Posts by conflicted

7

Honey, I'm HOOOOOMMMMEEE!!!!!

by LDH in

jw
friends

hi guys and gals.. not that you missed me, but we took an impromptu vacation to las vegas for a week.. my husband started a new job today and wanted to spend time with our daughter since she's been in ny over the summer.. it was all fun and games till the transmission on his '97 died in barstow, which is 4 hours from everything ha ha ha.. anyhow, we made it home fri night courtesy of a great big tow truck (thank god for triple a).. eden started 7th grade today, all grown up.

<<<sniff sniff>>> .

i didn't even get to drop her off at school because hubby has my car.

conflicted

Welcome back, I missed you ;)

I'm glad you had a good time (except that Barstow thing).

Don't you hate it when cars don't work right.

Well, it's good to hear from you, welcome home.

24

Sad. Very, very, sad.

by outcast in

jw
friends

.

http://www.witnessesonline.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/witnessesonline/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000098

conflicted

OH MY GAWD!!!

I can't belive I used to look forwad to this. Now I'm depressed - what a way to start Monday morning.

"They looked like witnesses..." Je... Chri.., what does that mean, they were dressed in 1970's polyester with a blank look on their faces, like they are mentally challenged.

I never really thought about putting the world back together again afer the "Great War", I just thought Jehovah would take care of it. Typical JW thought process I guess.

Can you picture it though? Standing around a bonfire singing kingdom songs... How can you be sure they aren't really in hell?

Hey, it's looking brighter already!

14

Any Non-Anointed JW's Posting Here?

by Englishman in

jw
friends

are there any jw's posting here who believe that they are not of the anointed class?.

also, of the jw's who post here who do consider themselves as of the anointed class, do you feel that you have a special mission with regard to making ex-jw's aware of their standing with their creator?.

englishman.. ..... fanaticism masquerading beneath a cloak of reasoned logic.

conflicted

I believe I am of the "Enlightened Class". Every day I stay away from organization my light gets brighter and brighter.

5

1975 CAME TRUE

by ballistic in

jw
friends

my master plan:.

we all get re-instated, then start to preach that the kingdom came in 1975. of course we could back it up with watchtower publications.. what do you think?.

i was too far out... and not waving but drowning - stevie smith

conflicted

Ballistic,

I see a major flaw in your plan:

We all get re-instated

I'm not willing to go that far - even if it means pulling the wool over the society's eyes.

Good luck with your endeavors though :)

11

Most Embarassing Comment at the KH

by Ustabee in

jw
friends

what was your [or someone else's]most embarrassing comment?.

mine was during a wt study on christian qualities: on courtesy:.

"courtesy is the lubricant for social intercourse.

conflicted

When I was 14 or 15 I was giving a reading during the Ministry School, can't really remember what I was talking about, but I lost my place in my notes, tried to sound like I knew what I was doing, read the same passage twice, and skipped a whole section of the reading.

When I finished there was complete silence (even the crickets were quiet). I was humiliated as I sat down, and I had to "accept council" later when the elders decided I wasn't serious in my studies.

47

What is faith REALLY?

by Silverleaf in

jw
friends

i've been interested in the discussion on the 'for those of us who believe in god' thread and aguest wrote this:.

"we have been misled into understand what 'faith' really is.".

if we have all been misled, then can someone explain what exactly faith really is?

conflicted

Shelby, Good morning, and peace to you on this fine day.
You said:

Certain angels weren't 'content'... and in the same manner, certain men aren't either. The construction of the 'Tower' of Babel still goes on today. Is that to say that man should not pursue progress? By no means... God has granted to man many abilities and man HONORS God in the way he uses such abilities. Man, however, like angels... aren't content to just BE man... indeed, they are not even content to be GOD. They wish... like the angels... to be 'higher'... even than God. I ask you, should a dog aspire to be a man?

I, for one AM content to be man - as I posted before, I am happier now than I have ever been. Unfortunately though, my lack of faith in the christian god has left many to believe I am lacking in some way.

I am content to lead my life in peace and allow others to do so as well.

I am content in that I don't need organized religion to make me complete, but there are those who want or need that in their lives.

I have come to a conclusion in this matter, a breakthrough if you will: Faith is the belief and heartfelt knowledge that my hopes will come to pass without physical proof that this will occur.

I do have faith, that I can lead a good life without religion. If God exists, and if He is a just and understanding being He knows why I choose not to worship. If I am to be punished for that it is betrween me and God, just as "faith" is for the faithful - between them and God.

47

What is faith REALLY?

by Silverleaf in

jw
friends

i've been interested in the discussion on the 'for those of us who believe in god' thread and aguest wrote this:.

"we have been misled into understand what 'faith' really is.".

if we have all been misled, then can someone explain what exactly faith really is?

conflicted

AGuest, peace to you as well.

