let me preface this by saying that i don't expect anyone here to make my decision for me.
i do however note that like the bible says, in the multitude of counselors there is wisdom, and this is a huge decision, so i wanted to put it out there for discussion.
i really appreciate your words of wisdom, as this affects not just me but my wife also, as we find ourselves in the same boat.
What a great O.P dubstepped.:-
" To DA or not to DA, that is the question?
may I say I think the most profound words ever written were :-
" To BE or not to Be that is the question? ( but I am not sure who wrote it :-))
Anyway more importantly what does it mean?
I would say To "Live"or not to "Live" that is the question?
Choose to " Live" my friend.......
The Rebel.
i believe anyone who has voluntarily left a cult has shown they can adapt to new solutions, and have used " critical thinking" skills otherwise most would not have left.. yet i believe a safe place for support is still needed and this safe place i believe is searched for.. now i may not measure up to much in ways of education, but for me personally " critical thinking skills" = " new" a " new" way of thinking, that takes time for me the individual to be visual and to contemplate.
and the more i read about " critical thinking," the more convinced i am that i can live with the ridicule of those that claim i do not possess it.
furthermore i would say those that criticise others " critical thinking skills," often luck the sensibility and thoughts to snore, spit, and fart....nor would they understand a room full of tobacco smoke and cheap booze...where " critical thinking " can often be found in its most profound, in the most sensitive poems and "pictures" that were ever drawn.
I think I have something to say, or should I say to be shot down saying?
When I write I try to express myself in words. ( as I am sure we all do) Now these words we write must also express our individual personality, and the reader even then must require many assumptions to perceive those words as I wrote them.
So then surely critical thinking must mean not taking what you read at face value, or taking a few words from a paragraph, and then holding those words up to the light, whilst leaving the rest of the paragraph in darkness?
I mean it just seems so calculated that the more words you use the more ridicule you expose yourself to. Sometimes I personally feel words are like breathing,and I use them and take them for granted as I do breathing. So why must my words struggle to breath? Is that the way to communicate, to isolate words to be afraid to use them?
My guess is I will never be a good critical thinker, but that's ok. My painting is what is good in life for me. A painting coloured correctly, and a painting people can view and I hope see me personally in.
So critical thinking skills are the real problem to me. I need language and I need critical thinking skills to say my thoughts in words, but I have difficulty communicating this ....it's not like a smile or a kiss, or a painting, or air, or other insane noncence that makes a persons day.
The Rebel
p.s without the editing button, my words would have made even less sence.The editing button is an asset, even if my words are still unskilled in expressing my thoughts.
do you ever wonder why out of all the witnesses, you are the one that woke up?
i wonder many times why me.
i know many men and women that are much, much better persons than me; either they are much smarter, more humble, kinder, more successful, or just better persons all around.
Hi John,
you ask " Why Me". Well the reason I woke up was simply that I had more important considerations in my life, and stopped paying attention. When I came back paying attention the " break" away meant the indoctrination had weakened.
The Rebel.
i believe anyone who has voluntarily left a cult has shown they can adapt to new solutions, and have used " critical thinking" skills otherwise most would not have left.. yet i believe a safe place for support is still needed and this safe place i believe is searched for.. now i may not measure up to much in ways of education, but for me personally " critical thinking skills" = " new" a " new" way of thinking, that takes time for me the individual to be visual and to contemplate.
and the more i read about " critical thinking," the more convinced i am that i can live with the ridicule of those that claim i do not possess it.
furthermore i would say those that criticise others " critical thinking skills," often luck the sensibility and thoughts to snore, spit, and fart....nor would they understand a room full of tobacco smoke and cheap booze...where " critical thinking " can often be found in its most profound, in the most sensitive poems and "pictures" that were ever drawn.
Thanks everyone for the informative replys to my O.P.
Millie210. I found your post insightful and have read it many times.
Vivianne .This is where you and Rebel go wrong, "there is no whining or making it personal in critical thinking" Noted
Further comments from the Rebel when/ if he has something insightful to add to the thread.
