Just as arranged marriages can work out, so too can young marriages. But it takes hard work, persistence, and above all pure dumb luck.
I married as a young Witness. I was 21 (barely). We've been married over ten years, and we're still together even with all the turmoil of my "falling away." Our marriage is as strong now, despite the religious question, as it ever has been. I have my fingers crossed that this will last (and I plan on working my ass off to ensure it). Will I succeed? I don't know. I hope so.
On the other hand, literally 80% of the marriages of our Witness childhood friends have broken up. We are convinced that it is because they got married so young.
We were lucky and bucked the odds. If you get married young like we did, chances are it won't work out.
under_believer
JoinedPosts by under_believer
-
15
Divorce Rate of Those When Young??
by buffalosrfree inmy daughters were at a club the other evening ( saturday) and ran into 5 witnesses they knew as younger children, they had all been married and were in the process of getting divorced.
four were men, 1 woman, two of the men we had known literally for years and i had liked them all.
i had told my children when they got married that it wouldn't be long before they were married.
-
under_believer
-
38
Do you think Hillary Clinton is going to be the next President of the USA?
by free2beme ini have a mix of friends from democrat to republican.
i am a registered independent myself.
i have heard it said, and watched in the news the obvious moves by the democrats, to put this woman in place to run for the office of president.
-
under_believer
No. No, I don't.
And please don't confuse lack of desire to hire H.Clinton our next President as being some kind of gender thing.
It's not. -
2
The US Media is really screwed up
by under_believer ininternational newsweek editions.
look at the covers for europe, asia, and latin america.
they get a hard-hitting analysis of how afghanistan is turning into a terrorist paradise.
-
under_believer
International Newsweek editions. Look at the covers for Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Now look at the one for the US. They get a hard-hitting analysis of how Afghanistan is turning into a terrorist paradise. In the US, we get a personality piece.
-
25
Overheard at the S.A.D.: Only Witnesses Understand Eph. 5:28-33
by under_believer inat our special assembly day, there was a visiting speaker from bethel.
don't remember his name, but he was a humorless and austere gentleman who was very clearly a company man.
he said many questionable things, especially in the way he generalized about "the world" and "worldly ones.
-
under_believer
Yes, VM44, that was my takeaway also. The meaning of the scripture is obvious to the most elementary reader and it's a cherished favorite among Christians.
-
59
Statistical effect of disassociating the inactive
by AuldSoul init has been tossed around several times on the forum, and invariably someone pipes up that the wts will never do it because of the adverse effects on the numbers.
there is a glaring flaw in that reasoning.. the inactive are never counted as publishers.
the numbers that are reported are of active, reporting publishers.. if they disassociate every single person who is inactive and refuses to reactivate themselves, the numbers will not be negatively affected at all.
-
under_believer
Gill, thanks for the note, it's appreciated.
As I've posted elsewhere, it's the most difficult time of my life, but my family is worth it. Maybe I'll fail in the end, but at least I'll have a clean conscience. -
25
Overheard at the S.A.D.: Only Witnesses Understand Eph. 5:28-33
by under_believer inat our special assembly day, there was a visiting speaker from bethel.
don't remember his name, but he was a humorless and austere gentleman who was very clearly a company man.
he said many questionable things, especially in the way he generalized about "the world" and "worldly ones.
-
under_believer
At our Special Assembly Day, there was a visiting speaker from Bethel. Don't remember his name, but he was a humorless and austere gentleman who was very clearly a company man. He said many questionable things, especially in the way he generalized about "the world" and "worldly ones." Two things he said especially stood out to me:
Talking about the marriage relationship, he said "And regarding Eph. 5:28-33, where are people in the world going to hear it? Certainly not at their churches. No church would read the scripture I'm about to share in their services. And if any worldly person encountered this scripture in their own study, they would never get the sense of it on their own." Even my believing wife was forced to admit that this was a very stupid thing for him to say. Here's the scripture, for reference. You judge if only Witnesses are capable of understanding it, or whether churches never read it in their services.
