Posts by Nickolas

In the dream I tried to reason why I had it (as indeed I had done in the flesh) but the Lord told me clearly "it is corrupting the bread" which it indeed was.

Are you saying God talks to you, Stephen?

121

Broken Heart...

by brotherdan in

jw
friends

some of you have read what i wrote on this thread: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/200211/1/never-wake-up.

here's the final email my wife just sent me 1 minute ago:.

[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:trackmoves /> <w:trackformatting /> <w:punctuationkerning /> <w:validateagainstschemas /> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:saveifxmlinvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:ignoremixedcontent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext> <w:donotpromoteqf /> <w:lidthemeother>en-us</w:lidthemeother> <w:lidthemeasian>x-none</w:lidthemeasian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>x-none</w:lidthemecomplexscript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> <w:dontgrowautofit /> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark /> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp /> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables /> <w:dontvertalignintxbx /> <w:word11kerningpairs /> <w:cachedcolbalance /> </w:compatibility> <w:browserlevel>microsoftinternetexplorer4</w:browserlevel> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont m:val="cambria math" /> <m:brkbin m:val="before" /> <m:brkbinsub m:val="--" /> <m:smallfrac m:val="off" /> <m:dispdef /> <m:lmargin m:val="0" /> <m:rmargin m:val="0" /> <m:defjc m:val="centergroup" /> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440" /> <m:intlim m:val="subsup" /> <m:narylim m:val="undovr" /> </m:mathpr></w:worddocument> </xml><!

Nickolas

Nope. Hubby isn't in the religion; he's pretty much agnostic or even atheist, like me, but we fight like cats and dogs anyway...

Bullseye.

Abortion

by Nickolas in

jw
friends

hot topic in here, no doubt.. i've just finished watching richard dawkins' excellent bbc documentary "root of all evil" and thought i'd post a caveat on behalf of atheists like myself.

it was an excellent documentary in almost all respects, but not all atheists are pro abortion, at least not absolutely pro-abortion-no-holds-barred as mr. dawkins appears to be in the film.

mr. dawkins closing lines of the two-part documentary are as follows:.

Nickolas

Hot topic in here, no doubt.

I've just finished watching Richard Dawkins' excellent BBC documentary "Root of all Evil" and thought I'd post a caveat on behalf of atheists like myself. It was an excellent documentary in almost all respects, but not all atheists are pro abortion, at least not absolutely pro-abortion-no-holds-barred as Mr. Dawkins appears to be in the film. Mr. Dawkins closing lines of the two-part documentary are as follows:

"We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The number of people who could be here in my place outnumber the sand grains of Sahara. If you think of all the different ways your genes could be permuted, you and I are quite grotesquesly lucky to be here. The number of events that had to happen in order for you to exist, in order for me to exist, we are priviledged to be alive and we should make the most of our time on this world."

Draw your own conclusions.

42

Consequences of speaking out

by Nickolas in

jw
friends

i've been married to the same wonderful woman for 37 years.

she's been a jehovah's witness for 33 of those years, i am not.

i studied with the wbts for a couple of years beginning late 1974 before deciding it wasn't for me.

Nickolas

if you have witnesses to dinner or social gatherings, they are your guests and must respect your home and your hospitality in having them over. that includes being willing to listen to diverse viewpoints.

I have always thought that if I started a conversation about, say, how evolution through natural selection presents a much better explanation for life on earth, and then prevailed at least logically in the argument, that I might become someone to be avoided by adherents of the WTBTS, maybe even labelled a spritual danger to my wife. Then the fun would start. It would be great if I could actually get into an intellegent, unemotional conversation about the scientific accuracy of carbon dating and the theory of atomic decay, the ever-expanding genome evidence for evolution, Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, Sodom & Gomorrah, the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 BCE, the 1919 appointment of the WTBTS as god's organisation, Russel and Rutherford's histories and a hundred other subjects that I have thought are taboo for Jehovah's Witnesses to dissect, even amongst themselves. Having been closely associated with Jehovah's Witnesses for over three decades I have come to believe they are exceptionally stong minded, willful, unified and right. I don't know if I'm right, here, but being candid and forthright with members of this organization is certainly one of my larger concerns.

121

Broken Heart...

by brotherdan in

jw
friends

some of you have read what i wrote on this thread: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/200211/1/never-wake-up.

here's the final email my wife just sent me 1 minute ago:.

