Posts by Awakened07

50

How did you handle facing the reality of death?

by song19 in

jw
friends

for those raised or who got the truth at a young age, how have you been able to handle the reality that you are in fact, eventually, going to die in this system?.

for me, this was a real hard reality check.

as a witness, my entire life i was convinced that i would see armageddon, that i wouldnt grow old and die.

Awakened07

I 'discovered' my mortality pretty precisely at the age of 23. I have no idea why. I mean, it sounds ridiculous, 'cause of course I had always known there was a chance I would die. People die. But at 23, I really understood that this actually concerned me, and my life. This was when I was very much still in, so it's a little weird.

As I started fading from the Lie though, it of course became worse. Now not only did I truly realize I could die, I started to realize that I will not only die, but be gone for all eternity (barring some inexplicable miracle).

So.... for a period of time, I didn't sleep well. I would lay down at night to sleep, and listen to my heart, and the pounding of it just got louder and louder. And I couldn't help but think that if it stopped right now, that's it. "Hmm... was that a short stabbing pain? Do I feel a small uneasy feeling in my chest?".

Fortunately it went away. I accepted that I have no choice but to live with death. I'm alive now, that's all I know. My heart is fine. Sure, something can happen, but then I won't be able to control it. It happens if and when it happens.

I don't fear death as such, other than the possible pain and anguish beforehand, but when it's over it's over. What I don't care for is that I won't be able to know how things went for mankind, get more knowledge about the universe, see how life turns out for loved ones, listen to music and so on. To lose life. Then again, it has to end someday anyway, at least in this physical universe. No such thing as 'forever' in this universe. Eventually it will be unsuitable for life.

I don't expect a second chance at life, but if that happens it'll be a pleasant surprise.

9

The BIBLE as........JAZZ! A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT.

by Terry in

let's perform a "thought experiment".

imagine walking in to a series of jazz nightclubs in the 1950's and hearing various soloists and trios performing their variations on the same tune.. if a famous orchestra, trio or band becomes popular other groups try to emulate them.

musicians at the top try to best one another in a "battle of the bands.".

Awakened07

Well, in this case, there are thousands of jazz clubs around the world, and they're all playing various improvisations of this tune.

But - they all claim exclusivity to the one proper way to improvise(!) over it. Not only that, but if you insist on playing the tune another way, they say that one day, the will and testament of the author of the tune will be opened, clarifying exactly which improvisation is the only correct one, and you and all other jazz club members (and pop, rock and classical club members for that matter) will be visited by the author's mob gang, who will kill you. Kinda harsh, when all we really can do is improvise.

13

Adam had feminine qualities until Eve was created

by blondie in

jw
friends

*** w56 9/1 p. 530 par.

16 the divine origin of marriage ***and jehovah god proceeded to build the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman and to bring her to the man.

" the man was overjoyed to receive and accept her at his heavenly fathers hand, and he named her to show she was part of himself.

Awakened07

Well - Eve potentially got her... bits... changed around quite a bit as well, only later. I mean - she was struck with the curse of a painful childbirth.

Which means?

That before the curse, childbirth would be a painless breeze.

Which means?

She either used to have one giant... ...birth canal..... or the potency of endorphins were a hundred times higher than today.

4

JW's and the Wikipedia page

by alexb123 in

what do people here think of the wiki page on jw's should it be updated with any knowledge that is freely available here?

also surely the links page at the bottom should have a link to either this site or another site that refutes the watchtower society?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jehovah%27s_witnesses

Awakened07

You have to follow the rules of Wikipedia. Besides, there already is a Controversies regarding Jehovah's Witnesses page. Much could probably be added to that page though, provided the right sources were cited.

37

JWs and Star Trek...

by Thylacine in

jw
friends

one part of my experience with the jw's was that many of the elders in my congreagtion were die hard into star trek...i figured it was isolated to that one kh, but as i went to different ones, i noticed it was a lot of them.

one elder explained his fandom as: "it makes me think of the new system.

we will travel to other planets when the earth is full, and colonize the galaxy.

Awakened07

Yes, we would colonize other planets, and travel around and find exciting cultures like... Oh, wait - we'd all be exactly the same, on every planet! I mean, when you look at the WBTS illustrations, there are all kinds of cultures in them, but in reality, if the 'new world order' was put in place, it wouldn't take many years before everyone would think alike, wear the same clothes and obviously have the same customs (only WBTS approved ones).

I find it puzzling that a religious person finds a religious tone in Star Trek; if anything I see the opposite. But, I guess "to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail" (yes, I am aware it goes both ways).

24

Is Love Unjust?

by Satanus in

within the christian sphere, that is... .

