Darth! Geez, the first one made me laugh. The second one is going to give me nightmares! That was written for CHILDREN. It's one f**ked up book!
NC
NewChapter
JoinedPosts by NewChapter
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63
Idle question about Abraham and Human Sacrifice
by corpusdei ini don't have my usual resources in front of me, so i can't fact check this, but there's been something bothering me.
one of the things mentioned quite often as evidence of the wickedness and evil practices of the false religion that surrounded ancient israel is the practice of child sacrifice (baal and molech being the frontrunners as i recall).
but ...... didn't god tell abraham to kill his own son isaac as a human sacrifice?
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63
Idle question about Abraham and Human Sacrifice
by corpusdei ini don't have my usual resources in front of me, so i can't fact check this, but there's been something bothering me.
one of the things mentioned quite often as evidence of the wickedness and evil practices of the false religion that surrounded ancient israel is the practice of child sacrifice (baal and molech being the frontrunners as i recall).
but ...... didn't god tell abraham to kill his own son isaac as a human sacrifice?
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NewChapter
This is how the Witnesses may defend this account. Abraham had reasoned in his head that god could resurrect his son. He came to this conclusion because god had, in effect, resurrected Sarah's womb. You see? He had full faith that god would resurrect Isaac, based on god's promise that Abraham would become a great nation through the child he had with Sarah. Sarah was 90-years-old when she got pregnant in her resurrected womb, so god had already proven himself. Just trying to get you ready for the show down.
Problematic isn't it?
NC
Edited to say: I just can't read larsinger's post again. I couldn't get through it the first time. It made me ill halfway through. Of course it's god's right to limit a human's lifespan. Bloodthirsty god. UGH---I'm so glad I'm free of it!
In fact, there are Bible verses that represent precisely that? That is, if your eye offended you, wouldn't you pluck it out to save the rest of the body and preserve life? Of course!
DUH, WELL OF COURSE!!! Who wouldn't want to worship a god that requires self-mutilation. I haven't seen many bible believers plucking out their own eyes. Hmmmm---faithless mothers aren't they?
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How did you fill the void after leaving?
by gutted ini'm curious about how people filled the void after leaving the jws.
i'm at a point, a bit over a year after leaving, where i am finding i have confronted the reality of my life and situation... and it's depressing.
i realize i have holes in my life (a significant other, social activities, something higher/beyond myself) which many worldly people naturally have filled but it feels unnatural for me, almost synthetic and it makes me more depressed the more i think about it.
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NewChapter
I went back to college and concentrated on making new friends. I also reconnected with people I knew before the JW's--they were very forgiving. I looked up old disfellowshipped friends.
Join a book club, hiking group--something. It's all in your hands now. No more ready made friends or social dates---BUT you have the control to choose WHO, and WHAT, and HOW. It's great. Large gatherings that never even worry about size, alcohol, what the elders think, will someone be stumbled, will I say something that will be interpreted as not having faith...etc.
To use the WT term---widen out. LOL But REALLY widen out because now you get to be part of a wide wide world with people you'll love, and people you'll hate. It's great.
NC
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Depression and Reinstatement efforts
by AuntBee inlong story, but i was talking online with someone who has been dfed for a long time, encouraging her to join a support group.
-- the person has been trying to get reinstated for years.
described how she has felt unwelcome and unsupported and is depressed.
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NewChapter
No. That person that I knew who was out for 6 years did EVERYTHING. She changed congregations too! And all of the elders at her new congregation (different state), who knew her for years, wanted her reinstated. The old elders had to make the decision, but they weren't there to observe her progress. It got to the point where the current elders were very baffled. They even wrote a letter to see if the matter was being handled properly. Afterall, they had seen her at every meeting for 5 years---what was the problem? She was never in trouble before. The person who she wronged had even gone to the old elders to say he had moved on with his life and please don't hold a grudge on his behalf. It's not balanced like that. I also saw a brother who was on his 3rd DF, and he was reinstated in a year, EVEN THOUGH he openly questioned the society and expressed doubts. He was a brother though. Maybe that is the difference.
NC
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Was this an act of CHRISTIAN KINDNESS or CHRISTIAN CRUELTY?
by nicolaou ini'm getting to that age where funerals are getting a bit more frequent.
because of my past most of these, but not all, are jw funerals.
i recently went to the funeral of an old school friend 'james', who'd died of a heart attack at just 45. he'd only been baptised less than three years and everyone knew he'd only done it to marry the sister he'd fallen for.. what shocked me was to see an elderly sister i'd known since i was a kid comforting james' mother (never a jw) with the 'resurrection hope'.
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NewChapter
This isn't unique to JW's. All religious people share their hopes when someone dies. They intend to comfort. Every funeral talk I've been to--not JW--talk about the loved-one being in heaven. JW's talk about the resurrection. I'm sure Hindus talk about reincarnation. It's really a pretty normal and widespread reaction. While all of it can be comforting---all of it can also be cruel. Telling a young mother that her baby is in heaven can be cruel---or comforting. It all depends on the person receiving the comfort.
Again, I don't like to defend WT at no time, but mostly they are sincere people just trying to comfort---which is exactly what the rest of the world does. I was at a funeral where the pastor assured us that our loved-one was in heaven---however if WE ever wanted to see them again we needed to repent of our sins and accept Jesus in our heart. I'm assuming the unsaid words were---or you will go to hell and not see her in heaven. That baby that died (above)--the mother was told that God took her because the couple was experienceing money problems! There is also the issue of suicide. Many churches teach that victims of suicide burn in hell forever. I guess they can't offer much comfort at a funeral.
