Has the Watchtower mentioned these yet or am I too early?
Posts by steve2
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17JW MEMORIAL ATTENDANCE FIGURES FOR 2005
by steve2 in.
has the watchtower mentioned these yet or am i too early?
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11
What is a JW Apologizer?
by the good life ini'm new here and only studied for 6 months before quitting, due to being told i had to give up my worldly friends so i could "cultivate my christian conscience" i have been reading the posts here and think i made the right decision.
can some one tell me though exactly what is a jw apologizer?
i never heard of that before.
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steve2
JW apologizers sometimes reply to posts on this site. Their views are always instructive and I wouldn't want to dissuade them from defending the Watchtower. But sometimes there is a faint air of "I'm better than you because i still think it's the truth and you don't". A JW apologizer who is still in the organization but frequents such a site as this one is probably experiencing a lot of cognitive dissonance (conflict from trying to juggle at least 2 opposing views in their head - especially one view which says "Avoid ex-Jw sites" (the governing body hard line) and another view that says, "I'll discreetly frequent the site for worthy reasons such as defending the truth." This so reminds me of evangelical male Chrisitians who visit sinful women with a view to converting them to Christianity: More often than not the poor Christian ends up in the sack - but he can always absolve himself by saying, "I was only trying to do my duty" - which in this case is putting people such as me back on the "right" track. To all Jw apologizers out there: Welcome to my bed. Yeah, yeah, I know: Your motives are pure!
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53
Your personal philosophy
by Terry ini like ayn rand's simple variation on the usual philosophy breakdown of:.
1.metaphysics (objective reality).
3.ethics (enlightened self-interest).
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steve2
My philosophy:
Try not to live your life doing more of what doesn't already work. Instead, trust your experience and aim for a "workable life."
I base this on my observation that most people presenting for psychotherapy have twisted themselves inside out trying to live a life that is not working for them and they think by doing more of what is unworkable will one day magically work. It doesn't. They do this primarily to please others.
I say, stop the struggle - aim for a workable life - i.e., one that works for you.
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Auxiliary Pioneer in May!!!
by iiz2cool indid you miss the privilege of auxiliary pioneering in april?
it's not too late!.
you can do it in may, and here's a sample schedule to help you get your time!
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steve2
I can only have one hour for marital due and so infrequently over the month of May? Make it at least three times a week and for, say, three to four hours, and you've got a deal, okay?
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Are You or Were You Ever On Meds For Depression?
by minimus ini know so many people, not just witnesses that are on zoloft or similar drugs.
i know of some that, once they left the "truth", stopped taking these meds and have not had to go back on them.
i know of some that, if they did not have them, would not be able to properly function......what about you?
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steve2
I acknowledge everyone's responses. While it's very much an individual matter, there is much that can be done through psychotherapy to reduce the need for medication. The worst medications to be on are from the benzodiazpine group (e.g., Clonazepam, Diazepam otherwise known as Valium). They were never intended for use for months on end, but it's not unusual to hear of people being prescribed them for months and even years.
Benzodiazepines are primarily used to help people calm down (they're referred to as anxiolytic s), but if taken over a longer time period, people become addicted to them and suffer side effects that actually include increased nervousness. Also, when they try to stop using them, they experience massive surges of physical symptoms that resemble symptoms of anxiety. These withdrawal symptoms can last for months. When I see people "hooked" on benzos, I wish they'd never been prescribed them in the first place, because now their problems are so much more difficult.
Antidepressants, especially those from the SSRI group, are generally not as addictive and can be successfully reduced under medical advice, although clinical reports suggest that discontinuing Paxil can be extremely difficult.
My advice to anyone who is on medication for either depression or anxiety: Find yourself a good psychologist and have a goal of reducing your dependence on these medications . With qualified, professional help, the task of doing so is all the more achievable.
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What sin did you ever committ that you thought you never never would?
by littlerockguy inadultery (sexual relations with a married man); after all i was a prude as an active jw.
i never thought i would do such a thing.
