someone in a church i once attended changed their name from mim to something else because mim was the name of a famous witch.. should jws have/give(to their children)1st names that are of pagan origin eg phoebe?
There was always that really self-righteous family in the congregation that named their kids really weird bible names.
"Come on Josiah, Eleazar, Aeneas, Prisca and Aquila - time to go home now darlings!"
I always feel sorry for kids with obscure names - imagine the teasing they would get at school!
never ever, ever confuse greatness with popularity.
compared to music here in the u.s. british music is as good as it gets.
it's true that bands like pulp, suede, blur, oasis, manic street preachers, rarely get any airplay here in the states, but that's all i listen too.
There are some brilliant American bands around - there seems to be a trend going on for the last year or so in the form of raw retro punky garagey bands (in the absence of a proper name for the genre) But Sony & Warner Bros don't want you to hear them and make sure they get no airplay!
i, like many on this board got baptised when still a teenager (17).. at the time i thought i knew what i was doing and could take full responsibility for my actions.. 10 years later i realise i knew very little back then compared to what i know now.. was i old enought to make my mind up?.
or could we always at any age ,be looking back at things we did wrong thinking if only i knew what i know now?.
actually how much responsibility can we hold over what we did as teenagers .weren't we pushed by the congregation and parents, we had little knowledge of anything else being force fed the "truth" since babies.. at such a young age aren't we much more vulnerable to brainwashing ?.
I spelt it wrong too. American English is Baptize and European English is Baptise. Us Brits have something against the letter z for some reason.
for the first time in nearly 40 years, not a single british artist is on the billboard hot 100. .
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=768&e=1&cid=768&u=/nm/20020424/music_nm/britain_pop_dc_1
On the flipside it's funny actually that American bands such as The Strokes, The White Stripes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Andrew WK are incredibly popular in Britain, but not so much back home...
ironically, we were discussing the watchman who stays awake night and day.. anyway, something was said that made me awaken and pay careful attention.
please, if anyone else who got this same information at their book study, please share it.. here goes:.
there was a picture of a man standing on the watchtower keeping on the look out.
I really feel for you a great deal, I know how it feels to be trapped in this organization. I've used the phrase "emotional blackmail" before, but it’s whole lot more complicated than that. In my case nobody is threatening me literally – in fact nobody knows how I feel. Everyone sees me as an exemplary witness. All I know is that the day I say that I no longer wish to be a witness the world as I know it now will fall apart. Once I say that to my mum and dad it can’t be unsaid, so I shall have to get the timing dead right! At the moment I have nothing else, in fact I am in a situation where I do not have ANY family that aren’t JWs. For the first time in my life I am trying to build some friendships outside. It’s very difficult, but I hope to get there eventually.
i, like many on this board got baptised when still a teenager (17).. at the time i thought i knew what i was doing and could take full responsibility for my actions.. 10 years later i realise i knew very little back then compared to what i know now.. was i old enought to make my mind up?.
or could we always at any age ,be looking back at things we did wrong thinking if only i knew what i know now?.
actually how much responsibility can we hold over what we did as teenagers .weren't we pushed by the congregation and parents, we had little knowledge of anything else being force fed the "truth" since babies.. at such a young age aren't we much more vulnerable to brainwashing ?.
Now that's an interesting point. It's actually two occasions in the bible where birthday's are mentioned and there are subsequent deaths. However, there is a hell of a lot of death in the bible - can someone think of two occasions where something else very mundane happens and there are then subsequent deaths - like so-and-so walked down the road and then someone is murdered so now JWs are not allowed to walk they have to sit on a skateboard – you know what I mean?!