I do understand what you are saying - The scriptures are merely words, when God says (supposedly) "Come to me." He doesn't mean read the bible, but to put your life into His hands.

My point wasn't that the bible is the end-all be-all answer to any questions of faith. Quite the contrary in fact. When someone's faith is shaken to the point that belief in any god at all is questionable, why look to the bible for answers, or the koran, or the book of mormon or any other writings of man. Faith is, in the end, between you and God. If I don't believe God exists, no quote from the bible is going to change my mind.

For the bible to have merit you have to believe that it was written by God through men. (At least that is what I was always taught.) If I am having a question of faith, (ei "does God exist?"), looking to the bible is pointless.

You have faith in God and the bible, so when you read:

[QUOTE]"You are searching the SCRIPTURES...
because you THINK...
that by means of THEM...
you will have 'everlasting life'...
and THESE (the scriptures)...
are the VERY ones...
that bear witness...
ABOUT ME.
And YET...
YOU DO NOT WANT TO COME...
TO ME...
that you may have LIFE."

John 5:39, 40[QUOTE]

You 'understand' that God inspired John to write this for our benefit.

I have a question regarding my faith, so I 'understand'
some dude named John scratched ramblings 2000 years ago because he had nothing better to do.

So you see, you have to have faith that the scriptures are the 'word' of God, or it's meaningless.

53

What song do you want played at your funeral?

by ballistic in

jw
friends

what song do you want playing at your funeral?.

i'll be having "going underground" by the jam.

i was too far out... and not waving but drowning - stevie smith

conflicted

There are some really good ones listed already.

I have never really thought about it, but how's this?

1) "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Guns 'n' Roses
2) "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zepplin
3) "Life by the Drop" by Stevie Ray Vaugn
4) "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC

71

When and where baptized

by drahcir yarrum in

jw
friends

i thought it might be interesting to see how many here remember where and when they were baptised into the borg.

for some the memory may be too painful, but i'm curious.. me.

it was 1966 in vancouver, bc.

conflicted

thewiz,

Don't take this wrong, but:

They got you once - shame on them, they got you twice - shame on you.
;)

47

What is faith REALLY?

by Silverleaf in

jw
friends

i've been interested in the discussion on the 'for those of us who believe in god' thread and aguest wrote this:.

"we have been misled into understand what 'faith' really is.".

if we have all been misled, then can someone explain what exactly faith really is?

conflicted

I have thought long and hard on this topic.

I see a number of posts above quoting biblical scripture as a definition of faith - but isn't there a question of the authenticity of the scriptures in this context?

Example: The topic under discussion is "What is faith", but you have to have faith that the bible is truely the Word of God before you can quote it. If you are at a point (spiritually speaking) where your faith isn't total, how can you belive the bible has the answer?

a) IF you trust in the scriptures, the question of faith is merely the definition of a word - you already have faith, you just want to know what the word means.

b) IF your faith is truely in question, there really is nowhere to look in the physical world to find an answer. You can't look to the bible, because it may not be true - such is the case with any other writings from any other religion.

Faith is belief and trust in something (or someone) without physical proof. Therefore you can't look to the physical world to find it.

Jehovah's Witness was the ONLY religion I knew, and I have faith that it is false, but that is where my faith ends. I don't know IF there is a God, and IF there is, is it the God of the christians, hindus, bhudists, or any one of the housands of other religions worldwide. I don't know, and I could spend every waking moment studying every religion on Earth to find the answer, and still might never find out.

I had faith that what I was taught as a child was true - when I became an adult and questioned further (as anyone with a reasoning mind should do), I found their teachings and practices lacking - as most of us here have. On that day my "faith" was shaken to the core, not only could I not believe in the JW version of things, but anything remotely spiritual was under scrutiny, from the mundane, to the truely profound, and even the BIG question "Is there a God?" has me shrugging my shoulders.

All of this dialog does not go without a point though, and those of you who have bothered to read this far are in for a treat.

My experience of faith has given me two things,

1) I know what faith is, because I had it. Faith is believing with your entire being that God exists, that God cares, and that what He has written down for us is true. We have a purpose for being here and we will be rewarded for following the instuctions set forth by Him.

2) Faith is the base upon which all things spiritual is built. The human psyche is flexible and maleable, like clay. Knowledge molds the clay of your inner self to shape the person you are to become. Faith is the kiln that fires the clay to make a strong and firm vessel where your spiritual self will reside. And faith, like a clay pot, once broken is never the same, it can be put back together, but it will be forever cracked and weak. Some people with dilegence and perseverence may be able to rebuild their faith, others may not.

I think I am in the latter group, but fear not - I don't think I need faith to survive, I'm happier now than I have ever been, for you see, faith can be uplifting, but it can also be an unbearable yoke.