Posts by MerryMagdalene

21

My Letter RE: Beaumont Article on JW's "disaster relief"

by badwillie in

here is my letter to the writer who authored this piece: .

http://www.southeasttexaslive.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15921650&brd=2287&pag=461&dept_id=512588&rfi=8 .

dear jamie,

MerryMagdalene

Love the letter, BW!

Would someone be willing to proof-read mine before I send it? I don't feel very articulate and want to make sure I have a good grasp of things before I speak out

Dear Jamie,

In reference to your article "Church members come from far and wide to repair hundreds of houses," dated 01/13/2006, I have to say it warms my heart, in a bittersweet sort of way, to see these people working so hard, at considerable time and expense to themselves, to help out those they consider their "brothers and sisters."

If I were still one of Jehovah's Witnesses I would certainly have loved to help my spiritual siblings in any way I could in their time of need, but being officially disfellowshipped and, therefore, shunned by them, my love has actually been able to widen out to include others, in accordance with Jesus parable of the good Samaritan. I chose to donate to the Red Cross, a charitable organization which, interestingly enough, Jehovah's Witnesses are encouraged to take assistance from but discouraged from donating to. (Reference material available on request.)

At least with the Red Cross I know, to an extent, where my money is going in that I can check their financial statements. With the parent corporation of the Jehovah's Witnesses, I have no way of knowing where the money goes. They also ask that donations not be marked for any particular purpose, cause, or relief effort, but be given to them to use in any way they see fit, in general support of their world-wide preaching work which is already being accomplished by the volunteer efforts of their members who pay for everything they do themselves anyway.

So I applaud the generosity of hard-working, sincere individual Jehovah's Witnesses, but am concerned that they, and others, may be being "taken for a ride" if they are not only donating their own time, money, and other resources to their "brothers and sisters" directly but are also donating time, money, and resources to an organization that cannot be held accountable for what it does with it. Does the Watch Tower Society do anything truly charitable with donations? Anything truly useful or beneficial to their own members and society at large? I would be interested in knowing. Wouldn't you?

Sincerely,

MM

7

what the

by kep81 in

what the hell is all this pagan stuff about i just dont get it, i had the jw's at my house a couple of days ago telling me it was ok to celebrate ones birth but the cake is the pagan part of it i dont think she celebrates her birthday though, but really can a cake be pagan am i the only one that thinks thats crazy, i was lost for words i find it strange yet she gives me the look that im strange cause i dont see i. i need to know more about this whole pagan thing if anyone can help any info would be great thanx.

MerryMagdalene

Hi Kep! Maybe this birthday thread will helpful to you:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/103056/1.ashx

~Merry

17

WTS view of Red Cross, etc

by blindersoff in

jw
friends

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/105666/1.ashx .

"this is probably the one organization you will see that will see this project to the end," farrow said.

(seems somewhat arrogant).

MerryMagdalene

Unless things have changed in the 6 years since I've been inactive, donating to the Red Cross is NOT a personal matter. Roll up on a group of elders and pioneers and say "Hey, I gave $500 to the Red Cross because they gave our brothers in Louisiana and Texas supplies" and see how well it works out for you....can someone give a definite answer on this? What is the WTS "present truth" on donating to the Red Cross?

(Can't get rid of the quote box for my comment here) Tall Texan, I have no idea what "present truth" is on donating to the Red Cross specifically, but I was rather surprised to find the following, possibly out-dated, truth regarding giving to charities in general, in the g76 12/8 27-28:

Does this mean that it is altogether wrong for Christians to give to charitable organizations? No. Certain charities do accomplish a measure of good. So, it is a matter of personal choice as to whether a person donates to such a cause.

Of course this was preceded by these discouraging remarks:

As for charitable organizations, many have proved to be frauds; and even legitimate ones frequently send but a tiny amount of the money they collect to advertised worthy causes. "According to the State Board of Social Welfare," writes Francis Cerral in the New York Times, "charities raise about $22 billion a year in the United States and $2 billion in New York. But in some cases, no money or as little as 5 or 10 percent of it ends up going to the charitable purpose, with the rest being pocketed by the fund-raisers." Back in 1974 one church-sponsored charity collected $3.3 million. Astonishingly, only $54,000 reached the advertised charity. An indication of what happened to the rest is seen in the fact that $45,000 went to one of the church’s clergymen, and $110,000 to three of his assistants.

I think that would be enough to make sure the average JW gives only to the WTS which is entirely trustworthy and reliable when it comes to spending its members' donations to help others...trying to take the owner of a research website to court, defending pedophiles in court, buying more and more property, setting up beautiful replicas of the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple as it looked in Jesus day...

~Merry

17

WTS view of Red Cross, etc

by blindersoff in

jw
friends

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/105666/1.ashx .

"this is probably the one organization you will see that will see this project to the end," farrow said.

(seems somewhat arrogant).

MerryMagdalene

They have portrayed the Red Cross in a what I would consider an unfavorable light as recently as 1990:

In the United States alone, blood banks collect some 13.5 million pints [6.5 million L] of blood every year, and they sell over 30 million units of blood products for about a thousand million dollars. This is a tremendous amount of money. Blood banks don’t use the term "profit." They prefer the phrase "excesses over expenses." The Red Cross, for instance, made $300 million in "excesses over expenses" from 1980 to 1987.
The blood banks protest that they are nonprofit organizations. They claim that unlike big corporations on Wall Street, their money does not go to stockholders. But if the Red Cross did have shareholders, it would be ranked among the most profitable corporations in the United States, such as General Motors. And blood-bank officials do have handsome salaries. Of officials in 62 blood banks surveyed by The Philadelphia Inquirer, 25 percent made over $100,000 a year. Some made more than twice that much.
Blood bankers also claim that they do not "sell" the blood they collect—they only charge processing fees. One blood banker retorts to that claim: "It drives me crazy when the Red Cross says it doesn’t sell blood. That’s like the supermarket saying they’re only charging you for the carton, not the milk."
--g90 10/22 3-7 "Selling Blood Is Big Business"

~Merry

21

Revelation 12:1

by Honesty in

who is this woman?.

rev 12:1-5 a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of 12 stars on her head.

she was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony to give birth.

