Posts by GentlyFeral

51

satanism, witchcraft and devil worship. . . . . .

by DCs Ghost in

jw
friends

contrary to popular belief and what society and the media will portray satanism, devil worship and witchcraft are 3 very independent systems of belief, .

sure, to those who are afraid of looking into books dealing with the occult, for fear of being possessed or what have you, i write this as a vent because it makes me laugh when i hear people assume that the three are the same, they aren't, .

and the reality is that even though the three get bunched up as the same, many times it is the ignorance of the practitioners which keeps the ignorance alive.

GentlyFeral

Bridgette said:

I wonder if there are others like me? That is, born and raised in the Borg, but being a child of nature? ... my "beliefs" are anything BUT judeo-christian

Yeah, sure there are. My daughter's one. We didn't un-jaydub until she was twelve, and as soon as we had done so she told me she'd believed in reincarnation all her life. She also remembers deciding, at the age of eight, "Nothing this boring (like meetings)could possibly be true."

You'll find other "children of nature" at http://www.exjwpagans.org

Gently Feral

71

Oppression of Women

by MrMoe in

jw
friends

this is a bit lengthy, but is a very big issue with me, and that is the issue of women's rights.

i do agree with women allowing their husbands to make a final decision, being on how women think with their hearts and men think with their heads, making choices often times more logical ones.

but, the husband according to god is supposed to love his wife as his own flesh.

GentlyFeral

Would you want the typical female (not your ideal female, typical female) to make a world altering choice if she is on the rag?

It would depend on how badly the rest of her life sucks.

No, seriously. The only times in my life when I've had anything like PMS were all when everything else was crappy as well -- when we were homeless, when I had serious problems with self-respect, when I was afraid I didn't have "Jehovah's favor" -- these were times when my period brought skewed notions of life, and a short fuse. When everything was going well, the only notice I got of an oncoming period was when the cramps started.

Gently Feral

51

satanism, witchcraft and devil worship. . . . . .

by DCs Ghost in

jw
friends

contrary to popular belief and what society and the media will portray satanism, devil worship and witchcraft are 3 very independent systems of belief, .

sure, to those who are afraid of looking into books dealing with the occult, for fear of being possessed or what have you, i write this as a vent because it makes me laugh when i hear people assume that the three are the same, they aren't, .

and the reality is that even though the three get bunched up as the same, many times it is the ignorance of the practitioners which keeps the ignorance alive.

GentlyFeral

4. satan represents kindness to those who deserve it, instead of love wasted on ingrates

I've blown off this principle for years, assuming that it meant that Satanists had no respect for the Golden Rule -- which would make it mighty hard to respect them. But when I read this list again, it occurred to me that "those who deserve" kindness might not be "those who have earned it" but rather "those who have not forfeited it."

Gently Feral
lookin' mighty cute in these horns

53

What song do you want played at your funeral?

by ballistic in

jw
friends

what song do you want playing at your funeral?.

i'll be having "going underground" by the jam.

i was too far out... and not waving but drowning - stevie smith

GentlyFeral

Hmm, there are so many choices! Maybe I'll just let the minister and my family rummage through our CD collection.

I DO know I want to end with klezmer music. If you've never heard of it, check out this band -- a sterling example: The Brandeis-Bardin Klezmer Ensemble, at:
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/76/the_brandeis-bardin_klezme.html

GentlyFeral

141

JW Kids Leave the Organization: Facts

by Maximus in

jw
friends

the october 1 watchtower 2001 features articles on training children "properly" and dealing with a "prodigal child.

the latest inside u.s. figures reveal that 86% of jw children leave the fold, with some 29% who eventually come back for reasons of family ties, most never "reaching out.

" that means over half leave permanently.

GentlyFeral

Maximus,

Thanks for the tidbits from the local Episcopalian calendar. Here's a sampling from our UU church, from memory (which is why the dates are omitted):

Sunday after church: middle school and high school youth groups all converge on somebody's house for video games, movies, assorted hijinks. Alleged to be supervised by the host's parents.

Women's Spirituality (monthly). Teens welcome, though none participate right now. Topics range from rituals adapted from pagan traditions to the problems faced by adolescent girls, to a wide variety of political topics.

Movie Night (monthly).

There are two book discussion groups, and a third is starting.

There is a CUUPS chapter (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) which holds rituals on every Wiccan sabbat (about every six weeks).

Monthly excursions to a local little theatre.

Monthly circle suppers in members' homes. The guests at each home are chosen by lot from among those who sign up.

Monthly church potluck after the service.

Weekly choir practice, NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.

From time to time we have mini-courses on Building Your Own Theology, Owning Your Religious Past, Evensong (a very small group worship/meditation/idea-tennis) and other brain candy.

Most of our teens belong to YRUU, the denominational youth organization, which holds conventions at least 4 times yearly.

There's more, but I forget. Our church has about 160 people. It's a very small building, so we're about to go to two services.

Gently Feral

"There were cockroaches of course,
but very clean cockroaches."
-- Julia Vinograd

38

How would you react to a sheparding call?

by friendorfoe in

jw
friends

put aside for a moment your statis of the organization, it's saturday morning and your on the other side of the ole familar knock.

"hello i'm brotherdoesnthavealife i haven't seen you in a while" how would you react?.

it happened to me after about 6 years of being inactive and it was an elder and a c.o.

GentlyFeral

Hypothetical situation:

it's saturday morning and your on the other side of the ole familar knock."Hello i'm brotherdoesnthavealife I haven't seen you in a while" how would you react?

With loud, sustained laughter.

Then I would ask about "present truth" -- would I have to give up my political activity, my lovers,* and my other gods, in order to return? (No thanks.)

GentlyFeral

*definitely hypothetical at present, but they don't need to know that.

