during winter school holidays here in south africa,my wife and i decided to travel down to our hometown.
to confront our parents about the jw issue.we felt we needed to clear the air and let them know what our .
standpoint regarding the jws are,and why we will not be raising their grandchildren in the org.. once and for all we needed to get this behind us.we needed to tell them about my book and felt it would.
How wonderful that you approached your dad very respectfully and had all your research at hand.You must have impressed him with your sincerity knowldege of subject.
He then concluded by saying that we have presented him with food for thought,and that he still loves us no
matter what happens or what our point of view may be.He assured us that he will not shun us or our
children.
Dad is a special person.
i joined a few weeks ago and have been adding my comments etc.
pioneer or i'm out.
pioneer.
It was honestly so bad that I refuse to have children to this day b/c I am scared I wouldn't be a good mom.
Think about this statement some more. We should all learn from our experiences. It seems that you have learned much from yours. I'll bet that you would be the kind of mother that would realize the value of love and attention for children.
Don't let the mistakes of others determine your life or future happiness. We all have choices. You can choose to be the kind of person who can be a good parent.
i saw it for the first time.
in a very pricy shopping center in an upscale area, these two witnesses couples had a booth, very similar to those for cellphones, and they were trying to attract people to it and passing out magazines and other literature.
after the shock, i got to thinking: .
My dad has been going to the local community college one morning a week for many years. His congregation has a table with literature in several languages. Their target audience seems to be the international student community.
Aren't you just tempted to go up and in a very loud voice, start talking about the DC talk against higher education? Or maybe ask them since they are at a college, do they encourage higher education for their young folks, and just watch them squirm?
Don't the ones setting up these booths see just a weeeeeee bit of hypocrisy here?
The nerve !!!!!!
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/140674/1.ashx.
the beginning of the story above ..... .
ok so now for an update.
I couldn't have said it any better than Scully:
So she's going back to your dad - the guy who insists on toeing the line to the WTS's edicts. The guy who is apparently NOT infallible. The guy who thinks so highly of his own self-righteous behaviour that he can treat you with contempt and utter disregard, yet demand mercy and forgiveness from your mother and the congregation.
Oh, yes, when caught, he did not want to be shut out from others, did he? And although he does want to toe the line with respect to shunning you, he apparently didn't see the need to toe the line with regard to the WTS stance on porn. (Ewwwwww) So,still, he prefers the appearance of righteousness in front of others in the congregation.
And mom wants to sneak around behind his back, pretending she has no contact with you at all. She wants to have her cake and eat it, too.
I feel sorry for mom. Things aren't going right for her. She obviously loves you very much, and is not really choosing not to have any contact with you, because she wants to e-mail you. But she can't buck dad, who doesn't want her to see you face to face.
I don't know what I'd do, except explain to mom how much her decision hurts you. Then of course, I'd cry because I would be hurt very deeply.
All they are willing to do to keep up appearances........
luke 6:29-30 (new international version) 29if someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.
if someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.
30give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.. so to all the christians out there, how many of you follow this?.
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
I used to think (as a JW) that the scriptures about giving someone your garment were literal and were to be followed literally, being a reaction to persecution because of following Jehovah.
I now see it as more of an object lesson and not literal. That we are to show mercy to others. That we are to treat others as we would like to be treated. It makes sense and wouldn't we all like to live in a world where people did treat others with kindness.
I went to the beach today. People threw plastic drink containers on the sand and then got up and left them. I picked up many trash items as I was leaving and threw them into the very conveniently placed trash cans. It reminded me of the saying about birds soiling their own nest.
I think Jesus had beautiful lessons and certainly practiced what he preached. He can never be accused of being a hypocrite. Yes, I claim to be a Christian, and although I have many more questions now than answers, intend to follow Jesus' good example to the best of my limited ability.
i joined a few weeks ago and have been adding my comments etc.
pioneer or i'm out.
pioneer.
Anyhow, I was barely 12 years old when this particular study took place. It started with her attacking me saying, "you don't want to get baptised!". What? I hadn't really thought about it much to that point b/c I was just a kid and in no way was I ready. However, this wasn't going to be an easy discussion. She ranted and raved and the discussion deteriorated to the point where she and my dad actually said I would be kicked out of the house if I didn't take considering the step of baptism (and soon) very seriously. Well, nothing strikes fear into a kid than not having a place to live so voila, I suddenly determined I was ready to get baptised!
So much for the personal dedication part of baptism. What kind of parent even intimates that a twelve year old might be kicked out of the house? No wonder most JWs have self-esteem problems.
In the end it seems that you are not df'd, just innactive. Where does that justify shunning you? Have you asked mom to show you that in print? Or is it because you intend to marry in a church and they consider that apostate?
At any rate, please know that you have worth as an individual and we hope that you gain some healing by telling your story. My heart aches for you and others who have undergone horrible pressure as a child to get baptised.
it contains this url:.
http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~yeli23/flash/fire.html.
i thought it was very clever..... .
Not a dead end thread!!!!!
It was awesome--thanks for sharing. I'll be sending it to others.
Maybe some here are too young to appreciate the things depicted. I assure you I am not. I lived through many of these events.......
it's been a long time since i posted here but i often read your messages when ian (dansk) logs on.
as most of you will know, ian will be going back into hospital on monday for an allogeneic stem cell transplant and will be away from the forum for a good few weeks (hopefully he'll be back home within 4-6 weeks).
last time he was in hospital many of you sent messages to his ward and i know they cheered him up immensely.
Oh, no! So sorry to hear about the virus......please hang in there. Happy thoughts and prayers your way from across the pond.
well i think it's time for me to pack it in again.
whenever i come on i eventually get to a point like it's all been said, even if it hasn't been said lately or in a particular way it's not really new, and i'd hate to hear myself ... repeat myself.
("allow myself to introduce ... myself") anyway, i was going to make some serious and unnecessarily long post, but instead i think the subject line says it all.
("Allow myself to introduce ... myself")
Well thanks for "allowing yourself to introduce.....yourself" on this forum. (funny movie) Who can say what's next. Life is so uncertain. But I hope that all of us will strive to be better human beings and alleviated suffering when it is in our power to do so. And not take ourselves too seriously.
suppose for the sake of argument that such a hybrid existed in the flesh,could it become a jw?
That depends. Can a smurf become a pioneer? I think that if they can run around a Khall, then surely they can walk in service.
