We can all certainly hope that this is the case!
Where, though, do you get this data from to form that conclusion?
considering the demographic transition patterns of societies historically under go and in particular how the population pyramids evolve over time has a direct application to the future of the organization and i encourage all to have a look at this very interesting subject.
i've spent quite a bit of time formally studying these proven concepts and despite all the spin we hear and read about the magnificent growth the society is enjoying ... it is in fact in a death spiral (or more exactly a stage 5 population contraction).
look it up for yourselves guys, it can be quite encouraging when you think about.
We can all certainly hope that this is the case!
Where, though, do you get this data from to form that conclusion?
growing up as a jw, i was told that kiss stood for knights in satan's system (or service).. i just did a google search and learned it's not true.
it's actually not an acronym for anything.. to be honest, apparently it's not just the jws who believe it means something related to satan.. http://www.snopes.com/music/hidden/kiss.asp.
one day paul [stanley] and peter [criss] and i were driving around, brainstorming for new names.
Yeah - I well remember that priceless canard!
According to the WTS, members of this band were so bad that while travelling by commercial airline flights, they had to be physically separated from the other passengers.
All of it complete nonsense, of course.
look my life is not bad but sometimes i just think about all the normal things i missed out on.
and no i'm not talking about christmas and birthday parties.
i'm talking about your first kiss happening in your twenties instead of your teens.
JW_Rogue,
Fair point.
Although I was very young (Year 12 at high school), I had at least begun to develop into something that wasn't quite an automaton of the Watchtower Society. By that, I mean things like sports, education, travel and cultural activities rather than "sex, drugs and rock'n roll". To be honest, I am not particularly disappointed that I "missed out" on those. (However, the brother who laid claim to bringing me "Into The Truth" certainly liked his booze. He also introduced me to the stuff, and sorry to have to report, I proved to be an able student!)
At the end of the day, though, all you can do is make the best of what you have - looking ahead through the windscreen rather than behind in the rear-vision mirror (or at least trying to, anyway!)
look my life is not bad but sometimes i just think about all the normal things i missed out on.
and no i'm not talking about christmas and birthday parties.
i'm talking about your first kiss happening in your twenties instead of your teens.
Rainbow_Troll
Ttdtt = Teletype-writing device for the deaf?
You appear to like acronyms, so how's this for one:
FYJ
all regimes get defectors and some are more vocal than others..
I generally agree with what most here have already said.
Also, it is extremely hard to believe any member of the current Governing Body is of the same calibre of Raymond Franz. In fact, the term "Flim Flam Artist" comes very much to mind!
look my life is not bad but sometimes i just think about all the normal things i missed out on.
and no i'm not talking about christmas and birthday parties.
i'm talking about your first kiss happening in your twenties instead of your teens.
In answer to the OP's question, I found it necessary to rediscover the person that I had been before the Watchtower madness took hold, then move on from there.
It helped to reconnect with friends I had had before this happened:
- persons who actually proved to be surprisingly forgiving and understanding, considering that back then they must have thought that I had taken complete leave of my senses!
Other than that, to quote a favourite saying of my late mother, it is a case of "making the best of a bad job!"
look my life is not bad but sometimes i just think about all the normal things i missed out on.
and no i'm not talking about christmas and birthday parties.
i'm talking about your first kiss happening in your twenties instead of your teens.
Rainbow_Troll
A "Master Artist" and an "MA in medieval history" - no wonder neither of them can get a job!
But hey, if you would rather regret the past and feel sorry for yourself, go on believing that not going to college ruined your life.
Stop trying to make it sound like those are the only alternatives. Besides, I see nobody here claiming not going to university "ruined" there lives.
However, I have lived enough (and experienced enough) to know that turning down the opportunity to do the Bachelor of Engineering course (which a large organisation would have sponsored me through) certainly placed me at a disadvantage. Admittedly, Tertiary Education is not for everyone. But then again, neither is dragging a jackhammer around a construction site for everyone, either!
Winston Churchill is on record as once remarking "To try is to risk failure. To fail to try is to guarantee it."
Young persons who are inclined to ought to be at least given the chance to try for a university education, rather than be stopped from even trying by seven old f@#ts in New York.
look my life is not bad but sometimes i just think about all the normal things i missed out on.
and no i'm not talking about christmas and birthday parties.
i'm talking about your first kiss happening in your twenties instead of your teens.
Rainbow_Troll,
"I don't know a single college graduate who doesn't regret their decision to pursue higher education."
Those were the sort of stories the JWs used to try and frighten the likes of me with when I was a teenager (that one and similar - like "you make more money doing unskilled work", "reading Awake for five years is the same as a university degree" etc). All I can say is what you just described has not been either my experience nor my observation.
Having worked at all levels (i.e. from a labourer up to Engineering Associate) alongside others who were degree qualified, I am under no illusions what I would be doing if I had my time over again:
- and that would be to start by entering into a Bachelor Course; as against trying to take it up in middle age or older.
PS: I do believe you are something of a bloody troll, coming out with remarks like that!
i posted this thread sometime last year but thought i would revive it due to the new ones on the board, and to change things up a bit.
my favorite?
bro murikami, from hawaii, very humble, kind bro.
"Cyclone Rex" Mainwaring:
- Unpopular? Absolutely, to the point of being loathed.
- Unforgettable? Too bloody right he was.
Good or bad, though? Still not sure about that one!
some congregations were known as liberal and others were considered very conservative.
back in the 1970s a nearby congregation made all speakers who gave public talks a white shirt to wear.
if a speaker came in wearing anything but white they were brought into the library and were given a white shirt!
"Brothers" required to wear a jacket (either a sports coat or full suit coat) at all times while engaging in field service - regardless of the weather conditions. Never mind that in this particular "territory", anybody strutting around wearing a jacket in 30 degree-plus temperatures (Celsius) is regarded as stark raving mad!