do you find that years after leaving the jws birthdays just don't matter?.
i just can't get into it.
in years past the inlaws have made an effort and given a little party but now we are out country its just not a big enough deal to be bothered with.. no presents, no cake.
Hi Oz, yes I feel exactly the same way. I have now retired, so you can imagine I would rather forget I am another year older.
However I do feel some birthdays are worth celebrating. My mother was 90 last birthday. I felt that was definately worth celebrating.
Children too. It is a big thing for them to reach their next birthday.
And certainly if someone is very ill and they make it to their birthday, I think that is worth celebrating.
we've all seen the line-by-line comparison of john 1:1 with the addition of "a god" when "was god" is visible in the left margin under "theos" in the infamous grimace/barney/grape crush purple bible book.
i'd check for myself, but unfortunately, i hastily rid my house of all things wt in a purging fit while beginning my fade.
and let me tell you, the fire was spectacular!
The expression 'mentally diseased is not taken from the bible (any bible). It is from the July 15th 2011 Watchtower.
There it is being applied to people (they call apostates) who leave the organisation and actively speak against the governing body, to the extent of gaining followers for themselves.
However in the past the society view as apostates, anyone who just speaks out against the org. It has not mattered if they had followers or not. In fact in 1980 they said in an elders letter that just believing something different doctrinally could make someone an apostate. See below
September 1, 1980
TO ALL CIRCUIT AND DISTRICT OVERSEERS
Dear Brothers:
Keep in mind that to be disfellowshiped, an apostate does not have to be a promoter of apostate views. As mentioned in paragraph two, page 17 of the August 1, 1980, Watchtower, "The word 'apostasy' comes from a Greek term that means 'a standing away from,' 'a falling away, defection,' 'rebellion, abandonment. Therefore, if a baptized Christian abandons the teachings of Jehovah, as presented by the faithful and discreet slave, and persists in believing other doctrine despite Scriptural reproof, then he is apostatizing. Extended, kindly efforts should be put forth to readjust his thinking. However, if, after such extended efforts have been put forth to readjust his thinking, he continues to believe the apostate ideas and rejects what he has been provided through the 'slave class, then appropriate judicial action should be taken.
I too got rid of most of my books when I left. However most are available on line now. Just google the one you want.
i live in qatar, which is about 150 miles from iran.
iran is up to some things which the west is largely poo-poo-ing.
people here are not-and i'm not talking al-jazeera only, but a lot of the local arabic stations are really paying attention.
Most years in different places on earth there are some sort of major changes happening. We have seen that in the North African countries in the last year. Many times things change for the better, other times they change for the worst. Either way we have to deal with it. Iran is a big worry to many people, but again we have to deal with it in the most appropriate way. Some times a situation can be sorted before it is a problem, and other times we have to deal with the consequencies.
he says his strength comes from god.
he believes!.
but has he really succeeded in his life because god has helped him.. .
IF there is a creator, then he certainly is not helping individuals, which is why this guy ended up as he has. Many have amazing faith that they are helped by their own god. JWs are no different. They have trials and tribulations like everybody else. All religions can relate expeirences where they feel that God has helped them.And all religions have stories about their god not helping them.
JWs live in their own bubble and so do many others who have a strong faith. Providing it does not have any bad effect on others then it can be a good thing for an individual. Some need something to hang on to, to get them through their life. Others do not.
in 1889 the wbt$ predicts in detail the spiritistic scheming priestcraft it would come to embrace (due to the harlotrous gb's insatiable lust for graven unnatural spiritual intercourse or prostitution with demons):.
"the underlying principle of the great reformation, to which all protestants look back with pride, was the right of individual judgment in the interpretation of the scriptures, in opposition to the papal dogma of submission to clerical authority and interpretation.
on this very point was the whole issue of the great movement.
I used to think that their explanation of the image of the wild beast in Revelation going into the abyss and then coming out again was real proof that they had the truth.
That is until I realized that the UN (the image of the beast) was already spoken about by world leaders, before the society said that the league of nations would come back in a different form.
this morning i took my dog who is a therapy dog over to the hospital and visited with several patients.
it is quite an experience, and it really helps people undergoing medical treatment to calm down and relax.. my wife was one of those patients, she is undergoing some tests before getting her gall bladder removed which will probably be sometime tomorrow.. afterwards i took the dog home, cleaned her up, and changed my clothes.
since i was alone i drove over to panara to try one of their breakfast sandwiches, several of the nurses told me that they are pretty good.
Having a gall bladder removed is no big deal these days. It is done using key hole surgery, and afterwards there is normally nothing stopping you having a normal life. I had mine removed 2 years ago and it made no difference at all to my eating habits. Just try to avoid to much fatty food.
a few years ago i attended the bar in a lodge.
a private establishment, but groups could rent it out.
for private parties.
I recently arranged for my plumber to service my JW son's boiler. I pay him cash as that obviously keeps the bill down. I told my son that and he was quite happy not to have to any taxes on the bill
i ransacked entire dusty volumes of watchtowers in search of an answer to this vexing question.
imagine that a jw has been disfellowshipped for apostasy .
would the watchtower accept such bequests?.
In the UK I know there is something called a discretionary trust. If something is left to you in a will, providing you do it within two years you can change the will so that the money goes to someone else, even an organisation.
there are times when i hate the borg.
when i think about my lost childhood in it, the draconian level of authority and all the idiots i had to put up with over the years, i get very bitter, angry and resentful.. i went through a stage of turning the other cheek and praying for thine enemies but that didn't really work for me.
i remained on boiling point, simmering under the surface.. i now have reached a more pragmatic viewpoint.
I think it is really good how you have moved on and can laugh about it. I had the same experience with a JW who was a close family friend and neighbour. As soon as she heard me telling my JW son that birthdays were not unchristian she makes a point of completely shunning me whenever we saw each other It was hilarius. You could see her physically putting her nose in the air and looking away.
london riots: more than 1,000 people charged.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14558465.
bangalore.
.
I think the police will be on top of it if it were to happen again. I wander what the JWs make of it?
The really good thing to come out of it was the large clean up operation afterwards. It must have been like that on a larger scale during world war 2. It really seemed to get people together to go forward again. The punishments handed out are indeed severe but they need to be. This must not happen again.