.

s

Awakened07

I fail to see how "God = mightier than man" changes the result of the principle. Might is right?

If I put myself into your universe for a moment, we were after all created in His image. And even if we're in a 'fallen' state, our core must be the same as before: whatever emotions and ethical faculties I have, I must have gotten from my creator. Where else from? So, God can't be "any worse" than I am when it comes to justice and love. He has to be waaay better, actually.

"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things]." (Isa 45:7 (KJV)).

But can we judge him by at least the same standard we judge humans? No, apparently:

"Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! [Let] the potsherd [strive] with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?" (Isa 45:9 (KJV)).

Then again, Yes, apparently:

-Moses - a mere, 'fallen' man; a "potsherd" - made God 'repent of the wicked thing which he thought to do to his people' (Exd. 32:9-14 (KJV)). In other words, Moses made God reconsider, which means Moses' moral judgment in this instance was wiser or better than God's, otherwise He would not have 'repented' and dropped his plans.

Abraham did similarly, regarding the potential 'body count' in Sodom & Gomorrah (Gen. 18:23 - 32).

David did similarly, when God 'smote' several thousand people because David started a census: "And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite. | And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house." (2 Sa. 24:16,17 (KJV)).

It seems to me, there is room to claim that the biblical God can be advised by fallible men, repent, and follow their advice, however flawed they may be. This to me suggests that he is not necessarily so ethically superior to humans as you suggest. If he was, there'd be no need to ask him to change course of action, and he definitely would not then follow that human request and repent of something He had thought of. He, the moral, ethical compass of the universe (and beyond) would always know better, and the results of his plans would always be better. But according to the above, that was not always the case.

24

Is Love Unjust?

by Satanus in

within the christian sphere, that is... .

.

s

Awakened07

"Carl" = (biblical) God.

"Neighborhood" = Earth.

"Hispanics" = Mankind.

"Some hispanics" = Christians (well, Jews first).

"Carl being a racist" = Showing prejudice; tarring an entire population [mankind] with the same brush based on the 'flaw' of a few.

It's a principle thing.

96

State truthful facts about Atheists that make them look bad, weird, foolish

by Finally-Free in

this is to complement the http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/160129/1.ashx and http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/160192/1.ashx threads.. i'd hate to have anyone feel left out.

.

w.

Awakened07

This thread is now twice the size of the one it was modeled after. So...

-Atheists are not one and the same. Not all atheists speak for me, or in a manner I approve of.

What I have noticed though, is that atheists seem to have much the same kind of tongue-in-cheek humor, which can sometimes be interpreted as irreverent by those who believe.

Since we don't believe in it, it's not really meant that way, we're just having a bit of fun. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to be a bit more sensitive. Then again, there is some truth to this cartoon:

Then again again, this of course does not represent all religious people, either. "-We are all individuals - [I'm not!]".

24

Is Love Unjust?

by Satanus in

within the christian sphere, that is... .

.

s

Awakened07

-Carl is rich. Very rich. He used to run and own the whole neighborhood, but after an hispanic couple were disobedient to his rules, he threw them out and then left the neighborhood, withdrawing his cash flow to the area. As a result, the area became poor, and many are sick.

-Carl now hates all hispanics. Well, OK, he doesn't hate them as such, but he hates the way they behave. So he hates the things they do and the way they do it. He won't let them come anywhere near him. "If they would only be like me", says Carl, "then I would welcome them into my life and love them, but they can't be like me, 'cause they're born hispanics. I've sent my son over there to teach them how to behave, but they beat the #¤% out of him. Some listened though, so I guess I have no beef with them, but they were very few. The rest of them I hate. Yeah, I know I could save a lot of those people if I put my money back into the area, but hey - it's my money and I can do with it what I damn well please. Besides, I am gonna spend some on those who become the way I want them to be."

-Carl is a racist.

28

Encounter With Two Lovely, Smiling Jehovah's Witness Ladies

by snapdragon4 in

ive viewed this site from time to time over the years and thought it was about time i made a contribution.. last monday morning, glorious day, i was on the phone when the doorbell rang.

two happy, smiling jehovahs witness ladies.

they agreed to call back in ten minutes.

Awakened07

I think, after having been witnessed to for a while, I would (if I had the cojones) have asked them if angels are leading them in their work to reach those who are 'right minded'. If they would answer 'Yes', I would say: "Well - it so happens that I used to be a Witness, am now out of it and am never going back. While it can be said that I wasn't upfront about it and therefore possibly told a white lie, I am wondering why the angels led you to me, where you have now wasted a considerable amount of your time?"

A little cruel perhaps, but I'm curious as to what their reply would be, if anything.