i received this crap from my jw mom today.
i hope it doesn't "encourage" you to go back .
you see, when i left, i immediately felt the relief of not being burned all the time by all of the gossip that occurs within the congregations, circuits, etc.
I too have heard this illustration many times before, and I am sure I have even used it myself.
There is a lot of truth in it though and it is a mechanism used by the WTB&TS to keep its grip on people. If you are at the center, there is lots of activity to keep you 'hot'; field service, meeting parts, lots of association, etc.
What the WTB&TS fail to recognise is that it often themselves who do the cooling by bannishing and cold shouldering members they feel are a threat.
Great synopsis Truman!
The Judge certainly is the most difficult character to get to grips with. He is obviously highly intellectual, a linguist (he seems to know half a dozen different languages) and eloquent, surely traits that separates man from the rest of the animal kingdom, but at the same time is most a vile, evil individual.
I do find McCarthy's style of writing a little unusual in that he does not use quotation marks to distinguish dialogue. Perhaps that is because of that crappy old typewriter he used for nearly all of his working life.
I have just finished reading 'Blood Meridian' in which he paints a very disturbing view of humanity, I should I say specifically men.
It begs the question of just how civilised we really are and easily any pretext on cilivilisation can be replaced with wanton violence.
Looking at the atrocities of the past it is hard to not share his views.
Can't edit my original post - but can this reply. Sorry.
i've been doing some research today on the quakers and so far i quite like what i see.. the main reason is the lack of dogma or creed and the freedom to have views of your own.
however, i am still researching and no way am i considering joining them - i just like what i see so far.. i wondered if anyone else - ex jw, has taken a look at this faith.
if so, what were your conclusions?.
I know very little about Quakers but like you found some of their ideas attractive.
They are know as pacifists and generally appear to be meek and mild people. Their meetings do sound strange, though I must admit much of what I know about them I got from reading 'Notes on an Exhibition' a few years back.
....then why do they not have the time of their services listed??.
so much for their boast about the preaching work in all lands.. .
I agree with kurtbethel. In may parts of the world the Watchtower's operational style doesn't work.
They have no charitable arm and therefore do nothing to attract the sort of people the claim to have an affinity for. In Africa numerous religious organisations are involved in the treatment of AIDs sufferers. These organisatiions often provide medicines and drugs. The Watchtower will offer them a magazine.
i made my way down to the kingdom hall this morning.
i have decided to stay in my own house.
just before armageddon, there were no more than 3 million publishers.. .
When religion thinks and acts like the Taliban the results are indeed frightening.
in the last few years that i served as an elder, and as i was discovering what the wts really was, the term "old school" would be used and it began to bother me more and more.
it was usually used to praise a person with a mean, unwaivering, dogmatism to an obselete policy.
a couple of times i would ask the person what he meant by the term.
Cantleave - my experience exactly.
I actually think I did make a difference in the two congregations I served in but in the end the 'old school' had the knives out for me. The rest is history as they say.
the witnesses try to demonize the internet.
in your opinion is the internet the biggest problem for the watchtower organization?.
I am sure that it is hurting.
In the past if a person were disfellowshipped or simply found themselves at odds with the organisation, it must have been a very lonely existance. With the internet it is now easy to see you are not the only one who has been treated in the same manner or feels the same as you do.
i've been conditioned since childhood that i'm going to live forever.
i'm having a hard time contemplating the fact that i'm going to die.
i'm so afraid of death that i can't enjoy the life i have now.
Personally, I find the thought of my own death disturbing. But on the positive side I have had a great life and family, even the 50 years I spent as a JW were good, I can have no regrets.
What I find hard is the fact that it looks as if my son's girl friend is very ill with renal cell carcinoma. She is just 26 years old and the prospects don't look at all good.
Perhaps we need to take each day at a time and enjoy what we have left.
