it is a warm sunny day, blue skies and i am excited by the prospect this sunday holds.
will i dismantle a motorbike?
paint a picture?
So turning my O.P around what did I miss?
No public talk.
No W.T study.
No 1 hour service.
No magazine placements.
No food at the proper time.
No false handshakes with my brothers.
No wasted petrol.money.
No contributing my money to the W.T
No being told my tie was too flashes.
I am FREE, even if J.Ws would say I am DOOMED. At least I am FREEDOOM (ed)
THE REBEL.
" only the good die young".
or at least they remain eternally young and heroic particularly if they died for you.
the trouble is we can outgrow our hero worship and our opinions of that person can change.. this is what has happened to me with my childhood friend and my hero jesus.
" Only the good die young". Or at least they remain eternally young and heroic particularly if they died for YOU. The trouble is we can outgrow our hero worship and our opinions of that person can change.
This is what has happened to me with my childhood friend and my hero JESUS. I no longer believe he died for my sins. But I want to keep the figure of the man alive in my heart so this is how I do that:-
Jesus remains to me a religious fanatic, a young Jew who wanted to make the world a better place to live in. A REBEL WITH A CAUSE, who fought the establishment. Each of the parties, Pharasis, Scribes and Romans might have used him for their political ends, but he was an idealist who was willing to die for what he believed in.
Being the " son of God" is easy being "a man" is harder. That is enough for me and I still class my childhood friend as a hero,and my " Rebel with a Cause"
Anyway how do you see your Jesus today? Is he the son of God? Simply a man? Or a fictional character?
The Rebel.
the reason i ask is because i realise i couldn't go on reading watchtower material.
i have discovered it did something to my mind no other literature has done to me before.
it had turned me in to a person without a heart, or soul, and made me in humane and distant from other humans who didn't share the w.t world view.. i now feel ashamed of my childish behaviour, and i have learnt :-.
I feel sorry for the kids. They read it and loose their innocence because :-
a) Instead of knowing they are taught to understand a W.T world.
b) Instead of feeling they are taught God.
i hadn't really thought about the power and impact that this literature has on " kids" before. Do you feel the same way?
Its worth pointing out W.T literature is translated in to 700 languages.
The Rebel.
i popped into the supermarket for a few things after work today and found myself walking up an aisle alongside a couple who used to be in my tuesday group.
i see them reasonably often and always say hello much to their obvious annoyance.
i noticed that ian was sporting a shaggy beard.
I also popped in to the supermarket today for a few things after work today and found myself walking up an aisle along side a couple of my former meat eating friends. I see them reasonably often and always say hello much to their obvious annoyance. Ian noticed my trolley contained no meat . The isle was less empty without my pork cutlets.
Ian. " you don't eat pig anymore, do you?
Me " That's none of your business"
Ian " I am just curious why you think this way, when you know it tastes so good?"
Me " That's none of your business"
Isn" I am just curious why you behave this way when you eat fish"
Me ( getting up in Ian's face) " Do you want me to hit you? "
Ian " If you hit me I will f..king deck you "
.......................
Conclusion,.....anyway I am looking forward to seeing Ian again. This little incident will provide for weeks of teasing. However maybe if I had showed Ian the evidence to my believes, and respected him we could simply remain friends who begged to differ.
Be the bigger man.
The Rebel.
a lot of people, ex-jws, believers and unbelievers alike, think that jw's are just a somewhat kooky brand of christianity.
is it possible to "try and follow jesus" and not be christian?
what exactly makes someone a christian?
Perry my questions were not a long thread and video to research. My questions are:-
a) Why does starting a thread " EXACTLY WHY J.W,s ARE NOT CHRISTIAN" take so much " blah, blah, blah" ?
b) Is it possible you can answer in one sentence:-
1)" WHY" exactly are J.Ws not Christian?
2) " WHY" non " J.W " Christians are Christians?
3) would I be wrong in assuming " YOUR " God would think " YOUR" understanding of Christanality makes you a better person than I.
The Rebel.
a lot of people, ex-jws, believers and unbelievers alike, think that jw's are just a somewhat kooky brand of christianity.
is it possible to "try and follow jesus" and not be christian?
what exactly makes someone a christian?
Why does answering a question " EXACTLY, why JW'S are NOT CHRISTIANS" take so much " blah, blah, blah"?
At least this thread is written in English, not Greek, nor French so we can understand .
Please can i have a one sentence answer to:-
A) " WHY" " exactly are not JW'S Christians?
B) And " WHY" non J.W " Christians" say they are Christians?
C) Would I be wrong in assuming your God would think this understanding of " Christianality" makes you a better and more worthy person than I?
The Rebel.
the reason i ask is because i realise i couldn't go on reading watchtower material.
i have discovered it did something to my mind no other literature has done to me before.
it had turned me in to a person without a heart, or soul, and made me in humane and distant from other humans who didn't share the w.t world view.. i now feel ashamed of my childish behaviour, and i have learnt :-.
Hi BluesBrother:- " We won't get fooled again"
If that was directed at my " Did Man Land On The Moon....Won't get Fooled Again" thread, it made me laugh.
For the moment, that thread rests. However I do still express some concern that " man landed on the moon"
At least here we can express views other posters may seem weird, something we couldn't do in watchtower land. Even if it does result in some ridicule and humiliation....
Now if I hit my head with a brick I may believe some of the noncence I once believed.
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.
Personally I just signed a petition, Govenor Fallin: Grant, Richard Glossip a stay of execution. Glossip is scheduled for execution on September 16th convicted on the testimony of his co- worker who avoided the death penalty by implicating Richard.
What does this have to do with this thread?
Well the O.P suggested we should blame the W,T for Williams actions and I say that's bullshit. But I think we can blame a country ( regardless of our different viewpoint on guns) that puts a man to death on September 16th on a case that is so shallow.
So as individuals we can make a difference to senseless murder. Please check out the injustice of this case and then if you agree sign the petition. ( Dr Phil is opening his new season early to highlight this injustice)
September 16th is not long away.
The Rebel.
the reason i ask is because i realise i couldn't go on reading watchtower material.
i have discovered it did something to my mind no other literature has done to me before.
it had turned me in to a person without a heart, or soul, and made me in humane and distant from other humans who didn't share the w.t world view.. i now feel ashamed of my childish behaviour, and i have learnt :-.
Oogie :- " Well right after I woke up from my programming....
But what about the consequences this literature has caused before we woke up from our programming? For example, how many " family heads" kids never got an education because they woke up to late?
Personally nowadays each morning I read " Charlie Brown" with my breakfast. Before that I was reading Friedrich Nietzche who was a German philosopher and died in a Swiss lunatic asylum.
Strangely I have learnt more about the human condition by reading Charles M Schulz " you're The Greatest Charlie Brown" with my cornflakes,than I ever did from reading Nietzche or the Watchtower.
The Rebel.
i just learned that sometimes people give "green handshakes".
is this the same as bribing your way up?.
thanks for any posts..
Personally I always thought of the C.O as a distant relative, who makes unwelcome visits but part of the family. He and his wife visited they shared members simple food of potatoes mashed with cabbage, and a bathroom which had a wired sence of cleanliness.
Ok many " Green Handskakes" may have had questionable motives, but in my dictionary we all like to receive " Green Handshakes" and should he really be expected to question the motive?
I am afraid my morals are such I would with out hesitation take the " Green Handshake"
How he acted upon rewarding the " Green Handskakes" is another question?
The Rebel,
