Love the Tshirt!! I want!! Glad that a wonderful time was had by all. It's so nice to see ExJW's gathering together and enjoying life the way it SHOULD be!
Morbidzbaby
JoinedPosts by Morbidzbaby
-
9
Just Got Back from an EXJW Xmas lunch
by cantleave in9 adults and 4 kids.
santa came and gave out pressies, and i wore my fsm t. shirt and some gig had massive puddings.
a great time was had by all.
-
-
-
15
"Hospitality"?
by NCO inhad to meet my parents not too long ago for some family business and while working out the time for that sunday, they said they had the meeting and then following the meeting they had "hospitality" for an hour or so.. now i've been out for going on 20 years and somewhat out of the loop.
needless to say i've never heard of that.
i've been to other churches where they have the sanctuary and then the fellowship hall where the members go and eat after the service.
-
-
Morbidzbaby
Yes, hospitality is when they either bring food for the visiting speaker, have them and their family over for a meal, or take them out to eat.
I've seen plenty of speakers take advantage of this, however... Instead of bringing just themselves and their immediate family, I have seen speakers bring other members of their congregation as well...and those who sign up for hospitality are expected to pay/provide for these, too! I experienced this firsthand when an elder in our congregation had an outgoing talk. His wife invited my ex and I along to spend the day with them. I didn't know that the congregation would be providing hospitality for this brother and his wife because the brother never said so. When the couple hosting saw that it was four people and not the expected two, they were visibly nervous. We went out to a restaurant and I felt like I was imposing. I ordered something small and we tried to pay for ourselves, but the couple we were with would have none of it...they said it was part of "hospitality". I didn't feel right about it then, and I still don't. I felt like it was a terrible imposition to expect these people to pay twice what they originally thought.
Then there are those who sign up to provide hospitality and then take the cheap way out and just give the speaker a small food item. I've seen a bookstudy group sign up for it, and all they did was pool their money and buy the guy a cake to take home with him. It was almost as if they were saying "Here...take your cake and screw".
The whole idea behind being hospitable is enjoying someone's company over a meal or even just coffee. It's about getting to know someone, welcoming them, thanking them, etc. It's not an excuse for the ones being hosted to bring every Tom, Dick, or Harry with them and expect them to be paid for as well, and it's also not right for the family hosting to just give them a gift card or a fruit basket and send them on their merry way.
-
30
For Mankkeli and other apologists
by JeffT ini thought i'd throw this out here again after reading the post quoting the wt article about returning to god.
the problem with all such articles is, the governing body/watchtower/jw's are not god.
leaving a human organization is not leaving god, nor is going back to it returning to god.
-
-
Morbidzbaby
Amazing that all Mankkeli can do is quote a Watchtower in response to the OP calling out the Watchtower lol... That's like quoting the Bible to show that the Bible is factual and true. I don't think ANY of us here are inclined to believe that the Watchtower holds any grain of truth just because it SAYS it does. Just like none of us believe the Governing Body itself is god's "channel here on earth". If a child is a habitual liar, and then one day decides to tell the truth, how many people believe him? Boy who cried "Wolf", anyone?
I really like the part in the above article posted by the OP that points to the JW's stating that the word "Trinity" is not in the Bible. Amazingly, the Catholic church never claimed it was! In fact, they state plainly (I believe it's in the Catholic Encyclopedia) that it is NOT found in the Bible. However, the concept, the scriptural support, IS. But NOWHERE in the Bible, not even the NWT, will you find the words "Governing Body" or "Organization". The only scripture that is cited for "proof" that the WTBTS must be god's one true organization is the one that says "God is not a god of disorder, but of peace". They see the words "not a god of disorder" and think "Huh! There it is! He must be a god of ORDER, then! Which means he must do things in an organized way! Which means we are the ONLY ones worldwide who are ORGANIZED! So this MUST be the truth!!" I take that scripture to mean exactly what it says and nothing more. The god being spoken of is one of peace and not of disorder...Disorder is not peace, is it? A peace-loving god doesn't need an organization just because he doesn't like disorder. Hell, I don't like it when people are upset and arguing and fighting around me, I prefer peace...doesn't mean that I have to start an organization for it.
Circular logic. Eventually, when things go round and round enough, it turns into a tornado of bullshit that just sucks the life out of everything in its path.
-
27
Pre paid legal inc. is a cult
by zengalileo ini tried selling pre paid legal for about two yers.
hardly made a sale.
none of my friends gave a crap about it.
-
-
Morbidzbaby
I wouldn't say it's a cult...It's a Multi-Level Marketing scheme...and so is the Watchtower (along with being a cult...the WTBTS is both a publishing company that uses a MLM format, and a cult.)
-
70
The world is passing away but He that does the will of God remains forever - 1Jo. 2:17
by mankkeli inthis was taken from the watchtower 1975, august 15. paragraphs 12&13.
