Posts by Greensleeves

56

Grass anyone?

by Quirky1 in

jw
friends

the title may have lured you here but since it is summertime i am just curious how many people here have yards they have to take care of?

if so, how big of a yard do you have?

what do you use to mow your yard?

Greensleeves

Because of your title;

Yes, I partake of smoking Grass on occasion. It helps my beer buzz.

No, I don't have much of a lawn. I have a field and use a Massey Fergusen with a brushhog.

12

How many of you believe in God, but not the Bible as His word?

by chappy in

jw
friends

if you do believe in god but not that the bible is his word what are your core beliefs and how did you arrive at them?

even if you don't believe in the bible as the word of god, do you find it useful/helpful in your faith?

do you still adhere to any particular religion?

Greensleeves

I guess I don't have bind faith so am heading for that hell fire that he made for people like me.

I am tired of seeing people use this similar phrase about Hell. The JW's don't believe in it, so it isn't relevant to anything besides searching for a new religion after you leave.

The Bible is too flawed to be the Word of the God it claims. The Witnesses use the bible itself to prove itself as being true. A logical mind would not accept the bible as true.

I want to believe there is something greater than mankind and that there is a purpose for life and the Universe. I have trouble believing Evolution is a good explanation for human existance. But I don't find any religion to be provable. That must be where faith comes in. Like many people I believe the bible to be the work of men alone. So Christianity is written off my list as well as Judaism.

I believe that there are things I don't understand. I wonder if God might be an alien lifeform that visited the planet 1000's of years ago. That begs the question; Who created the Alien?

12

What do the #'s mean?

by bite me in

i am currious as to what the number talks mean.

i read a few posts that refer to "i had to do the # 2 talk" or " i had to do the # 4 talk" .

and why are people assigned/forced to do these?.

Greensleeves

The women giving talks to a "householder" in an interactive situation on stage, has absolutely nothing to do with "not being allowed to face the audience", literally. They set it up that way because of the bible and women needing to be subjective to men. Therefore, a women can't give an instructional talk to a group that includes men.

That is the way I understand it.

20

Can you think of a positive thing the JW's gave you?

by Greensleeves in

jw
friends

this is something that will possibly piss off a lot of people.

i left the jw family i was raised in when i was 16. i had a lot of angst and just wanted freedom.

i spent some time in my early 20's reconsidering that decision to leave jwdom and came back to the decision i made at 16, but was more logical and informed that time around.

Greensleeves

Very good!

I don't know. Maybe this thread was a bad idea. I just wanted to share the things you don't hear much about on this forum. Everyone wants to destroy the Witnesses. I see them as good but mislead people. I also see the good things I was raised with, and I had a solid and loving family.

I appreciate the time people take to research and post arguements refutting the Witnesses. But none of that matters to me. I already know why I left. Some people need this forum, I just realized I don't. Good luck to everyone. I hope things work out.

20

Can you think of a positive thing the JW's gave you?

by Greensleeves in

jw
friends

this is something that will possibly piss off a lot of people.

i left the jw family i was raised in when i was 16. i had a lot of angst and just wanted freedom.

i spent some time in my early 20's reconsidering that decision to leave jwdom and came back to the decision i made at 16, but was more logical and informed that time around.

Greensleeves

I learned Christian morality till I saw others (usually prominent ones) getting away with gross wrong doing with nothing more than a slap on the wrist...

So fairness was not something you found. I have witnessed that myself as well.

I found the morals "as a taught subject" were beneficial to me. I don't really care how other people applied them or whether they did at all. I found the teachings taught some good things about Marriage, and if more people applied them maybe there wouldn't be so many divorces. How many Witnesses do you see get divorced? Few. That helps to provide a home with Mom and Pop for any children that are born.

69

Do black Americans claim Obama as one of their own?

by digderidoo in

jw
friends

i was watching an interview with a black american recently about barrack obama.

interestlingly he said that black americans find it hard to claim him as one of their own.

he said that black people would much prefer to have someone who is from the stereotypical upbringing of a black american to be the presidential candidate.

Greensleeves

I don't honestly know what the average African American holds as a political view. I would hope that he is like me and doesn't feel race is a determining factor in a President.

