Posts by braincleaned

194

Bethel Rules

by brotherdan in

this was brought up just in passing on another thread.

but i wanted to see if there are any bethelites or ex bethelites that remember some of the crazy rules we had to follow when we were there..

braincleaned

Pure bullshit.

That's what happens when a bethelite is hammered and unplugs the wrong plug.

38

What IS the meaning and purpose of EVIL?

by Monsieur in

reading about the massacre of the jw family in mexico brought up all kinds of questions again.. from the standpoint of someone who doesn't in believe in 'god' or a 'conventional' god,.

what is the meaning and purpose of evil?.

how does it relate to the overall universe and its balance?

braincleaned

Haha! Kate, I believe you may be right! :D

... except on the "people don't invent demons and angels"... they do: they are called writers!

167

this site sucks! its just a buncha athiest on soap boxes.

by crossquestions6995 in

jw
friends

this site is not a healthy forum for discussion or healing.

its an arena for jaded athiests to bash anything christian or god related.

yes, i know the jw's lied to us about god and the truth.

I continue to be amazed by those who belonged to a ridiculous cult like JW's and now believe in NO Creator!

I'm surprised! I left the JW cult BECAUSE I concluded that Jehovah was just a nasty villain invented by ignorant men.
Your god makes NO sense at all — furthermore, I could repeat yet again, and scripturally, why that is.
GOD IS NOT LOVE.

It's obvious to any non-bias reader. (it was a hard realization for me, because I LOVED Jehovah... biased FOR him)

MsD, your comment is an embarrassment to yourself, and to your ignorant dogmatism.

38

What IS the meaning and purpose of EVIL?

by Monsieur in

reading about the massacre of the jw family in mexico brought up all kinds of questions again.. from the standpoint of someone who doesn't in believe in 'god' or a 'conventional' god,.

what is the meaning and purpose of evil?.

how does it relate to the overall universe and its balance?

braincleaned

Cofty... everyone knows the color of Evil is Black! ;)

38

What IS the meaning and purpose of EVIL?

by Monsieur in

reading about the massacre of the jw family in mexico brought up all kinds of questions again.. from the standpoint of someone who doesn't in believe in 'god' or a 'conventional' god,.

what is the meaning and purpose of evil?.

how does it relate to the overall universe and its balance?

braincleaned

I'm an atheist, and I would answer that there is no "purpose" in evil.
Actually there is no written "purpose" of Life in general. We have evolved to a higher consiousness, so we now are the ones giving purpose to Life.
Nature has only one fuction, and that is to evolve and survive. We have evolved to understand that there are positive consequences, and negative ones.
Whatever is not positive can be called "evil", and what is positive called "good".

But there is no written purpose.

12

RESPONSE: Letting Go of the Need to Have Approval - MUST READ!

by gmason972 in

jw
friends

thanks for the responses everybody!...nice to know i'm not alone in this.

the one thing that the watchtower society has taught me is to never place your value and worth in the hands of other people!....

once you look deep down inside yourself and let go of the need to have approval from others...you will find out things about you; you didn't know before.

braincleaned

I hope I am not overstepping by adding here my own list. gmason972, you have inspired me to write my own interpretation of your excellent post.
I found 5 essential points, all with added precisions for Happiness. This is based on my experience...

