Posts by Super

173

Birthday celebrations and customs - Are they for Christians?

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

i sent my birthday document (http://thebentinel.com/jw-birthdays.html) to a poster here that is at the very least a jw-sympathizer, if not a full-blown jw.

the response i got back indicated that my reasoning on it was seriously flawed and essentially any idiot with a passing knowledge of scripture and history can tell that birthdays are not something christians should celebrate.. of course, if you're not a bible-believer or a god-believer, you couldn't care less about pagan origins and all that.

but let's keep this conversation on the 'appropriate for christians' vein.

Super_Becka

OK, I gotta post once more. I'd like to point out that what I've been posting apparently means nothing to our dear friend, sweetscholar, and certainly has no bearing on his beliefs but still he insists on posting his own rants about my words. You'd think that if my posts were so pointless, meaningless and useless, he'd just leave it alone and completely ignore me - after all, why waste your time and energy on something that is deemed worthless?? But still, he replies to me, so I must be striking a nerve.

And please, whatever you do, don't call me an apostate, because I'm not - I'm an "unbeliever", thanks. I've never been a JW and I never will be, and I thank God for that every single day because of ignorant people like you.

Ahh, and a tree-worshipping, protestant pagan, am I?? And JWs wonder why people just don't like them. That's why - God tells us to love each other, and yet there are JWs out there who insist on behaving like this because they believe that they're superior to the rest of the world. "Love your neighbour as yourself", sound familiar?? How about "judge not lest ye be judged"?? And "do onto others as you would like them to do onto you"?? Trust me, calling me and every other non-JW here names might make you feel better about yourself, but it isn't going to help you, you will be judged, too, just like everyone else, and I think you'll be found wanting. (Not to tar all JWs with the same brush, because I'm sure lots of them are very nice people, but it's the bad apples like sweetscholar that spoil the bunch.)

I'm not a "tree-worshipping, protestant pagan", I'm actually a baptized and confirmed Anglican. And I'm very happy with my faith, thank you very much. Calling me a pagan won't turn me from my beliefs. Do your worst, I have my faith and you can't take that from me.

And one other thing - you started the name-calling, but it wasn't aimed at me, it was aimed at "jeffy weffy", so I called you on it.

-Becka :)

173

Birthday celebrations and customs - Are they for Christians?

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

i sent my birthday document (http://thebentinel.com/jw-birthdays.html) to a poster here that is at the very least a jw-sympathizer, if not a full-blown jw.

the response i got back indicated that my reasoning on it was seriously flawed and essentially any idiot with a passing knowledge of scripture and history can tell that birthdays are not something christians should celebrate.. of course, if you're not a bible-believer or a god-believer, you couldn't care less about pagan origins and all that.

but let's keep this conversation on the 'appropriate for christians' vein.

Super_Becka

Maybe you didn't like my post, but you certainly noticed it and even acknowledged it. My work here is done.

And I've had more than enough of stooping to your level to play your little game, especially because it's clear that you'll never admit that one of us non-JWs might actually have a point. I'm gonna stick with being my diplomatic, polite, non-confrontational, free-thinking and well-informed self before I get myself banned. I've degraded myself enough for one thread anyway. Believe me, you're not worth it.

-Becka :)

173

Birthday celebrations and customs - Are they for Christians?

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

i sent my birthday document (http://thebentinel.com/jw-birthdays.html) to a poster here that is at the very least a jw-sympathizer, if not a full-blown jw.

the response i got back indicated that my reasoning on it was seriously flawed and essentially any idiot with a passing knowledge of scripture and history can tell that birthdays are not something christians should celebrate.. of course, if you're not a bible-believer or a god-believer, you couldn't care less about pagan origins and all that.

but let's keep this conversation on the 'appropriate for christians' vein.

