Posts by garyneal

157

Atheists know more about the bible!

by Comatose in

a newly minted atheist, she uses her youversion bible app to try to persuade people away from the christianity she grew up in.. .

i know of a lot of atheists who have come to their nonbelief by actually reading the bible rather than just the fluffy stories they choose to tell you about in church, she said.

reading the full story with all its contradictions and violence and sexism, it should make you think, is this really what i believe in?

garyneal

Tammy,

I don't normally chime in these atheist vs theist squabbles but I did want to ask you some questions based on what I had read in this exchange and the following quote from Comatose.

Tec, that is YOUR truth. Just because you believe it does not make it so. People believe many crazy things. You throw out 90% of the bible and claim 10% is true and about your personal jesus and that your truth is right. Look at yourself and your beliefs from a fresh perspective and from an outsiders perspective.

It's that 'outsider's perspective' that got me curious. Have you ever encountered an individual who believed in another religion or perhaps another deity and was every bit as confident about his or her beliefs as you are in yours? I kind of get the whole "Christ" thing you're speaking of, especially if this "Christ" thing is referring to a concept or an archtype of good that we personify in Jesus. In a case like that, I could argue (and perhaps this is your perspective) that it does not matter who or what any individual believes in because it all goes back to Christ even if they do not know it.

I admire you for your faith but I do wonder how you think of people who are every bit as confident in their faith as you are of your own and yet both of you think the other's faith is wrong. Unless, of course, you think of Christ in the way that it appears you are thinking of Him as.

Peace to you.

16

The elder said to me, "You're not supposed to take that seriously."

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

he's been to my door a couple of times as they've done the territory and said hello and all that, a nice, clean-shaven version of santa clause.

he was with a sister, a mild, pleasant intelligent sister with whom i always got on well, and we had a bit of a simple pleasantries-exchanging chat while my husband ran off and hid in the house like he normally does when jws come.. we got onto the sister's university studies and i said, "but at the dc they lumped university education in with fornication and every terrible thing!".

shaved santa pipes up suddenly, "oh, you're not meant to take that seriously.

garyneal

Perhaps Santa elder should just interpret what the GB says they way this Christian is doing for Jesus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mLOUWl-L-s&feature=share&list=PL7420408E36541DA4

2

"Not Easily Broken" as an eyelid opener for a spouse?

by NeverKnew in

not if your spouse is totally indoctrinated but maybe for one with an eyelid open?....

i was asked to watch the movie "not easily broken" with morris chestnut and taraji henson.

i believe my focus was supposed to be on the results of a couple losing sight of the proverbial threefold cord but as the movie progressed, i was struck by something quite different.. the wife is completely caught up with the perceptions of her peer group, the husband has grown weary of fighting for his wife's attention and affection and lastly we have a meddling mother-in-law whose influence over the daughter heavily contributes to the downward spiral of the marriage.

garyneal

Yeah I did before my wife went running to the Tower. The husband and wife both attended the same church (along with the mother-in-law), which eases a lot of things in my opinion. Even the pastor was instrumental in helping the daughter to see how damaging her mom was to her marraige. While I can see the connection between the meddling mother-in-law and the WTS, it was not as obvious until you pointed it out.

25

How the blood doctrine developed - one of the best descriptions I've seen...

by EndofMysteries in

i got this from this link.

http://users.adam.com.au/bstett/jwblooddoctrineorigin10.htm here is the information.

after reading it all, it really made how the doctrine developed look very ridiculous.

garyneal

marked

77

The murmuring phase is the beginning of an ex-JWs progression towards fading.

by Stand for Pure Worship in

jw
friends

i suppose part of the fascination i have with this board is, the exotic nature of those making up the member population.

i say exotic because, as you yourselves will agree with, folks such as yourselves don't hang around the christian congregation for long upon making the decision that truth is not for you.

(rom 1:25) this "fading" thing spoken of here likely plays a role into why christians such as me find the average ex-jw to be a bit fascinating.

garyneal

They do so during a phase that I'd like to label, The Murmuring Phase. The whole thing is quite sad to me too considering the de-evolution process of such ones that go from being content True Christians, into bitter murmerers.

