OnTheWayOut

Joined

• started 589 topics
• posted 21,823 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by OnTheWayOut

• 
  13

  Having my stitches out....

  by Louise in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  and i'm a little scared.. yes they are ready to come out.

  my thumb pad is tingly and burning.

  the skin around the stitches is numb.. with the injury being so bad, it is going to take at least a year for my thumb to be 90% recovered.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Typically, the removal of stitches is nothing at all to worry about. Even still in pain, they should not effect your pain level.
• 
  75

  Having Faith in the Bible

  by william draper in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know many on here have lost faith in the bible , is it possible that is because ones do not have the right perspective regarding it .

  we have usually been taught by bad teachers , or ignorant .

  i believe if we take an honest look at the bible , we will see that it gives us the best answers to crucial matters , it gives us some amount of bearings ( understanding ) , which without having such knowledge we would all be more like walking zombies in amanner of speaking , we would be lacking hope in something better , for surely something better is to come , how can we be sure , .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  YOU ARE NOT GOING TO QUESTION THE HAND OF GOD? How nice of you. The biggest point about questioning is allowing it to first see that such a God that allows these things is not worthy of worship and second to see that such a monster probably does not exist. It is the anecdotal evidence to combat personal revelations.

  Whether God allows children born to parents worshipping the wrong deity to be killed for that or just put into a forced marriage to the very men who killed their parents (in the case of vigin girls) is disgusting either way.
• 
  36

  How do stop myself getting too Bitter?

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  you know, i always maintained that during this fading process, and while learning ttatt, i would not let myself get "bitter twisted and angry".... but, in all honesty, if i examine myself, i have become quite bitter toward the org, toward the false friends and the gb.. i have become angry as i see the extent of damage i feel being raised in "the truth" has done.... i feel hurt towards the lost opportunities in life etc.... how do i not allow myself to get too swallowed up by such bitterness?.

  i have always been a very happy, positive, selfless person.

  i can put people at ease, i am someone people feel comfortable chatting to.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  I had to go to counseling to realize why I embraced the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses and why I probably would have been dead had I not done so. I had to read quite a bit of Zen and Tao philosophy to let it go. Still, I sound bitter in many discussions about Watchtower.
  
  I guess I am not the person to give you advice. I try to focus my bitterness toward the organization and accept that even a-hole circuit overseers are just victims like me, and I try to recognize the good in any members I know or knew. When my best friend abandoned me, I try to remember what a great guy he is and how he is just trying to be faithful to God in his ignorance. (Does that sound bitter? Sorry.)
  
  
• 
  75

  Having Faith in the Bible

  by william draper in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know many on here have lost faith in the bible , is it possible that is because ones do not have the right perspective regarding it .

  we have usually been taught by bad teachers , or ignorant .

  i believe if we take an honest look at the bible , we will see that it gives us the best answers to crucial matters , it gives us some amount of bearings ( understanding ) , which without having such knowledge we would all be more like walking zombies in amanner of speaking , we would be lacking hope in something better , for surely something better is to come , how can we be sure , .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Many spoke of the earth being flat , or supportedby Elephants , but in the scriptures we find what science also revealed years later , now of course a wise man could reason that the earth was round , but to say that it hung upon nothing , where else does one find such wisdom , God revealed it to certain ones to have such understanding . Many other wise men had no grasp of such knowledge .

  I will just comment on this single example of re-inventing what the Bible says to sound more palatable to modern man who has a better understanding. The roundness of the earth described in the Bible was more in line with a flat coin with round edges. If God wanted to avoid so much trouble in the dark ages and wanted to help Man understand the universe, He could have seen to it that the Bible described the earth as a ball that goes around the sun (not the center of the universe) and that stars are not little tiny lights that orbit the earth but are other "suns" bigger than the earth, just far away.

  You seem to do this with other points, just as the JW's do- try to say what the Bible doesn't say and re-invent what it meant to indicate that it was different from current beliefs. It was not radically different and left out so much.
• 
  75

  Having Faith in the Bible

  by william draper in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know many on here have lost faith in the bible , is it possible that is because ones do not have the right perspective regarding it .

  we have usually been taught by bad teachers , or ignorant .

  i believe if we take an honest look at the bible , we will see that it gives us the best answers to crucial matters , it gives us some amount of bearings ( understanding ) , which without having such knowledge we would all be more like walking zombies in amanner of speaking , we would be lacking hope in something better , for surely something better is to come , how can we be sure , .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Some, like myself, have not "lost faith in the Bible," but have grown beyond faith in the Bible.

