Thanks FofN...you sound like a very intelligent person, and you will find many interesting subjects as you continue to look intently at "the deeper things"! (pardon my WT cliche reference...LOL). The important thing is that you are exercising your critical think abilities, and to the WTS that is the equivalent of exposing a vampire to direct sunlight!! Keep up the good work!
tenyearsafter
JoinedPosts by tenyearsafter
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My story/Proof of cross?
by FifthOfNovember inhi all, i've been reading this site for several weeks and i really liked the community and it seems like a good place where i discuss my concerns openly.. about me: .
i've been studying since elementary school, i became an unbaptized publisher in elementary school too.
i currently am in high school.
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When a person gets disfellowshipped, why do the elders say no longer one of JW's.
by Joliette ini've been meaning on asking this, and i forgot to post it when i first joined this website..
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tenyearsafter
I agree with daringhart13...it is legalistic, loaded language that does not mean what it says. The words say you are just as a "worldy person" (and JW's don't shun worldy people), but their actions say an entirely different thing. The announcement allows for a legal defense to say we don't encourage shunning...
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My story/Proof of cross?
by FifthOfNovember inhi all, i've been reading this site for several weeks and i really liked the community and it seems like a good place where i discuss my concerns openly.. about me: .
i've been studying since elementary school, i became an unbaptized publisher in elementary school too.
i currently am in high school.
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tenyearsafter
Hi FofN!
Welcome to the Board...you will find it a place of diverse beliefs and opinions held together with the common thread of some type of exposure to JW's.
I once wrestled with the cross/stake debate. Using a bit of common sense, I lean toward the cross beam interpretation based primarily on the logic of how Jesus went to his execution. For his implement of execution to have been an upright stake, it would have had to have been of adequate girth to support his weight and long enough to have been placed in the ground with enough stability to not fall over with the lop-sided weight distribution a man's weight would have on the center of gravity of that pole. A conservative guess would be that such a pole would have to weigh several hundred pounds to accommodate both those requirements. Now the Bible accounts in Matthew, Luke and Mark indicate that Jesus started to drag his tortue stake to Golgotha and then it was carried the balance of the way by Simon of Cyrenne...does it seem realistic that a man that had endured constant beatings and scourgings throughout the night could then drag a wood pole weighing hundreds of pounds, even a short distance, through the city? Even an able-bodied man like Simon would struggle under such a load. It would seem much more reasonable that he carried a lighter cross beam to the execution site where the upright pole was already buried and in place. That pretty much cinched it for me.
More importantly is not the cross versus stake argument, a WT red herring, but rather what that crucifixion meant. Does it really matter what shape the instrument of his death was?...I would offer that the end, not the means is what God would want people to focus on. Once again, JW's try to be different by emphasizing non-issues.
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Did born-in's have the capacity to "test their faith"?
by sabastious in2 corinthians 13: 5a - 5 examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.. this verse just comes at me like a locomotive.. to examine something is to truly use my mental capacities and to look at something objectively.. how do i accomplish this, even now?.
i was raised in an organization that controlled my information and used fear of rejection as well as my need for approval to "inculcate" the "truth" into me.. by that right, i (and all born-ins) do not have the ability to examine our faith (as a jw).. there will always be an artificial pull either for or against the society (whether we are aware of it or not).. free will has been comprimised; therefore our "faith to our creator" has been tainted and cannot be judged as worthy or unworthy.. of course many of us have regained our ability to discern and look at things objectively.. but i believe that we will never be able to truly look at the watchtower organization without a slant.. not to say the conclusions we come to regards to the organization are not valid (because they are and have been validated).
my point is that the organization has no right to judge and ostracize any born-in for leaving and even for speaking out.. they broke us, and now they are demonizing us for the things we did in that broken state.
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tenyearsafter
nope
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Marital Due and the KS
by yknot ini just did a 'quick' search and 'marital due' doesn't appear to have made the 'list' of issues addressed in the ks!.
did i miss something?????
shouldn't the blantant repeated refusal (not justifiable under illness, ability, or discernable reason) be an issue addressed?.
