You are expected to believe that fire and sulfur is going to rain down on your non-JW family (and 6 billion other people) at any time. And be "the happiest person in the world" in spite of this fact!
DanTheMan
JoinedPosts by DanTheMan
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37
Name Something NEGATIVE About Being A Witness
by minimus infolks.
we did the positive spin about being a witness.
now let's see if we can come up with anything negative about being a jehovah's witness....now, put your thinking caps on!
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ONE year ago!
by Vivamus inwow, today i suddenly realized just what day it was.
exactly one year ago, i decided i was no longer willing to be a witness.
january 17, 2002 was the first day i stopped praying to a god i no longer had any faith in.
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DanTheMan
I'm right at about a year too. I stopped attending regularly around September of 2001, January '02 was the last time I ever set foot in a kingdom hall (wish I would've wrote the date down but at the time I wasn't completely sure whether or not it was my last meeting. But I had a feeling it was on the drive home).
Congratulations on freeing yourself from the WT bondage, so many see what a pile of crap it is but never have the courage to leave.
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When Did Cultism Start in Christianity?
by onacruse inas i salvage and reformulate my beliefs, i'm exploring all possibilities.
one that i've pondered lately: could it be that cultism actually started within a mere 20 years after jesus?.
consider the first 20 years: jesus's message was very very simple (2 "laws" and a handful of "directives").
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DanTheMan
There are so many passages in the Bible that feed the grandiose egotistical mind of a fundamentalist/cultist:
- A feeling of being chosen and therefore special
Matthew 7.6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. (non cultist reads this and sees it as an admonishment not to become overly concerned with persons who seem animalistic like dogs or swine. Cultist/fundie reads this and the "dogs" and "swine" become all the poor and unknowing unsaved souls who are headed for destruction or eternal torment). Matthew 13.10-11 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (If Jesus really said this and was the perfect Son who loved mankind so much, I don't understand why he would have said things to his disciples to instill an exclusive mindset in them.) Matthew 13.16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.
Matthew 22.14 For many are called, but few are chosen.- Being ready to give up everything for spiritual development Matthew 4.18-20 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
Matthew 6.31-33 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek;) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (What did Jesus mean by this? Is a Christian immune to starvation? If a Christian starves to death, is this evidence of lack of faith?)- Ignoring warnings that you may be making a mistake
Matthew 5.11-12 Blessed are ye, when men revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so men persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Once again a tailor-made scripture for a fundie/cultist looking for a reason to feel superior)- Embracing the need to endure suffering and humiliation Matthew 7.14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (What is the meaning? Is Jesus speaking of eternal life in heaven, or an enhanced and more fulfilling life on earth, or a future prospect of life in an earthly paradise, or what?)
Matthew 10. And he that taketh not this cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. (Perfect scripture for the fundie/cultist to measure their Christianity against other "so-called" Christians and others)- Being prepared to make sacrifices
Matthew 16.24-26 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?- Relinquishing attachments to family and friends Matthew 4.18-20 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
Matthew 8.21-22 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. (Wha? Once again a contradiction - Jesus speaks of the people as being sheep without a shepherd, but at another time he contemptuously refers to them as being 'dead' - I don't get it) Matthew 10.34-37 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. for I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in low against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (This one speaks for itself, no commentary needed)- Becoming a more powerful person
Matthew 17.20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.- Accepting fear as a method of reinforcing teaching Matthew 22.12-14 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.
Matthew 18.34-35 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.- Giving to the group and accepting a life with few possessions Matthew 20.21-24 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (So rich people are all headed for hell? Or eternal destruction? At what income level do people cross the line that puts them in the "rich" category?)
- Being drawn to the inner circle of a group by the possibility of miracles Mark 16.15-18 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that berecover. (the saved and the damned)
Matthew 13.10-11 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. lieve; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall (You've got these people in West Virginia and other places that 'take up snakes' as part of their worship, they get bit, go to the hospital, just about die, but they pull through and think that God's power is at work through it all. Nice.)- Not requiring proof of the leader's validity Matthew 16.1-4 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
- Adopting a childlike dependency on the leader
Matthew 18.2-4 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them. And said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Nothing wrong with humility, but too often the cult/fundie leaders use this to keep the flock from questioning what they're being told)I really have lost my appetite for the Bible since leaving the JWs. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all seem to have this "saved vs. unsaved" blood lust to them. It is present in greater and lesser degrees in all but the most liberal churches. It is all cultish.
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How do you view the UN?
by DanTheMan insunday morning i flipped on the tv and one of those round table news discussion shows was on.
a casual comment was made that circumstances may force george w. to be the first u.s. prez to give real power to the un.
somehow, i don't see that happening, with him being a conservative and all and having a un-hating religious wing of his party to please.
