Welcome Decimus, especially if you don't look like Russell Crowe. Even better if you don't behave like RC.
What made you "wake up"?
Marilyn
Posts by Mazza
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36First Post
by Decimus inhi everyone.while i have lurked on this board for some time this is my very first post.
the main reason for my reluctance to post has been the fact that my job keeps me pretty busy - however i have enjoyed the board so much i felt i would love to be a more tangible presence and have decided to take the plunge.
i will give more details of my background later.
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28
I told my dad this morning.........
by lv4fer inhe asked if i was going to the circuit assembly this weekend.
he asked why.
i just said after a long pause, dad it's not the truth (you have to understand that i'm the one who preached to this man and got him in the truth) the conversation lasted about 5 minutes with him saying well who else teaches the right thing, you have to understand, jehovah has to have an organization.
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Mazza
Iv4fer, Please take it real easy on your dad. I have been where you are. I too feel I was the instigator of my family getting so involved with the JWs. I am the only one who woke up and yet I was the one pushing the hardest for them to get more "spiritual", when they were slackers and I was totally into it.
My father used to suffer angina attacks when he and I got into a discussion about it after I left. Yet neither of us could leave it alone. In hindsight I would have taken it a lot easier on him. I would have been patient and selected my subject (not subjects) carefully. The worse thing you can do is dance from subject to subject. You need to pick something and follow it thru to it's logical conclusion. Like prophecy or blood.
I think it's vital now that your father is assured of your love for him. He may be afraid of losing you to "the world". Lots of reasurance and hugs and determination that this won't prove to be a wedge between you. The rest will work out if you use commonsense.
Marilyn
Marilyn
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28
I told my dad this morning.........
by lv4fer inhe asked if i was going to the circuit assembly this weekend.
he asked why.
i just said after a long pause, dad it's not the truth (you have to understand that i'm the one who preached to this man and got him in the truth) the conversation lasted about 5 minutes with him saying well who else teaches the right thing, you have to understand, jehovah has to have an organization.
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Mazza
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;Is it logical that this organization would be a minor offshoot of Protestantism? After all, that excludes the vast majority of the world's population from the get go - why should someone born Chinese or Indian have an unfair disadvantage, based solely on where they were born, when it comes to joining that organization? It's hard enough for them to convert to Christianity let alone to a minor sect with a disturbing background and a track record of predicting the end repeatedly with devasting results for many of their followers.
Herbert, that was beautifully put. I've pondered this a lot. I am in Hong Kong @ present, and therefore the 6million people around me are real and the 1.2 billion just across the border though not quite as real are more real to me than they might be to someone sitting in Brooklyn writing WT literature about the preaching work.
I asked a JW about this as recently as last week. I posted about it. He said that every person doesn't have to be reached, that it was enough that the WTS was represented in China. Well now that just don't seem fair to me. Western people get to have the 'end of the world' message delivered to their doors every few months and people in China get to have a WT office in their major cities and perhaps, maybe, could be that ten million chinese have heard of JWs. The rest have to be content with "the witness to the nation" explanation.
Even worse is the explanation, presented by You Know, who said that the Bible says that some nations won't be receptive to the good news (genetically impaired perhaps?) - conveniently these must be China and India and all the countries that Westerners find hard to penetrate. I know when my husband went to India a few years back, that he was very humbled by the people and their diverse beliefs. He was disgusted with our presumptious western attitudes that we have the light and all these barbarians are ignorant and foolish. I think he felt it was more likely the other way around.
Marilyn
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7
Find meaning in your life
by Lee Elder ina life worth living is a life with meaning.
as former or inactive jws most of us struggle with this at various points in our lives.
this is especially true if we become "non-theists".
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Mazza
It's kinda like The Fruitages of the Spirit yeah?
Marilyn
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13
Good by everyone
by Tammie ini want to tell every one here good by.
i have enjoyed reading your comments.
i am leaving the internet for a while.
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Mazza
Goodluck and come back when you can
Marilyn
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56
A big "thank you" to everyone here
by Simon inin the past i have sometimes felt like i have to be the 'bad guy', so to speak, because i need to lock or delete topics, deactivate people, try and stop fights and such like - basically, telling people off and not being 'nice'.. well, apart from the odd heated debate and harsh word (and disruptive 'visit') i have not really had a great deal to do for the past month or two and it has been very nice - a pleasure to serve.. so ... i thought i should say a 'thank you' instead of a "stop it!
" for once
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Mazza
Yeah, move over WatchTower - you're got some competition on the unity front!!!!!!!!
and we don't even have to think the same to accomplish it.
