Posts by Apostate Kate

93

What are you REALLY like?

by jwfacts in

it is strange chatting on the net, not knowing what everyone is really like.

do you pretend to be someone you are not?

i find it hard to know how to take people here sometimes, as words do not convey as much without seeing the facial expressions and hearing the tonal inflections.

I'm sitting here thinking about who i am. I'm sure I'm a freak. I think I'm normal. Depending on what one defines as normal. I am a 45 yr old animal activist organic vegan guitar playing former horse wrangler charity coordinating children's church teacher working with troubled children biker chik with hereditary hemochromatosis lupus thyroid disease fibromyalgia tic doloreux, mother of three grandmother of four with three step children. Since my disability has grounded me physicaly I have learned to knit and do art crafts especially bead work. I'd rather be travelling or riding horses or running or anything but sitting around being sick. Married a year and a half ago to a truly wonderful man that is as quirky as I am. We live on five acres of High Desert with the coyotes and wild critters. My mom recently moved in and we are all a bit eccentric. She is apostate too. Maybe I am not anywhere near normal. At least I'm HAPPY! My life's motto is " To thine own self be true" and " What can I do to be a part of the solution instead of complaining about the problem" I try to live my life that way. I battle with my weight too, the meds are hard on me. I have assisted a friend run a chat room to support d'fd for several years now. If I took a personality quiz it would probably say "error try again" I'm not very bright. I have memory problems which come in handy when watching Sienfeld and Golden Girl reruns. My niece says I am just like Dori from "Finding Nemo". My husband pastors a small Community Church.

This thread is a great idea! I am enjoying getting to know everyone.

34

Even if the bible is not inspired, is Christianity a good thing?

by jwfacts in

i dont want to offend anyone that worships jesus, but am toying with a few ideas at the moment.. i am not sure yet about the inspiration of the bible.

however reading franz' christian freedom gives me a lot more respect for jesus teachings and christianity.

lets say that jesus was just a man.

Apostate Kate

Has anybody ever heard of an athiest homeless shelter or the satanic food bank?

There are thousands of Christian charities world wide feeding, housing, clothing and loving those in need. When I was trying to place a homeless man recently (We already had one homeless young man living with us waiting for his physical to enter a free Christian drug rehab), I called the authorities and found there was nothing available for this homeless young man in that town.

After calling the local churches I ended up with a network of Christian shelters for that area. There was not one satanic shelter, athiest shelter, Buddhist shelter, Hindu Shelter, Muslim or any other religion, just Christian. In my town when I was newly disabled and in need I got free food and money from three sources; Catholic Charities (I'm not Catholic), Calvary Chapel, and the Salvation Army (Christian of course). There are Christian orphanages world wide, charities that do obscure things like travel around Africa drilling wells for tribes where people die slow deaths due to dysentary from bad water. There are Christian medical hospitals and clinics worldwide.

Tomorrow the members of my church will be wrapping presents for children in the Angel Tree program. It is a Christian prison ministry connecting prisoners with their children over the hollidays. We are already starting plans on feeding the entire homeless community Thanksgiving next year. The other church in the area has another weekly food distribution and free hot meals daily.

Is Christianity a good thing? In my humblest of opinions YES

38

Has God Just Set Us Up For Failure?

by confused_101 in

the fact that in the very beginning god created man and then woman and placed them in the garden of eden, then he told them that they could partake of all the fruits from the trees but that they shouldnt touch his tree.

the tree of knowledgethat is like putting cookies in front of a kid and telling them that they cant eat them.

then he allowed satan to speak to eve (through the serpent) and convince her to eat and then she would know all that was good and bad.

Apostate Kate

What exactly is untiled in this "receiving"? What are the conditions? What is it that I, myself, must do to receive? Not the car, but the gift you say Jesus has for me? And, what if I find it impossible to do what is needed? What happens to me then? Is there a price to pay?

I have the feeling you already know all these answers.

15

My mother's meltdown

by sass_my_frass in

jw
friends

okay, another self-indulgent post from sass about my mother.

this one's a keeper, it's today's cellphone text war.

a bit of background; she's had the book study moved from her place as her conscience doesn't permit her to have it there while she's still in contact with me, her disfellowshipped daughter.

Apostate Kate

Sass I'm new around here but not new to this drama having been raised in the troof too from age 9.

Just want you to know I feel for you and don't lose hope that things will get better. I have a d'f friend who's elder dad recently reinitiated a relationship with him after a decade of silence. Really hope your mom sees a good doctor. I remember being a JW mom and being so stressed out and depressed. It was such a dark place I was in and I wasn't even all that involved. I never made all the meetings or went out in service as an adult but the JW darkness was in my blood. I stressed about my kids "making it through Armageddon" etc. My kids went to a private school run by local JWs. I ended up in therapy and out of the org. Thank goodness I have great relationships with my adult children now.

Hang in there Sass. You may be more of the parent for awhile until she gets better. Maybe Barbara's Big News will be a door opener.

