Nothing yet as I'm still trying to escape, and I have tons of responsibilities, family and otherwise. But I do look forward to doing something to help others, whether in a seasonal or long-term capacity.
zoiks
Posts by zoiks
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15Volunteering
by BlackSwan of Memphis inwhen we were jw's we 'volunteered' our time to help others learn the 'truth'.. in what ways do you volunteer your time now that you are out and are free to help others as you see fit?.
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51
I know one thing.
by mouthy inhow to tell the difference between a man & a woman.. but on here!!!
i cant tell wheather they are male or female, .
yes some have the identifying mark ....pink or blue.. but some dont.
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zoiks
minimus - No, just quoting Wayne's World. Sad, I know.
mouthy - Thank you! I always read your posts with great interest.
zoiks
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51
I know one thing.
by mouthy inhow to tell the difference between a man & a woman.. but on here!!!
i cant tell wheather they are male or female, .
yes some have the identifying mark ....pink or blue.. but some dont.
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zoiks
I'm just some young guy.
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16
Validation and defense mechanisms, or why it's ok for billions to die
by zoiks inmore and more i have been thinking about the mindset that considers the idea that billions are to be destroyed at armageddon as perfectly ok. farkel's articles on freeminds.org really helped to bring it home for me.
as jws, we do (or did) think it was perfectly reasonable that billions will have earned a death sentence simply for not accepting religious literature from an uninvited person at their doorstep.
how do otherwise good people (for the most part) come to accept genocide as an acceptible, even good, solution to the problems they see and experience?.
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zoiks
When you think about it, this whole topic is creepy.
BlackSwan - yes. I'm finding that as my mind begins to get used to thinking on its own, lots of things that I used to take for granted are creepy, wrong, and awful. I believe that it is necessary to face that fact.
zoiks
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15
Who has greater love for us, Jesus or Jehovah?
by peacedog inthe oct 2009 kool-aid edition makes this statement:.
but jesus gave his life as an expression of love.
"no one has love greater than this," said jesus, "that someone should surrender his soul in behalf of his friends.
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zoiks
Sounds like he's an "indian giver"
Is that better or worse than a "re-gifter"? And how would that work, exactly...?
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16
Validation and defense mechanisms, or why it's ok for billions to die
by zoiks inmore and more i have been thinking about the mindset that considers the idea that billions are to be destroyed at armageddon as perfectly ok. farkel's articles on freeminds.org really helped to bring it home for me.
as jws, we do (or did) think it was perfectly reasonable that billions will have earned a death sentence simply for not accepting religious literature from an uninvited person at their doorstep.
how do otherwise good people (for the most part) come to accept genocide as an acceptible, even good, solution to the problems they see and experience?.
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zoiks
Thanks for the comments. Watchtower flawed logic and dogma aside, it floors me that as individuals, we were ok with the idea that all these people deserve to die. The idea becomes increasingly repugnant to me.
zoiks
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19
No windows
by BlackSwan of Memphis ina couple years back i read posts re the lack of windows in the kh.
i think at the time i was still so close to the situation that i thought it was a bit extreme and surely it couldn't be anything like it was being made out to be: conspiracy on the part of the organization.. flash forward to recent days.
i have been attending our local unitarian universalists church (or universalist unitarian?
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zoiks
The Kingdom Halls in my area all have windows facing the parking lot. You can see who's coming late and who's leaving early.
zoiks
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16
Validation and defense mechanisms, or why it's ok for billions to die
by zoiks inmore and more i have been thinking about the mindset that considers the idea that billions are to be destroyed at armageddon as perfectly ok. farkel's articles on freeminds.org really helped to bring it home for me.
as jws, we do (or did) think it was perfectly reasonable that billions will have earned a death sentence simply for not accepting religious literature from an uninvited person at their doorstep.
how do otherwise good people (for the most part) come to accept genocide as an acceptible, even good, solution to the problems they see and experience?.
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zoiks
The WTS has said in writing that non-jws don't even need an "individual witness" to be judged worthy of eternal destruction
Well that's not very nice, is it?
zoiks
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16
Validation and defense mechanisms, or why it's ok for billions to die
by zoiks inmore and more i have been thinking about the mindset that considers the idea that billions are to be destroyed at armageddon as perfectly ok. farkel's articles on freeminds.org really helped to bring it home for me.
as jws, we do (or did) think it was perfectly reasonable that billions will have earned a death sentence simply for not accepting religious literature from an uninvited person at their doorstep.
how do otherwise good people (for the most part) come to accept genocide as an acceptible, even good, solution to the problems they see and experience?.
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zoiks
More and more I have been thinking about the mindset that considers the idea that billions are to be destroyed at Armageddon as perfectly ok. Farkel's articles on freeminds.org really helped to bring it home for me. As JWs, we do (or did) think it was perfectly reasonable that billions will have earned a death sentence simply for not accepting religious literature from an uninvited person at their doorstep. How do otherwise good people (for the most part) come to accept genocide as an acceptible, even good, solution to the problems they see and experience?
I know that thousands of pages have been devoted to this subject, especially dealing with the holocaust in Europe during WWII. But what about just dealing specifically with our experience as JWs?
Personally, I think a lot of it comes from, or is exacerbated by, our door-to-door preaching work. Consider: going uninvited to preach to people is a stressful experience. You are risking a lot by doing this. You are trying to present your most deeply-held beliefs and values to strangers, who will mostly reject those beliefs and values to your face. We would try to ease the discomfort by saying things like, "It's Jehovah they are rejecting. I am just the lowly messenger." But day in and day out of near-constant rejection takes its toll. We were not taught to have real conversations and consider viewpoints other than our own. We set ourselves up to be threatened by disagreement, rejection, or even mere apathy. How does the mind protect itself from this constant barrage? It seeks validation. I remember on more than one occasion, hearing someone come back from a particularly brutal householder saying, "Well, cross that one out of the Book of Life". What a terrible thing to say or think! But the person was protecting themselves from the discomfort that comes from being challenged and not being able to back down, not being able to admit that someone else doesn't find these beliefs to be valid, true, or even worth their time.
So, we would naturally seek that validation, that ultimate "I told you so!" And what better way to ease the stress, the discomfort, the pain of rejection than to look to the time when they would all be proved wrong and we would be proved right. It is an awful thought, but we would often embrace that thought with a morbid sense of glee, thinking "That'll show them!" It was our mind's way of protecting itself, its way of seeking validation in the face of constant rejection. I'm sure that this isn't the whole story, but I think that this is a large part of it. The door-to-door preaching work creates people who are ok with genocide. If that isn't a sweeping generalization I don't know what is! But it should be good for generating conversation...
My little rambling rant is done. I would love to hear others' thoughts on this.
zoiks
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22
Its so cold!
by creativhoney ini can't get warm.
its 13 degrees today but feels like zero.. the wind has been blowing down the chimney all day without letup and my feet are freezing :(.
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zoiks
Unseasonably warm here today.
Here is nowhere.
Get those feet into some cozy socks! My wife has some that look like fuzzy little gloves for feet... adorable and warm!
zoiks