He seems nice. Your reply shows him you aren't a total apostate Satanist. Likely, he'll just think you're "spiritually weak" or a little misguided. From here on out, drop the religious banter and just keep it friendly. Make sure that you, through your actions, show that your friendship is not conditional.
Franklin Massey
JoinedPosts by Franklin Massey
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60
What Do You Say or Is It Better to Saying Nothing?
by Eiben Scrood ini miss some of my old watchtower friendships.
usually i can just put the people out of my mind but when a big event comes up like me expecting my first child, i did reach out a bit.
this one friend in particular was kind of like an older brother to me.
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Shunning,, let's twist the knife in a little deeper now !
by man in black inthis morning i took my dog who is a therapy dog over to the hospital and visited with several patients.
it is quite an experience, and it really helps people undergoing medical treatment to calm down and relax.. my wife was one of those patients, she is undergoing some tests before getting her gall bladder removed which will probably be sometime tomorrow.. afterwards i took the dog home, cleaned her up, and changed my clothes.
since i was alone i drove over to panara to try one of their breakfast sandwiches, several of the nurses told me that they are pretty good.
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Franklin Massey
Hope your wife is doing well.
Cheers for your work with the therapy dog. In contrast, you probably did more good that morning than all the JWs combined.
I would have bought the nastiest ones of the bunch a cup of coffee.
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Moulding our JW Children
by angel.face inevery year, at the beginning of the school year i prepare a letter for my daughter's teachers saying 'we are jws don't celebrate this....no anthem....here are some suggestions..blah blah".
and here's our 'jws and education' brochure from 1969, a bit outdated but you know, it's spiritual food at the proper time.
besides, its an easy placement.
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Franklin Massey
Idea: Politely ask him to write the letter, since he is so clear on the content and you are not. Then tell him you will deliver the letter or send it to the school, whichever he would prefer. Once the business end of things is wrapped up, maybe suggest a Family Worship session on birthdays. Let the kids explain why JWs don't celebrate birthdays. Let your husband explain how he would explain your family's stance to a teacher. Maybe you could play the teacher and ask a couple of curious questions (What about marriage anniversaries? Birthdays aren't associated with violence and beheadings today, are they? What about baby showers?) to see how he and the kids would respond.
The birthday thing is kind of a joke. I know of JWs that either, send non-birthday birthday cards, post "happy day" messages on facebook, call their grown kids to reflect on the first day of birth, go out for drinks (or to restaurants that offer freebies) on birthdays and some who even buy small tokens of...well, they're bascially birthday presents. When reasoned on, the JW ban on birthdays doesn't add up and it alomst seems kind of cruel to not acknowledge such an amazing event as one's entrance into the world.
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New here looking for some help
by angel.face inlong story short, i have been a jw for the pst 7 years.
i am married with 2 kids.
hubby is a die hard jw who is an ms and would like to be elder.
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Franklin Massey
Welcome. My wife and I have been working through a similar process. I was serving as an elder and began to question WT teachings first. She resisted many of my early questions and doubts. She became scared for me. This is largely my own fault because I was letting my emotions get in the way and also because I piled way too much information and opinion on all at once. We have since found a good balance and she is in the process of letting go of many WT doctrines. We don't always agree, which is really a good thing. Most importantly, we are both committed to thinking for ourselves as opposed to letting the leaders of the Society do our thinking for us.
You said a couple of things that I would like to comment on. I'll be repeating the sentiments of some of the previous posters. But I feel like in your position, the more support, the better.
"...maybe I can help him to see the 'truth' for what it is." This is very diffcult since most JW religious doctrines are not really based on a foundation of real truth to begin with. Also, JWs make the "Truth" work for them, whether it is really true or not. They are convinced it's all real and absolute. That's a tough mindset to reason with. Your comments on helping your family develop critical thinking skills show that you already recognize the challenge. But again, therein rests another problem. Critical thinking is discouraged within the JW community. Even the best critical thinking, if used to diffuse a JW teaching, will, no matter how sound the logic, be viewed by a JW as faulty or maybe even one of Satan's tricks. This requires one to get on their level to help them think.
"I would like to stick a round for a little while to try to get my family to think for themselves...get them to view things sfrom a different prespective." Admirable goal. IMO, the best way to do this is with love, patience, positivity and a very delicate hand. One idea at a time, presented in a non-confrontational manner. Plant seeds and see what grows. Don't set high expectations. Don't "over water."
