during the years when i was an active jw i never questioned the ban on blood transfusion.
i have been inactive now for a number of years and even during those early years i reasoned i will never accept a blood transfusion.
however, thinking about it with an open mind, i question the current teaching of jw's on banning blood transfusion on any account even if it means saving a life.
That is absolutely correct. Not to mention the false dichotomy drawn between eating blood and transfusing blood. Could not at the very least one use their conscience if they were going to use blood for whats blood intended purpose is for, namely, to nourish the organs and body through the circulatory system?
The blood doctrine is a nasty mess.
if the title of the thread wasn't enough, spoiler alert.. spoiler alert.. .
okay...so...that said, i haven't seen the movie, which would be a paradox except that i read the novelization.
so...how'd you feel about the way it ended?
okage soke the truth. Lets also just for the sake of a more general (read: less nerdy), critique, talk about the other facets that shamed the movie.
1) Score. The score was terrible. i realize that nothing can truely achieve the status of the original score, but that score was an extention of who Superman really was. It was brilliant, and should have been lifted and used with permission.
2) Character developement. I didn't care about anyone. Nobody. The dialogue was contrived, and lacked emotional apex. Even the developement of Superman himself left something to be desired. It clearly has amazing potential. You could see the moments that they got right (him pulling up the school bus for example). But they failed to capitalize.
3) Powers: Did he have to yell like a lion everytime he did something?
at night did you kneel by your bed, sit on the edge of your bed or pray while in bed?.
at a dear friend's house for dinner, one time in praying over the food he said, "jehovah god, we fall on our faces before you".. has anyone ever said that or done that?.
just lois.
That is probably from a talk. You know how JW talk points get recycled because of lack of real ability to carry original thought?
Well there was a talk at one point rolling through, that explained what "prostrate" means in scripture. So wen one prostrated themselves before God, they were literally on the ground on their faces. Can't get any lower than that i guess.
i was wondering if there were any other ex-bethelites on here.
i personally regularly went for temporary work at brooklyn then was assigned to the farm for a year and a half.
it was... one of the most bizaare experiences of my life.. so i wrote it all down (finally, after some 15 years) so i won't bore anyone on here with the details of the story - because bethel doesn't show up until chapter 15... and for you straight folks, it gets a bit gay in two places... but nothing gross.
BSD....you have a PM.
just when i was thinking i don't like ted talks, this is an excellent take on job creation and wealth distribution.
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckcvf8e7v1g.
I think the phrase "equal distribution" is the one that makes people uncomfortable.
What makes someone "rich" is very subjective. I had a year where my buisness went very well. I have a few employees and subcontractors. We treat them all well, give them a good wage above the national average, and provide health insurance before it was going to be legislated. At the end of all things, because it was just a normal buisness, I end up in a high bracket, and have to fork over soemthing over 40% in tax to both state and the federal government.
Now if I was only taxed at 30% would I have hired another person? No. In that sense he is correct. However, I may have invested more, or purchased equipment etc... I am not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. I don' have overseas investment, ad large portfolio of stocks, and capital gains to enjoy at a lower tax rate than most. Yet I paid more taxes as a % of income (by almost double), than Mitt Romney.
That is just a broken system. I didn't use any more road, or public services than anyone else did. I just made more because i worked 18 hours a day 7 days a week for a year.
It feels like a penalty. This is where I get confused as to what is really fair and what is not. I think I paid MUCH more than my fair share of taxes. I dont' mind paying more, but I paid an outlandish amount more.
when i first was appointed as an elder, i could not wait to be on a judicial committee.
it semed like most hearings invovled middle age men and women cheating on their mates because either they had married early or felt that were being neglected by their mate.
most times i felt i need to take a long hot shower after a hearing.. the toughest part was seeing these sweet young children grow up in "the truth", and now you are about to judge their future based on their repentance.
