Look, people. There are endless posts on how WRONG it is to disfellowship and shun someone. Now... everyone did something to get disfellowshipped and shunned. Sometimes the reasons are completely non-biblical and rediculous. Sometimes, the person did something really hurtful and stupid.
I am neither a fan of cheating on one's partner nor of smoking pot, for that matter, but I try not to judge my friends who do it.
Every situation has its own story. Some are going to find some instances more excusable than others.
So, the question is... SHUNNING... are you for, or against it???
BabaYaga
JoinedPosts by BabaYaga
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GUESS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME TODAY!
by Butters ini cannot believe what i saw happen today at the store.. i was at wal-mart browsing various electronics and digital cameras and such, when i heard behind me, "brother hardy, how are you!"...
first thing i thought was oh shit, they found me, and forgot my real name, or have me mixed up with someone else.. turns out, this disfellowshiped witness was there at the store and saw one of his congregation members there.
now i personally have never been part of the shunning process myself, but here i am, an ex-jw watching from the other aisle, a bunch of shit that i never thought i would see the lights of day on.... the brother, this "hardy" i guess, looked up at the man with a smile, but then when he realized who it was, he immediately frowned and started pushing his shopping cart away looking straight ahead and not even acknowledging the man... (here's where i jump in..).
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BabaYaga
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BabaYaga
It also reminded me of the Bush administration.
Blinders and FEAR-MONGERING are hateful and deceitful, whether coming from a village, a religion, or a government. -
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Farewell, Good Luck, Amensaying Goodbye from the Wanderer
by The wanderer in<!-- .style2 {font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; } .style3 {font-family: arial, sans-serif; color: #037bd1; } --> farewell, good luck, amensaying goodbye from the wanderer i want to say thank you to those individuals who reached out to .
me during these past two months.
for all the help you have given me and to each other.. time to move on in life i have decided that after nearly 100 written articles that this will.
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BabaYaga
Richard!
I certainly understand the need to break away (this forum can become addictive) but your posts ROCK. Look what you exorcised from me by asking your wonderful questions... you have such an incredible gift for posting things that really get people thinking and typing and interacting.
Have fun doing something other than this board... but check back often... and I hope I catch you when you do.
Hugs to you!
Baba -
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Have you become REALLY interested in people now?
by AK - Jeff inwhile in the borg, we seemed to be focused on people, but it was false, only looking for opportunities to 'convert', 'study with', 'help them into the truth'.. i have noticed that i take a genuine interest in others now.
those i meet in public, my gay child care provider, her childen, her partner.
parents of other children we meet at events [we care for our grandkids].
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BabaYaga
Great points, Jeff, I don't think I ever thought of that before.
How the heck can you really listen to anyone if you are not supposed to hear what they say, it is all "of the world"? How can you allow yourself to get attached to anyone, believing they will be destroyed, and it's "just around the corner"? The only chance you have of ever being "friends" with them (term used loosely, as we know that Witness friendships with each other are completely conditional) is to "bring them into the TEEruth".
Amazing.
Yes, it's WONDERFUL to relax and actually listen and enjoy what someone has to say.
It's also a MAGNIFICENT thing to READ ANYTHING I WANT and ENJOY it. I don't think JWs are EVER allowed to relax. It is ALWAYS all about the service. -
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JW's shunning baptized wife and family because of unbaptized husband
by MinisterAmos ini saw a related thread around here but can't locate it so i'm posting this personal observation on what i would call a "high-profile" couple.
rich and bright i met them at the kh.
it starts about three years ago when a family moved to our area; a couple and their child.
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BabaYaga
Why the hell do Witnesses bother sending out wedding invitations ANYWAY when no one is invited but JW's and you'd better include the whole congregation?
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Tactless Dubs
by LovesDubs inis it me or do dubs have no clue how to be tactful and pretty much just spew whatever is on their minds??
i used to work out of my home, doing medical transcription, with a newborn next to me and two in school.
the car groups used to stop at my house unannounced to use the bathroom and would wander around my house examining my stuff and my cleaning job.
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BabaYaga
Damn.
There's one (or, sometimes several) in every crowd, so they say... but the ones you spoke of need... SOMETHING. Seratonin? Manners? To be tarred and feathered? Who knows what would help. Those comments were NASTY. -
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Holiday Pagan Chart of JW's
by Little Bo Peep inin looking through my files i came across this interesting information.
i may have orginally found this link here, but it was 2 years ago and my mind is a blurr from then.
the chart has a column for pagan custom, wt reason, reality check.
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BabaYaga
Very cool chart... thanks for the link!
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Alcoholism and the Loss of a good friend
by ScoobySnax inmy friend and work colleague was kelvin.
often he would be the one to do the "egg and bacon" run at 9:30am after we'd been at work for a couple of hours on the ward.
down to the hospital cantain he'd go to get us all lots of cholesterol laiden food, egg, bacon, mushrooms,fried bread waffles etc a proper english breakfast.
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BabaYaga
What a waste, indeed, but he's not hurting anymore.
Peace to you, Kelvin.