Marilyn
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49
a thread of support for OZZIEPOST and MRS OZZIE
by Prisca indear fellow posters,.
ozziepost and his beautiful wife mrs ozzie are going through a very tough time right now, at the hands of the wts and its henchmen.
in the space of a few weeks, they have lost their children and other family members due to the unchristian attitudes and pharisaic dogmas, despite having tried to quietly fade away from the wts.
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Mazza
;;;;;;;;;;;Nonetheless it's like grieving for the loss of all your family in an accident, yet in this case, they're all still alive.
Hi Ozzie, I've been there done that. I lived your nightmare 20 years ago, down in Hobart. All my immediate family and relatives are JWs. However we "woke up" when our kids were little and before they became robots for the Society - so at least we have our two children and each other .We sooooooooo tried to slip away quietly. I really don't understand how some people get away with it and others don't. The Society is very inconsistent. They even write it in their literature that you can leave if you want - but of course this is a lie.
I'm so sorry for what you will have to go thru. I am especially concerned about Mrs Ozzie. This type of grief is extremely bad for the body. It's not like losing someone or a whole family to an accident - because they haven't gone and you can't grieve and move on. I had a doctor explain tht to me once. My mother was so distressed about not being able to associate with me that she cried for 2 yrs. Ten years later she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer normally takes about ten years of developement before it is diagnosed. Cancer and other serious illnesses are often a product of severe emotional distress. Pls tell Mrs Ozzie to take some action to protect her body. I recommend a daily walk of about 45 minutes and some meditation if she can manage to do it without getting too upset. You both should eat extra carefully - and take some supplements like Vit B - which are good for the nerves.
I'd like to talk to you both about my experience some time. I'm in Hong Kong visiting David for a couple of weeks - but I would like to call you when I get back to Melbourne if you feel up to it. I have 20 yrs of experience to call on. I also have a lovely home in Melbourne - if you and Mrs Ozzie want to drive down for a weekend sometime - I would make you very welcome.
warmest thoughts
Marilyn -
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The LOVE problem
by Mazza inwhy is practising "love" so difficult for christians?
given the theme of the bible is about love and given that christians are constantly expounding the virtues of believing, why is there such a problem following this most basic of christian teachings?
it's a huge problem, apart from isolated instances of exceptional goodness which are found radomly occuring throughout all humanity - christians do not have a good track record with this most simple concept of their belief system.
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Mazza
Always a pleasure catching up with ya DB! The thing is that I have no quarrel with the love concept of Christianity - BC as it were - rather it's that humans seem to have a lot of trouble following it. Geez the Germans have even made a word for man's lack of charity towards their fellow man. The ability to get joy out of the misery of others. Shardonfraude (spelling spurious!!!!). The JW congregation is all I know and fromI could see there was a lot of talk, but action was much more difficult. We had to constantly work at it. Why is that? Why doesn't it come naturally? I think it's becasue we evolved and it's programmed into our DNA to look after number one. We see each others as competitors and though we've learnt to be accomodating, I think our basic instincts are still very selfish.
Look I'm in a weird mood today too. I never pst a topic and when I do, it's one that's half cocked and ill thought out. HOw me!!!! I spend a lot of time thinking about stuff but usually lack the iniative to post. Ya can see why eh???
Loved your post on JWs not trusting in Jehovah. I know I have a perfect example of what you are alluding to, but do you think I can think of it today??? NOPE!!!
later
Marilyn -
17
The LOVE problem
by Mazza inwhy is practising "love" so difficult for christians?
given the theme of the bible is about love and given that christians are constantly expounding the virtues of believing, why is there such a problem following this most basic of christian teachings?
it's a huge problem, apart from isolated instances of exceptional goodness which are found radomly occuring throughout all humanity - christians do not have a good track record with this most simple concept of their belief system.
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Mazza
Feel free the enlighten me.....
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17
The LOVE problem
by Mazza inwhy is practising "love" so difficult for christians?
given the theme of the bible is about love and given that christians are constantly expounding the virtues of believing, why is there such a problem following this most basic of christian teachings?
it's a huge problem, apart from isolated instances of exceptional goodness which are found radomly occuring throughout all humanity - christians do not have a good track record with this most simple concept of their belief system.
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Mazza
Yes Bruce, but you are talking about exceptional individuals - which I freely admit exist. In and outside of Christianity. Christians have done a lot of good, but generally individuals find it difficult to display the fruitages of the spirit as a routine matter. I think we may have to beg to differ on this one. I look around the world and whether ever there is trouble there is also religious differences. Go figure!
Marilyn