  I think that belief that the Bible "gives us the best answers to crucial matters" is ignoring it's answers as far as women, slavery, exclusionism, etc.
  If a man rapes a woman, pay 50 sheckels to her father and marry her.
  The husband is to rule over his wife. Man was not created for woman but woman for man.
  A man who refuses to impregnate his widowed sister-in-law is put to death.
  
  

  I could go on and on.
  If we followed the letter of the Bible, then we really would be closer to your "walking zombies in a manner of speaking."
  You could sell your daughter into permanent slavery to pay a debt.
  You could beat your slave severely, as long as he doesn't die that very day, but the next day is okay.
  If you can't find a wife, you could take the virgin daughter of your enemy in battle that you just killed and shave her head and imprison her for life, but call her your wife.

  Is there any other book that gives us a better understanding of where we came from , and what may be / is to be our future .

  I won't bother with that except to say that man is much older than 6 or 7 thousand years old and that real progress with our future comes from excepting real science about how it all started. Otherwise, we could remain ignorant and not bother to understand our universe because "God" will tell us what we need. So don't bother to cure disease or invent better products for mankind.
• 
  91

  Setback

  by EdenOne in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i saw this coming since my mother-in-law's funeral .... the congregation's "love-bombing" over my wife had its impact.

  i watched her drawing closer and closer to her friends in the congregation.

  then she decided she would attend the memorial.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Sorry to read your woes.

  She said it won't happen again, but given what the cult mentallity does to people, I'm not so sure I can trust her.

  Watch your back. I don't have kids, my wife and I are otherwise in a similar position. I trust her, but don't tell her all I do because she might one day feel compelled to report it. The other day, we were talking about our recent Mayoral election and she asked, "Did you vote?" I said "No, if I vote, someone will tell my mother to never speak to me again." Her reply was, "You don't have to tell anyone that you voted." "Yeah, but YOU just asked. Should I lie to you or say it's none of your business?" Her reply was "I guess I did ask. You will have to say 'None of my business.'"

  Hopefully, your wife will one day tire of the life she returned to.
• 
  9

  ATL Teachers Sentenced to Prison in Cheating Scandal: Can the same charges be used against leaders of the WTBTS?

  by Wild_Thing in

  1. social
  2. current

  first of all, i stand in support of the teachers ... sort of.

  this system of over testing in america, connecting test scores to monetary rewards or punishments, and threatening teachers with their job over test scores is directly to blame for the environment created where teachers and administrators felt pressure to cheat.

  but at the same time, they lost their integrity and cheated.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  I followed with interest at one time. I get that there was huge pressure upon the teachers. I also disagree with criminal jail time.

  So, yes. I can say that many at Watchtower are cheating. There is pressure on them to misuse quotes and data and to manipulate the members into giving more money. I would also lump these people in with the teachers, caving in to pressure, and disagree with jail time. But as I would expect "Banned from Teaching" for the one group, I would expect "Banned from Preaching/Recruiting" for the other.
• 
  48

  How many here gave up having a family for the sake of the "truth"?

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is a sensitive topic for many of us i know, but i am wondering how many here actually gave up the idea of having a family "in this system" for the sake of "kingdom activity or service"??.

  start the count here with my wife and i.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  ME ME ME ME ME ME!!!!!!!!!

  My wife and I decided it was far too late in this system of things to be having kids. She got a bit rocky in her decision just after I faded. By then, I knew there was no way we would raise a child together with our differences about "the truth." I told her we had decided not to have children and we are going to stay with that.

  It's far enough past that now and I don't need to worry.
• 
  9

  New Avatar

  by mrquik in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i can't help but think how many committee meetings this photo would have generated.

  this is on the caribbean side of cozumel at a quaint bar called mezcalito's.

  this side of the island is virtually deserted.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  MISTER QUIK, I don't think the ladies are admiring TATTOOS. They probably notice the well-defined man.
• 
  24

  Conn. Firefighter Who Is Jehovah's Witness Files Federal Discrimination Lawsuit

  by Bangalore in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  conn. firefighter who is jehovah's witness files federal discrimination lawsuit.

  http://www.ctlawtribune.com/id=1202722980377/conn-firefighter-who-is-jehovahs-witness-files-federal-discrimination-lawsuit#ixzz3xhkbpznt.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  I hate to side with a JW but an individual firefighter doesn't need to be involved in raising or lowering the flag at the station. He can go clean toilets or windows or tools while someone else gets that part done. It's really that simple.

  Some smaller municipalities will insist that a member participate in parades, afterall- if they all had a choice, they probably would not have anyone in the parade. It could be mandatory to march but not to participate in any other way. A court may rule that religious objection is a good enough reason to sit it out, so such a person could be left to monitor radios or the station house or something essential while others are marching.