LV101, if there really was a loving god/God who took a personal interest in people and helped them with their problems, such as curing them (not just a tiny percentage of people) of fatal diseases and fatal injuries, and helped people to find true love and be happy (and helped humanity to live harmoniously in peace), that would be a good joyous thing. But there is no conclusive evidence that such a deity exists. There are happy stories of apparitions of Catholic saints (such as the Virgin Mary) helping people and if they are true (hypothetically speaking) that would great, but I have no proof that the stories are true.
Disillusioned JW
JoinedPosts by Disillusioned JW
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196
would you be more happy not knowing what you now know?
by ExBethelitenowPIMA ina good question is would you be more happy not knowing what you now know?.
were you more happy pimi?
are all the pimis more happy than the the pimos or the pomos?.
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Disillusioned JW
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196
would you be more happy not knowing what you now know?
by ExBethelitenowPIMA ina good question is would you be more happy not knowing what you now know?.
were you more happy pimi?
are all the pimis more happy than the the pimos or the pomos?.
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Disillusioned JW
I am glad to know considerable evidence that no personal god/God exists and that nothing (and no one) supernatural exists.
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196
would you be more happy not knowing what you now know?
by ExBethelitenowPIMA ina good question is would you be more happy not knowing what you now know?.
were you more happy pimi?
are all the pimis more happy than the the pimos or the pomos?.
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Disillusioned JW
My answer to the title of this topic thread is "No". For me it is better to be POMO, than to to PIMO, and it is better to be PIMO than PIMI, but it would be have far better to have never ever become PIMI.
I wish I had never become baptized as a JW and I wished I had never become a publisher (in the JW sense) and I wish had never joined the theocratic ministry school. [I joined the theocratic ministry school at age 8.] I wish had become an atheist before age 8 (or even better, remained a non-believer in God since the moment I was born). I wish as a very young child that I had stopped making prayers (despite my parents and the religion telling me to pray at bedtime and before each meal). I wish my mother hadn't said I had to pray and hadn't taught me how to pray. I wish I had disobeyed the Bible and my mom as a very young child, in regards to by refusing to pray and in regards to demanding (or at least urging) to not be taken to the kingdom hall. I think I it might would have been better for me if I had rebelled against my father, in regards to by complaining about having to participate in WT Bible study with my father and sister (though that would have resulted in me getting multiple intense spankings by my father and being frequently yelled at by him).
I wish I had never started reading WT literature. I wish I never ever been raised to read the Bible or even to be religious. I wish I had never been told to believe in God and the supernatural.
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How Do You Know You Are In The Wrong Religion?
by Vanderhoven7 ini believe this list which many of us worked on needs to see the light of day again...and added to if possible.. you know you are in the wrong religion:1. when the all important question is not: "do you believe in the lord jesus christ?"....but....
"do you believe in the "faithful and discreet slave" appointed in brooklyn in 1919?"2.
when you will be refused baptism if: a. you don't believe jerusalem was destroyed in 607 bc (whereas all non-jw scholars, all encyclopedias and all history books say this event took place in 587 bc.)b.
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Disillusioned JW
The 'time clock' (as it were) likely became part of the religion when Rutherford made individual Bible Students/JWs into what he called publishers (which were expected to sell WT corporation literature) and began referring to the congregations as companies, and spoke of advertising the kingdom, thus using business terms - indicating the religion was being treated and thought of as a business.
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63
How Do You Know You Are In The Wrong Religion?
by Vanderhoven7 ini believe this list which many of us worked on needs to see the light of day again...and added to if possible.. you know you are in the wrong religion:1. when the all important question is not: "do you believe in the lord jesus christ?"....but....
"do you believe in the "faithful and discreet slave" appointed in brooklyn in 1919?"2.
when you will be refused baptism if: a. you don't believe jerusalem was destroyed in 607 bc (whereas all non-jw scholars, all encyclopedias and all history books say this event took place in 587 bc.)b.
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Disillusioned JW
The religion one is in is a false religion (in at least a great many of its teachings) and hence a wrong religion (in many aspects) if it teaches that a personal God/god exists.
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Zoom- CO's were told to tell elders/ms not to be on it unless you have a reason PERIOD!
by XBEHERE infrom reddit exjw.
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/143556c/co_meeting_with_elders_gb_seems_desperate/.
pretty much what other appointed men have been telling me.
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Disillusioned JW
I have in a metropolitan area.in the USA. The Kingdom Hall in my neighborhood (within a thirty minute walk) is stilll there and in use.
If there are now much fewer KHs and if numbers of JW are about the same size as several years ago, then that would means the numbers of JW per KH is now much higher, but that would create overcrowding if only a tiny percentage of JW are on zoom (or not attending). When I was an active JW I noticed that congregations split into more congregations when they reached about 200 JWs (or attendees) per congregation. I think an elder told me the WT wants congregations to have about 100 people per congregation. I was under the impression that the WT wanted congregations to have no more than 200 people and that it is in order for the elders to be able to observe/manage the JWs (and keep the JWs in 'line").
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What it’s like to leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses
by AndersonsInfo inhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/05/19/felt-end-review-daniel-cox/.
what it’s like to leave the jehovah’s witnesses.
in ‘i felt the end before it came: memoirs of a queer ex-jehovah’s witness,’ daniel allen cox reflects on losing his faith after spending his early years waiting for armageddon.
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Disillusioned JW
My co-worker close friend says she like to work out at the gym and I told her I am considering going to her gym as a guest in her membership and paying her half of her membership cost. https://www.silversneakers.com/blog/why-using-a-fitness-club-is-more-important-than-you-think/ is interesting regarding gym membership, but it is not specifically about her gym.
