Posts by Blasty

12

And she walked out of thier lives... forever

by teflon in

i walked away.

faded, actually, without knowing that was what i was doing.

i just got tired of all the crap.

Blasty

Welcome

Well, you have a lot to work out there, but maybe if I can tell you why I celebrate christmas now, it will help you.

First, we all know the reason JW don't celebrate christmas, and all it's "pagan" origins. But when it gets down to it, does it really matter where something came from? I honestly believe it doesn't. I think what matters is how you use it, and what it means to you.

Pagans long dead have no influence over me, people alive today have little to no influence over me. So why should there choices, and there ideas change the meaning I put into what I do today? This argument can go for or against christmas actually. Why should you follow a tradition just because others do it.

Well, for me, it's a matter of deciding what Christmas means to me. It's a time to be giving, and a time to appreciate everything you've been given. It's a time to gather together, love one another, and be happy about life and it's meaning.

Why do it on a specific day? Well, for one, it's really hard to do something right if you don't plan for it. Secondly, why not? If we throw off the chains others have placed on it, what is wrong with it? What's wrong with sharing a good feeling with those around you? There is a common good-will present in many people around that time, it's a good thing.

3

Questions on the changes?

by Blasty in

jw
friends

so, i haven't attended a jw meeting in 11-12 years.

what is this new light?

and what did they change about the book studies?.

Blasty

So, I haven't attended a JW meeting in 11-12 years. What is this new light? And what did they change about the book studies?

I haven't had a debate with any of my family over anything, but I'd hate to be "caught with my pants down" on their current subjects. I've heard references to these things, but no real explanation of what it is.

57

The elders came last night and i stood my NEW ground!!! be proud!

by New light for you in

jw
friends

so yes, the brothers came for "encouragement" and of course, my husband is out of town on business... so it was me and the kids.. so i did let them in, i like these brothers...these are some things we discussed.... 1. i went over how that stupid "obey" email got all this started, got me to divulge to my girlfriend how i was feeling about the whole religion.

about how at the end of the call she said that she can't associate with me anymore, and then right after that call/ 30seconds later while i'm crying a pioneer called and asked "do you consider yourself one of jeh witnesses anymore??

" and i thought that was crazy for someone to try to trap me when i was sitting crying on the phone, upset with the last call... i told them that for all purposes i am already dfed since noone will talk to me anymore, and only one friend called to see what happened, everyone else just listened to the gossip of whatever spread, and wrote me off even though i'm technically in good standing.

Blasty

Glad you stood your ground.

8

An Open Letter from a PO to active JWs

by iloowy in

jw
friends

hey.

i came across this open letter from a po to jw's in good standing.

eventhough it was written in 1976 a lot of the material in it is still a good source of info to get jw's thinking about beliefs.

Blasty

scroll to the end and read the last paragraph of that pdf, guess it's page 28?

12

The folks went out of town to the Russian District Convention.

by Lady Zombie in

jw
friends

when the iron curtain fell in the 90's, my parents went to russia with a group of other jws.

since then, they've taught themselves russian and now go over about every 3rd year.

they also work the russian territory here once a month and spend about 10 hours traveling around in a 100 mile radius.

Blasty

Ahh, well I'll try not to be too nosy, or is it nosey? I can't spell.

Most of the people that would keep tabs on me live in a different state, so I'm not sure if people just assume or what. Of course, I haven't been to a meeting in about 12 or 11 years. So either people assume a lot about me, or just gave up on me heh.

Well, on the bright side, I guess it's good that your parents still care. I saw my grandparents shun my mom for years, as a child I could never understand it. And now as a parent I completely don't understand it.

12

The folks went out of town to the Russian District Convention.

by Lady Zombie in

jw
friends

when the iron curtain fell in the 90's, my parents went to russia with a group of other jws.

since then, they've taught themselves russian and now go over about every 3rd year.

they also work the russian territory here once a month and spend about 10 hours traveling around in a 100 mile radius.

Blasty

That's actually pretty cool that your parents taught themselves russian.

I've only read a few posts from you Lady Zombie, but I wouldn't think you'd tolerate being nagged about something like meetings heh. I guess it's nice that you tolerate your parents still. I humor mine when they bother to contact me hehe.

42

How do you know if you're in love?

by LouBelle in

jw
friends

to be honest - i've never loved anyone - i'm talking about the romatic type here.

i have liked & been attracted to people....but love, nope.

i have no idea how to identify it.. looking at people in "so called" love today can be a bit deceptive, as what i have seen and still see to a great extent is 2 people .

Blasty

Bleh I had a post for all of this but I didn't feel like itemizing it.

