Posts by LisaRose

26

Which Spiritual belief system or non belief system is right for you?

by Giordano in

we have done this before but we have a fair number of newbie's on this site and some are struggling with the question about other belief systems and non belief.

where are you now in your own mind?

here's a quiz http://www.selectsmart.com/nontheism/ that is pretty accurate, at least in my case as to where i am at this point in my life.

LisaRose

Objectivist? I am not sure what that means.

I agree the questions were poorly worded. I don't think my spiritual beliefs can be distilled into a one word description.

77

Feeling rejected

by Esmeralda001 in

just a little disclaimer: english isn't my first language (i'm from france) thus the poor writing skills.here is the situation: i'm not a jw.

however, i'm in the process of becoming one.

in fact, i'm studying with the jw's, and i'll proceed to become an unbaptized publisher as soon as i finish the first book.to make a long story short i was introduced to the truth when i was 18een.

All religions change and misinterpret the bible's content, even the Jehovah's witnesses, or I should say especially the Jehovah's Witnesses. Have you ever noticed in the Watchtower study they quote a part of a scripture here, a part of a scripture there? It's because they are picking and choosing what parts of a scripture fit their agenda. This is then wound up with a heaping helping of just plain guessing and conjecture. And since this is them guessing, it will change tomorrow. This deep scriptural truths they teach you today will be "old light" tomorrow. They flip flop on so many things, how can you take what they say seriously? Is Jesus your mediator? It used to be he was for everyone, now just the anointed, tomorrow, who knows what they will say.

I used to think they must be the only true religion because they didn't teach a literal hell fire and the trinity. I ultimately realized that did not matter because so much of what they taught was garbage, that getting it right in a few things was meaningless, and I'm not even confident they got it right on that anymore.

As Jesus said, you will know if they are true disciples of they have love among themselves. No doctrine is enough to make up for the complete lack of love and caring in this organization. The early Christians sometimes had conflicting and divergent views, but that did not mean they were not true Christians, nor were they kicked out of the congregation for disagreeing. Not accepting everything taught by the governing body is grounds for Disfellowshiping in this religion. Moving congregations may work for a bit, but you will still end up with the same problems with ever changing doctrine and failed date predictions.

I was a convert in 1969, I got baptized at 14. The Awake magazine said not to get an education, that I would have to face the fact that I would never have a career in this system. Kind of silly, since I am 61, my career come and gone, college would have been nice, too bad I listened to that bad advice. And they are still saying the same thing, young people are still giving up on an education, convinced the end is so close. They taught 1975 was an "important date", the end of 6,000 years of man's existence. Everyone believe Armageddon was going to be in 1975, or very shortly thereafter. Now they pretend that never happened, so funny, I was there.

Do you know there are some Christian churches that have no doctrine? That's right, none. They know that what is important is fellowship, charitable works and love. You would be better off looking into one of them.

56

The watchtowers view on Rape!!! must see

by Khaleesi in

this person did a great job putting this together... i am disgusted with wt policies & them acting both judge & jurywatch "noonespecial - rapists - jw" on .

youtube.

https://youtu.be/lwufz7gyozm.

LisaRose

Life is too short, that is simply horrible, even when I was a fully brainwashed dub I would never have treated anyone the way you were treated. This religion is still in the dark ages when it comes to women's rights that's for sure. You must have been a strong person to get through all that.

But that's what happens when you use a book written by bronze age people as a model for justice in a modern society. In the bible where if you are raped out in the country you are forgiven, but if you were in the city you were put to death, because you could have screamed. What if they gagged you? What if you screamed but no one heard you because you were in a back room? What if you didn't scream because you feared for your life? Nope, put to death, a life sentence because you were a victim. All this from the supposedly just God Jehovah. Sadly some women have had to submit to rape to protect their lives or the lives of their children, but if they are a Jehovah's Witness they will be disfellowshipped. It's hard to believe that these kind of things still happen in our society, but they do.

19

Please i need guidance

by alex_Am in

i know im young.

i know i still have so much to learn i mean im only 14 but but even at a young age i have learned and i know what love is.

this is where the problem comes in.

LisaRose

We not current Jehovah's Witnesses, for former members who found out that the leaders of this religion lied about a lot of things, so we can't really recommend you become a member. It's a cult actually.

I know that love is just as real and painful when you are 14 as when you are any other age, but you are very young, it's way to soon to know of this is going to be permanent thing, the odds are that it won't be. The fact that she is a Jehovah's Witness doesn't help either, you know her parents will be opposed to anything serious between you. I know that is hard, but it is what it is.

Please research this religion before you go any further, encourage your girlfriend to do so as well. I like JW facts.com. also check out howcultswork.com.

19

Some thoughts on the Brooklyn real estate website

by JeffT in

jw
friends

i took another look around the new website ( https://www.watchtowerbrooklynrealestate.com/ ).

first they have two properties listed here 124 columbia and 85 jay street.

these have to be worth a lot of money.

LisaRose

It's like the joke about how to make a million dollars in the airline industry. It's easy, you start with two million dollars.

I wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly had "new light" about tithing. It would be a hard sell because so many JWs are barely making ends meet as it is, but they may be desperate enough to try it. They may feel a smaller organization with more hard core followers would give them a better return on their investment. So much has changed in the last few years that nothing would surprise me at this point.

238

Another mass shooting, three or four hours ago.

by James Mixon in

san bernardino california.

up to 12 people have been killed.. the center a private non-profit agency that assists people with developmental.

disabilities.

LisaRose

Mass shootings on a regular basis are a symptom of the direction society is going. Take away guns or make them illegal won't do a damned thing other than change the killing methods. Any illegal commodity has always been available just about anywhere. Prohibition era, drug laws, censorship etc. pretty ineffective.

You will never stop all guns, but that doesn't mean you just give up. Control guns better and you will reduce the problem, not stop it, but reduce it. The statistics show there are less deaths involving guns in countries where they are more difficult to obtain.
There are sensible measure that can be put into place that would help, but the gun lobby is strong, so nothing will happen until people demand it. Gun control wouldn't have stopped what happened yesterday, but it doesn't mean it won't help at all. It's a start, after that we try to address the problems that are making people want to do things like this. We know some mass shootings involve mental health issues and we know that we have problems in the way we deal with the mentally ill, so get the guns out of their hands, then you can work on the underlying causes.

475

What is the alternative to JW?

by Formerbrother in

i mean this with all due respect, i would like to hear from genuine people who think jw have it wrong and then what is the truth?.

im not talking about silly little quibbles here and there.. is jehovah real?

the the bible is word?

LisaRose

Is Jehovah real? The the Bible is word? If not whats the alternative? I cant see how any thinking person can believe evolution.

How sad. Do you not realize the Watchtower lied about the evidence for evolution? Please watch this video, it is short and easy to understand and shows how different things all point to the same conclusion.

http://www.upworthy.com/this-should-be-required-viewing-for-deniers-of-evolution

Is God real? I don't see the evidence of it, there are way too many things unexplained by the bible account, too many logical fallacies, too many things that could not have happened the way the bible says.

What is the alternative? How about just be a good person? Why do you need a religion to tell you not to lie, cheat or steal? It's not that difficult, really. Find meaning in your life by being good to others and leaving the earth better off because you were in it, raise responsible children, be kind to your fellow man. Why does their need to be anything more?

Look, religion was invented to make people feel better about their eventual death and to scare people into being moral, so it served a purpose, but we know now there is zero evidence for life after death and so much evidence that man has been a long time on earth, much longer than six thousand years. These is so much evidence of it that to believe otherwise is to foolishly close your eyes to the truth. There have extracted DNA from at least two different groups, genetically close to modern man, but not modern man, and this is supported by other evidence This directly contradicts the bible account, and it would be impossible to fake this evidence.

You can believe in God if it makes you feel better, but something is not true simple because we want it to be true or we don't like the alternative.

238

Another mass shooting, three or four hours ago.

by James Mixon in

san bernardino california.

up to 12 people have been killed.. the center a private non-profit agency that assists people with developmental.

disabilities.

LisaRose

o over all I don't have a problem with what you have suggested as I've heard them before. I'm totally against suing manufacturers because someone was murdered using their gun. If the manufacturer sold the gun to the person then fine, but they don't typically sale to the general public. However it is the retailer that sells the gun and they are held accountable as you have proposed.

What needs to happen is that every gun is tracked from manufacture to sale. If a gun is legally sold by the manufacturerer, then their responsibility ends for that particular gun. But I am not sure there is currently any tracking of guns from manufacture to end user. If large quantities of guns are obtained by terrorists or criminals, then they came from somewhere, I think we need to know how this is happening, who is getting them from where. It's complicated, because guns are manufactured all around the world, and we have no control over other countries, but I am talking specifically about the U.S.. If guns are coming into this country, who is importing them if they are manufactured outside the US? Who is selling them to criminals? The dealers? I don't think we know right now. I think the U.S. is a big enough market to have some clout in enforcing accountability. The gun industry obviously has an interest in selling as many guns as possible, they currently have no incentive to make sure all guns are sold responsibly, in fact the opposite. If a gun maker wants to do business in the US, then they would have to start tracking who they sell to. It's not impossible or unreasonable that something that lethal has to be contained and controlled.

Law was passed in California. I personally don't care but bullet markings will change as the gun is in use so probably in long run won't be of any benefit.

They will change, but I believe it will still be possible to match in many cases. It's like a fingerprint, unique to each gun. The technology is there to do it now, it's just that currently you have to another bullet from the gun to compare with, it just expands on that.

his is a very complicated issue but I understand what your stating. However keep in mind we have HIPAA laws in place. Additionally you are basically requiring the government to keep a database on every person in our country that has any form of mental illness.

