Posts by aligot ripounsous

38

Say Hi to MrsRoller!

by mrsroller in

jw
friends

my name is becky aka mrsroller.

i call myself that because the notorious rollerdave is my hubby.

i met dave when he was in his early thirties and it had only been a few years since he had left the jw's.

You're most welcome, MrsRoller, I must add that your husband is a very pleasant chap to read, please convey my greetings to him. A lot to share here. If you happen to pop over the pond I make you taste a great dish, aligot

28

What now?

by faundy in

i stopped going to meeting over a year ago (profile explains why) and have enjoyed doing all the stuff that comes with being a non-witness; ie going out, meeting new people, lying in on a sunday, never having to wear dowdy skirts, etc.

however since coming on the forum and commenting more, i have realised that eventually i will wonder about faith again.

i still have a bible, the nwt, and even though some may say it's not a good version i do find it pleasant to read, and it's what i'm used to.

aligot ripounsous

Faundy,

If you have been raised as a JW (I don't know if you are baptized), you know how the feeling of belonging to the group is important to them, the counterpart being that they reject as alien anybody who's not like them. That's what makes me feel that you won't be happy with that religion. Even if they don't know you're gay, the malaise will be on your side since you would lead a double life. Now, if you think that you have to associate with the congregation because what you believe in their teaching is important to you, you will have to live with that feeling of not being part of the club, to say nothing about their judgemental approach. I personally can't see how an ex JW who in the past has been convinced by the fundamentals I mentioned in the previous post can adhere afterwards to an altogether different religious teaching - I mean religious, not philosophical. What will remain will be your personal relationship to Jehovah, mainly through prayer. He knows who you are, what you are made of and He will let you know what to do.

If it can be of any consolation to you, belonging to the congregation is very uncomfortable for the standard JW who even feebly tries to exercise independent judgement. Whether he likes it or not, he belongs to the same organization as JFR who said that Behemoth and Leviathan were, not cars as some might have thought, but locomotives.

28

What now?

by faundy in

i stopped going to meeting over a year ago (profile explains why) and have enjoyed doing all the stuff that comes with being a non-witness; ie going out, meeting new people, lying in on a sunday, never having to wear dowdy skirts, etc.

however since coming on the forum and commenting more, i have realised that eventually i will wonder about faith again.

i still have a bible, the nwt, and even though some may say it's not a good version i do find it pleasant to read, and it's what i'm used to.

aligot ripounsous

Faundy,

I said to the 2 elders who came for a sheperding call last May that I'm still formally a JW because so far I've not found a credible alternative to that religion as far some fundamentals are concerned, which I got from the JWs and which I adhere to : one unique God Jehovah (or yahweh or whatever we pronounce it as long as it is the Bible name), no trinity, Jesus's ransom sacrifice, no immortal soul, no hell nor purgatory, earthly paradise promise (with all the question maks that go with it) , 2 classes (why not, makes sense as much as any other proposal, it all depends of who is part of the little flock, Jah knows).

Now, I don't see myself as an activist JW, I don't preach anymore (can't bring myself to say that Jah is going to destroy poverty by means of destroying the poor, or claim the lifes of 6 hundred million babies as a price to pay to save 6 million JWs at A.) . My family and I only attend the WE meeting, the way we would do if we went to the church. The two elders didn't really try to bring me back to standard JW activity, as if they understood only too well my position. I personally can't see any other satisfactory religion and if they disfellowship me I will keep an agnostic stand.

As for the NWT Bible, with all its imperfection and bias, it is quite acceptable to me, as a no linguist expert. So, you see you can find not-too-dogmatic JWs, a type the number of which will go increasing, I believe, because they can't get rid of the JW skin but OTOH just ask the WTS to let them live their own life in the way they want to, with minimal external control from an organization.

40

WHA WAS THE TURNING POINT FOR YOU IN JWS

by chuckyy in

hi.. just wondering what it was that first made you realise that jws didnt have the absolute "truth"?

was there a specific event/turning point for you or was it a moment of enlightenment?.

chukky.

aligot ripounsous

I read on the internet about the letter that DOLLINGER, a man in charge of the JW work in Germany, wrote to the nazy authorities in 1935, claiming that a former Bible student, disfellowshipped in 1923, Ewald VORSTEHER, who had had the courage to expose Hitler's crimes, was but a dement, disrespectful to the führer, and that the Bible student Association was not like that at all and had never been in the way of the national socialist fight for Germany. From that day on I was settled in the conviction that the WTS doesn't care for the truth but only for its own interest.

31

Ramblings and Questions of a tired Apostate

by horrible life in

god created adam and eve.

fill the earth, and become many.

live in paradise.

aligot ripounsous

why has he waited so long after Adam and Eve.

