fluffy i know.
but tonight i was thinking it must be almost 6 years since diana was killed in that car crash in paris, and i was thinking about the outpouring of grief that happened not just here, but around the world.
i never was one of the ones that went to london on the day of her funeral as at the time i was flying back from a holiday in turkey, but i remember it appearing in newspapers out there and people of different nationalities coming up to me and expressing their condolences, particulary this french bloke hugging me whilst i was sitting around the pool a couple of days after the crash!.
I wonder how many of the throng chucking £1000s worth of flowers in front of her cortege were the same people who bought the filthy rags that printed photos of her private life. I wonder how much those flower chuckers contributed to the causes that she held dear.
The day before she died she was a pariah, the day after she died she was a saint.
our son ben is celebrating his 15th birthday on friday 11, but actually it is his 1st birthday aswell.. so please help us celebrate with him be sending him some cool messages.
he is really excited, and he is getting some cool pressies.
he has been really funny, but it is lovely to see.. we would really appreciate it.. thanks everyone.
do you still listen to am radio stations?.
older people listen more to am i would think.
all youngsters listen to fm, and never am radio.. .
i have been to a couple of funerals recently (both of relatives who've never been jw's; however married to jw spouses) and have been appalled, absolutely appalled at how the wishes of the deceased have been ignored and horned in on by jw drivel/dogma.. .
the most recent funeral was for a relative who didn't even believe in god (was never a jw), but the jw spiel droned on for so long that the deceased's own "worldly" siblings were glancing at their watches in disbelief.
one of the siblings had a speech at the funeral ceremony, and was very touching and heartfelt in talking about the deceased's life, but then a jw relative had a speaking part too, and lost everyone from that point on.
Max Divergent said:
I've always wondered what happens and who conducts a totally non-religious funeral?
In the UK, the British humanist organisation have officiants who will conduct non-religious weddings, baby namings, and funerals.
since everyone (from the dixie chicks to newsense) seems to agree that the usa is the worst country on earth (perhaps "the great beast" even?
) and the usa does not "do" enough to help everyone else on earth, a short poll: .
1. what country is the best on earth today...ie: no taxes, free everything, no military, no enemies, no borders, free food, no crime, no locks on anything, no politicians, etc.
Godd questions, teenyuck!
1. Although our healthcare system comes pretty far down the league table of developed countries, I think there are far worse places to live than the UK. I am one of those weirdos that does not object to paying taxes for public services, so tax rates do not bother me. I think if I had to choose to live somewhere other than the UK, I'd choose the Netherlands. On my few visits there, it seems like a really good place to live. And their Royal Family are not an embarrassment like ours.
2. No, I have never run for public office. I can not delude myself that I could do a decent job of it.
3. I would bring in a system of national service which really meant service to the nation, not square bashing. I like to think that the country would be a better place if all our nationalised industries had not been privatised and then bought by foreign companies. I would disestablish the Church of England (separation of church and state, as applies in Wales). Overhaul the health, education and justice systems. That would take a lot of money, so I would raise taxes, but I would make the personal allowance a meaningful number (£10000+) and abolish higher tax rates. One tax rate for all, no caps. Try to educate the public to care as much about our children as we do about foxes.
In reality, even with infinite power and resources, you could not improve the lives of everyone. Tara Palmer-Tompkinson would not be better off if I was in power, for a start. Hence my answer #2.
4. To be honest, I consider that the worst off person in the UK is much better off than the vast majority of the worlds population, so thus far I have put more resources into helping overseas charities. If I am honest, I am not doing nearly as much as I could to help people in the UK or overseas. I still think I am doing more than most people though.
I really thought I was helping my country when I contributed to the Labour party in the run up to the 1997 elections. Maybe I was. These days I am not sure.
many times a new one will post a question to what the witnesess teach on a matter or will simply make a statement.
many times you have to wonder where they get their ideas from as regards to what the society teaches on a matter.
many times they are simply wrong, or have the understanding twisted.
This is an excellent topic. I have been out for nearly 9 years now, so the "Generation" change happened after I left.
