Posts by garyneal

31

Interfaith marraiges and children

by garyneal in

i just wanted to share this story with everyone:.

last weekend on saturday, my wife found out that field service was not being cancelled due to snow.

all week prior to saturday, my wife kept saying that she was going to swim classes with my daughter and i and actually swim with my daughter that morning.

garyneal

Thanks BabaYaga, it is an effort on both our parts. Sometimes I don't appreciate her enough but I am working harder at showing it. Back in our honeymoon days, this use to come naturally. I just hope she doesn't get too entrenched in the bOrg.

I watched her head to the meeting this evening. She was very tired and when she asked my daughter if she wanted to accompany her, my daughter said no. After my wife left, I asked my daughter why she did not want to go. "Because mommy spanks my butt if I don't sit down and be quiet."

My wife came back home about 45 minutes later, she has been very tired lately and she could not handle two hours at the meeting tonight. I was very happy to see her back home early.

31

Interfaith marraiges and children

by garyneal in

i just wanted to share this story with everyone:.

last weekend on saturday, my wife found out that field service was not being cancelled due to snow.

all week prior to saturday, my wife kept saying that she was going to swim classes with my daughter and i and actually swim with my daughter that morning.

garyneal

GL Tirebiter: Got them both, thanks. I will reply to them probably tomorrow.

18

Question for Christians

by FreudianSlip in

jw
friends

do i have to love god to get into the good place?

let's assume i believe and follow all of the rules out of obligation and not love, is that enough?.

garyneal

That's what gets thrown into the face of non-Christians all the time, even if they love God.

To which God are you referring to Poppers? If you are referring to the Christian God and since I believe the deity of Christ in the NT is hard to refute, how can you love God and not be Christian?

If, however, you are referring to God of another religion, say Islam, why would you care about what a bunch of us 'backwards Christians' have to say anyway?

1

Gun carrying bailbondsmen--gun carrying active jw?

by blondie in

jw
friends

http://www.kndo.com/global/story.asp?s=11995558.

<<backsuspect in wsp shooting from kennewick.

feb 16, 2010 08:44 pm cst.

garyneal

You know, I was actually thinking about how witnesses who are cops are discouraged from carrying guns this evening.

All I can say is, "So if I were to work for the police department, and carry a gun, I can be barred from the spiritual paradise of today and the earthly paradise of tomorrow? Doesn't this just seem a little bit on the side of stupid?"

I mean, if everyone is to become a JW and EVERYONE followed the Bible teachings perfectly, then I can see how the need for guns would be no more. But wait a minute, doesn't the Bible already teach that we would all be perfect after the return of Christ? When perfection comes? Meanwhile, we have to deal with the imperfect world of today.

3

JW's and non-JW's

by dgp in

sorry, i forgot to add a title to my post.

so i'm repeating the post.. in another thread (http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/social/family/189023/1/interfaith-marraiges-and-children), balsam wrote this:.

...challenging her concepts, especially challenging the words like "unbeliever", or "worldly person", you need to point out to your wife those are words used to try and put a division between jw's and other christians or people of other faiths.... i know that jehovah's witnesses are told not to befriend (much less marry) people of different religious faiths, or no religious faiths at all.

garyneal

In my mind, anything whose final effect is dividing people and making them unable to love their neighbors is plainly wrong. I would appreciate your comments on this.

I recall a few years ago while my wife and I were on a date we were discussing the trinity. I told her that it is concievable that God may not be a trinity but do you think that it is also possible that He might be? Bear in mind that, although she was studying, she was not in any way getting in as deep into the religion as she is now. Yet, she stubbornly refused to even consider that the Bible could be interpreted in a way that supports the possibility of the trinitarian concept.

I recall commenting on how much I did not like her singlemindedness view of things and said that I did not really believe in 'religion' because religion divides us (humanity).

The Jehovah's Witnesses certainly seem to have a warped view of the world at large. When I ask my wife if it is even possible that bad people can be found within the organization, she indicated that there could be bad people but that they would be promptly disfellowshipped. Only the witnesses do their best to keep out the bad elements, all other churches are just too lax in this responsibility. They allow men and women who openly live together out of wedlock to call themselves 'christians,' for example.

8

Divorced women in the WTS

by dgp in

i am not a witness.

if i have understood correctly, in the wts, a single woman is at a disadvantage.

the wts is male-dominated and a woman can only go up through her father or husband.

garyneal

I guess like it says in the title of a recent Tyler Perry movie, "I Can Do Bad All By Myself." Personally, if I were to find myself alone again, I would have to think twice before ever remarrying. While I prefer marraige to singlehood, being single did have some advantages.

