RedhorseWoman

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Posts by RedhorseWoman

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  77

  Writing private letters to the Society.

  by spectromize in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  for anyone who's ever written something of a private nature or asked clarification on certain beliefs have you ever had the unfortunate experience of the elders calling you in the back room or a sheperding call ?.

  the reason i bring this out is that newer brothers or sisters don't know that everytime you write the society the society sends a copy of your letter to your local cong.

  elders.

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  RedhorseWoman

  Ah, yes, Bigquestion.....I have learned....I have repented.....I shall now be known as PinkponyGirl to show my new, humbled attitude
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  5

  Daily Text

  by BigQuestion in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "put no trust in a friend, have no confidence ina loved one, guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your embrace" - micah 7:5, new revised standard version

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  RedhorseWoman

  guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your embrace

  Wow, this was certainly prophetic. Micah KNEW about teenagers and orthodontic appliances.
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  24

  Qualified to be elders?

  by Andyman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is an issue that really bothers me.

  the elders are supposed to be looking after the well being of the congregation.

  they are supposed to be helping those in need.

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  RedhorseWoman

  While I agree with the basic premise that secular education is not necessary to make a good minister, my issue with the elder arrangement arises over their status as counselors.

  If the elders limited their work to preaching and teaching the scriptures and ministering to the flock about spiritual matters, I would have no concern.

  However, when dealing (or not dealing, as the case may be) with serious emotional or marital issues, the elders simply parrot the advice from the Society to spend more time in service and Bible study.

  I've been in the position of needing help emotionally during the period of time when "outside" therapies were more or less forbidden. The elders had no knowledge or experience with which to help me....and they didn't. I was left to feel even more guilty about myself and received no help whatsoever. I made it through somehow, and since that time I realize that I was experiencing acute clinical depression, which would have been easily resolved with therapy and medication.

  Instead, I was hounded for not attending enough meetings (difficult to do when you sleep for 16 hours a day), and urged to associate more with my brothers and sisters....yeah, right.

  Sisters who have had the misfortune to marry abusive husbands are counseled to become more sumissive to the headship of their husbands and are told that a scriptural divorce is not an option.

  These are the types of situations where the elders should be humble enough to realize that neither they nor the WTBTS has the answer for every problem. They should also be wise enough to recommend therapy, and they should have resources available to recommend to someone who is experiencing major problems.

  This type of education should be required for anyone in the position of elder. How many people have died or been disfellowshipped because of a seeming unrepentant attitude when they could have been helped if the elders simply knew enough to recognize an area where they were unable to provide counsel. The arrogance of it astounds me.
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  17

  New System Conundrum

  by RedhorseWoman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does everyone remember the wt stating that in the new system, after everyone has been resurrected, there will be at least one acre per person?.

  didn't that seem like a lot of space to you?

  i know it did to me, growing up in a typical suburban neighborhood.

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  RedhorseWoman

  Does everyone remember the WT stating that in the New System, after everyone has been resurrected, there will be at least one acre per person?

  Didn't that seem like a lot of space to you? I know it did to me, growing up in a typical suburban neighborhood. We had a fairly large yard with probably a little over a quarter acre. One acre per person seemed like a huge amount of land.

  A typical family of four would be allotted FOUR WHOLE ACRES!!! Wow!! More than enough to raise your own food, have a house, have a couple of horses, and any other exotic wild animals you might desire for companions. Right?

  WRONG!! Since moving to a fairly rural area where we have a little over 7 acres of land and since reading (ack....literature not published by the Society) environmental articles about the amount of undeveloped land necessary just to keep the Earth's systems functioning, I have serious doubts about this lovely scenario.

  Estimates have been set forth on other boards concerning the number of people on Earth after the resurrection is complete.....20 billion people.

  The logistics of this make no sense. Even if the one-acre estimate includes setting aside sufficient land mass to maintain essential climactic systems, there is no room left for individual growing of food and the little mini-farmettes everyone has envisioned.

  We have three horses on our land. Part of it is wooded, and part of it has our home and flower gardens on it. I estimate that we have almost three acres allocated to pasture. It is nowhere near enough to support our horses by grazing alone. We need to supply them with hay and grain to keep them well-nourished. A minimal estimate of land for ONE horse is two acres.....and that's pushing it.

  Land needed to produce hay for our horses would be approximately 5 to 10 acres per horse.

  And yet, if you mention any of this real estate reality to anyone, it just never seems to make any impact. The usual statement is, "Jehovah will take care of it". Perhaps so....but how? Even Jehovah works within natural laws.
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  24

  Qualified to be elders?

  by Andyman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is an issue that really bothers me.

  the elders are supposed to be looking after the well being of the congregation.

  they are supposed to be helping those in need.

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  RedhorseWoman

  Churches of Christendom have always been criticized for having paid clergy. JW's were somehow better because all of the ministers are private citizens who give of their time to shepherd the congregation while still taking care of all their own responsibilities.