Yes, why ? Supposing that Jehovah's purpose, in order to straighten up the messy situation where our first parents had left us, was to send His son for this redeeming sacrifice that is part, we are taught, of His perfect justice. Then, He could have cleared the earth of all wickedness after Jesus's resurrection and a reasonnable time for the good news to be preached over the earth. At that time, the earth, statisticians tell us, comprised about 200 million people (50 million in the whole roman empire, they say). If we enter into the JW's logic, He would have destroyed , say 180 million evildoers (or ignorant of the good news...). Now that He has waited 20 more centuries, the toll will be 6 billion. And for what extra benefit ? The one who knows the answer is, indeed, very intelligent, but we can confidently assure that even the most literate person doesn't know more than the most ignorant on that ground. Not knowing is part of our human condition, we have to make do with it until, Jehovah willing, He let us know, maybe. For the time being, all that I know is that I know nothing. But at least, please, let JWs spare us with their non explanatory childish explanations that don't pass the most elementary reflection.

63

Massive donations to the WTS

by greendawn in

jw
friends

have any of you or people that you know such as relatives or friends, made a very significant donation to the wts?

by that i mean property, or money in excess of let's say $10 000. .

enriching an already very rich organisation has to be moronic, they are the ones that should be helping the poor among them the proverbial orphans and widows.

aligot ripounsous

Not really a massive gift but what I thought was just a good deed for the advancement of kingdom interests. In the late 80s I changed car. The car dealer was offering me about 8000 francs (1600 dollars) for my decent citroen 2CV. Instead, I decided I would give it to a missionary (that was in south america). What do you think happened ? After he accepted it (gave me a bottle of wine, though) he found that my 2CV was not good enough for him and he abandoned it somewhere in the amazonian forest, where the poor thing must still be rotting. Had he paid, say 2000 francs (400 dollars) for it, he would have pampered it. Faites du bien à un vilain, il vous fera dans la main.

25

Favourite foreign languages?

by greendawn in

jw
friends

what foreign language or languages do you enjoy most listening to, though you may not be able to understand the words?

i find several foreign languages pleasant to listen to, french with its refinement, italian with its sing song musical quality, and german with its coarse but resolute intonation.

i also like the sound of russian and castillian spanish.

aligot ripounsous

Spanish to speak to God, Italian for Women, French to men and German to horses (Charles Quint)

30

Aren't we really the pioneers?

by purplesofa in

we are blazing through the time we live in, seeking freedom from the oppression around is, in us, through us.

we are opening our minds to new ways of thinking, feeling, living, sharing.. it's not easy, we pay a price, for some of its much higher than others.

we suffer alone, endure hardships, bear the truth and it's consequences.. there is no new land to conquer, no nations to be born, no places to run to any longer.

aligot ripounsous

Yet, we all gravitate to one another.

By and large, I agree Purps, I just think that since we have exerted ourselves to find our way to freedom, we must beware of not being caught in another process of dependence. Gravitating around one another is helpful to get support, and provide some if we can, for a while. IMO that shouldn't last too long. We must learn autonomy from meeting places like this forum, and then move on to fly with our own wings. Of course, depending on the amount of time we've spent with JWs, this duration is variable. However, the ultimate goal is to leave the WTS as a thing of the past, to the point that we don't even find it necessary to keep harping on our past misfortune or exposing the WTS's past or current misdeeds. I feel all the more free to say this that I've not reached this point yet.

32

Witnesses are getting so disconnected from the Doctrine, but won't let go!

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

so i am not going to meetings, but am a fader.

the wife and i get invited to a wedding.

by friends from years back.

aligot ripounsous

The congregation is probably little more than a social club for many JWs but they still have to comply with duties : meetings, preaching, etc. and sooner or later they realize that this activity which is supposed to give significance to their being JWs is still too much and meaningless if they don't really believe in what they do. A religion that has urged its members to brace up for A. for generations can't thrive or even subsist as it is now solely on socializing. It will deeply change in its nature. I can see it in the future like the jewish religion, as a set of practices, mellowed as compared with what they used to be, say before 1995, to make them palatable in the future to the civil society and make JW socially acceptable, socially intagrated. Witnesses will end up with their expectation of A. exactly the way Jews have wished one another for 20 centuries "next year in Jerusalem". Sort of fossilization. Too bad and a lot of bitternes for the full time JWs who had totally commited themselves to the cause and did put all their eggs in the same basket.

17

breaking story!

by the sage in

current breaking story on sir isaac newton's prophecies of the second coming of christ, confirming, the research of many of us ex-jw's.

check it out!

the sage.

aligot ripounsous

Christ would not return until at least the year 2060, and maybe later

Mr. Newton, I presume ?

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/130363/2313350/post.ashx#2313350

Very likely, the question has been addressed before but I would like to raise the following point, just in case : we are explained that, because of the 360 day jewish year, one time (one year) is 360 years and 7 times (Dan 4 : 16) are 2520 years, which takes us to ( - 607 + 2520) = 1913, + 1 = 1914. Now, we note that this method mixes up two basis of calculation, 360 and 365 day years. If we do the whole calculation on the basis of 365 day years, why not, 7 times are 2555 years and good old 1914 turns into (- 607 + 2555) = 1948, + 1 = 1949. Just add 120 years on account of antitype (or type ? I forgot) Noah's days and you get to 2069, which gives us plenty of time ahead to reflect and find more imaginative computing methods.