Not strictly on topic, but as I was reading through this I was thinking "Wow! I thought veterans were usually poorly supported in the US." Then I saw that you're in Australia and it all made sense.
Saethydd
JoinedPosts by Saethydd
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23
Should a JW accept Veteran payments?
by Tantalon inhello people,.
i was born in but long time faded.
i think i hold current jws to a higher standard than they now maintain.. here's the thing; my father is very old, in his nineties and been a jdub for over 60 years and even made it to elder till he got too old.on a recent visit my siblings and dad were saying how wonderful that veterans affairs were.
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Cooperation and Conformity
by Saethydd ina common thing that jws point to as proof of god's blessing is the supposed cooperation between people of many different backgrounds.
however, i think there should be a distinction drawn between collaborations that are performed through true tolerance and open-mindedness towards another's point of view, and collaborations that are the result of a high level of conformity by its participants.. the former sort can be seen, for example, in the un, which while not perfect, i believe does try its best to foster true cooperation between people of all nations.
the latter of sort of cooperation, however, is more akin to the type found in communist dictatorships or countries controlled predominantly by a single religion which doesn't care to protect the rights of those in the religious minority.
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Saethydd
A common thing that JWs point to as proof of God's blessing is the supposed cooperation between people of many different backgrounds. However, I think there should be a distinction drawn between collaborations that are performed through true tolerance and open-mindedness towards another's point of view, and collaborations that are the result of a high level of conformity by its participants.
The former sort can be seen, for example, in the UN, which while not perfect, I believe does try its best to foster true cooperation between people of all nations. The latter of sort of cooperation, however, is more akin to the type found in communist dictatorships or countries controlled predominantly by a single religion which doesn't care to protect the rights of those in the religious minority. I hope most people would agree that the former type of cooperation is morally better.
The type of cooperation shown amongst JWs is clearly of the second type because failure to conform to their rigid rulesets or social conventions is rarely met with anything but disdain. Conformity based cooperation doesn't scale up quickly because that cooperation doesn't extend beyond the group, so cooperation amongst different sets of conformists is rare, to say the least. In fact, I think it can be more difficult for a group of JWs to work collaboratively with non-JWs.
Thoughts?
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How can angels be sexually attracted to women?
by Island Man inthe nephilim account in genesis is utterly ridiculous when you consider that angels are sex-less beings and would therefore lack sex-drive and romantic attraction.
think of how difficult it is for humans with a sex drive to be sexually attracted to animals.
now take away that sex drive and it becomes literally impossible.
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Saethydd
I've questioned that particular detail since I was a still-in-the-org teenager, it makes no sense to me that Angels would be any more sexually attracted to human women than God himself would be, (though according to the New Testament he did knock up a virgin) the only thing that kind of makes sense is that they desired to create life, but that still begs the question: why use human woman to do it? They clearly had the ability to create human bodies. So what would have stopped them from making the Nephilim or some other race of beings that is superior to mankind?
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JWs and Pacifism
by pale.emperor inpacifismˈpasɪfɪz(ə)mnoun: pacifismthe belief that war and violence are unjustifiable and that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means.. .
one thing that always irked me as a witness was their pacifism.
i totally agree that non violence is a wonderful way to live, but at the same time whenever i'd read or watch something about nazi germany i always thought being a pacifist in that environment wouldn't work.
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Saethydd
While they aren't technically pacifists, they may as well be. Because rather than taking a personal stand and fighting for something of value they just believe in letting God handle the fighting, thus "waiting on Jehovah," which if your God is an imaginary coping mechanism, has the same end result as pacifism.
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Finally ready to join the crowd.
by Silent Knight inhello, all you damn dirty apostates!
please, allow me to join this community of diseased minds.
i have been lurking here for over 2 years and tonight i decided it's time to come out of the shadows.
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Saethydd
Welcome, I hope your fade goes well for you.
