My sister had a dog when I was growin up as a Jehovah's Witness. The last place I went to a bookstudy was a private home where the owner/MS/bookstudy conductor's family had a dog which they let run around the house freely, except they tied him up during the actual bookstudy. I am of course no longer a JW, but I have no interest in pets. For me personally, it would be a waste of time and money for an animal.
maxwell
JoinedPosts by maxwell
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110
Why don't Dub families have pets?
by MinisterAmos inout of a dozen or so dub families that live near me i can only think of one with a dog.
at mt ex-congo, i only knew of two families with pets, dogs/cats.
the non-dub pet owning percentage around me is near 100%.
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New Lawsuit: Roe v. Wade for Men
by Elsewhere inhttp://www.cnn.com/2006/law/03/08/fatherhood.suit.ap/index.html.
men want 'say' in unplanned pregnancyactivists seek right to decline financial responsibility for kids.
new york (ap) -- contending that women have more options than they do in the event of an unintended pregnancy, men's rights activists are mounting a long shot legal campaign aimed at giving them the chance to opt out of financial responsibility for raising a child.. the national center for men has prepared a lawsuit -- nicknamed roe v. wade for men -- to be filed thursday in u.s. district court in michigan on behalf of a 25-year-old computer programmer ordered to pay child support for his ex-girlfriend's daughter.. the suit addresses the issue of male reproductive rights, contending that lack of such rights violates the u.s. constitution's equal protection clause.. the gist of the argument: if a pregnant woman can choose among abortion, adoption or raising a child, a man involved in an unintended pregnancy should have the choice of declining the financial responsibilities of fatherhood.
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maxwell
I read the article and I expect the same outcome that the guy expects. He'll probably lose. But I also hope it gets people to start thinking about the issue. Someone stated something to the effect that childbirth is inherently unequal. Women and even men may want equality to a certain extent, but there are fundamental differences between men and women. There are women who claim to be hardcore feminists who would never approach a man they like but would prefer to be old -fashioned, throw hints and hope that he approaches them. Pregnancy is another area where things will always be unequal unless they figure out a way for a man to carry a child. But I do think these are good issues to be discussed and argued.
I personally had a vasectomy, but I had to be questioned about what my wife thought along with what I thought before he would go through with it. I've heard of a men with no children being denied a vasectomy and even one guy in Canada being told to go get his girlfriend's permission! Even my wife thought she should be able to say whether I get a vasectomy or not and threatened (though I am not sure how seriously) to sue the doctor who performed it. It seems she would have been perfectly happy with the chance for an "accident".
While it may be impossible to make this situation perfectly equal for men and women, there are some things that need to be changed. There should be less resistance to vasectomies and the equivalent for women. There certainly shouldn't be any requirement that one has to get the permission of another person even if you are married to that person, let alone a girlfriend or boyfriend. And I find that story about the woman storing sperm in her mouth, outrageous. I've heard other crazy things like women keeping the condom and trying to empty it into themselves later. Men who are tricked should not be hooked for payment. Often that could be hard to prove, but in some cases it is easy.
I did hear one positive story yesterday (was that here?):
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060307/ap_on_re_eu/europe_frozen_embryos_1
The woman wanted to use some fertilized embryos after she had broken up with the man without the man's consent. The European Court said no. It just makes me wonder, however, would she have asked for child support if she had been allowed to use the embryos?
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How Did Things Change After You Were Baptised?
by whyizit ini've noticed that a lot of jws and former jws have said there was a big change after they became baptised.
how were you treated before, as compared to after?
is there really that noticeable of a difference?
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maxwell
Nothing much changed. I was raised as a JW, and I was 12 when I got baptized. For some reason, I thought I might get invited to more social gatherings with other young people. That didn't happen. I was and am still nerdy even compared to JW's.
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Reproof and "discipline"
by maxwell inso i had this not quite random idea come into my head today.
most jw, ex-jw are familiar with the fact that when someone is reproved they may be given some other "discipline" such as being prevented from commenting at the meeting for some time.
what do you think would happen if someone rebelled against their "discipline"?
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maxwell
So I had this not quite random idea come into my head today. Most JW, ex-JW are familiar with the fact that when someone is reproved they may be given some other "discipline" such as being prevented from commenting at the meeting for some time. What do you think would happen if someone rebelled against their "discipline"? Say the person raised their hand and attempted to comment. What if the elder forgot that the person was being "disciplined" and allowed the person to comment? What if the person visited another congregation far away and got in a comment and somehow it got back to the home congregation elders? I wonder what would happen. Just curious. Anybody know? :)
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13 years old boy has been baptized
by M.Bibleres in13 years old boy has been baptized!
this month i went to a circuit assembly (north/west germany) to spy what is going on and too keep me up to date with teachings and jehovah's witnesses language.
after the assembly was over i just happened to see a father congratulating his child for being baptized.
