i would like your thoughts, please..
Laverite, after reading about your grandma, I don't know if it is that inevitable that she will ever pass away. She seems like cast iron!
Does she want to go out in service/meetings or is she being compelled in some kind of way? That sounds like a rough schedule for an 80 year old! Let the woman stay home and watch jeopardy!
Would there be a reason to contact your local senior services to maybe give the person dragging her around some counseling (or a little scare?)
pope francis has denounced the "brutal persecution" of religious and ethnic minorities, in his traditional christmas day address.. in his second "urbi et orbi" - to the city and the world - christmas message, the pontiff highlighted the plight of victims of conflict in syria and iraq.. "too many people are being held hostage or massacred" in nigeria, he added.
pope francis also urged dialogue between israelis and palestinians and condemned taliban attacks in pakistan.. tens of thousands of people turned out on st peter's square to hear the argentine pope deliver his annual message.. he said christians in iraq and syria had endured conflict for too long, and "together with those belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, are suffering a brutal persecution".. "may christmas bring them hope, as indeed also to the many displaced persons, exiles and refugees, children, adults and elderly, from this region and from the whole world," the pope said.. .
******and, what did the governing body talk about when they addressed the world of jehovah's witnesses earlier this month?
I like this new pope. He wasn't elected by "the people" after an election season. For him to now state his stands and his intentions is not a bad thing. If nothing else, it gets people thinking and hopefully working together to bring the changes about. He is the head of the church, but he works with all the leadership all over the world, and if they don't know what he is up to, then how can they offer their input?
The doctrine of the church is not what is holding it back so much as it is the culture of the church, the politics of various parts of it and tradition. Most people recognize a lot of the issues, but none of them can make sweeping changes alone, but contributing their insights and experience with the many local changes that have been made will be useful.
I think one of the best things about this guy is his sense of really being a servant and really there to help. Not rule, not run the show, not to make the rules. If I turn out to be wrong, I will be sad, but every bit of good that each one of us can do is a blessing, even if it is for just one person. Therefore I am not going to be negative about one guy who is trying to do good for billions. He had to balls to speak up against the mob. Who does that?
Lodge is sold all over here, but I am on the lookout for some at garage sales. They are $$ little bit. The thing is, even a nasty rusty one can be saved with minor elbow grease (google it)
I miss my enameled cast iron dutch oven. I gave it away. :(
missed two in a row and got no grief.
should i keep the streak going and see what happens?.
by the way, i made my college's basketball pratice squad, to help workout the team during scrimmages .
To our OP: Its tempting a bit to treat the "how many meetings can I miss before I will be lectured" game in your head. Like "how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll tootsie pop?"
If you have family, please be strategic. It isn't a game and while some are in the position to PLAY some mischief on the local 'authorities', it usually is not a tactic for the average person leaving. Unless you are orphaned and live in a town you plan to leave soon anyway, don't be too clever. You could pay a higher price than you think.
i would like your thoughts, please..
My mom doesn't want any kind of service. I would still go. She has been twisted by "the truth" but is my mom and I love her. No one in the hall will do that for a widow of a non JW who is not a pioneer or even aux pioneer and who forces herself to answer at meetings. She buys most of it, forgives it the rest. Iguess that is what she does with her kids too. Sees the good in us and what she doesn't like, she gets over and loves us anyway. That is what family is for.
OTOH, if one of them starts in on anything to do with their belief system, I will firmly remove myself from the scene. Maybe not in a particularly gracious way (no scenes, just not gonna pretend to be interested just to be polite.)
