zarco

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Posts by zarco

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  7

  Do you miss a place to connect with others?

  by zarco in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  startfragment.

  after fading away a couple of years ago and going through the stages of transition away from the wts anger, disappointment with them and with myself for staying so long and now disgust at their harmful doctrine i no longer think of myself as an ex-witness.. recently i have had a longing to check out other groups.. i recently went to a buddhist meditation but the religious symbols didnt feel right to me.

  the people were warm, welcoming and genuinely interested in me.

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  zarco

  OM -

  If you fly all of that way, I will provide the steak and wine. It is how we celebrate the memorial now days :)

  zarco
• 
  7

  Do you miss a place to connect with others?

  by zarco in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  startfragment.

  after fading away a couple of years ago and going through the stages of transition away from the wts anger, disappointment with them and with myself for staying so long and now disgust at their harmful doctrine i no longer think of myself as an ex-witness.. recently i have had a longing to check out other groups.. i recently went to a buddhist meditation but the religious symbols didnt feel right to me.

  the people were warm, welcoming and genuinely interested in me.

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  zarco

  The place that I go to has a band and they play about 4 songs throughout the service. There is a short reading or two from a philosopher or from a "thinker". Last week the reading was from the writing of an Native American Chief

  There is a talk on a current topic. Last week it was about how the way a universalist looks at "sin" is far different than a religious person. If we find ourselves acting in a way contrary to what we aspire to be or to what we hold dear, it is a sin to us. So in this talk it was more about working to be consistent with our deeply held beliefs. For many in the congregation I went to it was being consistent with environmental causes.

  There is a short story that involves the children in the congregation. Then the children go with a youth director for activities. Folks from the congregation can share good and bad things that they are experiencing as part of the service. Some talked about their anniversary, others a birth. Still others lost a family member, etc.

  The entire service is about 70 minutes.

  A state government official came to the church to talk about budget matters. He came during the week, not at the Sunday service.

  The indeed like to drink :)

  Best,
• 
  7

  Do you miss a place to connect with others?

  by zarco in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  startfragment.

  after fading away a couple of years ago and going through the stages of transition away from the wts anger, disappointment with them and with myself for staying so long and now disgust at their harmful doctrine i no longer think of myself as an ex-witness.. recently i have had a longing to check out other groups.. i recently went to a buddhist meditation but the religious symbols didnt feel right to me.

  the people were warm, welcoming and genuinely interested in me.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  zarco

  After fading away a couple of years ago and going through the stages of transition away from the WTS – anger, disappointment with them and with myself for staying so long and now disgust at their harmful doctrine– I no longer think of myself as an ex-witness.

  Recently I have had a longing to check out other groups.

  I recently went to a Buddhist meditation but the religious symbols didn’t feel right to me. The people were warm, welcoming and genuinely interested in me. And Buddha seemed happy enough, at least he is smiling in many depictions. I also attended an Episcopal church – a very liberal, active thought provoking group but a little too “jesus” for my tastes.

  I finally found a place that feels right. I attended and will continue to attend the Unitarian Universalist Church in my town. The attendees are very diverse made up of, Christians, deists, pagans, agnostics and atheists. The church is focused on good deeds, feeding the homeless, social activism and general alignment philosophy (aligning behaviors with whatever your beliefs are).

  The do not have a doctrine, rather follow seven principles:

  1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

  2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

  3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;

  4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;

  5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;

  6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

  7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

  If you, like me, ever need a place to connect with people and if the WTS has knocked the desire to be religious out of you, I really recommend the UU. It seems that most congregations are similar to mine.

  Best,

  Zarco
• 
  101

  How do you feel about the pledge of allegiance now?

  by SweetBabyCheezits in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for you us citizens (and those whose nations have a similar patriotic oath), how do you feel about your children saying the pledge in school if it's customary?.

  my daughter is in 3rd grade and part of her school's morning routine includes the pledge.

  when we stopped attending meetings a year ago, my wife and i explained to her that we don't agree with the jw "idolatry" classification so, naturally, she started joining her class in the pledge.. fast forward to the present: my wife and i are both non-theists who want to raise ethical, caring, tolerant children, but also children who aren't afraid to stand apart, especially when that stand isn't popular.

