first of all i noticed that this just seemed like another meeting.
when we drove in we had people parking us in strange ways, not to mention that the amount of cars there was just as many as a highly attended sunday meeting and we do fine then when we have no one to park us.
they had more seats set out and there were no new ones just people who had not come in awhile.
VM73: I notice they have teen pregnancies but I can't say its higher other than anecdotally. I do think that whatever they say they don't have because of cleanness etc... they really do have often in spades so maybe I agree more than I thought!
logic&reason: Welcome Newbie!
how many here have had jw friends that can only have a good time when they drink?
i've known plenty - ones with obvious drinking problems.
not necessarialy alcoholics, but ones that equate good times with drinking, and drinking alone.
We are not really drinkers, just an occasional wine and once in a while I like Amaretto and oj, (maybe 2 tops) and my hubby likes a rum and coke.
Not Feeling It promptly runs downstairs to try amaretto and OJ despite how gross that sounds. I do like amarula which is a creamy fruity liqueur but likely quite different.
there has been much discussion about reasons not to attend the memorial and the freedom that ensues.
i'm not at that place yet so i deal with this differently.
i have family that are in and some faded.
Greetings all,
There has been much discussion about reasons not to attend the Memorial and the freedom that ensues. I'm not at that place yet so I deal with this differently. I have family that are in and some faded. None that are completely out. My wife and I attend conventions at times and meetings when believing family are in town. I've never missed a Memorial in my 30+ years despite having faded about 10 years ago.
Anyway that is just a bit of background for the actual subject here. Despite all this, my wife is still pretty indoctrinated. Her family is of the hardcore variety with all the strict rules and expectations. It's been hard on her to consider alternate opinions.
This Memorial was different. I knew that the number of partakers had been increasing. She hasn't given it as much thought. When the speaker got to the point when he was going to discuss last year's attendance I felt it coming and leaned over to whisper, "Wait for it. Here it comes..."
He didn't disappoint. I hadn't heard that the number had gone up to 9100. I figured it was just in the high 8000's. She gave me the WTF look. I said we'd discuss it later.
On the way home we got into an interesting discussion about what her expectations were for the number versus the reality of what she just heard. She, like most of us, had been told for umpteen years that it was a clear sign of the end that the annointed were dwindling. They certainly would NOT INCREASE. So I asked her what that meant. She wasn't sure so I offered that perhaps 114k is not literal. Perhaps the generation is wrong again. What happens when 100 years go by from 1914 and nothing has happened? What happens when the number goes to 10k partaking (which is my bet)?
I am glad I got her to start thinking. I'll take what I can get.
greetings and warm wishes to everyone out there...
this is my first post here on the site, though i have spent many countless hours as a guest reading and reading your posts and conversations.
they have been a great encouragement to me, who as a young woman was disfellowshipped from the society about nine years ago.
Hi to Moxie and phivu.
Welcome from a fellow N00b.
how many here have had jw friends that can only have a good time when they drink?
i've known plenty - ones with obvious drinking problems.
not necessarialy alcoholics, but ones that equate good times with drinking, and drinking alone.
It's really thier only allowed vice. So go figure.
I went to the Saturday of the assembly last year. There was one part about booze where it was frowned upon if you drank frequently. They even gave an example of a party where the guests WANTED to get... BUZZED. Oh noes! They even went as far as bringing a breathalyzer to see who was drunk.
Personally, that sounds pretty responsible to me. Better than driving home in the cups. I was sitting in the back so I could see several nodding bobbleheads and tsk-tsk's over that comment.
Well, when you take the vowels out no one can actually say what it sounds like.
Watched the preview. I could only make out 3-5 words of the Danish (?) I did like the dramatic presentation of the meetings, KH, and what I guess was a big outdoor convention. I guess showing how lame they really are isn't "teh sexay" enough for a movie.
I wish it had some Engrish subtitles.
DO NOT WANT!
this afternoon my husband looked out the window and saw two unmistakable dubs shuffling up our street.
he didn't have time to warn me before they came to our door (he knows i get a bit testy whenever they visit).
i was in a nearby room, but heard nothing, saw nothing.
C'mon! Do you not know any service tricks? How long were you in?
My wife and I were walking in our neighborhood earlier in the week enjoying the beautiful weather. We came to a new neighbor's house and decided to walk up and see if we could welcome them. About the same time as we crossed thier driveway entrance we both looked at each other and said, "you want this door?" It was a long walk to the front door so we discussed old strategy of doing house-over-house vs. "work until you talk to someone".
