My favorite apostate myth, which my parents occasionally lob over to me as spiritual food to feast on is: "I KNOW you still really believe." I try to ignore the implied slur in the statement, since their perception of me must be as a "hypocrite" for "really believing" but doing nothing about it.
So I move on to my preferred response, which is to gently, gently, tell them I don't believe; if I did believe, I would never have left. This response has the potential to unleash parental fireworks: hysteria, guilt-bombing, angered scripture-pointing, all culminating in at least 3 months of not speaking to each other.
My other response is to try to brush off the matter without committing one way or the other. True, it keeps hope of my redemption alive in the parents and merely delays the day of reckoning for me, but sometimes if there's too much other stuff going on, it's an acceptable cop-out.
parakeet
JoinedPosts by parakeet
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You people are all the same....(dispelling myths about apostates)
by beautifulisfree ini know you are sick of that phrase by now....because jdubs use it all the time when referring to 'apostates'.
they come on this forum or (people you know) generalize 'apostates' as though we are of different class...that we are no longer human.
they are obviously fed these little tid-bits about 'apostates' from the society since i am sure they don't personally know many.
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parakeet
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Survival And Prepardness....
by Justice-One insurvivalist.
these days the word in most cases tends to conjure up images of wild eyed nuts in bdu's, armed to their teeth....all two of them.. but.....this is just not the case.
more and more people these days are seeing the need to be prepared in at least some ways.
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parakeet
***It reminded me of the line in Tremmors when the fellow said...."I guess we can't make fun of his lifestyle anymore."***
Well, the next time man-eating, earth-burrowing, stinking, giant worms come a-knockin', I'll know who to call. Good to know there's someone out there ready for anything. Thanks, J1. -
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A thought to start the day with...
by Synergy ingod gave us everything...except the one and only thing he wants for himself that he can't give himself.
this thing is something that we choose whether or not to give him.
he doesn't make us.
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parakeet
Synergy,
I don't agree with your words but approve the spirit of kindness in which you wrote them. Thank you. -
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UPDATE on Focus on being a Jehovah witness
by Jade221 ini had a topic on here a while back "focus on being a jehovah witness" and i just wanted to thank everyone for giving me good advice.
i just wanted to keep everyone updated on what choice i made and how things are going with me.
me and my ex bf we did break up and i was trying to be strong.
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parakeet
I think you're moving in the right direction. The pain will diminish with time. Good luck.
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Do you feel as if you're eternal or temporary?
by JH in.
we were all taught that we would live eternally and we all beleived it.. how do you feel now?
i still beleive i'll be here in 1000000000000 years eating poutine and drinking beer.
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parakeet
Both temporary and eternal. Buddhism teaches that these aspects are but two sides of the same coin. They are human concepts that cannot begin to comprehend reality.
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Survival And Prepardness....
by Justice-One insurvivalist.
these days the word in most cases tends to conjure up images of wild eyed nuts in bdu's, armed to their teeth....all two of them.. but.....this is just not the case.
more and more people these days are seeing the need to be prepared in at least some ways.
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parakeet
It never hurts to lay away some supplies in case of emergency, depending on where you live and what the weather tends to be like. Beyond those basic precautions, though, I don't worry too much about the future. If my whole life were to be concentrated on getting beans, bullets, and those other things just in case of war, nuclear holocaust, invasion, plague, etc., then I'd be just another frightened person who's a few cans of beans short of a case. It would be like Armageddon-planning gone awry.
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Another JW email circulating...
by Elsewhere ini received this from someone who needs to be anonymous....this one will turn your stomach.
it's supposedly from a sister in the brazil branch.
perhaps so, but the timeline of the story and age of the individual weren't clear to me as i read it.
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parakeet
Sounds like a JW version of the "Thorn Birds."
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Describe your Spirituality after Leaving JW's please
by esw1966 inwhat has been your attitude toward religion after leaving jehovah's witnesses?.
did you search for religious truth?
scoff at religion?
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parakeet
***What has been your attitude toward religion after leaving Jehovah's Witnesses?***
Religion has become an interesting hobby for me to read about. I enjoy ferreting out their truths and their absurdities.
***Did you search for religious truth? Scoff at religion?***
I knew after leaving the WTS that most religious "truth" is invented by men with their own agendas. I don't scoff at religion because it causes too much damage to people to be taken lightly.
***Please describe for me your spiritual journey and it's importance to you after leaving.***
My current spiritual home is an amalgam I call the church of parakeet. It consists of some tenets of taoism, zen buddhism, native american belief, and neo-paganism. It has no set doctrine and is always in a state of flux. It's important to me because it enables me to enjoy my life to the fullest.
***Thanks!***
You're welcome. -
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i want cake
by candidlynuts inor cookies.. or pie.. or somethin... i was grocery shopping sunday.. went past the cake mix / pudding/ baking needs aisle and thought hmmmmmm if i buy it i'll eat it..so i took the moral high ground and didnt buy anything..... now 2 days later... i want my cake!!!.
betty crocker where are you?.
(i know i'm old..but those confetti cake mixes that are supposed to be for kids?..
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parakeet
Yes, candidly, I have a mean streak, and it was yummy. It's been 25 years since I had that strudl but I can still taste it, it was that good.
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I think any religion can change some one's life to a positive way.
by free2beme ini remember as a witness, how we always were told account of people getting their life changed in a wonderful way, when they became witnesses.
we always thought, "that is what happens when jehovah comes into your life.
" yet if you think about it, every religion i have ever encountered, has similar account of lives being changed by religion.
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parakeet
At best, religion is like a M.A.S.H. hospital -- can fix up the wounds, help them recover from the trauma, and when they're healed, send them on their way. After that, it should be each person's responsibility to find the way best for them, without any ecclesiastical crutches to hold them back. Hanging onto a religion for all of life's answers is an abdication of one's spiritual responsibility.