157

Where are you on the map? New Maps

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

ok there are so many americans on the map now i had to split you all in half.. valis was kind enough to let me place the maps on his website until i found a new home for them.. photobucket seems to be a good option - at least for now.

so i have uploaded the new maps which have been updated to include everyone who has asked.. so if you were wondering where we are from.

or how close you are to other jwd posters in your area just take a look.

Apostate Kate

Is there any more room for the Californianos?

Please add me to Southern California, Joshua Tree is the city in case you ever do a city map.

Thank you Lady Lee!

42

I'm an atheist, so why does some religious music move me so much?

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

i often find myself playing george harrison's 'my sweet lord' while i'm at my pc and i can't help but resonate with his genuine, heartfelt devotion, his appeal to christ or krishna.

the way he opens and pours out his heart to his 'lord' is inspiring.

a while back, i went to a catholic church to see two friends renew their wedding vows.

Apostate Kate

Darn the song was removed due to a copyright problem. It was "Mary Did You Know" with a beautiful visual art pages. This is what they put in it's place... cute but not the same

The First Christmas Gift

42

I'm an atheist, so why does some religious music move me so much?

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

i often find myself playing george harrison's 'my sweet lord' while i'm at my pc and i can't help but resonate with his genuine, heartfelt devotion, his appeal to christ or krishna.

the way he opens and pours out his heart to his 'lord' is inspiring.

a while back, i went to a catholic church to see two friends renew their wedding vows.

Apostate Kate

This thread brings back the memory of the first time I heard contemporary praise and worship music after leaving the org. I can't tell you how astounded I was to hear the beautiful heart felt praise songs to God. It was nothing like the Kingdom Melodies.I heard it on the radio on K-Wave. (www.calvarychapel.com ) When I heard several thousand people all singing the songs in person it was even more amazing. It was thousands of hearts being lifted up to love their Father in pure sweet genuine adoration. I never knew in all my life that this existed before that day. I have not stopped singing them since! I'm going to look for this beautiful song/visual and post it here. It is one of my favorites.

41

What Religion DOESN'T Use Fear Tactics and Threats?

by Nate Merit in

fear of the unknown (and certainly death is the great unknown) is the primal motivator in religion.

those who clue into this learn to manipulate others through fear of punishment and promise of reward.

yes, it is in fact that childishly simple.

Apostate Kate

When I was a "born-again Christian" as you are, I too was 100% sure of my own salvation, 100% sure that God loved me, and 100% sure that Jesus Christ was the only Way. I was 100% certain that everyone else who did not know Jesus Christ would be thrown into the Lake of Fire.

Our experiences are totally opposite and you know what? That is the beautiful aspect of being human. I could get to know you, you could get to know me, and with love we should be able to have mutual respect and admiration for each other.

After life as a JW I feel very strongly that we must be true to ourselves. Otherwise we are empty just as some of us were as JWs. I was missing a part of myself as a JW.

I feel no need to get out and make people experience what I have, or believe what I do. That is assuming people are too stupid to think and read for themselves. ~Love, Kate "To Thine Own Self Be True"

41

What Religion DOESN'T Use Fear Tactics and Threats?

by Nate Merit in

fear of the unknown (and certainly death is the great unknown) is the primal motivator in religion.

those who clue into this learn to manipulate others through fear of punishment and promise of reward.

yes, it is in fact that childishly simple.

Apostate Kate

I must be doing something wrong cause I am a Christian and I am not afraid. In fact for me it is the complete opposite.

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Matthew 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

Matthew 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Mark 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Mark 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself..

Luke 6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. (no burning hell here)

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

John 14:21 He that hath my commandments (to love), and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

John 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

Well I could go on and on. There are I believe over 300 references to love in the New Testament alone. For me being a JW was fear based because I was lied to. I never read a Watchtower that told me about the kind and gentle love of God. I am not a Christian today because of some promise of tomorrow. I am a Christian today because today I chose to live a life of love. I hate what the Watchtower did to us as kids. So basicaly my answer to this thread is; my religion does not use fear. My religion is; "taking care of widows and orphans" ~James. I can network with Christian charities and do what I can to make a difference in the world. I sure am no scholar like some of you, being simple minded has it's advantages.

Love to all, and utmost respect~Kate

41

What Religion DOESN'T Use Fear Tactics and Threats?

by Nate Merit in

fear of the unknown (and certainly death is the great unknown) is the primal motivator in religion.

those who clue into this learn to manipulate others through fear of punishment and promise of reward.

yes, it is in fact that childishly simple.

Apostate Kate

My fear ended when Armegeddon didn't show up in 1975. Before 75 I really wasn't 100% convinced anyway. I just seemed to believe in a Creator all on my own from as far back as I can remember, and He was not in the business of making babies in 1974, only to plan on killing them in 1975 because thier parents were not JWs. I knew I had been duped and started my spiritual journey. I have never felt that fear again. My journey has included Buddhism, Scientology, (went through the first two classes), I even danced with the Hare Krishnas and ate food offered to idols, all major religions in the world. ~Kate; settled in love and grace