not a captive

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Posts by not a captive

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  12

  "Christ or E.T.?" and other dumb WT crap

  by JimmyPage in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i was a kid in the 80s i remember the wt actually warning people about going to see "e.t.

  " apparently this little alien's healing powers were a real threat to true christians, causing them to forget what jesus did back in the day.

  i also remember the wt dissing "star trek 2" because of the little creature that khan inserted into the ear of chekhov.

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  not a captive

  Hey Neighbor,

  My older sons are about your age, if you were growing up in the 80s. My husband was almost violently opposed to the intrusion of the WT into our family via myself being a JW. I really HATE the results of their Gestopo/KGB interference with our activities.

  The way the WT pre-empted on our natural ability to think and reason could have long term damage in this way:

  You may have a reasonable objection to a film--but the kids and the husband knew that the elders did smack downs on JWs who stepped out of line on these things. So they always were suspicious of your real concern when it came down to it.

  I remember my boys dodging off to a neighbor who lived down a long country road. They watched a bunch off truly rotten stuff there. I had no say in their donkey parties. Zero credibility.

  My oldest boy is 30 now. We were talking about the value of giving kids a healthy "base line" for a reasonably happy life. How hard that is to do.I told him that I was relieved that all seven of the kids were past 18 now. No one wants a horror to occur for anybody, any time. But should something bad happen to you,having had a relatively sound childhood can help you come to peace more surely than if your childhood baseline was messed with.

  He told me that at a recent party he and his brothers and a bunch of old friends were talking about stuff they had watched that really messed with their head. There was some. He said they talked about it.

  what really makes me angry about the censorship as the JWs do it is the way they may think it supports family life. Sure it is good to helpthe kids avoid violently degrading images and even more nuanced and arty rotten stuff. But their blanket domination of family choice is wrong, WRONG, WRONG!

  It diminishes your strength. It makes everyone --myself too--doubt your real thought process.

  I had less say in my boys upbringing than I would have had as a Non-JW.

  Maeve
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  127

  DO you follow any of these quacks, charlatans, liars, mystics or self-promoters?

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  don't try to lie about it.

  you accept some of these people as an authority.

  you listen to them.

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  not a captive

  Burns,

  Thnk you for that post. I don't know why it makes me cry.
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  21

  Is having "Faith" believing in something without proof? Definitions?

  by Witness 007 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  yes have faith in god brothers!

  he will answer your prayers......if it's "his will.

  " you need to have "faith" that he is there watching over us...even if it seems like he isn't.

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  not a captive

  MadJ,

  Don't you know that you yourself read the Bible through your own lens of Faith? Surely of Jehovah's Witnesses you know that you are not strictly compliant with their rules. Neither was I. What is the difference? I couldn't pretend in the end that the WTS had the "proofs" for my faith. They obviously do not hold the proofs for yours or else you would scrupulously observe all they demand. Outward compliance was demanded of me. But the heart is for God. If we do otherwise then we really are hypocrites. Why if you don't go along with them do you pretend that they are all they say? They do not brook your kind of disobedience--They did not tolerate mine.

  I do not rely only on science for my faith. And anymore I am leary of being caught in the endless doctrine wars that, under the appearance of learning , never really allow any to come to an understanding.

  No one is any the better off having a religion tell them what to "believe". How long do their members get to believe one thing before they have to get some different, new understanding? This is nonsense. You are as well to learn without the burden of having to accept a priory whatever you are told regardless of whether it measures us with your understanding or not.

  MadJ, you have some things that you believe apart from the WTS. You obviously do not obey the WTS protocols on mixing and talking to apostates.(I'm glad you do talk to us, but that's beside the point). But why are you not seeing that there is a deeper faith we must have with God and one less constrained by other human's doctrines? You had the sense to leave the RC Church, but you do not follow the rules of the one you are in.

  No offense intended, Just observing
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  93

  The Bible, Why not Reliable?

  by sayitsnotso in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  okay here is my thread to discuss this.

  i believe the bible is inspired by god and reliable.

  many argue it's neither.

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  not a captive

  The Blind men and the Elephant

  Some blind men have the opportunity to examine a large beast called an elephant.

  Touching the elephant's side the first says " It is like a wall" and he laughs.