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tenyearsafter
notverylikely...were you married to my ex-wife?!?
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Hey fellas, as you got older, into your early 30s, did you start finding women between their late 30s and late 40s attractive?
by miseryloveselders insomedays my dad would look at what i still call an older woman, and he'd call her attractive.
i'd look at him like dude your nuts.
i'm thinking just cuz your older doesn't mean its wrong to find younger women attractive.
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tenyearsafter
I'm with Simon...attractive is attractive...but with that said, when I was in my 40's younger women appealed to me more than women my own age or older. Now that I am in my late 50's, I find the maturity and "low maintenance" aspects of women in their 40's and 50's make them much more attractive in my eyes. I love the great figure and pretty face that embodies many younger women, but that often comes with a price tag I am no longer willing to pay. Now I see attractiveness as encompassing more than just physical beauty...and so many more "older" women have remained beautiful and gained a maturity that enhances their physical attractiveness. Maybe I am gaining some maturity as well in my "golden" years...
Fortunately, I have a beautiful wife who fills all the qualities of attractiveness for me!
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Hey, good news, and some advice needed
by ColdRedRain ini don't know if i've shared this with the board before, but i finally got my driver's license.
i'm one step closer to getting the hell out of my jw family's reach and finding independence.
and even much better news, a friend of a friend offered me a job as a sandwich delivery driver and my boss from my seasonal job offered me a job as a marketer/snow shoveler.
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tenyearsafter
$650 is pretty cheap for a car if it runs...I'd have a mechanic look it over to make sure you won't be looking any major repair bills in the face as soon as you buy it. If you could get a year of use out of it, it would be a good deal.
Good Luck!
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Children - Your experiences of being raised a JW
by jambon1 inyes, it's my favourite subject.
in fact, it fascinates me.
i am also confident that we can learn a lot from peoples experiences & that perhaps even a few families may avoid repeating the same tragic mistakes made by the ill-advised parents of children raised in the jehovah's witness religion.. as some of you will be aware i have had a struggle in the past to free my children of the criminal effects of wts doctrine on the minds of my infant children.
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tenyearsafter
Not all bad, but constant reminders that I was never doing enough and feeling "different" because of holidays, flag salute, etc. made me feel very insecure as a kid. I worried about Armageddon and not surviving, and I worried about getting seriously injured without having blood as a treatment option. I also felt I would never see my 20's, much less be approaching 60!!
It is a wonder I didn't carry all of that baggage with me once I left. I won't say that a little of the old JW personality doesn't creep in to my thinking, but overall I feel pretty healthy.
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The Doctrine of Hell
by Yizuman inis the doctrine of hell a hindrance or a help in witnessing?
many evangelicals are ashamed of this biblical doctrine, viewing it as a blemish to be covered up by the cosmetic of divine love.
but this dishonors gods word.
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tenyearsafter
Tammy,
I think the majority of moderate Christians feel as you do...
Cheers!
TYA
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The Doctrine of Hell
by Yizuman inis the doctrine of hell a hindrance or a help in witnessing?
many evangelicals are ashamed of this biblical doctrine, viewing it as a blemish to be covered up by the cosmetic of divine love.
but this dishonors gods word.
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tenyearsafter
designs,
I agree that the Dante's Inferno view is meant to frighten people into believing, just as destruction of mankind at Armageddon is a JW tool to frighten people into compliance.
I guess the more unpalatable tenants of Christianity would not be very attractive on their surface, but on the flip side, the teachings of love, grace and forgiveness are what attract non-believers to embrace Christianity. True believers don't choose their religion based on fear of Hell any more than you choose to follow the law because you don't want to go to jail. I guess it all boils down to what we are willing to accept as reasonable constraints in our lives. Just as we teach our children that breaking the law can bring serious consequences up to and including a death penalty, we could reasonably teach them about the consequences of breaking "higher" laws. It shouldn't be a threat, anymore than jail or worse is a threat for breaking the law, but rather a knowledge of consequences for choices made.
Anarchy, be it literal or spiritual, is not a positive force for change.
My two cents