you can probably guess how this story goes.. i began dating a non-witness boy.
he knew i was a baptised witness and understood the consequences i faced for dating him.
we agreed to keep our relationship secret, which was easy considering our 200 mile distance.
asensier
Most here know exactly what you're going through; you're not alone.
Kindly listen to what appeals to you and also what doesn't; both are of value.
Learn what your instincts say. There is always the heart and mind, often at odds but the gut knows best.
Don't be afraid to make mistakes. How else does one learn?
Enjoy and live life like there is no tomorrow. Now is the only time where things happen
(Twitch, alumni of the "Left at 18" class)
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according to leading astronomers the probe philae that landed on the comet 67p last november may have discovered microbial life..... sadly neither the probe nor the orbiter rosetta are equipped to test directly but the evidence is interesting.
these are not easily explained in terms of prebiotic chemistry.
the dark material is being constantly replenished as it is boiled off by heat from the sun.
Well, I for one am glad the media does not report every theory and conjecture as fact.
Wait a second...
Anywho, what do the chances become of lightning striking the same place, if over 4 billion years?
The chances of life occurring spontaneously on it's own are astronomical, so it's been said. Impossible is a different statement. If in all the cosmos life only struck once, naturally we'd be here to contemplate it. And if it struck more than once, the same would be true. In either case, we'd still be here to contemplate where else it may have struck. And likely never know of another due to sheer distance/time.
Still, it's tres cool that we land probes on comets and peek inside.
;)
i have just found out that my brother (who was one of a bunch that shared this login) has died.. he and his wife were living in another country where they once pioneered.
i didn't see him that often.. such an empty feeling.....
Sorry for your loss.
People drift apart, even siblings.
i've met a few.
i'm not talking about the jw who, whether df'd or not, falls off the radar and just gets on with living a normal life - good luck to them and may there be many more!.
i mean the former jehovah's witness who is now enjoying all the benefits of a cult free life thanks to the efforts of many bloggers, posters and activists, but is critical of the efforts of someone close them to free more jws.
Good thread.
I'm more of the "live and let live" class these days. I do have mixed feelings about it at times. There's a lot of color gradient to every situation and I've not walked far in that many shoes. Different people connect and process in different ways. I try to honour that.
hi all, any thoughts on the ridley scott film exodus :gods and kings my people?
generally, its more or less as i would envision it.. love the representation of gods spirit/angel as a child of ?10 - great age, they have not lost their innocence but are aware of the dark side of life, question everything are bitingly honest in their assesments and you can often have surprisingly adult conversations with them.
of course in all this they are often very very funny(i may be biased as my kids are this age!!!).
I liked it; a rather entertaining movie.
The bit with a spirit messenger being a child was reminiscent of "The Last Temptation of Christ" albeit in that one, the girl was supposedly Satan. In both cases, the protagonist was plagued and/or inspired by voices of "people" who weren't there. That bit is likely more true than any the story itself.
I can see how bible adherents would take offense to this and other narrative departures, but whatever, I thought it was good.
i wasn't entirely serious on older posts that our whole universe could technically be a computer simulation and this next thing isn't claiming that but it seems to nudge it closer to that possibility.
as taken from here http://www.vox.com/2015/6/29/8847863/holographic-principle-universe.
"the idea isn't that the universe is some sort of fake simulation out of the matrix, but rather that even though we appear to live in a three-dimensional universe, it might only have two dimensions.
Wrap yer mind around this one just for fun :)
my wife and i have recently gotten hooked on the history channel's series, vikings.
(my wife is full blooded norwegian....).
to be honest, the show is quite graphic in spots, but certainly no more so than a history book i own of the same time period.. anyhow, we made the mistake of mentioning the show if front of jw's last night and they were all thoroughly shocked that we watch it.. i tried pointing out that big chunks of the ot are not materially different and that even the confrontation between david and goliath would get an 'r' rating if it were visually portrayed in any detail at all.
I'd say it's likely denial and a "head in the sand" mentality when confronted with the actual visuals that go along with the reality of what happened historically and what they hope to happen, albeit even by god's hand indirectly
when you were still asleep in the watchtower organization and had no idea of ttatt.
what would you have done if you were in a serious accident and all of a sudden you woke up in the emergency hospital room with all the brothers and sisters at your side and your spouse cheering you on to be faithful to jehovah.
then the doctor comes up to you and tells you that you are about to go into surgery because there is no time to lose and the only way to live is to take a blood transfusion ?
When you were still asleep in the Watchtower Organization and had no idea of TTATT. Not one bit.
What would you have done if you were in a serious accident and all of a sudden you woke up in the emergency hospital room with all the brothers and sisters at your side and your spouse cheering you on to be faithful to Jehovah.
Then the doctor comes up to you and tells you that you are about to go into surgery because there is no time to lose and the only way to live is to take a blood transfusion ?
Would you have been willing to die and leave your family just to stay faithful to Jehovah? Or would you have succumbed to a lack of faith and taken the blood?
Aren’t you glad you never had to deal with it?
Well, though not exactly the hypothetical question posed here, I'll share my somewhat related experience.
I was born in. When I was 10, I had an appendicitis attack and went from normalcy to excruciating pain within a couple hours. Off to the hospital we went. Examination, waiting, this room, that room, the IV, seriousness. But what I remember most vividly is the conversation with my parents and the doctor on what was happening and that I'm going into surgery. Then the doctor left and my parents told me I wouldn't need a blood transfusion. To be honest, I hadn't even thought of it. Sure I knew the stance on it and what I heard and read in the company policy guides but it really hit me in that room on that bed. I could live or die here and there's a conscious decision here that may decide the outcome. I'm powerless. I just want to live. And I recall thinking amidst the pain my parents telling me that I won't need a blood transfusion, a good thing. Like it should even be a thing I thought. Fast forward, this room, that room, the mask and thinking whilst counting, this could be it.
The surgery happened, I was fine. Life went on. I was 10. Much has happened since then. Time does heal.
Strange thing looking back, so long ago.
if you had to pinpoint the time or experience that finally made you open your eyes, what would it be?.
i think for me it was the time i saw my dad shun his brother who he had not seen in decades just because he was a da'ed jw.
i thought to my self "no way jesus would do that.
I would rather throw in my lot with many of the people I have had the privilege to know and love in the "world".
StrongHaiku,
Yes, I came to that crossroads at the time and made the same decision. I regret nothing
if you had to pinpoint the time or experience that finally made you open your eyes, what would it be?.
i think for me it was the time i saw my dad shun his brother who he had not seen in decades just because he was a da'ed jw.
i thought to my self "no way jesus would do that.
If you had to pinpoint the time or experience that finally made you open your eyes, what would it be?I moved away from home at age 18 and was well on my way out the door mentally by then. My teens were a struggle to reconcile what I was taught/believed and what seemed rational to me and a more reasonable worldview. The problem of evil (and other more specific JW doctrines) caused considerable cognitive dissonance in me fledgling mind. One experience that blew the doors wide open was that I began dating a 24 yr old single mother who had a completely different but challenging life to that point. Despite hardships, she was a beautiful and caring person who never hurt a fly and although not religious, was searching for meaning. The kicker was that as good a person as she was, she and her infant son were essentially doomed at the soon to be released carnage of the Big A. This was a major confirmation that something wasn't right with the JW belief. Though her and I only lasted a few short but intense years, I'll never forget that experience and how it (and she) opened my eyes to many a wonderful and thoughtful thing.