JW's truly believe in the resurrection---they see it as a joyful hope---I think it's natural to say it in the form of comfort at a funeral. You can be sure she also repeatedly heard that her son was in heaven.
NC
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The WTS, homosexuality, and the tax code
by sir82 inhow about that for a discombobulated thread topic?.
i think we are in the midst of a new civil rights revolution - this time the oppressed who are overcoming prejudice are homosexuals.
now new york has legalized gay marriage.
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NewChapter
Unless there is a major shift against all religions in the US and their tax exempt status, I don't think the WT will be targeted in any way. People have a right to believe as they will, and to worship as they wish. The US government will always choose that route---and in the past when they haven't, supreme court decisions have forced them to. The New York law is carefully worded to exempt churches from any lawsuits or negative consequences to refusing to perform gay marriages. And really--isn't that how it should be? I mean, the same prinicpal that makes me support gay marriage is the same principal that makes me support freedom of religion. It's probably time to stop telling each other how to live, even when we think it's ignorant. But that's what it's all about.
NC
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New here - hello!
by sickandtired ini can't believe i'm actually posting here.
i've been lurking for a while and i've been having doubts about this being the "truth" for years and sometimes feel really stuck and hopeless about my situation.
i'm married to an elder (who is 110% jw) and i was for the most part raised in the "truth".
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NewChapter
Welcome SickAndTired. It will do you a lot of good to post here, even if it's hard to focus at first. We are a vast group of many personalities and beliefs, but one thing we all understand is the postiion you are in right now. I agree with previous posters--you can't show your hubby any of this website or any other apostate material. Isn't it weird to think of yourself as an apostate? It was for me, but here I am, and I'm happier and calmer than I've been in decades. Seriously, I suffered terrible anxiety, panic attacks, and depression---once I discovered the real truth it all lifted. I haven't been this carefree since before the "truth".
funny you should mention the Mormons. Before I realized completely I was never going back to the KH, (it took a while to confirm that with myself) I started watching Big Love. Now I realize that wasn't really a typical Mormon family, HOWEVER, I recognized some of the reasoning and attitudes portrayed on the show as being very similar to the way JW's reason. It really made me uncomfortable. That's not what led to the breakthrough. I did some research on the flood---and well, as I've said before, Mammoths were my downfall. Gotta love the mammoth.
Welcome.
NC
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Watchtower: "God Hates...Homosexuality"
by metatron ina quote from page 28 of the new brochure, as released at assemblies this summer.. metatron.
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NewChapter
Well, it just gets beyond ridiculous. It's like they think they can "catch the gay". They really think that allowing their children to associate with gay people might make them gay. I don't know how I ever stood this ignorant group of people for as long as I did. I'm really disappointed in myself, but somehow, it used to make sense. UGH, I will kick myself for as long as I live.
I remember a grown sister in my car while I was listening to Alanis Morsette, and no, it wasn't You Oughta Know, I'm pretty sure they could never handle that one and the layers of meaning, but anyway, she has a lyric where she says she's holding a cigarrette. Well this woman let out this audible intake of breath, like she'd just witnessed a porn scene taking place in the intersection. I was soooooo irritated. I told her it wasn't all that shocking, and she should have developed a bit of a thick skin in her 40 years for godsake. Only I didn't say god's sake. I wanted to.
They really are removed from the real world. With that kind of reaction from just a mention of the word cigarette, what do we expect when it comes to homosexuality?
NC
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Watchtower: "God Hates...Homosexuality"
by metatron ina quote from page 28 of the new brochure, as released at assemblies this summer.. metatron.
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NewChapter
WT Said: Anyone else notice that witlesses are too often paired in same-sex arrangements?
Hey WT, I get the spirit of what you are saying, but I just have to point this out. You could have paired me with 20 drop-dead georgeous lesbians---hell, you could have made us share a bed---I wouldn't have been interested. I'm not gay, (and I'm a woman). I think that is more the point. It's not something that is created--at least under normal circumstances. No outside force can convince me otherwise. Which is why it's equally ridiculous to think that pairing a homosexual with someone of the opposite sex will somehow turn them straight. They aren't straight.
I knew a sister that worked at a place that hired several openly gay individuals. She was freaked out and stressed all the time. She literally had bags under her eyes from the stress! LOL She told me she was being sexually harrassed! I asked her if anyone had said anything sexual to her, or perhaps a lesbian was hitting on her? She said no, in her mind the harrassment existed just because they did. I've said it before, and I'll repeat, even when I was in, I didn't have a problem with homosexuals. Actually, dubbie overreaction irritated the crap out of me, because I felt it was out of balance with their reactions to other "sins". In their eyes, murder was easier to handle than homosexuality. I had a really hard time not just rolling my eyes at this sister and telling her to grow up. However, I knew she would find nothing but support for her baseless accusations at the Kingdom Hall.
NC
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Prince - Women (people) are Happy with No Choice
by skeeter1 inhttp://www.examiner.com/fashion-in-atlanta/singer-prince-says-burka-clad-women-love-it.
pop tartssinger prince says islamic women 'happy' having to wear burqaspublished june 27, 2011.
prince (ap).
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NewChapter
If a famous person stood up and said, "JW women like to wear dresses to the KH and go door-to-door--it's just the way it is." He'd be right--at least as far as anyone would admit. We put way too much value on what an erratic, unbalanced pop star says. But he does have a point. Too often, we think our culture is superior, and another is oppressive, but when you ask the individuals, they are pretty much used to things and expect them to be as they are.
So I believe that change only comes from within a culture and cannot be imposed from the outside. As more people within learn there are different ways and they like them better, they will work on that change.
NC