i'll give my story again:.
i was raised a believing witness.
i had a normal life and very loving parents who would do anything for me and my brother(who is 21).
This is something you think on for weeks and months---not minutes or days. Some people think on it for years. You must slow down. Maybe this is the right decision for you, and if it is, it will be right in 2 weeks and it will be right in 2 months. Slow down! You don't even have a backup plan yet. You need to think about your living situation, a job, education. You are NOT a minor. You can't be sure your parents won't make you leave. Slow down child.
NC
i'll give my story again:.
i was raised a believing witness.
i had a normal life and very loving parents who would do anything for me and my brother(who is 21).
Stillstuck, my heart goes out to you. There will be consequences no matter what your decision or approach. This isn't your fault.
What is more evil than a serial killer? An apsotate. Now imagine finding out your child is a serial killer. I think that in the beginning at least, it is best to keep the apostate literature hidden. Work on your memory! If it's important you will make it happen. Do the reading--check to see if the library can order the book. Ask a friend to order the book in their name if that preserves your cover. Try not to be impulsive or act in an emotional manner.
In the end, you will have to accept that you can't control the outcome. The site is full of people that have lost the most loving families. Sometimes they get to keep a few. Many decided it was worth the sacrifice as they were dying inside. It's never easy. Keep us abundantly posted. You are young with a long life ahead. You will want to marry one day. You will want to have children. Do you keep up the cycle?
Take your time. At this point there is no rush.
NC
often i wake up in a cold sweat wondering if i'm wrong.
life is short.
i have only a brief time to make a decision.
Hi Paul! How are you doing? I haven't forgotten that you, Noni and I are planning to get together.
I've shared with you how deeply that conversation in the art gallery affected me. You carelessly said some very profound things, and I carry them with me. So I'd like to repeat one of those gems you uttered:
"If it's the Truth, it will work for everyone!"
I love that! I repeat it to myself. And I've thought long and hard on it. So I will remind you, if it's the truth, it will work for everyone.
Consider some other thoughts: "by their fruits, you will know them". Okay, so what were the fruits of your loved ones when you needed them most? Do you believe their actions were a reflection of a loving god? You know I don't believe in god, but if I did, then I would expect some consistency. I see none here.
Or think about how much I knew about you already when we met. Granted many of the details were wrong. BUT they came to me through years of vicious gossip! Does this kind of behavior indicate that these people are serving a loving god?
Still I don't believe Paul, but the god you presented when you talked to me was someone I kind of wish I could believe in. Think about THAT god, and not this perverse portrayal of a deity that the WT presents. If there really is a paradise, which is your concern, would these really be the kind of people inhabiting it?
Call anytime!
NC
okay i know everyone has probably already attended the dc and have posted their experiences here, but i just went to fri. and sat.
session (with a drama although timely for families i thought would never end) and a couple of bizarre things stood out.. very poor attempt at explaining the overlapping gen. new light.
during the brother's talk he said" there are two phases to the overlapping generations".
Then why the hell is there credit card machines throughout the convention and constant announcements from the platform to make use of them to make DONATIONS during the weekend??????
I remember a blurb that I think was in Watching the World where they discussed how churches were now using credit card machines. It was cast in a negative light. How far we've come!
But I'm sure the R&F are just brimming over with appreciation for such a loving provision!
think it was announced yesterday that im disfellowshipped.
will these feelings of guilt and panic ever go away?
my head is so messed up.
I feel guilty for hurting my parents. They cant talk to me now
Now this simply is not true. They CAN talk to you. They choose not to. Search to be grateful that you will save your son from such a destructive cult.
You may need to do some healthy reading now. A lot of the members here are greatly helped by Steve Hassan's work. His book Combatting Cult Mind Control seems to have helped many. I didn't read it myself, but I wasn't born in, and so far, haven't felt the need. I DID read Crisis of Conscience By Ray Franz, and that did a lot to open up the secret dealing of the cult. Once you look at the man behind the curtain, he loses all of his power. Now what could you have done that was so horrible??? Did you kill someone? Kidnap someone? Hurt someone?
I suspect it may have had something to do with a relationship. Are you really so evil that even talking to you puts one in danger??? I'm not scared of you. JW's have no perspective. They treat all "crimes" the same. The serial killer get's the same punishment as the teenager who engages in some heavy makeout session. Marrying without being "scripturally free" carries the same penalty that slaughtering babies does. Think about that! Does that make sense? Develop your critical thinking, and you'll start to understand how ludicrous all of this is. Take Care---Keep Posting. We'll show you the man behind the curtain, and he's silly, and he's weak, and he's petty, and he has no power. NC Sorry for the format issues. It seems to be stuck.
here is the thing...moses was the mediator....almost every survivor that came out of egypt had some issues with him...they all got punished, unless they towed the line.
then in the genesis account, it mentions, habor, moses' father in law comes for a visit....they have a great greeting...then habor gives moses .
a sugestion ....without being struck by leprousy...what's up with that?
LOL. He was a priest wasn't he? I always found it odd too. Why did Moses need this Midianite to help him out when he had a direct line to God? I didn't think about the priestly pagan aspect of it until now though.
NC
i haven't had the opportunity to research this deeply, but i've heard many critics/scholars assert that the bible is nothing more than plaigiarisms from ancient sumerian/edyptian texts (which i can definitely believe).
those texts have flood legends, genesis account, and various other stories that make their appearance in the bible.
i'd love to go into this rabbit hole and hope some of the scholarly minds here on jwn will guide me to some info on this.
Here is a website that compares the law code of Hammurabi with the law code of Moses. It is broken down rather simply, which is good. I haven't looked it over in detail, but it looks interesting.
i haven't had the opportunity to research this deeply, but i've heard many critics/scholars assert that the bible is nothing more than plaigiarisms from ancient sumerian/edyptian texts (which i can definitely believe).
those texts have flood legends, genesis account, and various other stories that make their appearance in the bible.
i'd love to go into this rabbit hole and hope some of the scholarly minds here on jwn will guide me to some info on this.
Floods were a big deal in Mesopotamia---located between the Tigris and the Euphrates. The first legend was of Gilgamesh (sumerian) and how he survived a world wide flood. Again, a story that would have been part of Hebrew culture because they are from that area.
i haven't had the opportunity to research this deeply, but i've heard many critics/scholars assert that the bible is nothing more than plaigiarisms from ancient sumerian/edyptian texts (which i can definitely believe).
those texts have flood legends, genesis account, and various other stories that make their appearance in the bible.
i'd love to go into this rabbit hole and hope some of the scholarly minds here on jwn will guide me to some info on this.
You may want to look over the Law Code of Hammurabi. He was a Sumerian king. You'll see quite a few similarities between that law and the law code of Moses. For instance, eye for an eye is in there. Was this plagerism? I think it was actually just the value system of Mesopotamia, and it was inculcated into Hebrew culture for centuries.
That law code is available on line. I had to write a paper on it, and was surprised at some of the similarities.
NC
mrs. reopened mind and i still have big smiles on our face over the fun time we had with our new found friends.
outatlast who had to drive the farthest arrived first followed by mrfreeze and later on paulnotsaul and his family arrived.
we talked, we laughed, had moments of reflections and some new revelations on things.
I was at my first meetup last week. I met Serenity Now and I THINK screen name Locked Chaos--something like that. It's hard to remember real names and screen names. Also met the organizer. Noni went with me. Great time.
Great story ADD.
