growing up of course as a jw child - birthdays couldn't be celebrated because the only instance of a birthday was when john the baptizer had his head cut off. sooo... seams like "the memorial" shouldn't be celebrated because jesus was murdered. just a thought.
atpeace
JoinedPosts by atpeace
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thought of birthday rebutal
by atpeace ingrowing up of course as a jw child - birthdays couldn't be celebrated because the only instance of a birthday was when john the baptizer had his head cut off.
sooo... seams like "the memorial" shouldn't be celebrated because jesus was murdered.
just a thought.
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Pledge of Allegiance
by Princess Daisy Boo insouth africa is considering bringing in a "pledge" that kids in school will repeat each day.
we never had such a thing as kids growing up, but when the national anthem was sung, we always had to stay seated and not participate.
i remember always hearing about flag saluting in other countries.
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atpeace
there is an interesting essay in the book "parenting beyond belief" - i believe this essay is by julia sweeny, of snl fame - anyways it was cool that she gave her daughter two ways to think of it and waited for her daughter to make the decision she felt good about. in the end her daughter choose to salute the flag - she saw it as only a sign of respect and not worship. btw - i loved this book!
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Isn't it ironic
by Princess Daisy Boo ini used to regularly get calls from my mom (she rarely confronted me face to face for some reason) about my leaving "da troof" and most often, her lectures were met with my silence - i didnt have the confidence to answer her back as to why i left and refused to return.
now - almost 7 months are regularly reading and posting on jwd, i am angry and just itching for an opportunity for me to tell her what i have learned and discovered.
the relief at discovering that i wasn't alone is indescribable!
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atpeace
my parents are the same way. i think they still want a relationship and its easier to keep peace than to confront something that may allienate you or have you say something that in their minds would force them to take some kind of shunning stand.
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When you left how long did it take you to get out of the JW mind set ??
by karter inhow long before something happened (i:e 9/11) before you stopped thinking the big a was coming??.
i read 7 news papers a week it took me a long time to read about some big bad event without thinking this is it the big a is about to happen now i read it for what it is.. what about you.
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atpeace
also, we went back to a few meetings after 9/11. an elder asked how he could help us. i said some association would be nice. when he came back with "your association will come with spending time in field service. you have to prove yourself first". it didn't take long to accept the fact that even if it was the "truth", i couldn't live like that any longer.
as far as armageddon, i was always afraid. it has been liberating not having that over my head everyday.
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When you left how long did it take you to get out of the JW mind set ??
by karter inhow long before something happened (i:e 9/11) before you stopped thinking the big a was coming??.
i read 7 news papers a week it took me a long time to read about some big bad event without thinking this is it the big a is about to happen now i read it for what it is.. what about you.
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atpeace
i'm not sure for me the mind set will completly go away. instead of not thinking about doctrins, is the bible real, etc - i'm beginning to form my own very concrete beliefs that are not jw mind sets.
however - i can go to any holiday party and not think twice about it - but to celebrate christmas in my home still feels "wrong". we say "bless you" if someone sneezes as a human nicety, but it's always at the back of my mind that it was "wrong" as a child. we toast friends with drinks, but if i'm around jw relatives, i'm careful to not do that.
when you get out though - its amazing to have your eyes opened to how everything was controlled. every thought, every action.
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Samson and the Archers, why not?
by VM44 indidn't the philistines possess bow and arrows during the time of samson?
samson was unbeatable in hand to hand combat.
he wiped out an entire army using only the jawbone of an ass, so why didn't the philistines simply get 20 or more archers, have them surround samson, and then simultaneously let loose a volley of arrows?
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atpeace
i'm starting to see so many bible stories as based on greek myths. sampson sounds like hercules. would love to find a book that compares biblical heros to greek myths. anyone know of any?
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Did You Experience Shunning By " Cliques" in Witness Congregations ?
by flipper inthe american heritage dictionary defines the word clique as , " a small , exclusive group of friends or associates .
" further in the synonym section under the word " circle ", it says about the word , " clique " a clique is an exclusive group, usually social and often participating in activities from which outsiders are barred .
" it quotes john lloyd , a writer - " the narrow, often self- perpetuating cliques which control our lives, living standards and leisures.
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atpeace
growing up my husband and i (mid 20's age - because we had to get married so young) had a group of "friends) we hung out with. we went to concernts, had drinking parties, etc. all was fine and dandy until sunday morning or the circuit assembly! then they wouldn't be caught dead looking at us! really pissed us off, because we were who we were at all times, didn't pretend to be something differrent just so hubby could run the mikes or be an attendent!
this was the first sign that it wasn't for us. it got so bad we finally moved away. best descision we ever made.
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Please allow me to introduce myself...
by Olin Moyles Ghost ini'm a man of neither wealth nor taste (my apologies to messrs. jagger, richards, et al.
anyway, i have lurked here off-and-on for a while.
as i stated a couple of days ago, i am impressed with the level of knowledge of many of the posters on this board.
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atpeace
welcome! i'm a newbie too!
i too was raised as a jw child and always thought some things just didn't make sense. all of the "frowned" upon things - higher education, dating. i didn't understand how disfellowshipping was loving - to shun someone who needed help seemed wrong.
and i went for many years just trying to not think about it. now, the more knowledge i get i feel comfortable with my own beliefs and free to question actual doctrins. and i'm troubled by the constant emphysis on "the society".
it just takes time to sort it out. you'll get there!
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Can You Trust the Bible?
by MissingLink inhey guys.
can anyone point me to good references on whether the bible is accurate or not.
like a rebuttal of the november 2007 awake?.
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atpeace
something that i will be reading (just got it today) is the book "the power of myths". i recently was reading another book that briefly stated that in greek mythology there are stories that are extremly similar to david & goliath, the birth of jesus, noahs ark, etc. the thing i wonder about is how so much of the bible reads and feels like a story. i don't understand all the dates and numbers, it seems so complicated and open to so many different interpretations. so - i'm starting with comparing the greek myths to bible stories.
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how do you handle relatives questions on your jw status?
by atpeace ini was curious how others handled the questions like - so, when is your convention, how many publishers do you have now, etc.
these questions always come up with the once a year visit to jw relatives.
usually it's asked in earshot of my jw parents.
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atpeace
i was curious how others handled the questions like - so, when is your convention, how many publishers do you have now, etc. these questions always come up with the once a year visit to jw relatives. usually it's asked in earshot of my jw parents. my immediate family knows i no longer attend meetings, but they have not pushed for more of an explanation. but out of respect for them, i feel uncomfortable in these settings. any suggestions on some vague answers that are not dishonest, but to just end the conversation?