Posts by neverendingjourney

49

30 Years Old and Going on My First Date Ever -- Urgent Advice Needed

by neverendingjourney in

well, first a quick summary of who i am.

i'm 30 years old.

i was raised "in the truth" and fully embraced the faith when i was a teenager.

neverendingjourney

There are plenty fish in the sea, and this is not a make or break experience. You learn as you go.

That's the plan.

Don't talk about being a dub and don't say this is your first date, for starters.

I made that mistake with the last girl I "dated." It was more of a hook-up (as the kids would say) than a true dating experience. We hung out a few times over the course of 2 weeks or so. I decided I wanted to be open with any girl I dated because I was feeling guilty that my new circle of friends was in the dark about my JW past. It was a mistake. I don't think she was able to properly make the distinction between a current and former JW. For "worldly" people, religion is often a trait you're born with that you never really shed when you get older, so she began to see me as a guy with Dub beliefs, regardless of how many times I told her that was part of my past. She started giving me the cold shoulder all of a sudden and I haven't talked to her in months.

Make sure to clean your pipes before you go.

Not sure that's going to make a difference.

You should be like one of those guys girls dream about.

Thanks for the kind words.

Maybe he was just trying to get on my good side but it made me very uncomfortible and I would not go out with him a second time.

Thanks for that advice. I'm sure the priority with single moms is finding a guy who is neither a pervert nor abusive. I'll keep that in mind.

49

30 Years Old and Going on My First Date Ever -- Urgent Advice Needed

by neverendingjourney in

well, first a quick summary of who i am.

i'm 30 years old.

i was raised "in the truth" and fully embraced the faith when i was a teenager.

neverendingjourney

Well, first a quick summary of who I am. I'm 30 years old. I was raised "in the truth" and fully embraced the faith when I was a teenager. At the age of 23 I started having my first doubts. By 26 I stopped going to the meetings altogether. I spent the past few years doing some soul-searching and setting out a path for my post-JW life. I'm happy with my career and with my social life, but I have no love life to speak of.

A few weeks ago I decided to finally do something about it, so I signed up on E-Harmony. I've been e-mailing a very attractive woman on there for a few days and I want to finally ask her out. I've never been on a proper date in my life. I dated two JW girls when I was younger, but that has no resemblance to what actually goes on in real life, i.e., I won't be taking a chaperone along this time. I've been with girls post-JW life, but they have been strictly short-lived trysts.

Where should I take this girl and how should I behave? I need your advice, please. I'm pretty sure this date won't go very smoothly. How can it if it's the first real date I've been on. Regardless what you're doing, you will never be very good at it the first time. That's part of why I signed on to this website, so I can get a few dates under my belt and get better at it.

Oh yeah. I should mention that she's a single mother. I'm not sure how that factors into the mix, but please advise. Thanks.

27

They Don't Pass a Collection Plate Because.....

by OnTheWayOut in

...it just isn't big enough!.

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neverendingjourney

Back in my younger days, these were highly-coveted positions for young JW ladies. They practically fought over these spots. (1) This was one of the few "privileges" women were allowed and (2) it was the ideal way to be seen by the fellas without seeming like they were trying too hard to be seen.

It's pretty sad when I think back on it. I remember the stories a lot of these teenage girls told of being hit on at the contribution boxes by creepy 30 year old brothers. Oh, good times (not!).

17

Fact vs Faith vs Delusion

by jwfacts in

religious groups regularly refer to their belief system as truth.

religious truth is generally a mix of fact and faith.

for some groups, truth extends beyond faith and into the realm of delusion.

neverendingjourney

The Watchtower claims its appointment of elders is guided by holy spirit.

I believe they get around this by saying that the guidance comes in the form of the scriptural qualifications coming directly from God, therefore elders are "appointed by holy spirit" because their appointments are made based on qualifications provided from God through the use of Holy Spirit.

Right about the time I was getting ready to leave the WT this very point was mentioned in print in the congregation book study. I raised my hand and emphasized the point. The elder conducting the meeting, without directly telling the people there I was wrong, proceeded to say that elders are appointed by holy spirit directly because elders pray when they meet to recommend new elders. This is, in fact, what the vast majority of JWs believe. The impression conveyed is that God chooses the elders directly by holy spirit, while the impression conveyed in print was that the qualifications outlined in the Bible were handed down through holy spirit. Therefore, it leaves some wiggle room for the Society to say that there can be error in selecting elders (think elder pedophiles and legal liability). Unfortunately, I don't have a reference for you, nor do I have access to WT library to dig it up, even if I were so inclined.

