For me, there were a couple of things going on. Mostly, I was worried that even though no one comes by, maybe *this time* when I have my decorations up, *someone* will decide to stop by, and will instantly run back to everyone back home, and then a car will pull up the next day and three elders will advance on me, corner me and physically grab me and drag me into the car and take me into a JC meeting where I will be locked up in prison for the rest of my life unless I renounce my disbelief.
Loss of control of my own life, "in case someone sees me."
As far as halloween goes, it shocked me initially that it was celebrated in the church. But then it instantly hit me: Halloween isn't a holiday CELEBRATING and WORSHIPPING the demons ... it's a holiday that "acknowledges" that they exist and remind people of the fact, but in reality it's supposed to "scare away" any demons (All Souls Day), and then be followed the next day by All Saints Day, which triumphs over the demons.
So if you believe in demons, the holiday isn't about "worshipping" them. It's really kinda just exposing their powerlessness. If you don't believe in demons, then relabel it in your mind: "celebration of the horror movie genre."
And Easter became incredibly important to me. It replaced the memorial because I FINALLY get to partake! Which I believe is incredibly important to me!
I have a harder time with nationalism, because it's a 20th century divisive tactic that does little good in the world. I hate to be part of it.
halcyon
JoinedPosts by halcyon
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27
Holidays-nervous about celebrating them but don't understand why.
by QuestioningEverything ini have came to the conclusion that all i learned while growing up as a witness is not the "truth'.
i believe i have become agnostic in a short period of time.
so, this year i decided that we are going to celebrate some holidays.
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halcyon
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Bible Trivia Flop
by WTWizard inyou may have known that awful game where you start with a pack of trivia cards.
you know, the one that someone reads you a question and you are supposed to answer it?
that is, all the questions are about the washtowel version of the bible and the doctrine.. this is supposed to be the major "entertainment" for the witlesses.
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halcyon
I like the two-decks version.
I think another element of the game should be, that there be three possible answers. 1) The answer THEN, 2) The answer NOW, and 3) The answer that I TRULY believe.
Because I remember as a good JW, I took a LOT of exception "in my heart" and still felt I was being a good witness. "Oh, yeah, that's what they say, but I don't buy it. I'll just wait ("on Jehovah") till they come out with something I can actually believe." And I suspect this is a common thought process among those who stay in. -
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Big surprise at the door!
by Aculama ini was working night shift and my wife came home at lunch to wake me.
she finished eating and walked out the door.
almost immediatly there was a knock at the door.
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halcyon
Excellent! Quickest route to the DNC list ever!
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How often do you go to the meetings at the KH this year?
by asilentone inthe only meeting that i went is the memorial this year.
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halcyon
Zero. I don't want to remind them that I exist.
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Red Moon: True Prophesy or Superstition?
by cameo-d inthere are several scriptures that say the moon will turn blood red and the sun will be darkened before armageddon takes place.. i have seen many red moons.
they were astoundingly beautiful, but the nag of superstitious words can prevent one from enjoying the beauty of this phenomenon.. we know today that the "red moon" is caused by dust particles in the atmosphere.
these particles can also cause a "blue moon",too.. in the past, red moons have been caused by lunar eclipse as well as volcanic ash in the atmosphere.. in the "ancient days" i suppose certain civilizations saw this phenomenon as a "bad omen" because they had no explanation for it.
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halcyon
I've always thought that if the ancients saw a "red moon", it probably signalled some (unknown to them) natural disaster nearby, possibly one that spelled imminent danger to them, like a fire or a volcano or dust storm or other bad storm.
Still doesn't stop the occasional dream about it, though ....
I dunno. I suppose if someday I see a dark sun, and then a red moon, and then the Lord's day comes, well, then I'll know. Until then, I don't. -
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Hyperventilating here - please hold my cyber hand
by Dagney ini am filling out my first voter registration application.
i''ll be fine.
but i feel like i need a drink.
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halcyon
It took me weeks to drag my ass into the village hall to fill out the form. I had this gut feeling I'd be struck down dead or something. But then, I dunno what happened, but I got more comfortable with the idea ... I think I was given a voter registration form to look at ahead of time, I got to talk to people ahead of time, so that when I finally filled out the form, it felt good. But then, (I felt so stupid) I had to ask the woman behind the desk what it was going to be like when I actually went in to vote. What was the procedure, what did the ballot look like, who else would be on it, etc. She was really nice, and amazingly she didn't look at me with any kind of "you're HOW old and you've never voted before!??!" judgment in her eyes (that just blows me away!) and gave me a sample ballot, showed me how to fill it in, all that. I took it home and examined it, decided whether to vote down party lines or to vote individually (I'm choosing individually), and then I took a look at the referendum question and thought about it as well.