12 resources and abilities that we might possess should be used to advance kingdom interests, rather than letting them serve as hindrances in the race for life.
for instance, if you have an extra house, could you sell it and use the money to enter the pioneer service instead of working hard to maintain both houses?
-
-
Morbidzbaby
I've been using the superhuman power to email all of the domestic violence shelters I can find the Watchtower study article that tells wives if they are being beaten that they aren't being good enough christians, and that they should be willing punching bags in the hopes that after a few decades of bruises, blood, broken teeth, cracked ribs and such their hubbies might come to know Jehovah.
You and me both!! I think there are a bunch of us doing it. Hopefully it makes some noise...squeaky wheel and all that...
-
70
The world is passing away but He that does the will of God remains forever - 1Jo. 2:17
by mankkeli inthis was taken from the watchtower 1975, august 15. paragraphs 12&13.
12 resources and abilities that we might possess should be used to advance kingdom interests, rather than letting them serve as hindrances in the race for life.
for instance, if you have an extra house, could you sell it and use the money to enter the pioneer service instead of working hard to maintain both houses?
-
-
Morbidzbaby
The Watchtower is very guilty of twisting and adding to the scriptures over and over again... Doesn't the Bible say that if a person adds to it, they are acursed?? Therefore, the Bible condems the sort of liberties that the WTBTS is taking with scripture.
Encouraging people to give up their belongings in order to do their definition of "the will of god" is adding to the very scriptures they cite. They're taking passages out of context to support their ideas...Ideas that are NOT in any way, shape, or form the message of the Bible itself.
It's not a wise idea to "do without" or to completely "simplify your life" to the point where all you have are shoes on your feet to walk from door to door. No, it's idiotic! It's falling to the delusion that this world IS "passing away".
Think of the term "passing away" for a minute. When you say someone is passing away, inevitably they will be done living within a few days, maybe even hours. If you want to get technical and include the drawn-out process of declining health during a terminal illness, we'll say POSSIBLY months. But eventually, they die, and it's within an expected period of time.
Considering this passage was forged thousands of years ago, I think it's safe to say this world is alive and well, and it's not passing anywhere. If anything, it's IMPROVED since that time.
-
-
-
Morbidzbaby
Yup. Ex spouse did it a few times. WHILE we were married, and after we divorced. Had the elders up my ass for awhile because HE couldn't just leave me alone and let me live my life. He wanted me to suffer, as did his family, because apparently "I don't know what suffering is" and "If I suffer enough, I'll come back to Jehovah". What a bunch of BS. All his actions did was prove to me once and for all the type of man he is and what kind of "god" this Jehovah character is. No THANKS!
-
5
Happy Turkey Day! Go Macy's Parade!
by Band on the Run ini kvetch and complain a lot.
it might be cultural.
i am utterly alone today.
-
-
Morbidzbaby
Happy Thanksgiving to the Flippers!!!
BOTR~ The only problem is that I feel that I am a slaughterhouse as I cut off chunks. LOL that's funny! Don't worry about waxing poetic about bread...some of it is just so good, you can't help it!! We have a market here that bakes and sells fresh breads of all kinds. Along with world cheeses. It's SOOOO good!!
-
19
Doctrine or HIgh Mind Control as the Last Straw
by Band on the Run ini am curious as to whether the final gut deciding factor to leave was inappropriate doctrine or the overly intrusive control of the wt.
reading the bible normally opened my eyes.
i was born-in and never suspected that they were skewing the bible in such a ridiculous manner or misquoting secular sources.
-
-
Morbidzbaby
For me, it started off with questions here and there...things that weren't adding up. Then as I learned more, I was pissed off at the control and the political nature of the organization (Shunning, organizational espionage, Governing Body votes, Elder votes, etc...decisions aren't made by Holy Spirit, as they claim).
Eventually, the organization became like an old sweater to me...pull one string and the whole illusion unravels. When I read books by ex-JW's, as well as Steve Hassan's Combatting Cult Mind Control, that completely clinched it. Some here also brought up the points about hypnosis, why people get tired or fall asleep during meetings and assemblies, etc. Then reading their literature without the Watchtower goggles on... The more I see, the more sure I am.
I, too, address the control issues more than the doctrine. Most people aren't aware of their beliefs (Pah! Locusts, indeed!), so addressing their rules and regulations and ridiculous edicts is enough to turn anyone off from wanting to know more about them.
-
5
Happy Turkey Day! Go Macy's Parade!
by Band on the Run ini kvetch and complain a lot.
it might be cultural.
i am utterly alone today.
-
-
Morbidzbaby
BOTR, it's so nice that you grew up with that tradition! That must have been something to see as a child! This year is my first REAL Thanksgiving with my "new" family. We're starting our own traditions, and the Macy's parade is a part of it.