Posts by done4good

93

Christianity did NOT borrow from pagan "Dying-Rising" God motifs

by yaddayadda in

it is a fallacy that the early christians weaved the tale of a dying and rising god-man on the loom of mystery religions.

the idea of the dying-rising god as a parallel to the christian concept of the death and resurrection of christ was popularized by james frazer in the golden bough, first published in 1906. scholar edwin yamauchi (1974; easter: myth, hallucination, or history?

) has observed that, although frazer marshaled many parallels, the foundation was very fragile and has been discredited by a host of scholars since frazers ideas were at the height of their popularity in the 1960s.

done4good

The terrorists who flew airliners into the World Trade Center were willing to suffer a truly sadistic death (as well as extinguishing the lives of many innocents) because of their religious belief, conviction and attitude of utter certainty.

True. However, although I'm largely agnostic, (in other words I don't "know" anything from a religious standpoint for sure"), I sense, for most Christians, it's not about absolute certainty. That's fundamentalism, (which some are, such as jws), but not the majority. Christianity is mostly based on faith, not certainty, and it certainly can't be proven on purely a rational basis. It also cannot be UN-proven on purely a rational basis.

j

28

Who still fears the big 'A'?

by lfcviking in

jw
friends

i have been left for about 18 months now and am trying to get 'unindoctrinated' or 'unbrainwashed' or whatever is the correct term is.

but there still exists in me a considerable fear of 'armaggeddon'.

whether the jw teaching of 'armaggeddon' is true or not i am not sure, but such was their very powerful strong mental indoctrination of this event it has left me with what i think will be a permenant fear for the rest of my days.

done4good

I must say Grissom, your love just shines through in your comments.

j

77

Why Can You See Through the Watchtower While Others Cannot?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

why can you see through the watchtower while others cannot?

compared with the six million jehovahs witnesses worldwide the .

so-called apostates are comparatively much smaller.

done4good

I believe that in many cases those of us who manage to escape are the ones who have another of these challenging episodes that forces their hand and makes them re-evaluate. In other words shocked in and shocked out

Precisely. That's what finally did it, for me. However, long before that, experience with people and situations outside of the borg taught me that things were not exactly what the borg taught me they were. So doubts existed before anything monumental took place. It just took a good jolt for me to be brave enough to face them.

j

63

Faith in God and the Church - Part 2 of 2 The Catholic Faith

by Amazing in

jw
friends

my story is sub-titled so you can skip ahead to parts that interest you most.. by way of reminder, my posting on "faith in god and the church" is not meant to convert anyone, because i have been out of the preaching business now for 14-years.

i am sharing my views given the questions i get when i do post about belief in god or my association with the catholic church.. why the catholic church?

protestants, especially fundamentalists and evangelicals have a hard spot with the roman catholic church.

done4good

Interesting journey, Jim. Still working on mine.

j

32

They make mistakes just like 1st century christians did.

by GBSJG in

when i'm discussing problems i have with the wts with my family they often say well they make mistakes just like the early christians did, they are not perfect.. i try to argue that if you think that way you can go to any christian church and say the same.

but usually they say that compared to other religions the wts makes less mistakes so you should go there.. i know that such reasoning doesn't make sense to me but what is a good response to this?.

done4good

Sooner or later every JW experiences an injustice so deep from the the org.
or made possible by the org. that they will question whether it is indded God's Organization. THAT"S the moment to take advantage.

True, that is usually the enabler. However, I know of individuals who became inactive over such things, never did any research on the org, and are now back in full swing. It is much harder to convince these folks. They already learned how to live with their cognitive dissonance.

j

40

Did feel that you were at a mental breaking point at the point of leaving?

