having a conversation with a pimi elder and i asked him how he deals with the fact that he never expected to get old.
i get the feeling that some dubs still have the original generation explanation hard-wired, even though they claim to accept the new version.
so my question is, how old do you have to be to be considered old?
I get what you're saying Joey, this pimi JW doesn't want to acknowledge he's been waiting for the paradise his whole life and now he's well into middle age. If he's says he doesn't feel old then Armageddon is not delayed, the GB aren't lying.
It's not surprising that he's talking about how he feels because the whole religion is about appealing to people's emotions but as you say ten years down the line if health problems kick in it might be a different story.
i must say, i have had my battery mower, trimmer, blower for about a year now and could not be happier (ryobi 40 volt stuff).
the same battery works in everything.
just plug and play.. yes, they are more expensive to purchase, probably 30% to 50% more than gas.
I love my cordless lawnmower. I've had it for about ten years working on the same battery.
plans for december:.
a few friends and i have planned a full month of kindness , giving and sharing experiences for us to help those who may need it.. the first weekend of dec we are all going to be taking some elderly ones who are on their own, cant get out and about for christmas shopping.they are alone (except friends, no family who cares to be there for them at all) , so we thought we can take them shopping for gifts and stuff, it will help them get out too for a day or two.. second weekend will be spent with wrapping gifts ,writing cards, letters for these elderly ones and taking them out for an event which they chose to go to.
third weekend we and these elderly ones are all sharing in making different dishes ,soups,muffins, cakes etc and taking them round to the homeless shelters and giving it out to people there (volunteering there afterwards too ,they need all the help they can).. fourth weekend us friends are going with gifts to three different shelters for the homeless and donating it there plus volunteering in a soup kitchen.. fifth weekend us friends have arranged for all these elderly ones to a weekend of chilling , fun activities for them ,food n drinks n all.. just doing this so those who havent got anybody can also feel the warmth, kindness people have and so that thye do not feel left out and depressed.. so looking for ward to a busy and happy giving december for my friends and me.. can you think of anything else that can be added to these above mentioned activities?.
Xanthippe,
hope your holiday time will be a great one filled with good moments and good memories. It’s all that counts, isn’t it? -TheOnlyOneLeft
Thanks, it is what counts, yes. Hope you have a good time in the holidays too.
plans for december:.
a few friends and i have planned a full month of kindness , giving and sharing experiences for us to help those who may need it.. the first weekend of dec we are all going to be taking some elderly ones who are on their own, cant get out and about for christmas shopping.they are alone (except friends, no family who cares to be there for them at all) , so we thought we can take them shopping for gifts and stuff, it will help them get out too for a day or two.. second weekend will be spent with wrapping gifts ,writing cards, letters for these elderly ones and taking them out for an event which they chose to go to.
third weekend we and these elderly ones are all sharing in making different dishes ,soups,muffins, cakes etc and taking them round to the homeless shelters and giving it out to people there (volunteering there afterwards too ,they need all the help they can).. fourth weekend us friends are going with gifts to three different shelters for the homeless and donating it there plus volunteering in a soup kitchen.. fifth weekend us friends have arranged for all these elderly ones to a weekend of chilling , fun activities for them ,food n drinks n all.. just doing this so those who havent got anybody can also feel the warmth, kindness people have and so that thye do not feel left out and depressed.. so looking for ward to a busy and happy giving december for my friends and me.. can you think of anything else that can be added to these above mentioned activities?.
That's amazing Zing! How kind of you and what a refreshing thing to do instead of all the overeating and rushing around at Christmas that usually leaves people depressed. Well done.
I'm just looking forward to seeing my daughter for a few days, she lives a hundred miles away. We will be picking up her grandmother on Christmas Day and meeting my cousin and her daughter and American son-in-law who are coming over for the holidays. This is as big as my family ever gets but looking forward to a pub meal for a change and a nice chat.
Oh I'm going to London for a couple of days to hear a Christmas concert at the Albert Hall earlier in December so I'm looking forward to that too. You all have a great time!
we need to save the planet so we have to stop using plastic bags!
in massachusetts, the new law will be going into effect soon.
if you go food shopping, you only cat get paper bags.. what is your opinion of the state banning plastic bags?