Again, thank you for provoking thought. As you will see, your 3 points are there.
THank you! What a great way to start a day... :)
~~~~

Nobody needs group approval to be happy.
Peer pressure can hinder the five most important points for Happiness; Health, Wealth, quest for truth, and contentment.

1. Good Health - The Healthy You are Inside your body, the better you will look and feel outside.
Happiness is also the good health of your loved ones, but that is not depending on you.
Hence…
Do not stress on what you cannot control. Focus on what you can. This is also linked to health.

2. Financial Freedom - Money does not guarantee happiness, but the lack of money brings stress and unhappiness.
A reasonable amount of ambition is needed to be all we can be — to ourselves, and others. We need to make money to be able to help those in need, another criteria of happiness. Also, never confuse ambition with greed.

3. Higher Self - this can be anything Spiritual — like meditation, or whatever it takes to become one with the universe; we all all connected with the Universe and all living beings.
Self respect and respect for others — including our animal family — generates a higher consciousness, and satisfaction.

4. Quest for Knowledge. Facing our cognitive dissonance and being honest with ourselves.
Making sure we are open to truth wherever it leads us, even if it is against our environmental/upbringing and natural bias.
Never abandon questioning everything. Never let a group pressure you into fitting their own agenda.
You have the right to change your mind and not have to answer to the dogmatism of others.

5. And finally after all of this, Contentment.
There will always be more… Contentment is the guard rail against frustration and toxic endeavors.

There! ~~~~

Notice how most of these are discouraged by the WTS... criminal imbeciles!

12

RESPONSE: Letting Go of the Need to Have Approval - MUST READ!

by gmason972 in

jw
friends

thanks for the responses everybody!...nice to know i'm not alone in this.

the one thing that the watchtower society has taught me is to never place your value and worth in the hands of other people!....

once you look deep down inside yourself and let go of the need to have approval from others...you will find out things about you; you didn't know before.

braincleaned

For those who don't have access to my facebook, here's my post and comment:
__________

A commentator (gmason972) of one of the sites I follow pinpointed pretty much my understanding of Life and what happiness is:
(I put in my own spin in [ ] brackets):
~~~
You don't need GROUP APPROVAL to be Happy or Successful in This Life!

My experience has taught me that you only need 3 things to be truly happy and that is HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HIGHER SELF.

1. Good Health - The Healthy You are Inside your body, the better you will look and feel outside.

2. Financial Freedom - [Money does not guarantee happiness, but the lack of money brings stress and unhappiness.]

3. Higher Self - Higher Self can be anything from meditation, spirituality (not religion), or whatever it takes to become one with the universe [we all all connected with the Universe and all living beings]. -
~~~

Comments:

• His added comment on wealth says this:

"unfortunetely some people think that barely making it in life, or living on a wing and a prayer is a way of being humble, more spiritual, or closer to God - NOT!...WE HAVE ALL THE TALENT AND ABILITY TO BECOME MORE! - Even a tree grows as tall as it can, stretches every branch and limb that it can. Who said we got to live like a poor person to have God's approval.....URGGHHHH!"

• I would add to the Health issue, that you also need your loved ones to be healthy to be happy.

12

RESPONSE: Letting Go of the Need to Have Approval - MUST READ!

by gmason972 in

jw
friends

thanks for the responses everybody!...nice to know i'm not alone in this.

the one thing that the watchtower society has taught me is to never place your value and worth in the hands of other people!....

once you look deep down inside yourself and let go of the need to have approval from others...you will find out things about you; you didn't know before.

braincleaned

I'm a spiritual atheist an I TOTALLY love this post.
I'm posting the 3 points on my Facebook! PERFECT conclusion!
THank you!
Vince.

(I put in my own spin, for I don't totally agree with the Secret — altough some points on positivism are well made.)

Link (for those who have access to my Facebook):

https://www.facebook.com/vmdeporter/posts/173185959556687

17

Tech49 visits Bethel: Part 1-Patterson

by Tech49 in

i thought that it was a good time to post my experience about visiting new york last spring.

enough time has passed that no one can put my experiences together with any kind of timeline..... so our family discussed the trip to the holy land (ny bethel), as none of us had ever been.

anyone who is anyone knows that you aren't really a good jw christian until you visit bethel!

braincleaned

Glad you went for us... i think I'll tour Alcatraz instead...

178

Honest survey question on effectiveness of 'apostacy'

by Simon in

jw
friends

it seems like lots of people have big dreams of 'destroying the watchtower'.

it's usually linked to a story of how they were wronged and want some revenge.

do these 'in your face' attempts to convince people that the truth isn't the truth really have an effect?.

braincleaned

Again, I don't think the videos, radio, podcasts, memes... have a chance with a hardcore JW... they will NOT even look.

HOWEVER, all of the above is VERY important once the spark of doubt has started. I would have been lost without all the YouTube videos and sites!
So I believe without a doubt that all activism anti-WTS is essential to the coming out of JWs. It is the first life-jacket we grab when we leave the WT ship!!!