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

prior to you leaving the org did you come to the conclusion that if you didnt actually take the step and leave, that you would run into serious mental difficulty.. i really feel that for 5 years proir to my finally leaving i was quite impaired mentally by the teachings and practices of the org.

it was coming to a head though when i finally announced that i was leaving.

i really felt that i was under intense mental pressure and that if i didnt get out then i may end up doing something serious.

done4good

Yes. I was actually there before I left, I went into passive observer mode before completely leaving.

j

54

Da' Colt's and Da' Bears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by AK - Jeff in

i consider brooke my friend - but two weeks from now i will be rooting against your bears, babe!!!.

what a finish for the colts - bout time.

i have been waiting for them to get to the "show" since they moved to indiana.. go colts!

done4good

Even though they beat my beloved Chiefs, I'm rooting for Manning this year. It's his turn.

j

17

You Need a Good Talking To

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

you need a good talking tolooking back, i realize that one of the biggest turnoffs in.

the organization was when individuals made it their business to become.

involved in your personal affairs.. turning away from the organizationthere were three or four incidents with circuit overseers and .

done4good

There are too many to list, probably, but here are a few:

1. I have a job that requires considerable travel, (you can guess how this goes over with the BOE, and others). I've been told to quit my job, and find alternative employment many times. (usually by office cleaners, window washers, etc).

2. "Brother we know how dedicated you are, but you must be more VISABLE in the fs if we are going to appoint you" That's what they said to my face, I heard terms like "floundering" through the grapevine.

3. "Brother, how regular is your family bible study?" (As if that could fix my relationship with my brain dead ex-wife)

j

93

YOU "THINK" YOU KNOW.....BUT...YOU DON'T KNOW!!

by Terry in

the door to door work is a sham.. the central activity of the watchtower bible and tract society is not spreading their so-called "messege" about the kingdom of jehovah established in the heavens in 1914. that's a load of propaganda.. the door to door activity is feckless in producing converts.

in fact, it is an immense failure of mammoth proportions!.

but, it is a diversion.

done4good

I agree completely, Terry. It really is obvious to us now, but at one time we were deluded also. The men in charge are so disconnected from reality that they don't SEE what's wrong with what they are doing. We can basically mutiply how we thought, (when in the WT), by 1000 to maybe get some grasp of how the GB thinks. Very sick.

j

93

YOU "THINK" YOU KNOW.....BUT...YOU DON'T KNOW!!

by Terry in

the door to door work is a sham.. the central activity of the watchtower bible and tract society is not spreading their so-called "messege" about the kingdom of jehovah established in the heavens in 1914. that's a load of propaganda.. the door to door activity is feckless in producing converts.

in fact, it is an immense failure of mammoth proportions!.

but, it is a diversion.

done4good

Terry,
I believe that if the aquiring of money were the motive for the WTS it would be a much easier beast to bring to heel. My experience is that the GB and those in 'higher office' strongly believe the ideology that the WTS stands for. They believe it as strongly as you believed it when at your most fervent. This is what makes them so difficult to deal with as an Organization, and this is why Raymond Franz refers to the GB in 'Crisis Of Conscience', as 'victims of victims'. Ted Jaracz for example, refuses to accept any of the personal 'donations' that are sent his way and either returns them or places them in the coffers.
The aquisition of buildings, and now the selling of many of these buildings are viewed by the WTS as a tool to enable them to 'do the will of God'. I do not believe this is about money with the WTS, I wish it were!
The WTS do have personnel in the Bethel homes who specialize in investment in equities and other vehicles for safeguarding its investments. This frankly seems to me to be prudent for a large Organization that costs millions each year to run. I know some of these 'investors' have made a lot of money for some of the Bethel staff whose portfolios are handed to them. I know of a Branch co-ordinator who has for many years refused the monthly stipend that he and his wife are entitled to as he no longer needs the cash, now being financially independent.
I think that the ideology of the WTS is far more dangerous than its wealth, but it is this wealth that allows it to propagate and grow its poison.
HS

I haven't read beyond Hillary's post yet, as I didn't want to loose my thought, but she makes a very valid point. What the WT does is far more insideous, BECAUSE they believe in what they are doing, with sincerity. This makes it very easy for them, to not only hoarde money, but it is also, what makes them entirely aloof when it comes to dealing with the r&f in general. Think about this, if they BELIEVE they are the one and only true religion, they can just about justify any behavior that appears to support the religion's goals, including securing real estate, investing in defense companies, etc. Remember, it's THEOCRATIC WARFARE...

j