I'm here for many reasons,most of which have already been stated.
I'm here to learn, to heal,to make friends with persons who have a simular background as mine,to encourage others and be encouraged,for fun and entertainment,for healing and comfort.I'm sure I could think of more but I'll stop now and let someone else have a go.
Before I do though,I'want to say that I'm very thankful that we have this place to come together.
Ranchette
Ranchette
JoinedPosts by Ranchette
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76
Why Are You Here?
by larc inthe question, "why are you here?
" is simple enough, and your answer may be straightforward.
however, when i asked that of myself, i find that my answer is pretty complicated.
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Ranchette
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23
elderly people, not married, living together?
by Mulan ini would like some opinions on a situation that seems to be arising in my family.. since my mother is now a widow, and her income will be much less, she may not be able to afford to stay where she is, even with the financial assistance she gets from the family.
so we have talked about her moving in with us.
the problem is, my father, her ex husband lives with us too.
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Ranchette
Mulan,
If things change in the future,remember,you are a wonderful daughter who should not have second thoughts about taking care of both of your parents, if need be.
If they were to get it on,so to speak,who cares!More power to them!
I also understand your daughters' concerns.I could only imagine taking care of my parents!My father is Df'd and my mother is "THE HOLY MOTHER"witness.Like others have said it's no ones business, but you must consider your mental and emotional well being above all else.
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URGENT! Need help!
by SlayerLayer ini just had a long conversation with my mother.
she went into her "you know it's the truth" routine.
in a nutshell, i told her that i have found too many discrepancies in the wts.. i told her abbout the 607bce date.
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Ranchette
Slayer,
Please keep us posted on how this 607 approach works with your mom,also any thing else you use.
I'm trying to figure out how to handle my mom and I'm sure others here are in a simular situation as we are.Theres been some good sugestions so far.
Thanks,
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Saying Jehovah's name
by jurs inwhen i first started studying 10 years ago with jw's i felt uncomfortable using jehovah's name.
i can't explain why but i avoided using it.
after awhile it became a beautiful name to me.
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Ranchette
I'm with ya,Jurs.
I usually just say,God now.At first it was just uncomfortable to say but then it became as hard to say"Jehovah as it is for me to refer to this religion as the "Truth".There was a Watchtower or Awake article not to long ago where they themselves admit that they don't really know the proper pronounciation of Gods' name.That was pretty crazy for me to read after all those years of forcing that name on to others!
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Point of Clarity.
by Deacon inthe anointed.. according to common belief among jw's, the anointed class are the only recipients of the christian greek scriptures, that is to say, it is aimed directly for the ones with the hope of heavenly association with jesus christ.. now, we have been taught that the anointed class are here to teach, and help the secondary class, ie the earthly hopers, to learn about jehovah and his promises, and by association with them....gain salvation through the ransom sacrifice.. so, according to published figures, there are between 8 and 9 thousand partakers of the emblems left on earth.
correspondingly, according to written word from the gb, the sealing of the anointing concluded in 1935.. the latest additions to the governing body, are in their 50s.. the governing body membership fluctuates from 4 to 18 depending on where in the 20th century, 21st century it was at the time.. the society is not really aware of the names addresses or reliability of those claiming to be anointed, or indeed take messages or advice from them.. let me get this right.
the christian greek scriptures give the commission to all those sealed in knowledge with christ to preach and teach and do the work.
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Ranchette
Not only do they go against scripture on this, they also go against their own teachings.
In the Insite On The Scriptures book under the subheading,Faithful and discrete slave, in the second paragraph on page 806 they say this:
....the apostle Peter showes that such stewardship of the divine truths was actually committed to (all) the 'chosen ones', (all) the spirit anointed ones, of the Christian congregation.(1Pe1:1,2; 4:10,11)Thus the (entire)anointed Christian congregation was to serve in a (uninted stewardship),dispensing such truths.........*note, parenthesies are mine for emphisis.
