Posts by Flowerpetal

38

so let me get this straight

by 4digitcode in

i have been on here for only the past 3 days or so....so i don't really know how it goes.. this is an 'apostate' site right?.

so today i've learned that there is just the ol' regular apostate and an 'active' apostate.. but are there actually active witnesses on this site as well??.

because i just saw a topic about someone asking for advice on how to do a talk?.

In brief, I was raised as a JW, got baptized at 11--stopped attending in 2003 after my mom died. In retrospect, I guess I was on my way out long before that. I was really getting tired of the WTS bashing "Christendom" especially after I had met (on another forum) many people who are professed Christians and are not JWs. I can't argue that they love God and are devoted to serving Him the way they understand Him to be, although I still don't agree that there is a trinity. But as humans, we try to put God in human terms, and so there are all sorts of ways of defining Him. This was about the time I decided to read Crisis of Conscience. A few years later, read In Search of Christian Freedom. Both great books by Ray Franz.

Then about 2 yrs. ago, looking for some kind of different career, I encountered some people who have non-christian beliefs, but still are religious OR spiritual and I see the same sincerity in them as I saw in some professed Christians. So I stopped believing the society's propaganda about anybody who isn't a JW doesn't have the true religion and not performing "true worship" and speak the "pure language",and just accept and respect people for their beliefs, even if they are agnostic or atheist. My best friend is an agnostic.

Look forward to reading more of your posts.

20

Are JWDers focused on the wrong reasons

by journey-on in

jw
friends

a couple of weeks ago, i had a discussion with an elder's wife.

every now and then, they call on me with the literature.

they all know i'm ex-jw, but i'm nice, never da'd nor been df'd, and they think there's hope for me.

Flowerpetal

This is explaining a lot of things to me, however, about my own family situation. Now, I'm beginning to understand why some of them still adhere to the organization, yet some of the JWs like my own sister must be taking a lot of things with a "grain of salt" so to speak.
She is zealous for the "truth". Her husband is a long-time elder. Yet, her daughter is considering going back to college to get her degree. My sis has NEVER pioneered. She's always worked full time although her hubby can very easily provide financially for them. They go on elaborate vacations, buy expensive automobiles, jewelry, sock money away for retirement, etc. In other words, she's very materialistic by JW standards. As far as I know, she's never brought anybody into "the truth".
So, all the admonition from the WT and GB to do more, more, more in the service because the end is so near is just going in one ear and out the other for a lot of these faithful Witnesses. They do what's required and act zealous. They simply stay in because the doctrines ring true to them, but they quietly live their lives the way they choose.

These are the kind of people I view as secular or social JWs. They just go thru the motions. I know an elder's wife like that, only she didn't work. He supported the family yet they always had money for leisure activities. One time, years ago, when I was going thru a sort of depression, and I worked with her in "service" and all she could talk about was her son and his new wife--and how business-minded they were. And other materialistic types of stuff, or all about her. That day I finally summed her up as someone who has no substance and not a spiritually-minded person at all--not just by WTS standards but any other type of standards that you might find among people in the "world." She had no clue or even picked up any "vibes" from me that I was not looking like a happy person. Or maybe she did, but just didn't care or didn't know how to approach why I was looking so unhappy.

16

DRUNKENESS AND ALCOHOL IN THE CONGREGATIONS

by badboy in

jw
friends

any takers?

Flowerpetal

Yes, a couple of elders in my former congregation were drinkers. They were neighbors too. One of them seemed to be more demanding when he drank and when he had a few "friends" over, he would order his wife around and tell her to refill his glass with more booze, as if she was standing around with nothing else to do. One time, in front of everyone, she talked back and told him to get the drink himself. He slapped her. Later on I found out that they had to meet with the rest of the elders, because she was ready to leave him. Somehow they patched things up and continued to live together, dysfunctionally for many years, until he died earlier this year of a medical problem no one knew he had. But his drinking buddy...I wonder who he drinks with now.

