are you prepared to apologise even when it is not you fault?.
.
uun .
She: There is a God and His Name is Jehovah
He: Nope.
She: Yes!
He: Nope.
She: Yes!
He: (stalemate)
A man with a dozen wives is called a king, a woman with a
a dozen men is called a slut.
Freud said the only question he could never answer is "What does a woman want?", but the answer is manifest. (Another half hour).
are you prepared to apologise even when it is not you fault?.
.
uun .
I could never figure out why it was only ok for men to have a dozen wives when the other way around makes more sense. Wierd.
with cedars release of leaked watchtower new light "adjusting" understanding of "who" the faithful and discreet slave is.....i am struck by something which similarly struck me back in 1967.in 1967 i had just been imprisoned.
being a male jehovah's witness during the viet nam war meant certain "issues" arose affecting a decision to respond to the military draft.i have told the story before.
but, i'd like go at it from another angle in view of the above mentioned new light about the fds fora different reason.it was first in 1967 i began to discover that there are two watchtower societies.let me explain why i say this and for what reasons.first of all, anybody standing in a kingdom hall or sitting in a seat at a vast international assembly saw people they would identify as all on the same page.
I understand, Terry. I am not as generous sharing my background story as you are. There are things that happened to me many years ago that when brought to mind probably have the potential to curl me into the fetal position in a dark room if I allowed them to. But I don't let them and, I admit, I don't talk about them either, not even to my closest friends. PTSD may be an appropriate diagnosis. If taken to extremes it brings to mind the wartime experiences of my father and father-in-law, in particular the latter. He left divinity school - he had intended to follow in the footsteps of his father - and enlisted in the Canadian army not long after the outbreak of the second war in Europe. He spoke on occasion of his experience while stationed in England ahead of being deployed to the continent but he never, ever, spoke about what happened to him while serving in Italy, Belgium, Holland and Germany before the end of hostilities. Not even his family knows, only that he was there. It's as if there is a three year hole in his life. He also never spoke to me about God and religion. Never. Not once. Not even when I was actively studying to become a Jehovah's Witness. In fact, I never heard him address the subject of faith to anyone. Rather remarkable for a man who was going to become a Baptist minister. It's apparent something terrible happened to his psyche, probably many things. He was regardless a man who loved life, was generally happy in it and was exceedingly kind and generous toward others. I may be extrapolating but I believe had he not found a way to set aside his wartime experiences and move on, his life and the lives of those he cared about would have been much different. Certainly not better. I think, though acknowledging my line of thinking may be facile, a parallel can be drawn with people like you who bear the scars of their association with the Watchtower. While I would not advocate bottling up indelible memories I would advocate finding a way to isolate them so they no longer cause you pain. Not easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is.
with cedars release of leaked watchtower new light "adjusting" understanding of "who" the faithful and discreet slave is.....i am struck by something which similarly struck me back in 1967.in 1967 i had just been imprisoned.
being a male jehovah's witness during the viet nam war meant certain "issues" arose affecting a decision to respond to the military draft.i have told the story before.
but, i'd like go at it from another angle in view of the above mentioned new light about the fds fora different reason.it was first in 1967 i began to discover that there are two watchtower societies.let me explain why i say this and for what reasons.first of all, anybody standing in a kingdom hall or sitting in a seat at a vast international assembly saw people they would identify as all on the same page.
Nickolas, Terry may have made a factual statement regarding the WT leaders. I have never been hurt by the WT since I have never been a JW, and yet I agree with Terry's description of the WT. It seems that you are inferring more than what the statement describes.
(Pardon me, Terry, while I answer this.) Terry's OP is interesting and insightful. I infer nothing from it beyond what he said and do not disagree with it. I am familiar with Terry's story because I have read his account of it many times in different threads he has initiated over the years, often like this one drawing new insights. As a consequence the degree to which I am emotionally moved by the background story is muted, even if the new insights are intriguing. That doesn't mean I discount his pain. It is real, and still swirling around his head after decades of estrangement from the Society that caused it. My observation is peripheral. It is that he and many others spending so much of their lives in this forum have been victimised by the Watchtower but can't bring themselves to escape its continued negative impact on their lives. They however genuinely want to help others cope with their pain. From my own experience you will be much more effective reaching out to help others heal their wounds if you have succeeded in healing your own. It is otherwise a game of Ain't It Awful, and nobody heals. (Ref. "Games People Play", Eric Berne (1964))
with cedars release of leaked watchtower new light "adjusting" understanding of "who" the faithful and discreet slave is.....i am struck by something which similarly struck me back in 1967.in 1967 i had just been imprisoned.
being a male jehovah's witness during the viet nam war meant certain "issues" arose affecting a decision to respond to the military draft.i have told the story before.
but, i'd like go at it from another angle in view of the above mentioned new light about the fds fora different reason.it was first in 1967 i began to discover that there are two watchtower societies.let me explain why i say this and for what reasons.first of all, anybody standing in a kingdom hall or sitting in a seat at a vast international assembly saw people they would identify as all on the same page.
