Posts by circe

35

So Confused

by troubled in

jw
friends

hi.. i've been a jw for 15 years, have pioneered, been where the need is great, etc.

up until a couple of years ago, i was considered strong in the truth.

but then i had my first and only episode of major depression.

circe

Troubled,

Welcome, welcome, welcome! As you have read, we are very glad to have you here. I am very glad to have you here. Your story sounds EXACTLY like what I went through from 1996 to 1999.

I had depression issues before I was baptized as a JW in 1990. Medication helped me stay active as a Witness for quite a few years.

When some physcial problems started making it hard for me to attend the meetings regularly, those that I though I could count on dropped me faster than I could say "Help". In their eyes I'd become "spiritually weak". Many in the congregation (like yours) didn't even notice I hadn't been around much for three years.

Where was the distinguishing mark of true Christians? Where was the love? I so completely empathize and sympathize with you!

Seeker and JT have given you the advice that I would have, but I want to reiterate one point: Don't worry about "bringing reproach upon Jehovah" by talking to a counselor. Believe me, they've heard it all before. Step back for a moment and think about it: Do you really believe that God would begrudge your trying to get help?

I would love to chat with you in private on yahoo, msn instant messenger, or ICQ. Email me at [email protected]

Again, welcome and please stay.

circe

6

Phantom Pain....

by Sunchild in

jw
friends

i know i've been away for awhile (yeah, like that many people would notice *g*), but for the most part, i've been working on a site redesign.

if you're curious, you can see it at http://www.dreamsphere.net/ .

and for anyone aware of the reasons i went on hiatus in the first place, don't worry: i'm not mad at anyone.

circe

I understand the feelings you are having. Sometimes I feel the same way too. However, if I wanted to fit in with the Christian crowd where I live, I would have to become a Mormon.

No way, no thank you, I'll pass, thanks for offering.

circe

8

This is not fair!

by ISP in

jw
friends

if ladies want to do gardening in their bikinis they should have the right to do so.

i thought the us the land of the free and home of the brave!

a us woman who wore a skimpy bikini while gardening is facing a possible lewdness charge.. neighbours of dee dee derian, who runs a topless maid service, contacted police after seeing her in her front yard.. it is not the first time the 40-year-old has been contacted about her gardening attire.. "if i were going to a nudist camp, i'd be overdressed," she told the salt lake tribune.. she says the bikini is standard size and claims she is being singled out by vindictive neighbours in west point, utah.. davis county sheriff's lieutenant dan horton said: "her neighbours are pretty persistent about this.

circe

I live in Utah and haven't heard anything about this. Actually, I don't even know where West Point Utah is. Utah County maybe?

ISP are you in Utah? May I ask where? Email me if you'd prefer not to say on the board.

circe

39

Where were you in 1975?

by dins in

jw
friends

i have a vivid memory of 1975 even though i was only 6 years old.

i remember the whispers and the fervor surrounding the year.

i even had an uncle who marked his calendar every day with big red xs proclaiming that he couldn't wait for "this evil system of things to end.".

circe

I was 8 years old in 1975.

I do remember my aunt and uncle getting divorced because my aunt had become "an apostate". Seems that she was disillusioned by being lied to yet again by the WTS.

circe

16

So Amusin' and So Confusin'

by Commie Chris in

jw
friends

i introduced myself to this board on july 7 (new and amused).

in response to my initial post, a few people asked me what i found so amusing.

i have been away since july 8 on a business trip and have just returned home.

circe

Hmmmmm. I'm assuming that my attempt at a hardy welcome was misinterpreted? Guess I don't do the vulgarity thing too well. Let me try this:

Chris, welcome to the board. I find your views on religion and politics to be refreshing and honest. Much of what you listed as being amusing to you, I find amusing as well. My favorite was:

- earnest debates about esoteric and trivial Bible doctrines, and debates about the “correct” translation of Greek and Hebrew words found in the Bible; (short of having everyone on earth learn ancient languages, how does our Grand Creator expect simple modern humans to figure out which religion has the correct version of his Word?)

Anyway, welcome.