69

Do YOU Believe Everything That Posters Say Here?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i don't.

i believe most, though.

Flowerpetal

And no, I don't want to be a baby again--well maybe if I could be born in the '80's or '90's. I want to see what the future looks like beyond the 40-45 years I have left.

Flowerpetal (who plans on living to be 100+ yrs)

46

You Are Much Too Harsh About The Watchtower Society

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

you are much too harsh about the watchtower societysince you were, little we did our best to raise you.

you always received good.

grades in school; we always did our best to feed, clothe and give you every-.

Flowerpetal

Many non JWs are much better people than the average JW.

Amen to that!

69

Do YOU Believe Everything That Posters Say Here?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i don't.

i believe most, though.

Flowerpetal

Truthful or honest? I would say the trolls who post here are truthful but they aren't honest or else they wouldn't have to disguise their posts somewhat before they are found out.

21

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 7-22-07 WT Study (Elderly Blessing)

by blondie in

elderly ones, a blessing to the young.

do you associate often with people younger than you?

q1, 2) what should elderly servants of god appreciate, and what will we now consider?.

Flowerpetal

For those who lived prior to the Flood, including the eight human survivors of that Noachian deluge, this will present no great problem at their resurrection from the dead to life on earth under God’s Millennial kingdom. But for the vast majority of the rest of mankind, it will mean learning a new language, the language God purposes for all humankind. In view of good language instructors used by the Kingdom, there should be no great problem on this account. Even resurrected babies can be taught the new language from infancy. In this way they will all be able to communicate with one another directly, with full understanding of one another’s language terms and expressions. What a unifying effect this will have on the human family! Think of their all being able to read the inspired Hebrew Scriptures, each one for himself, and to observe how all its prophecies have come true and how it also contains an accurate historical account down to the days of the prophet Malachi! Then the honest-hearted ones will be able to say, as did the apostle Paul: “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.”—Romans 3:4.

Hi Blondie! It was paragraphs like this that prompted a pioneer sister in my congregation in 1974, to study and learn the Hebrew language so she would be among the "ones" to teach it in the "paradise earth."

As far as my summer is going, hubby and I are looking forward to having my son come home this Tuesday from Japan. He was there for 7 weeks, partly on a school study program and partly sightseeing!

21

WHY THE LONG..................................SILENCE???

by Terry in

the jews were isolated, insular and anti-progress until the invasions and conquests of alexander's armies forced them into a new world of philosophy, science, logic and semantics.. in less than a century after alexander came and went, the jews were speaking greek and not hebrew!.

they weren't just speaking greek!

they were thinking greek!.

Flowerpetal

It was the Church (ironically) and Muslims who preserved knowledge and Greek science/philsophy!

Question: How do we know it was the Church and Muslims who preserved knowledge and Greek science/philosphy when the Crusades came along and probably destroyed never to be recovered valuable information?

34

Going to anoher church?

by KatyH81 in

i just wondered if anyone has been to a church since fading, or getting out?

and how did you feel when you went?

Flowerpetal

One of these days I want to go to a new age church--just out of curiousity.

11

I went to the Kingdum Hall last night....

by pratt1 in

as some of you may know, i have a close friend who is still a dub that i am the "godfather" of his son.

i mean this in the most literal sense, since it is in his and his wife's will, that if anything should happen to them, i would become their child's legal and custodial guardian.

anyway, i wento hear his second minsistry school talk last night and i have a few observations about the meeting.. 1. i was not aware that the #2 talk is now just a bible reading without an introduction or conclusion by the speaker.

Flowerpetal

I was very surprised to see that the spanish speaking cong was double the size of the english speaking congo.

In my area, there is concern in the Spanish-speaking congs because of the young people, who may speak Spanish, but they can't read it or write it. They are leaving these congs and are either going to English KHs or not going at all, and I think the latter is the case.