this reporter curiously had access to a number of jws.
jw himself???.
jehovah's witnesses reject many holidays and the notion that they are a dour group.
I have a question...
Tanner and his family are among an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in the St. Louis area, people whose religious beliefs prohibit them from celebrating birthdays and most holidays, including Valentine's Day, Easter, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
What holidays are JWs permitted to celebrate?
Michelle
foxy and i were married this sunday in a small ceremony before family & friends.
yippie!.
an observation: we hired a justice of the peace more or less at random from the phone book.
Congratulations to you and Foxy! May you have a splendid, loving life together (and enjoy your new baby when he/she gets here).
Best wishes,
Michelle
well, the year is nearly out, and as the new one approaches i'm thinking back on 2 years of being in the online exjw community and, in june 2002, my four year anniversary of my df'ing.. when first i came to h2o seeking comfort and support in january 2000, i had been df'd for a year and a half and online nearly 4 years but never had the guts to type "jehovah's witnesses" into a search engine.
that search led me to freeminds (thanks, randy *hug*) and then, to h2o.. what a journey its been.
i've gone from devastation at losing my family, to anger, through the anger to numbness, back through sadness, and now after much soul searching and a chance change of circumstances last summer, come to look at my disfellowshipping in an entirely new light.. those who know my history know that i was born into the borg, baptized at 12, married at 19, and was a very loyal, unquestioning dub until the age of 24 when the elders told me that my miscarried babies had no status with god.
Hiya, Es!
What a positive and healthy way of looking at your situation.
I was thinking of my own experience yesterday, and realized that I'm almost grateful for it. I have done a lot of growing up in the last few years, that's the best summary of it. I'm a better me than I was just 5 years ago, and I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't be at this stage had the WTS not intruded into my family.
My marriage is better than ever and I cannot say if this whole WT involvement was necessary to evolve to this stage or not. My husband and I may have achieved this on our own, who knows? I won't be writing any thank-you's to the WTBTS, but I can see the pattern of growth that it influenced.
Happy New Year Everyone too,
Michelle
i hope my user name doesn't offend anyone - it actually stands for the [syn] command your computer uses to connect to other computers on the web, not what you were thinking!.
is this board mainly for jw or ex-jw people?
curious.... also...i have heard the phrase 'dub' used to describe jw people.
to add to Adonai438's list:
6. NonJWs married to JWs or have JW family members or friends looking for support, information and insight.
Michelle, part of the #6 group.
i have received a package from the united nations high commissioner for human rights.
you may recall that dino found out that the uns high commissioners office in geneva, switzerland has in its collection the november 22, 1998 awake!
magazine article titled a long job finished (pages 3 and 4) and a second article titled the universal declaration of human rights (page 5).
B.T.T.T.
Starting to get buried, I almost missed it!
for those of you that don't know, i was raised a witness from the time i was five.
i remember celebrating one christmas.
my mother was studying then and didn't want to support my dad, but she gave in one last time.
I read the same 12/15 WT article referred to by posters above. I like Waiting's question, that if it is alright for JW women w/ nonJW husbands to participate on some level, why isn't okay for all JWs?
That's not the thought that crossed my brain while reading it, my question was "well, if it is okay for JW women married to nonJW men, is it okay for JW men married to nonJW women?" Pretty sure I already know the answer to that, I've read enough WT literature.
Michelle
there are two things.
in the early and mid 80s there were witnesses saying that the cartoon characters the smurfs were not acceptable for witnesses.
i had two smurf cartoon books and my mother made me throw them away.
When trying to explain how the death of Jesus paid for Adam's sin, the Elder conducting my husband's study, said that men carry all the life in their sperm and that is why his death was an equal price. All of Jesus's unborn children.
When my husband and I looked at him like he had lost his mind, he went into this explanation of how the sperm had all the life, because under a microscope one could see it moving all around whilst the egg remained stationary.
I dunno about the rest of y'all, but that struck me as pretty darned funny.
OH! I almost forgot, the rule of men sitting next to women only when they are married, engaged or family members. Downright hysterical.
Michelle
it has been suggested, by a man we know, that those who read crisis of conscience, are left with a feeling of despair and are "cast adrift" after reading it.
it is his opinion that the book shouldn't have been written, because it does harm to people.
i do not agree, and would like to hear from anyone who has an opinion to share, so i can print all this out and show it to him.. comments, everyone, please????
Hi Mulan,
My husband thanked me for getting him to read Crisis of Conscience. It has put him in an awkward position with his JW family, but is that really Ray's fault? Should he have kept silent because some people are at a loss when they finally realize "God's Organization" is not what they had thought it to be?
I don't think so, and neither does my husband.
Your friend is an adult (I assume). He has now heard another side to the Watchtower Society story, it is up to him to decide what to do with that information.
I think the harm comes from the enforced shunning policy the Society has. A JW now has information, but is not free to act upon it without the possibility of some severe punishments. Compound that lack of personal freedom with a lack of a support system and an estrangement from worldly people, activities, etc. I can understand a "cast adrift" feeling, but if one is going to assign blame, is it the fault of Ray Franz or the Organization created the situation in the first place?
Happy holidays,
Michelle
just curious.
are there any out there who are not christians, ie.
born again pagans .
Hi Between,
Not a Christian, still celebrate Christmas. I love the smell of pine and cookies baking and the sights of twinkling lights and other festive decor. I love the taste of the afore mentioned cookies, the sipping of eggnog and candy canes in my hot chocolate. I love the gathering of families, the dinners, the get-togethers with friends. I love to watch the faces of my kids as we decorate the tree and as they pick out a new ornament each year. I love my Manheim Steamroller tape and other holiday music. It's just fun.
Michelle
The most deadly of all sins is the mutilation of a child's spirit. -Erik H. Erikson
ever get those moments where you wonder how the hell you could ever have followed the wt's policy on blood?.
i had one when reading this: http://www.witnessesonline.com/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/witnessesonline/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=14&t=000054.
one comment that stands out for me in this thread for it's unbelievable callousness and cult-indoctrination:.
Sooner or later, if not already, those parents are going to be thankful for the "worldly" nonJW doctors and court system that saved their child. One of these days the transfusion that he needed will be permitted, right after Brooklyn gets new light that God changed his mind again.
How much worse would they have felt if the doctors had allowed them to sacrifice their child, just to have the WTBTS make mockery of it by publishing new light?
Michelle
The most deadly of all sins is the mutilation of a child's spirit. -Erik H. Erikson
