i must admit... to say that i may have found a church, actually .
feels somewhat strange to say.
with all the recent turmoil and pain .
RR,
Sorry if it sounded like I was puttin' the slam on Charlie. The point I was trying to make, is that the the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And if a religion or other group that you're involved with starts to feel uncomfortable, get the hell out of it!
Edited by - dantheman on 29 August 2002 21:47:38
i must admit... to say that i may have found a church, actually .
feels somewhat strange to say.
with all the recent turmoil and pain .
Be careful. Russell, by all accounts, was a meek and intelligent man (at least in the beginning), and an excellent speaker. But he started a movement that became a Frankenstein monster.
many thanks to those who recommended the book "the true believer - thoughts on the nature of mass movements - eric hoffer (1951).
truly an excellent read!
although by the author's admissions he is not an 'expert' he makes some very keen observations on people and their desire for being controlled.
I found "The True Believer" lying around a friend's house a couple of months ago. I borrowed it, because Francois who posts on this board was always making reference to it. I had to put it down about half-way through it. It was too accurate. Looking into the ideas and motives of the fanatical male mind is not pretty. It does help you to understand why so many 20-somethings join fanatical mass movements that promise a glorious future to the faithful. I understand that the fundie Islam schools in the middle east teach the young boys that if they die for Allah while engaged in a righteous Jihad against the infidels, that their heavenly reward will be 72 beautiful virgins for them to do with as they please. It's sad...
i was raised with a bookbag in my hand.
every saturday and sunday our family was out in service.i vacation, temporary and auxillary and regular pioneered.
i never enjoyed it but did it because i was supposed to do it.
Hated it would be putting it mildly. Probably at the top of my list of why I would NEVER go back.
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?
Many black people often call each other the n-word jokingly, it is no big deal for one of their own to use that word. But when a white person uses that term, it is a whole different ball game. That is when it turns into a humiliating label and a blatant insult. When a white person uses that term in a derogatory way, it expresses his/her disdain for the entire negro race.
Same goes for the A-word. For ex-jw's to use the term in reference to each other, it is fun, no harm. But when persons who are still in the cult use the term towards somebody who has left, it has a whole different meaning. It functions as both a stop-thought technique, and, when used directly towards us, it is a hurtful, judgemental insult. That is why I don't bother reading the posts of the defenders that come on this board and use that term in reference to ex's.
Apostates Rock!
.
top ten things you learn your first week at bethel: .
10. the average guy you're taking orders from is 50 yrs old and has never kissed a girl.. 9. all the suggestion boxes have been converted to donation boxes.. 8. after watching 'weekend at bernie's,' it dawns on you that all the gb are actually dead.. 7. the definition of a cult: running through the streets at 6:59am in shirt and tie.. 6. the only graffiti in the bathroom stalls are masturbation tips.. 5. the guys in the writing department sell some kick ass marijuana.. 4. no one thinks your fake malawi party card is funny.. 3. for a good time, call 1-900-ted-jarecz.. 2. the private parking pavilion is for un members only.. ...and the number one thing you (should) learn your first week at bethel.... 1. without two witnesses, jr brown can't prove you sodomized him with a baseball bat.
#4
Sick joke, but I'm ROFLMAO
i found this article to be quite interesting.
i haven't seen this left behind series in canada.
must be just an american phenomenon?
Yup, those books are displayed front and center at every Wal-mart store in America. I hate the sight of them, with their creepy black covers, it's all slick, commercialized fundamentalism. Like the Watchtower, only worse.
typos
Edited by - dantheman on 27 August 2002 23:22:24
just read the posts about dissassociating.
wondering what the advantages/disadvantages are.. i myself had my meeting attendance drop about 1989. during this time, i found the truth about jws through books like those of raymond franz and never went back.
aside from my father trying to coax me back in, no other jw (elder or otherwise) has ever brought up the subject or hunted me down to make a decision.
The shun treatment is even colder towards a DA'd person than DF'd. Especially if they know that you DA'd because of your 'postate views.
.
are westerners the evil of the world?.
western lands have gleefully exploited the worlds resources over the past 200 years.most of us have taken advatage of what our economies have offered to us.but has and does our life style not only ruin the earth but ensures that other countries remain pour.. the goods we demand and are used to having ,have a cost to the environment .we want them cheap , this ensures low wages where big western companies can get cheap labour.the size and power of western business means that pourer countries cant grow economically.the big western business are so powerful that they earn more money than entire countries.. suvival of the fittest has taken its toll on mankind while we live in comfort the majority of earth inhabitants don't.how much is our fault?
I think that the days of the U.S. being leader of the world are numbered.
There will be some major financial catastrophe, then some charismatic fascist hyper-nationalist leader will create a militaristic, totalitarian state. The totalitarian state will experience a brief glory, then it will slowly lose it's momentum, ultimately dying violently or fading away.
It's the perennial pattern.
the wt.
of august 15, 2002 asks:"the violent and deadly gladatorial events of the roman empire have been compared to what modern spectator sports?
a recent exibit in the colosseum in rome, italy, suggested modern parallels by including video clips of bullfighting, professional boxing,auto and motorcycle races, and spectator fights at other modern sports events.early christians took to heart that jehovah does not love violence or violent ones,and neither should christians today.
auto and motorcycle races
Wow, a fair number of my former JW associates were big into NASCAR, and I don't even live in the south U.S. This ain't gonna go over real well in Alabama.
Football (the American version) used to bother my conscience some when I was in. Seems like a pretty brutal, gladiatorial sport, imho. But American Football is a sacred cow that the WT wouldn't even consider condemning. I guess the WT does have its limits on what it can tell the R&F to do.
