Posts by Sulla

This makes me sad, Greybeard. The JWs shoot the wounded, don't you know. The reason you haven't heard anything is because it doesn't matter to them what you think. And here you've gone and made such an extensive argument, discussed your pain, etc. Don't mean shit to them, man.

48

Oldest Temple in Turkey

by Satanus in

jw
friends

gobekli tepe, an archeological dig in turkey, not far from the syrian border.

it has been unearthed seriously, since 1994 by german archeologists.

it is a site that predates stonehenge by 6000 yrs, and the pyramids by 7000yrs, they say.

Sulla

'Cause Jericho has the oldest structures found so far -- excepting this temple -- at around 10,000 years before present. I don't think we know where the oldest city is. For sure we have settlements all down the Nile that were collected into the kingdoms of Egypt, what, 6,000 years back?

I think the stuff in New Yorker and Nat Geo said they were nomads, which makes the whole thing really, really odd, since this sort of thing is commonly thought to require a settled community with hierarchies and so on. On the other hand, I don't read where anyone is saying this structure is not 11,000 years old. So maybe.

48

Oldest Temple in Turkey

by Satanus in

jw
friends

gobekli tepe, an archeological dig in turkey, not far from the syrian border.

it has been unearthed seriously, since 1994 by german archeologists.

it is a site that predates stonehenge by 6000 yrs, and the pyramids by 7000yrs, they say.

Sulla

Not buyin' it. 1,000 years before Jericho had simple walls, you have nomads carving this sort of thing? Hmmm.

191

What is your religious belief now?

by jwfacts in

i have a new poll at jwfacts.mobi/pollsarchive/ as i am very interested to see what people have moved on to believe.

as this is considered sensitive by some, you can answer anonymously at the jwfacts.mobi/pollsarchive/, or answer on this thread.

this is what i have created in the list, but feel free to add comments, corrections, or options i have missed.. .

Sulla

Might be useful to split "Christian -- associated with a denomination" into Catholic/Orthodox and Protestant, at least. It seems to me the responses capture several flavors of ambiguous spirituality but almost no differences in Christian religious practice. Actually, it might be useful to recast the responses to mimic, say, the Pew categories.

Also, since I'm making up work someone else should do, it might be interesting to add a temporal question. Cofty, for example, seems to have gone JW - Evangelical -- Athiest. Something like, "Was there a time between being a JW and your curent belief when you would have answered differently? If so, how?"

Everybody always wants to tweak your survey. I know, it's irritating. Sorry.

Catholic.

49

Discussion with family member who is an Elder in our congregation

by Newly Enlightened in

so about a week ago, i showed my cousin & her husband [an elder in our congregation] the picture on pg 29 of our 4/15/2013 study wt and asked, "if jesus is head of the congregation then where is he?".

after several minutes of searching, dead silence.. i then asked if they had heard the part on the 2012 summer district conv the part about "our spiritual mother, where the c.o said that "the bible by itself does not shine thru as life-giving truths just by itself.

" they were shocked and said that i must have misheard it because that would be apostasy.

Sulla

The line of reasoning has to be like this, because it is preposterous. It can't make any sense.

There is a very old idea that you read scripture "with the church," meaning that you have to sort of ground the way you read with the way others have historically read scripture. The JWs, of course, don't have any time for that. But they insist that you read scripture the way they tell you to.

Thus, again, the central and unalterable dogma of the JWs: 1914. Without it, there is no JW church; that is why it cannot ever be changed.

30

Help!!!

by marriedtoajw in

jw
friends

i have come here for any advice and support that anyone can give and i really need it now.

i don't talk about these issues with my siblings anymore because they have already told me that they have no advice and can't help.

feelings of anxiety have been overwhelming me the lat 2 years and it makes me feel like a scared little child.

Sulla

It sounds to me like the time has come to do that most radical of things: have an absolutely honest conversation with her. More likely, a series of absolutely honest conversations. It sounds very much like you have nothing to lose by being entirely honest. Your strategy of saying nothing has failed, it seems to me. So it is time to change strategy.

You are afraid. I get it. Everybody is afraid when it comes to family, because it is so important.

Stop being afraid.

Stop being afraid and speak what is true. It is past time.

6

I placed my first set of magazines here

by irondork in

jw
friends

sanger, california, usa.

during the summer of 1972. i was five years old.

i actually remember the neighborhood, the lady at the door - the entire historic event with reasonable clarity.

Sulla

Ah, but do your remember your first talk on the Minsitry School? Reading from Job 14: "Man, born of woman, is short-lived and full of trouble," or something -- I don't recall the NWT reading. Of course, I killed it.

Actually, the #2 talk process was reasonably good as an exercise for kids: public reading helps with both reading and public speaking, so that's good. Add on a little introduction and conclusion, maybe an mid-reading comment if you are playing above the rim, and boom!