since becoming atheist i have been paying more attention to world events and issues.
this is giving me some worry's when i see what's going on.
as a jw i could just dismiss stuff saying "armageddon is coming, jehovah will look after us" etc etc now of course i can't do that.
The Watchtower belief system was like a security blanket, it protected you from fears of all the badness in the world, but it was a false security, it actually protected you from nothing.
Yes, reality is a cold, hard witch ( with a capital B), but it does get easier with time. The mind adjusts and eventually you get that while there is no panda hugging paradise coming, the world isn't going to be destroyed anytime soon either.
This is the new normal.
all i want from this life is to be able to wash windows at bethel.. my story.. when i was fresh out of high school and pioneering, i said those exact words to my friends and family.
all i wanted to do was be at the core of the organization where it was the safest.
i gleefully told people that i'd gladly spend the rest of my life washing windows, waiting tables, doing laundry or cleaning bathrooms.
Welcome, thanks for sharing your very interesting story. I think most people reach a point where they either (consciously or unconsciously) choose to ignore the gaping holes in the Watchtower narrative or choose start looking at things objectively. It's like the picture that looks like an old woman or a young girl depending on how you look at it, once you start seeing the ugly you can't go back to seeing the pretty.
It's seems it's often the more zealous and idealistic that eventually become disillusioned and loose faith.
i just couldn't help myself... i had to join these images....
i am currently having to spend a little time waiting for an appointment in the vicinity of a central london station.
whilst waiting i am catching up on some work in a cafe.
i can see a couple of trolleys and have been watching them for around an hour now.. not one person has stopped to take literature.
so today on my way to work, i passed a faithful jw sister who i have met about 6 times and spoken to and was friends with a sister she spends a lot of time with, i looked at her and smiled and she looked through me.
i wondered if she knew to shun me.
i'm dating someone when i have no photographic evidence that i am free to remarry ;) let's ignore all forms of abuse and unfaithfulness...anyway!.
OhIamfree, my experience was pretty much the same. here were maybe three or four people that I knew well enough to talk to, everyone else pretty much acted like I was invisible. Sometimes people would ask me if I was new or a visitor.
The bible says that the identifying mark of true Christians is that they show love to one another. Not the preaching work, but love. The Watchtower almost never talks about helping others in the congregation, the only thing that counts is going out knocking on doors.
Any church that treated each other that way would be empty, people would leave find a church that made them feel welcome. Jehovah's Witnesses have no choice, as most congregations are exactly the same, more gossip than interest, more judgement than love. People stay because they have been brainwashed to accept this treatment, but it isn't normal and it isn't right.
are you a fan of harper lee's "to kill a mockingbird"?
i read the book as a child and have read it many times since.
miss lee obviously wrote the book to entertain us, and she accomplished that.
I am a huge fan of TKAM, but I am not planning to read the new book. I loved the original book, I think it was a mistake to publish this book. It isn't a prequel or a sequel, but a different story about some of the same people but where they were very different people. It was rejected for a reason, it's only being published now to make a quick buck for some people. You have to ask why Harper Lee never published it before and whether it was entirely her decision to publish it now.
the guy don't realize when he attack john mccain he alienated every men .
and women who served in the military.
and this is coming from a guy that.
so this is only my second post but its about something that has been on my mind for awhile now.
have any of you ever felt the need to pray or speak to a higher power?
do any of you beleive that we were created or have evolved with a "spiritual need"?
I do think that people have a spiritual need, but if you do not believe in God you define spirituality in a different way. When I think of spirituality, I mean the best ideals of the human spirit. It's usually defined by religious belief, because that is how most people define morality and spirituality, it's what they know, but that doesn't have to be the case.
For example, I believe in being honest. I am not honest because I believe God will punish me, but because I think it's the best way to be, it's part of my personal code of conduct. Being spiritual for me means working towards those ideals, being my best self and reaching my full potential. I spend a fair amount of time thinking about these things and making sure my outward actions match my inner code of conduct.
I also meditate every day, which helps keep me from getting off track and involved with things that don't mesh with my beliefs.
As Ghandi said, "you must be the change you wish to see in the world. "
it hasn't been easy at all... trying to care for two kids- ages 3 & 6, while working fulltime, barely any support from immediate family, my ex has only seen the kids twice for a few hours, ughhhh.... i make way to much money to qualify for any sort of help, ex barely makes anything so that's out.... this is a million times harder than i could have even imagined... but, we are managing somehow; abeit, a little creatively at times.... i had just started thinking to myself, "we can do this!
" then, my house got robbed, about 10k worth of stuff stolen... ughhhh..... this is so depressing....
I am sorry you hit a rough patch. ((Hugs)).
I am sure it will get easier with time, but you are making it, if only just barely, so give yourself a pat on the back for that.
let's have fun with the church sign generator!!!.
http://www.churchsigngenerator.com/sign11.php.
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