[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:trackmoves /> <w:trackformatting /> <w:punctuationkerning /> <w:validateagainstschemas /> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:saveifxmlinvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:ignoremixedcontent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext> <w:donotpromoteqf /> <w:lidthemeother>en-us</w:lidthemeother> <w:lidthemeasian>x-none</w:lidthemeasian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>x-none</w:lidthemecomplexscript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> <w:dontgrowautofit /> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark /> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp /> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables /> <w:dontvertalignintxbx /> <w:word11kerningpairs /> <w:cachedcolbalance /> </w:compatibility> <w:browserlevel>microsoftinternetexplorer4</w:browserlevel> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont m:val="cambria math" /> <m:brkbin m:val="before" /> <m:brkbinsub m:val="--" /> <m:smallfrac m:val="off" /> <m:dispdef /> <m:lmargin m:val="0" /> <m:rmargin m:val="0" /> <m:defjc m:val="centergroup" /> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440" /> <m:intlim m:val="subsup" /> <m:narylim m:val="undovr" /> </m:mathpr></w:worddocument> </xml><!

Nickolas

Thanks to leavingwt for directing me to this thread. Reading through all the posts has provided some insights into my own situation and has also provided some ... comfort, I guess is the word ... that there are many people out ther who have gone through versions of this difficult issue. I was wondering if there might be some kind of support group for JW/non-JW marriages. Looks like this might be it.

BrotherDan, I've been married to the same wonderful woman for 37 years. She's been a Jehovah's Witness for the last 33. We've had some rough times and I came close to splitting us up once. I am very thankful I did not. I would very much like my wife to see the WTBTS for what it really is and fade out of the organization but recognize that it is a difficult proposition because her entire social network is built around it. Also because I've done such a lousy job of dealing with it in the past. I'm looking for a better way to break through. It is why I joined this board.

I'm rambling. I've never been a JW so my situation is different from yours. However, I have gone from being a Christian when we first met and got married, to a Watchtower bible student, to a non-believer in WT doctrine, to an agnostic and, fairly recently, to one who has lost his faith entirely. It was frightening at first but now I can honestly say I have never felt more at peace with myself. I'm not proposing the same path for you or my wife, I'd be delighted if she reverted to Anglicanism, but I am laying it out to illustrate that two people with polarized perspectives can stay married and raise children who will make up their own minds when they are old enough, as our three have done. The key is love and respect. If you love her and she loves you, and you are able to give one another some space, then it is possible. I have never put up with bullshit from elders or anyone else from the Society, at the same time have not tried to keep my wife from the meetings or going out on service. I have never liked that the WTBTS has been the third person in our marriage but I have also never abandoned hope that I might one day exorcize it. Even after 33 years. Don't lose hope.

42

Consequences of speaking out

by Nickolas in

jw
friends

i've been married to the same wonderful woman for 37 years.

she's been a jehovah's witness for 33 of those years, i am not.

i studied with the wbts for a couple of years beginning late 1974 before deciding it wasn't for me.

Nickolas

Nickolas:

Please read this thread:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/200293/1/Broken-Heart

I tried the link, leavingwt, but the first page is frozen. I get the drift, however. Thanks

4

Headship - question for an elder, former or otherwise

by Nickolas in

i will preface this question by stating that i do not subscribe, nor ever have subscribed, to the misogynist beliefs in the bible.

women are not subordinate to men.

period.. scenario: a woman who is married decides that she wants to become a baptised jehovah's witness.

Nickolas

Depressing answers, but thanks.

4

Headship - question for an elder, former or otherwise

by Nickolas in

i will preface this question by stating that i do not subscribe, nor ever have subscribed, to the misogynist beliefs in the bible.

women are not subordinate to men.

period.. scenario: a woman who is married decides that she wants to become a baptised jehovah's witness.

Nickolas

I will preface this question by stating that I do not subscribe, nor ever have subscribed, to the misogynist beliefs in the bible. Women are not subordinate to men. Period.

Scenario: A woman who is married decides that she wants to become a baptised Jehovah's Witness. Her husband says no. She says no more but goes ahead and gets baptised anyway without her husband's knowledge. Is her action contrary to her husband's headship? Is this ok according to Watchtower doctrine and practice?