No, not confused, Terry, and I expect nothing beyond an exchange of perspectives. Playing the same wretched scenes over and over again in one's head only perpetuates them. Happiness for oneself and those he loves is the only truly worthwhile objective of life. Victimology and happiness are antithetical. If you want to be happy there are things in life you will have to let go of.
with cedars release of leaked watchtower new light "adjusting" understanding of "who" the faithful and discreet slave is.....i am struck by something which similarly struck me back in 1967.in 1967 i had just been imprisoned.
being a male jehovah's witness during the viet nam war meant certain "issues" arose affecting a decision to respond to the military draft.i have told the story before.
but, i'd like go at it from another angle in view of the above mentioned new light about the fds fora different reason.it was first in 1967 i began to discover that there are two watchtower societies.let me explain why i say this and for what reasons.first of all, anybody standing in a kingdom hall or sitting in a seat at a vast international assembly saw people they would identify as all on the same page.
They are malevolent, devious, intellectually dishonest manipulators hellbent on deflection and domination at whatever means is necessary.
It appears they've succeeded. For more than half a century they've maintained a dominant influence on your state of mind.
with cedars release of leaked watchtower new light "adjusting" understanding of "who" the faithful and discreet slave is.....i am struck by something which similarly struck me back in 1967.in 1967 i had just been imprisoned.
being a male jehovah's witness during the viet nam war meant certain "issues" arose affecting a decision to respond to the military draft.i have told the story before.
but, i'd like go at it from another angle in view of the above mentioned new light about the fds fora different reason.it was first in 1967 i began to discover that there are two watchtower societies.let me explain why i say this and for what reasons.first of all, anybody standing in a kingdom hall or sitting in a seat at a vast international assembly saw people they would identify as all on the same page.
A thoughtful and insightful post, Terry.
An enduring impression, gently proffered, is many people, like you, have been left so deeply scarred by their Watchtower experience they are unable to turn their backs on it and walk away. Truly walk away and put it behind them. It seems they and you haven't actually cast off the Watchtower but remain captive to it. How else to interpret your consistent, impassioned treatises, your 14-and-a-half thousand posts - many of them long and carefully structured like the one above - on what is arguably a single, dominant subject? This is only my perspective, of course, and again not confined to you alone. Like many in here the Watchtower not only looms large in your psyche it is your single greatest waking preoccupation. And it is not as if that preoccupation brings peace of mind and happiness. It instead fuels your rage and resentment over what it did to you, what it cost you, what it took away. Its poison burns you still. It consumed your youth and continues to consume much of what is left of your life. One might argue there are not two groups but three, the third being those who have left the Watchtower but who continue to live in its shadow. What will it take for you to be truly free, or is that even possible?
isn't this guy like the greatest anti-hero of all time?.
as the series wears on it is getting more and more difficult to sympathise with the guy.
but i must admit i stuck with him pretty far.
Easily one of the greatest television productions of all time. But I've never rooted for Mr. White. Not from the beginning. He's a pathetic, sociopathic pedant who is hopelessly in love with his wonderful, first class brain. I am very much looking forward to the end of the series if it means seeing him humiliated then squashed like the cockroach he is.
I'm lukewarm about the Sopranos ending after having invested something like 88 episodes. Best so far was the ending for Six Feet Under.
i have a new poll at jwfacts.mobi/pollsarchive/ as i am very interested to see what people have moved on to believe.
as this is considered sensitive by some, you can answer anonymously at the jwfacts.mobi/pollsarchive/, or answer on this thread.
this is what i have created in the list, but feel free to add comments, corrections, or options i have missed.. .
I've missed you too, still thinking. Always a stimulating conversationalist. I am delighted you're happier in your reality. Me too, but the recipe doesn't work for everyone. I'm not proposing that religion does no harm, only that a preparedness to accept logic, reason and evidence as the basis for one's life is beyond the ability of many and to impose your own beliefs against their will sounds too much like oppression. The solution is not confrontation but education, but you can lead a horse to water and all that. I think a great deal of what keeps people believing in improbable stuff is rooted in fear. I have no doubt that many people are terribly afraid of even contemplating the realities of atheism. They'd rather die in their sleep believing in resurrection or reincarnation or anything but lights out forever. That's what makes them happy. Let them have it. Unfortunately I've got to bow out. House guests. Impolite for me to spend time secluded in my office chatting with phantoms, even if they are more like me than my guests are. Seems I've already worn out my welcome anyway.
Edit, hey Tammy.
i have a new poll at jwfacts.mobi/pollsarchive/ as i am very interested to see what people have moved on to believe.
as this is considered sensitive by some, you can answer anonymously at the jwfacts.mobi/pollsarchive/, or answer on this thread.
this is what i have created in the list, but feel free to add comments, corrections, or options i have missed.. .
Case in point.
