Posts by Blithe Freshman

The church I've been attending had scheduled last Sunday for baptisms. I was out of town for my family reunion & very disapointed over having to wait. But they were rained out & so after hearing the announcement in church this morning that today was the day, I approached our pastor to be dunked . Had a quick conversation with him after the service, made a few phone calls & hurried home to grab my swim suit & towel. My husband & three of my children came to watch! Afterwards we all enjoyed a picnic & swim party. 9 others were baptised today , one,who is also a former JW , I met last fall at the Witnesses for Jesus Convention.We were both able to give a testimony of the changes in our lives and difference between what we were doing today & our JW baptisms.

Blithe Freshman

39

Typically How Much $$$ Do You Spend Going Out To Eat Each Week?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i don't cook so i usually eat one meal a day out.

i pobably spend a couple of hundred a week with food an d drink.

what about choo?.

Blithe Freshman

30-50 dollars, depends how many I'm feeding, 2-4 times a month.

We have started going to or getting takeout from the local church & firehall dinners.

Better food, meet new & old friends, supports charity and I get a break from the kitchen on a busy weekend.

BF

50

Was There a Fictional Work Helped You Realize the Truth About the (T)ruth?

by BabaYaga in

the pen really can be mightier than the sword, and even fiction often carries much weight and powerful messages.. did you read a book or watch a movie that made you think?

did an "entertaining" work plant a seed of doubt?.

the first one i can remember making a definate comparison to the witnesses in my mind was ray bradbury's martian chronicles.

Blithe Freshman

Clan of the Cave Bear, and it's descriptions of shunning, why & how. I was particularly struck by how Ayla thought that a person shunned ( treated as dead) would loose all will to live. I began to see the young people in the cong although disfellowshipped had weak moments after their disfellowshipping they took a downward spiral & got into much more trouble. Being treated as dead they too lost their will to live & started dangerous behaviors that could kill them.

There is also a lot about the Clans inability to learn/think for themselves over something new, just doing what they have always done etc. Shunning was also rare & done when the clan was in great fear from their superstitions or they had a bad leader. Good leaders helped each individual be a productive member of the group & valued everyone so there were not the sort of problems that ended in shunning. Everyone new to shun someone was to invite their death & life was too precious to risk anyones life over indescretions or disagreements.

BF

50

Was There a Fictional Work Helped You Realize the Truth About the (T)ruth?

by BabaYaga in

the pen really can be mightier than the sword, and even fiction often carries much weight and powerful messages.. did you read a book or watch a movie that made you think?

did an "entertaining" work plant a seed of doubt?.

the first one i can remember making a definate comparison to the witnesses in my mind was ray bradbury's martian chronicles.

Blithe Freshman

Reading "Watership Down" with my children. All the warrens were like different ways the congregation acted.I identified with the little rabbit that could sense something wrong, but couldn't put a name to it till he escaped.

BF

8

I saw JWs yesterday...

by Jim_TX in

not too surprising, since it was sunday.. it started early though... at the local restaurant/coffee shop where i go on the weekends.

i usually sit at the counter, and drink coffee and look over my trade journals and scribble notes on my latest projects.. while there, a couple came in and sat at the counter.

i know that they are jws (in the past, they used to bring in their 'text' and read it there), and know that they must have a 10am meeting.

Blithe Freshman

Thanks for the answers. I was DF'd but never told this at the time or remember it from a meeting. I remember thinking for awhile I needed to not greet people. But then began to think it was the JW's who are instructed to not greet & there was no prohabition on my behavior. I was releaved to be "No Longer One Of JW's" & not wanting to get back.

BF

8

I saw JWs yesterday...

by Jim_TX in

not too surprising, since it was sunday.. it started early though... at the local restaurant/coffee shop where i go on the weekends.

i usually sit at the counter, and drink coffee and look over my trade journals and scribble notes on my latest projects.. while there, a couple came in and sat at the counter.

i know that they are jws (in the past, they used to bring in their 'text' and read it there), and know that they must have a 10am meeting.

Blithe Freshman

quietlyleaving:

same here. I saw JWs yesterday too, at the convention, and was reminded of the isolating practice wherein a disfellowshipped JW must inform the person who greets him , that he is disfellowshipped.

How is this taught? I don't remember anyone actually teaching this.

BF

93

How many here actually still believe that there is a God??

by annalice in

jw
friends

after being gone from the jw's for many years now , and having done extensive research on the history of god and the belief in him , i can't seem to find any logical way to have a belief in an invisble being up there ruling over us.

how many here still believe?

how many don't?.

Blithe Freshman

I believe and worship GOD.

66

Anyone have a soft spot for old video games?

by John Doe in

jw
friends

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bco8bepgzi0.

Blithe Freshman

I miss old nintendo games like lemmings , Adam's Family,Chip & Dale and Hatris.

381

Were you or someone you know sexually molested by a Jehovah's Witness ?

by flipper in

due to the fact there are about 27,000 members of this religion that are known pedophiles, and the information about it is kept in a secret database file, i wonder how many lurking jw's as well as others are aware of the severity of this problem?

remember, it's 27,000 pedophiles that they know about.

what about the thousands that don't get caught?

Blithe Freshman

There was a girl in our congregation who was molested by her older brother. I always thought there was something wrong from her behavior & interests. She had serious safety issues. She was an artist & her pictures had unusual themes.Just before I left I found out what had happened.Her brother was reproved, father removed as an elder, no reporting, no one knew what had happened except the elders, no counciling help for either child.Just told to not talk about it. There was also verbal abuse in the household & beatings of other children.

I quit meetings because of a pervert in the congregation that wouldn't stop touching me. He was a mystery person, rumors around about him maybe coming from a gay congregation in San Diego. His behavior was excused , told he was retarded & didn't know better. He touched a little girl at the KH book study. The family was moved to another study. Avioding him was like running the gauntlet, no one would do anything to stop him. Only weekly threats of an ass woopin by my husband kept him away from our children, but he couldn't resist bothering me.He was brought to every meeting and in service at least twice a week. Young brothers were assigned to drive him. Also to take to assemblies & conventions. Elders had others bent over backwards to get him around.No elder ever spoke to him, just excuses why we must put up with him. As it turned out I later found he was a study of one of the elders and was eventually baptized.

BF