8

A voice.....

by ReverendRoy in

as some of you may have noticed i always include this quote with my signature - "why is it when we talk to god we're praying - but when god talks to us, we're schizophrenic?".

i am poking some fun at this concept basically.

however, a few years ago, driving in my car on the way to work, i heard a very clear, audible voice that was not mine.

GentlyFeral

Roy, I have a name for this kind of experience: a "didactic hallucination." Your brain threw together a little "special effect" to make sure you noticed something true and important. Sometimes, though, the same (entirely physical) mechanisms generate "junk visions" like Kat_ being told to "put the book down".

About a year ago, while taking a "Build Your Own Theology" class at a Unitarian Universalist church, I realized that the reason I have such an active imagination (and have since childhood) is so I can have spiritual adventures like this. I was the only one in the class who came to this conclusion, which was the whole point of the class, actually: for each of us to get a clearer idea of what we believe and why, as well as to understand everybody else better.

After that I began to *court* visions -- with fatigue at first, then with (ahem) certain herbal medicines. I've come to accept (most of the time) that spirituality includes the unexplainable, the coincidental, and the imaginary -- all of which are real! For me, communications with The Intangible are slippery and fragile. I think it's just something that the spiritual adventurer has to deal with.

I read somewhere, long ago, that perfectly sane people do hallucinate. If I persistently heard voices telling me to do horrible things, or that I was evil, I would definitely question my sanity. So far the voices in my head, whether they come to me as sound (rarely) or thought (mostly), have given me good advice -- and/or left me free to contradict.

And they know that if they mistreat me, I will FIRE them.

GentlyFeral

14

Homeless "Pete"

by Billygoat in

jw
friends

there is a homeless man (ill call him pete) that stands on a street corner nearby my home.

hes been on this corner since i moved into this neighborhood almost 4 years ago.

a staple to our community really.

GentlyFeral

Good for you, LDH.

I've been homeless (and, yes, I was a jaydub at the time; it was another couple of years before we left). Since then, I ALWAYS give to panhandlers -- be cause you never know when they might NOT be scamming.

I always give what I can afford: one dollar. A dollar won't buy a joint, a hit of acid, or a pack of cigarettes. Hell, it won't even buy a bus ride here in the San Francisco Bay Area; but it will buy a McDonald's hamburger or one second-rate beer, or two phone calls. Not totally worthless.

Gently Feral

35

A Question thats troubling me........

by aud8 in

jw
friends

"this good news will be preached for a witness to all the inhabited nations and then the end will come" nobody else is preaching any good news as far as i can see?

what do you think?

GentlyFeral

...and it's mostly cut-n-paste, too, but I tried to keep it cogent and zippy.

"If this place is so wonderful, why are we so hesitant to tell others about it? What is our problem with the concept of evangelism? My suspicion is that for many of us, as "come-outers" who were raised in Christian churches with missionary traditions, we associate evangelism with conversion. Our image of the evangelist is the fire and brimstone tent preacher or the door-to-door tract pusher, someone with a "black-and-white" view of religion -- mine is right, your is wrong. Maybe we associate evangelism with prosletyzing, trying to brow-beat other people into thinking like us. For many of us, this association may have played an important role in pushing us away from that earlier tradition and into the arms of UUism. I know this is true for me, and its lingering residue is responsible for the mixed feelings I still hold about the idea of evangelism. However, I realize that there's a difference between forcing your beliefs on others, and sharing them as part of public discourse so that others may be exposed to new ideas and consider their merit for themselves."
http://home.earthlink.net/~bethdre/Sermons/evangelism.html

"We can do many things in this direction. Here are some ways mentioned in his essay. We can:
1. Talk with pride and enthusiasm about our religion.
2. Look for opportunities for dialogue (like I did this week with Pastor Chandler).
3. Welcome questions about the Unitarian Universalist faith.
4. State beliefs positively.
5. Be patient and respectful of differing views.
6. Be clear about our core values and demonstrate them in our approach to the conversation about our faith.
7. Live our faith. Let our lives speak.
8. Listen to the other person; ask probing and thoughtful questions.
9. Give a personal testimony. (Why did you become a Unitarian Universalist? How has it made a difference in your life?
10. Because experience is a source of our personal religion-making, listen to the other person's experience and also share your own.
My kind of evangelism doesn't want to deny the faiths of others. I have no interest in challenging their faith. I believe it is important to their lives. Mine is also important to me. I know my liberal faith gives my life meaning and I know it can for others. This is why I want us to tell the world about us.
We live in a time that has the largest number of unchurched people than in any previous time. When this unchurched population is interviewed, it is discovered that many of them would be interested in a faith much like that of Unitarian Universalism, if they but knew it.
http://www.uunhf.org/sunday/sermons/text/20010218/

As to the charitable aspect of church work, run a websearch on "Unitarian Universalist Service Committee" or "UUSC".

Gently Feral

65

What does your username mean?

by closer2fine in

jw
friends

i was just wondering what everyone's username meant.

i have my own guesses (sixofnine, silentlambs, slayerlayer-i'm almost afraid :o), amazing-enough said!,mommy, fredhall-is that your name?, ozziepost-from downunder, and the list goes on!

please share!!

GentlyFeral

I explained this (I think!) in the "baby names" thread Hippikon started.

Several years ago I got involved in a "find your porn star name" and came up with this. "Gently" is the name of our first dog (my sister sure could pick names!) and "Ferrall" is the name of a branch of our family. I don't know what it *means* exactly except, um, it shows my fine appreciation of paradoxes. Or something.

(Hippikon, what does *your* name mean?)

The bodacious, curvaceous

MISS GENTLY FERAL

"There were cockroaches of course,
but very clean cockroaches."
-- Julia Vinograd