I thought there may be some negative comments from Christians that think God is not a matter of faith.

I'm sure those comments are coming. This is what's most frustrating to me about believers, the inability to accept the role that faith plays in their worship. If they simply admit they choose to believe in things that can neither be tested nor proven, then I have no problem with them. But when they act as if their beliefs are based on fact and distort the meaning of "fact" to include testimony from like-minded individuals who say God has spoken to them directly or who say they've directly felt his guidance, my head wants to explode.

The bottom line is that accepting the role that faith (as opposed to fact) plays in their worship takes a mental leap that most of them do not want to make. It requires that they acknowledge their beliefs are in no way superior to those of someone who chooses to believe in something equally unprovable such as UFO's, fairy tales, or any of a number of popular conspiracy theories.

20

Naughty Serena Williams headed to the back room?!?!

by Bourne in

jw
friends

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1218530/serena-williams-courts-attention-nude-magazine-cover.html.

serena does it again.

would local b.o.e.

neverendingjourney

http://www.slate.com/id/2228410/

17

EXPERIENCE OF BROTHER NAKATA

by Quandry in

i remember my husband giving the "nakata" talk for years..

neverendingjourney

I used to own a tape that had the Nekata talk recorded on it. I think the guy who gave him a study eventually became the head of the Japanese Bethel branch. I first heard the talk back in the mid 90s.

13

Guess who I saw on FaceBook?

by dissed in

jw
friends

just as i am new to this site and many web thingy's, my daughter just introduced me to facebook.

"must get with it dad!".

so, i'm looking over my nephews facebook last night, glancing at his friends.

neverendingjourney

Good for him! I wonder if he was a true believer when he refused blood or if it was a decision he made based on family pressure.

It really makes you wonder, though, how many of the experiences coming from the WT are true, if any. I've had personal knowledge of several high-profile examples, and ALL of them contained exaggerations or out right lies.

One girl had her experience published in the Awake. The reader was led to believe she was an upright, God-fearing Christian, an example for us all. A few months after that issue came out, I went out with her to a night club and engaged in some Unchristian activities with her. That's the way it goes. About a year after that she eloped and was divorced a few months later.

The WT publishes propaganda, nothing more, nothing less.

38

Breaking News - Russia Close to Banning JWs Entirely YouTube Video

by cognac in

jw
friends

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-qy14yqx-0 - i'm not sure if i attached this right.....

neverendingjourney

Nothing would excite JWs more than having governments ban their work. I remember back when Russia closed down JW operations in Moscow, local JWs were giddy with excitement. Prayers asking for protection of our persecuted Russian brothers were all the rage. From hearing the friends talk, you would think we were on the verge of a JW holocaust.

Of course, it was a relatively minor development. Paradoxically, JWs were disappointed that the persecution didn't continue. Government persecution only serves to strengthen these types of groups. The most effective route, in my mind, is when they're marginalized and ignored by the general public.

77

TED JARACZ' stroke, latest from Bethel heavy.

by yesidid in

jw
friends

according to a bethel heavy i know rather well,.

ted is paralysed down his right side,.

however his mind and speech remain unaffected.. .

neverendingjourney

Did Jaracz have any ideas or just "more rules better, less rules worse"

There hasn't been an "ideas man" on the GB since Freddy Franz went senile. Not that his ideas were any good, but at least they kept the masses excited.

49

Debunking the WTS view of apostasy

by Awakened at Gilead in

just created a new video that uses the bible to show how jw's claims about apostates lack biblical basis.. your comments are welcome.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eg219nkire.

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neverendingjourney

Nice job!

A big flaw in JW thinking is that they extend their apostate logic to non-JWs who are critical of the JW faith. For all intents and purposes, a book critical of JWs is apostate regardless of whether it's written by a former JW or a Southern Baptists who has never stepped foot inside of a kingdom hall. Your average JW would not want to even touch that book for fear of the dreaded demons. The former adherent of "the truth" who left the faith versus your never-has-been-a-JW distinction is really irrelevant.

While I can see how JWs are able to twist the scriptures to support their views on apostacy in regards to former members (even though I disagree with that stand), there's absolutely nothing to support the view that they should reject ANY material that is critical of their religion, but that's how their teachings work in practice. From that one can see that their aim in villifying "apostates" isn't to follow scriptural precepts, but to prevent critical thinking on the part of their members.