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steve2
When I was in my early twenties, I cruised the streets one lonely and cold night and ended up having the most boring sex with an older man. As a JW at the time, I could never have imagined myself doing that, but I did it. I confessed it to the elders and was publicly reproved. After leaving the witnesses, I began to explore my sexuality under less of a shadow of repressed disdain, and found the experiences infinitely more gratifying.
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In Knoxville Tennessee, the old Kingdom Hall will become a funeral home!
by TresHappy inwhich i find quite appropriate!.
the plan commission is reviewing all of the 1976 zoning ordinances to recommend necessary changes.
it recommended this change now because dale and connie jacobs, knoxville, the owners of funeral solutions, want to buy the jehovah's witnesses kingdom hall, 809 e. main st., to open a funeral home.
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steve2
Are the current active JW members also included as chattels in the prospective sale of the kingdom hall to the funeral business?
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Nowadays Do JW's Lack Faith That The End Is Near?
by steve2 inmy mother told me about an interesting encounter she had last week with a young male jw who called on her offering her the latest magazines.
she did not know him and he appeared not to know her.
in a rare display of assertiveness, she interrupted his spiel, stating that she was just so sick and tired of the magazines going on all the time about how near the end is.
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steve2
The demise of the 'generation' doctrine went in one ear and straight out the other.
Sounds like the old breed of JWs. My hunch is that the younger generation of JWs - the new breed, if you like - seem less invested in the urgency of it all and seem to have a wonderful capacity for "tolerating" more than one view without making a fuss about it.
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Nowadays Do JW's Lack Faith That The End Is Near?
by steve2 inmy mother told me about an interesting encounter she had last week with a young male jw who called on her offering her the latest magazines.
she did not know him and he appeared not to know her.
in a rare display of assertiveness, she interrupted his spiel, stating that she was just so sick and tired of the magazines going on all the time about how near the end is.
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steve2
My mother told me about an interesting encounter she had last week with a young male JW who called on her offering her the latest magazines. She did not know him and he appeared not to know her.
In a rare display of assertiveness, she interrupted his spiel, stating that she was just so sick and tired of the magazines going on all the time about how near the end is. To her surprise, he expressed agreement, immediately put the magazines back in his bag and proceeded to talk with my mother about her garden and other everyday things for about half an hour!
My mother's a good judge of character: She concluded that he actually seem relieved that he didn't have to talk about the end of the world and didn't seem to have any desire to discuss the issue anyway.
Without prompting from me, my mother said, "What's going on that they don't want to even defend their beliefs about the end?"
I said to her - perhaps in part jest, but still serious enough - "It's a sure sign of the times when even the Witnesses don't seem to want to insist that the end's just around the corner".
Laughing more than we usually do when talking about the JWs, we both agreed that this new breed of JWs seems far more agreeable than the old breed. I've a hunch though, that they're not so much "agreeable" as just plain old sick and tired of it all.
(My mother was raised a JW in the 1930s but faded in the 1950s after she married my "unbelieving" father. She continued to believe it throughout most of her life (I converted to JWs through her her parents encouragement). In more recent years she's begun questioning it, but in her own quiet, thoughtful way.) -
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Is Michael Jackson INNOCENT??
by breeze ini am sure this is not new topic, but today seems to open the ???
, is he just a target because of his wierd behavier.. i want to think he is innocent????.
the press in this country is sometimes off the center of the subject.....maybr not representing the real truth....???.
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steve2
Sorry Steve2, your assumption is totally wrong. Some of us who have heard the witnesses/prosecution and the rebuttle by the defence are also believing MJ to be innocent.
I confess I lack total conviction that MJ is guilty. What I can say with greater conviction, though, is he foolishly broadcast his views on sleepovers with young boys, despite have faced earlier accusations of child molestation. Bad move on his part.
He should have abided by his advisers strong recommendations that he have no unsupervised bedroom sleepovers with young boys. If he is being "framed" or "set up", he needs to take responsibility for repeatedly and knowingly walking into the trap. He's an older adult man, for God's sake; not a young boy.
My gripe has always been, not so much that the man is guilty, but that he blatantly rejected sensible advice in the manner of today's superstars: One law for ordinary folk, another law for him. Now that the shit has hit the fan, MJ must accept at least part responsibility for switching that fan on.