here's a test.
http://www.beliefnet.com/section/quiz/index.asp?sectionid=&surveyid=27/.
questioning believer you have doubts about the particulars but not the big stuff.
80 - 89
Confident Believer – You have little doubt you’ve found the right path
I was surprised by this high score. I certainly didn't expect it
"People handle their fear of change in different ways, but the fear is inescapable if we are in fact to change."
M. Scott Peck (The Road Less Traveled)
...that jw's have a hard time forgiving others because they themselves are rarely forgiven for their own sins.
according to their beliefs jehovah keeps track of every detail of your life...good and bad.
that even if you are humble and repent of your sins, that there is still no true forgiveness until the new system.
Andi, I hate it when JW parents act like that, mine included.
This week I took a deposition involving a plaintiff who was very messed up emotionally. During a recess, her attorney explained that this poor woman had been "through the wringer" as it were. Then she leaned over and confidentially whispered, "She was a Jehovah's Witnesses. I don't know if you've heard of them." Oh, yeah, sister. Do tell! Turns out when she left the Borg, her JW husband, with the help of his parents, stole their little four year old girl and disappeared. The girl was not recovered. The woman has never recovered from losing her daughter and from being in the JW cult experience. This woman has had to spend time in a mental health facility more than once for what she went through.
Andi, you on the other hand, are doing fine. You've got so much on the ball. You are nothing like your father. We can be grateful for that, that we're not still trapped in a mental religious prison. It's painful to be rejected by JW relatives, but I'd rather be a "rejectee" than be a JW trapped in that cult mindset. I'd make that choice without hesitation, regardless of the cost. I know you feel the same way.
I'm so glad you made it out and that I've gotten a chance to know you personally. You're a fine person and this world is a better place with you in it. I'll adopt you anytime, including the doggies!
Umm, well, they are house trained, right???
I love ya, Andi!
peace,
Jer
"People handle their fear of change in different ways, but the fear is inescapable if we are in fact to change."
M. Scott Peck (The Road Less Traveled)
i love scuba, blowing bubbles is about as good as it gets.
while i enjoy warm water diving the best i will dive anywhere including under ice.
any other scuba lovers out there?<p>.
Hey LB,
I love scuba, especially in Grand Cayman on the walls that drop down into oblivion. They have a shark dive there now and I want to see that.
I've been to Cayman, Bahamas, Cozumel. My dream trip? Costa Rica liveaboard.
"People handle their fear of change in different ways, but the fear is inescapable if we are in fact to change."
M. Scott Peck (The Road Less Traveled)
witnesses always say if you have questions, you should discuss them with the local elders.. most of you have seen over the past few days, the 5 or 6 questions which led me to leave the witnesses and take up my hedonistic lifestyle.. should i call the elders and give them a chance to answer my questions?
i've asked my father some of them, but it always turns into an argument and upsets my mother too much for me to really pursue the discussion as far as i would like.. just to reiterate.. my questions are:.
1. is there a logical explanation of god's justice system for the universe, which includes all sentient creatures and how they are judged?.
Joel,
What makes you believe you would get any information worth dwelling on from a JW elder? You're going to get the party line from the literature, and sadly that is all you will get. End of story.
You would get a much more interesting and indepth response in asking these questions of a theological student/teacher, or a even a good Sunday school teacher at a local church.
"People handle their fear of change in different ways, but the fear is inescapable if we are in fact to change."
M. Scott Peck (The Road Less Traveled)
we could've been stupid islamic fundies.
http://www.secularhumanism.org/wtc.htm#_ftn1
"First, there is the erroneous and sentimental belief that all cultures, deep down, have the same values; or, at least, if different, are equally worthy of respect. But the truth is that not all cultures have the same values, and not all values are worthy of respect."
Six,
Loved the above quote. It reminds me of ignorant people who compliment the JWs for going door to door and call them good people.
If they only knew what utter disrespect the JWs have for any people or spirituality outside their tightly constructed realm, they would be horrified by them.
"People handle their fear of change in different ways, but the fear is inescapable if we are in fact to change."
M. Scott Peck (The Road Less Traveled)
i've been thinking alot lately about how my life sucks.
i guess everyone is entitled to disliking their life a little, but the holiday is really starting to get me down.
that's strange becaue it used to be my favorite time of the year!
Hi Indire,
I've been exactly where you are, except I was a true-blue believing Dub with spiritual flames coming out of my arse. Those flames got extinguished when my potential convert converted me out of the Society. I loved my wife. I really did. But neither one of us was willing to compromise; she wanted desperately to stay a JW, and I wanted no part of it ever again. Oh, we held it together for a few years, but the stress of our differences finally destroyed the relationship.
