JV,
If it's not fear or some such controlling mechanism, perhaps it's pure habit. They say it takes about 6 months to break a habit. Have you left off that long before?
PB
PointBlank
JoinedPosts by PointBlank
-
4
Why Do I Still Go?
by JV inwhy am i a sucker for punishment?
everytime i go, i feel like crap, so why do i still do it?
the empty hello's, the fake "how are you doing?
-
-
-
19
Finally my baby has arrived!
by sunshineToo inhe was born on aug.30 after 24 hours of labor.
he was 7 lb 13oz., and 20 1/2 in.
he lost 10 oz.
-
-
PointBlank
Congratulations Sunshine. Babies are God's gift to parents. Cherish every single moment, even in the midst of diaper changing, feedings, colic, and sleepless nights. This all will pass. Then..there's the next batch to crap to deal with! :) But, it's all worth it. I LOVE being a parent. I LOVE being a grandparent even more!!!
PB
-
32
Afraid of Dying?
by PointBlank ini don't know if this subject has been discussed here before.
if it has, could someone help me find it?
if it hasn't (i can't imagine that it hasn't), here's what i was wondering.
-
-
PointBlank
Thanks for all the responses guys. Recently my MIL passed away. Something that became crystal clear was that the world of 'stuff' just fades away. It actually means nothing in the end. The only thing that matters is other people and our relationships with them. Anybody that can be surrounded by unconditional love in the midst of this event is blessed indeed. But ultimately, like most things in life, at that defining moment, we stand alone, and it's MO that that's how we face judgement. Just one on one.
-
41
What made you "see the light"?
by hubert ini realize many (or all) of the ex-j.w.
's in this forum have either gotten out of the org., faded, or in some way have come to the conclusion that the watchtower is not the "faithful and discreet slave", and is not the "true" religion that they claim to be.
i am curious to know..... "what made you see the light"?.
-
-
PointBlank
I was starving to death. Spirituality is totally absent from the practice of JW religion. Plus, what they teach contradicts what the scriptures were saying to me.
PB
-
11
Greetings...
by AGuest inand may you all have peace!.
in another thread, regarding a witness father's countenance and "jw" responses when condolences were offered on behalf of his gravely ill daughter, someone wrote:"people tend to get even more spiritually minded in that situation.
i have to say that i find that comment quite curious... in light of an event i attended this past saturday.
-
-
PointBlank
Greetings Shelby,
You said:
My apologies to those who need religion to worship God
Religion? Worship? Mutually exclusive, yes? :)
PB
-
17
Tell me about your "Dedication"
by ezekiel3 infor jws, there is a two-step process for committing yourself to god.
before you get baptized in public, you are supposed to privately "dedicate" yourself to god in prayer.. i was a child who knelt in the corner of my room after completing my final "interview" of questions from an elder.
i tried to be sincere, but i was aware i had no emotional currency (i was only 13, give me a break!).
-
-
PointBlank
I was baptized at the International Assembly in Houston, TX in 1973. I was 16 and very serious about my dedication. It was only after years of spiritual malnourishment that I realized it didn't mean what I thought it meant.
PB
-
32
Afraid of Dying?
by PointBlank ini don't know if this subject has been discussed here before.
if it has, could someone help me find it?
if it hasn't (i can't imagine that it hasn't), here's what i was wondering.
-
-
PointBlank
I don't know if this subject has been discussed here before. If it has, could someone help me find it?
If it hasn't (I can't imagine that it hasn't), here's what I was wondering. As JW's we were taught that the dead are conscious of nothing. Most of Christendom teaches just the opposite. When I was going through the process of losing my religion, one of the most traumatizing realizations was that the promise of never dying was a WT lie. The new system wasn't going to save me.
Most people know they're going to die one day. But not us. We walked around with our heads stuck in the sand, all the while believing and declaring that of all the historical generations, ours was the special one. We were in the know. In our self-professed smug religiosity, we were convinced that we and only we (JW's) would survive the coming catastrophic end. And that contributed to a certain degree of complacency. FWIW, I believe this to be one of the WTS's most vicious/deceitful/manipulative/damaging doctrines. Can you say hope when there is no hope? Tickling of the ears and all that..
Anyway,
Losing your religion coupled with aging and/or illness somehow causes reality to set in and sooner or later we are compelled to come to the sometimes paralyzing conclusion that we will indeed die. Still, we manage to distance ourselves by pushing it into the future somewhere. It's not staring us in the face, tapping us on the shoulder.
However, there will/does come a time when we come face to face with death. It will no longer be some imagined future event. We won't be able to push it forward any longer. It's here, it's real and it's our turn. Some claim to know what's on the other side. Most just reluctantly/passively accept what's happening to them and hope for the best. To be honest, I don't think anyone can effectively and convincingly experience an imagined state (facing death). But,
If you can, try putting yourself in those shoes. Are you afraid? Petrified? Are you passive? Do you feel belligerent? Mad? Ecstatic? Hopeful? Hopeless? Excited? Relieved? Dread? What?
As for me, death no longer bothers me because I know my God and my Lord. It's what preceeds death that causes me a certain amount of trepidation. After all, who likes pain? That being said, I'm wishing for a totally selfish painless passage. :)
What say you?
PB
-
43
If Something Bad Happens To A JW, Are You Happy?
by minimus inevery so often, i read that some posters have such contempt for jehovah's witnesses, that they are happy when they hear that one died or suffered from cancer or some other disease or tragedy.
they rationalize things by saying, "jws are so corrupt that getting rid of them in any way is good!".
or, "i'm glad that this bad thing happened to them.
-
-
PointBlank
No
-
2
"Worldly Events"
by PointBlank inthis past week we attended a motorcycle rally in ruidoso, nm.
this type of event is traditionally thought by jw's as a "worldly event.
" imagine my surprise to see several jw's (including an elder and his family) in attendance.
-
-
PointBlank
Well jws, it wasn't Sturgis, that's for sure. But it wasn't a motorcycle 'show' either. I wouldn't have thought it so strange if it wasn't for the fact that we traveled 300 miles to this rally. The JW's there were from my hometown. That means they traveled the same distance AND IT WASN'T EVEN A CONVENTION!
As for the content, it was the Aspencade Rally. However, I think there were more Harley's than anything else.
Of course some people there went to extremes in their form of entertainment. But even in an environment like that, you have to learn to pick and choose. It just wasn't something we would have attended while we were JWs. We were the type that followed the rules.
Thanks for the reply BTW
PB
-
27
Pay to have a plane banner fly over an assembly
by Dogpatch ini just realized that others may still be able to do this, and it is not as expensive as you think.
eveen after 9/11, it might be good to check into locally.
read my post (dogpatch) at:.
-
-
PointBlank
I'm not sure how serious some of you are about this, but I think it's a very good idea. I realize the summer conventions are over. But how about putting something in the works for next summer. If we concentrate our efforts we may be able to organize this event in several US cities. And that would provide enough time to come up with some excellent messages. I, for one, am more than willing to offer my money and my time to such an endeavor.
Anybody else willing??
PB