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What it’s like to leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses
by AndersonsInfo inhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/05/19/felt-end-review-daniel-cox/.
what it’s like to leave the jehovah’s witnesses.
in ‘i felt the end before it came: memoirs of a queer ex-jehovah’s witness,’ daniel allen cox reflects on losing his faith after spending his early years waiting for armageddon.
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Disillusioned JW
Thanks Beth Sarim for clarifying. I socialize with many of my co-workers at work, but not outside of work. After work I am focused on doing my own thing, and going home.
But now i am very romantically interested in a Mexican devout Catholic very attractive woman (who is 30 years younger than I) at work who says and acts like has the same kind of feelings for me. She claims to have a position in her congregation giving a reading (apparently a lectionary reading) and she says in her congregation the Bible is read in worship and that people raise up their hands (like in praise worship style congregations). [She fits my idea of the woman of my dreams, both in regards to appearance, personality and emotional makeup, and intelligence.] I told her I am an atheist who was a believing JW. She does not have a child and she has no boyfriend. To me it feels like I am truly in love for the first time, but she is not willing to date anyone yet and thus far we just talk to each other, including while working together. I bought a gift (consisting of flowers and two kinds of chocolates) for her about one week after her recent birthday. [I visited three different stores to find the right gifts. She likes the gifts.] Previously I bought some fruit for her, of the kind she really likes. Those were the first times I had purchased anything as a gift for someone. Many people at work now know we like each other. One day I felt very jealous and angry towards her regarding her social interactions with a particular man at work, and on a later day she felt very jealous and angry towards me regarding my social interaction with a particular woman at work, but we reconciled with each other each time. She has shown far more interest in me (both verbally and non-verbally) than any woman (of the kind I found attractive) ever has in my entire life. We met about 9 months ago at work, but only in the past few weeks we have been consistently showing our interest in each other.
I had resisted becoming influenced by her displays of interest in me (and I fought off my own feelings of desire for her) for about 9 months because I previously chose to avoid getting into any romantic relationship, thinking that my independence is much more important to me (and thinking I would be happier by remaining single). But now I have been exploring what being in a romantic relationship with her is like and I find myself wanting to be with her everyday (and thus giving up a portion of my independence). Gradually our bond with each other is growing stronger.
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What it’s like to leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses
by AndersonsInfo inhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/05/19/felt-end-review-daniel-cox/.
what it’s like to leave the jehovah’s witnesses.
in ‘i felt the end before it came: memoirs of a queer ex-jehovah’s witness,’ daniel allen cox reflects on losing his faith after spending his early years waiting for armageddon.
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Disillusioned JW
Beth Sarim, I never thought of fitness centers as being social centers, or as an effective way to make new friends. Please tell me more about that. Maybe I should try that.
Regarding your comment of "Just do everything opposite the Borg preaches" that could be understood in a very different way than you likely mean it. For example, it could mean the following.
- Smoke cigars, cigarettes, marijuana, and elicit drugs. Get drunk often from drinking alcohol. Chew tobacco. Inject yourself with crack cocaine. Get high - as often as possible. Buy the elicit drugs illegally - from street vendors.
- Engage in promiscuous sex, with multiple partners (without protection), and start doing it before age 15 - even as soon as you enter puberty. Become a prostitute and/or a porn star.
- Engage in homosexual (whether gay or lesbian) sex, even become a bisexual.
- Join a youth gang (or become a gangster). Rob stores. Rob banks. Shoot people with guns. Bully people. Harass people.
- Practice the occult; get heavily involved with spiritism. Worship Satan the Devil.
- Drop out of high school. Don't work to get good grades in school. Don't even try to learn at school.
- Deliberately harm your own body.
- Engage in arson. Heavily pollute the environment. Torture animals, including people's pets.
- Etc.
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Link between relationships and health/happiness
by ExBethelitenowPIMA ineven though i’m agnostic so will not commit to either intelligent design or chance, i love being part of the congregation for the close personal relationships.. there is such a great atmosphere inside the congregation it really is like a family and you don’t get this anywhere else.. a real friend is someone you can rely on when you are in need.
if things go wrong for you and you are going through a hard time you know real friends will be there for you.
as long as you didn’t bring it on yourself by going against gods law then you have to prove you are repentant first of course.. there is a lot of research now saying that good friends is essential for healthy and happiness.
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Disillusioned JW
From my reading of science literature promoting evolution, I think that humans did evolve from apes (heck, now evolutionary biologists say modern humans are apes themselves) - but not from any of the now existing species nonhuman apes. The evolutionary books from the 1970s mention fossils of some extinct species of apes (namely, species which the books say were apes) and in the case of some of those extinct species, the books say that those were some of humans ancestors. I also think that maybe even much further back in time an early nonhuman ancestral species of humans evolved from an monkey (a species of monkey which went extinct many tens of millions of years ago). Some of those books even referred to an extinct species which was said to be an apelike monkey (or maybe a monkey-like ape) and a distant ancestor of humans.
As for skulls which are half nonhuman ape and half human, a number of the skulls of some australopithicines appear to be such to me, since they have some human features and some nonhuman ape features. What would be your description of specific features of a skull which is half nonhuman ape and half human? Do you expect that in such a skull every part of the skull must be looking half nonhuman ape and half human? If so, then you won't find such a skull since human evolution didn't work that way. Instead the various parts of the skull evolved human features at different times. For example, The teeth and some aspects of the jaws (such as a 'U" like dental arch versus a "V" like arch or a rectangular arch) evolved human features before the craniums evolved human size proportions. Mosaic evolution is involved.