Posts by Quester

29

Which Bible to get?

by Kat_ in

i was just wondering: never in my life have i owned (or even read) a bible other than the nwt.

i really wish to study the bible but really do not wish to use this version.

after seeing the plethora of bibles out there i was wondering if there is any person here who can give me an un-biased opinion on which bible to get.

Quester

About the New World Translation,
The main reason why I quit reading
it was to break out of the jw mindset.

Reading a different translation/version
Bible helped me to see and understand
the scriptures in a different way than
the jw's taught.

I also think it is beneficial to compare
different Bibles when studying.
Especially if you want to brainstorm on
different ways to understand a scripture.

For example, try reading the love chapter,
1 Cor 13 in different Bibles. Some of th
words used are much more meaningful to me.

Quester

46

dr albert ellis has identified 10 irrational beliefs that can influence us and contribute to over reacting in specific situations.. knowing them is the first step in taking back your personal power and not becoming a casuality of such irrational thought.these screwy beliefs tend to make us 'awfulize,think in terms of 'they should,i should' and dysfunctional rationalizations.. 1. worrying too much about what other people think of you.

excessive worrying creates a strong fear of rejection.. these folks will ignore the self to please others or will display this insecurity by attacking others in order to stay distant and detached.. 2. i must not fail at important tasks,and if i do it's terrible and i can't stand it.. 3.people and things should always turn out the way i want them to-and if they don't it's awful,terrible and horrible,and i can't stand it.. 4.if any of the first 3 bad events happens(if im not liked or respected,if i fail,or if things don't turn out as i'd like-then i'll always blame someone for it!

they acted wrongly,as they should not have done,and they are rotten people for acting in that terrible way!.

Quester

Thanks for the replies Larc and Tina.

Larc - About being imperfect, my positive
affirmation for that is:

I do the best I can with what I know
and when I know better, I do better.
I am a work in progress.

Tina - I agree, we can't just walk away from the
jw religion and think that's all there is to it.
I wanted to understand what happened to me, so
that it wouldn't happen to me again.

Thanks for this thread.
I wish there was more of this kind of stuff on
the board. Something more positive and
constructive to think about and to do.

But that's me.
I'm a positive person.
Quester

46

10 Nutty Beliefs!

by Tina in

jw
friends

dr albert ellis has identified 10 irrational beliefs that can influence us and contribute to over reacting in specific situations.. knowing them is the first step in taking back your personal power and not becoming a casuality of such irrational thought.these screwy beliefs tend to make us 'awfulize,think in terms of 'they should,i should' and dysfunctional rationalizations.. 1. worrying too much about what other people think of you.

excessive worrying creates a strong fear of rejection.. these folks will ignore the self to please others or will display this insecurity by attacking others in order to stay distant and detached.. 2. i must not fail at important tasks,and if i do it's terrible and i can't stand it.. 3.people and things should always turn out the way i want them to-and if they don't it's awful,terrible and horrible,and i can't stand it.. 4.if any of the first 3 bad events happens(if im not liked or respected,if i fail,or if things don't turn out as i'd like-then i'll always blame someone for it!

they acted wrongly,as they should not have done,and they are rotten people for acting in that terrible way!.

Quester

Enjoyed reading this thread.

Larc, you are very good at being succinct.
I like that.

I just wanted to add that I have worked a
lot on changing negative beliefs and identifying
cognitive distortions.

1. It is difficult to identify the beliefs
causing the problem because they so engrained
and automatic, it's hard to catch them.

Journaling helped me with that.

2. I also work with affirmations a lot to
replace a faulty belief with a more positive
one. Affirmations need to be written and
stated in a positive form. Shad Helmstetter
wrote some good books on that topic. One
book I can name specifically is "What To say
When You Talk To Yourself."

Quester

29

Which Bible to get?

by Kat_ in

i was just wondering: never in my life have i owned (or even read) a bible other than the nwt.

i really wish to study the bible but really do not wish to use this version.

after seeing the plethora of bibles out there i was wondering if there is any person here who can give me an un-biased opinion on which bible to get.

Quester

The Eight Translation New Testament
Tyndale (Publishers?)

Contains:
KJV
Phillips
RSV
JB
LB (Living Bible)
NIV
TEV
NEB

Also have:
The New Layman's Parallel Bible
4 translations, entire Bible, NT & OT
Zondervan (Publishers?)

