some questions, if they have been asked before, i have not seen the thread.. how long did you study with a witness, before you entered the jw .
religion, how long before being baptized?.
( i was raised in the "truth" and baptized at 16.).
how many books will they take you through before study dropped? (assuming you have not yet been baptized)
PeacePipe
Look around and choose your own ground. . for long you live and high you fly. . and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry. . and all you touch and all you see. . is all your life will ever be. . .Pink Floyd
i wanted to share a few points from an email that i recently sent to a very sincere person.
i think this has value for the dub neophytes in the crowd who lurk here.. to those newbies who, despite having found out plenty about the watchtower, still continue your study and attendance at meetings, i leave you these thoughts.. i understand your thinking, more than you know.
when you take a look at the various churches around, there's not much to offer.
BE, Hi, computer crashed. lost all my emails, addresses etc. finally back and running but i have a new net provider/address. Could you email so I can get yours back? Thanks :)
PeacePipe
Look around and choose your own ground. . for long you live and high you fly. . and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry. . and all you touch and all you see. . is all your life will ever be. . .Pink Floyd
everyone on jw.com were jws and attended the same congregation.
now, i'm not saying that we'd follow brooklyn's rules (how boring).
instead what would it be like jw.com style.
tyydyy:
you betcha!
everyone on jw.com were jws and attended the same congregation.
now, i'm not saying that we'd follow brooklyn's rules (how boring).
instead what would it be like jw.com style.
If there is ever such a meeting please invite me. I'd love to attend!
10 reasons i wanted to be a brady.
1) happy family.
2) happy endings.
10 reasons I wanted to be a Brady
1) Happy Family
2) Happy Endings
3) Enough Money
4) Good values
5) Mom & Dad lived together happily under one roof
6) Always someone to play with
7) Always had a home cooked meal
8) Alice gave good advice
9) Nobody in the home screamed at one another
10)Things were the way the should be.
10 reasons I thought I wanted to be a JW
1) Unity
2) Happy Families
3) Higher Purpose
4) Greater importance placed on family values instead of "worldly" values
5) Support system/Feeling of brotherly love
6) Magazines/literature portrays things to be the way they should be
7) "Friends" gave good advice
8) Feeling of Uniqueness & "I'm Special"
9) (in a low, stern voice) HIGH MORAL STANDARDS
10)I wanted to know what it was like to know God again(last time I "knew God" was about 7 years old.
There is no point to this post other than I wanted to bring out that knowing the majority of posters here "GREW UP JW" with all the restrictions and rules and everything I can see that it would lead a non-conformist/free thinker/free spirit type person to want to escape and experience everything and live and love etc. I just wanted to say though as harsh as many of your childhoods were there is at least one person here. . . me. . .who had nothing short of a dysfunctional upringing that instead of wanting to be a freebird I just wanted that box; a safe, normal haven of a white picket fence, "Happy Days/Brady Bunch", housewife kind of life because I had enough craziness growing up. To many, that sounds pathetic, but my point (if you could say there is any such thing here) is there may be people out there who were sucked in for the same type of reasons as myself and if they are lurking I want to reach them and hear their stories too.
on varieties of atheism:.
can we even speak of clear and distinct ideological borders among atheists, agnostics, and theists?
absent any commonly accepted scientific proof of the existence of god (or gods), we must consider that the labeling is based on an individual's personal interpretation.
JanH,
As usual, I really enjoy reading your thoughts.
It is my clear impression that many believers just think they believe; to them theism is a membership in a social group that shares a system of beliefs, and they don't give it much thought before they experience a crisis and realize they don't believe, deep down inside, that there is a God that will take them to heaven or whenever when they die.
Now that is going in my journal! . . . . .wrote a bunch of stuff. . . . deleted it all. . . .yada yada yada. . . .
Anyhow you hit the nail on the head in my book. Thanks
PeacePipe
Lift me up, I've had enough. . .Tom Petty
well, i came in this morning, prepared to write a glib little post regarding my astrological findings.
but i find my heart too heavy to do so today.
perhaps its just the timespatriotic fervor sweeps over me.
((((Bridgette))))
This is surely the place to let out steam. Thanks for sharing. I always look forward to reading your posts!!
What kind of office do you work in? Are you a Dr?, Nurse? Secretary?
I love the movie "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson and that other babe: Heath Ledger : Anyhow, I watch that movie over and over because I am mesmerized by how the movie portrays in its charachters the strong will, determination and willingness to give ones life for a cause they believe in so much they'd die for it. I don't remember getting that picture in High School Social Studies. The teachers just didn't give history any real meaning. But anyhow, that movie makes me think alot about patriotism to ones country. Ever since 9/11 I've had a hard time figuring out just what you've mentioned in your post. How can someone enjoy all the freedoms their country has to offer and then say "I'm Neutral" and show no gratitude towards our past relatives and countrymen who suffered and died so we can live this way!!! Paying your taxes and being a "good citizen" is hardly showing gratitude. Now I am nothing in the way of doing anything significant for my country but I just have a very hard time rationalizing this JW concept.
I've also lately been sad because of deaths reported in this war. Especially those of innocent Aphgan people who are just trying to eak out an exsistence and are being hurt because of something I'm not so sure they really have much say in. But such is life I guess in the wings of war. I don't know really.
Maybe once I can change myself into a better person I can start working on the rest of the world.?????? Don't have to change you though Bridgette, I like you just the way you are.
Anyhow, that's my 2 cents on the subject. Hope your mood lifts soon!
Hoping happy days are ahead!
Peacepipe
PeacePipe
Lift me up, I've had enough. . .Tom Petty
about 2 years ago in my journal i started a page "rules for life":.
my rule for this page was it had to be a definent, 100% for certain rule with no way of swaying it's truth.
in 2years time i've come up with one rule so far on that page.. 1) talk is cheap; so keep it simple.. i think i may be ready to add rule #2:.
(((((ALL))))
Thanks all! I'll be busy in my journal tonight!!
I have this idea that affirmation is a good thing and I find that if I had a collection of thoughts that were true but unbiased I could read that at night before I go to bed and reflect on those things rather than a bible that can't even be agreed upon on it's validity. Do you know what I mean????
Thanks again!!!
about 2 years ago in my journal i started a page "rules for life":.
my rule for this page was it had to be a definent, 100% for certain rule with no way of swaying it's truth.
in 2years time i've come up with one rule so far on that page.. 1) talk is cheap; so keep it simple.. i think i may be ready to add rule #2:.
Thanks Quester!
Good principles; though, No Regrets. . . . .that is a tough one for me. It's hard for me to make decisions because I have to look 50 years down the road to decide if I'll be laying on my death bed regretting the action. . . .(i'm verrrry fickle)
Thanks again!
Introspection: funny!!!!!
about 2 years ago in my journal i started a page "rules for life":.
my rule for this page was it had to be a definent, 100% for certain rule with no way of swaying it's truth.
in 2years time i've come up with one rule so far on that page.. 1) talk is cheap; so keep it simple.. i think i may be ready to add rule #2:.
thanks JoelBear! Those are definently keepers
