Posts by Saethydd

it reminds me of my old kingdom hall where hardly anyone is sitting in the front rows and doesn't seem like they have a large membership.most kingdom halls sit around 200 people at the most and seem to have a hard time filling the seats.. my old congregation had around 45 members when i left 4 years ago.we always seemed to have a hard time meeting the monthly expenses.some months,i was told that some elders would contribute extra money so the congregation would not be in the negative for the month.. how many members did your congregation have while you were still attending and did meet its expenses for the month?.

Saethydd

The congregation I attend has something like 120-30 publishers I think, though it is the only congregation in the county, an hours drive to the next nearest.

66

Was There ANYTHING Positive That You Experienced Because of Being a JW?

by minimus in

jw
friends

was there anything positive about your jehovah's witness experience?.

Saethydd

It gave me decent public speaking skills, (though it countered that by hindering my interpersonal communication skills by burdening me with the idea that I need to be subtly steering the conversation towards religion so that I could preach to them.)

Other than that I can't really think of much it has given me that I wouldn't have gotten anywhere else, except maybe that my family is closer than most, but that tends to be the case when you all view 99.9% of the world as people to be avoided wherever possible.

20

Round and round the not so marigoround

by Coded Logic in

i find most theist arguments to be either confused or dishonest at best.

and most of them i regard with mild annoyance.

but there is one track of thinking that is so stupid it really gets under my skin: when, in order to try and prop up "faith", people try and tear down reason and critical thinking.

Saethydd

Maybe you find the theistic response which questions human rationality most troublesome because you find it difficult to formulate a "reasonable" response.
Somehow we don't find it difficult to accept that a dog will never work out a value for Pi or compose a sonnet.
Yet we find it more difficult to accept the possibility that questions of divine being, ultimate existence, purpose and evil, may be beyond human understanding.
Why do we presume that the human mind is equipped to settle such matters one way or another?

You have something of a point, the issue, however, is that there are many people claim to have answers to the questions of divine being, ultimate existence, purpose, and evil. So human reasoning can and should be used to discount the teachings of one who was/is almost certainly either a charlatan or a delusional person.

I'm not saying one needs to convince every theist that they are wrong, but if a religious person tries to debate me I certainly won't hesitate to rip apart their flimsy arguments.

6

Need bethel email address I would like to send an email.

by poopie in

jw
friends

please .

Saethydd

https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/contact/united-states/

31

I need some advice please

by JaMu in

i am a non-jw girl dating a jw man for almost 5 years now since end of high school.

most of the relationship has been long distance.

when we started dating, we wanted a serious long term relationship that would end in marriage one day.

Saethydd

Judging from your account of things it doesn't sound like this man is a devout JW, so it is possible that over time you could get him to celebrate holidays (though I personally wouldn't bet on that happening.) I have trouble believing that he will legitimately refrain from pressuring you to become a JW down the line, it may be subtle but he almost certainly will.

If he does not though I would advise you expect it from his family. They are trained to proselytize and love nothing more than an audience that can't simply ignore them. If he isn't a very active member himself his family may even try to convert you to get to him. This process will begin with something called "love-bombing," during which JWs are going to shower you with attention while they are testing the waters by overtly or covertly trying to discuss religion with you. If they think you can be converted they will continue the love-bombing until they succeed. If they determine you aren't "receptive" they will likely stop and have very little to do with you. However, expect the same "testing of the waters" with any JW you come into contact with.

If I were you I would consider carefully whether you can handle the above situation and the situations outlined by other people in this thread before you commit to marriage with this man.

You said that this man is your first boyfriend and that you've been together for five years, so because you have only ever been with one person, I would also recommend some serious introspection on your part. Determine for yourself what you really want in a life-partner, and don't purposely list the qualities of the person you're already dating. (Ideally, this is done while one is single.) Try to be balanced in this exercise, though, don't imagine yourself with a flawless person because that will never happen. Be sure to include the objective flaws you believe you can live with long-term. If you want to try this but are having trouble starting you could take a look at the Meyer-Brigg personality types and see which one in their strengths and weaknesses most closely fits the type of person you would consider as a life partner. Some people are lucky and find the right person the first time, some people, like myself, don't realize how incompatible they were with their first boyfriend/girlfriend until after they have broken up.

In the end, though, I would say the best way to tell whether a person is right for you, is whether or not your happiness is a priority for them. Two people can be good people, even great people, but if they don't both give priority to the other person's happiness, then one of them will almost certainly be miserable.

20

Round and round the not so marigoround

by Coded Logic in

i find most theist arguments to be either confused or dishonest at best.

and most of them i regard with mild annoyance.

but there is one track of thinking that is so stupid it really gets under my skin: when, in order to try and prop up "faith", people try and tear down reason and critical thinking.

Saethydd

I was raised to look down on philosophy, taught that it was pointless, told that it would screw with my head. I realize now why I was taught that. Because philosophy is at its root the trait of curiosity, which has turned out to be detrimental to my belief in all the things a JW is supposed to believe in. The worst part of it, though, is that I can't help anyone else to see the shortcomings of their faith because they have all been well-trained to ignore those questions as "human philosophy."

18

Violent Games/Movie

by Saethydd in

all through my childhood, i was told about the evils of violence (and magic) in entertainment, i doubt i could count the number of movies and video games i wasn't allowed to enjoy for that very reason.

i did always watch movies and play video games with a certain amount of violence in them, but i was careful to keep it at the teen/pg-13 rating.. in the last year or so though i've started trying out games like skyrim, fallout 3, and thief.

(since i still live with my parents i'm careful about where and when i play them.

Saethydd

Well, I'm not an expert in human psychology, but it seems undeniable, based on our history, that humans have a certain level of natural aggression. No laws or religions are going to fully eradicate that aggression and propensity for violence. It seems to me that violent video games may provide a non-destructive outlet for that aggression, and thus keep it from building up. Now, assuming one's ability to clearly distinguish fantasy from reality has not been compromised, they will essentially be training themselves to work out their aggression in a virtual environment instead of on people in the physical world.

29

The true cost of being raised as a witness

by stuckinarut2 in

how do you view your upbringing as a witness?.

most of us who were raised as witnesses would appreciate that some aspects of our upbringing were ok. a foundation and measure of stability came with it.. but, it struck me too, that we also lost so very much!

and we lost a lot of potential.. by this i mean, we need to look at not just what we lost, or what was deprived of us, but what that ended up costing us as adults into the future.. if i take $10 from you, you have lost just $10.. but, if you were going to use that $10 to buy something that would end up earning you $1000, then i actually took $1000 from you!.

Saethydd

I've managed to wake up at a fairly young age so, fortunately, this religion didn't cost me my best shot at an education. However, I do feel like I have missed out on many social aspects that I would have enjoyed. I don't have any really good old friends that I went to high school with, I never got to have a high school sweetheart. Perhaps that won't end up having a major impact on me down the line because I am trying to make college friendships that will last beyond my school years, but as my situation stands now it's hard for me to make plans to associate with my school mates unless I pretend it's studying to my parents. With any luck though, I'll be moved out of my parents house by this time in two years.