I never thought I would be quoting the wisdom of Ozzy Osbourne but he said something on the show tonight that stuck with me. He said something like "the thing about life is, you don't figure it out until you're almost dead." Yes, I know his mental processes have been screwed up from drugs so I'm sure he didn't figure out a lot of things that he should have. But I was thinking this could be applied to witnesses. Many former witnesses didn't figure out that the "truth" wasn't as truthful as it seemed until they were older in years, or "almost dead." It's hard enough figuring life out as it is but when you have grown up being endlessly taught so many things that are false, it really screws your mind up. You thought you knew it all, and now you know nothing. I'm glad I am still young so I can start living now the way I want to live.
Pardus
JoinedPosts by Pardus
-
3
The wisdom of Ozzy
by Pardus ini never thought i would be quoting the wisdom of ozzy osbourne but he said something on the show tonight that stuck with me.
he said something like "the thing about life is, you don't figure it out until you're almost dead.
" yes, i know his mental processes have been screwed up from drugs so i'm sure he didn't figure out a lot of things that he should have.
-
-
-
28
Why the hell do I have this pathetic life?
by Nicolas ini' so tired of this.
sometime, i'd just like to say goodbye cruel world but, it would be too easy to do this.
when i was in the borg, they were telling me that when someone go out of the org, he have a lot of problems and that's exactly what happen to me.
-
-
Pardus
That was a good comparison between the Organization and Shawshank. You really can get to be "institutionalized" even though you are not physically imprisoned. Your mind has been conditioned to associate the K. Hall and field service with salvation and pretty much everything else with death.
-
12
sunday meetings
by Realist inin the awful sunday meetings are people supposed to answer the questions from the wt by just reading the stupid paragraph again or would the elders prefer to hear a real comment?
-
-
Pardus
Some just read from the paragraph with some rewording of the phrases, others, mainly elders and ministerial servants will include original thoughts or experiences. The format is such that it usually discourages anything but just answering the question, but some questions ask for personal experiences specifically. These personal experiences and comments are pretty much the only interesting portions because otherwise it's just rehash of what was just read. A lot depends on the conductor. If he is lively and asks additional questions then it is much easier to pay attention.
-
9
The Scorpion King-yum,yum
by termite 35 inwell!
what a treat!took my daughters to see the scorpion king tonight;a truly crap film,but boy oh boy, what a body that man has!
(glances at snoring,open-mouthed,dribbling husband)perhaps if i got out the bicycle pump and a little oil.......
-
-
Pardus
I thought it was a good movie but it could have had more dialogue and humor in it along with the fight scenes. If you have seen any of the Rock's interviews in the WWF you would know how funny he can be.
-
27
Suffering
by Realist inbrief question: if the sin committed by adam and eve is responsible for suffering how can one explain the fact that animals died long before that event?
or are animals not considered to suffer?
-
-
Pardus
I think the Bible says that animals didn't suffer before Adam and Eve's sin. Apparently they all just lived together peacefully in some way that we can't comprehend.
-
27
Zebras (Awake! magazine Jan 2001)
by Duncan inwell, weve been in our new house now for almost two years, and we finally got our first visit from the witnesses, a couple of days ago.. two very nice middle-aged ladies stood on my doorstep, asking me would i accept their two magazines for free?
- they were old issues from january well, how could i refuse?.
its gods will that zebras are striped and thats the beginning and end of it.. for an educational magazine this is just a disgrace.. can you hear the voice of the great teacher in this?
-
-
Pardus
I've noticed that the Awake! articles about nature and animals have gotten a little better. They are not as dumbed down or short as in previous years, but still if you want any in-depth information without reading technical papers, National Geographic, National Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation, and others are much better. You just can't expect much from Awake! And yes, some of their theories like all dinosaurs being herbivores are really silly.
-
28
Kingdom Melodies
by Dawn ini was just listening to my new nicole c. mullen cd (she rocks!!
) and i had this thought...... i really enjoy christian rock music now, but i had never listened to it as a jw because i wasn't allowed.
so instead i listened to that every uplifting ac/dc, metalica, scorpions (still favorites of mine).. the society did release the "kingdom melodies" on tape though and everyone bought the complete set.....did anyone here ever really enjoy that music?
-
-
Pardus
My favorite is Song 23: "Dark days are here, men live in fear...Having no hope, blindly they grope...but the Bible gives us a reason for cheer" I get a kick out of that one every time.
-
16
awake 4-22-02 "spider masquerades as ant&q...
by Moxy inthere is a rather fascinating article at the end of the april 22nd awake concerning a certain spider that is able to imitate an ant so convincingly that it can live among ants and escape detection.
(puzzlingly the article fails to either name the spider or indicate its native habitat.
looking up some info myself, i see that there a several species of ant-mimicing spider, especially of the genus myrmarachne.
-
-
Pardus
This post reminds of something I could never understand. If there was no predation in the new system ("the kid will lie down with the leopard, the wolf and the lamb will reside together" - Isaiah), how would overpopulation be controlled? It was always explained "well, Jehovah will fix everything so it would work out." Would there be natural or accidental deaths of organisms only? Would everyone have to be vegetarian?
-
8
Bad influence of JW's
by Pardus inwhen i think about growing up as a witness, the worst thing my mind was subjected to was thinking about, and actually believing that, everyone, even "good," moral people, would die at armageddon except "faithful" jws.
the more i thought about this, the more i came to believe that i don't want to serve a god that would kill billions of people simply because they were not jws.
if that did happen, i would not be happy in paradise, laughing and enjoying myself, knowing that jehovah and his armies had slaughtered so many people for that ridiculous reason.
-
-
Pardus
I think anyone, especially if they were never baptized or particularly involved, as long as they grew up going to meetings they feel the guilt every day of their lives from constantly hearing about sex, masturbation, "impure" thoughts, "worldly" association, wondering if they would survive Armageddon, etc. And once you leave, you wonder if it was all true or not. If you had not grown up hearing everything over and over again it would be much easier to dismiss many of the teachings as nonsense. And yes, rhett, God is depicted as very petty and judgmental, particularly by JW's but also by many other religions. I do believe now that banning things like birthdays and most holidays was just another way to be different and "no part of the world." You could say "many holidays are of pagan origin," which is true, but except for maybe Halloween and a few others, the spirit and purpose of holidays is to get together with friends, exchange gifts, and have a good time. Like the blood issue, they selectively use certain scriptures and texts to ban entire activities.
-
8
Bad influence of JW's
by Pardus inwhen i think about growing up as a witness, the worst thing my mind was subjected to was thinking about, and actually believing that, everyone, even "good," moral people, would die at armageddon except "faithful" jws.
the more i thought about this, the more i came to believe that i don't want to serve a god that would kill billions of people simply because they were not jws.
if that did happen, i would not be happy in paradise, laughing and enjoying myself, knowing that jehovah and his armies had slaughtered so many people for that ridiculous reason.
-
-
Pardus
When I think about growing up as a Witness, the worst thing my mind was subjected to was thinking about, and actually believing that, everyone, even "good," moral people, would die at Armageddon except "faithful" JWs. The more I thought about this, the more I came to believe that I don't want to serve a God that would kill billions of people simply because they were not JWs. If that did happen, I would not be happy in Paradise, laughing and enjoying myself, knowing that Jehovah and his armies had slaughtered so many people for that ridiculous reason. I hate so say it, but the Jehovah depicted in WT publications seems almost like Hitler at times. (Assuming you believe everything written, as I once did.) I am glad that I am thinking more logically now and not going to as many meetings. (When I do go it's basicly to please my mom and see friends.)