the laugh is on you my elder 'friends.
' years ago you could prance up to the platform, stand behind the mic, and declare, 'brother parrish has been disfellowshipped' and no one would talk to me.
but those days are over my 'friends,' because there are many who talk to me anyway in spite of what you've said.
George,
I think you'll find that your research into the Bible can be very helpful here. No one is being thrown out for expressing ideas that many would consider "apostate". People here are thinking and trying to come to terms with God and their faith.
I'm sure you can contribute some excellent ideas.....but leave the jokes to Frenchy (not that he's all that good, but we just don't need another jokester) LOL
stuart little saves his family in fact, it's on right now - but i've seen it at least half dozen times - it's great.. this movie laughingly goes into really serious sh*t. and it handles it well.
a great movie to appreciate how most families are - to one degree or another.
now to a beer, pizza, and stuart........
Oooo...Interview with a Vampire....I loved that movie. The book was even better. I LOVE Anne Rice......shhhh don't tell anyone I'm into the Vampire/horror thing.....I don't think it would be looked on too kindly.....but (hehehehe) I LOVE those books.
...attain unanimous support from his creation of free moral agents?
from the majority at least.. apparently according to the wt interpretation of god's own book...a prominent spirit creature who made himself satan became unsatisfied and left god.later untold numbers would join the devil.. now the only solution for the future of these 'rebels' would be for god to destroy them.. then the very first human creatures apparently also felt unsatisfied and withdrew from god.they got destroyed.. later god had to confuse the language of all humans because they were unanimously opposed to god.
those people too are history.. then god had an ark built because all flesh had left god's way except for a handful of people.. evidently god was not expecting any great number to actually join noah, otherwise god would have had noah build several arks!
Weird? Well, I KNOW I'm weird.....but in a good way. LOL
I used to believe that the Society had the Truth, the Whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth; but after so many changes and flip-flops, I have honestly come to believe differently.
While the WTBTS may have a good message, I doubt very much that it is the ONLY way to approach God. I doubt that any religion has ALL the answers, although most of them claim to. I guess it's just a way to keep members.
The one thing I DO know is that we are all children of a loving Father. He has not abandoned us, even though all the religions of the world claim that He WILL abandon us if we don't abide by that particular religion's rules.
The more I think and act outside the box, the closer my relationship to Him becomes.
i came to this forum to maybe get you to think and use your own brains.......but the funny thing is you are........i just wonder why you stay in name only when so many of you are not likeing it, and dont believe anymore or dont believe all of it, what keeps you going when you dislike it so much?.are you afraid of loseing family?
face?
what?........i walked away and believe me its not bad at all..i have friends that are true to me and peace within my heart.
The points brought out about organization vis-a-vis religion, are exactly the points that make me think that we all need to get back to basics. i.e. our relationship with God.
Once a religious organization reaches a certain size, it definitely loses that "banding together for a cause" aura.
Can the WTBTS ever go back to what it once was....a group of people seeking to please God? I have my doubts. Even now, I find myself trusting my own feelings more than I trust the Society. Is this "independent thinking"? Yes. But is this necessarily bad? I think not. It seems that the more I trust my intuitive feelings about my relationship with Jehovah, the better that relationship becomes.
i have pioneered for over four years.
i have three children and a wife who at times has severe back problems.
i have worked two jobs just to stay ahead of the bills and provide for my family.
waiting,
Your elders "suck"? LOL Do you think you could be a little more explicit next time? ROFL
Actually, it seems that many elders suck (sorry, Frenchy). They do not act like shepherds, but rather like power-hungry megalomaniacs. This, unfortunately, includes my own cousin. (sigh)
the laugh is on you my elder 'friends.
' years ago you could prance up to the platform, stand behind the mic, and declare, 'brother parrish has been disfellowshipped' and no one would talk to me.
but those days are over my 'friends,' because there are many who talk to me anyway in spite of what you've said.
George,
I don't think anyone here would put you down. Everyone here is discussing and debating. No time to be rude to anyone.
a few months ago during the elders' meeting with the c.o.
i could not help but express myself to him when the subject of meeting attendance came up.
now this is a nice guy as far as c.o.
waiting,
I can remember the first time my Mom took me to the Kingdom Hall.
Her initial exposure to the JW's came after my sister had accepted some magazines from someone doing street work. A brother came to our house and talked to Mom about the Bible and the meetings.
He offered to pick us up for the Sunday talk and Watchtower. I remember Mom asking if they had a Sunday School for the children (I was 7). The brother told her that "yes, this is like a Sunday School, and perfect for small children".
Mom was overjoyed....I would get a dose of Sunday School. I remember sitting through that first talk and Watchtower muttering to myself "this is NOT a Sunday School....boy did we get ripped off".
It was really tough to try to sit quietly through meetings where you understood almost nothing.
i came to this forum to maybe get you to think and use your own brains.......but the funny thing is you are........i just wonder why you stay in name only when so many of you are not likeing it, and dont believe anymore or dont believe all of it, what keeps you going when you dislike it so much?.are you afraid of loseing family?
face?
what?........i walked away and believe me its not bad at all..i have friends that are true to me and peace within my heart.
Good questions, Jokemyster. Having a relationship with God is important. Will I ever feel comfortable enough to seek that relationship outside the boundaries of a structured religion? Perhaps.
There are many things that I find troublesome. There are many hypocrisys and "holes in the curtain", so to speak. Other religions have problems also. Perhaps the ultimate way for me will be a singular path without the confines of religion. Is it possible? I think that it is; however, I don't feel that this is a step that should be taken lightly. Much careful consideration needs to go into something like this.
this is my one and only attempt at free style (no rhyme) tell me what you think.... my love seeketh her in the wind and trees and the valleys and mountains... through waist deep streams of crystal waters dashing upon smooth pebble i search for thee.
oh but to hold thee and to feel thy warm embrace... .
for the fires of the sun would be naught to compare with thy love... thy embrace.... the flames of love thrash about like a thousand tempests in an ocean of fire.... into the cool blue skies they thrust upwards, reaching, searching to consume.
I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes, Frenchy. Your verse is always so evocative. It would be wonderful to be loved like that. (sigh)
i just read this on h2o:.
posted by joseph malik [josephmalik] on may 27, 2000 at 15:24:10 {fwfbgnmqk2wtn58ygbc6kwpnhmz1io}:.
the gb voted last wednesday to allow blood transfusions.
There was a discussion on Wit.net about the voting issue several months ago. Several people were asking about the implications.
I was not surprised to read some of the responses applauding the Society for more or less putting one over on the worldly governments while changing nothing internally. The statements were made that even though the Society made voting a conscience matter, and thusly could claim to the "world" that JW's are DEFINITELY allowed to vote, a "mature Christian" would KNOW that voting was wrong and therefore the point was moot as far as they were concerned.
It just boggles the mind. I spent years proudly explaining to anyone who asked that JW's were supporters of God's Kingdom and could therefore not participate in the functions of a worldy government run by Satan. Now, all that is bound up in all this rhetoric....just so the Society can pull the strings behind the curtain, but look okay to the world at large. >:(
Edited by - RedhorseWoman on 28 May 2000 23:30:2
