i pretty much did it all.
vacation pioneered as a youngster and became a regular pioneer out of school.
i became a ms then an elder.....the organization pushes you to be somebody within the confines of their realm.
Sparrowdown,
"One of the biggest illusions of JWland is that their is a ladder when there is no ladder only the illusion of one"
Of all the gems that have come out of this thread, that remark is one of the best!
The fact is the JWland itself is just one great exercise in Smoke and Mirrors.
i honestly think they are the most boring people on earth!
even when they produce their so called "new light", there's no excitement.
jws just do their thing and refuse to think about their useless lives.
I have said this on another post, but since the question has arisen once more, I will repeat.
When I had my first contacts with the JWs in the mid-1960s, what they were saying did sound quite interesting. In fact, that was what probably drew me towards them back then - as by contrast, the "mainstream" churches seemed to be boring and quite irrelevant.
This seemed to also be the case into the 1970s and 80s; I had family members who agreed to the JW offer of a "Bible Study", simply because what the Witnesses were saying came over as very interesting. Feedback we used to get, too, from the "Territory" was that "these people are interesting."
Certainly, though, during the decades since then, all the fizz and the sparkle has long since gone out of it!
just read some of this latest awake on the org's webshite.. it begins by talking about the 'supernatural' - wizards, witches, vampires, etc.
- their popularity and why they might appeal to people.
then it goes on to state the wt belief that someone is 'behind it'.. now, i like a few horror/scary films - when i was a kid, i always actually liked being a bit scared by them, tbh.. the silence of the lambs, a nightmare on elm street (1984), the ring, the witch, the thing (1982) and a few others are all great, imo.. they are just genres and subgenres of film, that's all.
Never been much of a one for either science fiction or horror movies myself .
I will say, though, that I was 11 years old when the WTS ran an article about "demonism" (can't remember whether it as in the Awake or Watchtower). However, reading it certainly did have a disturbing effect on me. I have long since come to understand why a significant part of my life was so screwed up - i.e. from reading nonsense like that while still in my formative years.
i am getting new appliances.
i have decided on black stainless for the finish.
the house is stubbed for gas and electric for the range.
Pete Zahut,
Never with a gas stove, but my first attempts to use an oxy-acetylene cutting torch almost resulted in a similar thing!
i have been a missionary in the dominican republic for almost 10 years and i was wondering if there were any ex-missionaries on this forum.. i am back in my country now for 3 years and totally inactive.. what i noticed in those missionary-years was the lack of spiritual interest among the missionaries.. discussions were about rooms, cars and greater responsibilities, the bad territory.
and the local c.o.s and d.os.. was this only in the dr or are there other experiences??.
ere other experiences?
Strange enough
Were they "Surfing Where The Need Is Greater?"
i have been a missionary in the dominican republic for almost 10 years and i was wondering if there were any ex-missionaries on this forum.. i am back in my country now for 3 years and totally inactive.. what i noticed in those missionary-years was the lack of spiritual interest among the missionaries.. discussions were about rooms, cars and greater responsibilities, the bad territory.
and the local c.o.s and d.os.. was this only in the dr or are there other experiences??.
ere other experiences?
A pleasant reminder of what discussions on this board (and its predecessor) used to be like, before we all started squabbling amongst ourselves!
i pretty much did it all.
vacation pioneered as a youngster and became a regular pioneer out of school.
i became a ms then an elder.....the organization pushes you to be somebody within the confines of their realm.
"Mediocrity perched on the dizzying pinnacles of hollow heads".
Does that not sum the whole business up beautifully, in only just one phrase! Thank you, Hairtrigger, for posting that gem of Winston Churchill's.
I never made it far up those "Dizzying Pinnacles" of the hollow heads - only for a few years toward the end of my time with the JWs was I a Ministerial Servant.
terrorists come from all walks of life and religion.
terrorism has very broad terms , eg saddam hussain was a friend to the us for years but when it suited us to land grab mr hussain had weapons of mass destruction.
even though he was a terrorist by nature, politics can be cruel.. with these radicals that believe that taking innocent life is gods will , it is the highest form of cult behaviour, dying for the cause.
OK Smiddy.
Thanks for that, I will look it up.
i am getting new appliances.
i have decided on black stainless for the finish.
the house is stubbed for gas and electric for the range.
Speaking as an electrician, I would go for gas cooking.
Perhaps not if you did not already have gas connected, then it maybe not so attractive. But seeing as though you do have a gas supply enabled, then it is a no brainer (more control and less expensive!)
terrorists come from all walks of life and religion.
terrorism has very broad terms , eg saddam hussain was a friend to the us for years but when it suited us to land grab mr hussain had weapons of mass destruction.
even though he was a terrorist by nature, politics can be cruel.. with these radicals that believe that taking innocent life is gods will , it is the highest form of cult behaviour, dying for the cause.
Chook,
In entering into any discussion about terrorism, the first thing to note is that there is no consensus at all as to what the definition of that word actually is. Plenty of people have differing ideas as to its definition - but consensus, no!
Smiddy,
Not sure what you are referring to in the Philippines - perhaps you can enlighten us?
all in the beach congregations.