I see so much hypocrisy in all religion. I want to keep god separate from religion but even when I take religion out of the equation I can't believe in God. I believe less and less the more I read the bible sadly.
joyfulfader
JoinedPosts by joyfulfader
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15
I just couldn't do it...
by joyfulfader ini have recently become friends with some women who belong to a church in my area.
they are fun, great women.
one of them used to be a witness actually but it has been many years.
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15
I just couldn't do it...
by joyfulfader ini have recently become friends with some women who belong to a church in my area.
they are fun, great women.
one of them used to be a witness actually but it has been many years.
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joyfulfader
I would like to engage in some meaningful charitable work though. This particular church does that but makes you sign a weird cultish legal waiver.
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15
I just couldn't do it...
by joyfulfader ini have recently become friends with some women who belong to a church in my area.
they are fun, great women.
one of them used to be a witness actually but it has been many years.
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joyfulfader
Robert-it is a contemporary Protestant mega church. It has a band and is aimed toward the younger crowd. And it isn't the WT phobias influencing me as much as my complete (newly realized) disbelief in a god. I have no feelings of spirituality but see how a belief in god has been helpful for some and that has swayed me to try a church of some sort. I have since changed my mind about trying anything god related. At least for now.
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15
I just couldn't do it...
by joyfulfader ini have recently become friends with some women who belong to a church in my area.
they are fun, great women.
one of them used to be a witness actually but it has been many years.
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joyfulfader
I have recently become friends with some women who belong to a church in my area. They are fun, great women. One of them used to be a witness actually but it has been many years. I went to a mini women's group meeting. I made plans to go on Sunday morning just to see what it was about. I had a huge revelation the Saturday night before i was to go. I was not fully comfortable about going to any church for oh so many reasons (I am opposed to organized religion as a whole now plus I have been having a serious agnostic leaning as of late).
So, Saturday I am watching a documentary that hit me hard and I had a panic attack regarding my impending church attendance. This was by no means because of fear of reprisal by anyone in the kh nor was it in any way related to my many years of indoctrination that churches are evil. I realized that I have never had any faith in a god. Never. Not as the pioneer nor as the elder's daughter and later, elder's wife. I did it ALL because I didn't know any better and because it was all I knew. I realize that I have always been at least agnostic if not atheist. I am astounded at this idea.
It is ironic because I would truly like to believe because I see some people I know where god has made a huge difference in their lives but I just can't believe. I can't believe in the god of the bible. I just can't. And to go to a place of worship where they tell you to put your faith and trust in god...it makes me ill. Physically.
I honestly feel that I would rather die than be forced to serve a god like the one in the bible. Jesus seemed like a good man but again...I have no faith at all that he was what the bible says he was/is.
The idea that I have never believed makes my choices and my life make so much more sense. I always have strived to better myself and be more and fight the system. Now I better understand why.
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46
WTS overboard w/suggested presentation
by doinmypart inthe nov 2013 km contains an article that is ridiculous in its level of minutae.. they focus on the word "because".
they tell jws to use the word "because" when explaining why they're at the homeowner's door.
writing department, you wrote an article on the use of the word "because"?
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joyfulfader
Though, as a side point. I learned to be a master debater regardless of the topic because of my exposure to the sink or swim method. I am thankful for that and that alone. The seriously biased knowledge was fully entrenched in my psyche and I could always turn it arounD when i was in. The suggested presentations are for the as I said before, the timid or the young, or the lazy. A true devotion to the org would make such nit picky words such as because unnecessary. The persuasive nature of the knowledge the org brags about should be quite enough to serve the purpose.
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WTS overboard w/suggested presentation
by doinmypart inthe nov 2013 km contains an article that is ridiculous in its level of minutae.. they focus on the word "because".
they tell jws to use the word "because" when explaining why they're at the homeowner's door.
writing department, you wrote an article on the use of the word "because"?