It seems like the JWism of the 21st century is "JW Lite", doctrinally speaking, compared to the 60s and 70s. Many of the teachings back then, such as the 7000 year long creative day idea, have never been officially withdrawn, they just don't talk about it any more. (Where did they come up with that one, anyway?) As a result, older JWs still believe it, and newer JWs have never heard of it.
It seems that conformity is far more important than comprehension. A JW that converted in the last ten years is likely to be vehement that the JWs are the only true religion, and the GB is always right, whilst having only a sketchy grasp of the real teachings and history, eg. who Russell and Rutherford were.
for some of us on this forum, we're so far away from one another.
out of curiosity, do any of you have any photos of where you are from, or the communities that you live in?
here's one of toronto.
for some of us on this forum, we're so far away from one another.
out of curiosity, do any of you have any photos of where you are from, or the communities that you live in?
here's one of toronto.
My local:
I got married here:
Nearby laboratory, the tower is a van der Graaf generator - Bridgewater canal in foreground:
The father of Lewis Carroll who wrote "Alice in Wonderland" was the rector at this church. There is a stained glass window with an "Alice" theme in the church.
From my house, you can walk by all these places on a 7 mile circular route.
i recall a witness brother from yeovil, somerset, who was never given any "privileges" of service within his local congregation.. his crime?
well, he worked for westlands in a job that he'd served as an apprentice at since his 16th birthday.
westlands make helicopters, most of them for the military.
I know a man who is an engineer. Some years ago, the company he worked for took on a contract to design a weapons system. A number of people were given different modules to design, they all talked to each other, and worked out how the thing worked. It is the sort of thing that civilians are better off not knowing about, quite stomach turning in its function.
Anyhow, the man went to his employers and asked to be removed from this project. They gave him alternative work of a less lethal nature, but explained that if no alternative work was available he would be expected to do it, or resign. It never came to that.
To my mind, a helicopter is a less clear cut issue. Helicopters don't kill people (unless they crash!), they are not designed to kill people. Helicopters are used in non military work. And air ducting! How far do you take it?? It sounds like the jolly game of "lets impose our views on other people", and if most of us could never hope to have the skills to work for an aerospace company, so much the better!
I don't know about nursing being frowned on - someone has to work in the first aid posts at assemblies.
Which reminded me - I remember an attitude that anyone who had a useful skill in the congregation would be expected to help all and sundry for free. I felt really sorry for mechanics, electricians and plumbers. Noone ever came pestering me - "Can you do a bit of analysis for me this weekend?"
this question is not to offend anyone, it's just that i have noticed people have many different reasons for leaving the borg and i thought it would be interesting to find out why some of you left.. for example:some leave because they want to be free to smoke, drink, gamble, fornicate, grow beards, celebrate xmas, take blood and drugs, etc.some leave because they never believed and now are old enough to do as they want.some leave because they have seen that they can be happy living life free from any religious organization, yet still feel safe in god's love.some have been hurt by the borg and have taken their wounds away to lick them, waiting to see justice.some have trusted the borg with their lives, time and money...........only to discover recently that there has been lies, cover-ups and hypocracy in the borg.
now they have left but need to belong to another organization to feel happy.. i left the borg because i found out about the cover-ups and lies.
my family was abused by it, my child was sexually abused and i was df'ed.
Good question!
I left because I was miserable, and so tired, that I did not care whether it was the truth or not. I was trapped in a miserable JW marriage, and I could see that everything had to go. At that point I was still thoroughly brainwashed to hate all other religions, and I thought if Armageddon came, I would be killed, I wouldn't suffer anymore, and jolly nice for the survivors.
Now I really regret that I was df'd for "immorality". How I wish that I had the knowledge than that I do now! On the other hand, free is free, you don't complain about the shape of the key that has opened your prison door.
- some leave because they want to be free to smoke, drink, gamble, fornicate, grow beards, celebrate Xmas, take blood and drugs, etc.
This sounds like JW speak. It is a recurrent theme that "opposers" and "apostates" are people who resented the rules. I think the reality is more complex by far.