peace!.
you have stated (and others have agreed and stated the same) that faith is not based on evidence, or it is not faith to begin with.
may i ask you, then, if you think the apostles and early disciples, who walked with christ, had faith?
If you believe the bible account then although the disciples had evidence of miracles and saw Jesus in the flesh they had to have faith that the things he had promised would come to pass. This would have been relevent especially when disciples were executed and christians persecuted.
Those thousands that died for their faith without heavenly visions had to have faith that their sacrifice meant something and was not just a waste of a life.
i would have to say that ray franz was the biggest influence for me.. when i first got on this board, a poster by the name of james, a former bethelite and organization heavy, helped me understand a lot of the inner workings in the upper echelons of the society.. .
and of course, farkel's common sense approach was (usually) helpful..
Cantleave who started our exit, Ray Franz whose book lifted the scales from my eyes, this board who questioned my assumptions and therefore Simon without whom it would never have existed.
I would like to thank all the posters who encouraged us, supported us and took an interest in our exit.
The power of the ex jw community, it's support and warmth should never be under estimated.
i am the husband of an ex-jw.
she left when she was 18, because she was dating a non-jw.
they got married, and he began openly cheating on her.
No you are not wasting your time. You supported your wife and showed support, that is never a waste. You did not allow JWs to spout self righteous nonsense they need to be challenged. You did not enable their bad behaviour.
Trust me whilst a JW I was challenged several times. I never forgot a single one of those conversations, I remembered the words and the passion and they stuck in a way positive encounters did not. Who knows what long term effect your words will have but be sure they have had an impact.
my husband showed some of my work to artists exhibiting in this years open studio event and i have been asked to submit work for next year.
as soon as the children go back to school i will be busy with the isograph pens.
as a witness i gave up my art studies and my dream of fine art because it was not appropriate for a witness.
Thank you all for your encouragement and offers of help. It makes me so glad to be free of the organisation that tries to quash all talent. The contrast is particularly great here were people have been truly supportive rather than jealous and petty.
Jgnut I have sent you my email I would love to see the photos.
Phizzy I did do a painting of Cantleave but I have no idea where it is now perhaps I will try again now he has a beard his face has more of the character I'm looking for.
Giordano I have checked out the website and the art there is both exciting and diverse. It looks very similar to the open studio approach over here. It is really great to know that others have made a career out of their art I am sure I can learn a lot from your experience. I will certainly be coming to you with questions just as soon as I know what to ask.
i know there are some here that are going through some tough times.
some of you do not believe in god.
some are not sure.. i was told recently by a friend to pray to god for help and he would comfort me.. my first impulse is to pray.
When I was a witness I prayed when things got tough, praying helped me clarify my thoughts and identify the issues. Praying at the time meant that I had someone who would work with me to make things better and see me through. However I had to do all the work myself.
Nowadays if I need to clarify an issue I take the dog out for a walk and think things through. As a mum it is my job to keep things calm and defend the family, to be there for those I love and to be a point of stability regardless of what else is going on in their lives. Being the constant for others gives me strength, failure is not an option.
If you believe there is a solution you will find it.
my husband showed some of my work to artists exhibiting in this years open studio event and i have been asked to submit work for next year.
as soon as the children go back to school i will be busy with the isograph pens.
as a witness i gave up my art studies and my dream of fine art because it was not appropriate for a witness.
Will do there are a huge number of artists locally and I got a huge thrill out of visiting their studios and discussing their techniques. There is also a wildlife art society locally sponsored by Marwell who run a major exhibition each year for wildlife art I'm hoping to be good enough to exhibit there but isograph technical drawings take a long time to do so I need to use other techniques as well in order to build up a body of work sufficient to exhibit at both events.
my husband showed some of my work to artists exhibiting in this years open studio event and i have been asked to submit work for next year.
as soon as the children go back to school i will be busy with the isograph pens.
as a witness i gave up my art studies and my dream of fine art because it was not appropriate for a witness.
Thanks Designs much appreciated.
how many of us have had to deal with a version of that retort?!
it's hurtful and i suspect - for some - that's partly because of the nagging feeling that our families may have a point.. but do they?.
i was 15 when i got baptised, is it reasonable that as the 50 year old man i'll be on my next birthday i continue to be held to a decision i made as a schoolboy?.
When I prepared for my baptism there were few questions on disfellowshipping and none on apostacy. There were no questions on the need to cut off family members or the possibility that I may have a change in viewpoint. None of us were told about the dangers of changing our mind when we made our commitment, nor were we asked to reaffirm our baptism each time they changed the doctrines or the questions.
To my point of view the organisation I thought I joined was not the same organistion I left behind and they have no justification to cut me off from friends and family.
two years ago this site was very intolerant.
you couldn't even say the word cult.. a lot has changed.
there is a lot of anger here.
I feel any fall will be glacial in it's speed. They have done well keeping the workers busy and stressing the need for obedience no matter what.
my husband showed some of my work to artists exhibiting in this years open studio event and i have been asked to submit work for next year.
as soon as the children go back to school i will be busy with the isograph pens.
as a witness i gave up my art studies and my dream of fine art because it was not appropriate for a witness.
My husband showed some of my work to artists exhibiting in this years open studio event and I have been asked to submit work for next year. As soon as the children go back to school I will be busy with the isograph pens. As a witness I gave up my art studies and my dream of fine art because it was not appropriate for a witness. I am so pleased to be able to have the freedom to explore this again and see how my work fares in the big wide world.
I am looking for wildlife and nature subjects so any suggestions would be gratefully received. Will be sending hubby out to take photos this weekend.
