our family and friends blame us for the fact that they shun us.
imagine an abusive husband who threatened his wife that if she leaves him he will hunt her down and kill her.
eventually she finds the courage to leave and he carries out his threat.
@KateWild,
Same here. Some family members 'preemptively' shun me. I just continue to treat them well, and contact them whenever I feel like it is a normal thing to do.
If they don't want that they better take steps themselves, as I won't conform to their announcement 'we have decided to limit our contact with you'.
our family and friends blame us for the fact that they shun us.
imagine an abusive husband who threatened his wife that if she leaves him he will hunt her down and kill her.
eventually she finds the courage to leave and he carries out his threat.
Amen!
Besides, Watchtower encourages young people not to get married too young (read: before they are at least 25), but on the other hand they pressure JW into getting their kids baptized as soon as they can ring a doorbell and hand out a tract.
How do these kids really understand the consequences of 'their' choice?
If you're not mature enough to commit to a marriage partner for life, you're not mature enought to commit to a God or Watchtower for life!
It may be that your parents would object because they feel that you are too young to make such an important decision. They may fear that your tastes will change as you mature and that you will soon regret your choice of marriage mate. [...]
Marriage should be undertaken only when we are physically, mentally, and spiritually ready to take on an enduring partnership.
Wise parents carefully teach their children a dignified view of marriage. They neither urge their children to marry for money nor pressure them to begin dating when still too young to take on adult roles and responsibilities. (1 Corinthians 7:36)
It is a fact that your tastes will change as you mature. “When I was a babe,” writes the apostle Paul, “I used to speak as a babe, to think as a babe, to reason as a babe; but now that I have become a man, I have done away with the traits of a babe.” (1 Corinthians 13:11) Likewise, the traits in another person that appeal to you as a teenager will likely be quite different from those that will appeal to you when you are older. Thus, the Bible recommends that you wait until you are “past the bloom of youth”—the years when your sexual desire is at its peak—before you take the serious step of choosing a marriage mate.—1 Corinthians 7:36.
The Bible does not suggest that baptism is a step to be taken only by those who are older or who have reached at least an age at which certain legal rights may be granted. We read at Proverbs 20:11: “Even a child is known by his actions, whether his behavior is pure and right.” One who is somewhat younger can realize what it means to do what is right and to be dedicated to his Creator. Thus, baptism is an important and appropriate step for a young person who has manifested considerable maturity and has made a dedication to Jehovah.—Prov. 20:7.
At the various assemblies and conventions this year, it has been a real joy to see so many who have qualified for baptism. Among them were some quite young in years. You parents are to be commended for raising your children to have an appreciation for the truth and for encouraging them to make a dedication to serve Jehovah when young.
i've been lurking for about 3 months now and thought i'd better finally sign up.
you have all been an immense help to me as i have come to realize that this isn't the truth so i want to say a great big thank you!
what a crazy, emotional ride it is to finally face the truth about the doubts that i have carried for many years.
@Stumpy,
Especially this last update of yours is a great read. Thanks.
I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm much happier for what you gained!
Cheers mate! ;-)
as a born-in jw, i never considered myself to be a fundamentalist.
i always thought we were enlightened, progressive and not 'stuck in darkness' like all the other religions.. i was totally wrong.. as far as fundamentalists go, jw's are probably right up there amongst the front-runners.
no, they do not stone people to death or go on religion-fuelled violent rampages but that's not what i'm talking about.
Amen!
And there he was this Joey, a stranger to my eyes,
Strumming my pain with his fingers (one time),
Singing my life with his words (two times),
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song
how far do you think the corporation will take this?.
will it totally replace speakers at the meetings?.
y'know, that kind of thing..... .
Well for small foreign language groups/Congo's they already stream public talks from the stream.JW.org (where also special events are streamed) recorded in a country where the native speakers are.
It's not a big leap from there to having public talks in smaller/remote Congo's streamed. Using DC speakers to improve brainwas....eh.... quality.
And then do that for all Congo's.
And then just translated HQ recorded stuff.
All relatively small steps. Could be done.
Saw it yesterday and puked a bit.
Dumb leeches is what they are.
but i have been undercover for about 3 years.
recently i stopped going and faded(close to a year without stepping into the hall) .
an old flame of mine (who is active witness) came back into the picture.
I'm with stuckinarut:
If some random stranger called you asking questions about whatever private and personal stuff they think of, you would firmly tell them to mind their own business.
Apply the same to nosy elders. They have ZERO authority, and have no justification to start asking questions about your personal relationships.
No need to lie, deny, or imply the other party is lying.
"None of your business what I do or do not do, so please be gone."
If they insist, you could return the favor by inquiring into their personal stuff....like "Have you ever engaged in oral sex? Anal sex? When was the last time you watched pornography?"
and we are suposed to trust these guys with our lives?
!
It really doesn't matter whether these are real or a scam, properly judged or not.
It's pay to play. Watchtower was not invited into this award show/scam.
They signed themselves up, paid to register, in order to be able to win and show off.
Pride...comes before....?
this thread is for when you have to say something to get it out of the system, whether it is happy or sad.
my reason for stating the thread is that on occasion some threads do tend to get a little heated here, and maybe this thread will enable us to reflect on the important fact, we are real people and not just dots on a computer screen.. i would love to start the thread with a bang, but nothing of particular interest has happened, only i do hope the weather improves as the climate i live in has been sadly chilly for the time of year, (if you get the deeper meaning).
the rebel..
this thread is for when you have to say something to get it out of the system, whether it is happy or sad.
my reason for stating the thread is that on occasion some threads do tend to get a little heated here, and maybe this thread will enable us to reflect on the important fact, we are real people and not just dots on a computer screen.. i would love to start the thread with a bang, but nothing of particular interest has happened, only i do hope the weather improves as the climate i live in has been sadly chilly for the time of year, (if you get the deeper meaning).
the rebel..
If the past weekend is included in this thread: my wife and I took part in a charity/community event. That is something we never did before!
It was wonderful. To me it proves doing something to help others and enjoying their company is what makes the efforts worth while. No Jah blessing of holy spirit and brotherly love and unity needed. It was just as nice and fun as any JW building activity, but without the JW.
Hopefully my wife will notice that too :-D
