anybody's jw parents ever use that "don't spare the rod" song and dance as an excuse to beat the living shit out of you?
my parents used to relish in the whole physical punishment thing.
i guess the question i'm trying to get at is, do you think wts promotes and encourages physical violence in the home?
When my brother was a young child and we were at the meetings, he wouldn't always sit still. My father used to march him out the back (and we used to sit up near the front, so everyone could see) so he'd march he out to the back and give him a 'good thrashing'.
Apparently some old sisters used to cry when they saw my father taking my brother out for a beating cause they knew it was so severe. None of the elders cared though.
I agree with others above.
The first chapter or two really irritated me. God has your life all planned and he knows before you're born what it will be like. If that is the case then what a wank he is to allow children to be conceived and then aborted, or allow as part of his plan children to be born with severe abnormalities or born into abusive households etc.
I don't agree with that part of the book, that God plans out every detail of his life. I only bothered reading half of the book, and I wouldn't even have got that far through if it weren't that I was on a long bus trip and had nothing else to read.
So even though I still believe in God etc I still don't really have an answer to 'what is the purpose of life' or 'why are we here'
ok. so i am checking out this church (everyone is going to be so sick of me talking about this, but hey what's this site for anyway?).
this church
is a church that is "lead by the spirit".
I have been thinking about healing and other gifts recently too. Being raised a JW I always thought that healings were either fake or from Satan.
For the past couple of months I've been going to an Apostolic church. I'm really impressed how they follow the bible, including placing huge emphasis on Matt 28:19,20 and rely on the Spirit to help the great commission.
People within the church speak in tongues and prophesy, but they very rarely speak in tongue at church itself. I asked the pastor's wife, she said it's done more in private. I read 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 on it, and the bible says that tongues should only be done during meetings if there's an interpreter, so that's what they do. They do prophecy in church occasionally.
Anyway, starting next month the subject being studied at the Life Groups (Cell Groups) is 'The Gifts of the Spirit' - on what they are and how they are used.
I'm looking forward to learning more about it. I haven't seen any healing take place, but I know that as a church they believe it can happen. From what I've seen, it really looks as though they are genuine and have God's blessing.
I agree that sometimes people can be carried away with emotion at healings or there can be fakes or an emphasis placed on money. But I don't think all healings should be dismissed.
The early apostles could heal and though the bible says the gifts will end, and love will always remain, it doesn't give a date and time as to when the gifts end and it doesn't say the gifts died out with the apostles. So until Jesus returns in whatever way that means, I feel the gifts of the spirit can be used to show a church has God's blessing and to bring unbelievers to the truth.
Just my 2c
have any of you noticed that when "quick built", kh.
were being done that many tempers flared amongst brothers.
some were vicious and cruel and rude.
Well I've never been to a quick build, but 10 yrs ago when my father was a JW and an elder, he was in charge of something to do with the quick build planning.
One particular quickbuild he spent 400 hrs on it with the planning stage, before it is actually built. *400 hrs*
Yet the other elders in the congregation rounded him up and said 'You aren't getting your 10 hrs a month field service in, you need to set a good example to other JWs'
He was already questioning JW doctrine at that stage, but that was just the last straw. He was doing far more in JW activity than a lot of other elders, still being the WT conductor etc too at the time and yet being told he wasn't doing enough.
It p*sses me off when they are more concerned with outward shows of activity and the amount of hours spent preaching than the time and effort put into overall service
what a crap week at work!!....
last day tommorow, then friday night pub session lined up..... ....and that long long long lie in on saturday morning with the alka seltzer......life looks brighter already!!.
was there ever such a beautiful time as friday at 7pm?.
Yay for me, it's already Friday afternoon here in NZ
Only 2 more hours at work, my first week back after having 2 weeks off at xmas.
I'm not doing anything exciting and worth reporting about.
But being the new year and all I've sucked myself into yet another new year's resolution of being fit and healthy blah blah. So tonight and Sat I'll probably go for a long walk or for a swim.
What I won't be doing? I won't be going witnessing, to the meeting or preparing the watchtower!
hey guys,.
" you say, "no you don't, you mind-controlled idiot.
tell 'em to fark off.
Is it possible for you to talk with Gina's sister and say 'Hey you know that its more than likely we will be disfellowshipped soon over this xmas stuff and we know you won't be able to see us, but we'd really really love to see and hold the baby just once. Would you let that happen?'
Surely if she's a decent person with any compassion she would let you. You could assure her that it would be done in secret and no one would find out about it so she wouldn't get condemned.
i just recieved this note from one of our faithful and discreet slaves... keep an eye out for the march 2005 km.
word is that the awake will only be published once a month starting in january 2006.. sincerely,.
district overbeer.
wow that is big news. Also I didn't realise subscriptions were out either. I've only been out of the JW for 14 months and so much has changed already.
What has always hacked me off about all the magazines is that each fortnight xx million copies were printed of both the Awake and WT, in nice full color on reasonably glossy paper, not easily degradable.
Though not an ardent environmentalist, printing trash for the sake of it eg womens magazines, Awake and weekly supermarket flyers.. it really adds up on the effect of forests and the environment etc. Lets hope in a few years the publishing company stops printing the awake all together and makes the WT monthly.
Also I wonder how it will affect report slips for magazine placements. I only ever had 1 or 2 regular RVs that I could hand out mags to and I'd visit as often as I could just to put something on my report card.
To keep up a good mag total more work will have to be done in the first call work and a lot more emphasis will have to go on distributing the WT, and most people in my town hated the WT cause it was too religious but they could be conned into taking the odd interesting Awake.
they'll be lucky to see me at all at the farguing book study meeting!!!
damn it, if they don't have anything new to study, why not move some of the other meetings' material to this hour thus making shorter those other meetings???!!!
of course not, for this move would be too simple yet smart and full of common sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Good Lord Not again!
Those bible commentary books that do verse by verse are sooooo boring. The Isaiah book was worse, it was so long and dragged out it takes up 2 books.
I pity all who will be studying it. JW's are in 2 categories..
1. They already understand JW dates and world powers etc, and so don't need to study the book
2. Or they've been in the "truth" 20 yrs and still can't explain the JW understanding of the 7 times and how to arrive at 1914 from 607, so what's the point in confusing them again in a study.
i was reading in the news about some churches don't have enough space to hold the members, as they are growing so fast here.
one reason i noticed was this:.
kara ruffin, along with husband mark and their two young children, will begin worshiping at the lawndale drive location sunday.
I had never been in a church before 4 months ago other than a kingdom hall and the only image of 'christendom' was the image from the watchtower.
Anyway i went for the first time, didn't know a soul, and mentioned to the pastor's wife i was going to have major surgery next week. First thing she wanted to do was arrange the church to bring around meals etc. I was totally awed, they had never met me and i wasn't part of their faith, but they were willing to put in the effort.
I told my brother, another ex-JW, he said it gave him goosebumps the thought of true christian love being shown.
Whether my church has 'the truth' or not, it's a great resource for the community.
hey all, i just took some "after" pictures today and need to share with my friends.
as some of you know, i lost a bit of weight recently.
(by eating less, eating better and exersizing - it actually works sometimes!)..
Dammit, wish I'd seen your pics just 5 mins earlier. I had just finished munching on shortbread before coming to this site, it might have stopped me. Our work has a snack box right next to the kettle
Awesome work by the way