Super_Becka

Ooo, you do have a sharp tongue, don't you?? I hope you're not trying to hurt my feelings, because you're failing miserably, and you're certainly not giving me any warm, fuzzy feelings about the WTS, either. Call me whatever you like, it's not going to bother me, though I'm sure it makes you feel better. It's sad that you have to stoop to degrading others to make yourself feel good about yourself and your faith. Get over your superiority complex I hate to break it to you, but God created us all equal, so you're no better than any of us. Deal with it.

I'm Satan's daughter, am I?? Now who's accusing who?? You interpreted my comment as being an accusation, so I'm going to interpret yours as being an accusation. Like it or not, you just accused me of being Satan's offspring. Right back at ya, pal. I know who my Heavenly Father is and I happen to have a very personal relationship with him, no earthly middlemen. Can you say the same??

You can stick with the WTS and preach their ever-changing doctrines and hypocrisy, that's your own personal decision, but when I go to church on Christmas Eve with my family to celebrate Christ's birth, I'll be sure to think of you as I'm giving praise to my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and I'll pray for God to have mercy on your eternal soul as the reverend blesses the congregation in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, more affectionately known as the Holy Trinity. Merry Christmas.

Toodles.

-Becka :)

12

hello

by scarecrow in

jw
friends

i'm not a newbie - been here before under another name .

haven't posted for quite awhile .

i would like to be more regular .

Super_Becka

Hey, very interesting post. If you wouldn't mind sharing some of your research with me and/or giving me a few pointers, I'd love to hear from you, just PM me. Like I've said in my other posts, I'm currently dating an unbaptized, inactive JW and I'm trying to find out as much as I can about them before I get into a situation that I can't get out of. My boyfriend is very intelligent (university-educated) but very blind to the WTS's flaws, inconsistencies and outright lies, so I like to do my research so that I'm prepared when religion comes up in conversation.

Thanks.

-Becka :)

173

Birthday celebrations and customs - Are they for Christians?

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

i sent my birthday document (http://thebentinel.com/jw-birthdays.html) to a poster here that is at the very least a jw-sympathizer, if not a full-blown jw.

the response i got back indicated that my reasoning on it was seriously flawed and essentially any idiot with a passing knowledge of scripture and history can tell that birthdays are not something christians should celebrate.. of course, if you're not a bible-believer or a god-believer, you couldn't care less about pagan origins and all that.

but let's keep this conversation on the 'appropriate for christians' vein.

Super_Becka

Let's see, I'm not offended, I'm just taken aback by your lack of, shall we say, tact, in your arguments. How old are you, anyway?? I mean, really, name-calling and condescending language is really third-grade. We're all mature adults here, like it or not, and some of us appreciate adult discussions.

And not once have I posted a reply here in which I laughed at anyone. I've asked a couple of questions, but I never laughed. That was another poster, not me. I happen to take this forum and many of its threads very seriously.

But of course, I guess there's really not much point of me even posting here for you now, you said that you're done with this thread. I'm not surprised - I guess you've dodged our questions as much as you could with your rhetoric and circular reasoning, so it's time to quit while you're ahead.

Well, thanks anyway for the amusing, if very hypocritical, posts, I'm sure we all enjoyed them.

-Becka :)

173

Birthday celebrations and customs - Are they for Christians?

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

i sent my birthday document (http://thebentinel.com/jw-birthdays.html) to a poster here that is at the very least a jw-sympathizer, if not a full-blown jw.

the response i got back indicated that my reasoning on it was seriously flawed and essentially any idiot with a passing knowledge of scripture and history can tell that birthdays are not something christians should celebrate.. of course, if you're not a bible-believer or a god-believer, you couldn't care less about pagan origins and all that.

but let's keep this conversation on the 'appropriate for christians' vein.