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  zarco

  SBC -

  You sound like a great dad. We did our best to raise our daughter to question, to be brave, to stand up for and choose her own beliefs and other than a few times when I was afraid for her, she turned out to be a wonderful young woman. If I can make a suggestion, I would share this "thread" with her and the responses and listen to her thinking on it. Would love to hear what she has to say.

  Best,

  zarco
• 
  86

  They really are pooping their pants over these latest "signs"...

  by undercover in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've seen a few threads/posts where some of y'all have heard from jw contacts and how they've stepped up their 'the end is close' rhetoric because of the earthquake/tsunami in japan.

  i usually take those things with a grain of salt.

  there's always some jw whose cheese has slipped that reads prophecy into every little thing that happens.

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  zarco

  It is a heartbreaking catastrophe, however a simple review of the Black Death in 14th century Europe where 30 percent to maybe 70 percent of the population died might help put some of these modern day disasters in perspective.

  zarco
• 
  78

  May 22, 1969 Awake! promises "you will never grow old" - Creative Writing

  by Mad Sweeney in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the year is 1969. faithful followers of the watchtower society are gearing up for the imminent end of the system of things just as they had been for the previous ninety years.

  a young witness named andrew is trying to decide what to do with his life.

  andrew is a smart kid and he has an entire lifetime ahead of him.

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  zarco

  Really well written, Mad. And very typical of many JWs.

  The 1969 Awake was used by a kindly Congregation Servant in helping me with making choice about what classes to take in high school and also why I should turn down a scholarship to go to college. Fortunately, later in life I disobeyed the WTS's kindly "dumb-arse" advice and went to college.

  Secondly, a few years ago some uber-JWs were at our house and we were dicussing their child's educational opportunities. They mentioned that the Circuit Overseer mentioned that the WTS advice on education has always been the same. Starting with the 1969 Awake and then the Lloyd Barry inspired easing on this stance and then the current return to 1969 thinking (read lack of thinking), we were easily able to show that the CO was misinformed and likely misleading in his comments.

  Our "friends" have not been back to visit since:)

  Best,

  zarco
• 
  6

  Afterlife, Hitchens, Harris, Wolpe.

  by cyberjesus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  they were at the university i teach last week.

  watch this interesting conversation.. http://www.archive.org/details/afterlifedebatewchristopherhitchenssamharrisrabbidavidwolpeand.

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  zarco

  San Harris has a new book - The Moral Landscpape - which is very thought provoking. His arguments seem better constructed than some of his earlier attacking style. I really enjoyed the book.

  zarco
• 
  30

  Facial Hair – a Perfect Fading Strategy

  by zarco in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  startfragment.

  so a brother wants to fade, but would rather not explain his reasons.

  lets say he grows a nice beard or goatee.

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  zarco

  Very interesting comments -

  Vidiot - glad the strategy worked for you and it is really a weird JW rule that does not stand up to even a conversation.

  Blondie - that is really sad about the brother with the skin condition.

  Zoiks - it is the secret handshake - I dont look good with facial hair - not that I look good without it either otherwise i would give it a go.

  Cadellin - sorry that your husband does not like your facial hair -

  Franklin - you are probably right. Other countries certainly are more lax when it comes to facial hair

  zarco
• 
  6

  Watchtower - Taxes and Grassley

  by zarco in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  startfragment.

  charles grassley of iowa has for years been very concerned about abuses in the use of money by charitable and religious organizations.

  he recently stated, the constitution does not exempt churches from federal income taxation or from filing tax and information returns.. his goal is complete transparency of how the dollars are used.

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  zarco

  Grassley is the senior member on several committees, judciary, finance and taxation among others. His ideas on transparency and possible taxation of religions are long held beliefs and I am sure resonate better now than in the past. He represents Iowa - a very conservative US State.

  Zarco
• 
  30

  Facial Hair – a Perfect Fading Strategy

  by zarco in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  startfragment.

  so a brother wants to fade, but would rather not explain his reasons.

  lets say he grows a nice beard or goatee.

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  zarco

  So a brother wants to fade, but would rather not explain his reasons. Let’s say he grows a nice beard or goatee. In all likelihood - in the US - he would lose his privileges. In most congregations he would not serve in any “exemplary capacity”. He would not even run microphones or be in the TMS. All he would have to do is explain why he grew the facial hair. He could say all sorts of things:

  • My wife likes it
  • It makes me look distinguished
  • All of the professors are doing it

  What do you think - a perfect fading strategy?

  Zarco