Posts by reneeisorym

6

Ex has gone to Convention with my kids

by cyberdyne systems 101 in

jw
friends

i dont know why, but this has left me feeling angry.. it could be that normally i go and pick them up to take them to school on this morning.

i think its more than likely that i know they are staying there in a hotel and that part of things will be made fun for my children - not that i have a problem with that, its because its coupled with the knowledge that they will be associating it with going to a jw convention, and all that will be is an indoctrination session and self praise for the society.. whilst i think the children will see things from both sides, from me no longer being a jw and living a typical non jw life, and then with their mother (who is a good woman) who is a devoted dub, i think the control techniques and cult thinking and propagander are designed to place mental barriers to which someone like me should be unable to penetrate.

whether in practice that turns out to be so, we'll have to let to time show.. its just so frustrating to think someone can be so blinded, and suck up everything thats spouted out from the leaders, and try their very best to bring their children up with that too.

reneeisorym

I just wanted to say that I don't know how you do it. I know you just have to do it ... But I think I would be ready to pull my hair out if I were in your situation. You are very strong to be holding it together.

35

What do you want out of your relationship?

by Bumble Bee in

i know there have been alot of threads lately about what men want, what women want etc, but i'd like to hear what you want out of your relationship, be it marriage, living together, or whatever.

what is it you are looking for in a relationship?

what do you want the relationship to fulfill for you individually and as a couple?.

reneeisorym

What is it you are looking for in a relationship?
A man who can let me be ME and not just us.
A man who can give me the attention I need (I require an hour a day of conversation!)
Able to communicate and not argue.
A man who cleaned up after himself.
Financial stability (I don't want to be a mom but a partner to someone so he must carry his own weight)
A man to touch me all over. (Some men see no need in rubbing hands all over but I need that!)
The _____ must be longer than 2 1/2" and be interested in making me "happy".

What do you want the relationship to fulfill for you individually and as a couple?
family, a shoulder to lean on, someone that will always be there, intimacy

For those that are in long term relationships, how have you accomplished this?
First was 7 years and I can tell you all that was wrong:
He was a pig, lazy, was controlling, held secrets, couldn't communicate (so it led to arguments)

2 1/2 years ....
PERFECT! .. He gives so much but he lets me be me. That makes me want to give a lot and let him be him. All is good!
I'm just amazed at how much I'm willing to give since he's so giving. It makes a huge difference.

13

Should I mention the pedophiles?

by reneeisorym in

jw
friends

i have been asked to speak about my experiences at my church sunday to a group of 20-40 year olds.

any suggestions on what to say?

i'm especially considering if i should talk about the pedophiles .... .

reneeisorym

>>> Trying not to sound like a disgruntled fanatic and getting that point across would be difficult to do, IMO. I would imagine it would be possible.

That's an excellent point well taken.

In fact, I think that might be enough of a point to consider leaving out the pedophiles.

13

Should I mention the pedophiles?

by reneeisorym in

jw
friends

i have been asked to speak about my experiences at my church sunday to a group of 20-40 year olds.

any suggestions on what to say?

i'm especially considering if i should talk about the pedophiles .... .

reneeisorym

The victim was someone in my immediate family ... And this all came about because they were going to give two weeks to each religion around our area and I mentioned that I used to be a jw so all of them started asking me a million questions about doctrine and what life was about and their history.

61

Does Someone Have to be Religious to Be a Good Person?

by flipper in

jw
friends

this is something my wife and i were discussing the other day .

in a general view of religious people - most religious people feel it makes them holier, better, or on a higher moral plane claiming to worship god in an organized religion.

in the jehovah's witnesses view - the outside world is evil, and they claim that if you get away from their religion , and " fall away" a person is doomed to go astray, doing various sundry things like murder, adultery, stealing, orgies, because " they claim " that they have fallen " out of " god's favor.

reneeisorym

Rom 3:10 "as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one;"

Where the athiest will claim to be "good", the Christian should claim to be wretched.

I claim to be more and more like Christ daily but I will never be anything but wretched and imperfect and an impossible failure until the resurrection. That doesn't make me depressed and gloomy about my state but instead thankful for the grace of God.

So about your question:
I can't speak for anyone but myself. As long as I was a JW and trying so hard to be perfect, I failed miserably. I am personally astounded at how much easier it is to live by Christian morals. I now have a "Helper" and Christ to help me along.

(Note: None of these changes happened overnight!)

I always had a serious problem with greed as a JW. Now I have to try hard to not offend people by giving them things when they are needy.

I always wanted to smoke and would sneak around. After I became a Christian, I never even tried to quit smoking - I just gradually lost the desire. (I did pray to stop smoking because I felt like I was depending on cigarettes rather than prayer. It wasn't the actual act of smoking that I felt wrong about.)

