http://www.afterlife-knowledge.com/ someone on this board gave me this link, can't recall who.
this man has some interesting ideas, beliefs about the afterlife. much as our being born is the luck of the draw, he feels the afterlife could be too.
wednesday
JoinedPosts by wednesday
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For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead...
by Chalam inthis one bugged me for a while.
i will quote the nwt for all the ex jws here ;) .
ecclesiastes 9 nwt .
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And When I Die...
by Farkel in"there'll be one more child in this world to carry on...to carry on.
" - blood sweat and tears.
amazing.
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wednesday
I found this link to have some good information. I do not think all of it is right, but then again- who really knows.
http://www.afterlife-knowledge.com/
There are some who feel that dying is much like being born.. You really (as far as we know) have no choice where or to whom you are born. Your life is almost sealed sometimes by the geographic area you are born in and the social class your parents are from. There are no guarantees at birth-you could be born to drug addicts who beat and torture you. You could end up a drugged out homeless person - or you could be born to middle class educated persons who treasure you and make sure you have a good start in life. It could be the luck of the draw.
So when you die what if is more or less the same.? There are those who believe that the afterlife has different "levels" and zones. you could awaken in a good area where you have friends or you could awaken in a deserted area and be alone. Your afterlife could come with no guarantees just as your earthly life. Luck of the draw, the cards you drew, as they say. You could say that you are guaranteed an afterlife but just like being born in a physical life, there are no guarantees at all. you just get an afterlife.
I am open and willing to look at different ideas now, b/c for sure I know jws did not have the truth. maybe there is no truth. maybe it all has merit and God is happy if we just are spiritual and loving people. .
I don't totally discount the Bibles version of afterlife. th only problem I have is the hell part. I refuse to believe any kind of God would torture people like that. what happens to those who really never as they say 'accept Christ" when they die? do they go straight tot hell or are they given a chance to repent or go to hell? and what if acceptance of Christ is not what it is all about? after all, there are many religions in the world and many people are spiritual without ever accepting Christ. Are they all going to hell?
the first Christan person i recall talking with was in grade school. she asked if what religion i was an trying to avoid confrontation i said "Christian". she very nastily said' well first you must learn how to spell it" . she left a foul taste in my mouth for so called Christin's. it is still there.
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Honor Killings vs. Disfellowshipping
by writetoknow inrecently two teenage girls in texas where kill by their father it has been reported as a honor killing.
do you think disfellowshipping can be elevated to the level of honor killings?.
special focus: islam.
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wednesday
They are sure keeping this quiet around here. The brother of the girls was interviewed and he said more or less, oh no it has nothing to do with Islam. most everyone knows what honor killings are among the Islam. but the news is really keeping a lid on it here.
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Things that are really bad.
by joelbear69 inas jw's we were taught that almost everything was bad for some reason or another.
xmas, birthdays, lucky charms, watching r rated movies, not going to meetings, .
going to college, liking sports, etc.
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wednesday
joelbear
well said, the problem in a nutshell. lack of true love. rules and legal stuff. nothing to do with love.
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~Pollyanna - Positive Attitude ~ Is there something wrong with me?
by AWAKE&WATCHING ini am, and always have been, a happy person.
i am known for having a positive attitude no matter what drama or trauma i am dealing with at the time.. i think a lot of that comes from my grandmother.
she taught me to love and appreciate nature.
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wednesday
Frankie
I don't want to open a huge can of worms but i beg to differ. I know in that in some areas fathers take their sons to prostitutes for sort of an initiation into manhood. and boys often fantasize about 'hot' teachers etc. You see this in the movies. There does seem to be a difference between( in acceptance) the older male teacher having sex with 16 yr old girl as opposed to the female teacher having sex with the 16 boy. There should not be. Boys are harmed by this too. The same as the saying "boys don't cry' . sure they do. they are hurt just like girls.
Perhaps we are on a bit of a witch hunt, accusing everyone of being child molesters ( ie a 16 yr old boy and a 14 yr old girl) etc. But exploitation of children can /does have lasting and often subtle effects.
if we err on the safe side it is for protection of children. adults should never have sex with children and thankfully the light is being shined on this horrible practice and people are being exposed for what they are, child molesters, whether it is boy or girl
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~Pollyanna - Positive Attitude ~ Is there something wrong with me?
by AWAKE&WATCHING ini am, and always have been, a happy person.
i am known for having a positive attitude no matter what drama or trauma i am dealing with at the time.. i think a lot of that comes from my grandmother.
she taught me to love and appreciate nature.