Oops, I'm getting off the thread... Anyway, all my friends, family, everything, is centered on the Jehovah's Witness religion, but I've always felt like an alien pretending to be one of them! One of the things that I just can't understand is that who on earth would actually make a decision and actually choose to live this kind of life? My dedication was supposed to be something incredibly momentous, but it really meant nothing to me. I always kinda wanted it to be the truth, but I know it isn't. But I can't imagine any other way of living - it is so ingrained into me. It’s a bit weird I know!
i, like many on this board got baptised when still a teenager (17).. at the time i thought i knew what i was doing and could take full responsibility for my actions.. 10 years later i realise i knew very little back then compared to what i know now.. was i old enought to make my mind up?.
or could we always at any age ,be looking back at things we did wrong thinking if only i knew what i know now?.
actually how much responsibility can we hold over what we did as teenagers .weren't we pushed by the congregation and parents, we had little knowledge of anything else being force fed the "truth" since babies.. at such a young age aren't we much more vulnerable to brainwashing ?.
That’s virgin on the ridiculous Dawn. Anyways, things have changed so much though here in the congregations in the UK - I've noticed this in a number of congregations - I wonder if it's a worldwide trend:
Twenty years ago, someone who was 18 and brought up a witness and not baptized, well, it was a bit of a disgrace. People would murmur, wondering what was going on. If you had any privileges in the congregation you might find them whipped from under you. Back in the 80’s I felt under pressure at 17, thinking “everyone will think I’m worldly if I don’t get my skates on!”. These days however, kids seem to be getting baptized much later - 20/21 is not unusual now. My cousin is 16 next month, and it’s never even been mentioned, and he is very zealous, from a zealous family.
i, like many on this board got baptised when still a teenager (17).. at the time i thought i knew what i was doing and could take full responsibility for my actions.. 10 years later i realise i knew very little back then compared to what i know now.. was i old enought to make my mind up?.
or could we always at any age ,be looking back at things we did wrong thinking if only i knew what i know now?.
actually how much responsibility can we hold over what we did as teenagers .weren't we pushed by the congregation and parents, we had little knowledge of anything else being force fed the "truth" since babies.. at such a young age aren't we much more vulnerable to brainwashing ?.
It seems that something completely stupid (infant baptism) has been replaced by something equally stupid (teenage baptism fed by coercion & emotional blackmail). But can you blame witness parents? Its a well worn argument here, but if you genuinely believe something is going to give you eternal life, surely its logical that you would do anything to save your children's life too?
i, like many on this board got baptised when still a teenager (17).. at the time i thought i knew what i was doing and could take full responsibility for my actions.. 10 years later i realise i knew very little back then compared to what i know now.. was i old enought to make my mind up?.
or could we always at any age ,be looking back at things we did wrong thinking if only i knew what i know now?.
actually how much responsibility can we hold over what we did as teenagers .weren't we pushed by the congregation and parents, we had little knowledge of anything else being force fed the "truth" since babies.. at such a young age aren't we much more vulnerable to brainwashing ?.
I remember feeling a bit jealous of the children in the congregation that got baptized early! It was always the really po-faced self-righteous kids in the congregation that got baptized young I generally found – ones that thought they were more “mature” than other kids in the congregation!
i, like many on this board got baptised when still a teenager (17).. at the time i thought i knew what i was doing and could take full responsibility for my actions.. 10 years later i realise i knew very little back then compared to what i know now.. was i old enought to make my mind up?.
or could we always at any age ,be looking back at things we did wrong thinking if only i knew what i know now?.
actually how much responsibility can we hold over what we did as teenagers .weren't we pushed by the congregation and parents, we had little knowledge of anything else being force fed the "truth" since babies.. at such a young age aren't we much more vulnerable to brainwashing ?.
Very true, I know a lot of ones that got married in their teens, some are still happily married, and some aren't - its really pot-luck at that age. You can be lucky and pick someone compatible with you, but that is more by accident than design. Anyway, I got baptised at 17 too, and on that very day I remember thinking "This is the dumbest thing to do, why am I doing this?" And of course it was to keep my family happy.
I wonder how many teenagers brought up "in the truth" are thinking the same thing when they get baptised?
Because there is no biblical precedent for any particular age to get baptised when you have been brought up a witness, there seems to be "fashions" of when the kids take the plunge. In the 80's kids were regularly getting baptised at 12/13 - nowadays it seems to be about 18/19. It generally happens when other kids your own age start to take the plunge - they all seem to do it within a short period of time.