I was a drunk. (drank until drunk twice a week) I gradually lost the desire and now just one is all I ever want. I just quit drinking cold turkey. (I was by no means an alcoholic though!)

I was quite the fornicator. Overtime, that desire went away as well.

I lost my temper. I began to think about what Jesus would do and pray and I haven't lost my temper in a couple of years now. (I would cry, scream, throw fits, hide in closets, pull out wads of my own hair, throw things, break things)

So there -- I don't know about anyone else but it changed my life dramatically. And it had nothing to do with fear. I was MUCH more fearful as a JW. Now the only fear I have is displeasing the Father that I love so much.

13

Should I mention the pedophiles?

by reneeisorym in

jw
friends

i have been asked to speak about my experiences at my church sunday to a group of 20-40 year olds.

any suggestions on what to say?

i'm especially considering if i should talk about the pedophiles .... .

reneeisorym

I have been asked to speak about my experiences at my church Sunday to a group of 20-40 year olds.
Any suggestions on what to say?

I'm especially considering if I should talk about the pedophiles ....

Here's what I have so far:

Tell them what they can’t read about in a book -- What life was like

What Life was Like then:
Expected end of the world at any moment - didn't expect death or retirement …
(Should I mention pedophiles? Someone very close to me was a victim so it cuts close to my heart)
What I did have : Hope in a paradise earth to pet lions, tigers, and bears; Family

What caused me to leave and accept Christ
Parents would not pay for college but wanted me to be a pioneer so I ran away from home.
Knocked on door of a Christian who challenged me.
Divorce from abusive husband and they would not allow me to ever remarry.
Talk to Apostates out of rebellion
Cousin who was a Christian and gave me lots to think about
Final drama with the elders and my decision to DA

Experience talking with a JW lady I met in a hospital (She ended up hugging my neck and thanking me after I gave her a run for her money while preaching to me!)

How Life Has Life Changed:
Had to accept the reality of death
Wouldn’t have forever to have children
Had to save for retirement
I’m a Holiday nut – Decorate for everything.
Morning for loss of family

28

Can the holy spirit be a person???

by leaving-jws in

my mom and i got into a debate about the trinity doctrine.

she claims that the holy spirit cannot be a person which invalidates the trinity doctrine.

she says in genesis that the holy spirit was depicted as "roving about the earth" as an "active force".

reneeisorym

>>>She also quoted some scriptures that support that Jesus is lesser than Jehovah

The Watchtower would have you believe that the trinity means that there is one person in the Godhead who has manifested himself in three different forms. That is not true. That doctrine is called "oneness" and is held by the Pentecostals.

According to the trinity doctrine, God exists as a unity of three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each of the persons is distinct from the other, yet identical in essence. In other words, each is fully divine in nature, but each is not the totality of the other persons of the Trinity. Each has a will, loves, and says "I", and "You" when speaking. The Father is not the same person as the Son who is not the same person as the Holy Spirit who is not the same person as the Father. Each is divine, yet there are not three gods, but one God. There are three individual subsistences, or persons. The word "subsistence" means something that has a real existence. The word "person" denotes individuality and self awareness.

when Jesus said "the Father is Greater than I" (John 14:28), he was referring to his current earthly position in relation to the first person of the Trinity. This also counts against Oneness, because to say that the "Father" is greater than "I" is to imply two different persons. If they were the same person, one could not be greater than the other; they would be equal. The incarnation, since it involves the Son taking on human nature and thus becoming positionally inferior to the Father, explains how the Father can be greater than the Son and yet the Father and Son share the same nature of deity. The Oneness view can't do that, and the JW view cannot explain the deity-affirming passages. It seems that the traditional view does the trick rather nicely. That is why the church fathers, the church councils, and the three major branches of Christendom have seen the doctrine of the Trinity and the Son's Deity as a natural result of a plain reading of the Biblical text.

29

She is trying me to the extreme and to the limit!

by Gill in

jw
friends

my youngest child has always been a very good girl at school.

she has never been any trouble to any one caused any disruption etc.....just a good girl and she is progressing well.

recently her form tutor retired and a new teacher arrived.

reneeisorym

If kids misbehave, shouldn't the teachers ask themselves, "What am I doing wrong?" instead of "What's wrong with the kid?" first? I see a problem with a teacher blaming the child. Especially if the kid behaves with other teachers. I would think the teacher could have asked you something like, "Mrs. X, I notice that little x is having a hard time following instruction. Could you maybe have some insight on why that is so I could work with her better? Have you had any problems like this in the past?" Even if the teacher was doing her job well and it was the kids or parents fault, showing a polite and willing spirit to help would help her to work WITH the parents instead of turning it into a struggle between the two of you.

15