Posts by FollowedMyHeart

3

Christopher Hitchens Closing Debate Speech

by whereami in

i love hitch.

i hope he pulls through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgicjb8i4m8&feature=player_embedded.

FollowedMyHeart

One of my favorite quotes: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Christopher Hitchens

37

Mr. Falcon is going GALT!

by Mr. Falcon in

raypublisher started this thread: http://www1.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/207626/1/best-way-to-step-down-from-being-a-servant.

it got me thinking, for some wacky reason, of perhaps how i could go about getting relieved of my "privileges".

in the ridicously long-winded novel atlas shrugged by ayn rand, there is a character named john galt.

While reading: "He refused to use his intellectual ability in any way, thereby depriving the world of his "talents." He would only work meaningless and drab odd jobs despite having immense potential," I was wondering how that could have any effect since most JWs don't use their intellectual ability and work meaningless, drab jobs. It would hardly be noticed as a problem. However, when you applied it to the oh-so-holy privileges of the MS, it made more sense.

AnneB,

"Terry, honey, the topic of this thread is "going Galt", or, as it is known elsewhere, "strategic incompetence". Now, it's really nice of you to offer your literary expertise, but what the man wanted was a way out of MS responsibilities. Whether or not he comprehends the text in the same way you (or anyone else) does is irrelevant. He got the info he was seeking."

you ARE awesome!

79

Why I no longer believe the Bible is "God's Word" and I no longer believe in "God"

by lifeisgood in

jw
friends

i became a christain at the age of 9. not by going to a church or asking a preacher to baptize me, or anything like that.

i started reading my mother's king james bible cover to cover at the age of 8. my father was very abusive and when he was abusing me, i would close my eyes and pray.

i never hated my father, which is one good thing i got out of prayer.. when i turned 13 i became a lay preacher and traveled, on my own, preaching in any church that would let me.. when i was 15 i studied with the jws and was baptized after four months of study.. i was a zealous christain but not a zealous jw, according to them.

FollowedMyHeart

I'm just starting my quest, so I'm not sure about what I believe regarding God, Jesus, etc. I do have a couple questions for tec.

First:

tec said: He also came to bear witness to the truth, to show people the way to life and to his Father, to show us how we should live (love, forgiveness, mercy, not judging, not doing wrong for wrong). He set us an example to follow as best we can, and we are to look to him to see God.

What about all mankind that lived thousands of years before Jesus? Did they not deserve to learn the truth, be shown how to live in order to please God?

Second:

tec said: Well, somehow I learned how. Not to judge. To forgive. Not to repay evil with evil. To love enemies, and show mercy and love to those who do wrong to us

If I understand you correctly, you are saying you learned these from Christ. Does that mean that w/o Christ you would be judgemental, unforgiving, repaying evil for evil, merciless and unloving?

Please understand that I am in no way being critical or argumentative. These are simply questions that occurred to me, and since I am in the learn-everything-I-can mode, I am curious about your viewpoint.

89

Higher Education June 15th Watchtower 2011

by jwfacts in

"higher education: jesus warned against seeking your own glory.

(john 7:18) whatever you decide as to how much secular education you will obtain, have you made sure of the more important things?phil.

1:9,10.. grzegorz, the computer programmer, made some changes in his life.

FollowedMyHeart

Oh, and thanks, jwfacts, for keeping us up to date and Atlantis, for scanning those pages.

89

Higher Education June 15th Watchtower 2011

by jwfacts in

"higher education: jesus warned against seeking your own glory.

(john 7:18) whatever you decide as to how much secular education you will obtain, have you made sure of the more important things?phil.

1:9,10.. grzegorz, the computer programmer, made some changes in his life.

FollowedMyHeart

Just a few thoughts I had:

HIGHER EDUCATION

If you have a means of supporting yourself, do you really need to spend time, money, and effort on further education?
To support yourself, is it really necessary to have a college or a university degree? Supporting yourself is one thing....what about supporting a family?
What would be the effect on your meeting attendance?One might begin to start thinking for themselves!
Have you ‘made sure of the more important things’? Like providing for your family?
Do you need to strengthen your confidence in Jehovah’s ability to provide for you? What about 'he helps those who help themselves'?

w11 06/15-E p.31

"But there is danger in encouraging them to take up a life style centered on education and financial security instead of true worship" Could someone please explain to me what danger there is in financial security? Asking people on the street doesn't provinde any answers. It seems to me that financial security would enable JWs to devote more time to kingdom interests since they're not constantly worrying about where their next meal comes from or how to pay the bills!

56

No Part of The World Circuit Assembly Highlights

by DavinciCodeBreaker in

well this past weekend was pretty much as predicted, the demonstrations were probably the worst i have ever seen.

you know the ones i mentioned on a post last week where in the middle the participant has a sudden epiphany!

here is a sampling of just a few.. .

FollowedMyHeart

I, too, am having a physical reaction to this! I suddenly feel sick to my stomach. My husband says it's because for all those years I was force-fed a diet that I didn't need or want. So true!

27

Does anyone high up in the organization KNOW they use mind control techniques or is it just ingrained

by Mad Sweeney in

we all know the techniques they use.

control of behavior.

control of information.

FollowedMyHeart

"[Humility] will keep us from the vanity of our abilities and attractions and protect us against the damaging, ego-inflating effects of higher learning, a collegiate education, a diploma or an honorary degree." -Watchtower June 1, 1953 page 333

Oh, brother!

5

Saturday mornings as a young Jehovah's Witness

by trevorbv in

jw
friends

.

just found this today on reedit.

pretty funny .

FollowedMyHeart

I remember waking up and being excited for service. Why????? The ONLY reason: Donuts at 10:30!!!

12

About hell and dying GB members

by Mad Sweeney in

on bio channel the other night was an episode of "i survived" where a guy was shot in the head and was dead for about five minutes, then in a coma for around four weeks after being revived.

while recounting his story, he talks about being literally in hell, chained within a tiny dark cell oppressed by evil all around for what felt like forever.

he attributes his visit there to having a selfish, materialistic lifestyle at the time of his death and he has vowed to turn his life around so that when he dies again, he won't have to return there.

FollowedMyHeart

@ MS: I understand your point completely, and agree, no matter what causes the "heavenly" or "hellish" experience, that it certainly would be justice. Let's just hope that those of the GB, like Jaracz, are/were actually aware of how horrible their actions are/were. Then their brains have something to work with, i.e. a guilty conscience.

@ Outlaw: "Do you want our autograph? There's one our OUR Bibles right here! We can all sign it for you!"

27

Does anyone high up in the organization KNOW they use mind control techniques or is it just ingrained

by Mad Sweeney in

we all know the techniques they use.

control of behavior.

control of information.

FollowedMyHeart

Mad Sweeney, I've wondered that, too. It seems to me that most of the JWs way of operation today started with Rutherford. I haven't done any thorough research into JFR or who his closest associates were. Does anyone know if either JFR or any of his associates had any possible knowledge of psychology?