31

Interfaith marraiges and children

by garyneal in

i just wanted to share this story with everyone:.

last weekend on saturday, my wife found out that field service was not being cancelled due to snow.

all week prior to saturday, my wife kept saying that she was going to swim classes with my daughter and i and actually swim with my daughter that morning.

garyneal

bulgogiboy: Thanks for your support.

LatinXJW: The past is indeed the past and I am indeed trying to make the future much better. It is hard at times as I see my wife head off to the meetings, often alone, and I think that I should be there to support her. But I then realize, if I become a Jehovah's Witness, I have to give up birthdays and holiday celebrations and I have to allow my daughter to die should she require an emergency blood transfusion. My wife is pregnant and has already told her doctor that should she need blood, even if it is a matter of life or death, she does not want it.

TD: I wonder why this religion appeals to unhappiness?

31

Bible student with 8 kids turns down marriage proposal?

by QuestioningEverything in

jw
friends

a woman who is studying/attending the kh where my mom goes has 8 kids.

the oldest is 15y and the baby is only 7 weeks old.

after studying for some time, she decided it would be morally right for her and the kids father to get married.

garyneal

Surely, you don't begrudge children a decent meal or place to stay?

This is the common argument for why we should continue to support irresponsible behavior amonst the parents. I want children to have the best chance in life but unfortunately these programs are abused and sometimes I think it is better to just eliminate them and educate people and force them to take more responsibility for their lives and also for the lives of those placed under their care.

However, I know that circumstances happen and sometimes we need public assistance. My sister-in-law uses WIC for her child but works hard to make it on her own in every other aspect. Still, though, I wonder if these things would be better served by local charities as opposed to our government.

To their credit, my mother and father in law did the best they can to raise their two daughters. However, when my father-in-law was laid off and when my mother-in-law seeked government assistance, she was told that she did not qualify because she is married BUT if she LEFT her husband and took her two girls with her, she would qualify for all kinds of help.

I guess in the eyes of the government, children deserve a decent meal and a place to stay so longs as they are born out of wedlock to single parents. Otherwise, let them eat cake.

39

HELP ME REPAIR THE WORLD

by Terry in

let's roll up our collective sleeves and repair the world!.

world repair is a central idea of judaism, after all.

you leave this world a little better than how you found it.. most of us spend our lives busy with our own self.

garyneal

okay, count me in

31

Interfaith marraiges and children

by garyneal in

i just wanted to share this story with everyone:.

last weekend on saturday, my wife found out that field service was not being cancelled due to snow.

all week prior to saturday, my wife kept saying that she was going to swim classes with my daughter and i and actually swim with my daughter that morning.

garyneal

I spoke with my mom earlier today (Tuesday) about this very thing and she and I both agreed that it seems like my wife is trying to make me feel guilty (whether intentionally or not) because I chose not to become a Jehovah's Witness. It is hypocritical on her part to say that we can't be a 'spiritual' family because 'I don't want to do the things she wants to do' while simultaneously refusing to attend church with me even when I invite her.

But to be fair, I have to admit that for a few years prior to all of this she has been a very remarkable woman who I unfortunately took for granted. A part of me wishes I could turn back the hands of time and have been more loving and forgiving of some of her ways as I am learning to be now. For all I know, she may have not have decided to return to the Watchtower. I have stated before that there have been times that even she has doubted the very existence of God and sometimes feels that He was a bit egotistical to create people for the sole purpose of worshipping Him. Oh well, water under the bridge I guess.

Thanks for your responses everyone.

carla: I see that you were the unbelieving spouse in your marraige. Is your marraige still intact? I apologize if you have already answered this elsewhere.

bulgogiboy: I am still holding out hope that things will work out. She has two aunts who are witnesses and married to non-believers and they've been married for a long time and show no signs of splitting up. Everyone is different but this does provide for some hope.

dgp: Thanks. Since you are on the outside as your involvement with the witnesses concerns a friend of yours who (if I am correct) you at one time had feelings for, you are in a very good zone for learning about and observing them. I have an old friend who was a witness when I met her and is now out along with her boyfriend who was a regular pioneer. How are things going between you and your friend?

Balsam: You truly are a blessing on this site. I will keep your suggestions in mind for I do recall at one time finding the terms 'unbeliever' and 'worldly' to be very offensive. Personally, the witnesses find themselves thinking to be persecuted when in reality they are just being judged in the same manner that they've judged others. Something Jesus warned us about.

GL Tirebiter: I take it things did not work out for you in your situation. I am sorry to hear that. How are things going for you now and to what extent is your current involvement with the witnesses?