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wednesday
I do believe most of my problems came from being a jws. I was born in and knew no other way of life. If i had another way of life to fall back on perhaps it would have been easier. but when you have no other pre- cult personality-it's very hard.
respectfully disagree- most of my problems have come from being raised with dysfunctional parents who were also raised dysfunctionally as jws.
this is a what jws say, we are whiners and blame it all on them. it happens to be true in many cases.
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Have you ever had an EMOTIONAL AFFAIR?
by nicolaou inor perhaps your partner has?
how did you deal with it?
the following is part of an article called 'the danger of emotional affairs - betrayal of trust'.
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wednesday
This is actually very common among jws.The elders frequently have sisters they confide with and sometimes they end up in actual physical relationships with. Elders counsel sisters all the time who are in bad marriages, single, or their husband is an unbeliever or for whatever personal problems they have. It's so easy to move it over an acceptable line. This has been going on forever. and not just among jws, anywhere there are men in power, you will find women who follow or women who get used. It is called spiritual abuse in a religion.
the elder or ms or whatever , actually ends up functioning as the husband emotionally. sometimes it becomes physical. sometimes no one ever finds out b/c once they have that title, elder, they are reluctant to let go of it. so much for Jehovah's spirit.
Have you ever see "the thorn birds"? An excellent movie i believe about a Catholic priest who carried on a secret emotional/ physical affair for many years. Also the classic "the scarlet letter" is about such a relationship- one that became physical.
it is one of the 'perks' of being a elder or co do etc.
" money for nothing and the chicks are free..."
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~Pollyanna - Positive Attitude ~ Is there something wrong with me?
by AWAKE&WATCHING ini am, and always have been, a happy person.
i am known for having a positive attitude no matter what drama or trauma i am dealing with at the time.. i think a lot of that comes from my grandmother.
she taught me to love and appreciate nature.
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wednesday
The challenge after abuse is to survive. . people are animals and they can sense a vulnerable weak person. it is not easy to break out of the role of victim . but to survive you must. it can take years before one realizes they were abused and by that time they often find themselves in abusive relationships. History repeats itself.
I found help by going to mental health professionals but that is not always necessary. if you have at least one stable person in your life you can often manage. But for me i had to get more help. word of caution-- there are predators in the mental health field so beware.
however you free yourself from the role of victim (- whatever works, good for you) that is the key to not just surviving but thriving
love
weds
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Why do you sign your dead body over when you go to Bethel?
by new boy inthis is in response to the thread about the supposed suicide of a bethelite in 1995.. in 1970 when i went to bethel we signed a form stating that "if we died while at bethel the wathtower bible and tract society had the rights to our body.
yes, we thought it strange at the time but as a twenty year old you didn't think much about it.. i know of two brothers who killed themselfs while at bethel and two others who tried end their lives.
my guess is people have been killing themselfs at bethel long before i ever got there.
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wednesday
I believe this can happen in state or government run institutions too. ie, a nursing home. one can sign over financial responsibility to them (so they mange the persons money, ss check ) and if you have no family who are willing - they will bury you.
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And When I Die...
by Farkel in"there'll be one more child in this world to carry on...to carry on.
" - blood sweat and tears.
amazing.
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wednesday
I had a near death experience and indeed i did see the white light and saw myself lying in the bed below. Also some people believe you can visit the Akashic records, ie , collective unconsciousness (Jung), book of life, etc. I believe i have done this. It was an incredible experience and one i journaled so I'd never forget it. It was a huge hall of records with bookshelves that ascended to the sky, no end in sight.
you do tend to think about death more as you approach 50 or realize the jws were lying to you. I know a very intelligent person who will not allow cremation due to the fear of the unknown- we really don't know do we? he said. he also fears being put in a casket due to claustrophobia.
I knew nothing before i was born, if that is how death is, well, it is not painful. the people who scare me are the ones that say you will upon dying not necessarily go to heaven or hell. maybe you will be in purgatory. There you will repent or go to hell or some say you will go through the "left door" which will send yo back to earth to try again. also, reliving all you sins, how dreadful. most of us know wherein we have sinned-who needs to see it again? but this seems to be an almost universal teaching that you will see your sins and be given a chance to repent.
i hope there is an afterlife. I want to be able to look in on my family.
I don't think it is important which religion or spirituality one accepts , as long as they don't advocate you killing others or teach kindness. . at death and you awaken in a spirit world, are you really going to say 'damn Mormons, go it right".