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Day 1: The Night of Anger, Tears, and Pain
by Saethydd inmy freedom came with a heavy cost.
i couldn't stand the dishonesty so when my sister went out of town on a trip i told my parents that i no longer wanted to be a jw.
when my sister got back and i told her she was so angry, said she really wanted to slap me, then she ran off sobbing, a few minutes later she deposited every gift i ever gave her in front of my door.. my entire family has turned against me.
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Saethydd
Thank you for all of your support, I'll be sure to keep you informed on how I'm doing. I've got about 90% of my stuff moved into my new place and will be getting the rest this afternoon. I feel so much more at home right now than I have for a long time.
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Day 1: The Night of Anger, Tears, and Pain
by Saethydd inmy freedom came with a heavy cost.
i couldn't stand the dishonesty so when my sister went out of town on a trip i told my parents that i no longer wanted to be a jw.
when my sister got back and i told her she was so angry, said she really wanted to slap me, then she ran off sobbing, a few minutes later she deposited every gift i ever gave her in front of my door.. my entire family has turned against me.
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Saethydd
My freedom came with a heavy cost. I couldn't stand the dishonesty so when my sister went out of town on a trip I told my parents that I no longer wanted to be a JW. When my sister got back and I told her she was so angry, said she really wanted to slap me, then she ran off sobbing, a few minutes later she deposited every gift I ever gave her in front of my door.
My entire family has turned against me. They all feel so much pain over this and from their point of view it's all my fault. Even though I know in my head that it's the narrow-minded shunning policy of the Watchtower that really causes this pain, I can't help but feel guilt everytime I relive hearing my sister crying or my mother's angry insistence that "deep down I know this is the Truth."
This morning I woke up in a home where I have freedom and acceptance. I'm glad I found good friends before I committed to this path because I know that this wouldn't have gone well for me otherwise. I have a long road ahead of me to reach a happy life, and I doubt these scars will ever fully heal, but now at least I can begin to get on with my life.
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How ballroom dancing helped our exit
by Finally Left injust wanted to say hello and thank you for all of your comments.
when i finally figured out this was not the truth it was nice to know i wasn't the only one - it was a surprise to learn how many there are.
february was my last month of service after 43 active years.
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Saethydd
One group of really good friends who understand your situation and are supportive about it help so much. I know that it was my finding that which helped me have the courage to finally tell my parents that I don't want to be a JW anymore, even if it meant I'd have to move out.
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why does no one ask questions ?
by midnight ini always felt bad for asking questions , did anyone else ?
what question did you ask or want to ask but feel it was wrong ?
mine was regarding the circuit assembly and the amount defecit anounced .. also 1975 i got a stern reply too when i was studying in the 90,s.
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Saethydd
For me, asking questions wasn't the problem, it was when I wasn't satisfied with the given answers. (Or if I knew that the given answer was a distortion or outright lie.) That is when it started to fall apart for me.
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Told My Parents Yesterday That I Don't Want to Be a JW
by Saethydd ini wasn't entirely sure what to expect when i made the decision to tell my parents how i really feel, but i was prepared for the worst, fortunately, it didn't come to that.
after i told them i didn't want to go to the meetings anymore it led to a long talk with them.
they made a number of irksome and woefully uninformed statements but at least they were not aggressive and have said that they won't force me to move out over this, though, i can tell they are hoping they can convince me to "accept the truth," as long as i still live with them.
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Saethydd
Wow...so sorry to hear.
Do you have someone or somewhere safe you can go?
Fortunately, I did foresee this scenario and started seeking a new place to live months ago, it took me about two days to find one of my friends who was willing to let me rent a room in their house. I've also been spending quite a bit of time hanging out over there and getting to know my other housemates, and letting my dog get to know them too so I'm hoping for a fairly smooth transition, the hardest things for me is going to be all of the new expenses I've got to pick up, fortunately I already found flexible part-time work that I can fit around my college schedule, doesn't pay great but hopefully it'll keep me from starving.