A lot of places outside the USA, already don't offer plastic bags and force you to bring your own bag or make you buy one if you don't have it.
That's what we do in England. We also have collection points at supermarkets to recycle the plastic carrier bags people buy. I agree with creating less waste that takes 500 years to biodegrade and is harming our sea life.
The amount of dead whales, dolphins and turtles that have been washed up with stomachs full of plastic is shocking.
It's not like it's difficult to take reusable bags shopping, I keep them in my car. I'm an intelligent life form, I can cope with that.
i really like calling myself a watchtower survivor.
it is not demeaning to other people and is not a negative statement.
when a jdub sees that term it may make them think about why i would call myself a survivor.
'Oh I love cleaning toilets, I get such pleasure putting my arm right in, deep down and going up the bend and round the bowl'
Oh Marina poor you. Years of therapy right there. Not you, u-bend guy!
in fact, several "wtf"s, not least - why were you visiting a convicted pedophile after his release from prison, never-mind having any contact with him in the first place when his preoclivities seemed to be an open secret.. and the best he can some up with is "i don't remember"?
you don't remember?
there's a fucking photo of you with one of the victims and accessories to the crimes you dumb fuck!.
It's a reflection of how the British upper classes have always been. Get the parlour maid pregnant, throw her out on the street. The kitchen maid's son looks exactly like the Lord of the Manor, deny deny, deny.
They're still above the law because the old boy's network is still in charge. It's difficult to be prosecuted when your old Etonian pal is the judge. Or for that matter if your mum's government approved his appointment.
i was interviewed by the international cultic studies association and the video from the live stream a few weeks ago has been released.
if you're an ex-jw i'd encourage you to watch and share.
the objective of this video is to help those that leave jehovah's witnesses to identify patterns and psychological problems that may be present in their lives and to help professional therapists and coaches to do the same.
Thanks Michael, I found many things to identify with. Shame, lack of ability to share emotional intimacy so as to make friends. Along with lack of trust in others after our experience in a religion where the guillotine was always ready to fall if we did or said the 'wrong' thing.
I like your definition of shame that guilt is feeling that we did something wrong but shame is being made to feel we are wrong, the wrong sort of person, wrong through and through. As we were made to feel in the JWs.
Being vulnerable, we have needs and we are not either psychologically useless or at the other end of the scale, arrogant for admitting we have needs, things that we want from life for our own happiness.
Looking for a therapist that is willing to do some research into the JWs so we don't have to explain the past we want to get way from before they can understand us enough to help us get away from it!
Finally that we've lost a lot of time already and life is short so let's get help to enjoy the rest of our lives.
Thanks that was very helpful.
some people on this forum have said that they never really believed any aspect of wt teaching, that they couldn't wait to get free of it all.. others seems to have been really gung ho, believing it all until something happened that got you questioning "the truth.".
i would say my own high water mark was about 50%, which put me squarely on the fence, trying to decide if i should be in or out.. how about you?.
I always struggled with the ransom teaching. I thought human sacrifice was barbaric, like throwing babies into the burning lap of the statue of the Canaanite god. Yet in my religion my salvation was based on a human sacrifice, of god's own son!
I've always thought in the JWs the teaching was used to emotionally blackmail people to give their whole lives and their money to the religion, because after all look what Jesus did for you. Think about those six inch nails!
excellent observation from zizek about communist regimes: they didn’t care if people accepted the ideology or took it seriously, so long as people acted as if the ideology was true, that was the important thing.
in fact the regimes were deeply suspicious people who took the ideology too seriously.
people who took the ideology seriously were dangerous because they were prone to noticing the inconsistencies and flaws in the system.
In fact the regimes were deeply suspicious of people who took the ideology too seriously. People who took the ideology seriously were dangerous because they were prone to noticing the inconsistencies and flaws in the system. Then they become rebels and dissidents
Yeah I totally agree which is why I don't bitterly regret pioneering and being absolutely genuine in my faith because this is what got me out. Once I saw the truth and left I was free, no indecision, no going back, that's what being authentic does for your life. We shouldn't be ashamed of it.
