my mom and i have been cleaning out the basement and gathered over 20 years worth of jw books, magazines, tracts (some dating from the 1950's!).
we are playing with the idea to return the jw material in a box, with the words "we quit" and a xeroxed copy of the cover coc next sunday morning in front of the local kh.
does anyone have any better/more sarcastic ideas?
Spunky,
there are a lot of people who want those books to use against their "new light" stuff, etc.... Don't give them back!! I am looking for 2 books, actually a Kingdom Interlinear and a reasoning book. Those books ar worth $ too. that is very sarcastic.......dj
i have to tell you that if you are currently shunned, although it may be painful....you are actually better off imo.
having had it both ways now, i am convinced that it was less painful than being halfway accepted (as i am now because my dad is sick).
my conscience is clear and it feels so good but at the same time i am in more pain than when i was shunned.
Sadie....I just read your thread and I appreciate you. Your right and thanks for the prayers. love, dj
Sunspot....LOL, I hear you too, you are very angry as well. There is hope. I feel so much better today. I don't know exactly why but I think I just needed to vent and then try to discern what I was doing wrong. As you can see, I slowly worked that out right here on this thread..lol. I don't even feel anger anymore....instead I just feel sure of myself and what my responsibilities are now. I owe nothing to them except for love because I do see them as my enemies. I will not bend over backwards in order to please them anymore though. I think that I thought that love was a warm fuzzy feeling but it isn't.....it is just treating someone else with kindness. I can do that ....when I have to see them....lol... I will balance my daddy's needs with my family's issues with a whole new light.....pun not intended...lol.
((((((((nowisee)))))))))
Prisca,
If you knew my family you would agree that I would be a masochist if I tried to set them straight. It isn't worth the ulcer to me.You have a sister who doesn't try to convert you all of the time and I am soooo happy for you but my sisters....well, they live to convert me. It is a constant problem. I don't need to be validated by them anymore. It is ok if they hate me and think that I am of the devil.... I am on my own two feet again and I give the glory to God for answering my prayers and the prayers of others because I feel brand new today...Honestly, you know I think that spending the past two years around them so much was dragging me into their bondage. They are such black thinkers. I was trying to face the reality of my dad's condition and there they were trying to convert me...lol.No wonder they are mad. I am free...Prisca!! I thank God for you guys and this board..
hello peoples.
my mommy let me join this forum.
her name on this is bittersweet.
Hi afrothunder,
It's nice to meet you. Your mama is right. IMO, they make a big deal about birthdays and say that it's evil because they are full of fear. We were never commanded not to celebrate a birthday....Jesus said that it is better to celebrate the day of our death rather than our birth. If He meant for us never to celebrate our birth, he would have said it right there. Instead, He gave us hope in the afterlife, didn't he? To me, life is a gift and I thank God for it and I try my best not to behead anybody. Our commanments are to love. Love does no wrong. Love even fulfills the law. To me, a birthday is loving. As a matter of fact, Job celebrated the birthday's of his children. (each on his own day) and I mentioned this to my jw sister one time but she yelled about how Job also cursed the day he was born......so she thinks that Job decided that birthdays were bad too. That is not what it says. Job cursed the day he was born because he was miserable from all of the awful things that happened in his life. He was angry and depressed as anyone would be if all that bad stuff happened to them. Job was saying that he wished he was never born.....it had nothing to do with a birthday party..Job was later blessed. Follow your heart afrothunder and follow love because love is from God. Perfect love casts out fear.
dj
after reading cruzenheart's post on the letter about her father, and the treatment he received from the co, william osbeck, and the elders of his congregation, it brought back my own memories of this particular co and his treatment of people.
it was 1995 and one of the hardest years of my life.
in february of that year, i learned i was pregnant with our fifth child.
Hi Sadie,
Boy, do I relate to your story. We have much in common. Including a pregancy during an auto accident, a sick parent, depression, no help.....etc.......but thankfully, we both made it out of that unloving religion and have found ourselves again. Making the choice to care for our children is the right decision. Man made magazines will never reign as superior compared to love and compassion for me either! Thanks for your story. Love, dj
are you entitled to receive a gift?
that might sound like a silly question to many people.
after all, a gift is something freely given, from the heart, so how could you demand a gift, or say that you have earned it?
Hi Ozzie,
I commented about this in your other thread today. The dubs are one extreme but there is another extreme to be wary of...The no lorship teachings of those who say it is good enough to just Believe and by believe they mean just that.Many tv envangelists teach this. They teach that we do not have to try to obey Christ or even try not to sin. They teach that no matter what....if you claim Jesus as your Savior with your mouth then you are saved . That seems to follow Romans but in actuality it is ignoring the rest of the bible where Paul taught us not to use Christ as an excuse to sin. Our faith is dead without works(James)...yes...while our faith saves us....we also will have good works because our hearts are changed. In Ephesians where you quoted, the next sentence says that our good works were prepared so that we would walk in them. I feel that is a very important distinction between the two extremes. Don't you?
`on the coins of constantine the most frequent symbol is xp*;but this symbol is used without the surrounding circle, and with the 4 equals arms vertical and horizontal;and this was the symbol specially venerated as the`solar wheel'.
the non-christian pp 133-141.. * denotes a close represtention of the actual symbol.. r they actually saying that the symbol which i believe simply represtents the 1st 2 letter of christ r of pagan origin?.
this is serious,man!.