I look for the important things, and race is not important to me. If people want to vote for Obama because they think he represents their race, then they are ignorant and shallow. I know that some will decide on race alone. I already saw it happen in my own State of West Virginia. The majority voted for Hilary only because they were voting against a black man. Racism will be a part of the upcoming election. I wish that wasn't a factor, but it will be.

20

Can you think of a positive thing the JW's gave you?

by Greensleeves in

jw
friends

this is something that will possibly piss off a lot of people.

i left the jw family i was raised in when i was 16. i had a lot of angst and just wanted freedom.

i spent some time in my early 20's reconsidering that decision to leave jwdom and came back to the decision i made at 16, but was more logical and informed that time around.

Greensleeves

This is something that will possibly piss off a lot of people. I left the JW family I was raised in when I was 16. I had a lot of angst and just wanted freedom. I spent some time in my early 20's reconsidering that decision to leave JWdom and came back to the decision I made at 16, but was more logical and informed that time around.

But there is one thing that helped me break through all of the doctrine and everything else I felt. I looked for a positive in a negative situation.

I have seriously looked at my past experiences with the JW organization, and I can see some benifits. Things I learned. Skills that actually paid off later in life. I don't want to hear anything about how they don't want you to go to college or anything like that. I went to College, I graduated.

To speak for myself, I learned;

The Theocratic Ministry School helped me with public speaking skills. This helped me in College.

I developed excellent reading and study skills.

I learned dicipline.

I learned much about ancient societies and history.

I traveled to different places and met many different people.

I learned morals and how religion plays a part in it.

What did you take as a positive from the Jehovah's Witnesses? Forget about the negative for a minute, and think about the positive things you gained in you experiences.

12

What do the #'s mean?

by bite me in

i am currious as to what the number talks mean.

i read a few posts that refer to "i had to do the # 2 talk" or " i had to do the # 4 talk" .

and why are people assigned/forced to do these?.

Greensleeves

JWs are "encouraged" to join the Theocratic Ministry School aka How to seel publications. They are assigned talks (mini sales blurbs) There are usually 5 talks. Women/sisters are assigned talks # 3 and 4. Men are assigned the others.
They must stand on the platform and give their speech. Sisters are not allowed to face the audience so they have another person act as the "householder" prospective target

I found the Theocratic Ministry School very beneficial to me when I was growing up. It taught me public teaching skills.

The No. 2 talk is a bible reading with pauses during the 5 minutes to explain what the verses are relevant to. The No. 4 talk is a little bit more detailed and isn't so much a "bible reading" as it is a 6 minute talk about a subject with scriptures used as reference in the talk.

Granted, women didn't have the same assignments and their speaches were two sisters giving a demonstration of a typical bible study. Sitting down at a table like would be expected at a bible study with someone in the ministry.

I understand how this is unfair to women. They don't have the same place as men in the JW congregation. I am sure they could give the same talks as men but were never given the opportunity.

9

Have you been introduced?

by IP_SEC in

jw
friends

to terrence mckenna?

i believe him one of the greatest philosophers of the late 20th.. .

the apocalypse is not something which is coming.

Greensleeves

I am going to do some research on Terrence Mckenna and see what his philosophy is about.

I apollogize for hijacking your thread and saying my philosopher is better than yours. That wasn't right. I really shouldn't say anything untill I do some research.

Thanks for starting this thread and getting people thinking.

9

Have you been introduced?

by IP_SEC in

jw
friends

to terrence mckenna?

i believe him one of the greatest philosophers of the late 20th.. .

the apocalypse is not something which is coming.

Greensleeves

I was going to quote some of the things you put up there. But won't.

Honestly, I am just discovering the works of Ayn Rand. But compared to the philosopher you are quoting, I think she has to be more valid. I am no expert, but what I have found is facinating.

She died in the 80's, but she has a ton of books in print. She started writing in the 30's immediately after leaving Communist Russia. Atlas Shrugged is a novel that began her Philosophy of Objectivism. A good overview of her Philosophy can be found with a simple search on Wikipedia.

I read her small book Anthem, and it tells the story of a man who was born into a society where there was no "individual". There was only the "collective". He had to fight against that mentality. It is a well written book, and only 105 pages. The band Rush wrote a song named "2112" based on this book in 1976. If you have any interest in real Philosophy, check this shit out man. It is still debated among professors and intellectuals, if that makes it more valid to you. I doubt anyone debates the stuff your guy spews. Sorry for my rudness.