if you discover, while getting to know a potential partner, that they have cheated on a previous partner........ don't touch them.
run run run.. in my opinion a cheat remains a cheat.
opportunity is the variable.. please discuss..
I will agree that if a "cheater" finds themselves in the same circumstances that led to them cheating, they would be likely to do so again.
But there is nothing in human nature that says that once someone cheats they are permanently locked into a pattern for the rest of their life.
egg and i were treated out to dinner three times last weekend by out of state visiting relatives.
just found out last night that they don't believe in tipping, at all!
we suggested the places to eat and frequent those places ourselves.
I usually tip 15%
5% food, 10% service.
If I get lousy food and service I don't leave anything but that is an extreme rarity.
There was one witness I used to know that when we all went out together would insist on putting the whole amount on his credit card and we'd either reimurse him the cash amount either there or later.
He did this for months before someone went back to check the bill and we found out he was just putting the meal on his card and pocketing our tips. He lost alot of friends that day.
so as not to hijack another thread i decided that a thread on culture could be useful.
i'd like to provide a safe place for people to talk about cultural norms or abnormals.
you don't want to learn that you've done or said the wrong thing by gettin' a fist in the face, know what i'm saying?.
This is one of my pet peeves. People are so concerned about political correctness that they make comments that serve to alienate groups even further.
We should not be black, brown, white, yellow... whatever. We should be people. There will always be idiots who need to ridicule others. They may pick race, religion, sexuality... go ahead, just pick something that makes another person different, there will be people that do it.
In my opinion, the challenge isn't how to act or treat "blacks" as the original post was pointing out. It is to stop seeing someone as black and it's a two way street. So long as we all identify ourselves by our color, we are drawing focus to what makes us differenent.
Racism is such a taboo topic that it will be interesting to see the feedback to this comment.
If you are black, could you stop seeing and refering to yourself as a black person? Identifying yourself by your color, whatever it is, only leaves the door open for others to do the same.
Other discussions I have had on the topic show that people aren't ready to give up what makes them different, even if the outcome would be to defeat racism. It's a maddening paradox and no culture is immune.
does anybody personally know people at bethel that are "apostate" but still undercover?
surely there has to be a handul at least.
perhaps they are still there, until they can get things in order to leave...
A question should be asked "If there is an apostate at Bethal, why the hell would s/he stay slaving for corporation for free??"
The same reason many homophobes are gay?
I would second "Apocolypse Delayed" for a non-witness.
the significance of raymond franz.
in the light of the passing of raymond franz this week, it is clear from the reaction that many were affected by the deeds of this man.
while he was called gentle by those who knew him (for the record, i never got to meet him personally) his reputation preceded him both in the ex jehovah's witness community, and still to this day at the world headquarters of jehovah's witnesses.. while his writings were indeed fair and reasonable, (i challenge anyone to read his books and find bitterness associated with him toward his former peers) i think it would be a mistake to remember ray franz as somewhat of a gentle, doting old man.
It is not a popular opinion, but I think Ray's efforts while a member of the GB actually helped turn it into the legalistic beast that it is now.
While the religion had a person in the position of "President" the doctrine changed to match that of the head. With power taken away from a "presidential" position and given to a democratic body, the ability to change and adapt was taken away. Most major votes will not pass unless seen as necessary to reform an embarassing teaching or legal necessity.
This has led to legal challenges all over the world as they cling to outdated doctrine. It has really fine tuned the organization from religious to political. Gone from misguided to oppressive.
I think he acted in good faith in bringing the changes, but neglected to factor in human greed and ambition. His actions then gave power to a new beast that has, and continues to pile an inflexible load on their "flock".
His work in CoC and ISoCF have been an enormous help to the ex-witness community, but I think his actions while a GB member will end up being what eventually topples the tower. It is a shame that he didn't live to see it in his lifetime.
RIP Raymond Franz
attention to the elder body of the *******congregation of jehovahs witnesses .
criminal harassment is defined as "engag(ing) in intentional conduct which the actor [harasser] knows or has reason to know would cause the victim, under the circumstances, to feel frightened, threatened, oppressed, persecuted, or intimidated; and causes this reaction on the part of the victim.
609.749, subd.
I like the short version. The less they have to pick over and interpret, the more infuriated they will be. Leave them angry and impotent.
the next new light from the f&ds could be the tithe for jw's.
it's a logical corporate decision , needed to replace the lost income stream from the publishing side of the wt business.
they know that the kh has many inactive slugs who don't contribute any $$ to the business, so this would be the best way to milk $$ from the inactive ones.
The Mormon's structure is set up differently. They encourage business, education and political office.
With the encouraging poverty to preach and shunning secondary education, most witnesses are too poor to tithe
"so is the nearness of armageddon from jehovah's perspective or from ours?".
"why is the majority of the memorial talk dedicated to bringing in more members?".
"who were the true worshipers of jehovah in the 17 hundred year gap prior to russel?".
Isreal would lose Jehovah's favor if their leadership sinned and tried to justify it or cover it up. Given the coverups and mistakes made by the Governing Body, how would you tell if Jehovah had removed his favor from them?
i once heard a psychiatrist explain suicide as the ultimate act of self-preservation.
sound weird?.
counter-intuitive as that sounds, he went on to explain why.. when all you value in life is threatened you do whatever desperate act that will preserve that value.. destruction of self stops the ......process.....of consciously losing.
I'd pretty much agree.
Religion focuses on the afterlife. If you have faith that you will live on in an afterlife, then you have already accepted your physical death as necessary.
It's not immediate, but it's still suicide.
Can't really say I'm much better though. I know I'm going to die and I don't believe in an afterlife so you'd think I'd be taking molecular biology trying to extend my life. A gradual death is easier to accept I guess.
