Posts by mentalclearness

58

At the hall last night

by Shawn10538 in

i went to the hall last night to get an insight book and a concordance.

i had set it up with an elder ahead of time to get them.

i arrived after the meeting had ended, walked up to the counter anxious to leave as quickly as i came when a big brother came up to me, planted his body in between me and the literature servant and started giving me the third degree about who i am, what is my standing in the congregation, and what did i want the books for.

mentalclearness

I have some extra books if you need them....I have a whole library full...HA!

10

Faith is not enough, works are not enough

by MadTiger in

or so it was with mother teresa: .

article.

did she somehow realize that she didn't have the truth, but helping those children was a form of the truth?

mentalclearness

why can't people just help without spreading their religious beliefs?? I mean if you are earnest, just give your help..no catch...reminds me a bit of the rice missionaries in china....

10

MSNBC Catches Pedophiles On Camera

by golf2 in

every monday night starting 10pm, msnbc along with authorities trap pedophiles who have made internet arrangements to have sex with under-age children are filmed and exposed to the public.

this passed monday night, they arrested 21 pedophiles making such arrangements.

the one that caught my interest was the pedophile having to travel 350 miles (one way) to have sex with a teenager!

mentalclearness

does anybody see this as really odd??? I mean it's kind of glorifying the whole thing by giving these sick fucks attention...even if it's negative attention...what will american media think of next??? and of course, the consumers eat it all up....

13

Will love conquer all?

by LouiseAlly in

hi, my name is alison and i am having a very hard time to accept what is going on in my life.

hopefully anyone that can help me can certainly will receive much more from jehovah.. also i find by writing about my story can help other individuals going through the same thing can help make them to make wise decisions in life.... i am 21 years old and my ex boyfriend is 25 years old .

we were going out for one year and three months which is unfortunate it could not last longer.

mentalclearness

How to talk about spirituality
By Margot Carmichael Lester So you don't identify yourself as Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or a follower of any of the major religions? That doesn't mean issues of faith don't crop up when you're dating.

You don't have to attend worship services regularly for spirituality to play a role in your life. Even if you're not a daily communicant or weekly worshipper, you'll probably want to talk about your beliefs and their place in your life. Because once you start dating someone — regardless of his or her faith — the two of you will probably face many of the same questions that religious couples do, says Molleen Matsumura, who writes the Sweet Reason column for the nonreligious in Humanist Network News. The most common issues that daters discuss are:
How do you cope with life's tragedies (like catastrophic illness or death)?
Where do you find friends who share your values and help you keep your relationship strong?
If you want children, what values should you teach them, and how?
What can you do to make the world a better place?
It's unlikely that these sorts of deep issues will crop up on a first or second date, but talking about these big-picture ideas is definitely a way to bond as you get closer to someone.

Dealing with conflicts
When you do discuss such matters with someone you're dating, conflicting views, values and beliefs will emerge. So agree in advance that your goal is to figure out what makes your relationship stronger, not who's right. "Look for something in your belief system that fits in, even a tiny way, with your partner's views," Matsumara says. "Next, think of something you admire about your date [and] let your discussion build on what you do share."

Of course, you may find that there isn't enough common ground on which to continue building your relationship. Seattleites Tom and Marissa didn't consider themselves religious. "But Marissa insisted we talk very early on about our values and morals," Tom recalls. "At first I thought it was kind of unnecessary, but as we got into it, I realized there were a lot of important things we didn't match up on. We decided to break up because there were some serious disconnects."

Planning ahead
If you're spiritually compatible, begin thinking about how your spirituality will manifest itself in your daily lives as the two of you go forward. "Mark and I synched up pretty well in terms of our values," notes Marianne of Atlanta. "But as our relationship progressed, we weren't prepared for how our decisions about certain holidays would be received by our parents, who are all very religious."

To avoid a similar fate, Matsumura suggests following these tips:
Plan ahead for how to deal with family. "Don't let your partner take blame for agreements you've made that your family dislikes," she says. In other words, don't tell your parents, "Even if Cory wasn't an atheist, I still wouldn't be going to church every Sunday." Own your decisions and beliefs openly.
Don't take your own assumptions for granted. Even if you aren't formally practicing a faith, you still have ideas you were taught about issues like forgiveness and obedience. "You won't discover some differences till you're in the middle of them," Matsumura notes. "Then, be willing to look at the issue in a new way." This was a challenge for Shelly of Baltimore. "I wasn't raised in a religious household, but didn't think it would matter much when I started dating Matthew, who was a lapsed Catholic. Turns out that our backgrounds did have an impact. When I revealed to him that I'd once briefly dated a married man, it was a big problem for him; the sanctity of marriage is something that was really stressed in his upbringing. Frankly, I had never really considered what I'd done from a perspective like his. It took a lot of heartfelt discussions and some time for us to go forward after that."
Learn from others: Try studying not only each other's traditions, but other people's, too. "For example, if one of you is Jewish and one is Christian, find out what a Buddhist would say about your concerns," she explains. "Find out what works for other couples with differing beliefs."
Following this advice will help spiritual harmony reign in your relationships.

