I remember going on a hiking trip in the mountains with my family. There were warnings about bears and what to do if we encountered them. During the trip we stopped at a view of a mountain lake, my Mom (the witness parent) exclaimed that it was a loving Creator who cared for us so much that he provided all this beauty for our pleasure. Just think if he had made everything in black and white." I asked "But what about the bears....why would he make bears that want to eat us ? This was followed by a review of how the animals weren't always this way, but God had put the fear of man into them and in the new system they would eat grass etc. I wondered what the Bear claws and large fangs were for if not for killing. But I didn't want the discussion to go on forever.
exwhyzee
JoinedPosts by exwhyzee
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32
Silly things I wondered as a kid
by exwhyzee inif god is like a loving father why did he set up a way for adam and eve to possibly fail by putting the "magic tree" in the garden?
if my dad sabotaged his kids this way or felt the need to test our love him he'd be considered an abusive father.. when god put an angel with a spinning sword in front of the entrance to the garden why didn't a&e walk a few miles down from there and climb over the wall ?
was there a wall ?.
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32
Silly things I wondered as a kid
by exwhyzee inif god is like a loving father why did he set up a way for adam and eve to possibly fail by putting the "magic tree" in the garden?
if my dad sabotaged his kids this way or felt the need to test our love him he'd be considered an abusive father.. when god put an angel with a spinning sword in front of the entrance to the garden why didn't a&e walk a few miles down from there and climb over the wall ?
was there a wall ?.
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exwhyzee
I used to wear my Mom out while studying the Paradise Book.
If celebrating halloween is demonic, how come none of the families on our block are demonized?
John the Baptist's head was served up on a platter at a birthday party....does that mean we shouldn't celebrate birthdays or just not use platters?
If people are going to die at Armageddon if they don't listen to our message at the door, wouldn't it be better not to tell them about it ?
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32
Silly things I wondered as a kid
by exwhyzee inif god is like a loving father why did he set up a way for adam and eve to possibly fail by putting the "magic tree" in the garden?
if my dad sabotaged his kids this way or felt the need to test our love him he'd be considered an abusive father.. when god put an angel with a spinning sword in front of the entrance to the garden why didn't a&e walk a few miles down from there and climb over the wall ?
was there a wall ?.
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exwhyzee
How did Noah round up a Polar Bear, a Wallabee, a Platipus, a Penguin, a Kangaroo, an elk, a Hippo etc., from where he lived and get them into the Ark in time? Were alligators and other reptiles on the Ark since they need to be on land to lay their eggs?
If I were to "give in" or fail while having my faith tested under torture during the tribulation, why would I be destroyed at Armegeddon and loose out on everlasting life which is the same punishment the person torturing me would get ?
If the only way mankind could be saved was for Jesus to sacrafice or exchange his perfect life for the one Adam lost, why was it such a shock when they killed him. If they wouldn't have killed him, what would have happened?
If I do get everlasting life and live for eternity, in 30 million years from now will I still think it would be fun to go to the Bahamas ? Will it be a big deal to be a concert pianist if everyone else is too?
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32
Silly things I wondered as a kid
by exwhyzee inif god is like a loving father why did he set up a way for adam and eve to possibly fail by putting the "magic tree" in the garden?
if my dad sabotaged his kids this way or felt the need to test our love him he'd be considered an abusive father.. when god put an angel with a spinning sword in front of the entrance to the garden why didn't a&e walk a few miles down from there and climb over the wall ?
was there a wall ?.
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exwhyzee
If God is like a loving father why did he set up a way for Adam and Eve to possibly fail by putting the "magic tree" in the garden? If my Dad sabotaged his kids this way or felt the need to test our love him he'd be considered an abusive father.
When God put an angel with a spinning sword in front of the entrance to the garden why didn't A&E walk a few miles down from there and climb over the wall ? Was there a wall ?
If someone as powerful and complex as God has always existed...no begining no end, no parents no siblings etc. Why is it so hard for Christians to accept the possibility that the earth and the planets always existed as well.
If the PH levels change in my Salt Water Aquarium, even the slightest bit, the fish die. What happened to all the fish that depended on strictly fresh water or strictly salt water when the rains came and flooded the earth in Noahs day.
Did all the worms and varieties of inscets that the earths eco systems depend upon live in drown under tons of water in the flood or did Noah have all of them on board too and if so how did they reproduce fast enough to get things going again in time for Noah to plant a garden.
Where did the waters of the flood subside to if the whole earth was covered with water?