The final trick of course is to knock as lightly as possible and NEVER ring the bell. God forbid someone actually come down.
i've been a faded jw for 10 years i left because of my failed first marriage, i'm no hypocrite and realised i had left completely so i embraced the world and dived in, only christmas and birthdays i could not get into, they were too foreign to me having never celebrated them, like if i suddenly tried to do ramadan or something like that.. 1/ all the criticisms of the people in the truth you say on here, i've found in the world, warts and all only in the world nothing holds them back from being utterly horrible to you.. 2/ i got stabbed by a worldly boyfriend, i got married 2 times of my own choosing to men outside the truth, the first smoked and was an alcoholic, the second gambled every penny we had and defrauded me out of money after we separated, 2 divorces later i am currently pregnant and a single mum since current boyfriend decided kids was to much of a responsibility and he needed his freedom and i was 'too selfish to expect him to give up his life'.. 3/ parents-in-law!
i have been shunned by them as equal to anything you accuse witness families of and for the silliest of reasons, i had a disabled son and his grandparents said they wanted nothing to do with him because they didn't want to become attached in case he died.. 4/ i miss the honest friendships of the truth, i had friends of all ages from 14 to 80 years old and they genuinely cared for me, many trying to keep me in the faith a long time after i left but i was determined to fade so moved away completely, but i find friendships in the world so shallow in comparison and very hard to sustain :( i've never been a drinker and sometimes thats what friendship means you being a companion for them to goto pub with.. 5/ my recent boyfriend was in a christian religion, i thought why not find out about it, harvest churches if you ever heard of them, unfortunately it still hasn't stop him leaving me pregnant and alone and when i said to him how does he clear that with god, he replies "as long as i repent it doesn't matter" it's like he has a "get out of jail free card" for any wrong-doing in the bible, this is so alien to me and my witness trained conscience.. 6/ i recently out of frustration tried looking into atheism and joined their forums, it wasn't fun, they are as bombastic and arrogant as their religious counterparts can be from any religion, they make a religion out of not believing in god, it's very weird they talk of saving people from believing in god and offer nothing to replace it.
they said to me "be happy you are in reality now and enjoy it" and i thought "well if this is reality i've had enough of it".
Do what pleases you and do not always make decisions in your life by committee
Very well said! But don't make them in a vacuum either! Considering many sides of an issue is a big benefit here.
i've been a faded jw for 10 years i left because of my failed first marriage, i'm no hypocrite and realised i had left completely so i embraced the world and dived in, only christmas and birthdays i could not get into, they were too foreign to me having never celebrated them, like if i suddenly tried to do ramadan or something like that.. 1/ all the criticisms of the people in the truth you say on here, i've found in the world, warts and all only in the world nothing holds them back from being utterly horrible to you.. 2/ i got stabbed by a worldly boyfriend, i got married 2 times of my own choosing to men outside the truth, the first smoked and was an alcoholic, the second gambled every penny we had and defrauded me out of money after we separated, 2 divorces later i am currently pregnant and a single mum since current boyfriend decided kids was to much of a responsibility and he needed his freedom and i was 'too selfish to expect him to give up his life'.. 3/ parents-in-law!
i have been shunned by them as equal to anything you accuse witness families of and for the silliest of reasons, i had a disabled son and his grandparents said they wanted nothing to do with him because they didn't want to become attached in case he died.. 4/ i miss the honest friendships of the truth, i had friends of all ages from 14 to 80 years old and they genuinely cared for me, many trying to keep me in the faith a long time after i left but i was determined to fade so moved away completely, but i find friendships in the world so shallow in comparison and very hard to sustain :( i've never been a drinker and sometimes thats what friendship means you being a companion for them to goto pub with.. 5/ my recent boyfriend was in a christian religion, i thought why not find out about it, harvest churches if you ever heard of them, unfortunately it still hasn't stop him leaving me pregnant and alone and when i said to him how does he clear that with god, he replies "as long as i repent it doesn't matter" it's like he has a "get out of jail free card" for any wrong-doing in the bible, this is so alien to me and my witness trained conscience.. 6/ i recently out of frustration tried looking into atheism and joined their forums, it wasn't fun, they are as bombastic and arrogant as their religious counterparts can be from any religion, they make a religion out of not believing in god, it's very weird they talk of saving people from believing in god and offer nothing to replace it.
they said to me "be happy you are in reality now and enjoy it" and i thought "well if this is reality i've had enough of it".
From what you said on the DF situation, the witnesses are still being very and overly strict on it, it's a shame although I can see why you can't just pat someone on the back and say all is forgiven, If you did that you'd be back to my ex-partners religion and their 'Get out of jail free' repentance card that has allowed him to justify abandoning me and our child with a little prayer and repentance. Still it does sound foolish and self-defeating to disfellowship those who have already been away years and would do nothing to help them,
So what do you think is the right amount of penitence to expect? Should we go back to the Israelites standards of Mosaic law or even modern Muslim Sharia? If you (gasp!) had a child out of wedlock wouldn't you be subject to prompt execution? Take it a step down to the disfellowshipping rules and you have to be treated as dead until 3 men decide you have produced fiting works of repentence.
Is it really up to a man-made church to determine if you are forgiven? They do it to "keep the congregation clean". I think that it should be up to the individual how to treat others. Personally, I would not regularly (or at all) hang out with someone who is a thief, certainly not a murderer, rapist, or a pedophile. Prison is an appropriate place for them. But when you get into issues that do not directly impact others that involve consenting adults I cannot see reason to shun a person.
But by the same token, someone who is repeatedly cruel, shallow, self-centered, or treating the mother of his children the way you were... Those people don't warrant my association either. Do I need a religion to mark them in such a way? No. I think they choose thier own path. Good riddance. Call me when you can behave decently and make ammends for the harm caused.
The Witness approach removes individual conscience and free choice.
I think you may be looking for the congregation to "give you what you deserve" because of your earlier conditioning that it is "loving"
Personally, I'm Not Feeling It