Truth seeker 674. You may want to rethink your judgemental tone. I think I know where you might have picked it up from. There are a variety of reasons people are at various stages of exodus or remain "in". Who are you to judge another persons motived or reasons? I can understand Eden's points, and the desire to live an authentic existance. Maybe he will take a step further in that direction, maybe he won't. Best to try to allow others to live their lives, and offer the support you are able.
So anything you feel like contributing to the thread, or did you just want to take a veiled swipe at on of your fellow board members.
JJ, I think we are all ashamed of more than one thing from our time in service to the WT, while thinking it was service to God. I truely believe, the past can only affect you if you continue to allow its impact to be ongoing. Make amends (where possible), for any wrong you have done to someone in the past, and lead a life of authenticity and integrity going forward from this time on. I am pretty sure God would approve of those actions no matter what.
so i haven't been to a meeting since last december.
the elders recently have come over to my house at random times of day and during the week and one weekends.
just to let you know, i have only had one visit since december.
CO visit. They need to cross you off the list. They came at me when the CO came around. I was out of town on buisness so that killed itself. Once the CO visit was over......didn't hear a peep.
So find out when the visit is, and just put them off until after that. Then you won't have to worry about it.
did you get baptized without being dedicated?.
why did you allow men to come between you and jehovah?.
why were you serving jehovah at all?
A Watcher,
I realize your insistance is not to respond to any of the good questions asked of you here. Simply put, do you believe you must serve the governing body in order to serve Jehovah? You most likey do believe that. Now if that is the case, please provide the scripture that justifys that service and then we can discuss it.
The one you already shared, considers a vow to God, not related to men in any way whatsoever. So you have conflated God and the organization that claims to represent him exclusively.
As far as your experiences, that is fantastic. Enjoy them. Experiences vary. Noone here wants you to not be happy. They simply do not want to be called apostate, shunned by family, and denigrated and slandered simply for not believing the 8 men in Brooklyn that run the thing and set policy under threat of excommunication are mouthpieces for God......sorta kinda......but can make mistakes......but you have to follow if you want to live.
Good Lord. I mean the onus is on you to prove that is in any way scriptural.
i have served 20 years as an elder, 5 years as an ms. was on the district committee in 2010, held various positions on the district , circuit, and rbc level.
probably been on more than 100 judicial committees and even an appeals committee.
was the coordinator in our congregation and deleted because adult child was df ( i kicked him out at the time of his wrongdoing, but that wasn't enough for thr brothers).
Welcome James..........Mr Jackson if your nasty (I hope you get that refference or it will just sound stupid).
I like many others here had quite the "spiritual resume". The golden boy in my area for a while. I actually took a step back when the blood issue came up with the birth of my child. I realized that I was parroting something it received as true before testing to see wether it actually was. Needless to say, it didn't hold up. That is when I realized JW's are just like everyone else. Good people, bad people, everything in between. The religion has some wonderful things about it, and some devious evil things about it. Just like pretty much every other religion.
It helped change the way I thought about us as a faith. Then however, I butted up against our control mechanism for free thoguht, also know as disfellowshipping for simply thinking different that the governing body, and saying anything about it to anyone. Even if there is no malice. The simple "dissenting conversation" is enough to call out the dogs, tell others you are an apostate and simply a tool of Satan. I am ashamed to have ever felt that way about others, including some here.
I am fading out, and so far I have been able to keep my friends. Its kind of amazing. I think I am one of the few people here that didn't end up here through an abusive or bad experience within the organization (although I have had that as well).
Your perspecitve is appreciated, and this welcome has probably already shown you that you are among a unique group of friends and people that understand what you are going through.
to go in "service," "baptism," etc.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsqmosgj710
Good grief. "Just between you and me....." my favorite line of the thing.
Probably thought he was being cute. The analogy to employment at McDonalds is amazing considering what is being discussed. I can assure you knowing Sweden pretty well, this talk and information was geared to the audience. "some countries" we here of the friends not having their 13 year olds get baptized. Yeah, some countires like Sweden where even the JW's are slightly more enlightened.