16

So Amusin' and So Confusin'

by Commie Chris in

jw
friends

i introduced myself to this board on july 7 (new and amused).

in response to my initial post, a few people asked me what i found so amusing.

i have been away since july 8 on a business trip and have just returned home.

circe

Commie Chris,

I didn't see your initial post, so I'd like to take the time now to say "Welcome, hope you stick around."

I, for one, don't give a flying fuck what your political beliefs are. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs and opinions. The more here, the merrier!!

Circe

40

Are These the Last Days?

by individual in

jw
friends

does anyone who has left the organisation still feel that these are the last days?

all down through history people have wanted to feel that they live in special times - are jws just an extension of this?

for me the biggest problem with this theory of the last days has been the distinct lack of earthquakes since 1914, a quote from the book signs of the times revisited says "as more and more seismographs are installed in the world, more earthquakes can be and have been located.

circe

Francoise:

IMO, this and so many other of our philosophical/religious problems arise from an inability to shed the dead skin of olden, primitive and savage concepts of who and what God is.

I second this statement!

There may be the last days of our slow progression toward that species of spiritual maturity that will elevate our thinking to realize that God is not the savage spirit-demon of Horeb who is just a cut above a Chemosh or a Baal, but instead is a loving father...

Again, I agree. It's taken me a long time to come to a similar conclusion.

Why is it that so many equate disbelief in the Bible to not believing in God? Frustrating!

circe

52

god is dead

by teejay in

jw
friends

my inactive sister who is very much a jw at heart recently discovered (i told her) that i was a budding agnostic.

she was quite intrigued and wondered why.

coming to an agnostic viewpoint has been a long journey.

circe

Undecided:

I've just about given up on trying to understand the meaning of life, I will just live out what's left the best way I can to enjoy it without hurting anyone else.

Maybe THAT IS the meaning of life?

circe

5

IMPORTANT message for Dunsscot

by Mommie Dark in

jw
friends

i've noticed you are already having trouble finding enough obfuscatory language with which to dazzle the peasants.

i wanted to ameliorate your situation, since you seem to think using grandiloquent words lends weight to your ideas.

so here is a link for you, i hope you find it useful.

circe

Dunsscot,

You do seem to emmulate most of the German philosophers quite well. You've quoted both Kant and Hegel. Here are my thoughts:

Immanuel Kant: extremely wordy and difficult to understand. However, if you can manage to get past all of his blathering, his ideas can make you think. I do like the philosophical idea of "autonomy", which he espouses, which is the idea that we have free will and are not simply caught up in the chain of cause and effect.

George Hegel (rymes with bagel): even more wordy and difficult to understand than Kant. Considered by some to be the most "impenetrable" of the German philosophers. His writings strongly influenced Karl Marx. Many consider his words to be ambiguous at best and self-contradictory at worst. Hegel was an idealist: he believed that all that really exists must be mental. He was convinced that there isnt', ultimately, any independent material stuff at all. (I wonder what he would have thought of "The Matrix"?)

I love philosophy, but must admit that I haven't been able to stomach reading either of the above fellows. Thank God for the "Oxford Companion to Philosophy".

circe

42

ExJW's Make Better Lovers?

by COMF in

jw
friends

i don't mean in general, i mean for exjw's... is there a noticable advantage to pairing with someone with the same background?

i'd like to read your thoughts and experiences on this subject.. i've been romantically involved few times, since "the light got brighter" for me about the organization, with people who didn't know anything about jw's before meeting me.

one of them viewed my exjw activity as a bit obsessive but okay as long as she got to obsess on her favorite obesssions, too.

circe

Hey COMF!

I'm glad I married an ex-JW. There have been times when the emotional baggage I carry most likely would have harmed or destroyed my marriage had my partner not KNOWN what I was going through.

I fell in love with David because of who he is, not because he was a JW. However, our having this in common, I think, has helped us relate. I don't have to EXPLAIN everything all the time.

Just yesterday I saw a "car group" out on the road. I made a comment to that effect to David. He just rolled his eyes and laughed. If he wasn't an ex-JW, I would first have had to explain what a car group was, blah, blah blah. I take it for granted that I don't HAVE TO EXPLAIN.

As far as the sex goes? I'm not saying a word!

circe

ICQ#57295066
Yahoo ID: circegirl2