30

Email from my Mom defending WTS, Point/counter point/ Point

by Burger Time in

a little back story; i have been having a lot of debates with my mom about society stuff.

anyways i directed her to the watchtower documents and the molestation charges.

she then sent me an email here is what she wrote, the orginal email was just a link to the site and i said something to the effect of, jehovah makes public the records that were supposed to be hidden!

mentalclearness

sorry about the mistakes..couldn't spell check..

30

Email from my Mom defending WTS, Point/counter point/ Point

by Burger Time in

a little back story; i have been having a lot of debates with my mom about society stuff.

anyways i directed her to the watchtower documents and the molestation charges.

she then sent me an email here is what she wrote, the orginal email was just a link to the site and i said something to the effect of, jehovah makes public the records that were supposed to be hidden!

mentalclearness

O.K. That was really long....The first part I was laughing a bit because reminded me of the church lady in SNL..."Could it be SATAN??????" The Martha Stewart anecdote was too much.....The rest of the email I found so familar in talking with my own mom and so frustrating. Why is it soooooo difficult to look at the organization objectively?? Your email was right on the money. I mean if we disqualify other organized religions because they make mistakes, why do JWs protect and defend their own religion so much...Obviously God would not be blessing an organization that is not different from the rest.

Now another thing I wanted to bring up was the preaching..Mormons also preach.. I have had visits from them on many times..There were these americans that lived down my street who are also some sort of bible group..And they also "preach"..although not door to door..but in parks, open areas.. Just casual discussions about God and invite people to bible study..They are from California..Missionary types..Now of course, they are probably not as organized and woldwide as the witnesses but in reality how eefective is the door to door witnessing??? I was talking about that with my mom because I told her I thought people were more likely to accept talking about religion when JWs informal witness to friends and coworkers, then going from door to door...I mean if the objective is to preach..then they have to realize how ineefective it is to knock on someone's door and invade their personal space to talk about one of the two topic which are practically taboo for today's society..politics and religion...

11

Feelings

by LearningToFly in

i feel the need to share how i am feeling at this very moment.

sad, so sad ( i have a huge lump in my throat that won't go away) for all the pain suffered by so many here, myself included.

you are all such lovely people, strong, honest and real.

mentalclearness

When i first started reading the posts on this forum I was kind of surpised from all the things that have happened to many..In many ways it makes me feel grateful....I think there are always people who have suffered more than one..It helps put things in perspective....I hope you feel better tomorrow..

30

Email from my Mom defending WTS, Point/counter point/ Point

by Burger Time in

a little back story; i have been having a lot of debates with my mom about society stuff.

anyways i directed her to the watchtower documents and the molestation charges.

she then sent me an email here is what she wrote, the orginal email was just a link to the site and i said something to the effect of, jehovah makes public the records that were supposed to be hidden!

mentalclearness

Blind loyalty to organization....And since she personally does not know any cases..hmmmmm...sounds like the whole see no evil hear no evil excuse....reminds me of a saying in spanish "no se puede tapar el sol con un dedo"..meaning you can't cover the sun with your finger..(something got lost in translation..LOL!!) but basically, how long will the organization be able to cover up these pedophile cases..I'm sure if the majority of the witnesses knew how many of them existed then there would be alot more questioning of the faith..But I'm curious as to the one thing they can't seem to overcome????

78

We are free to love

by purplesofa in

jw
friends

what i have noticed since pulling away from group thinking, mindsets, rules and superstitions, that i am open to a broader range of loving people.. i am not sure i can blame all this on the jw expericance.

as children we are taught from our tribe, (family and enviroment, church, school, extended family, neighborhood..........who to love and who not to love.

i used to believe as the witnesses taught, you have to "beat" the evil out of children.. have you ever watched a group of small children unattended?

mentalclearness

hope everything goes well tomorrow at the doctor's!!!

53

Moshe visits a KH today- did he walk out or was he thrown out?

by moshe in

i walked in about 10 minutes prior to the start of the meeting- i sure looked like an unusual visitor wearing my best jeans a golf shirt and my yarmulke.. the first brother who approached me was an slighly built late middle age guy- he gave me a big hello and extended his hand.

i pulled out my 'end of false religion tract' and showed it to him.

"did you put this in my door?

mentalclearness

I just have to say I love a guy in a yarmulke!!!! O.K: having said that, that was very gutsy!!!!