A man being in love is definately different from a woman being in love. Also, love keeps redefining itself as time goes by. Ask a couple of 5 years what love is, and then a couple of 10,25,50, 65 years...ask the same question and the answers may surprise you.

The reality of it all is that a lot of people aren't capable of falling in love with someone, since they aren't cut out to be in a relationship. The sad fact is this won't stop someone from falling in love with a person of this nature. A lot of people don't realize their own selfish nature and self-serving needs, and therefore they don't realize that they aren't cut out to be in a relationship.

For me, I knew I was in love when I couldn't conceive of being with any other woman. To this day, I find no appeal in other women, sure they can be nice to look at, but pretty women are a dime a dozen. Good looks will never change how ugly someone is on the inside, and when you see who a person really is, then you'll know how ugly or beautiful they really are.

I knew my wife had issues, but for the most part she is the type of woman I wanted in my life. And yes we have our issues today, but I love her and I'm willing to spend the rest of my life working on these issues. And yes, when we are 50 years into this marriage, I think we will still have issues. But that's ok.

On the topic of love though, I thought I knew what love was. But when my children were born, I found out what true unconditional love was, it's kind of scary and amazing all at the same time.

43

How did God do it?

by nicolaou in

evolutionists are always called on to explain how a complicated organ like an eye could have come about "by chance" - as if any scientist ever claimed that's what happened.

but there are shelves of books in your library that will explain the process of natural selection, some are written so simply that a child can grasp the basic concept.

you don't have to accept it but at least an explanation is offered.

Blasty

Maximum, I only think my argument on both sides exists with this discussion, not others. If I phrased it that every discussion can have two valid sides, well that's not what i mean.

Don't think of the word faith as a dirty "creationist" word, since that's not what it is. It's just all anyone has when they run out of facts but they still want to believe in their conclusion. And i'm sorry but both arguments, for or against, are missing indisputable facts.

Also, any creationists that quote doctrine, or use the bible to prove their point, well they really are missing the essence of the conversation anyways.

I personally think that science, nature, and everything related to that is really the only way to prove or disprove God. And even with everything we know these days, we are only starting to realize how much we don't know. This is the exact problem I have with this discussion, so many people think they have all the answers, or that they read the last chapter that put the nail in the coffin, and they don't. They think they do, but in reality they are just building faith in their belief. Faith in evolution, or faith in creation. Mankind hasn't even come close to discovering the secrets of this universe, scientifically speaking.

Do I believe in creation? Yes. And it's only because of science, not because of a book, or what someone else told me.

The problem with people believing in God or not believing him, is also that we all build our own concept of God, and what qualities He should have. Lots of us leave our church, and while reinventing ourselves, we don't try to reinvent God. We just take the God we were taught or told of, apply what we know against him, and come to our conclusion. Well, the thing is, if your going redefine your life and religion, then part of that is redefining God. Which could of course still lead you to no God, but hey at least your not questioning yourself, which is the most important thing.

But that's not what I'm debating here really, I'm only stating that this debate is impossible, since it requires faith in evolution or faith in creation. And everyone can only find faith on their own, it can be told to you.

18

Relationship Rescue (or how Dr. Phil got me out)

by Gladring in

jw
friends

i was going to post this in the thread about what one comment helped you see the light but it became a bit too long and i thought the subject might be interesting in it's own right.

i've been hanging around for a while feeling like i should tell my story and this thread has caught me at a good time.

i was born in to the religion, baptized at 15, reproved at 17, married at 22, ministerial servant at 25. i'd had questions in my late teens and twenties but i convinced myself that i loved jehovah and wanted to stay and so i squashed those feelings.

Blasty

Some interesting things you brought up here Gladring. I'm of the mindset to question everything, and seeing what you've written here has generated some new questions for me. Thanks.

43

How did God do it?

by nicolaou in

evolutionists are always called on to explain how a complicated organ like an eye could have come about "by chance" - as if any scientist ever claimed that's what happened.

but there are shelves of books in your library that will explain the process of natural selection, some are written so simply that a child can grasp the basic concept.

you don't have to accept it but at least an explanation is offered.

Blasty

I've come to realize this sort of debate is the argument of two sides to the same coin.

To compel the other side to explain their reasoning in exact detail, and if they can't, they surely are wrong. You can use that argument for or against creation.

The reality of it is, neither side can 100% prove their case, so both sides of this argument in the end, are a bunch of windbags heh.

That, and our minds don't understand anything that happens without cause and effect, beginning and end. Min and max.

I love how sure some people think they are, when in reality everyone believers, and unbelievers, are just working on faith in the end.