Contains:
KJV
NIV
LB
RSV

A good reasonably priced online bookstore:
Christian Book Distributors
* http://www.christianbook.com

I like to go to the local Christian bookstore
or a large chain bookstore like Barnes & Nobles
and look at the different Bibles available and
see what appeals to me.

Check out the Life Application or Study Bibles.
These contain cross references, charts, maps,
introductions to each Bible book, and commentary
notes.

I have a Life Application Bible in the NIV version
and really like it.

Quester

29

Which Bible to get?

by Kat_ in

i was just wondering: never in my life have i owned (or even read) a bible other than the nwt.

i really wish to study the bible but really do not wish to use this version.

after seeing the plethora of bibles out there i was wondering if there is any person here who can give me an un-biased opinion on which bible to get.

Quester

In "How to Read the Bible for all Its Worth",
By Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart

A book I highly recommend.

It rates Bibles from literal to free.
KJV (King James Version)
NASB (New American Standard Bible)
RSV (Revised Standard Version)
NRSV (New Revised Standard Version)
NIV (New International Version)
NAB (New American Bible)
NEB (New English Bible)
GNB (Good News Bible)
JB (Jerusalem Bible)
The Message Bible (My addition)
Phillips

If you are fairly conservative, try the NRSV.

My personal favorites:
NIV (New International Verson)
The Message

The Fee and Stuart book discusses the
problems of translating and the pros and cons
of reading the different Bible translations/versions.

I love that book.
Quester

16

COs, SL, Mulan, AlanF, Max,Tina,UB,Zev,&New...

by Seeker4 in

jw
friends

this is from seeker4, whom some of you may remember from h2o.

have been quiet for several months, and not even reading the boards.

too busy.

Quester

Seeker4, the writer.
I remember you.
We exchanged some emails back in the H2O days.
Good to read your update on what's been
happening in your life.
Quester

23

yoga class........meditation

by Mulan in

jw
friends

last night i went to my first meditation class, conducted by a nice young man, teaching a yoga-type meditation.

it is my first venture into meditating, and i thought i would share a couple of interesting points.

i was with an old friend, who also happens to be an ex dub, but only out about a year.

Quester

Mulan (Marilyn),

I love yoga exercise--something I never allowed
myself when I was a jw cuz it was supposed to "bad."

If you want to try a yoga video:

The best yoga video is:
Yoga Journal's
yoga for energy
with Rodney Yee

Also you might try something
by Lillias Folan. Maybe find
them at the library. She's
for the 50+ group.

All the above videos are available at:

* http://www.collagevideo.com

I have a few books I can recommend
also, if you are interested, I'll go dig
out the titles/authors for ya.

Quester

17

C.S.Lewis makes a "comeback"...

by Tallyman in

jw
friends

for those who chowed down for years on the watchtower's "spiritual food" (who was that talking about schit on a schingle in an earlier post?

) and thought you were getting christianity, and have now left the table of jehovah-of-the-watchtower... .

and purged what you consumed.... and still haven't given up on christianity - (hey, jesus did warn of counterfeits).

Quester

I am relatively new to the writings of C.S. Lewis.
He has some very good information on the
Bible as myth and what that means.

Here's a really good website with tons of info on his writings.
Quester

========================
Into The Wardrobe
A website devoted to C. S. Lewis

* http://cslewis.drzeus.net/

20

What Kind of Witness Were You ?

by Big Jim in

jw
friends

for me that is a hard question to answer.

it seems like when your in the borg it is always pounded in your head that you need to do more so they made you think you were never doing enough.. the last five years that i was in it i guess you could say i was pretty gung-ho, i regulare pionered for almost three years as well as served as a ms, i used my home for book study as well as saturday field service.. but you know what all that does not amount to a hill of beans, you know why?

because the whole time i was a doubter, i never liked it from the time i was a kid.

Quester

bboyneko, That was hilarious!

I was super duper jw, lived, ate,
breathed, slept, watchtower everything.

I eventually got burned out, fell
flat on my face, and well, here I am
Quester

40

Are you still a pacifist?

by wasasister in

jw
friends

last night, i found myself wondering aloud about something i never thought i would consider: purchasing a gun.

previously, i had very strong anti-gun sentiments.

i felt, and still do to some extent, that freely available guns in this country are an immediate threat to children and add to the violent perception others have of americans.

Quester

I didn't see anyone mention taking a
self-defense class. That is something
I'd like to do. Who carries a gun
around with them 24 hours a day?

But if a person gets training on how to defend
yourself anytime, anywhere, in any situation,
I think this would empower a person and they
would feel less fear if in a high crime area.

Quester