  While I used to be proud of the "volunteer" spirit, it always bothered me that the elders were NOT qualified to deal with all the problems that were presented to them. They are dealing with matters that are presumably concern life and death, and yet they have no training whatsoever. As much as they might want to help, their only recourse is to advise more service, more study, more prayer....and hope for the best.

  I have finally come to the conclusion that paid clergy is probably the better way to go. Ministers and priests are educated and have taken courses in psychology. They can recognize a serious problem when they see one and recommend that the parishioner get professional help.
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  38

  Wolfsong

  by Seven in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  [url] http://205.178.160.247/artwork/scripts/artofwolves/wolves-individual.cfm?artworkid=157[/url]

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  RedhorseWoman

  Thanks, 7!
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  4

  Hello??? Assembly Week?

  by waiting in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  am i the only fearless on to be able to admit that i am here - and thus, not much else going on in my life right now?.

  new thoughts?

  new arguments?

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  RedhorseWoman

  I'm still here.....braindead at the moment, but here.

  George is a trip, isn't he? He posts on lots of boards. I've run across his stuff here and there.....always a little strange.
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  13

  "Elder's Kids are the Worst?"

  by Pathofthorns in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm not sure if its my limited perspective, but i have heard the saying "elder's kids are the worst".. from my perspective, the saying appears to have much merrit.

  if this is true, why would those who seemingly are raised in the "best possible environment" and who would in theory be raised in harmony with the society's direction (good "spiritual routine" , meetings, service, family study etc) turn out the worst?.

  could it be that an elder's schedule is too busy for his family?

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  RedhorseWoman

  waiting,

  Yes, it's so very easy to pin the badge of celibacy on someone when they are not part of your family. Seeing a close relative condemned to a solitary life is another matter, however.

  A sister in our Hall married a brother who seemed to us to be gay. We were right. Shortly after their marriage he told her that he was not sexually attracted to her and never wanted to have sex with her. Her dreams of having children went right down the drain.

  She wasn't the greatest "catch" in the world, but I think of how her life is now just a big sham. She's married, and most likely will be for life, but the man she married doesn't love her and finds her repulsive.

  Then I look at my nephew, who is celibate at the moment (and it is a myth that gay men are promiscuous....my nephew doesn't believe in having sex outside of a committed relationship). He wants nothing more than to be loved and to have a partner who will care about him.

  As a gay man, he feels friendship towards women, but he does not feel the emotional closeness that a heterosexual man would. He, instead, feels that emotional desire for closeness with a man.

  I try to put myself in his position. Suppose we as heterosexuals were forced to either live alone or marry someone of the same sex?

  It's true that some people choose a celibate life, and some people never meet someone they choose to marry; but to disallow them a choice would be cruelty in the extreme.

  This issue has, needless to say, caused me a lot of anguish. I empathize with you, Waiting. ***HUGS****
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  18

  The Beginning of the End

  by SolidSender in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've got my own opinion on this but i'm very interested to hear from anyone who has viewpoints on what impact they think the internet is going to have on the wtbs say over the next 5 - 10 years.-solidsender

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  RedhorseWoman

  The mainstreaming of the Society is something I have felt will happen for some time now.

  Rigid adherence to the old rules will not be attractive for new recruits.

  I think that there has been a gradual progression along this path for some time. Hour requirements for pioneers have been lessened, assembly times have been cut back, iron-clad Biblical "laws" are being tweaked.

  The Society needs to maintain a "sales force"....so they will do what is necessary to keep them in line.
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  13

  "Elder's Kids are the Worst?"

  by Pathofthorns in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm not sure if its my limited perspective, but i have heard the saying "elder's kids are the worst".. from my perspective, the saying appears to have much merrit.

  if this is true, why would those who seemingly are raised in the "best possible environment" and who would in theory be raised in harmony with the society's direction (good "spiritual routine" , meetings, service, family study etc) turn out the worst?.

  could it be that an elder's schedule is too busy for his family?

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  RedhorseWoman

  Frenchy,

  I recently found out that my nephew is gay. He used to be a JW (as well as many other religions), but he is no longer. Fortunately (I know this sounds strange, but this is the way I feel), he was never baptised.

  We had always had suspicions about my nephew, but we just pushed them to the back of our minds. When he told me, I was not surprised.

  The thing I find hard to deal with is why Jehovah would create some of his children as homosexuals, and then condemn them for it. After knowing my nephew's situation, I have no doubt in my mind that his homosexuality is genetic....he did NOT choose to be gay....he just IS.

  I sometimes wonder if the scriptures supposedly condemning homosexuality are being misinterpreted. This other brother I spoke of in the previous post was also similar to my nephew. He tried to be a real "ladies' man" as a teenager, but we all somehow knew that he was gay. Finding it out later was not a surprise.

  Having this issue in my own family has caused much confusion and heartache. How can I urge my nephew to either live a lie by marrying....and quite likely ruining the poor woman's life, or urge him to remain alone...with no companionship...to placate a creator who made him the way he is?

  It doesn't make sense to me, and I have great difficulty coming to grips with this issue.