Super_Becka

and again, Jeffy Weffy, go sidestep somewhere else, cuz that's what YOU just did, I was addressing each point that came to me on this thread, try doing the same

OK, time out. Since when did condescending speech become an acceptable means of discussion?? Ya know, SS, you have no business talking down to someone here just because you don't agree with them, and say what you like, that's exactly what you're doing. I have yet to see you answer a specific question on here, you just seem to like arguing semantics without actually answering the question. I seem to recall posting a question not so long ago that I didn't see a nice, straight answer for, you just like to argue your way around it. If you'd just simply answer the simple questions posed here rather than diving into a long and very heated discussion, maybe we'd leave you alone with your beliefs, but you keep dodging the questions. Is it because you can't answer them because you just don't know the answers or that you know the answers but don't really want to admit it because they contradict what you're supposed to believe??

We don't care what you believe, we just want some answers. Believe what you want - if you're secure in your faith, you should be able to clearly answer us without feeling threatened in any way, shape or form. The only reason I could see for your not wanting to answer these questions would be that you're afraid of the answers and what they mean for your faith, but if you're as firm in your faith as you appear to be, then you should be perfectly comfortable with your beliefs, no matter what, even if these inquiries seem to call your faith into question.

And in the meantime, please, grow up and act like a mature adult, we'd all appreciate that. Time to stop with the name-calling and all of that and act like a civilized person, OK?? You're clearly very intelligent, start acting like it.

-Becka :)

49

Name One Thing (Just One!!) that the Dubs teach that is TRUE

by ozziepost in

it was a comment that defd made today that did it, he got me thinking!!

(thanks, defd.. it was one of those spoiling type of comments, oh okay derrick, here 'tis: lt you oughta know why he recieved the spirit before being baptised.

you were an elder once right?.

Super_Becka

I'm with daystar on this one. WTS doctrine is, after all, mostly based on their interpretation of scripture, so it could be seen both as "true" and "false" at the same time. It all depends on who you ask.

The thing that makes so many of their teachings "wrong" or at least "inappropriate" would be the effects that they have on the lives of JWs and other WTS adherents - no blood means death for a lot of people, especially minor children, no holiday celebrations means alienation from the rest of mainstrean Christian society, disfellowshipping means destroyed families, the list goes on. And the fact that they change their minds on certain doctrines, like changes to the rules regarding rape and blood fractions, makes the WTS and its doctrines even less credible. How can you believe an organization when they're not even sure what they believe??

So in my opinion, I believe that most of what they teach is wrong, though I'm sure that the faithful JWs out there will argue with me. I'll finish off this post with a movie quote that was used as a response to one of my threads a while back. It's regarding what you deem personally acceptable and appropriate, despite what you're told is right or wrong in God's eyes:

"God will understand, my lord. And if he doesn't, then he is not God and we need not worry." (Kingdom of Heaven, 2005)

-Becka :)

52

How would JWs run a country if they had one?

by Spectrum in

jw
friends

can anybody imagine what it would be like to live in a country run by jws?

what would they call it?

what laws would they have?

Super_Becka

Ahh, well said, I'm inclined to agree with that. 1984 is one of my favourite books and I must say, now that I consider it, I think a WTS-run world would be exactly like that, complete with 24-hour monitoring and thought police to control independent thinking.

"WAR IS PEACE / FREEDOM IS SLAVERY / IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" (1984, page 6)

How true is that?? For the WTS, IGNORANCE really is STRENGTH. JWs are ignorant to the flaws and inconsistencies of the WTS and so the WTS maintains its irongrip on its followers. In the 21st century, that's really sad.

And a few posts back, gringojj said:

There was a WT once where they said the only reason they dont stone apostates to death is because it breaks the current laws.

Ooo, can someone find me a reference for that statement?? Maybe the publication information (date, page number, etc.) or better yet, does someone have a scan of the article that states that??

-Becka :)

173

Birthday celebrations and customs - Are they for Christians?