Is there enough water in the atmosphere to flood the earth deep enough to cover of Mt. Ararat
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211
Ray Franz has had a stroke
by coffee_black injust setting the record straight.
there is another thread that notes a claim on wiki that said that ray has died.. he had a stroke yesterday, and is in the hospital.
he is still alive.
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exwhyzee
Wow...I was just thinking about the eventuality of losing him. He was my Entrant's School Instructor at Bethel and I knew then that something was bothering him. I just got his book from Amazon.com and am a couple of chapters into it and am finding it very helpful in comfirming the suspicions I've had all along.
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37
Why do you visit this site?
by exwhyzee inif being one of jw's is truly behind you, why do you visit this site years later to discuss the subject ?
i know why i do but am curious why others do and how long it will continue.
when will enough be enough?.
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exwhyzee
I'm so glad I asked the question...such great answers !
Incognito...you nailed it, you said what I couldn't.
Mrs Jones...you're absolutely right !
Kristina72...I was that little boy like your husband, who had his head implanted with beliefs and fears that are hard to let go of. He's lucky to have a wife who is so insightful.
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37
Why do you visit this site?
by exwhyzee inif being one of jw's is truly behind you, why do you visit this site years later to discuss the subject ?
i know why i do but am curious why others do and how long it will continue.
when will enough be enough?.
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exwhyzee
Thanks everyone...great and varied comments (as usual) that reflect what I too feel but often can't formulate into words as well. I especially liked "Not A Captives" comments.
In the past former Witnesses had to resort to marching around with picket signs outside of assembliy grounds to have a voice or resolve the anger the felt for being mislead. Not knowing what they were going through...it was easy for most active JW to dismiss them as being unbalanced or it confirmed to how far off balance someone can get when they dare to leave the orginization. It was easy to call them names like Apostates.
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37
Why do you visit this site?
by exwhyzee inif being one of jw's is truly behind you, why do you visit this site years later to discuss the subject ?
i know why i do but am curious why others do and how long it will continue.
when will enough be enough?.
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exwhyzee
If being one of JW's is truly behind you, why do you visit this site years later to discuss the subject ? I know why I do but am curious why others do and how long it will continue. When will enough be enough?
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The assembly mating game
by mutinyinheaven ini haven't been on the board for a while, but i thought you'd dig this.. it was taped last week at a reading from my novel.
the first part is about the hot girls at assemblies and how we'd sit through doom and gloom talks.
part 2 is a scene where gabe is found out for having a girlfriend.. http://vimeo.com/12066637.
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exwhyzee
Well that video sure backfired ! To me the guy comes off as a smug, calculating, psuedo intellectual sleeze ball looser and as the wolf among lambs they were always warning us about. As over the top as they are about things, JW's are better off with this guy out from among them....I suddenly see the value in disfellowshipping and keeping ones loved ones far away from this sorry excuse for a man.
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24
How did you dispose of all those excess magazines?
by chicken little inwe were always told not to throw away literature, so just what did we do with it all?
i know that i would sneak it into the bin for recycling quite regularly.
my parents kept all the magazines for over 20 years in ritz boxes in a cupboard, they all went yellow and smelt wierd.
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exwhyzee
Such a good question C.L. !
I was always felt almost supersticious about throwing them away almost as if it was sinful. I was raised in the 75 era when everyone was hunkering down for a great tribulation that never materialized. One sister came up with the idea of sealing "back issues" (theres a Witness phrase I'd forgotten about) into plastic dish soap bottles and burying them in her back yard so they could be dug up later and distributed when the work was banned.I remember as a young adult going to a garage sale and seeing an Aid Book for sale and it still had the name of an elderly sister that had gone to my hall when I was a kid, written on the cover. I was shocked...It crossed my mind to buy it just to rescue it from it's disgrace.
It seemed like every month we'd have quite a few magazines left over, especially toward the end when we were still picking up the magazines but not going in service anymore. Canceling the subscription would mean that we were done for good and I guess on some level we hadn't come to grips with that. Finally I gathered them all up and tossed them into the huge recycling bin we have. I knew I had made progress because it barely phased me to do this.
A about 4 months ago a well meaning old friend of mine and the visiting CO stopped by unannounced (first and last time anyone contacted me in the 2+ years it's been sincemy last meeting) .The bookcase in my entry hall was conspicuously devoid of any colorful little books. They asked if I would like the latest magazines or newest publications. I politely decliclined but you could have cut the tension in the air with a knife. Haven't heard a thing from anyone since. Our leaving was a bigger deal to me than it needed to be, the brotherhood was a one sided illusion that I had bought into.