Posts by LisaRose

53

Is Satan Real ?

by jdash in

i've been pondering on this question for awhile now, and i'm starting to think this malevolent spirit creature isn't real.

.

do you guys believe satan is real?

If you have never actually seen something, have seen zero evidence that it exists, and not been personally affected by it in any way, would you believe in it? Does the fact that millions of people believe in it, and someone wrote about it in ancient manuscripts change things? Millions of people believe in Krishna too, should we all believe in Krishna, just in case?

Every JW has heard the supposed demon stories, but they all seemed to be the result of an overactive imagination by the more gullible people, all could be easily explained by known phenomena such as sleep parslysis.

So, no, I don't believe in Satan.

12

Other Religious Denominations

by Plato in

jw
friends

it’s me again, your favorite greek philosopher xdd.. i was wondering if any ex-jws around here have since indetified with other christian denominations.

if that is the case for you, how has it been?

do you feel more welcome?

LisaRose

I still somewhat identify with Christian ideology, I guess it's a case of feeling comfortable with the familiar more than feeling Christianity is inherently better. I attended the United Church of Christ (Congregational) church briefly, as my husband was raised in it and I found them to be welcoming and the services interesting. I liked the fact that they have no official doctrine, are active in charitable works, had nice music and are accepting of different belief systems and gays. Ultimately it just seemed pointless to attend church as an unbeliever, although I still miss the feeling of being part of a community and have not ruled out going again, even if just for the Christmas services, which are stellar. I freely admit it makes no sense, but it is what it is.

24

Find Family Happiness ... NOT!

by jp1692 in

the other day my wife and i were in sonoma.

we were just walking around enjoying the pleasant afternoon in the quaint, old downtown area when i saw two jw women standing by their “witnessing cart.” .

normally, i just ignore them whenever i see jws standing by a cart, but i gotta admit it: this time it really bugged me because of the title on the cart: find family happiness.

LisaRose

I wouldn't feel bad about that at all. It may not have been what you would have planned to say, but it was your truth, given from your heart, and that can be far more powerful than any prepared speech. I imagine those women will be thinking about this for a long time.

I love Sonoma, one of my favorite wine country towns, we visit frequently.

27

Fear of Dying

by SplaneThisToMe in

did anyone else develop a weird fear of dying and death after leaving jw?

i recently left and have realized for the first time in my life that i’m not going to live forever.

anyone else have these same feelings toward discovering your own mortality?

LisaRose

No, not really. I was never confident of my being "good enough" to think I would make it through Armageddon. I never really had much of a fear of dying, since I had no fear of hellfire. Once I realized it was all just a bunch of nonsense I totally lost all fear of dying at armageddon.

11

They still manage to find me.

by blisterfeet in

i grew up a jw, left at about 17 years old..(i'm 33 now) a little over a year ago i moved 1000 miles away from where i grew up.

today i "ran" into someone in the same congregation as my dad... like how is that even possible?!?!?

he was very kind, mentioned the borg but only in ways that related to his life.. his daughter is a pioneer, my dad gives "the best" comments at the meetings, my sister is awesome.. blah blah blah... .

LisaRose

Coincidences do happen. I remember a story someone once told me. He was in a crowded bar in New Orleans. He looks down and sees a wallet on the floor. He picks it up and is surprised to see it belongs to someone he knows....years ago, in New York City. He remembers that this person was quite tall, looks around and sees the person is still in the bar, happy reunion ensues.

Another funny co-wink-a-dink. It's western dress day at work. Someone compliments another on their nice cowboy hat. She says she was getting on the freeway after a Garth Brooks concert when someone in the limousine in front of them stands up in the open roof. His hat blows off, the limo moves on, the person pulls over and retrieves the hat.

The person who originally gave the compliment says "no way. I was in (nearby city) that night in a bar. One of the very drunk people next to me says "Yeah, dumba$$ here stood up in the limo and his hat blew off".

Wierd stuff happens. Don't read too much into it.

8

My 13 YO opened up to me about her memories of attending a memorial service

by nonjwspouse in

she was only around five when she last attended.

it was just when i began the "for real" investigation about the jw and watchtower, previously believing the public face.

i would agree to go with my husband so his mother could show off her grandchild.

LisaRose

Good for you for making this a learning experience for your daughter. You could have been very negative, but instead you let her express herself and think through her experience and let her come to terms with it. It could have been something toxic in her life, as things which are sensitive subjects are sometimes not talked about and become more damaging as a result.

My daughter was raised in it and she still knew that something wasn't right.

40

What would you say?

by Freedom rocks in

if you had 2 minutes with an old witness friend or with a family member to convince them the 'truth' is a lie and the gb isnt being directed by god what would you say to get their attention that might make them question their beliefs?.

LisaRose

I would ask them why they still follow a religion that has a 100% failure rate on predicting the end of this system of things. If any other religion had done the same they would call them a false phrophet, why does the WTBTS get a pass?

63

Sister may have had a slight heart attack, do I text her?

by Xanthippe in

jw
friends

so my cousin phoned and told me my jw sister was taken to hospital with chest pains and it may have been a slight heart attack or possibly she's starting with angina.

now as some of you know my sisters and brother have had little to do with me for 29 years.

we've met at funerals, or arranged them, but i just thought today what if she did die?

LisaRose

I am glad your sister responded to your text. I hate to see any family torn apart by this hateful cult, anything we can do to combat that is good.

I think there are a few reasons a health trauma hits JWs harder than others. For one, it reminds them that they may very well die in this system, something they didn't think would happen. It also sidelines them, at least for a while, from theocratic activities. They may then find themselves being judged by others for slacking off, or at the least realize that they are quickly forgotten by the congregation. This is a religion that shoots their wounded, which can be a painful realization.

41

Anyone watching Star Trek Discovery?

by Coded Logic in

so i've been watching the show and really enjoying it.

great to see a trek tv series finally get a reasonable budget.

beautiful costumes, sets, cinematography, action pieces, etc.. really my only complaints are how cg all the ships look and there's a fair bit of stiff dialog from time to time.. what do you guys think of the show?.

LisaRose

I haven't watched it yet, but may give CBS all access a try. We have been doing more streaming of late, hardly watch network TV much anymore. I've been a Trekkie from the get go, I remember watching the debut episode of the original and being immediately hooked.

Did anyone see the season four, first episode of Black Mirror (Callister) ? It had a very funny plot where a game developer created his private game version of a star trek like universe, where he gets to be the captain and relive all his favorite episodes. Unlike most Black Mirror stories it had a happy ending, along with some very Star Trek like plot lines and cheesy special effects like the original.

20

Couldn't the GB have foreseen "spiritual endangerment" taking hold with Internet approval?

by compound complex in

jw
friends

having listened to the two gb helpers (and cedar's interspersed commentary), i was somewhat taken aback at the comments on the widespread availability of smartphones and such at bethel.

of course, in the congregations, too.

br.

LisaRose

I think this was a battle they were never going to win. They could no more have stopped the tide of easy internet access via cell phones and tablets than they could have stopped people from having television sets fifty years ago. The technology is just too seductive and easy to obtain and so many people need it for their jobs or businesses. They knew this and developed their web site content in an attempt to control and direct what people were doing with those phones and tablets, but they were never going to be completely successful at that.