judah schroeder?
today i uploaded a new article to my blog providing the latest information about judah schroeder, former bethelite and son of governing body member albert schroeder (deceased).
judah schroeder grew up at bethel.
I had forgotten all about him....he seemed pretty nice but definetly had a privileged only child....I'm kinda special air about him as I remember. He seemed like he had free run of the place...It was kinda like a kid who's daddy owned a candy shop and the other kids were a little in awe of him.
I wonder how he afforded to live in New York, work and go to Law School? I knew someone who was sent to learn law by the Society....maybe that's how he got started.
fair enough?
or mis-guided vanity?.
great-grandmother gets secret boob job.
Here's her photo....or is that Sissy Spacek ? Anywaaay.....very attractive and quite natural looking LOL !
governing body samuel herd 1979. .
today i uploaded a new article addressing a portrayal compared with a reality.
it involves a now sitting member of watchtowers governing body by the name of samuel herd.
There must have been a few eyebrows raised when the C.O and his wife came tooling into the Hall parking lot with a new luxury car. Although I must admit, people do give more credibility to someone taking the lead who looks the part...prestigious cars and clothing make unlettered and ordinary men, look the part of one who knows what they are doing. It makes it easier to assign them more honor than perhaps they deserve. I'm sure not a word was said about it. Even when I was a Bethelite, walking in the cold and rain with the masses, we'd often see the higher up's pulling out of the Bethel garage in black Towne cars as we headed to the meetings in dangerous areas on the subway.
today, cedars had a really good post on a questions from readers article in which the watchtower instructs jws to consult the watchtower library index when they have questions on personal matters.
the watchtower article explained that the branch cannot answer all personal inquiries that come into their offices.
this post got me thinking about an area that i gave a lot of thought to prior to; and after leaving the organization.
When the International Bible Students first began publishing their little Journals back in the late 1800's, their readers wrote in asking them Bble questions. Some have even said that in the beginning (and now) they pose their own questions on behalf of fictitious readers. In that simpler time peroid when people were inclinded to trust what they read and assume much about those who appeared to be in the know, they were viewed as authorities on God and even came to view themselves this way as well. They were no longer just harmless well meaning Bible Students who were learning along with their readers, they were faceless learned men of God living in a big far away city. Their readers assigned them much more credibility than they perhaps deserved. After a time they were looked upon and obligated to direct and make judgement calls on matters that they weren't qualified to make. Rather than being studens or teachers, they intervened in the individuals relationship with their Creator, developing a list of rules and standards for worshiping God, down to the color of shirts that were to be worn on the platform. They even came to be enforcers of these rules. Anyone who disagreed with them was not a thinking person nor was he sheeplike. Once they convinced their followers that they knew what was best for them, silenced them into submission and enough childeren were raised this way, the whole thing snowballed into an actual religion. Rather than it's success and continued existence being because it is the true religion, it is operating by sheer momentum and has taken on a life of it's own. As long as there are people who enjoy the feeling of security that comes from having answers, right or wrong, and this need outweighs their ability to reason for themselves, there will continue to be a market for their service.
Since it would take the sacrafice of a perfect life to buy back the life Adam and Eve lost for us. Whether or not all repented and accepted Jesus when he was on earth, he'd have had to die as a sacrafice in order to fulfill the bargain.
posted at 02:00 pm et, 08/26/2011 diamond planet discovered by astronomersby elizabeth flock .
(swinburne university) a diamond-crystal planet five times the size of earth and with more mass than jupiter has been.
discovered in our own milky way galaxy.. an international team of astronomers led by swinburne university of technology in australia spotted the exotic planet racing.
They found out yesterday that the planet is really only Cubic Zirconia.
i truly hope you don't get trite, cliche, anecdotal, or sarcastic, but share with us what you really believe/feel/think.
i will start: for me, i define "success" as peace of mind.
mine.
Sizemik's story make me want to be that successful too.
It seems there were those in the Bible who prayed in such a way. Throw your burdens on Jehovah...he himself will you sustain. I wouldn't think an understanding God like this would view it as wrong to pray for death when he knows you are praying for relief rather than out of a lack of appreciation for life. Everyone who is alive has wondered how it would be to be the "other way". It's nearly impossible to see our way around our problems if we look for a solution when we are (H.A.L.T.) Hungry, Angry, Lonley or Tired. Often one prays at the end of a hard day or when all other resocuces seem to be exhausted. If you pray for death because you feel God can bring it about for you, why not pray for something really good like greater coping skills or for him to lead you to a solution to your problems. How many of us can remember what we were worrying about at this time last year. Death is a permenant solution to a problem that may only be temporary.
Is it wrong to pray to die? I don't think it's wrong to pray about anything on your mind. Part of the value in prayer isn't in the answer but in the relief that comes in having formulated our thoughts/worries into sentences rather than their being diffused random thoughts, draining us of energy and hope. Speaking to another trusted individual or even writing them out on paper is a great way to ease their urgency.
i truly hope you don't get trite, cliche, anecdotal, or sarcastic, but share with us what you really believe/feel/think.
i will start: for me, i define "success" as peace of mind.
mine.
Success to me isn't something one arrives at, like one arrives at a bus stop. Rather it's in finding a measure of contentment, no matter what direction ones life has currently taken.
after being on this forum for a long time, i am starting to realize that the obsession devoted to and surrounding leaving the organization is just as strong, if not stronger, than the obsession for the wts as a current jw.
its like a tiny bug eating and crunching away at the inner ear.
is this healthy?
I know what you are saying Sinis...have thought the same thing myself many times.
Being a JW was a way of life that most of us were thoroughly immersed in. We lived, breathed, ate, slept adn banked our entire future on "THE TRUTH" for a huge part of or existence on this earth. For better or worse, it will always be a part of us and will be a subject that we will be experts on. Visiting here makes that part of our life history at least count for something and makes the wasted years more bearable.
People continue to attend class reunions many decades after having spent only a few short years in high school. The desire to make sense of and honor ones personal history is a common thread we all have.
