your little jehovah will fail you .
in honor of: dave haack .
when i became associated with the jws in 1968, i was working at a machine manufacturing plant in california.
Derrick, you hit the nail on the head when you said "fundamental concept of God." I agree, god is nothing but a concept created by man to control others. Many times believers have no other way to control others than try to shame them for not believing in the "fundamental concept of God". May reason prevail.
Chris Vance
"Nothing fails like prayer"
okay, folks.
whenever people say these kind of things in disasters i think, "well, what about the other guy who got killed?
god didn't feel like saving little johnny today?
terafera: It seems to me if someone really believes that at death you'll live with god, then they sould be looking forward to death.
BeautifulGarbage: What I'd like to know is how they get off telling god what to do.
okay, folks.
whenever people say these kind of things in disasters i think, "well, what about the other guy who got killed?
god didn't feel like saving little johnny today?
Only an arrogrant person would say that god saved them and let the rest die. She's saying she's special and the rest are nothing. You'd think she'd be dissappointed she didn't die so 'she could be with god.'
i notice that there are many of us here who were discouraged from going to college/university in our younger years, courtesy of the watchtower society.
i would just like to say "congrats" to those who, in spite of the indoctrination and the fact that they've had to attend college later while holding down jobs and paying their own way, have attended college and received degrees!.
when i left high school i went right into pioneering as college was not an option in the witness world.
I'm 52 and a senior at Arizona State University. If everything goes as planned I'll graduate in December with a BA in Spanish. I was an exchange student in Mexico during Spring semester. I plan to do my Master's at the same university in Mexico. I work nights at the U and attend classes in the mornings and try to sleep in the afternoons. Keeps me very busy, but it's worth it. I always regretted not going to college so when I retired from the State of Washing in 2000 I decided to go for it. The younger students and the professors have been very supportive. I recommend it to anyone who regrets not doing it when they were young.
i have noticed that there is a tendency in this group to speak injuriously of glorious ones.
in an attempt to help us be more "balanced" in this regard i invite all to share which governing body members they like.
who is your favourite governing body member?
I was a jdub for 42 years and never met a one of them.
i remember in about 1980 there was a big flak in the olympia wa area about whether "faithful witnesses" with health problems would survive armegeddon.
many understood, and the elders agreed, that if someone needed insulin, for example, during the great trib and couldn t get it there would be no miraculous intervention.
this person would die from lack of medical attention and be resurrected later.
I remember in about 1980 there was a big flak in the Olympia WA area about whether "faithful witnesses" with health problems would survive armegeddon. Many understood, and the elders agreed, that if someone needed insulin, for example, during the great trib and couldn´t get it there would be no miraculous intervention. This person would die from lack of medical attention and be resurrected later. Many were upset at this prospect. Anyone remember anything about this? I, for one, started thinking, When will these "miracles start?" Later it occured to me, Never.
another question.. this one is for all those that began doubting the organisation when they were an obedient jw.. although i am sure you rarely shared it with anyone, what was the one problem you had with a certain jw only doctrine?.
what i mean is, what little gremlins lurked at the back of your mind?
what were the doubts that you kept hidden and what made you finally act on them?.
The issue of universal soveignty. Why should so many people suffer because adam and Eve ****ed up? Worse yet, how could jesus´ ransom supposed sacrifice make any difference? How was his life equal to that of Adam? I remember discussing this with a friend when I was about 20. She couldn´t understand it either. Since jesus supposedly was perfect, what was the big deal? In fact, I remember being told that when he was baptized he remembered his prior existence in heaven. This means he "saw the big picture." A little suffering with the understanding he had didn´t seem any big deal to me and if his sacrifice meant my sins were forgiven why did I have to continue to ask for forgiveness? Also, I couldn´t understand why so many had to suffer since Jesus had already cleared up the matter. After I married I expressed my doubts to my now x-wife. Later when we were talking to an elder about another matter, she asked him how one would explain the significance of the ransom sacrifice to someone. (She knew better than to tell him I had doubts.) He said you´d have to be pretty stupid not to understand it. For the next 20 years these doubts lingered, and when I decided to leave I threw off all the superstitious and mythical beliefs of Chrstiandom.
friday, may 1st, 1992, i drove my kids to the motel we stayed at for the circuit assembly in woodburn, oregon.
i told them that i was not going to attend the assembly at all.
on saturday morning, may 2nd, i dropped them off at the front of the assembly hall, making this the very first day where i ceased going to meetings.. driving away from woodburn, i headed to the beach at lincoln city, oregon where i took time to walk a long beach - alone - enjoying the wind breeze through my hair - the sand move between my toes - the sea gulls chanting and squeaking - the steady roll of the waves - the gentle roaring sound as they cascaded onto the shore and an occasional sip of scotch.. it was the first day of the rest of my life ... the beginning of having my life back ... the beginning of personal freedom of the mind and heart.. today, ten years later - i still can feel the fresh breeze and the sand ... and i have no regrets, no doubt, no fear ... i need not look back anymore.
Congratulations on then years of freedom.
You beat me. I didn´t leave until June 21, 1992. The most significant day of my life.
i am a new member and wanted to share my story.
i have been reading quite a few messages and personal experiences on this website and found some that i could relate to and some i couldnt.
let me start my story.
uptownkat, I know other xJW gay men who have families that don´t shun them. They also seem to have a "warm" feeling toward JW´s. You didn´t say that, it´s just the "feeling" that came through. I´m gay also and have a large family who are mostly JW´s. They all shun me, even my daughter. Because of this when a xJW gay man sounds apolgetic about JWs, I get a little defensive. Sorry.
i am a new member and wanted to share my story.
i have been reading quite a few messages and personal experiences on this website and found some that i could relate to and some i couldnt.
let me start my story.
So since your family doesn´t shun you, JW is not a bad religion. What about all the JW´s that obey the society and shun their disfellowshipped family members? Don´t you have any fellow feeling for shunned ones?