"But on the flip side, my kids are young and I feel sorry for them growing up in the borg. I feel bad lying to them. This tears me up inside." It really hurts me to read this. One thing to keep in mind: YOU don't have to lie to your children. Is there a way around teaching them the things you disagree with and just focusing on the things you are currently comfortable with? Perhaps certain Bible stories or basic lessons of Christian love?
Regardless of religion, you have a natural purpose, based on the life decisions you have made so far: To be a good wife, mother and citizen. You don't need the Watchtower to help you fulfill those roles to the best of your ability. Rememeber that, because from my experience, when the die-hard JWs closest to you get a sense that you are letting go of the "Truth" or becoming too "worldly" in your thinking, they will often resort to attacking your character or stating that without the "Truth," you will become a godless heathen.
Ask yourself, "What is the most important thing in the world to me?" Maybe it's your marriage, your children, your family, your sanity. Whatever it is, be true to it and be true to yourself.
Farkel, maybe you're right and maybe you're wrong. I personally don't care. Joining in a conversation like this continues an important dialogue. There are countless people like Angel Face in the JW religion, many of whom head to the internet to search for questions that have been bothering them for quite sometime. Maybe someone will stumble upon this thread and see all of the advice and real-life experiences and retain even just a tiny piece of information that will help them through a tough time. Personally, it does me a lot of good to put my own thoughts on these matters in to writing. A forum like this is truly therapeutic for me and it forces me to be accountable to myself when considering my stance on all things Watchtower.
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Watchtower.org Parody Site
by bottleofwater ini'm still working on it.... http://antgly.bo.lt/84lvi.
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Franklin Massey
Really funny! I think humor is a good way to open people's minds. One question though: Why the links back to the real site?
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What was your favorite convention beverage?
by i_drank_the_wine inthere's so many good choices, i can barely pick!.
dart?.
shasta cola?.
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Franklin Massey
KOOL-AID
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60
I really want to go JW but..
by fortbethel ini've studied with like 30 diff denominations.
i really feel jw is best for me.
i think it's the 144,000 part & the once a year get together when they pass around the sacrament that bothers me most.
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Franklin Massey
They are both decesed now & it is really really hard to believe they were both wrong with God when they died.
Why do you say this? How were they "wrong with God? Sorry if I missed something from another post.
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Wording of "mentally diseased" press release - feedback?
by cedars inas some of you may know, i am working with trailerfitter and cantleave in helping amelia with her efforts to complain about the latest "apostates are mentally diseased" article.
she has an appointment with local police tomorrow afternoon, as she has lodged a complaint under the 'hate crimes' act.
it has been suggested that this issue may merit some media coverage, and with this in mind i have prepared a draft press release.
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Franklin Massey
I admire what you are trying to do. I am affected by this issue currently as tensions rise in my family over some of my recent decisions and expressed viewpoints. That being said...
IMO, the 9/11 reference is still in poor taste. Everyone knows what happened on 9/11, no need to belabor the point. If you mention the date, people's minds go there, without the specific mention of terrorist acts. Also, it creates a point of comparsion that makes the purpose of the article seem trivial. To me, it sounds like the writer is trying to put the treatment of apostates (a minor issue on the big picture scale and of very little importance to most of the world) on the same level as what happened in the US on 9/11.
Same statements above apply to the reference to the Middle East in the final paragraph. In the Middle East, people are being denied basic human rights, being abused and killed - meanwhile, some JWs are being shunned.
Why not mention the Holocaust while we're at it?
Sorry for being so critical. I just feel that the issue we are dealing with is what it is. It pales in comparison to some of the tragedies that are going on in the world right now. That's not to say that it doesn't deserve to be discussed in the media. I just feel that the two current events mentioned in the article make the theme of the article seem cheap.
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Dec 15 2011 WT: We don't care if you have a f***ing BRAIN TUMOR get your a$$ out in service!!
by baltar447 inoh dear sweet jeebus:.
i enjoy making return visits and helping out on bible studies.
on my better days, i like to witness from house to house.barbara, who has a brain tumor.. i carry only a very light magazine bag.
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Franklin Massey
Ray, you have a good point. But my issue with the article is that is purposefully creates an unreachable bar for far too many JWs. It also uses these sincere people as a tool for persuasion. It's unethical exploitation.
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"All religious belief distills down to faith in utterly unprovable stories."
by Franklin Massey ini read this today on the board and want to ask, is the statement true?.
all religious belief distills down to faith in utterly unprovable stories.
i feel this way sometimes.
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Franklin Massey
Tammy, thanks for the response. Even if we don't agree, I would have to say that you are the most refreshing Christian I've talked to in quite a while.