Posts by sizemik

It your neighbor has a manager for his estate and that man has brought it to ruin, then you're not likely to hire this man to then manage your estate, right? So it is possible to know if someone is going to go their own way, or your way, based on what you have seen them do. . . . tec

I see . . .

In applying your analogy then, all those who God reveals himself to have a pre-existing track record of good management practices that God approves of. All of us who remain in the dark have a ruinous past record and are not worthy of him. God knows in advance we're not "qualified"

Or does your analogy mean something else?

48

Memorial - Why do i keep going?

by maisha in

every year i attend, missing only 5 in 50 years.. i do not attend meetings nor active in anyway, my family shun me,(all devote believers) but i do feel drawn to attend each year.

i am out for sure, but i no longer have faith, or a belief in any religous body as being approved by god.. i am so screwed up now i not sure if i believe in a creator!, let alone who or what that may be.. i was born into the truth, married into the truth and my ex is devote.. i could never return to the cult now seeing it for what it is.. i served, donated, slaved for years happy to do so as has all my family.. i went out of my way to get df, sort of a wanting to die act, of rejecting the society.. i used to sit in a movie in my youth and think, wow i am so lucky, all these people are going to die and i will live forever.. even just typing this gives release to my emotions,, lol,,, yea i have many emotions,,, many regrets, basically the organisation i followed and the instructions destroyed my life in every possible way.. the power plays that i witnessed within are what first woke me up,,,at first i let it go, forgiving those involved as brothers do.

but again and again power and position is and was the thing to have, you got the power you got everything.

sizemik

@EggNog . . .

People are quite entitled to express their opinion without having to answer to you. You don't have to single out people you don't even know and start attaching derogatory labels because their opinion differs from yours . . . let alone start stalking them using the PM system. You know what I'm talking about.

Now cut it out and stop being a prize prick.

778

IS GOD REAL? HOW DO YOU KNOW?

by still thinking in

jw
friends

this is an honest question on my part.

someone on this board asked me 'how do you know' a while ago and i really struggled with it.

in fact, it was a turning point for me.

sizemik

If you were rich and needed someone to manage your estate and oversee all of your children... would you put your estate in the hands of someone who is going to carry out your will, or someone who is not? . . . tec

A false analogy Tammy. The rich man hires according to a job description ie; to manage his estate and oversee his children. If that is known to the employee and he refuses to comply then you are right. Like the employee, I need the job description . . . from him. Otherwise how can I comply?

You can only do God's will if you know him and can hear him speaking to you. He doesn't speak to those unwilling to do what he wants, even though what he wants is a mystery to them. I can't see how this is not circular.

778

IS GOD REAL? HOW DO YOU KNOW?

by still thinking in

jw
friends

this is an honest question on my part.

someone on this board asked me 'how do you know' a while ago and i really struggled with it.

in fact, it was a turning point for me.

sizemik

This bears repeating.

Perhaps it does . . . but it's still circular reasoning. How does one know what to do with this knowledge before they even have it? How can they change what they will do with it if they don't know what it is? It's tantamount to "God will not reveal himself to me for his own personal reasons . . . and he won't tell me what they are"

I know the difference between right and wrong . . . and how to do it without being a preacher. If that's not good enough for God . . . and he refuses to tell me why for some mysterious reason . . . what's left to do? The ball's in his court not mine.

778

IS GOD REAL? HOW DO YOU KNOW?

by still thinking in

jw
friends

this is an honest question on my part.

someone on this board asked me 'how do you know' a while ago and i really struggled with it.

in fact, it was a turning point for me.

sizemik

I believed that this was god speaking to me somehow, now I don't know if they were just my own thoughts and I attributed them to god.

If there were the slightest bit of doubt . . . it's not God. Our own thoughts, demons etc., are constantly warned about in the Bible. God would not leave doubt IMO . . . why would he? There is little to justify making yourself a mystery. If God ever talks to me . . . I expect him to differentiate loud and clear that these are not my own thoughts . . . and that he is not an imposter. And that by his own standards . . . "do not be misled."

I'm approachable . . . and available . . . and still waiting.

8

Funny story! I guess that settles it.

by BreathoftheIndianNose in

jw
friends

so about 2 years ago i decided to put an end once and for all to the myth about jw's being a cult.

if i could prove it to myself that we weren't, i could prove it to those annoying people at the doors who say jws are a cult as well.

it was really hard to find a deffenition that proved that we weren't a cult.

sizemik

It shows the power of semantics . . . take out the weighted buzz-words and the truth emerges in all it's glory.

17

What do you think about this?

by OneDayillBeFree in

there's so much going on in my life right now but i'll be posting more about that later.. .

to get straight to the point (i'm actually in the meeting right now) my mother has been very depressed about a lot of things lately.

she is a regular pioneer and is a jw who many think is happy but she's a good faker and knows all to well how to put on a fake smile to cover up her true feelings.

sizemik

It sounds like your Mum is having genuine doubts. Surface indications are often only the tip of an iceberg . . . there's usually much more lurking in the mind which remains unsaid. I would suggest from the meeting comment that she has mentally woken up.

Tread very carefully though. She has her marriage and friends to consider and is probably experiencing inner turmoil. Let things happen at a natural pace. Stay close to her . . . she will need you.