just curious, how many of you have to hide the fact that you post here from family?
i'm especially thinking of those with spouses who are in, while they themselves either never were, faded, dfed/daed, etc but if you are a child hiding it from parents, that applies too.
if you are posting secretly, how secretive do you have to be?
Good to see you Mariusuk !
I used to see you when I lurked on some of the other ex-JW sites, before finding JWD.
I always enjoyed your sense of humor.
Glad you're here.
Cheers Have got a tad bored with some of the other sites so trying to give this one a go, the layout is kinda confusing but i just hit active topics and that keeps me sane
what purpose does it serve?
it just seems to polarize people and ostracize those who aren't ready or willing to label it a cult.
anyone can look up the dictionary definition of a cult (or experts' definitions).
I see your point, however........
It is clearly a cult, it displays ALL of the characteristics of a cult
just curious, how many of you have to hide the fact that you post here from family?
i'm especially thinking of those with spouses who are in, while they themselves either never were, faded, dfed/daed, etc but if you are a child hiding it from parents, that applies too.
if you are posting secretly, how secretive do you have to be?
ssshhhhhhhh
Posting here in secret, I have a jwo fluffy, shallow reputation to protect..............
If it ever got out that I can occasionally make a serious post my life would not be worth living
my take on religions in general is that they all either give hope or some type of contentment for the person who takes their religion seriously.
if they're good, they go to heaven or to some better condition.
some religions are more radical than others and these types, i stay away from.. regarding those that are very religious, i'm generalizing here, but i think most of them are extremists in one way or another.
Religion?
Urg!
A crutch for people who have a fear of the unknown and death
i was watching this documentary on the various galaxies and it stated that the universe is still expanding, planets are being created as we speak.
it also detailed some of the planets within our solar system and some beyond it and speculated how some were favorable for habitation and that some show evidence of having a water supply.
what do you believe about the universe?
It's expanding because it is an energy form that has nothing but void before it. Higher energy expands into lower energy (no energy) in order to balance the energy level.
The universe is growing, like a plant. It's becoming more complex and developed. Evolution, you might say. There may be a low level of intelligence in it.
The universe does not "expand" into anything, that would imply there was something for it to expand into. This is a common misconception, the universe is literally everything. It is expanding in the sense that the space between the galaxies is expanding.
Personally I think there are limits to what we could ever hope to understand about the universe such as what caused it to appear, I have similar issues with the origin of the universe as I did with the origins of god. I could never fathom why a deity which had been in existance for all eternity would suddenly decide on a whim to make a universe and similarly I cannot see why a universe would just pop into existance
i just learned that one of my grandsons (whom i've never met) will be baptized on saturday.
he will be twelve in november.
what's happening within the publishing company to inspire this sort of thing?
Bearing in mind that in this country you cannot enter into a legal contract until you are 18 I find it rather sickening that kids are allowed to effectively enter into a contract with the WTBTS for something far more important than money, their actual life. The kids while proclaiming that they are ready and committed to Jehovah are in fact either just trying to show off or please their parents who just love to have jnr in his little suit as a mic holder as soon as possible
it seems to me there may be some of you out there who have not had kids due to the situation where you are not of the same mind as your partner in wanting to bring them up as witnesses.
thinking back to besty and i before we had the two boys, i remember being of two minds - do i?
i was concerned that besty wasn't a spiritual head and he had even categorically stated that if we did have kids they wouldn't end up being witnesses.
At the DC last year there was some poor young woman, pioneer example they pulled up on stage. To the applause of the audience she proceeded to explain how she was putting off looking for a husband and having children to concentrate on pioneering because the "new system" was sooooooo close. This is in 2006!!! I had flashbacks to exactly the same "interview" in 1988, her children would now be 18!!!!
i was never a witness, i joined this site after my wife started studying with them, and i got upset over some of the things that resulted from that.
however, i grew up in a similar high-control group called the worldwide church of god.
much like the witnesses, in the mid 70s ( i forget the exact year, i was only in elementary school in those days, but it may have been 75, just like jws), there was a big push toward the end being at hand, the great tribulation is coming, etc etc.
2012 would be a good one, also ties in the mayan prophecies...... however that is a little too close for comfort
Strangely enough I was born in Oct 1975 ...spot on for a lot of JW Armaggeddon timeframes, maybe God saw me and had a rethink
for me it's the friendships i have made with people that would have been considered too wordly to be friends with while i was still a jw.
leaving behind the guilt of never been good enough or doing enough.
celebrating the birthday of my precious children making them feel like king and queen for the day.
Lack of guilt for normal human actions
Education
Developing an emotional side to my personality lol
The knowledge that I made the correct decision
....................................................................
Things I miss
Naivety - seriously sometimes being in the dark can be good
Innocence - especially sexual innocence
Belief - I actually miss having a belief structure but I simply cannot reconcile my education with deities, angels and demons
i've read on and off here of various things that told people that god's spirit was not directing the organisation.. personally for me on the last time i got dfed it was the fact that i got reinstated by a meeting of the boe at the exact same moment i was smoking my first cigarettes in 7 months.
i didnt question it exactly but it did seem odd.
i mean i had no idea that they were discussing my reinstatement at that moment that i succumbed and had decided in my favour.
A whole host of things
I always had an issue with the 1914 doctrine, as the early 90's approached to me personally it became clear the doctrine was incorrect, when I voiced this opinion to an elder I was told in no uncertain terms that this was potential apostate speech. Over the course of a year little things started to stand out more and more....the gradual shift on the blood policy, the double standards in elders, the absolute ridiculous nitpicking over the every aspect of your life............
