a little background..... i was a dub from age 7 to age 18 or so.
my first love was a girl at a local hall.
we will call her t. as a young witness in good standing i did everything by the book, group dates, little sister shaparone, stealing the occasional kiss and felling guilty about it.
Nathan,
I did pull up next to the Van. It wasnt T driving but that possibility did run through my mind being the Skeptic that I am. It wasnt the message itself that freaked me out. It was the combination of the two events that unsettled me.
I dont believe that the "message" was meant for me. It doesnt really even apply and it would only make sense if T did write it. Just a couple mind blowing (to me at least) coincedences.
Asheron
i just thought i'd welcome him in with his own thread.
---http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/member/24685.ashx.
Welcome lil bro.
a little background..... i was a dub from age 7 to age 18 or so.
my first love was a girl at a local hall.
we will call her t. as a young witness in good standing i did everything by the book, group dates, little sister shaparone, stealing the occasional kiss and felling guilty about it.
Good one Warlock....lmao....I know its just a very strange coincidence but dam....Im still a little shook up.
my parents were baptized when i was three years old.
so, you could say that i was "born and raised" as a jw.
i was baptized at age 11. i was a regular auxilary pioneer from age 14 to 15. my parents became inactive at about age 14. it was very hard trying to be a "good young sister" especially after being told you're a burden to the pioneers that have to always provide rides in service and to/from the meetings.
Thank you for sharing your story and Welcome to the family.
no hype - no rumor please.. anyone who still goes to the hall might hear something during the announcements.
i will be going myself and will be sure to report back what is said, if anything.. from channelc.. .
http://www.channelc.org/cgi-bin/eboard30/index.cgi.
The anouncement is in.
"All Jehovah's Witnesses in good standing are to sell all thier personal items and move to a small African province. Kool Aid will be served upon your arrival"
Thank you
The WTBT Society
a little background..... i was a dub from age 7 to age 18 or so.
my first love was a girl at a local hall.
we will call her t. as a young witness in good standing i did everything by the book, group dates, little sister shaparone, stealing the occasional kiss and felling guilty about it.
A little background....
I was a dub from age 7 to age 18 or so. My first love was a girl at a local hall. We will call her T. As a young witness in good standing I did everything by the book, group dates, little sister shaparone, stealing the occasional kiss and felling guilty about it. T was the love of my young life. So much in fact that I bought a ring and asked her to marry me when we were 18. She accepted the ring but would not wear it because her mother didnt like me. It appears that I wasnt "spiritual enough". After that things were never the same and it was at this time that I was begining to ask to many questions of the elders and got on thier shit list. My love decided to ditch me for a another guy her mother and the elders approved of.
I was f%^&^%$g crushed and devastated and this helped me to leave the borg sooner than I would have.
Flash forward 25 years.
During the preparations for my wedding last year my mother (still a dub) gave me T's brothers phone number, perhaps thinking I would invite him since we were friends years ago. I did not but I did call him and ask about his sister. He told me that she and her second husband had a resturant in the town I grew up in.
Today I had a little time and decided to stop in and say hello after 25 years. I sat and ordered a sandwich and asked the waitress to tell T that an old friend would like to say hello. She came out and was blown away. She left the borg some years after I did and has a son now. She was very busy and somewhat upset at the surprise (bad or good I cant say). We talked briefly and I left.
Here are the weird parts...
The first thing she said while tears filled her eyes was " I had a dream about you three days ago"
The second thing is several hours later while I was driving home there was a dirty mini van driving in front of me. Someone had written in the dirt with thier finger. It said "Jehovah and Jesus forgive us for what you and I did and he loves us"
I am a card carrying Agnostic Skeptic and this shook me so hard I cant breathe.
Asheron
so for our "congregation book study", we are still deeply mired in the bible teach book.
this week's lesson talks about the whole idea that the book of job relates the central issue of the entire cosmos, a vital issue raised by satan, where satan questions whether humans follow god because of what they are given, or because he deserves it.
i'm surprised that the book of job, obviously archetypal and figurative (for example, i doubt people back then literally spoke for hours in hebrew verse, and i doubt that four messengers showed up all in a row with stories telling that they, only they, got away to tell of a disaster) even has a place in the canon; aside from its lack of any specific historical position or accuracy, the argument it advances (especially as the society interprets it) is facile: the idea that privileged, wealthy, powerful job somehow stands as a representative for all humanity and serves as a litmus test for man's interaction with god is downright silly.
It would seem that I owe Mr E an apology. Let the worship begin!!!!!!
so for our "congregation book study", we are still deeply mired in the bible teach book.
this week's lesson talks about the whole idea that the book of job relates the central issue of the entire cosmos, a vital issue raised by satan, where satan questions whether humans follow god because of what they are given, or because he deserves it.
i'm surprised that the book of job, obviously archetypal and figurative (for example, i doubt people back then literally spoke for hours in hebrew verse, and i doubt that four messengers showed up all in a row with stories telling that they, only they, got away to tell of a disaster) even has a place in the canon; aside from its lack of any specific historical position or accuracy, the argument it advances (especially as the society interprets it) is facile: the idea that privileged, wealthy, powerful job somehow stands as a representative for all humanity and serves as a litmus test for man's interaction with god is downright silly.
