my middle brother called me a couple of hours ago.
our youngest brother, josh, who was 38, was found by his friends in his apartment.
he hung himself.
last night we were invited to a get-together with quite a few heavies attendingelders and regular pioneers.
there was beer and later some music.
everyone got relaxed and let down their guard and starting talking all kinds of non-theocratic stuff that you only discuss after a few beers.
religious freedom taken from http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper.
quotingdirectly from the article...."it is the responsibility of governments to safeguard universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to life and the freedom of conscience, belief, practice, worship, and to explain and change ones faith.........people cannot enjoy religious freedom unless they have both the right to express their beliefs freely and change their religion without facing persecution, violence, or discrimination.... (ask yourself if the wt article i'm quoting next is allowing the freedom to change religion without discrimination and persecution.
so with that being said.....is the wt protecting religious freedom?
religious freedom taken from http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper.
quotingdirectly from the article...."it is the responsibility of governments to safeguard universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to life and the freedom of conscience, belief, practice, worship, and to explain and change ones faith.........people cannot enjoy religious freedom unless they have both the right to express their beliefs freely and change their religion without facing persecution, violence, or discrimination.... (ask yourself if the wt article i'm quoting next is allowing the freedom to change religion without discrimination and persecution.
so with that being said.....is the wt protecting religious freedom?
i was invited to a small get-together by a long time friend.
we both served as elders for years.
he is in his late 70s.
boy oh boy did i feel paranoid at today's wt.
not only are we to watch our associations outside of the congregation, but also watch our associations 'within' the congregation.
this was emphasised by the wt study conductor.
Good comment by stuckinarut2
The Tower has always wanted to destroy (if at all possible), or at least minimize to the fullest extent, the non-JW relationships of the average JW.
The only thing that made it tenable was the association, the feeling to belonging within the walls of the Org.
Now look as the Org seeks to kick out that one last crutch. You're a JW, you can't have close trusting relationships with worldly folks on the outside, and furthermore, you likely cannot have them with your fellow JWs.
The Tower is basically begging for JWs to equivocate...I wonder why TPTB in there wouldn't have thought to steer clear of that, but then, I don't think there's much thinking going on there at all, these days.
who won, and why?.
the rebel..
special pioneers let go.
bethel workers laid off.
construction halts, what's next?
whats worse than being an adult jw?
when i was a kid i always had a bad concience all the time.
i believed i would not survive armageddon for the fact that i didn't like going to service and i didnt like going to the meetings.
It freakin sucked. I could see all the lying and double standards, but wasn't allowed to point it out.
I was told to 'make the truth my own', which I took to mean scrutinizing it to the point of eliminating doubts...so I tried, but it didn't hold up too well when I kicked the tires, ya know?
As a side note, is that phrase still a part of modern JW jargon? I haven't heard it in quite a while. If it's been retired, maybe it was costing the Org more than it helped...
Holidays are more-or-less ruined for me. I now have the freedom to 'celebrate' whatever I like, I just don't have the emotional connection that would make me want to. In a way, it's easier, since I don't have any pre-conceived notion of the 'right' or 'wrong' way to do Christmas or birthdays, or whatever.
Although, the cognitive distortions imposed upon me as a kid sent me into therapy as an adult, which made things infinitely better for me and my kids....
I can't recommend it enough, for those of us still carrying JW baggage.
just saw the episode of the simpsons where bart calls moe's tavern and asks for "amanda huggenkiss" and it made me laugh again .
amanda huggenkiss.
hugh jazz.
