Posts by Hortensia

122

Do You Regard President Obama In The Same Way As You Did BEFORE The Election?

by minimus in

jw
friends

lately, even late night comedians are starting to make fun of the president.. i hear more negatives about the president than ever before---even from his own voters.. (i had high hopes for him when he beat mccain but since then, i believe the president has been a huge disappointment)..

Hortensia

Actually the presidents who scared me the most were Reagan and the two Bushes.

29

the bizarre things religious people say and believe

by Hortensia in

i sat in the community garden tonight and talked with one of my neighbors, an old lady in an electric wheelchair.

she was telling me she won't be able to garden next year, it's getting to hard for her since her stroke.

so we talked about her stroke.

Hortensia

I sat in the community garden tonight and talked with one of my neighbors, an old lady in an electric wheelchair. She was telling me she won't be able to garden next year, it's getting to hard for her since her stroke. So we talked about her stroke. I asked how she was managing and she started on Jesus being with her. After a bit I told her I'm completely irreligious. So she started preaching about taking Jesus into my heart, yada yada. To distract her I asked her what religion she is. Baptist. So I said my father had been Baptist but my mother was a JW. She said, "no wonder you don't believe. That's a CULT." Then she was off on how awful JWs are for a while.

But eventually she came back to preaching. How did she get her faith in Jesus? She was very depressed once when her welfare payment got screwed up, no money for rent, no food stamps, her kid was starving. Someone noticed how sad she was and said, "go to church with me." At church someone gave her $100 anonymously. The holy spirit suddenly infused her being! Then the 700 club showed up at her house and brought her food, clothing, furniture, everything she needed and some cash. Thank you Jesus. THEN, she went to the welfare office and got her welfare payment straightened out and got the money she should have received before.

So, some preaching about how Jesus is our savior and see how he helped her. Yada yada. What amazes me is how selfish it all is. Her needs were answered and she attributed it to Jesus. But she hasn't looked out beyond her own needs to see that millions of people suffer dire poverty and Jesus isn't helping them. Why did he help her and not all those others? Because she's somehow special and they aren't?

She said some funny things too -- such as that the Baptists, Catholics and Episcopalians have the truth and no one else does. Rather ecumenical of her. I asked about the Presbyterians. She said, "yes, them too, they have the truth."

Then I mentioned Mormons and she was off again for a while about cults. Funny thing is, and I've noticed this several times before in similar conversations, once she knew my mother was a JW she gave me up as a lost cause. No wonder I'm a non-believer! So funny.

Anyway, it's amazing how egocentric religion can be, and it was a very amusing conversation. Then I went to dig in the community compost pile for a while. Someday I have to tell you about the Great Compost War of 2013. Living in a community like this is certainly very entertaining.

Why didn't I confront her and challenge her religion? Because I don't really care what she believes. I don't really give a damn what anyone believes. As long as they don't push me too hard, that is. And it's certainly interesting to let them talk and reveal what their focus really is.

23

Head Gasket Sorted - with pics

by cofty in

ok if you clicked on this you might be a mechanical geek like me.

some people love buying shoes or handbags for me is shiny new tools.. for the last few weeks the head gasket has been blowing on my rover 214. fortunately the oil and water hasn't been mixing so no harm done.

the combustion gases have been blowing through the water jacket which made it sounded like a witches cauldron.

Hortensia

Cap. Obv,

You're right. I was going to pay to have the head gasket replaced, but decided it wasn't worth the money. The local junk yard has an 87 Pathfinder with an engine with only 90K miles on it. So one of these days I'll get the whole engine replaced -- if the car lasts another year. I think it will, it sounds like a tug boat but drives like a champion.

(Sorry, Cofty, to highjack your thread!)

122

Do You Regard President Obama In The Same Way As You Did BEFORE The Election?

by minimus in

jw
friends

lately, even late night comedians are starting to make fun of the president.. i hear more negatives about the president than ever before---even from his own voters.. (i had high hopes for him when he beat mccain but since then, i believe the president has been a huge disappointment)..

Hortensia

Well, he's far more hawkish than I thought he would be. That's disappointing. He was a better choice than a Republican Mormon, but as it happens, I voted for the Libertarian candidate.