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

i sent my birthday document (http://thebentinel.com/jw-birthdays.html) to a poster here that is at the very least a jw-sympathizer, if not a full-blown jw.

the response i got back indicated that my reasoning on it was seriously flawed and essentially any idiot with a passing knowledge of scripture and history can tell that birthdays are not something christians should celebrate.. of course, if you're not a bible-believer or a god-believer, you couldn't care less about pagan origins and all that.

but let's keep this conversation on the 'appropriate for christians' vein.

Super_Becka

jgnat said:

I'm new to this thread, "sweetscholar" have you covered yet, why "pagan origins" equates to "pagan" in our day?

and then DanTheMan said:

Given the stance the WTS has taken on pinatas, that what's important is how a custom is viewed now, not 1000 years or however long ago, why wouldn't that same reasoning apply to a birthday celebration?

Hmm, I posted on this thread a while back, but nobody paid any attention to my posts, not surprisingly, hey, I'm just a mere newbie, so I figured I'd post again to support a couple of fellow posters.

When I read jgnat and DanTheMan's posts, I see a very clear question that our friend sweetscholar doesn't seem to want to answer. Maybe it hasn't been stated as clearly as this until now, or maybe it has, I haven't read every single post on this thread, but the question is one that keeps coming up, especially with the recurring mention of eye makeup and pagan origins.

So I'm gonna ask again - just because it was once pagan, what makes it pagan now?? OK, so a few pre-Christians worshipped pagan gods, yeah, that was bound to happen before Christianity reached them, humans have been worshipping gods for centuries - look at the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. And you know, some of the things they did as part of their worship still exist today. Like cats - ancient Egyptians revered cats and worshipped them. The WTS's linear reasoning would say that therefore, cats are pagan and shouldn't be kept as pets. The same goes for pinatas - it has pre-Christian, pagan origins, and according to the WTS, that's a very bad thing, right?? Then why aren't cats and pinatas unequivocably banned?? Because once upon a time, they were both pagan practices, but today, they have lost all of their pagan meanings. When someone smashes a pinata, nobody is thinking about anything religious, they're thinking, "YES, I finally smashed the pinata!!". And you know, some people just like having cats for pets - ask my JW boyfriend and his parents, between them, they have three cats and believe me, these cats are so spoiled, they could be mistaken for gods.

And as a 20-year-old who has had and attended many birthday parties, I have yet to see one child worship anything or anyone when they blow out the candles on a birthday cake, much less some Druids or pagan gods or whatever. Ask a little kid why he has a birthday party and he'll probably say that he likes cake and party hats, simple as that. No underlying pagan rituals here.

Just because something used to be pagan doesn't mean that it still is, things lose their meaning all the time. Windchimes is another example, they were once used to ward off evil spirits, but now, people just use them as a decoration because they're pretty and they sound nice. And I won't even get into Christmas, that's a whole other can of worms that belongs on another thread. The key is, meanings change and what was once pagan can be part of a Christian life because the original pagan meanings have disappeared.

Birthdays, just like pinatas, are just customs in Western society. They've lost any and all pagan meanings. So why are they still banned when other things that are so clearly descended from pagan rituals, like the pinata, are in the clear according to the WTS??

Thanks.

-Becka :)

67

why disfellowshipped?

by knothead34 in

jw
friends

as a new unbaptized publisher, i would really like to know why some of you were disfellowshipped if you don't mind sharing your stories.

thanks.

Super_Becka

Hi knothead,

I'm glad you're not just blowing off everything that's said here. It's good that you're looking at the posts here with an open mind, even if you can't take absolutely everything here at face value. Research is definitely the key to getting to the bottom of things and deciding what you want to believe and what you don't want to believe. You're very smart to do your research before you make any decisions, but more importantly, as a JW, you're very smart to be looking into things, I know that's frowned upon in the WTS and I applaud you for it. Get the facts, listen to the stories of other ex-JWs, do the research and decide for youself what you want in your life. Only you know what's right for you, not some organization or anyone else.

I wish you all the best.

-Becka :)

Super_Becka

Posts by Super_Becka