And, amazingly, I have not been struck down dead yet! And I doubt I will be ... I have much faith in my ability to survive voting day.
The only thing I guess I worry about is whether there will be TV cameras at my particular voting place, with my face plastered all over the evening news that night. I always worry about being seen .... -
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Billy's Comments You Might Hear at the 10-12-08 WT Study (MAINTAIN LOYALTY)
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite incomments you will not hear at the 10-12-08 wt study - august 15, 2008, pages 7-11 (maintain loyalty).
review comments will be in red.
wt material from today's wt will be in black.
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halcyon
I'm surprised you had no comment on this sentence (I wish I knew how to put things in a quote box here):
<br><br>-- We need to be absolutely convinced of the rightfulness of Jehovah's requirements.--
<br><br><br>So if we truly NEED to be <i>absolutely convinced</i>, why aren't we allowed to examine ALL sources, inside and outside, to be convinced? Is it because upon examination of some sources, we would become <i>less</i> convinced than if we just buried our heads in the sand of WT publications?
<br><br>Doesn't work that way in any other field of study .... -
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The Great Tribulation
by purplesofa inisn't the gt before armeggedon?
i forget when is that supposed to start, what are the signs for it.. .
purps.
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halcyon
I always heard with my ears, but could never *actually imagine* what it would look like and feel like here on the ground in my life.
Even if times get really really hard, I can't imagine the above scenario ever happening. It's just too alien for the way this earth has always been. -
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Things That Were "Confusing" To You as A JW
by minimus inwhat never seemed logical to you??.
anything that seemed confusing to you???
?.
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halcyon
I definitely remember the 6000 yr creation timetable, carbon dating wrong, etc. In fact, I guess I didn't realize it had dropped off the radar. I always thought it was still around as a teaching.
Confusing, as in makes my eyes go fuzzy and I quit listening? Dinosaurs, definitely. Never did figure out what was "official" teaching on dinosaurs.
Any sentence beginning with 607 BCE and ending in 1914. Any timetable calculations.
Figured if I was ever up against the blood issue, I'd let some elders come in and tell me what's what. Anything that might be a "conscience matter", my conscience already decided to accept. Because how can something be "wrong" if it's not "forbidden"? So "not forbidden" = "fine by me!" in my book.
My eyes also went fuzzy at any mention of Cedar Point Ohio, or any suggestion that the Holy Bible, that revered God-inspired book that lasted through the millennia and people through the ages died for, somehow prophesied a district assembly in the good old US of A.
The idea that "Crickets" (or locusts, or whatever creepy insects) of Revelation would equal "Magazines". -
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Did you ever go in field service after realizing it was not the truth?
by Samuel Thorsen ini did not, but i did fs when i had seriuos doubts and i thougt some householders had pretty good arguments some times, but i could not admit it of course.. and i did fs for a long time after i realized the magazines was very very poor.
i still remember my very last hour from door to door.
geee that was torture, i hatet myself and hoped no one was at home.. do you remember your last fs hour?
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halcyon
I don't remember my last hour, because I think for at least the last six months or (maybe even a year?) I wasn't "formally" going out and meeting with the group or anything, but every month I'd get a phone call from the book study conductor asking me for my time that month. I would think back to all the times I'd said the word "Jehovah" to my children, and think about conversations I'd had with worldly people about my religion, lump it all together in my head into maybe about two hours, count up how many times I had repeated conversations with my children, count one or two RVs, and say thank you and hang up.
I *was* talking to others about their religions compared to mine, and I *was* talking about Jehovah. I just wasn't getting all dressed up in a skirt and pumps, sitting in a car for a couple of hours with a bunch of magazines on my lap, and pushing doorbells. I actually figured I was getting more *quality* time talking to people my way, and what's more, I wasn't leaving them all annoyed with me. Plus, I wasn't counting useless driving time.
If there was a month where I'd said nothing, I wouldn't lie. I'd say, "sorry, got nothing for you this month."
... wait, wait, that last hour is coming to me .... I am seeing a door looming in front of me, I'm pushing the doorbell, I'm praying the people aren't home .... oh crap, they are .... I hold out the mags in front of me and basically say, "I'm here with these, want them?" .... they say 'no', thankfully! .... I leave their door, I can't get back to the car soon enough .... I think I plead illness and ask to be dropped off early. Oh, the terror, my heart rate has increased just thinking about it!