Posts by Scully

4

What part of the house is yours?

by rhett in

jw
friends

some comments on another thread got me thinking, are the certain areas of your house that are pretty much yours and not your spouses?

i know some guys talk about how they love their garages and i know some women really love their bathrooms or kitchens, what about you?

also, what have you got there that you don't really want to be disturbed very much?.

Scully

That's been a bit of an issue for me for quite some time, especially since having kids. I have almost no private space, except for this desk and computer. The computer is password protected to the max, so that I'm the only one who can use it.

My husband has the garage where he has his workshop. He also has his office in the basement, which is a separate room with a lock on the door. When we bought this house, I wanted a small space that was just "mine", even the ensuite bathroom, where I could have a little place of refuge. I didn't even get that.

How do you get your children to respect your privacy?? I keep my makeup and toiletries in the ensuite bathroom, but my daughters still sneak in there and get makeup all over the place. The youngest (8½ yrs old) is a climber and gets to things that I put on the top shelves in the closet. I know whenever she's been in my bathroom - she'll show up with lipstick on and I'll find her hand prints up high on the mirror where she's climbed up on the vanity. Of course, she denies it vehemently..... and I get so frustrated with her.....

Any suggestions on how you get kids to respect your privacy and leave your things alone that they should not be getting at?? PS, I respect her personal things already....

Love, Scully

6

'The Truth" about the Golden Rule

by Sargon in

even though i ceased believing in the christian god many years ago, i've always thought that the golden rule contained in the sermon on the mount, was the perfect philosophy.

you know, do unto others.... i was quite surprised when i discovered that these words were not original to jesus and were in fact already contained in the talmud.. rabbi hillel, who died somewhere between 10 & 25 ce had written "do not unto others what you would not have others do unto you" sab 31a.

still good words to live by, but not original to jesus as the bible would have you believe.

Scully

Hey Sargon:

The Talmudic expression Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you does sound very similar to the Golden Rule. However, it can be very passive in its application.

For example: I don't want anyone to steal from me, therefore, I will not steal from them or I don't want people to gossip about me, so I will not gossip about them. In other words, you don't actually have to DO anything in order to carry out the Talmud's advice.

On the other hand, the Golden Rule, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is active in its application. You can't apply it without taking some kind of action.

For instance: I would like to be forgiven when I make mistakes, so I will be forgiving of others' mistakes and I would like others to show respect for me, so I will show respect for others.

The Talmud is full of "thou shalt nots", a righteousness based on abstaining from doing wrong. What was learned from the Mosaic Law, was that it was impossible for people to keep the letter of the law, there were too many wrongs to avoid. What I believe Jesus was trying to accomplish was to change the perspective of the words that he and his followers already knew, to make his followers have a righteousness based on doing good, positive things for others, instead of just avoiding doing wrong. That's why he summed up the Law with just two commandments:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and foremost commandment. The second like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets. - Matthew 22:37-40

Love, Scully

39

Whats the Wisest one liner that you can come ....?

by Celtic in

jw
friends

whats the 'wisest' one liner that you can come out with?.

peace.

celty

Scully

I don't know if it can be classified as the "wisest" one liner, but it makes me laugh every time I hear it:

My Karma ran over your Dogma

Love, Scully

9

What would you do?

by moman in

jw
friends

a practicing jw is having some doubts about the borg.. he, and his wife are parents of a severly retarded son, whom they treat with much love.

they take him to some meetings & endure much heartache, as he cannot sit still for long.

he constantly drools & sometimes throws fits, he is strong and they need help in restraining him at times.. they believe that jehovah god will restore him to health, and if they just hang on long enough the new system will be here.. would you tell them the truth about the jw lie, or let them live in a fools paradise?

Scully

It would depend on what their doubts were about. If they were becoming discouraged because they realized the JWs were not as loving toward them and/or their son as disciples of Jesus are supposed to be, then maybe I would talk to them about finding some special day-programs (non-JW related) where properly trained and qualified people can offer them a supportive relationship toward their son.