And next time, if they want to give her blood, I will simply keep my mouth shut. If there is an emergency, I now consider blood a don't ask, don't tell situation. If she states her wishes-fine. If she can't. I'm silent. Her last few surgeries were done w/o the need for blood, butthey scared the pee outa me knowing she wouldn't get any if she needed it. She is nearly 80-its not our biggest worry at this point, but who knows? She shows few signs of aging, actually.
during one of those meetings that took place before my jc, one of the elders, who was a good friend of mine back then and used to come up with a few outlandish personal views about some teachings, attempted to counter one of my arguments like this:.
eden - "well, if the truth doesn't change, why is it that what we teach as 'truth' has changed over the years (several examples given)?
how can we dogmatically claim at any given moment that we have 'the truth' if our teachings keep changing?".
One cannot have a rational discussion with a person who has lost his mind.
the time has nearly come to switch over to the new forum software.
of course it's not completely finished yet (and never will be) but i think it's good enough to go live with and probably already better than the current one.
i'll give you a quick overview of what to expect and post more detail about the changeover process later.. cloud platform.
I still have hotmail! I still remember paying 5.95 hour for AOL. I'm old.
when you were a jw and someone mentioned 'have a nice christmas' or 'have a nice holiday' did you just say 'thanks, enjoy it yourself' or did you piss all over their good mood and bore them to death about why you don't celebrate it?.
My mom mortified me with the speech too many times for me to throw cold water on such a warm spirited and kind greeting. She has gotten over that mostly-except with her grandkids who she feels compelled to lecture about it in some twisted-don't get your gramma privileges revoked kind of way. She has pushed that boundary with all her kids-none of whom are JW or who had anything to do with it past age 15.
She is subtler than she used to be. she is doing what she thinks she must though, more's the pity!
http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/are-jehovahs-witnesses-christians/.
the third bullet point there claims they baptize in jesus name.
i know the baptism questions never mention jesus once.. .
Interesting that JWs understand that the expression "Name of" doesn't mean the literal name-UNLESS it is Jehovah-whose name Jesus (and apostles) was apparently flinging all over the NT because he would "make his name known". But THAT could not have meant (In JW LAND) anything like " all that a name implies, of authority, character, rank, majesty, power, excellence, etc., of everything that the name covers."
ever since mitt romney turned the spotlight on the lds church a growing tsunami of disaffection has been accelerated and brought to a head.. the lds core faithful members are leaving in increasing numbers such that growth has not simply stagnated in the west but it has actively reversed.
to their credit the church is responding aggressively but not only is it too late, it is an impossible task.
you can only paint sh*t so many ways.
I was raised in a JW home and my best friends were LDS at school-as I started mentally pulling away from JW thought, I was trying to nurture friends that woldn't lead me into a bunch of stereotypical apostate kind of trouble. I was never a wild child. . I did a lot of things with LDS friends socially and went to church and until today, am very good friends with one of them, and two have passed away (from actually going apostate to LDS thinking, sadly) and most ofthe rest,though I am not close,are still very much the nice kids, all grown up into nice family people. I think one is way too smart-genius, I think) and analytical and it makes him pretty unhappy about his place inthe church (hes a bishop, with at least 5 kids at last count). I think he would fade away if he could get away with it but I think it is a lot easier for (even baptised) LDS to fade out before marriage or after a divorce (when everyone is too busy being polite to pester you). His family is in it hardcore and now his kids and his wife is the classic good mormon wife. I don't think he hates his everyday life or the responsibilities (they are heavy and they are unpaid clergy, too, with bigger congregations, more social programs and duties than JWs have). It really is a whole lifestyle. If he would have just faded before marriage, his family would not make a big deal. NOW, its a big deal.
I got into that church because I liked the people in it. I never bought the stories, but I liked the lifestyle and my friends. When I left the church, withdrew my membership 3 years after joining, my friends and their famlies knew, and none of them shunned me to this day. I tried finding the "perfect" church. There isn't any. Jesus said, and I believe it, though I am not christian, that you will know his followers by their love. I have met a lot of Chrsitians and non Christians in a lot of different christian denonimations. I have even met NON christians who, according to that one definition of a follower of Jesus, follow him. JWs,LDS, SB, RC's. Not one religion has a brand on being followers of Jesus.