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DanTheMan
preacher called Leroy
Was it Leroy Jenkins by any chance? If so, he is from central Ohio where I live, he is well-known and very wealthy. Thanks for responding, yes evangelicals, even JW's, are very Amero-Anglocentric in their world view, but being American I guess it plays into my cultural upbringing.
anybody else have any comments about this?
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DanTheMan
The only thing I was asking you to see is that generalizations are dangerous.
ARRGHH!!! Are you all paying ANY attention to what I'm saying? I said SOMETIMES, and IN SOME CASES. I'm just being honest! I mean, is it such a wildly insane thing for me to say that my observations have led me to believe that a fair number of black men look at white women as being more desirable than women of their own race? And that this might leave them open to being taken advantage of?
I have nothing more to say about this topic, since people only seem to want to hear political correctness on this subject.
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DanTheMan
I noticed you were humiliating yourself more than I ever could, so I chose not to comment.
How so?
I understand that you have been hurt, but you probably shouldnt blame an entire race or make such huge generalizations based on something that happend with one person
How did I blame an entire race, or make huge generalizations? I said SOMETIMES. I never made a blanket condemnation. I base my opinions on what I have observed. And I am sticking to my guns in my initial statement that sometimes immature white women take advantage of fawning black men. Come on now, am I really being that unrealistic in saying that?Edited by - dantheman on 17 January 2003 23:5:45
Edited by - dantheman on 17 January 2003 23:6:18
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DanTheMan
Looks like my posts have hit a couple of nerves.
Maybe it is a bit of a case of sour grapes on my part, as I haven't been too successful with women in my life. AND I had a woman who I was crazy about dump me HARD for a black guy, it hurt a lot. She totally came on to him right in front of me, as if I wasn't even there. It was the worst night of my life. She even told me later that she was more attracted to me than she was to him, but he was the total unquestioning JW drone like she was, whereas I was becoming more and more disillusioned with the org. Painful memories...
She eventually married him, I was told. But only after she lost her job and was umteen thousand dollars in debt. He was a fool. So was I, but she was one hell of an attractive lady, the kind that makes men lose their head in a minute.
Edited by - dantheman on 17 January 2003 20:33:22
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DanTheMan
The other thing is so what if they treat her well, isn't that the point? If your'e observation is that she is treated like a pampered queen by these men, than whatever their color, no wonder she prefers them, and I say YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!
What I am saying is that these guys seem all too willing to overlook her flaws. She goes through black men like a baby goes through diapers, and I think that a lot of them get hurt in the process (yes men have feelings). I hope it is a learning experience for them, so that maybe they can get over the attitude that having a white woman is the ultimate (which in my observation seems to be the mentality of a lot of black men. The Wayans Bros even did a skit on one of their shows once poking fun at their own for this very thing!)
And this isn't the only time that I've observed this phenomenon of white women going "exclusively black". I mean, if two people meet and fall in love, then that is great, I have no problem with that. But a sometimes it seems like something else a little less noble is going on.
Edited by - dantheman on 17 January 2003 9:44:27
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How do you view the UN?
by DanTheMan insunday morning i flipped on the tv and one of those round table news discussion shows was on.
a casual comment was made that circumstances may force george w. to be the first u.s. prez to give real power to the un.
somehow, i don't see that happening, with him being a conservative and all and having a un-hating religious wing of his party to please.
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DanTheMan
Sunday morning I flipped on the TV and one of those round table news discussion shows was on. A casual comment was made that circumstances may force George W. to be the first U.S. Prez to give real power to the UN. Somehow, I don't see that happening, with him being a conservative and all and having a UN-hating religious wing of his party to please.
But I did momentarily panic at the comment, because it reminded me of a discussion I once had with a JW elder. His comments were to the effect that the UN has no real power, and that someday it is going to get some "teeth", then things will get interesting.
So, do you fear the UN? Do you feel that current events are fulfilling prophecy, or do you think that they have nothing to do with each other?
In spite of all that I've learned, the "March of World Powers" business is an issue that still works on me, you know, the whole oh-crap-they're-right bit.
Edited by - dantheman on 17 January 2003 0:48:32
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DanTheMan
Why would a black man put up with a white woman who's a head case?
I don't know why, but they do. There used to be a pretty white girl at my workplace who was exclusive to black men (a fact that she advertised at every opportunity). Her looks were about all she had going for her, she was really very immature, a head case you might say. Well, the fact that she was exclusively black in her tastes in men virtually guaranteed an endless supply of would-be suitors. They were just about lined up to take a crack at her, no joke. I was embarrassed for them.
Just calling it like I see it.