  Touching its tail the second one says "O, no, but it is like a rope" and he laughs.

  Touching it leg the third says" It is a tree!" Every one of them is laughing and laughing.

  Finally the last one grabs its trunk . "But no, it is a great big snake" He is laughing so hard his jaws hurt.

  But he stops when he feels a moist puff of air into his face.He is aware quite suddenly that he doesn't know what is so funny.

  So he asks the others:"Why do we laugh at this creature?" So now they laughed at him!

  "Of course we should laugh--Because obviously there is no creature here at all."

  The last man says in surprise, "How can that be? Haven't we each touched a part of him"

  "Foolish one, of course there is nothing here! Such a creature with such various parts cannot possibly exist."

  But the fourth man persists " But we are blind and cannot see it altogether!"

  "Precisely so." The others answer.

  So the three walked away laughing at the one blind man who was so foolish as to think an elephant might actually exist.
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  33

  I am thinking about converting the laundry room to something else.

  by asilentone in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was thinking about having the washer and dryer downstairs in the basement.

  i would like to know what should i convert laundry room to ?????.

  it is not going to be the bathroom, any ideas, suggestions.

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  not a captive

  Try not to use those hot button phrases:"I'm thinking about converting......
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  127

  LOVE your ENEMIES: where Jesus goes wrong

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  matthew 5:44 "but i say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,.

  luke 6:35 "but love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.

  the most radical teaching attributed to jesus has implications if followed.. an invading hoarde of mongols would not be resisted.. a christian husband would not only allow his wife and daughters to be raped; he would be compelled to forgive the rapist, pray for him and offer.

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  not a captive

  Terry, I chained and eventually destroyed a dog that bit. I felt sad for the dog as she sort of had a screw loose from the time she was a puppy.We learned that she would bite. She bit a child in the face who had done no more than seek her out and try to pet her where we had chained her in advance of the visit. No one had a grudge against the dog. But she had become a danger too great to manage.

  I know a young woman who got into drugs and had a baby girl. She later met her "soulmate" when she was detoxing at a drug rehabilitation facility. They married and they had a little boy together. But there was something wrong between the father and step-daughter. He himself in shame confessed his inability to resist abusing the girl. It meant prison for him--which he embraced regardless of whatever forgiveness may have gone out to him. He had conscience enough to hate what he had done and could not stop doing.

  My point? What we call forgiveness does not include the liberty to continue to harm others.
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  11

  I feel like laughing

  by mrsjones5 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  to put a smile on your face:.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxuulgklu4i&feature=related.

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  not a captive

  I hope those happy people keep on like they are---Just laughing together now and then. It IS good for the soul.
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  40

  How Often Do You Check To See If You've Got Mail Here?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i find that i check 2 or 3 times a week and generally have no jwn mail..

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  not a captive

  I don't think I know how to check--I figured if I ever got one someone would clue me like I've seen them do for others.
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  43

  Was There Anything You Liked About Being A Jehovah's Witness???

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  anything at all???

  ?.

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  not a captive

  Refreshing to hear your recollections, mentallyfree. This is a complex subject for me too. But I was raised an Army brat around WWII and Korean War veterans. Vietnam picked up the pieces that some of these men had left over.

  The dips and turns, the contradiction and confusion of esprit de corps among any organization where they march to one drum in carnal OR spiritual war can make it had to separate what was good and what was not.

  There was great comeraderie--------------but death to the enemy.

  Men's self-sacrificing loyalty staggers the imagination------------even if they were given bad orders by incompetent leaders.

  Men risked and gave their lives for their brothers-in-arms ---------------but the the military itself practiced triage.

  These guys were funny, strong, resourceful, smart, and in the prime of their lives--What an image in certain frames of the camera. But if ever they questioned what was up with the war they were fighting----The firing squad.

  I won't stretch the analogy too far here. I'm not writing an anti-war treatise. It is just that some guys couldn't separate the good things that human beings just do from the bad purpose that they may be serving. One that in the end will not even grant them their own conscience.

  So there were for me those moments, too. And now I am the enemy.
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  53

  How Many Crazy People Are On This Here Forum?

  by snowbird in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  *raises hand*.

  syl.

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  not a captive

  I didn't see the Shameful Prime Ape anywhere around.

  What makes him so high and mighty?