boring post below, fyi.. i was with extended family this weekend and the conversation drifted to contributions and donations.
they said amazon will donate a percentage of your purchase to a charity of choice.
i guess someone put in jdumbs and it went through.
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boring post below, fyi.. i was with extended family this weekend and the conversation drifted to contributions and donations.
they said amazon will donate a percentage of your purchase to a charity of choice.
i guess someone put in jdumbs and it went through.
You may be on to something. We could report them for being ineligible--they definitely promote intolerance and hate--just take a look at their website's statements about homosexuality, for example.
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/chpf/pd/ref=smi_se_saas_lpd_spd
Organizations must be public charitable organizations that are registered and in good standing with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) to be eligible to participate. Eligible charitable organizations must also be located in one of the 50 U.S. states or the District of Columbia. Organizations that engage in, support, encourage, or promote intolerance, hate, terrorism, violence, money laundering, or other illegal activities are not eligible to participate. Amazon relies on the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Southern Poverty Law Center to determine which organizations fall into these groups. Charitable organizations must also adhere to the AmazonSmile Participation Agreement to maintain eligibility. Charitable organizations may choose not to participate in AmazonSmile at any time. Although we aim to include only charitable organizations that are in good standing and do not engage in any of the activities described above, we cannot guarantee the good standing and/or conduct of any charitable organization.
Charitable Organizations that Become Ineligible
These occurrences are relatively rare. If your selected charitable organization becomes ineligible due to a change in IRS standing or another violation of the program participation agreement...
i stumbled across something the other day that made me sit up because it seemed to perfectly describe a feeling i experience from time to time that apparently isn't uncommon.. it's called autonomous sensory meridian response or "asmr" and is a kind of tingly feeling on/in your head.
you can read about it here:.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/autonomous_sensory_meridian_response.
Simon, did you recently acquire Tupperware from a garage sale?
so as i have been waking up more and more over the past 3 years...i keep telling myself i'm fully awake and then i wake up more, but that's a different thread.
but anyway, i've noticed a lot lately that the wt does not mention jesus or christ very much in their literature and neither to jw's in their conversations.
they mainly talk about jehovah.
What punkofnice said.
In the end, I believe most people will realize that one invisible bearded sky man--whether he be the daddy or the son--is just as imaginary as all the rest.
No religion is superior to the other in terms of accuracy of doctrine.
That is the real truth--it may be scary to accept it, but it's actually quite freeing and centering. Not scary at all.
seen a few discussions asking if the wts are hurting for $$ or still sitting on a mountain of gold.. regardless of their child abuse legal fees and ongoing broadcasting for more dough, i believe they have piles and piles of cash.. talked with a diff'd accountant who sat in the accounting dept.
at the conventions for years.. a football stadium (or the like) costs them about $70 - 90,000 to rent for a 3 day dub show.
they take in $400,000 in donations from the r&f.
Dub show
ROFL! That is going in the next update of the apostate dictionary.
about a month ago, i purchased arabic/english gospels of john that contain a commentary for muslims.. .
i went to one of my neighbors and spoke to him and gave him one.
fast forward to today, my brakes need done so i took my car to the shop, walking back into my street i saw my friend abdullah outside.. .
This is such a weird thread.
i grew up in this religion, i was baptized at 14, married at 27, and now i'm 31. i'm also evolutionist and atheist.
i wanted this to be the truth.
i spent years as an apologist trying to reconcile everything.
Congratulations on seeking and accepting the truth. That is a very difficult thing to do, as many of us know firsthand.
You don't have to play by their rules anymore. DF and DA is their rule. If you need closure, there are plenty of ways to do that w/o reinforcing their authority over you.
Your choice, of course. Good luck.
so... i live in mexico and i am helping with an esl class (english as a second language).
actually, i am helping with two classes.
i get two days a week in which i just stand there and have a debate with the class, encouraging as many as possible to just talk... in english.. anyways, i like talking about subjects that generate debate.
I remember telling people about Noah and the inability of a TV to evolve from nothing. I am really embarrassed when I remember saying those things, even though it was totally not my fault I believed those things. I was prevented from participating in science courses as a teen. I was exposed only to the cult's version of things. I accept no blame for being duped.
during our wt life we met a good number of friends involved in the circuit and district work.
i am sure that we share the same experience and that we remember fondly some that we caring, loving and generally interested in the brothers.
at the same time we might remember others that were arrogant, selfish, abusive and oppressive.
I never knew any of them well enough to judge. They were figureheads who dropped in every once in a while and moved on.
With pity, I remember how the bros and sis would flutter around them as though they were celebrities. They would go way overboard to impress them--rehearsing their d2d presentations, making the perfect recipes for their lunches, using their best china, etc. They got so excited about it.
The bros and sis would hang on every word they said. For weeks afterwards, there would be retellings of what the CO or his wife said at the door or during dinner--every tiniest exchange would be analyzed and repeated.
Everyone would talk about their special recipes and whether the couple ate much of it. This info would be noted for next time, so their favorite meals could be provided.
I remember one CO said we can count our time while driving to the KH for the service meeting, and while taking multiple breaks in FS, "because Jehovah is kinder than human employers who don't give paid breaks". And then our tallies improved for years, because we were counting more time for FS even though we were sitting at Dunkin Donuts for our 2nd break of the morning (followed by lunch and a few afternoon breaks).
Wait a minute, if FS is so joyful and important...why do we need so many breaks...
Of course, official doctrine is they have no human leaders and do not follow personalities. Not true IRL.
jehovah's witnesses accept jesus as christ, the son of god.
they try, in their own way, to live by his teachings and imitate him.
they pray, read the bible and meet together regularly for worship.. i won't minimise any of the harm and damage they cause but for the life of me, i can't see how anyone can credibly deny that they are christians.. why do so many former jws have a problem with this?
Why do so many former JWs have a problem with this?
I have no problem with it whatsoever. They are following Jesus.
From a practical standpoint, who cares if anyone calls themselves xian or not? They follow the teachings of the Jesus figure. There are thousands of different belief systems that do the same, in their own ways.
