i have kept on asking myself why the jw's put targets on themselves by constant diddling with their own doctrines?
why not leave it alone?.
mainstream christianity has fixed teachings.
"Mainstream Christianity has FIXED teachings."
I don't think so. The various christian sects and divisions have (as I understand it) a near 2000 year history of being at variance about their teachings and of changing, refining and adapting their teachings.
And what do you include as 'mainstream'?
congregations are full of older ones who were led to expect the end when they were still young enough to work ,and stay forever young.
now these ones face a sparse old age with little provision set aside.
the article ""do not be afraid .
See this quote:
Clause 4.2.4 read for other charitable purposes including the relief of Congregation Members who are in conditions of need hardship or distress
from this recent thread:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5137752928550912/relief-congregation-members
ignorance really is bliss and reality is harsh.
.
just having a bad, emotional day i suppose.
(I never was a JW).
"Ignorance really is bliss and reality is harsh."
May I offer these thoughts from a non jw perspective, and not directly relating to jw experiences (not that I discount the harm that the WT experience can cause).
Most of us, as we go through life, have to deal with stuff - personal tragedies, problems, etc., and come to the realisation that life can be harsh. It's certainly not 'fair', nor even reasonable sometimes.
The 'reality' of life is always there, even if we don't see it. I was a polce officer for 30 years and even now when I talk to friends who had more 'normal' or perhaps 'sheltered' lives I realise that their experiences (or lack of them) make a difference between us.
I think the important thing is how you (one) deal with the realisation that life can be harsh, cruel, and so on.
If you let it grind you down and take you over, you lose so much. There is so much about life, opportunities, experiences to celebrate and it's a waste to lose those and let the harshness take you over.
This is not the place for war stories, but I'll tell one. When I was much younger I went to a fatal road accident. A young child had been thrown through the windscreen and died (thankfully almost instantly) from horrific injuries. At the end of my shift I went home, picked up my son from his cot and realised how lucky I was. And I cried a bit.
Life is harsh - in many ways we're all lucky to be here. And it pays to recognise that and make the most of it.
warning: this post is mysogynistic, non pc and who knows what else.. on a completely different forum - dealing with cars/motoring - i came across the term 'epo'.
it was used by a guy who wanted to buy a 'classic' car as a hobby' he encountered some opposition in the domestic sphere.. he used the term epo = 'enjoyment prevention officer'.
referring to his wife, i believe.. i couldn't possibly comment (but as a single (divorced) bloke i probably could!
"To be honest, I first thought your topic was going to be about sports doping or Lance Armstrong."
No, this is far more important!
PS: Is this yet another secret and exclusive society I'm not allowed to join?
warning: this post is mysogynistic, non pc and who knows what else.. on a completely different forum - dealing with cars/motoring - i came across the term 'epo'.
it was used by a guy who wanted to buy a 'classic' car as a hobby' he encountered some opposition in the domestic sphere.. he used the term epo = 'enjoyment prevention officer'.
referring to his wife, i believe.. i couldn't possibly comment (but as a single (divorced) bloke i probably could!
WARNING: This post is mysogynistic, non PC and who knows what else.
On a completely different forum - dealing with cars/motoring - I came across the term 'EPO'. It was used by a guy who wanted to buy a 'classic' car as a hobby' He encountered some opposition in the domestic sphere.
He used the term EPO = 'Enjoyment Prevention Officer'. Referring to his wife, I believe.
I couldn't possibly comment (but as a single (divorced) bloke I probably could!).
(i never was a dub).. this is something which has intrigued me for a while.
i don't know whether it's dub-speak, or us-speak.. it's the use of the word 'ones' as in 'interested ones', 'worldly ones', 'disfellowshipped ones' and so on and so on.. in the 'normal world' we would probably use the word 'people'.. thoughts?.
Thanks for the comments.
When I see the use of 'ones' in quotes from dub-lit it jars and flashes the dub-speak warning. I wonder a little whether dubs use it to try and sound more 'churchy' (or in dubs' case more KHly). Listen to ministers, pastors, vicars, etc., and some of them use uncommon phraseology which perhaps to their mind is what they SHOULD sound like.
I'm sure that if I tried I could sound like a Methodist minister or a CofE Vicar (actually, now I recall, I have done in the past for work purposes). Don't know if I could 'do' a dub elder, though.
(i never was a dub).. this is something which has intrigued me for a while.
i don't know whether it's dub-speak, or us-speak.. it's the use of the word 'ones' as in 'interested ones', 'worldly ones', 'disfellowshipped ones' and so on and so on.. in the 'normal world' we would probably use the word 'people'.. thoughts?.
(I never was a dub).
This is something which has intrigued me for a while. I don't know whether it's dub-speak, or US-speak.
It's the use of the word 'Ones' as in 'interested ones', 'worldly ones', 'disfellowshipped ones' and so on and so on.
In the 'normal world' we would probably use the word 'people'.
Thoughts?
from ancient accounts hostile to christinity, we can learn the following:.
jesus was born and lived in palestine.
he was born, supposedly, to a virgin and had an earthly father who was a carpenter.
Hadriel:
You should understand that at that time, and in that place, these stories were not unusual about many men. There are many similar accounts.
as a born-in jw, i never considered myself to be a fundamentalist.
i always thought we were enlightened, progressive and not 'stuck in darkness' like all the other religions.. i was totally wrong.. as far as fundamentalists go, jw's are probably right up there amongst the front-runners.
no, they do not stone people to death or go on religion-fuelled violent rampages but that's not what i'm talking about.
I never was a dub. I was brought up in the Open Brethren (as fundie as they come) and as I got older and more enquiring (pre-internet days) this was an issue which troubled me and has intrigued me ever since.
The question was: how can intelligent and enquiring minds blindly accept stuff for which there is no evidence, and stuff which the available evidence disproves?
I apply this to my own late father. He was a very senior Inland Revenue Inspector, whose work depended on evidence, law, etc. He had an extremely forensic mind and was well-respected in his field. And yet, he accepted (at least outwardly) so much stuff religiously that was increasingly unproved, unproveable and unlikely. I noticed as he got older (and in retrospect this feeling is strengthened) that he avoided discussion of religious stuff and I believe that he came to increasingly disbelieve stuff. I believe that he was able to separate his religious beliefs from his 'everyday' life - and I think that this caused him some pain as he got older.
The amount of information available to anyone with access to the internet and sources has increased exponentially. That's why some religions fight it. Fundies can no longer bask unchallenged in 'knowledge' confirmed by selected books.
I sometimes consider asking for a JW 'bible study' - starting from the origins of the OT. They wouldn't/couldn't do it, so I disabuse myself of that idea fairly quickly.
as a born-in jw, i never considered myself to be a fundamentalist.
i always thought we were enlightened, progressive and not 'stuck in darkness' like all the other religions.. i was totally wrong.. as far as fundamentalists go, jw's are probably right up there amongst the front-runners.
no, they do not stone people to death or go on religion-fuelled violent rampages but that's not what i'm talking about.
