growing up i never really believed in the whole "jehover, angels, jebus, spirits, etc" thing.
i just went along with everyone because i knew i would be rejected and shunned if i said that i did not believe.. over time i learned certain "instincts" that allowed me to live among the "faithful" without their catching on to my non-belief.
one of my instincts that i learned was to expect to bow my head at the beginning and end of any "meeting".
Ever notice how God did a complete 180 on how to stand during prayer?
Old School (Bible times): Keeling, eyes wide open, staring into the heavens, arms outstretched, palms held high.
New School (Dub times): Standing, eyes closed, head bowed, arms down, hands folded.
WTF?
you know what i hate most about the wts?
that no matter how much you think you've put it all behind you... it still comes up and smacks you over the head every now and then.
saturday night, i visited my local bookstore/coffee shop.
Wow, that's gotta suck, CountryGuy. I'm still in and I feel like I get shunned! But you know what? I'd rather have it that way, and so do you.
Ask yourself, what are Witnesses worldwide known for? Preaching. Unsolicited, unabashed, unending preaching. What if they were taught to "bring lost shep back into the fold" at every opportunity? "Come back to Jehovah, please, CountryGuy." "You missed such a good talk last Sunday, CountryGuy." "Repent of your sinful ways, CountryGuy." Get the drift?
You HAVE moved beyond all that. Old "friends," well, they're a reminder of something you've left behind, and you can do without that.
I hope this helps.
our brains makes us superior to the rest of animal life on earth,,but only in a limited sense.. .
with our minds we can think, plan, work out problems and such,, but would not the mind be a much more useful tool if it could just be honest?
why if our brains are so developed,,why is it we can't be honest with ourselves?
Interesting topic, frankie. I think part of the answer is conditioning. Christmas is coming up, so keep your eyes open for all the disturbing admonitions for children to believe in Santa Claus. Look for posters of Santa Claus with the word "BELIEVE" written on them. Look for countless reprints of the "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus," letter. Look for a televised documentary "proving" his existence!
Some always protest that Santa Claus is a personification of a generous spirit. But wouldn't it be more productive for parents to tell children that it's real, loving people who give, rather than a lie? Being raised as a Witness I was taught to be critical of such an obvious construct as Santa Claus, an unseen being with supernatural powers. I learned the lesson of critical thinking well. Now look at where I am!
i couldnt believe it!
if something like that were to happen i would have though it was the other way around but here it is!.
http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/17/news/fortune500/sears_kmart/index.htm?cnn=yes.
That merger is like emptying a pooper scooper into a litter box.
im not a bible scholar, even though i was in the troof for 20 years, but i really feel the apostle paul has got a lot to answer for.. i mean its because of his letters we have all this turmoil about the blood issue, shunning and judging each other, homosexuality.
he is not slow in saying how righteous he is , how humble he is and telling the christians off for critisizing him (um reminds me of some people).
now the gospels on the other hand are so simple, jesus was humble, told us never to judge a person, he never shunned anyone not even the pharises and ate with sinners (of his religion) and told us we only had two rules .
NWT uses the term "emasculate." More of a $10 word than castrate, my guess is they were hoping people wouldn't know what it means.
sarah, rebecca, bathsheba, ruth, esther, deborah and others are sisters in strength mentioned in the bibical stories as a complicated unpredictable band of sisters.
with that said, i was raised with seven sisters, ( keep that toilet seat down brother )
i want to express my thanks to all you ' sisters in strength' on this forum, who post here with imagination, courage, and intelligence.
Someone sounds a little horny to me... j/k
its safe to assume that many jw's come on here and just read posts.
in fact i did it for several months before posting anything.
i have seen many, many helpful posts giving encouragement, etc.
Do Witnesses care about hurting the feelings of non-Witnesses when they paint them with such broad strokes? What about in that song "Make the Truth Your Own?"
"The world and its friendship you'll lose"
Please note, the italics are not mine. It gives me the creeps how hatefully that term is italicized, as if the writers were ensuring we sing it disdainfully. And what did the Pharisees call those who didn't share their beliefs?
People of the earth.
People of the world?
Worldly people!
If Witnesses think all others are misguided at best, headed to a brutal death at the Big A at worst, then its only fair they understand others see them as misguided at best, brainwashed at worst.
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/111704/new_jailed.shtml
web-posted wednesday, november 17, 2004 .
couple jailed after encounter interrupted .
Once I decided that since I was a good Witness, and looked to the Bible for guidance, I'd be a hypocrite if I hadn't read it, cover to cover. So I began. I started at Genesis 1:1, read all the way up to Lot's daughters, and threw the Bible down in disgust.
Witnesses won't see R-rated movies. What rating do you think the BIble would get by the MPAA if it was on film?
it would be great if i could get some copies of this booklet.
any information that you have, could you please post???
i need it for my psych paper....blondie, got anything?
I could never tell if that was a boy or girl on the front cover.
But that curvy Hispanic chick on the replacement brochure, from the 90's? Hot.
...is something any decent person would say if you sneezed.
but i was thinking, "surely some of the dubs would see something wrong with saying this.
" if you were at the hall, one of them would probably would cut in and say something asenine like, "you're not blessing him, jehovah and his holy spirit is...".
I dunno, Ozzie, the "sneezing out your soul" explanation is fairly well-documented. I tend to say "gesudheit" myself, it means "good health" in German. Nothing superstitious about that. I could never comprehend exactly what a "blessing" was supposed to be, anyway.
As far as tabboo idioms, when I was eight or ten I was forced to play with a JW boy from the hall. Every time I used the expression "I bet," as in "I bet if we climb that tree we can find a bird's nest," he'd interrupt me.
"Jehovah's Witnesses don't bet."
