to the memorial.....and we are wondering if to go back.....here without being too specfic is our story.

i was rasied in the truth...she was not...she got baptized...about 3 years after we were married..i was made a m.s.

in 1990...but becuse of personal reasons i stepped down shortly after..i conecentrated on raiseing my family..and had to work 2 jobs to support them......3 children.....then a few years later my wife left me for some one else...and then i got very sick...and was told my kidney was failing....a elder came to my house and told me that if there was anything i neede that all i had to do was ask...well...a few weeks later i asked this elder...if he could get a couple of young brothers to hep me get rid off some boxes of stuff my wufe had left behind..because i could not lift them...he told me in a reproachful tone...get your family to help you...this after he had told me weeks before...to ask him for help........i thought at the time its no big deal....but then something else happen to call into question all about jw.

Jez

Yup, my advice too is: Fade and don't look back, only forward. Once you have experience the nagging doubts, they will not go away until you seriously look at them.

"Love is the identifying mark". Is it JW's?

I was shocked to learn, firsthand, not from 'someone else telling me', what it felt like to go into church. How heartfelt the people were, how packed their church was, how loving, caring and spiritual they all strived to be. If there is a God, it is not with THAT organization that he is with. No way.

Welcome from Jez

31

DOES THE BIBLE CONTAIN ANY VALUABLE OR USEFUL FACTS AT ALL???

by Terry in

fact: a statement or assertion of verified information about something that is the case or has happened

i've read the bible many times in many ways with many methods.

but, i don't really see in it any information that contains factual material that benefits anybody.

Jez

What people are doing today with being promiscuous is a bad thing for everybody. The whole world is not a better place because everybody is jumping on everybody else's bones.

Why not? It worked in bible times. What people are doing today, is no different than what people were doing yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that........

Maybe you should look into history and learn some of the sexual practices that were the 'norm' before you just assume that THEN was better than NOW. Look at other cultures and see what is considered 'normal'. Your statement reeks of generality.

Jez

41

I hate living with effing psycho parents

by tsunami_rid3r in

jw
friends

i have a mom who would rather me not go to college, keep me locked up in the house, and just serve jehovah.

i have a weak dad, instead of her being subjected to him, he's subjected to her.

he's on my side on most of the part but he's just weak on setting her straight.

Jez

Criz...you came into chat once, spewing about how you wanted to f***in kill your mother. You would not listen to ANYTHING that any of us said and just steamrolled over everything we said like you didn't even read it. All you could keep going on about was how much you wanted her dead.

You need to talk to a counseller. Get some outside help. School counseller? Tell them what is going on at home, tell them what you want for the future. Our hands are 'tied', it is YOU that has to take POSTIVE action and get someone real (not us strangers) into your life that can provide some support.

Jez