onacruse

Joined

• started 319 topics
• posted 6,687 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by onacruse

• 
  54

  MOST PEOPLE NEVER REALLY CHANGE

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  most people never really change!

  our personalities, whether we are active witnesses or are inactive ones, apostates or almost apostates, are the same.

  if we tend to rant here on this board, the probability is we were ranters elsewhere.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  onacruse

  Minimus, larc : What is your point?

  If what you suggest is true, then that self-absorbed, sociopathic, judgemental career JW that I have been for 40 years is my inevitable behavior pattern?? What "basic measurements of personality" are you using? How valid are the so-called "statistical studies"? Who validates them? What are their credentials? How many dissenters are there? Good Lord, even Einstein's Theory of Relativity, supposedly so solidly ratified by physical experiment, has several non-commensurate theoretical alternatives.

  I agree with the basic tenet of Carmel's post...nobody, repeat NOBODY, not even an Assembly Hall full of psychologists, psychiatrists, sociologists and apologists will EVER convince me that I have not fundamentally changed in the last 2 months. Everyone (esp the "ordinary" people) around me has said that.

  Scientific theories and statistical studies are usually good for one thing....to be debunked!!!

  Respectfully, Craig
• 
  22

  Is this therapy?

  by larc in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i this place a form of therapy for you?

  is it a place you have come to and found it a source of healing?

  i know this is not therapy in the professional sense.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  onacruse

  larc: Please excuse this little diversion, but your question gave me pause to think about the meaning of the word "therapy."

  Therapy is not in and of itself a cure, treatment, remedy, or psychiatry. Rather, it is that which enables the cure, etc to happen!

  Rather like what Hayakawa says: "Healing, on the other hand, is usually a slow process, sometimes of very long duration. It is never quick or dramatic...In this sense mend is a close synonym, but suggests...a drawing together of parts, whereas heal implies simply a return to a healthy condition..."

  This forum provide me/us the opportunity to reach out and grasp those tools that enable us to heal, not like some medication or treatment applied from without, but rather by the discovery and resolution that come from within.

  Craig

  <<putting dictionary away now>>
• 
  15

  cicadas

  by teejay in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  years ago a young brother barely in his teens... lamar is his name... introduced me to the word, but not the sound.. the sound does nothing but remind me of my grandmother--momo--who died almost twenty years ago.

  we... that is, my sisters and brothers and i, spent a lot of time at momo's house.

  during the summer, we even spent nights there.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  onacruse

  Well said, teejay, well said! I share your fond memories and hopes.

  Craig
• 
  14

  A dumb question?

  by link in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  its quite possible that i am the only one on this board who does not know the answer to this question so can someone please enlighten me.. at jeremiah 25:12 it says that when 70 years have been fulfilled, babylon and its king will be destroyed.

  when does this 70 years start from?

  all wts literature says that babylon was destroyed in 539 bce, two years before the end of the 70 years of judahs desolation in 537, which started in 607 bce.. are these two different lots of 70 years?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  onacruse

  Hi, link! Welcome to the board.

  As I recall (waiting for my replacement WTS CD) the explanation of this verse is: though Babylon was initally "destroyed" in 539 BCE, the real proof of it's demise was the triumphant return of Israel to it's homeland in 537 BCE. It was only then demonstrated that Babylon had indeed completely lost it's influence over God's people. Similar to the supposed fall of Babylon the Great...WTS asserts that the renewal of the "work" in 1919 CE proves that BtG had then lost it's control over God's people, and essentially, though not literally or completely, fallen.

  Craig
• 
  28

  The term 'apostate' - how do you feel about it?

  by ballistic in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know the answer may depend on your religious views now, but how do you feel about the term "apostate".

  if you are of an atheist / agnostic view since leaving the org, do you still feel a stigma attached to the word apostate or has the word completely lost it's significance.

  if you have moved on to another religion, do you still believe in the concept of a 'true apostate' and would you therefore find the term offensive?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  onacruse

  I am what I am, whatever terms others may apply to me. Apostate, heretic, defector...I am all of these, and yet none of these. They all can be taken in a bad sense, or a good one. I choose the good sense.

  Craig
• 
  2

  Back to School

  by La Capra in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  tomorrow all the kids come back to school.

  the first day of school is something i always enjoy to its fullest, meeting all my new charges, wondering about all the things they will accomplish this coming year.

  a few days ago i received what is called a "student snapshot" about one of my new students, an incoming freshman.

  1. 
  2. 
• 

  onacruse

  Interesting challenge for you, but perhaps an even more challenging decision for those JW parents....will they put the educational welfare of their children ahead of their narrow-minded religious perspectives? My son had ADHD, and it was a real challenge for his teachers. They all cared about him very much, and we were glad to have their help. Considering that your professional standards constrain you from insinuating religious ideology into the cirriculum, I find it hard to imagine how any concerned and loving parent would jeapordize their child's development by trying to exclude your help.

  otoh, we're talking about JWs...what makes no sense to us can, and often does, make perfect sense to them!

  Happy teaching!!!

  Craig
• 
  9

  cry cry

  by jwbot in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  sometimes i really get sad over my situation.. even though i have never really been active in the cong.

  i still grew up in a "spirituall strong" family, my sisters all pioneering, my dad is also an elder-still.

  i miss my parents, they way they were.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  onacruse

  jwbot: I feel your pain, dear lady. Our lives have been ripped apart, in so many big ways, but also in so many more small ways. I have tried for years to insulate myself from those pains, but am very fortunate to have a cathartic release in sharing with friends like you. Like cruzan said: "And it's healthy to cry and feel bad about what you've lost as long as you don't minimize what you have." I cried almost every day for the first month here, lot's of times just because of reading what so many others have gone through, like you. But....I am healing, and those around me can already see that.

  And you are healing too; More power to ya!

  Craig
• 
  39

  What's your dirtiest habit??

  by Beck_Melbourne in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't have any but i am going to tell on my lady boss, who is a 26 yr old lawyer of the hoity toity breed who was incidently born with golden slippers.

  this morning as i walked into the ladies room we passed each other as she was on her way out.

  we smiled and said hi, then next thing i see her pass her hand under a drip from the tap...and then hastily wipe her hand on the towel before rushing out.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  onacruse

  Pris: Not even if I clean up my car?????? lol
• 
  39

  What's your dirtiest habit??

  by Beck_Melbourne in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't have any but i am going to tell on my lady boss, who is a 26 yr old lawyer of the hoity toity breed who was incidently born with golden slippers.

  this morning as i walked into the ladies room we passed each other as she was on her way out.

  we smiled and said hi, then next thing i see her pass her hand under a drip from the tap...and then hastily wipe her hand on the towel before rushing out.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  onacruse

  My dirtiest habit is, without a doubt, the passenger seat of my car. I have so much garbage piled up there the cops pull me over to check and see if I'm a transient!

  btw, did I mention I'm in construction? So, naturally, every Saturday I take a shower, brush my teeth, and change my underwear.

  ps, I'm single and looking....U interested?

  hehe
• 
  26

  Just to say thank you...

  by butalbee in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on august 29, 2001, i stumbled upon a web site like no other i have ever found in cyberspace, and i have been hooked ever since.

  the purpose of this thread is to say thank you to everybody for your help, advice, and support, for putting up w/ my craziness, and entertaining my fluff w/ your replies.

  when i first posted here, with that 'relatives and relationships' thread, i was overwhelmed by the responses i got from people who really cared and wanted to help me.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  onacruse

  Well said, butal, and ditto.

  May you have a happy b-day! Or, is it, anniverary? Perhaps...commemoration? How about Memorial?!?! hehe

  Craig