Posts by Georgiegirl

63

Jehovah Witnesses are NOT a bad Cult but man made type spiritual guide

by Butterflyleia85 in

when i was a jehovah's witness i remember these debates being mentioned about the raps of innocent children that elders commented, the blacks and whites segregation, the crosses and christmas tree in the bethal, etc.

jehovah's witnesses have always been harassed for these things.

with the changing world and knowledge of the scriptures they work hard to try to work towards accurateness.

Georgiegirl

I think the feelings you have are perfectly normal and very understandable. The Bible has been a very positive influence in the lives of many. And - it's easy to see that there are many who have followed its teachings have become happier, more productive people.

Does that evidence mean that you should just accept the Bible as inspired by God? And by extension, does the fact that the GB produces literature that advocates those teachings mean they are inspired by God?

One of the things that I personally found incredibly helpful in answering those questions was EDUCATION. Not education by the GB in how to become a JW and in their interpretation of the scriptures - I mean an UNBIASED with nothing to gain by it - education. Does your local community college have an Introduction to World Religions class? If so, you might want to consider going. You will learn some facts like: Christianity is the newbie on the world scene. Most of the major tenets of Christianity were already in place thousands of years before the Bible was written. Verse by verse, the major teachings of christianity correspond to the teachings of Buddha and Mohammad.

So tell me...if you read the teachings of Buddha and how he was "inspired" and see that his teachings are very similar to the teachings attributed to Jesus, would you assume that the Pali Canon was inspired of God? What if you had been born in India? What do you think you would believe and have faith in?

One of the common (what I believe to be) mistakes that Christians make is acting as if the world and religion started 2000 years ago, and assuming their way of thinking is the only way to salvation.

I believe you can and will find peace - but only IF you educate yourself - objectively. You are not objective right now - in other words, you have a set of beliefs and you are trying to find something that they fit into - kind of like having a puzzle piece and you are trying to find the right place for it. So...what if...for a little while - you take a step back and see the whole picture? And by "whole picture" I'm not referring to "apostate" stuff or anti-JW information (though there is plenty of it out there). Educate yourself about religion in general. Educate yourself about the religious beliefs of the BILLIONS AND BILLIONS - the majority in fact - of humans who are non-christian. An Intro to World Religion class might be a non-offensive, non-scary place to start.

35

"They are only human"

by Georgiegirl in

jw
friends

(sorry for untitled post before - my pc must have the demunz).

am i the only one who gets incredible irritated by the excuse "they are only human"?

geez, i had no idea.

Georgiegirl

(sorry for untitled post before - my PC must have the demunz)

Am I the only one who gets incredible irritated by the excuse "they are only human"? I mean - REALLY? Geez, I had NO idea. It never occurred to me the GB was actually HUMAN. Cause now that I know THAT, it certainly explains and excuses everything!!! I'm just so relieved to have that cleared up for me!!!!

Let's see...

Adolf Hitler? Only human!!! So it's ok!

Jim Jones? YES! Only human! Totally excusable that he thought he was annointed from God!

David Berg! (Children of God) I mean - what's sanctioned rape of children when clearly YOU ARE ONLY HUMAN just trying to serve God the best way you know how???

It amazes me that the phrase "they are only human" has become soooo indoctrinated into the hearts and minds of JWs that it can be used as the final answer whenever there IS no good, right, or real answer. How they handled pedophiles? Well..really...the light just keeps getting brighter and after all...WE'RE ONLY HUMAN. Failed predictions and interpretations of prophecy for over a hundred years? Pffft! Seriously, people - you are all upset about THAT? Come on!!! We are ...wait for it....

YES! ONLY HUMAN!!!

(sigh)

28

My Neighbor Spoke To Me For 1 Hour As To Why I Need To Accept Christ!

by minimus in

jw
friends

my neighbor near my workplace brought a piece of mail delivered to him by mistake.

he and his employee/student from his martial arts studio came by and he began preaching to me about christ.

he's a pentecostal christian who has dreams and visions of events that have supposedly happened that he prophesied beforehand.

Georgiegirl

Hold on just a minute.

He was PREACHING??? Are you sure he isn't really a JW? Cause EVERYONE knows that ONLY JWs are preaching. It's a sign they are the only true religion, you know???

I wish I had been there...I would have been laughing my a** off at your answers!!!

41

what did you study?? Do you think it should be longer.....?

by angel eyes in

what publication did you study and how long was the study for??.

when i came in you were only allowed 6months, i didnt even get that lol...but was baptised after 5months.

it was so fast but i was ready for baptism.

Georgiegirl

You studied with an elder and you're a girl? I'm sorry, not buying it. Was it an elder and his wife perhaps? No elder, no matter what part of the world, would come to your house, alone, and conduct a study. No way, no how.

Also - and I'm just curious, not trying to threadjack - but is the use of "coz" instead of because and "probs" instead of probably a british thing? I noticed those terms with another british female poster as well - found it an interesting coincidence. And before anyone jumps on any wagon, I'm NOT implying or accusing anything - I'm genuinely curious. Usually Brits are super-proper when it comes to using the English language.