MerryMagdalene

various Christians saw the Church as true Israel and often blurred the two

That's what I figured on that. Thanks for the answers. I appreciate your serious consideration of the Holy Spirit thought as my questions on such matters mostly come from subjective meditation rather than objective education, so I very much appreciate getting the other side of it

Best wishes in regards to your work situation

~Merry

33

Check this out! my first act of "rebellion"...

by freedomlover in

jw
friends

well, not really rebellion but that i've wanted one of these for a long time so i went and did it today, and i love it!

my little sister came out for a visit this weekend and i told her everything about leaving the jw's.

she has pretty much left about 6 months ago when she went away to college.

MerryMagdalene

Beautiful! Gotta love your freedom. And that's great about your sis!

~Merry

13

What would you want Madzay to make for ex-JWs?

by AuldSoul in

jw
friends

i was just thinking about all the crap madzay makes for jws, and i think it would be very good to have some of those scripture greeting cards they have for writing to jws.

just with different scriptures than they use now.. what do you think?

could we get some madzay stuff that would help wake up jws?

MerryMagdalene

That was intense, Matt!--"Who's upstanding in your Kindom Hall bathroom?" wow

Thanks, bebuglad you enjoyed.

~Merry

21

Revelation 12:1

by Honesty in

who is this woman?.

rev 12:1-5 a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of 12 stars on her head.

she was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony to give birth.

MerryMagdalene

Interesting (as always, Leolaia)...I have to say it would make more sense to me to see Israel as the mother-source of the Messiah (through Mary) than thinking that the Church he founded was somehow his mother Since the Goddess Roma was alluded to as the "harlot", could the Holy Spirit be considered the "woman," in contrast, do you think?

~Merry

13

What would you want Madzay to make for ex-JWs?

by AuldSoul in

jw
friends

i was just thinking about all the crap madzay makes for jws, and i think it would be very good to have some of those scripture greeting cards they have for writing to jws.

just with different scriptures than they use now.. what do you think?

could we get some madzay stuff that would help wake up jws?

MerryMagdalene

Presenting--Yazdam Products...for the discerning X-JW:

Aposta-checks--printed with reasons for not donating any $ and corresponding web-site addresses (as designed by Richie Rich and Ezekiel3). Suitable for stuffing contribution boxes, mailing direct to the Society, and giving to door-to-doorers who don't know any better than to stop at your house.
Greeting Cards--nostalgic (and embarassing) WTS pictures and quotes. Get the assortment pack or choose from Pyramid, Cross & Crown, Pleides, Christmas at Bethel, Beth Sarim, Booze Rutherford, and more.
Aposta-fest Name Tags--printed with JWD forum name and avatar.
Expiration Date/Ms. Yuck Warning Stickers--to be added to any WTS publications found in laundromats and waiting rooms.
Non-Prophet Calendars--featuring a different failed prophesy every month (and the great excuses that followed them)!
"Good News" Armageddon Post Cards--scary WTS Armageddon "art."
"Wish You Were Here" Paradise Post Cards--scary WTS Paradise "art."
Quotes Protest Aposta-Tees--(front) "no quotes" logo (crossed out quotation marks in a circle) with Don't Quote Us On That... (back)...Or We'll Sue You! [and website address of a Quotes mirror site]
Meeting & Convention Survival Kits for the Captive Audiance--(needs a bit more thought)
Scarlet Letter Aposta-Tee--(front) large, bold, red capital "A" followed by a small "postate" (back) "Branded for LIFE!"
"Mother May I"-- adult couples board game comprised of the really stupid rules and regulations you are no longer obliged to follow
Blood Fractions Wine Goblets--tasteful etched design comprised of acceptable blood fractions.

...ok, so it's a bit more than Madzay...but I missed this the first time through and when I saw it tonight, my imagination ran wild...anybody else feeling creative?

(And if anybody can and wants to actually do something with any of these ideas that would be cool!)

~Merry

56

Does your JW baptism still mean anything to you?

by JH in

jw
friends

.

all i know is that jesus said to get baptized.

he didn't say in what religion though.. although i don't go to meetings anymore and don't plan on going anymore, i'm still glad that i was baptized.

MerryMagdalene

Interesting question, interesting answers.

My JW baptism was a disappointment to me at the time. I wasn't ready for it, I was pressured into it, and afterwards I just felt sorta empty (except for the fleeting glow brought on by the conditional praise and acceptance of the JWs around me). It didn't enhance the dedication to God I already felt, and I didn't feel any bond with Jesus as a Christian. I just felt like a lost and lonely JW who could never be 100% JW as I disagreed with them too much, but they were all I had.

When I later read the Gospel of Philip, this part struck me deeply:

If one goes down into the water and comes up without having received anything and says, "I am a Christian," he has borrowed the name at interest. But if he receives the Holy Spirit, he has the name as a gift. He who has received a gift does not have to give it back, but of him who has borrowed it at interest, payment is demanded.

So, after experiencing the presence of Christ personally, I was baptised again, without being blocked by JW doctrine from receiving what was offered.

~Merry