I would do this in a subtle way, and offer to go along with them, or perhaps even give them a break now and then to take the boy. They must be having caregiver burnout BIG time, so I would encourage them to have some "couple time" that's not JW related, and also to meet other parents who have children with challenges similar to their son's. It's very eye-opening and refreshing to spend time with people who have walked a mile in your own shoes, compared to JWs who have no clue about what you're going through and really don't give a damn or don't have the time or inclination to develop a friendship with you because they "don't want you to drag them down spiritually".

I'd be careful with the "JWs are their only hope" mentality, and not even mention it, until it was an issue raised by them. It won't take long for the parents to realize that "worldly" people can offer them a sense of camraderie, unconditional acceptance and a way of facing reality without being too "in your face" about the JW religion.

The anonymous mailer - even if it includes CTRussell's quotes about "imbeciles and infants" not being worthy of God's blessings - would have to wait until they were seriously considering leaving the JWs for their lack of love and understanding and support for the family's situation. No matter what they do in their situation, they can't win. The JWs are probably horrified by the boy's presence at meetings and can't stomach the thought of having him out in service (bad advertising), and so the parents' service time is suffering which makes them "poor quality" JWs anyway, and not worthy of association outside of the meetings.

As much as I hate the idea of shattering the couple's "only hope for their son", the reality is that JWs are giving them a false hope. I think most of us felt hugely disappointed when we realized the reality, that the hope held out by JWs was merely the big carrot on the stick being held out to us so that we'd work hard at selling WT literature and comply with the rules that were being imposed on us, even though we may have thought of the JWs as the "only hope" we had too. Once we get comfortable with reality, we move on to better things.

Love, Scully

17

anti-Borg bumperstickers

by target in

jw
friends

i saw a bumper sticker today that said " i was betrayed by the baptist foundation and aurthur anderson".

got me thinking.

a good bumper sticker gets read by a lot of people.

Scully

Love, Scully

11

From pub to pub ....

by ChuckD in

jw
friends

could you imagine the society doing something like this?.

http://www.projo.com/report/html/religion/07141961.htm

Scully

Chuck

That sounds like the kind of "ministry" that was tailor-made for JFRutherford!

Love, Scully

14

EXJW`s Helping EXJW`s

by Beans in

jw
friends

would you help a fellow exjw out in times of need?

if sisterxxx had needs and approached you for help in a certain area would you?

if a current jw wanted your help supporting him or her in front of a judicial/investigative committee would you?.

Scully

Beans writes:

Would you help a fellow EXJW out in times of need? If sisterXXX had needs and approached you for help in a certain area would you? If a current JW wanted your help supporting him or her in front of a judicial/investigative committee would you?
Would you need to know them well for your support?Can you remember back how much it was emphasized about helping each other was encouraged in the congregation?Do you think that this made you a better person or honestly a true individual?

Maybe it's just me, but a person's religious beliefs aren't important when I'm considering whether or not to help them. Of course, it depends on the nature of the assistance required (do they want me to pick up a loaf of bread at the supermarket? or do they want me to co-sign a car loan? or do they want me to provide an alibi as to their whereabouts when they were committing a crime?)

In cases of genuine need, whenever possible, I usually help. In most cases, people ask me for medical information; and if I don't have the answer off the top of my head, I don't mind spending some time checking my resources for them. In cases of financial assistance, I'll help if I'm able to. I've also given supportive counselling when friends are having difficult times emotionally, helping them to "re-frame" situations so that they feel empowered instead of overwhelmed.

If a JW wanted my advice on the premise that they were about to face a JC, it would depend on what the accusations were, and whether I felt knowledgable enough to offer the kind of information they needed. I'd probably refer someone to this and other sites and let the person glean whatever information they needed. As a measure of self-preservation (since I'm neither DF'd or DA'd) I would insist on confidentiality, and if they felt unable to guarantee it, I would probably just refer someone to the sites and that's all.

Love, Scully

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