And to answer your question, born in, so I got to study it all.

27

Revenge of the Mentally Unhealthy Family

by ColdRedRain in

jw
friends

i won't parse words.

if i continue in this situation, i'm going to be dead by my own hands.

having them in my life is getting to the point where i can't function and i will choose not to function anymore.

Georgiegirl

And I'm sorry to ask a dumb question at such a stressful time. :(

27

Revenge of the Mentally Unhealthy Family

by ColdRedRain in

jw
friends

i won't parse words.

if i continue in this situation, i'm going to be dead by my own hands.

having them in my life is getting to the point where i can't function and i will choose not to function anymore.

Georgiegirl

What is ASD? I googled it and found Atrial Septal Defect (hole in your heart) but that can't be right?

8

true christians shouldn't swim...

by highdose in

jw
friends

i've using the jw way of thinking eg its not in the bible/ jesus never did it/ bad things are recorded as happening in the same account.

i've come to the conclusion then that the bible says it is wrong to swim.

think about it.... jesus is never mentioned as doing a couple of quick lengths!

Georgiegirl

Wow. I think my brain just stopped. That is really funny - and I can just see the confusion on someone's face if you used the swimming example. HA!

30

My Reservations About Calling the Garridos JWs

by undercover in

jw
friends

this thread contains my thoughts after having read several other threads regarding the garridos being jws.... just because it is reported that the garridos are jws doesn't mean that they are really witnesses.... they may have some link to jws such as her being rasied one, his studying while in prison or any number of possibilites where they came to know a little about jwism.. even if they were baptized along the way somewhere doesn't mean that they were active, participating members in the local congregation.. there's a lot wrong with the jw religion and it's policies have helped protect pedophiles and other sexual predators from being brought to justice but i have reservations about shouting from the rooftops that the garridos were jws, when 1) it hasn't been confirmed and 2) it really doesn't do anything to expose the wt society's culpability in covering up sexual abuse.. the garridos are truly whacked.

i'm sure that local jws are just as horrified at what's happened as the average person is.

if the garridos had any connection with a local hall, i bet that the local jws were wary of them due to his nuttiness.

Georgiegirl

Undercover, daniel - p, and skeeter (and anyone else I missed who is using reason and logic here)

Exactly. We don't know the FACTS and alot of this is supposition and embellishment about the JW connection, if there is one. Wild speculations and suppositions makes us all look like asses (am I allowed to say that here?) and desperate to cling to anything, no matter how tenous, that proves the WTBS is be harmful. Wait until the facts come out. There is enough verified craziness and harm coming out of the WTBS. They discredit themselves on their own.

203

Anyone heard of Watchtower policy change concerning pedophiles

by Robert_V_Frazier in

i'm passing this along from someone else on another discussion board.

the claim of any substantive change in the policy on pedophiles is news to me.

can anybody verify or falsify this claim?.

Georgiegirl

Big Tex - Thank you. You have my sincere admiration and respect. I do not know what you do for a living, but I can imagine that if you chose to be, you would be an enormously effective advocate for those in need. In the posts that I have read, you consistently come across as measured and thoughtful. When you get angry, it is generally justified.

As far as procedures in place, I seriously doubt there are any. In my opinion, it was a smokescreen put in place so it could be pointed to as "proof" they are handling the issue correctly.

Pistoff - read my post. If I still had my "theocratic library", I would. I'm not going to get into a pissing contest.

203

Anyone heard of Watchtower policy change concerning pedophiles

by Robert_V_Frazier in

i'm passing this along from someone else on another discussion board.

the claim of any substantive change in the policy on pedophiles is news to me.

can anybody verify or falsify this claim?.

Georgiegirl

(stepping VERY gingerly into the fray)

First, let me make it crystal clear that I believe THAT anyone who sexually molests a child is beyond sickening. It is vile, despicable, and unforgivable. Secondly, I WAS molested by an elder and nothing was done (and no, I am not going to elaborate - it's MY past and I prefer to leave it there). So...when I make the following statement, I am NOT defending the WTS in any way. If I hadn't smashed my CD to little pieces when I left and thrown out 25 years worth of KMs - (NOW I realize they were a treasure trove for research, unfortunately) - I would scan and print this so I will have to leave it to those who are in to provide the references.

However, protocol HAS changed since I (and many others on this board) was molested. Two eyewitnesses to DIFFERENT events can indeed testify and those two events can be taken to DF a child molester. I am making NO comment or judgement about why or as to the rightness of it, I am merely verifying the procedure.

Now...if a child molester moves to a new congregation and it was never a judicial matter and no one knows about the molestation and WHEN it occurs again, to my knowledge there is no safeguard put in place so the new congregation would know about the molestation - ergo - no previous "witness". And of course, it's the BOE who would determine the veracity of the "first" witness/ie. victim. So - there are still huge, huge, huge loopholes.

If someone wants to look it up - this "new" protocol would be in a QFR in a WT.

AGAIN. I AM NOT DEFENDING THEM.