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Does the Watchtower use Gnostic principles to control its slaves?
by Gill inthe watchtower is noted for its extreme stand on many issues, including life and death issues.. i'm thinking of things such as blood, of course, christmas, birthdays, holidays, private marriage issues etc.. the recent watchtower on the 'antichrist' had me thinking of their criticism of gnostic beliefs and how they worded it is as follows~.
'ideas of a purely symbolic resurrection were later developed by a group called gnostics.
believeing that knowledge could be derived in a mystical way, gnostics combined apostate christianity with greek philosophy and oriental mysticism.
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BabaYaga
I must completely and utterly disagree... but then, I disagree with a lot of misconceptions held about Gnostics.
I wish to quote from my dear friend Tau (Bishop) Rosamonde Miller, on her definition of Gnostics. She is ordained in not one, but two, of the ancient Gnostic traditions. You will see that from a Gnostic Bishop's standpoint, at least, the Gnostic mindset is as far away from the JW's dictates as you can get.
(quote pasted from http://www.gnosticsanctuary.org/who_are_we.html a wonderful site)
"This is a group of people with a sense of humor. Life is too serious for us to take ourselves seriously. We enjoy life and all it has to offer. We rejoice in the discoveries of science: the decoding of the DNA, the functioning of the brain, the wresting of the mysteries within the heart of the atom itself, the new physics, modern technology, and the computer age. We rejoice in poetry, music, and dance. We rejoice in nature.
"We also remain aware of the past and its traditions. We do not follow the traditions themselves, nor do they bind us. Rather we acknowledge them as part of our cultural past and as a source from which much of our present civilization springs forth.
"The same applies to all scriptures. The Hebrew Bible, the Gnostic Gospels, the Christian and Apocryphal Gospels, the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita—we use them and others from more recent sources. We never take them literally. We do not consider any of them to be "the word of God" or a final authority. We do not see them as "God's laws," but as men's laws. They are many voices with varying degrees of consciousness expressing, with whatever they could, their vision of the universe and its source. Each the voice of its culture and times. Each colored by its political and social condition—often tainted with fear and the effort to demonize enemies or to justify actions and the establishment of new beliefs. Each a cry for hope. All longing for God. Much in them is of great beauty and wisdom. We recognize and acknowledge the value of these ancient mythologies. By mythology, we mean something that while not necessarily factual, is nevertheless true. They point not to one time and event in history but to the ever-recurrent realities of the soul. As we discover more about evolution and the universe, new meanings arise. The old mysteries, as they unravel, eternally disclose new ones to be unveiled. Therefore we can hold no beliefs—only hypotheses; open to be discarded or changed at all times.
"We acknowledge and celebrate ritual—so deeply ingrained within our own primitive natures. Since primitive times and against all rationality we continue to search for the Unknown and Unknowable within and beyond perceived reality, the Great Mystery beyond birth and death. The rituals that we celebrate in our Sanctuary, with their flow of poetry, music and rich metaphor often lead us beyond ordinary reality. When consciously celebrating their mystery, a paean of joy often bursts from our souls that connects us to the root and totality of our beings—as well as with that which has been, is, and is yet to come.
"We are not dualists and do not follow any one school of Gnostic "thought," ancient or modern, such as Valentinian, Basilidian or Marcionite, among others. We today, as did our early Gnostic ancestors, maintain our freedom to inquire and explore all levels of existence, unfettered by the consensus beliefs of our society and times. We do not follow "Gnostic doctrines," the term amounting to an oxymoron, any more than any other belief handed down through the centuries. Gnosis is a matter of experience, not belief.
"Gnostics are a paradox. We do not embrace beliefs or form concepts, but are deeply committed to that which moves us. We hesitate to call it God because of all the dogma and theology the word implies. That Which Is defies explanations.
"We hold ourselves open for that Supreme Mystery to manifest in all its life and splendor in each blinding, eternal moment. This is not a goal—something to reach and obtain, like a degree—so that we may call ourselves "enlightened." We strive to be intensely aware at all times, free from conditioning and expectations, for Gnosis cannot be coerced, only invited, so it may move and dwell in us.
"We reject all prejudices. We stand for the dignity of all sentient beings and their freedom to choose and inquire deeply within; to question all formulas; to explore without assumptions or taking anything for granted. We stand for our right to find our way out from all conditioning; to make our own choices and decisions, be them of faith, of lifestyle or of anything pertaining to us as individuals. We stand for our right to face life without fear and to look at the unknown with courage and joy. These Gnostics are not pessimistic, but see life as a great adventure."
© 2000, Rosamonde Miller
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I missed some things while I was gone.
by AnonyMouse inwhat is this "un thing" that i keep reading about?
what happend in california?
(some sort of court case?
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BabaYaga
The U.N. thing is the reference to the WTBTS belonging to the United Nations secretly for several years even tho they for years have depicted the UN as the "scarlet colored wild beast".
California has ordered that the database of pedophiles in JW congregations be released.
R&F is Rank and File, in other words, in JDoubletalk, the "other sheep", JWs who are not the higher-ups.