*****************
28 In this way husbands ought to be loving their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, 29 for no man ever hated his own flesh; but he feeds and cherishes it, as the Christ also does the congregation, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 "For this reason a man will leave [his] father and [his] mother and he will stick to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32 This sacred secret is great. Now I am speaking with respect to Christ and the congregation. 33 Nevertheless, also, let each one of YOU individually so love his wife as he does himself; on the other hand, the wife should have deep respect for her husband.
*****************
Item two was just sad. He told this whole experience about how one family planned to go to Disneyland, but at the last moment changed their minds and went to visit Brooklyn Bethel instead. Apparently all the kids loved it, were so happy they went, and had Bethel plans. The 13 year old wanted to work in the printing dept, the 10 year old wanted to work in the kitchen, and the 3 year old wanted to work in the dental office.
I am sure that all the kids present at the S.A.D. were super happy about this experience and are glad they were saved from having to go to Disneyland. Bethel is WAY more fun. -
44
The Uniting of Races ... Credit the Watchtower
by The wanderer inuntitled document <!-- .style1 { font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #009900; } body { background-color: #f3f2d6; } .style2 {font-family: arial, sans-serif} --> the uniting of the races, giving credit where credit is due although this discussion is going to raise the eyebrows of controversy, it is.
having been one of jehovah's witnesses for a .
number of years i could not help but notice that there was harmony between.
-
under_believer
I believe that the Society preaches racial integration, and I believe that institutionally it is an integrated, racism-free organization. Like so many things, though, the Society claims the high ground organizationally but does a poorer job of encouraging individuals to follow suit. I saw much racism in the US at an individual level. Nevertheless I attribute my lack of racism to my Witness upbringing. I REALLY bought into that aspect of being a Witness and I am happy I did.
This is similar to the way the Society says that they're a morally clean people. Sure, they boot people out who have indulged in what the Society considers immorality, but at an individual level Witnesses don't seem to be any more moral than the average non-Witness. -
59
Statistical effect of disassociating the inactive
by AuldSoul init has been tossed around several times on the forum, and invariably someone pipes up that the wts will never do it because of the adverse effects on the numbers.
there is a glaring flaw in that reasoning.. the inactive are never counted as publishers.
the numbers that are reported are of active, reporting publishers.. if they disassociate every single person who is inactive and refuses to reactivate themselves, the numbers will not be negatively affected at all.
-
under_believer
Blondie, that was exactly my question. I fit into that category. I am inactive from a field service standpoint, and I'm not a believer anymore, but I go to almost all the meetings and conventions to lessen the impact on my wife in the hopes of getting her out too.
-
117
"That I may make a reply to him that is taunting me"
by under_believer inso for our "congregation book study", we are still deeply mired in the bible teach book.
this week's lesson talks about the whole idea that the book of job relates the central issue of the entire cosmos, a vital issue raised by satan, where satan questions whether humans follow god because of what they are given, or because he deserves it.
i'm surprised that the book of job, obviously archetypal and figurative (for example, i doubt people back then literally spoke for hours in hebrew verse, and i doubt that four messengers showed up all in a row with stories telling that they, only they, got away to tell of a disaster) even has a place in the canon; aside from its lack of any specific historical position or accuracy, the argument it advances (especially as the society interprets it) is facile: the idea that privileged, wealthy, powerful job somehow stands as a representative for all humanity and serves as a litmus test for man's interaction with god is downright silly.
-
under_believer
I'm so disappointed that whacko decided to take my thread way off into nutland. I don't blame any of the rest of you--someone had to do it--but I really did have an original point I was trying to make. Oh well--perhaps its continued presence at the top of the stack has at least caused a few more people to read the original post.
-
59
Statistical effect of disassociating the inactive
by AuldSoul init has been tossed around several times on the forum, and invariably someone pipes up that the wts will never do it because of the adverse effects on the numbers.
there is a glaring flaw in that reasoning.. the inactive are never counted as publishers.
the numbers that are reported are of active, reporting publishers.. if they disassociate every single person who is inactive and refuses to reactivate themselves, the numbers will not be negatively affected at all.
-
under_believer
My theory is still that they're going to start charging for the literature again.