just go ahead and do it in some way if you like.
put off the wts thinking and enjoy your family and life.
it's really no big deal.
I've been out since 83.
I've been making up for lost time.
My wife decorates the house inside and out.
We go all out for christmass with a tree, fireplace and presents.
Its the season to be jolly.
If we couldnt afford the presents we would still give each other pieces of coal.
i am a writer by nature so my imagination runs wild sometimes.
i always tend to fabricate scanarios that have a measure of feasibility.. check this one out:.
according to the new world order conspiracy theory the ideal population for the earth is only 500,000. some think that there have been groups of people throughout history that have attempted to or have furthered an agenda to "depopulate" the earth.. this got me to thinking, who would these 500,000 "new world starter set" people be?
If you want some historical food for thought read the "Gods of Eden" by William Bramely.
Check it out on amazon.com and read the reviews.
The Georgia Guide stones talk about the 500,000 population.
of the congregation i spent my life in i would say a good 75% had nervous breakdowns at some point.
and often there was never really a obivous reason for it.
well not that we jw's could understand at the time.. even the queen bee's/ elderettes were not immune to this.. what about you?.
I dont think there is any such thing as a nervous break down.
But there were a lot of goofy people at the hall.
I think anytime you get to know a lot of people personally you will find them to be goofy.
Familiarity breeds contempt. Witness or non witness.
Women who dont work and men with idle time thats the devils workshop.
my first post.
something that has annoyed me for years.
i'm sure the official borg teaching is jeh.
It's not just JW's that attribute all good things to Jehovah. Most Christians that I have come across attribute
every good thing, every blessing to God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lm6pehykhsfrom this distant vantage point, the earth might not seem of particular interest.
look again at that dot.
that's here, that's home, that's us.
I like your post prodigal son.
I know there has to be something more than what the main stream christians and main stream evolutionist
are selling.
I doubt the materialist/ evolutionist or christians are going to buy it based on there very nature.
Arguing with them will be like raming your head into a wall.
But thanks for posting your links.
Everythings a religion evolution, creation etc you can see it by the emotion attached to peoples positions being threatened.
Each religion helps different folks understand this experience of being human.
Being a JW was like being in a religious pre school.
Now were moving on in our journey.
Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of life and the universe.
i was born in the mid 1950's and raised as a jw so i did not need to consider or worry about this...why?...because it was instilled into me that i would never have to worry about being old enough to be anything in this "old system of things".. as the years went by:.
1970-something...out of school...no "new system"no need for more training, just a few years left... no "new system"got a job, married,... no "new system""waking up" 50+ years later...still no "new system"this was the mind set of so many raised as jw's, and we are now finding ourselves trying to adjust our lives to weather the years that we have left...in order to make the best of them.. please... if you are still an active jw (or not) get an a good education so you can support yourself and prepare for retirement, and don't be afraid to talk to others about how to do this so you can make an informed decision on what is best for you.so what did (do) you want to be when you grow up?
.
I was born in 52.
Had the same experience as you sayswho.
I'm 58, I have 4 more years being underpaid at a job I dont like.
Then I'll have to survive on social security.
If I had it all to do over again, I would have been a school teacher with lots of time off.
i have been drinking heavily my entire adult life with the exception of about two very happy years and i feel it is now time to try and put it down (again).
it's hard, though, as there is no one to impress except myself.
last time i quit, at least i worked with some sober people whom i found much more relatable with a clear mind and that provided at least a little more inspiration to continue.
When I left the tower in 83, I went to AA for 7 years.
I didnt drink for 5 years straight out of those 7.
Those 7 years were the most euphoric, serene, happy years of my life.
I highly recomend AA it works if you work it.
I was a high bottom drunk, never got in trouble.
I just got tired of the stinking thinking.
AA is a suicide prevention program among other things because death is at the bottom of the bottle.
I let all of the good things AA gave me take me back out and off the wagon.
Everything in life has a price. Serenity, well being and peace take effort and daly maintainance.
I havent gotten missrable enough to go back to AA, since I fell out in the 90's.
But it works if you work it. And its great when you work it.
you can't be god if nobody exists but you.. sure, you are taller.
but, taller than what?.
see, a superlative is the last step among comparisons: good, better....best!.
Terry I enjoy your post, in fact I save most of them on word for future reference.
I have had many of the thougts you express through out my life, I have never been able to express them as eloquently
as you.
I observe that you and other atheist here have paved a very broad and spacious path away from God, a path that
I cant find words to contest. I come to realize, I can not win any arguments with atheist. I find there is a part of me
that agrees with your observations.
If these observations are true, I find them very disturbing and upsetting. I find them depressing.
I find them depressing because, this life will end and that will be it.
Life has been ups and downs, hills and valleys
but the good has overcome the bad.
I have been out of the tower for almost 30 years and havent done anything or wanted to do anything
that God cant get over. Like Joe Walsh says, "Lifes been good to me so far"
When I am on this broad spacious path the atheist have paved with very few bumps or pot holes all I can
see off to the side is a cramped narrow road that leads to God.
Is there something profound in that?
there is this sister in the hall i went to who is in her mid 80's.
she is very active and pioneers, etc.
well when i was still going to the meetings and out in service she would talk about how she came into the "truth.
The truth screwed up my family, my parents did not get divorced but my mother did all the bad things you describe
of neglecting my father on the weekends durning the week draging my brother and me to meetings and
to sell magazines. When I was younger, I thought all the disfunction in my family was from my father.
When I got older and reflected back, I see all the problems were my mother and her goofy religion.
My father tried to celebrate Christmass, tried to celebrate birthdays. She fought him about all that
and took the joy out of lifes simple pleasures.
My father wanted to do things
with my mother but she was always going to meetings and out in field service.
My mother finally escaped the tower in the late 90's and now spends her days on anti depressants escaping her foolish
behavior and destructive ways, crying for my father who never was a JW and died 7 years ago.
She's almost 80 and cant accept she is not going to live forever.
And all that hell started with a knock on the door back in the 50's from Johnny and Ethel Wagner.
He was the presiding overseer of the Brooklyn/Cleveland congregation of Jehovahs Witnesses.
That knock sent a lot of people into a living hell.
say hello to ark encounter.. .
kentucky governor unveils plans for creationist theme park complete with full-sized ark.
.. a joint project between beshear and answers in genesis -- a christian organization that also built a similar attraction, the creation museum -- the park will reportedly cost at least $150 million and create 900 jobs, according to the news release.. beshear's spokesperson kerri richardson declined to comment beyond what was in her office's news release on the project.. the amusement park, named ark encounter, will include all the modern recreation amenities, including: a full-sized wooden ark, a "walled city much like was found in ancient times, a replica of the tower of babel with exhibits, a first-century middle eastern village" and even outdoor parking.
Thank you Lore for doing the math. I have saved that to reflect upon.