We are already doing that in some cases. At least in California, If a person makes a suicide attempt they go on a list to prevent them from buying a gun. This would just tighten that up and expand it, but it wouldn't be for any mental illness, just where there is a good chance that the person could be a danger to themselves or others, which is a very small percentage of people with mental health issues, and they would have a right to a hearing if they felt they were unfairly put on that list. This would not be easy, but it's not impossible and I think this is something that has to happen if we are to make any progress on the gun violence we have in this country.

77

Feeling rejected

by Esmeralda001 in

just a little disclaimer: english isn't my first language (i'm from france) thus the poor writing skills.here is the situation: i'm not a jw.

however, i'm in the process of becoming one.

in fact, i'm studying with the jw's, and i'll proceed to become an unbaptized publisher as soon as i finish the first book.to make a long story short i was introduced to the truth when i was 18een.

LisaRose

I am glad you are going to look into it. I get that it is a blow to find out that many things you believed to be true might be a lie, I was in the religion for thirty years, I was devastated to learn how much I was lied to, it made me feel like an idiot for believing it and wasting so many years. But it is what it is, if the Watchtower has the truth then it should hold up to scrutiny, if it isn't the truth then you need to know, even if it is hard to accept. Jehovah is not served by practicing a lie, and something isn't true just because you want it to be.

Of course they will have we explanations and excuses for all these problems, but you should be able to figure out what the real truth is. Beware of confirmation bias, the human tendency to accept facts that confirm our belief but reject those that contradict them. With your education you probably have better critical thinking skills, so that will help.

Take care and let us know how it goes.

238

Another mass shooting, three or four hours ago.

by James Mixon in

san bernardino california.

up to 12 people have been killed.. the center a private non-profit agency that assists people with developmental.

disabilities.

LisaRose

greater contradiction to me are those who advocate the right to abort 5 month old babies and harvest their body parts as being okay, but want to confiscate firearms from legal gun owners. A majority of American are against late term abortions. How many babies are murdered in America by late term abortions? It is a debate to have in another forum I suppose. Killing is killing whether a gun is used or done by a doctor.

Who says anybody wants to confiscate guns from legal owners? I haven't heard anyone proposing that, at least not anyone in any position to do so, and what has that got to do with abortion anyway? It's two completely different things, talking about selling body parts is just a smoke screen to prop up your argument that we don't need better gun laws because guns aren't much of a problem. Stick to gun issues and debate abortion on another thread.

We licence cars and drivers, because they can be dangerous and there has to be accountability, so I don't see why we shouldn't licence and regulate guns and gun owners just as much. You should have to prove you are intelligent and capable enough to to use a firearm safely by passing a gun safety class every five years so you could get a license to buy or own a gun. All guns should should be registered by the manufacturerer and a bullet test fired so that that gun's unique markings will be on file in case it is ever used in a crime. There has to be accountability, guns should be tracked from manufacture to dealer to end user. Hold manufacturers responsible when their guns end up in the hands of criminals. When a gun is used to a crime it can be traced to the last registered legal owner. Currently gun manufacturers have no incentive to keep track of what they make.

Close the gun show and private sale loophole, all sales should be registered through a neutral third party to verify that it is a legitimate purchase, to a person licenced to own a gun. Gun owners who sell a gun illegally will be held responsible if that gun is later found on someone it is not registered to, or used in a crime. Every gun you own should be registered to you, if one is stolen it would have to be to be reported. There should be rational limits on number of guns, no one needs an arsenal.

People with mental health issues should never be able to obtain a gun. There are some laws in place, but they need to beefed up. I worked with a guy, his wife had mental problems and once threatened to kill herself and their two sons. She was taken to the emergency room but was able to lie her way out of it. They let her go and couldn't notify the husband due to privacy laws. She legally bought a gun the next day and shot herself and her two children. This was a tragedy that could have been prevented. Any health care provider who learns of a credible threat to use a gun should be responsible for reporting that threat, if the person has a gun license it will be immediately suspended, if not they will be restricted from getting one. If they own a gun it will be confiscated by law enforcement until it can be determined that they are not a threat. There should be hearing so that a person can prove they are competent.

I don't understand why gun owners are so reluctant to see reasonable gun regulations. With today's technology it's doable and If you are a law abiding citizen you wouldn't lose your guns and you should be just as motivated as everyone else to keep guns from people who are criminals, mentally ill, or just plain dumb as a box of rocks. Of course I know this wouldn't stop all gun violence, but it sure would be a start.

Gun right advocates keep pretending that this is about taking away all guns when that is not what most people are proposing. And please don't use the slippery slope argument that regulation will lead to confiscation. There is so much paranoia about the government confiscating all guns. If we can't even close the current loopholes, how the hell would we completely outlaw guns?

I saw so many warnings when Obama was elected that he would take away everyone's guns, even though he doesn't have the power to do that on his own and he has never said he wanted to do so and in fact has not attempted that as far as I know, and we are nearing the end of his term. Instead of fighting rational gun control, you should be pushing for it so that we can focus on the other issues that are driving the violence in the U.S. and elsewhere, things like lack of mental health services, lack of drug addiction treatment and illegal immigration issues, no border security, etc.