Ok thanks Tyler. I think this has something to do with the idea that the name Jesus is derived from the Greek mythological name Zeus. The poster Aguest doesn't used the English form, Jesus because of this. I know another person who feels the same way. I, personally don't have a problem with it because if the holy spirit inspired the NT and the apostles wrote the name in Greek XPIESOUS....?? (I forget already..lol) and it means "the Zeus" well then so be it. I know that Jeaus is not Zeus. That's what matters. So his name in Greek and English may have meant something major to those who were actual pagans whose God was Zeus...HA! The apostles must have taught the pagans a thing or two by calling Jesus THE Zeus. See, how that may have worked? God works all thing to His good. Perhaps a lot of pagans turned to Christ because of this.... In essence it is saying that Jesus is THE GOD... Aguest is not a believer that Jesus is God therefore she cannot accept this and the same holds true with my other friend. So be it. I am ok with using the name the way it was given to me because a name is not what is most important but our faith and trust in Him is what matters.
i have to tell you that if you are currently shunned, although it may be painful....you are actually better off imo.
having had it both ways now, i am convinced that it was less painful than being halfway accepted (as i am now because my dad is sick).
my conscience is clear and it feels so good but at the same time i am in more pain than when i was shunned.
Marsal........thanks, how sweet.
outnfree...........
......who is realizing that her need to please (in order to be loved back) is self-destructive.
you pegged me. Where did I learn that behavior? My whole life has been about earning love from them by being taught that my perfect works could earn me eternal life too. I'm done with earning anything except respect and a paycheck! Thanks...you got me. I didn't even realize what I was doing until about two days ago...I'm growing up at 42.....sheeeesh.
pettygrudger.......I would write letters if I thought for a second that they'd read them and consider anything I say. They would justify themselves and hate me more. I am done with them. I have to get thru this hard time with my dad but after that they are more than welcome to shun me again. It will not hurt me anymore. They have caused enough pain that only a fool would go looking for more. I think that my version of revenge is to pay attention to my husband and kids again because I have my priorities back again. It was devastating to learn of my papa's illness and all that goes with it but the shock is over and the reality has sunken in. I guess that I had this delusional fantasy that his illness would help them to remember that we are family. My dad sees that. The cong. has been of little help. Where is that love among the members. I haven't seen it! Instead they are internally aware bit in a denial over it. I'm done being hurt. I feel strong again. I can offer love but it is different now. I have reality back. Yipeee.
Lyin.....I hear you.....I've always learned the hard way. Being hurt is one thing but being falsly accused is sickening, isn't it? While it is painful to admit that they still have hatred for me...I can handle it now. I am still angry though. I just have to handle my anger without sinning now..grrrr. Easier said than done for me..lol...
I love you guys.
i was at the dance club the other night when i lady was standing right close to me,,,,,,we looked at each other and immediatly knew we knew each other.
she was a sister from my circuit i have seen all my life.
i don't know here that well, but we usually seemed to be sitting in the same areas alot and had time to talk thru the years and she was always having some kind of problems.. well, she told me she is d/f and had her grown son there with her.
LOL>>>>> Seroiusly though....I have considered the same things. The public needs to be educated and warned. You know, Jesus warned us about false teachers etc...there are so many people who are just sitting ducks that I want to protect like a mother hen or something. The internet is a great tool now and I hope that people research the wt on here before they just join. That way, atleast they'd have understanding from both sides although, I can't imagine anyone joining them once they have all of the information. Tell you what Lyin, I"ll cover S.E. PA and you cover your territory in LA. No time slips, of course.and if you quit...I'll still see you as a person...lol...
no i hate all religion but i find the most odious those that use their interpretations to justify mass murder and suicide attacks (against people who couldnt give a dam about their silly religion) to acheive political goals
you know who im talking about.
ive probably just become the target of a fatwa or something
The jw's are a sublte cult and most people do not view them as a cult...they do not have outrageous behaviors that are blatantly obvious to all. They are viewed as a cult mainly by us........who have experienced them firsthand and by others who have extensively researched them without ever belonging to them. Most people just see them as another denomination. It is a shame and imo, Christian churches ought to do a better job educating the public. Most pastors know very little about the jw's or the harm they cause. Jesus predicted false teachers and we have plenty.
As far as what religions are worse goes......imo, that is a personal experience question because some have been deeply damaged in many ways and yet there are others who were jw's that walked away seeming unscathed. I suppose that could be true in all cults.
i was at the dance club the other night when i lady was standing right close to me,,,,,,we looked at each other and immediatly knew we knew each other.
she was a sister from my circuit i have seen all my life.
i don't know here that well, but we usually seemed to be sitting in the same areas alot and had time to talk thru the years and she was always having some kind of problems.. well, she told me she is d/f and had her grown son there with her.
Live and learn, eh Lyin? Me too.... I am convinced that the majority of jw's ( I consider her still a jw because she has the mindset of one) cannot reason unless it is in a wt publication. Is is futile to get ourselves worked up because they just walk away feeling cocky and we are left with the frustration. It isn't easy at times because we want to help them be free but the truth is that it is one of those things that is just bigger than us. I try to remember though, that whatever I say to a jw may be remembered by them someday down the road. I know that when I left...things that other people said to me, came back to me and they were making sense....I just couldn't hear them then and I thought that I was better.... We cannot take their arrogance personally even when it hurts, ya know? It is hard, I know. Hugs (((((((((dede)))))))).