I always say this, but I'll say it again and continue to say it: The best way to talk with JWs is simply to ask them questions that lead them down a logical path to a logical conclusion. Never take the superior approach that you have all this info you want to share with a JW to expose the WT. It fires off the red alert siren in their thinking. When asking the questions, I say things like, "I don't understand how this could be true if".... then share your information *putting the burden on the JW to explain his/her illogical beliefs.*
Bring out the material that exposes their religion, i.e. quotes from their own literature, and say "Help me understand how this could be true when they say"...
You'll be amazed with how much information you can pass on to the average JW without them going into a total apostacy panic. You assume the role of a humble person who wants answers. The JW naturally will feel superior enough spiritually where he will take the bait and try to answer those questions. Then lead, lead, lead them.
I kept a pair of visiting elders at my home last weekend for an hour and a half. I did a lot of gardening with them.
"People handle their fear of change in different ways, but the fear is inescapable if we are in fact to change."
M. Scott Peck (The Road Less Traveled)
i've narrowed it down to three choices:.
bonnie raitt singing..... "that summer night in texas, baby.
too hot and wet to sleep.
Romantic music...
Slow dancing in the dark to Joe Sample (jazz piano player) playing "Stormy Weather."
But if it's sexy music and lyrics you want, I like Madonna's "Where Life Begins" on the "Erotica" cd.
"How you want to eat it
depends on how you feel
you can eat all you want and you don't get fat
now where else can you go for a meal like that.
how many here have seen a river runs through it?.
god i love that movie.
"i am haunted by waters.....".
Hi Ash,
I have "A River Runs Through It" in my videotape library. Really well done. It is the story of my brother and myself. (my brother in the Brad Pitt role) That is why I related so well to it. I think the greatness of the film is how it implies so much without being direct. There is much truth in that movie, especially what it has to say about older brothers and younger brothers, the relationship between fathers and sons. I guess that's why you like it so much?
PS -- "Chopper" is out on DVD and video. Saw it at Blockbuster. Have two beers and pop it in and watch it. Tell me what you think.
One word of caution. it's not rated because it is ultra violent, but it is very funny in a "Pulp Fiction" kind of way.
"People handle their fear of change in different ways, but the fear is inescapable if we are in fact to change."
M. Scott Peck (The Road Less Traveled)
i don't want to spam, but i just wanted to post one more topic tonite.
i was reading bridgette's post, and was moved, but not just because of what she said...mommy made a comment about us being friends here, and you know what...i feel that way too.. sometimes, even though i have a wife who left the jw's with me, i feel so damn isolated and alone, that i'm the only strong one among a bunch of children, who all fight and tear at each other....this is one place i feel semi-normal again.. it's so hard to befriend people now.
i have so much trouble talking to people and interacting socially with people, although i've been told i'm agreeable to be around.. i don't know, i'm exhausted from thinking.
Hey Ash,
I'm glad you're on this board. I know what you mean about it being hard to befriend people after what you've been through in the Borg, but this board is a good place to *re-learn* making friends in a healthy environment as opposed to having friends that share a foundation of a cult mindset. There's a lot of diversity here, fun here, and love and caring. There are people on this board that have pulled stuff out of me I have never told anybody before. That has been a healing experience for me that's been profound. I like 'em and I trust them implicitely.
And I want a fellow film fanatic like myself here!
JerryTX/formerly megadude
"People handle their fear of change in different ways, but the fear is inescapable if we are in fact to change."
M. Scott Peck (The Road Less Traveled)
for all who have, are, or will be shunned (which should pretty much be all of us), do you still have a deep love for those who now shun you...now, not familial love, but an active love that yearns for that person's companionship?.
i have several regrets; one of them is the friends that i've lost.
how about you guys?.
Ash,
After years of waiting and calling and making an effort to maintain the relationships with JW family members, I gave up and quit. Previous to that I quit contacting them because I got tired of the pain of being rejected. But that didn't work *for me.* Then I started contacting them, got rejected, and decided to quit contacting them because I cared about taking care of me. That worked. Do I miss my mother and brother? Very much.
My brother dropped by my house last week to drop some things I had let him borrow a very long time ago. It was like old times. We bear hugged when we saw each other, we laughed, had some beers, told each other what we had been doing, talked about life, talked about our religion, trips we'd been on. He stayed until 1:30 in the morning.
Neither one of us wanted it to end. I miss him. And he misses me. He's trapped in a cult mindset. I am fortunate that I am not. And even though I may not see him for a very long time, if ever again, I'll miss him until the day I die. You only miss the people that you love.
"People handle their fear of change in different ways, but the fear is inescapable if we are in fact to change."
M. Scott Peck (The Road Less Traveled)
