ones who are lovers of jehovah .
dont say rip .
rip is also pagan in origin.
They just have to make a big deal out of every little thing, don't they?
"Don't throw rice at weddings, it's pagan."
"Don't offer a toast, it's pagan."
"Don't say 'bless you' after someone sneezes, it's pagan."
"Almost every single celebration is a no-no because they are all pagan."
They care about so many things that literally shouldn't matter at all.
this morning my brother and my mother (whom i mentioned in my previous topic when we had a conversation about evolution) visited a jehovah's witness, and when they returned, they returned with the awake!
magazine that they received from the witness.
the magazine is entitled, "is the bible really from god?
Eloquently put my friend. I feel much the same way, skeptical agnosticism is the only logical conclusion I've found thus far.
in my time as an elder i attended many elders schools etc and we were often instructed to use the carrot, not the stick.
use commendation and encouragement as opposed to pressuring or guilting the brothers into field service etc.. it seems in that approach we were not imitating jehovah.
read deuteronomy chapter 28: carrot - first 13 verses.
Because God obviously wouldn't use someone like the Devil who was doing bad things to punish His wayward children. Well... unless you count that time He had the wicked Assyrians carry out His discipline on the Israelites, or the time He had the pagan Babylonians enslave the Jews for 70 years, or that time He used the bloodthirsty Romans to besiege and destroy Jerusalem. Oh and let's not forget the fact that He supposedly had his people enslaved to the Egyptians for hundreds of years just because He felt like they should suffer awhile as slaves before they got to enjoy the "Promised Land."
how do the gb micro-manage people's lives today?one example is their micro management in dress and grooming.
eg their view of beards.
elders in most congs will take a brother to a corner and remind him why jws don't grow beards.
no organ transplants Its cannalbalism
Actually, they have made it a matter of conscience now, though they understand if "some view it as cannibalism," (they say that in one of their articles like they have no idea where the notion that organ transplants are equivalent to cannibalism came from. *cough* it was from an earlier edition of their own fucking magazine. *cough*)
ok i'am old so i need some help to understand this new thing, what's the point in marrying yourself?
this sound like a gb brain storm idea....i guess you can never commit adultery....
As a young person, I'd just like to say I've never heard of this being done seriously, nor do I know of any of my peers who have done this.
i went to see guardians of the galaxy 2 yesterday.
(great movie by the way, perfect mixture of action and comedy in my opinion.
) i told my family i would go by myself because they were all going to be at my sister's graduation.
I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2 yesterday. (Great movie by the way, perfect mixture of action and comedy in my opinion.) I told my family I would go by myself because they were all going to be at my sister's graduation. (which she did not want me to attend because she wouldn't be able to talk to me.) That was in fact my plan, however, when I told my future roommates that I was going to see a movie they invited me to come with them instead.
It was a lot of fun. The original movie time we planned to see wasn't being shown at the theater for some reason so instead we went out to lunch and then played a few rounds of mini golf. Now the rest of them had all been friends for over ten years, and yet I didn't feel left out in this group like I did among the JW cliques when I tried to make friends at conventions and assemblies. These people included me in the conversation and were actually very understanding about the issues I've got with my family. We joked and laughed the whole day, and yes it was oftentimes at things JWs would find highly inappropriate, but I realized, "I don't give a damn."
I feel good about the place I've chosen to go after I leave my parents house. It's really nice to feel unconditional friendship for the first time in my life.
we are sick with sin and we’re trying to get well, right?
2. when you hire a coach to get you to the playoffs and win the big game, yet you lose...lose...lose.... do you fire him, or, do you keep him on?
well, then, how do you explain fred franz being made president after the 1975 fiasco?.
*sarcasm* Oh you're getting caught on all the little details and missing the CLEAR signs that God is supporting this organization. Like the broad translation work being done, and uh... that thing with getting all the chairs for a convention, and uhhhh...
when we look at the total universe imagine a jar of sand.
just one grain of sand would be our galaxy so we may be able to see our earth with an electron microscope.
with that in mind, it always made we cringe when at the meetings an elder would say "jehovah has prepared a spiritual banquet for us tonight," or "it makes jehovah happy that we made the effort to attend the meeting tonight.
It's what I like to call "highly delusional confidence."
those of you who know my story are aware that i'm currently disfellowshipped and living with my parents.
up until now, my plan has been to be reinstated and then fade, but recently my plans have changed.
in a conversation with my mother a few days ago and she made it clear that she would not be okay with me getting reinstated with the purpose of going inactive.
Some of you have requested to see the letter which I drafted for my family and friends on my departure from the religion. Here is a first draft. I will probably adjust it slightly to be more personal for some individuals.
Dear [Insert Name],
I am writing to inform you of a major life decision. After careful research and a consideration of all the relevant evidence, I have come to the decision that I no longer wish to be a member of the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I find myself in the position to pursue reinstatement into the congregation, but I feel that to do so would be dishonest because I do not believe that they have the Truth. Make no mistake, this has been the hardest decision I have ever made in my life, I know that it will almost certainly mean that you and others who I care about will shun me, but I have chosen this course because I believe it is the only path that will allow me to maintain my own intellectual and moral integrity in light of the information that I have discovered.
Nonetheless, I do not wish to lose you from my life, so I leave you with this open invitation to resume contact with me anytime you wish, whether it is immediately or ten years from now. Any shunning which takes place will only ever be one way. If you hope that by shunning me you will be performing some sort of discipline which will guide me back, know that you are wrong in that. I am not ashamed of this choice, while not an easy path, I truly believe it to be the correct one.
My purpose in this letter is not to try and rip your faith away from you, so I will not discuss here the reasons for which I have made this decision. If you, however, you wish to understand them I will gladly try to explain after you have contacted me, or not, the choice is yours. If you wish to be a part of my life without discussing this matter that is perfectly acceptable to me. Believing everything I believe is not a requirement for being in my life.
If you ever wish to accept my offer the following email address and phone number should be a reliable means by which to reach me for the foreseeable future.
Email:[Insert Email]
Phone #: [Insert Phone #]
Sincerely your loving friend,
[Insert Name]
those of you who know my story are aware that i'm currently disfellowshipped and living with my parents.
up until now, my plan has been to be reinstated and then fade, but recently my plans have changed.
in a conversation with my mother a few days ago and she made it clear that she would not be okay with me getting reinstated with the purpose of going inactive.
Don't hold out any hopes of a normal family relationship in the future though. It'll only get you more and more frustrated. Don't tell them anything about your new life whether it be good or bad. Because they'll latch onto the bad and say "see what happens when one leaves Jehovah's organization".
I know that a normal relationship with my family is virtually impossible at this point, and even just getting one member of my family to communicate with me is unlikely, but knowing that I've left a path for them will make me feel better about the whole thing regardless.
#2 Go out with a bang, big time letter, a lot of good arguments that will not, in general, move a single JW.
Why? Because this is a club and it's due's paying membership and their good standing counts for more then a non believer's truth.
#3. Move out...... say goodbye to your close family relationships and count yourself lucky because you will no longer be in their pathetic lives or under their influence. I know....... it's Mom and Dad....Sis & Bro...it's been your life....unfortunately if you don't think as they do....... they think less of you.
I've been thinking about what I'll put in the letters, and I've decided that I'm not going to present the specifics of my argument there because I don't think it would serve a purpose. Instead, I will offer to explain my reasons to them should they wish to resume contact with me, however, I will also tell them that they don't have to listen to my explanations to get back in contact with and I would be more than happy to simply leave it as something we disagree on because I don't have to force everyone around me to believe what I believe.
