Posts by bernadette

i do not tolerate small-minded witnesses who called me 'brother' for most of 40 years, now acting as if i am no better than sh*t on the bottom of their shoes.

My brother invited me in!

by Shawn10538 in

jw
friends

i decided to surprise visit my brother (we used to be extremely close) on nyeve.

i brought a present for his kids which they were excited about.

i stood at the door a little uncomfortable for a few minutes and then i said,"dude, i just drove all the way up here on my motorcycle in the cold, aren't you going to ask me in?

bernadette

Good for you Shawn. Appealing to the heart is very enabling. I'm trying to engage that way of thinking based on all the recommendations on this board.

I think its the way forward

b

109

Women are in subjection to their husbands and to the Elders!!!!!

by Gill in

the february 15th watchtower 2007, is spectacularly nauseating!!!

at least i found it so.. i would welcome the opinion of all on the board to this sentiment on page 19, paragraph 8 and9:.

'although subjection can be challenging, women can welcome it as honorable, even as did jesus.

The bible however whilst contributing to a patriachal society should not be blamed; we live in a society where we are more intelligent and educated, we simply know better and I maintain that the bibles failings in this regard are merely indicative of it being written from a male perspective and at a time where women had less equal rights.

Going back to my point, we now simply know better and any religious organisation that fails to move with the times in this regard is conveniently using such biblical passages to bolster its attempt to control women and to place them in subordinate positions.

Fascinating book I'm presently reading makes the above point. The Sins of Scripture by John Shelby Spong.

Some headings under THE BIBLE AND WOMEN are

The Women is not Made in the image of God

Sexism in the Christian History

The Woman as the Source of Evil

Menstruation and the Male fear of Blood

Recasting the Negativity

The interesting thing is that the author was a bishop.

bernadette

30

Lying is fine!

by Gill in

in this article of the watchtower, february 1st 2007, we get some very typical watchtower double talk.. 'why be truthful?

' is the article.

page 6 says,.

bernadette

Gill

So basically, any JW can choose to rationalise that they do not 'wish' to tell the truth as they do not 'feel' that a person deserves the truth.

In my experience this happens a lot. So really if we follow through on JW reasoning - they are as in fact as an organisation preparing their followers for destruction - and not for salvation as they claim.

I had the point made to me over the weekend that -

"JWs were the only people who came to my door with the TRUTH. And many are on the road to destruction for narrow is the gate.......to salvation."

Fortunately that rendered me speechless (gave me time to think). Tackled the subject later in a kinder more rational frame of mind.

bernadette

12

Voodoo and New Orleans

by free2beme in

jw
friends

a few years ago i was in new orleans for a business trip and took some time to check out the area.

very humid, not my cup of tea and i was glad i was only there for two days.

anyway, there is a strong amount of connections in the city with voodoo.

bernadette

Hi free2beme

Don't know much about voodoo other than what I was taught as a catholic and then as a JW.

Does it work with nature and does it promote harmony between people and also with the earth?

bernadette

80

My Mom passed away today.

by Finally-Free in

jw
friends

after a lenthy illness, 10 years in total, my mother, margaret stecko, passed away peacefully today surrounded by family.

she was 84, and leaves behind 3 children, 5 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren.

she was a jw but never shunned me.

bernadette

Finallyfree, sorry for your loss.

My dad went peacefully too when he died, after a very tough chequered life. Its very comforting to witness a peaceful happy end.

bernadette

42

Why be obedient to god?

by nicolaou in

if a creator god is real and he is the source of life well then i would certainly acknowledge that and give him thanks for my existence and for the universe i live in.

but obedience?.

my mum and dad gave me life, ensured my education, looked after my health and wellbeing, loved me, taught me the value of kindness and friendships and so much more.

bernadette

The same reasons why you should be obedient to your parents, your vows if married, ect... LOVE, love should be the motive for it, if not, you will not follow obediance for the right reasons. We are prone to selfishness and unless we fight that quality and do it because we should, it wont last.

abr

Abr, should we still be obedient to our parents/mate if they are cruel and demeaning?

b

18

Out in Service & Making Bark-Calls

by compound complex in

dear hounded by the hounds,.

when the dogs came rushing toward the two sisters out in service, the scaredy-cat sister got behind the other sister for protection.

her reason?

bernadette

Hi CoCo

Looking back, I have admit - cats and dogs were the highlights of my ministry. They sustained my children through boredom. Every street had its share of dogs and cats and they always seemed to come to our rescue. Thank goodness for house pets and strays.

b