i thought it would be interesting and informative to create the following survey.. please cut and paste it in the 'post' section and type in your reply under each question.. .
let the survey begin 10 questions.
1.rate on a scale from 1-10 the postive impact (10 being absolutely positive) of jehovahs-witness.net on your life.. .
Oh, missed the bonus!
Right now since I have n't been here in a while, no topics bore me but yes, years ago, there were some who really knew how to beat that proverbial dead horse.
HOWEVER, there are new persons all the time and they are reading the topics for the first time. SO those who have been here a while WILL read the same things over and over again. It's OK with me.
i thought it would be interesting and informative to create the following survey.. please cut and paste it in the 'post' section and type in your reply under each question.. .
let the survey begin 10 questions.
1.rate on a scale from 1-10 the postive impact (10 being absolutely positive) of jehovahs-witness.net on your life.. .
Positive impact - 10
Negative impact - 3 (the preceeding are ratings from my time here in 2003 and 2004)
I no longer live in the area where I was disfellowshipped. And JWs don't come to our door. They've only come maybe 2 times in 9 years. But when I was around them before, I would get very upset at how they'd just turn their backs on me.
Bible as source of Divine Inspiration - 1 - maybe parts of it are, but most is bunk
My opinion on religious matters is not described accurately by the choices. I have always and will always believe in a Creator. After my JW experience, I refused to talk to the creator, because he was Jehovah and I didn't much like Jehovah and never did.
Now I'm starting again to talk to my creator and it feels wonderful. Finally - a creator who loves me. I was helped by Neal Donald Walsch's books, but now believe with all my heart that we must find our own way to have a relationship with God and not just take anyone else's word for ANYTHING. I love the God I know now. And he is real to me. I really kind of hated Jehovah, who was a complete ass at times.
Neale Donald Walsch has written things that I've always believe in my heart. Always. But we must not take Neale's word for anything, nor should we accept anyone else's. We are free to have our own conversations with our God. And I do - when I remember. Easier to do in the summer when I'd go on long walks. I'd talk to God the entire time.
My greatest personal fear is not a religious one. It's that my book won't be read by anyone. Also that I'll never be in a passionate relationship again. I'm married to a great guy but he is no longer interested in sex. That really hurts as I am younger than he by a lot. Yeah it's all good when he's 55 and you're 45 but then........ Says he can't anymore which may be true and he cannot go on any medication for it. Oh, well. I have a nice time in my mind, though. I am very passionate by nature and I've never really had any outlet for it except once.....unfortunately, it was not to be (I was married at the time). See below.......
My greatest joy are my grandchildren who love me without condition. Also being near the ocean or on the bay, sailing. Anything to do with water and nature.
I would go back to 1980. There was this man, you see.......I adored him. I still do. I always will. I'd love to be with him one more time. No, actually, I really just want to be around him. We were perfect together. One cold December night, oh god, it was magical. And I looked and felt beautiful for the first and only time in my life. Other than that, no, I'm living my life as best I can and try to find joy in every day things with a little help from my green and white friend, fluoxetine.
Thanks, great survey!
my father, who has alzheimers, is dying now (he's 85).
i saw him today - he weaves in and out.
hasn't recognized me for a long time but was usually glad for the company.
Thanks, everyone, for your very kind thoughts.
Fortunately, I have no Witness relatives. I was the only nut who found it necessary to join the cult. Sad. Of course, at the time, I managed to convince myself that it was because I alone was able to see the truth.
my father, who has alzheimers, is dying now (he's 85).
i saw him today - he weaves in and out.
hasn't recognized me for a long time but was usually glad for the company.
Thank you, everyone.
I do have peace, but I am tremendously sad. I guess it's never easy, losing one's past.
But it's far worse to lose one's future. My grandson is very ill right now; he has an auto-immune disorder and is constantly ill.
It's so hard to watch them both suffer, it really is. But at least my father is 85; my grandson is only 6.
my father, who has alzheimers, is dying now (he's 85).
i saw him today - he weaves in and out.
hasn't recognized me for a long time but was usually glad for the company.