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joyfulfader
SFPW-not once did I ever use a suggested presentation as I was and always have been much more intellectually advanced than the outline provided. With the biblical training that the Society brags about, shouldn't the average publisher be quite beyond the simplistic nature of the KM presentations? While I feel as though these suggestions could be important to have as an option for the timid and the young to feel a sense of accomplishment in a nearly impossible field, if i believed they served any purpose other than to piss people off, those presentations were not ever meant for those who had the powers of persuasion which I, unfortunately did. I pioneered for over 7 years and still feel the need to apologize to every single person i spoke to. I was and am very attractive, smart and persuasive. I wish I had started earlier on something worthwhile. I regret every single moment of those 38 years. It was never about God. All about numbers.
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30
Tea
by Hortensia ini was raised on lipton tea.
my mother saw tea as the solution for everything.
no matter what the problem, she'd suggest a cup of tea.
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joyfulfader
Oh btw...my late husband spent some time in China right before we got married and remarked on the quality and prolific nature of tea drinking. I only drink green tea with my Chinese. No sugar.
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30
Tea
by Hortensia ini was raised on lipton tea.
my mother saw tea as the solution for everything.
no matter what the problem, she'd suggest a cup of tea.
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joyfulfader
I love a good tea. My parents have an amazing tearoom near them and I have some of the most delicious loose teas. There is nothing like a glorious, aromatic tea made with a proper infuser. I prefer varietal black teas as opposed to herbals. With sugar mostly but there is a particular tea prepared for the holiday season that is perfection with milk.
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52
What was your "Aha!" moment?
by Hortenzie infor me it was when i learned that gb makes their decisions by 2/3 majority vote, not by direction of holy spirit..
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joyfulfader
I have just recently realized that as a born in, I never have believed. I have never believed anything for myself and only did things to please others. I cannot recall ever developing a relationship with "God". I have leaned toward agnosticism for much longer than I ever imagined. I believe so much of it was the hypocrisy that ran rampant in the congregation with which I was in association with. I had no idea that my own personal cognitive dissonance not only involved religion but it involved a god that I always perceived as being partial, mean and violent. I could never understand the Jesus/God thing since Jesus loved and cared for all no matter where they came from or what mistakes they made. He forgave.
My aha moment was at a HUGE anniversary party for a former CO and his wife. I had just gone through hell with JC meetings regarding my abusive husband and had kicked him out for so many valid reasons. I was sitting in a room of hundreds of people in formal gowns and tuxes. There was a huge cake and a table of presents. I sat at a table as the elder began to pray before the meal and he thanked Jehovah for the gift of marriage. I remember my head popping up uncontrollably and sat incredulous at the rest of the prayer honoring this couple. Granted, I have always loved the both of them for many, many years but all of a sudden I saw the insane hypocrisy of anniversaries vs. birthdays. I work closely with pediatric hospice and every birthday that is celebrated is a gift and another milestone the doctors say most of them will never meet...I could not bring myself to reconcile the idea that another year of marriage is ok to celebrate with such bravado and pomp and circumstance and the celebration of a life soon to be cut short is a sin...unfathomable.
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48
What's the weirdest health advice given by a JW?
by Julia Orwell infrom radio biola to a sister who said you can treat autism and ptsd with scented oils, jws have had some weird some weird ideas about medicine.
what gems have you heard?.
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joyfulfader
my poor grandmother was duped by this sister into buying all sorts of wacky products that cost an arm and a leg. the worst and most expensive (hundreds of dollars) was called the "polarity pillow". It was claimed to have amazing properties like purify ur water just by waving it over the outside of your water pipes. it magically transformed aluminum into silicon just by passing it over the beach chair or pot of your choice. of course it had the disclaimer that if you had any of the "treated" items tested they would not show the change but YOU would "know". it also supposedly kept fruit from spoiling and cured the body of.various ailments. it was a metal box filled with dirt in reality. that was just one of the products that awful woman peddled to the elderly ones in the kh. Infuriates me still...20 years later.