when i first posted here, i explained that it was because although i am not, never have been, never will, be a jw, i have (earthly, as an atheist) loving concern for my jw neighbours/friends.. just recently, i found out that the mom is pregnant.
she is not young, has a 6 year old, and a 2 year old who is like a firecracker!.
i have offered to do basic things like take/collect the 6 year old to and from school, take the kids for walks on beach, etc.
Thanks, Sass.
I don't think the my wanting to help witht he kids would be too great a problem. They know I was a cop for 30 years, have my own kids, dealt with more child abuse than most people can imagine (thank WTF, etc.).
Neither of the parents' first language is English, which is what their congo speaks.
Shit!!!!! (excuse me). This sis so frustrating, because if I could reveal more, I could ask for better help to help them.
Sorry to vent.
when i first posted here, i explained that it was because although i am not, never have been, never will, be a jw, i have (earthly, as an atheist) loving concern for my jw neighbours/friends.. just recently, i found out that the mom is pregnant.
she is not young, has a 6 year old, and a 2 year old who is like a firecracker!.
i have offered to do basic things like take/collect the 6 year old to and from school, take the kids for walks on beach, etc.
When I first posted here, I explained that it was because although I am not, never have been, never will, be a JW, I have (earthly, as an atheist) loving concern for my JW neighbours/friends.
Just recently, I found out that the mom is pregnant. She is not young, has a 6 year old, and a 2 year old who is like a firecracker!
I have offered to do basic things like take/collect the 6 year old to and from school, take the kids for walks on beach, etc. etc. Non-committal response.
I have previously posted my concerns re JW influence on kids - may be too late for parents. Dad is a MS (as I understand).
Because of my concerns, I can't even tell you which country I'm in (not for my sake, for theirs, just in case this is monitored and they're identified).
I am not used to being so helpless, AAArrrggghhh!!!!!
so i went to this job interview this morning (my semester is finished, and i am looking for something for the summer, and my jury duty just ended, which hopefully i'll get a chance to tell you about some other time).
so i applied at this doctor's office to just do office work and filing and stuff like that.
the place is really great and laid back and it seems like a really fun place to work!.
Best of luck with your second interview.
And if you ever fancy a date where your choice of shirt really does'nt matter, well, here I am!
Seriously, good luck!
do you think the orthodox that kiss the icons are in fact worshipping idols?
their claim is that they are simply showing respect to the saint pictured in the icon and that it is by no means an act of worship.
it's only a little more than having photos of your beloved ones to be reminded of them.
One point of conflict with more 'modern' religions is that many orthodox churches can justifiably trace histories back to bible times. I have visited, for example, the pillar at which Paul is alleged to have been whipped, and the remnants (mosaic floor intact) of the building where he was interrogated by the Roman governor. The breakwater in the harbour where he allegedly landed by ship is more or less intact.
This must put a different perspective on things for believers, I suggest.
do you think the orthodox that kiss the icons are in fact worshipping idols?
their claim is that they are simply showing respect to the saint pictured in the icon and that it is by no means an act of worship.
it's only a little more than having photos of your beloved ones to be reminded of them.
Oh, and re. the point about about saints having different faces in different icons. That's not correct, IMHO. In the Greek Orthodox, saints and others are portrayed consistently, so you can trace (without labels) who each one is supposed to be.
do you think the orthodox that kiss the icons are in fact worshipping idols?
their claim is that they are simply showing respect to the saint pictured in the icon and that it is by no means an act of worship.
it's only a little more than having photos of your beloved ones to be reminded of them.
I don't know if you've been in an orthodox church. I have (just to visit). Icons, and especially ancient ones, tend to be worshipped rather than just respected. I have seen (or at least as far as anyone can, it is encased in silver to protect it from the gaze of unbelievers) an icon of Mary and the infant Jesus allegedly painted by Luke. It is definitely widely worshipped, as a symbol of what it represents, I suppose. People believe what they believe.
gag alert!
here's a nice little thread the jw youth have got going on myspace, in case you want to go down memory lane and remember how anti-dating they are.
complete with a comment that "worldly people have cooties" (was that one of you guys?).
It only takes a second to accidentally have sex with someone blah blah blah."
I used to have this problem, but by learning techniques, etc., I can now make it last for several minutes.
so, even back when i was a true believer i noticed this... .
this watchtower study today, i just got back from, was all about how great the elders are.
what always wigs me out about these things (because they trot this stuff out in a wt study every year or two) is how the elder conducting the study is up there talking about and praising the elders in the third person, saying how great they are, when he is an elder.
Some brothers reached out for the office, put on their best behavior when in the hall and also became chummy chummy with some of the elders and were wrongly appointed. Also their were case of nepotism and so on. That happens everywhere, in the business world, other churches, even in families with children.... people are people.
As an outsider, this is one of my biggest problems with WTBTS.
All organisations make mistakes and while they may be criticised because the mistakes were avoidable they can be viewed with some tolerance because making mistakes happens.
But WTBTS, by claiming that it is led by divine authority (and more, that it exclusively has divine authority) and by controlling its members on that basis, cannot ask for or expect the same tolerance. If it were to admit that sometimes it made mistakes it would open the way to independent thinking and this would no doubt lead to the sort of schisms and breakaway 'reformed' groups that most other sects have experienced. Instead (it seems to me) it continues to insist that it is the only true organisation.
WTBTS cannot have it both ways.
from cnn:cops: couple ordered hit on grandkidswanted to stop testimony at son's rape trial, police say.
friday, june 2, 2006; posted: 12:35 p.m. edt (16:35 gmt) .
tavares, florida (ap) -- a couple tried to hire a hit man to kill their three grandchildren and daughter-in-law to stop them from testifying against their son in his rape trial, authorities said.. the couple, ages 60 and 59, were charged with four counts each of criminal conspiracy to commit murder.
Well, they say the cost of living is cheaper in the US. That must apply to the cost of killing, too.