Sorry to hear your news.
BTW, the WT teaches that those that die before Armageddon do get resurrected.
(((peridotgreen)))
Chris
____________________________
Interesting, because *I* was told that if one rejected the Witnesses during the time of the end, he/she would not be resurrected. And those telling me that were extremely smug about it.
Why, oh why, did I ever get baptized into this disgusting religion?
my father, who has alzheimers, is dying now (he's 85).
i saw him today - he weaves in and out.
hasn't recognized me for a long time but was usually glad for the company.
My father, who has Alzheimers, is dying now (he's 85). I saw him today - he weaves in and out. Hasn't recognized me for a long time but was usually glad for the company. Today, he just wanted to sleep. I held his hand and thanked him for the gifts he gave me. Once in a while, he smiled with his eyes closed.
I'm so glad I don't believe in the Witness' doctrine about death: That, because he was not a JW, he wouldn't be resurrected. That his eternity would be an eternity of nothingness. What kind of a God would do that to one of his creations?
I believe that we have souls that live on. And on and on and on. God gave us life because he loves us and he will never take our eternal life away.
I am happy to think that he will be with my mother (gone 31 years now) and his mother and brother and step-father.
I'm sad to lose him, so very very sad, but happy to know that he will live on.
After I was DFed, I had no beliefs for many years. It felt like crap. But once I read Neale Donald Walsch's Home With God In A Life That Never Ends, I was so comforted I wept tears of joy. I can't say I ever did that as a JW. All I ever felt as a JW was a tremendous sense of guilt and burden.
Daddy, I love you. Go in peace.
http://conversationalatheist.com/general-essays/god-the-abusive-boyfriend/.
ways the christian god is like the most extreme version of an abusive (and possibly psychotic) boyfriend:needs constant praise and makes you feel guilty for just being human.has severe jealousy issues.he lets painful experiences happen to you that he could easily prevent, just to test your devotion to him.claims credit for everything good in your life; claims nothing bad in your life comes from him.threatens you with eternal torture if you ever leave him.he is constantly swearing that he loves you and you need him.
(thanks richard collins).ways to tell if you are in danger of being taken advantage of in a relationship with this abusive god:you are highly defensive of him from even the slightest criticism of his flaws.you talk to him every night, and he never responds yet still expects unwavering devotion.
Wow, you nailed it.
Great job.
"out of zeal and enthusiasm for the vindication of jehovah's name, word and purposes, and the desire for the new system, some of his servants have at times been premature in their expectations.".
watchtower 1979 july 1 p.29 how jehovah guides his people.
who is specifically identified as some of his servants?.
I often wonder how my former friends who are still in are doing and if they're getting weary of hearing the same old shi - er, stuff.
I always thought it was wrong for the WT to contain statements such as the above. If Jesus said, "No one knows the day or the hour", then why the hell is the WTS speculating?
Sad.
to the household of god, israel, and those who go with... may you all have peace!.
this will be the second "reward" that i have the privilege of sharing with you today.
if you recall, i have shared with you that virtually every time i've gone through a fairly grueling "battle" for our lord... i receive a "reward".
To all those who believe that Paul's letters are inspired of God:
I do not, nor did I ever, believe that God wanted women to be second class citizens. The God I love values me.
As I witness, I always said to Jehovah, "If you despise women so much, why did you create them?" I hated being treated as though I didn't matter.
In the 9 years since I first came here, I have grown a lot. I no longer pay any attention to the Bible, save for Jesus' words. As a Witness, I always hated the way women were treated.
The creator is a God of tremendous love and he wants women to be happy. Most of all, he wants all of us to value and love ourselves.
I respect your opinions but felt compelled to chime in. The truth has set me free. I'm a woman, I'm intelligent, I'm valuable and I refuse to hide my light under the cloak of "submission".
i have some old notes from a 1981 circuit assembly.
brother frank bartell was the district overseer.
i am pretty sure its 1981 or 1982.. anyway, in his last talk he said that there was a terrible situation in cleveland ohio the previous year (1980).
Why do I miss all the fun?
