Posts by hybridous

2

death and its punishment

by NinjaBen in

jw
friends

if the theory of "when we die god had a meaning for us to go" or "it was our turn to go" does that mean that if i were to kill someone (hypetheticaly speaking) than i was just carrying out gods will and doing his work.. if so why should i be punished.

hybridous

Good question, NinjaBen.

I have a born-again friend who makes references of 'God calling him when his time is up' - or something along those lines...I guess the implication is that God's Will dictates the time of our death (accidents and otherwise).

I asked him if this would (logically) extend to ALL people and circumstances, specifically, babies and children who die in car crashes and such. Would God's Will include disasters that claim innocent lives? Because if God chooses the time and circumstance of your death, what about everyone else? He mumbled about how such innocents would go straight to heaven, but no answer to the real question - did God ultimately plan and cause such 'untimely' deaths?

And he wonders why I don't want to go to his church whith him...

23

Why Mainstreaming Will Win and Reform Won't

by metatron in

jw
friends

sometimes change takes place over many years, in such a subtle.

and quiet way that those involved may not even discern that a. trend is forming.

as with social security and retirement issues,.

hybridous

I guess I'm missing the point of metatron's contrast between reform and mainstreaming. If the JW religion 'mainstreams' to the point that it becomes just another Protestant sect, has it not 'reformed' itself? Considering the ultra-conservative attitude of the WT, wouldn't mainstreaming be a reform unto itself? I don't see the difference - someone help me here....

15

Who are these elders???

by freakshow in

jw
friends

having only started to study with a jw she has yet to inform me of these elders, the book she gave me says a little, but after reading this board i see there is more i have yet to learn.

who are these elders?

i'm picturing a bunch of old men in velvet purple robes sitting around a circular table.

hybridous

Wowwww, Franc....I was wondering when you were gonna run out of gas on that last post...'bad breath, B.O., mis-matched socks', was great.

Anyway, Francois is dead on about the children of elders. Typically, they are held up and put on a pedestal for the rest of the congregation's children to be in awe of. They can spit and stammer and trip over their own words in the TMS and door-to-door, but you can be assured that sons of elders will be the first to receive 'privileges' when they're being passed out. Young men who are raised as good JWs, but from a single mom - they don't rate well.

Elders' kids can be dumb like a rock, or smart and sly like a fox, but it doesen't even matter when they're caught being 'bad', because they aren't held to the same standard of conduct that other kids are. If you're an elder's son, you can get caught lying, stealing, fooling around (sexually), and stumbling around in a drunken stupor, and the 'consequences' will be minimal. If you're from less than the ideal JW family, your personal, spotless record of conduct isn't worth piss when it comes down to it. So, don't be expecting much from the elder and elderette parents who are supposed to be raising a household of exemplary children, it simply isn't that way.

edited for grammar

16

Beauty..Where is it? What is it?

by ISP in

jw
friends

what makes someone 'beautiful' to you?

has it changed over the years, so that you consider something else?

what attracts you to someone?

hybridous

It is such a cliche, maybe 'cause it's so true, but beauty truely is...'in the eye of the beholder'. Beyond that, nothing else matters.

93

Position on College Changed?

by Maximus in

jw
friends

several have made outright statements and others have suggested that the society's negative position on higher education has changed.

'the society does not discourage higher education where i live.

' worse, 'apostates have made it all up--the society has never discouraged education.

hybridous

Simon - if this could be deleted.....

93

Position on College Changed?

by Maximus in

jw
friends

several have made outright statements and others have suggested that the society's negative position on higher education has changed.

'the society does not discourage higher education where i live.

' worse, 'apostates have made it all up--the society has never discouraged education.

hybridous

Whoops - wrong thread. My apologies.

93

Position on College Changed?

by Maximus in

jw
friends

several have made outright statements and others have suggested that the society's negative position on higher education has changed.

'the society does not discourage higher education where i live.

' worse, 'apostates have made it all up--the society has never discouraged education.

hybridous

deleted - off topic

93

Position on College Changed?

by Maximus in

jw
friends

several have made outright statements and others have suggested that the society's negative position on higher education has changed.

'the society does not discourage higher education where i live.

' worse, 'apostates have made it all up--the society has never discouraged education.

hybridous

I think that the official WT Society position is intentionally vague.

I live in an affluent area, and the local congregation is VERY tolerant of young JWs that aim for college. I would even go so far as to say...it is encouraged. I don't doubt that in other areas, congregations are very intolerant. I guess that the opinions of the local elders do a lot to shape the overall attitude of the congregation. Over here, the elders are either college educated or own very profitable businesses.

In terms of dollars and cents, I think that the WTS thinks it could profit more from educated JWs. More earnings mean that the JWs have more to give the WTS. Of course, this is a sword that cuts both ways: formally educated JWs are exposed to many ideas, and are perhaps likely to research their beliefs and WT dogma, therby spiraling head-over-heels into the realm of the inexplicable.

6

Crisis of identity when leaving the WTS?

by Cautious in

jw
friends

hi, just a question about something that i have been wondering about for a while.

did anyone else have the feeling that they had to discover who they were when they moved away from the wts?

for the majority of my life i had been identified as one of jw, that was how i saw myself and it impacted on everything and everyone else in my life.

hybridous

Having been born into the cult, I wonder if there was really a 'myself' to come back to. Every thought, every opinion...sculpted from birth.

I spent my first few years out stumbling around in a haze due to drugs and alcohol. I went from one extreme to another trying to find out who the heck I really was. My sanity was saved when I realized that, when not under outside compulsion, we are free to made up our minds and be the kind of people we want to be. For me, that is the ultimate truth of the matter.

Also, I learned that there is no point on this life where I can sit back and say 'Ahhhh, I made it. I am who I want to be.' I think that it is a continuous evolution of the human spirit. Cautious, you said 'Still working on that one.' Well, don't worry about it. So am I.

43

New Congregation

by Deacon in

jw
friends

ok. we ran a thread recently about starting a new religion.. how about we start an international congregation here on the board.. we need 7 elders.

7 being a sign of perfection..er....yeah.. we need ministerial servants.. appointments will be general concensus..er holy spirit i mean.. p.o.

lets start with him.

hybridous

I hereby request that I be appointed to the position of....

'The elusive Brother Some'

Simply because whoever holds this office always seems to get away with a lot.