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maxwell
More anecdotal data.
I was baptized at 12 in 1989. My father was baptized at 11 back in the late 50's.
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Headship principle
by TheListener ini was talking with a good friend of mine the other day and the subject of headship came up.. i believe that the bible clearly shows that the man is the head of the family.. however, i don't believe the society portrays that headship in a correct fashion.. in my opinion the society really endorses a type of headship that doesn't really square with the teachings of the bible.. as my fade has progressed (remember we're talking several years here) my style of headship has changed very little.
i've never been a domineering head who bossed his wife around and made hard and fast rules for the family, but, before the fade started, i felt like i could if i needed to and sometimes even felt that i wasn't a very good head because i was too soft.. now, i feel like i'm a good head of the family and that pretty much the way i've been doing it does square with the bible's viewpoint.
now i can be the head i was but without the guilt.. i'm looking for what others here think the bible describes for the actions of the head of the family.
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maxwell
I don't believe the Bible anymore.
However, I do think the Bible clearly says the husband is head of wife.
Just to throw a wrench in the mix, I personally don't think there's anything wrong with a headship arrangement if two people agree on it. I'd prefer it to be that way or maybe even the way these people do it: www.takeninhand.com
Anyhow, I seen that some people actually try to say it's a good christian thing to spank your wife. I don't think the Bible supports that view at all. Ironically, my wife, who is stil a JW, doesn't follow any sort of headship principle. Is it Ephesian 5 or Galatians 5. Can't remember, but it says the husband is head of wife as Christ is head of the congregation. So I don't see any room for domineering there. Basically, I think the husband has to take the lead by example and by giving direction to his family including his wife. Of course the Bible also says the wife is to submit to her husband no matter what as long as there is no conflice with bible law, but ultimately she has the choice to follow that direction just as she has the choice to follow bible law. Of course, the husband may get input from the wife before making decisions or giving direction. But I see no biblical provision for the husband to discipline the wife in any way if she decides to ignore his direction. According to the Bible he is simply do to do everything possible to earn respect and submission from his wife and if she decides she doesn't want to do it, tough for him or maybe not so bad if you have an equal partnership with a mature adult.
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Anyone ever go on one of those bus trips to bethel?
by limbogirl inback in the late eighties while still in high school instead of doing something fun for spring break i got an all expense paid trip to bethel.
on a bus no less with about 75 other jws headed to the promised land.
somewhere i still have a photo album filled with snapshots of the printing presses and all of the "cadets" happily churning out literature -- and of course all of the female cadets happily scrubbing toilets and doing laundry.
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maxwell
Yes, I went on a bus trip in August of 1992. I kind of enjoyed the trip. I wasn't turned off to JW by the trip, but it did pretty much tell me that I wasn't Bethel material. I knew I could never get with all the strict rules they had there. The trip also turned me off to tour bus trips. I lived near Memphis at the time, but now I live in Washington DC. Our tour bus stopped for a short while in DC. Now I live here and see lots of tour buses coming through here every summer. I really can't see what attracts people to traveling that way. I would think one would have a lot more fun if they weren't tied down to going where the tour bus is going, which is usually just the monuments, government buildings, all the stuff every tourist sees. I visited NYC again 3 or 4 years ago. We took the train in and walked or rode the subway wherever we wanted to go. Much more fun than being stuck on a tour bus.
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TAX FREE WEEKEND
by horrible life intexas is having a tax free weekend on all clothes and shoes, and .
each must be valued under $100.00.
so oklahomans will be traveling to texas, in droves, to spend our money in all of the boarder towns, including dallas.
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maxwell
We're tax free on clothes and school items for one week and a day starting today.
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Napoleon Dynamite = CRAP!
by sonnyboy inmy gawd.
i noticed that the movie got decent reviews and i didn't really hear anything bad about it, so i gave it a chance on hbo tonight.. .
these stupid ass reviewers got duped.
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maxwell
I loved this movie. Laughed a lot. I identified somewhat with Napoleon since I was somewhat of a geek in high school. And I had a friend in high school who used to say "IDIOT" almost exactly the same way.
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Would you go to a funeral at the Kingdom Hall?
by Dustin inso my brother and i have been having talks about what will happen when our dad passes away eventually.
most of his brothers and sisters have died in their 50's or early 60's.
i flat out refuse to attend any part of the service that would be done at the kingdom hall.
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maxwell
I probably would. I went to my sister's wedding in the KH although I'm not sure if I will do that again unless it is clearly indicated that my presence would be appreciated.
In the future, I'm looking at the funeral of three grandparents and both my parents at the least if things progress naturally and I don't die before they do. I assume they would want my presence even if just to hear another JW sermon. And it might do some good for closure, though I am not sure about that closure idea. Also, I'm not the only non-JW in my family so there are others with whom I might share some mutual comfort at those sad times.