So if the entire congregation of annointed have this commission then why dont't they all have an equal share?How can a person who truly believes they are anointed sit back and let a few annointed in Bethel do their job, even lettting themselves be replaced by members of the Great crowd?
Somethings very wrong with this!
Ranchette -
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How Would You Respond?
by silentlambs ini know this is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel, but i just have to share this email i got a few minutes ago.
i think it encapsulates the response many will have, no matter what is said about the molestation issue.
i invite you read it, put yourself in my shoes, and see how you might offer a response.
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Ranchette
Does any one else have an oppinion on this letter?
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Where Do I Go Now?
by individual inwith all the problems in the 'truth' and all the things that we know are wrong with it there seems to be aspects of their theology (i.e the sequences of the world powers, statue in daniel, the promise of world restoration again found in daniel) that to me still make sense.
although i cannot follow a religion that believes in the destruction of all humanity barring those that respond to their own preaching work i still believe in a creator and cannot accept the teachings of other religions that have no purpose for the earth and believe that mankinds only destiny is in heaven.
my mind keeps telling me that if god was behind a religion it would be so much better than that of the jws.
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Ranchette
I've been exactly where you guys are now.It's a very uncomfortable place to be and it causes much anxiety.
I came to two conclusions that helped relieve that anxiety and give me comfortable breathing room.
The first one is this:I once believed with all my heart that we had the true religion,now I'm just as convienced that they don't have the truth or a monopoly on God.If you still belive in the Bible,Jesus freed people from oppressive religion, then they went right back and started it up again after his death.I don't have to be in a religion to be acceptable to God.
My second conclusion is this:God does not expect us to have all the answers.If he did he would make it very clear.
It's hard at first because of all our years of training but things will get better.
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What is the real meaning of life?
by Nicolas ini mean, if we have been created by the evolution then, our life really have no purpose.
we live about 80 years and then we die and it's finish.
it seem really dull to me.
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Ranchette
Stiff,
Your right,our training as JW's makes us dissatisfied with this life.In fact I think all religions do this.It's a hard habit to break.I look at this think of it as such a waste now.For me personally I've probabably wished away at least a third of my life not fully appreciating this one!I'm trying to change my thinking now.
Ranchette -
30
What is the real meaning of life?
by Nicolas ini mean, if we have been created by the evolution then, our life really have no purpose.
we live about 80 years and then we die and it's finish.
it seem really dull to me.
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Ranchette
I don't have the answer and I don't think any one else really does either,although there are some pretty interesting ideas out there.
Sometimes, I wonder why we get so cought up in looking for the pourpose and meaning of life?I mean, why can't we just accept life as the wonderful gift that it is no matter how it came to be?
Wouldn't it be nice just relax,accept life,live it well,and then If there's something else after this life we could consider it a bonus?
I go round and round with the questions you ask as I'm sure many others do to and the questions I asked above is where I end up.
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How Would You Respond?
by silentlambs ini know this is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel, but i just have to share this email i got a few minutes ago.
i think it encapsulates the response many will have, no matter what is said about the molestation issue.
i invite you read it, put yourself in my shoes, and see how you might offer a response.
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Ranchette
I have a hard time believing someone could claim to have read the silentlambs site that contains all thos heart wrenching experiences and still come away with this kind of attitude!
They didn't read it or they are just plain blind and heartless!
They made a statement something like,The important thing is doing what God wants.Did the person stop and read what they were saying?
God wants nothing to do with these policies designed by this organization that allow so many to be hurt.And this persons rationalizing these policies and the organization that made them, by saying they're not perfect, is a COPOUT!
That goes over with me about as good as a criminal trying to keep from going to prison by saying, " but we're all imperfect,I shouldn't have to go to jail for just making a mistake! We all make mistakes."There are different levels of mistakes and negligence and there are different consequences for them all.The God I worship would hold anyone accountable that had the power to do something about this but instead arrogantly refuse!
I don't know what you could say to a person like this and make a difference.Maybe you could just foward them this thread.
Ranchette