Ooooo, someone's been reading his or her Watchtowers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmgA5ef5K8s

406

Goodbye JWD/JWN (my last post)

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

after some considerable thought i have decided that i will no longer post on this forum because i want to return to jehovah.

thank you for all the kindness and many interesting discussions over the years.

i wish you all well in the future and the decisions you make.

garyneal

Okay, wow, I was surely expecting an April Fool's comment or something. SBF is the last person I would've suspected to go running back to the religion. But hey, in the spirit of his post:

I have decided that, after careful research and study, that the witnesses do indeed have accurate knowledge of the truth and that they are the only proclaimers of the true God. I believe Jehovah is the true name of God and that His Son is the Archangel Michael. I wish to study more and show myself approved for baptism and stay away from apostate literature. You know things like the History channel unless they are showing films that speak of the Bible as God's Word and not as a book assembled by priests.

Ah forget it, now I am rambling. See you at the meetings, SBF!

11

ALL OF US ARE IRRATIONAL even in some small way

by Terry in

my personal opinion is we all harbor some irrational ideas.

even the most careful of us have some small thing totally at odds with logical thinking.. i'll grant you, few people care about being rational!

and that in itself is a bigger problem.. but, i do make an heroic effort to avoid mindless beliefs, attitudes and thoughts.

garyneal

I may as well carve all our initials on a big oak someplace!

http://youtu.be/7NCZ4l8FCFc

I think about what will happen to me when I die too. Both physically and what happens next (if anything), where will I be buried? Do I prefer to be cremated? My wife wants to be cremated if she goes first and put on our fireplace mantel. Otherwise, we wish to be buried together. Funny, just a pile of bones laying in the dirt next to each other.

443

The 1914 generation is still going strong 100 years later - 2014 study article.

by THE GLADIATOR in

january 2014 watchtower study article.

let your kingdom comebut when?.

this generation will not pass away.

garyneal

Oh Dear God In Heaven

They just won't let that go will they. I guess I am still amazed at the number of seemingly intelligent people that swallow this tripe. I suppose most of them don't really pay attention anyhow.

26

Irony: JWs who refuse to answer their door on Halloween!

by adamah in

with halloween fast approaching, it struck me looking back how ironic it was when the worm turned every year on halloween, when jws turn off the porch light, draw the curtains, stumble around in the dark, etc.

when the worldlies come to knock on their door, lol!.

on the other hand, i remember the family escaping from the fortress at dusk to go to a movie, bowling, etc.

garyneal

Gary, my kids went trick or treating every year when young (dad did not join jw's until later) and I can tell you from personal experience the kids have no interest in any attached reading material of any kind when going through their goody bag.

Can't say that I ever found them in my bag when I went trick or treating as a kids. Nor do my kids get them in their bags when I take them out trick or treating. That said, my friends and I use to read them with great interest. My favorite was "This was your life." Still though I am not endorsing the site, just pointing out how witnesses can use this holiday in a tongue in cheek kind of way.

That chick.com site is scary, as it shows that some Xians are willing to exploit the scariness of Halloween in order to push the fear of Hell. I guess a small publisher has to make sell their publications if they want to run with the big dogs.

Yes, indeed, some of those tracts are quite scary. I also like the parody chick publications site. Here is my personal favorite.

http://www.weirdcrap.com/chick/intro.html

26

Irony: JWs who refuse to answer their door on Halloween!

by adamah in

with halloween fast approaching, it struck me looking back how ironic it was when the worm turned every year on halloween, when jws turn off the porch light, draw the curtains, stumble around in the dark, etc.

when the worldlies come to knock on their door, lol!.

on the other hand, i remember the family escaping from the fortress at dusk to go to a movie, bowling, etc.

garyneal

Jehovah's Witnesses are missing a grand opportunity on Halloween. I keep telling my wife that they should make it a witnessing event the way many fundamentalists churches do.

http://www.chick.com/seasonal/halloween/2013/

Here's an excerpt from this web page:

http://www.chick.com/seasonal/halloween/ways_to_witness.asp

"Over the years, we've learned a thing or two about sharing the gospel Halloween night. Before meeting Jack Chick, many of us would hide in the back of the house with the lights off! But we knew in our hearts that sharing Jesus with the kids was the right thing to do."

emphasis mine