The Rebel.
anyone in the usa following this morning's shooting "on-air" live tv will know what i'm talking about.
bryce williams (not real name, but on-air name) shot and killed 2 people on live television this morning in roanoke, va. he was wearing a go-pro camera, and uploaded his first-person video onto his social media accounts.
i've seen his twitter feed (before it was taken down), and not very far down he mentions being raised a jw.
Just my 2 cents.
Guns to me represent Americans freedom of choice.
I mean Americans should be able to do what the second Amendment says:-
".....the right of people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"
If that right should be taken away, then surely Americans living in the 21st century should have the right to the vote:-is it time to take that amendment away?
On a separate note, an English friend of mine married to an American and living in the states for 15 years still does not have the right to vote.
The Rebel.
the target is converts.. why does it seem such an outrageous aim for a congregation to recruit new converts?.
in my old congregation, the enthusiasm was there but the knocking on doors produced zero " baptisms" in my final years.. a) why so little interests?.
b) was it the internet ?.
One would think the response from the d2d would be an eye opener for many witnesses?
personally, when I was involved in d2d I was never without good return calls and studies. This was partly because I feared and hated cold calling, so return calls gave me the incentive to avoid this.
The Rebel.
the target is converts.. why does it seem such an outrageous aim for a congregation to recruit new converts?.
in my old congregation, the enthusiasm was there but the knocking on doors produced zero " baptisms" in my final years.. a) why so little interests?.
b) was it the internet ?.
actually this is going back many years, but the P.O and the most zealous of Elders,were both recruited from the d2d and they made rapid advancement to their esteemed positions.
I wonder if they would be so easily converted today?
The Rebel.
back in the day, when the co came to the congregation, it was quite stressful for the elders and often, the rank and file.
.
is it as big a deal as it used to be?.
I was never an elder, but electing to speak for the rank and file in my former congregation, we didn't find it stressful, but It was fun noticing the elders freaked out. And they did freak out. They tried hard to motivate people to do the ministry that week.
The Rebel.
the target is converts.. why does it seem such an outrageous aim for a congregation to recruit new converts?.
in my old congregation, the enthusiasm was there but the knocking on doors produced zero " baptisms" in my final years.. a) why so little interests?.
b) was it the internet ?.
One thing I will say about the witnesses in my area they are always dressed for the occasion. But why they need the suit jackets I saw them in, on a scorching August afternoon is beyound me.
The Rebel.
i believe anyone who has voluntarily left a cult has shown they can adapt to new solutions, and have used " critical thinking" skills otherwise most would not have left.. yet i believe a safe place for support is still needed and this safe place i believe is searched for.. now i may not measure up to much in ways of education, but for me personally " critical thinking skills" = " new" a " new" way of thinking, that takes time for me the individual to be visual and to contemplate.
and the more i read about " critical thinking," the more convinced i am that i can live with the ridicule of those that claim i do not possess it.
furthermore i would say those that criticise others " critical thinking skills," often luck the sensibility and thoughts to snore, spit, and fart....nor would they understand a room full of tobacco smoke and cheap booze...where " critical thinking " can often be found in its most profound, in the most sensitive poems and "pictures" that were ever drawn.
I believe anyone who has voluntarily left a cult has shown they can adapt to new solutions, and have used " CRITICAL THINKING" skills otherwise most would not have left.
Yet I believe a safe place for support is still needed and this safe place i believe is searched for.
Now I may not measure up to much in ways of education, but for me personally " critical thinking skills" = " New" a " new" way of thinking, that takes time for me the individual to be visual and to contemplate. And the more I read about " critical thinking," the more convinced I am that I can live with the ridicule of those that claim I do not possess it. Furthermore I would say those that criticise others " critical thinking skills," often luck the sensibility and thoughts to snore, spit, and fart....nor would they understand a room full of tobacco smoke and cheap booze...where " critical thinking " can often be found in its most profound, in the most sensitive poems and "pictures" that were ever drawn. Each has critical thinking.
" critical thinking " has more going than meets the eye.
So my O.P.....when the mind leaves the body we may be dead, but when alive, life is not only a matter of "our " superior " critical thinking" it's a matter of compassion, humor, and accepting no one can be expected not to voice there true opinion, whether they believe in "Islam " " Art" " Religion" or that "man "didn't " landed on the moon."
The Rebel.