7

Savage Dog attack JW victim is back to House to House Preaching

by Scott77 in

.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/dog_attack_victim_recovering_back_to_jehovahs_witness/20130629_11_a1_cutlin782235?subj=1.

.

Hortensia

I was thinking about that poor woman just yesterday, wondering if she recovered. Tirebiter, the dog's owner was trying as hard as she could to stop the dog, hitting it with a bat. I don't know what triggered the attack, but if it comes to choosing between an old lady and a dog, I'd choose to save the old lady if I could.

That said, I hope to hell that woman never goes in a yard with a dog again. I'm surprised she's even out preaching at all.

23

Head Gasket Sorted - with pics

by cofty in

ok if you clicked on this you might be a mechanical geek like me.

some people love buying shoes or handbags for me is shiny new tools.. for the last few weeks the head gasket has been blowing on my rover 214. fortunately the oil and water hasn't been mixing so no harm done.

the combustion gases have been blowing through the water jacket which made it sounded like a witches cauldron.

Hortensia

Cool! I've always admired competent people.

I have an '87 Nissan Pathfinder with 212K miles on it. I bought it at a yard sale a few years ago. Every year I put about $1000 into it in repairs. This year brakes and an exhaust leak. The oil leaks, needs the head gasket replaced and I was going to get that done, but I've decided to live with it. It's a darned expensive repair. However, it's not very inconvenient to check the oil once a week, so no problem -- I can live with that leak for a loooooong time if I have to. So nice that you know how to fix it yourself!

That's my share of car talk -- OK guys, back to what you were talking about before I interrupted!

165

Board of bitterness

by 1009 in

i always was a critical jw, now df and agnost.

but still this religion fascinates me.

in my eyes most jw are very sincere, but dumb sheep.. this board is filled with ex-jw.

Hortensia

The way you describe it, it almost is like you talk about another religion, not the one I knew.

I imagine the one you knew was a nice safe KH with essentially nice people. If you had been the victim of the kinds of injustice experienced by many on this board, you might be more sympathetic. Well, I'm glad things weren't so awful for you. It's rather nice to know that not everyone suffered so much.

On the other hand, many have suffered a lot of damage from their years in the org. If you're fascinated with the JW religion, you might try learning about the kinds of wounds that were inflicted by the wtbts and its members, and how that damage affects a person's life.

34

Mom & Dad (Uber Dubs) and convo about child abuse within the BORG

by El_Guapo in

so i tt mom and dad via skype last weekend (they live on the other part of the county) and the topic of abuse came up.

of course they went ahead and blasted catholics for their coverups.

i mentioned gonzalo campos, now mom and dad know this guy he went to their hall for several years in san diego.

Hortensia

I was a JW in San Diego until about 1982, I wonder if I knew your parents? Probably not, as there were lots of congs there, but it's an interesting thought.

34

Mom & Dad (Uber Dubs) and convo about child abuse within the BORG

by El_Guapo in

so i tt mom and dad via skype last weekend (they live on the other part of the county) and the topic of abuse came up.

of course they went ahead and blasted catholics for their coverups.

i mentioned gonzalo campos, now mom and dad know this guy he went to their hall for several years in san diego.

Hortensia

So sad that she wasn't the least concerned for the victims, or just appalled at the wickedness of it. Nope. Don't badmouth the borg or we'll sic the elders on you.

16

Question regarding parental obligation to report to authorities

by gbrn in

i am relatively new to the forum, and not quite as familiar with all of the ins and outs of jw culture as many of you are, so i apologize if this is an ignorant question.

it is quite apparent the wt has handled child abuse allegations in a horrible way, viewing it as sin as opposed to a crime.

after an allegation is reported to the elders, and they are not required by law to report to the authorities, why don't parents simply go to the authorities themselves and report the crime.

Hortensia

I agree. Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear about a JW family that went to the police and reported the abuse? Wouldn't it be wonderful to hear about an elder actually going with the family to the police to support them while they report the crime? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the elders immediately warned the congregation about pedophiles? I just think people have a right to know, to protect their kids more effectively. There's a lot of unearned trust in the wtbts -- assuming someone is good and moral because he/she is a JW.