Day 3
No Monkey has flown out of my Ass....Im feeling the tiniest hint of doubt about your powers Mr E.
And by the way Mr E, that bit about swallowing my own head was funny...you are better at humor than at this whole God/Messiah complex thing.
I say, get off the cross and hit the stage !
Also, is your name Mr. E supposed to be thought of as Mystery? How clever! My, my, you are deep!!! That is quite original. I have a new name for you
Miss Diagnosed hardy har har, chuckle chuckle.
Your turn.
in somalia, gunmen shot to death an italian nun, who worked in a hospital which serves mothers and children.
this came only hours after a leading cleric condemned pope benedict for his remarks on islam and violence.
some think there may be a connection.
Kristopher,
You will need to ask an Atheist what facts support his/her beliefs. I am not one. By definition an atheist does NOT belive in God. Since my personal reality is bound by what "is" not what I belive in, the question of the existance of a "God" or diety remains in my box of unanswered questions. I do admit to taking the question out semi regular and considering it.
If you would like to label me the closest term would be "Agnotic Skeptic".
Here is a definition of a "Skeptic" written by someone alot more eloquint than I.
"Some people believe that skepticism is the rejection of new ideas, or worse, they confuse ?skeptic? with ?cynic? and think that skeptics are a bunch of grumpy curmudgeons unwilling to accept any claim that challenges the status quo. This is wrong. Skepticism is a provisional approach to claims. It is the application of reason to any and all ideas ? no sacred cows allowed. In other words, skepticism is a method, not a position. Ideally, skeptics do not go into an investigation closed to the possibility that a phenomenon might be real or that a claim might be true. When we say we are ?skeptical,? we mean that we must see compelling evidence before we believe".
"But what does it mean to be skeptical? Skepticism has a long historical tradition dating back to ancient Greece when Socrates observed: ?All I know is that I know nothing.? But this is not a practical position to take. Modern skepticism is embodied in the scientific method, that involves gathering data to formulate and test naturalistic explanations for natural phenomena. A claim becomes factual when it is confirmed to such an extent it would be reasonable to offer temporary agreement. But all facts in science are provisional and subject to challenge, and therefore skepticism is a method leading to provisional conclusions. Some claims, such as water dowsing, ESP, and creationism, have been tested (and failed the tests) often enough that we can provisionally conclude that they are false. Other claims, such as hypnosis and chaos theory, have been tested but results are inconclusive so we must continue formulating and testing hypotheses and theories until we can reach a provisional conclusion. The key to skepticism is to continuously and vigorously apply the methods of science to navigate the treacherous straits between ?know nothing? skepticism and ?anything goes? credulity"
The rest can be found here: http://www.skeptic.com/about_us/manifesto.html
In other words I find it ok to say "I dont know" to some questions. One of those questions is a big one-"where did the universe come from?"
Lots of people, especially fundy believers of any faith, KNOW there is a God. I say good for them unless they come to my door or try to change my right to say, "I dont know". Also, please do not assume my position to mean I have not given these questions deep and considered thought. I have and will continue to examine the evidences or the lact there of.
I would also like to point out a fact I recently discovered. Adolf Hitler was a member of the church of Rome and then turned apostate. In fact Pius XII ordered Germans not to oppose Hitler in his policys. He spoke out against Atheists on many occasions and the Nazis worebelt buckles on which was the legend Gott Mit Uns ("God with us"),
In Hitlers own words::
"My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God's truth! was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter. In boundless love as a Christian and as a man I read through the passage which tells us how the Lord at last rose in His might and seized the scourge to drive out of the Temple the brood of vipers and adders. How terrific was His fight for the world against the Jewish poison. To-day, after two thousand years, with deepest emotion I recognize more profoundly than ever before the fact that it was for this that He had to shed His blood upon the Cross. As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice... And if there is anything which could demonstrate that we are acting rightly it is the distress that daily grows. For as a Christian I have also a duty to my own people.
-Adolf Hitler, in a speech on 12 April 1922 (Norman H. Baynes, ed. The Speeches of Adolf Hitler, April 1922-August 1939, Vol. 1 of 2, pp. 19-20, Oxford University Press, 1942)
So big question comming:::::In our discussion of whether more died under Atheist or Christian leaders, where do we put the 62,000,000 that died in WW2 ?
Asheron
so for our "congregation book study", we are still deeply mired in the bible teach book.
this week's lesson talks about the whole idea that the book of job relates the central issue of the entire cosmos, a vital issue raised by satan, where satan questions whether humans follow god because of what they are given, or because he deserves it.
i'm surprised that the book of job, obviously archetypal and figurative (for example, i doubt people back then literally spoke for hours in hebrew verse, and i doubt that four messengers showed up all in a row with stories telling that they, only they, got away to tell of a disaster) even has a place in the canon; aside from its lack of any specific historical position or accuracy, the argument it advances (especially as the society interprets it) is facile: the idea that privileged, wealthy, powerful job somehow stands as a representative for all humanity and serves as a litmus test for man's interaction with god is downright silly.
Mr E,
Day one has passed and alas, no Monkey has taken flight out of my ass. I warn you, if you do not produce the miracle you have promised, I will be forced to smite you with a curse of clear thinking and right mindedness.
6 Days Left
Remember, no Monkey, no worship. Its up to you.
