Posts by Silverleaf

27

Clarify this for me if you can.

by Bob Knowing in

jw
friends

i being a non jw would like some clairity.

i have been reading the book of revelation and have found that god and jesus are refered to in the same way.

"i am the alpha and the omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.

Silverleaf

Hi Bob,

I gather you're new to the list, so welcome. First off as another non-JW I'm not quite able to understand the idea of Jesus being a 'creature' or a 'creation' but that's really neither here nor there.

You wrote:

With this in mind only, how is there a doubt in ones mind that God and Jesus are not one and the same?

Beats me, but let me ask you this, if God and Jesus are one and the same, how is Jesus's death on the cross [or stake] ANY sacrafice at all for God? If Jesus is God and not God's actual son or one of God's creations or creatures or another entity entirely [like an angel], then God did not sacrafice anything, he set himself up to be put on the cross, knowing he could not actually die, but would be resurrected [or resurrect himself in that case]. So all the people who spend a lot of time saying, "Look how God sacraficed his one and only son for our sins, he gave us his son - blah blah blah..." if God and Jesus are exactly the same being then God did not give us his son nor did he sacrafice anything, he merely appeared to do so.

Then you wrote:
Keep in mind the Bible is the true inspired word of God.

No thanks. I'd rather keep that in the round file if you don't mind.

Silverleaf

2

JW's worst than the Irish?

by MacHislopp in

jw
friends

i 've found this one: .

w58 8/1 460 dawns a new era for the irish .

by watch tower missionary in eire.

Silverleaf

Hi Julie,

You wrote:

>>It is easy for me to understand believers who are unfamiliar with the bible. They just don't know about the horrible things in there. It's the believers who know what is in there and still think it is the word of God that I can't understand. I mean, how sick is that?<<

Scary, isn't it? But too true.

Silverleaf

22

Wow, I didn't know this

by bboyneko in

jw
friends

from ajwrb site:.

this image appeared in the golden age of march 30, 1932, p. 409, and is very typical of similar pictures or watchtower cartoons of the era.

note the dead and pock marked babies below.

Silverleaf

Okay, it must be a bad day when I can find something that You Know says that I sort of agree with - sheesh - somebody help me!!

But seriously You Know wrote:

>>For example: Did you know that health concious people today feel that aluminum cookware is toxic and some think that aluminum toxicity is a contributor to alzheimers?<<

I transcribe medical seminars for a living and there is evidence that Alzheimer's sufferers may have a higher concentration of aluminum in their systems - [of course this does not excuse the idiotic idea that all disease is caused by aluminum and not germs]. Believe it or not there are studies looking into the 'beneficial' effects of nicotine in the treatment or prevention of Alzheimer's. I have to bite my tongue [or my fingers] as I type that, since I'm so anti-tobacco it's not funny - and it doesn't mean smokers are less likely to get Alzheimer's but apparently some researchers do feel that nicotine has some property in it that may be helpful.

Of course if people really shouldn't go to college and pursue higher learning, there wouldn't be any researchers around today to agree with You Know, now would there?

Silverleaf
sorry, I'm having a hard time not being sarcastic today and I really do feel bad about it, honest.

76

Why Are You Here?

by larc in

jw
friends

the question, "why are you here?

" is simple enough, and your answer may be straightforward.

however, when i asked that of myself, i find that my answer is pretty complicated.

Silverleaf

Why do I post here?

Because I wandered by one day and got sucked in and haven't found a 12-step program to get me out yet.

But seriously, I found this board in a roundabout way - while looking for sites on Paganism, I stumbled across one that was run by an Ex-JW. She has links to a lot of other places and I surfed around in fascination until I ended up here. Due to my personal experiences with the [b]org I was amazed that someone would go from being a JW to being a Pagan - it seemed like a 180 degree change in belief systems. Out of curiosity I began reading her material as well as the posts here and I found I could not stop. I lurked for a long time and bit my tongue as so many posts went by that I wanted to reply to but I thought at first, what have I got to share with these people? My experiences are only the tip of the iceberg of what they have gone through. I have nothing to offer -- but I read so many personal experiences and realized the people here are an amazing group.

I stay because I genuinely love to read what goes on here, and I have learned a lot about myself too. This place has helped me overcome the fear and the anger that I had - albeit long-suppressed. I also stay because, while I may not have experienced life inside the [b]org, I HAVE experienced life outside of it and a life touched and changed by it and if there's anything I can say to someone that will make them feel better about their choice to leave or help them feel any less alone when they do, then I would like to be able to do that.

Silverleaf

8

Fear breeds ignorance. . .

by DCs Ghost in

jw
friends

as requested by silver .

sometimes the truth is overshadowed by fear, .

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=10781&site=3.

Silverleaf

aa,

My dryer is a direct conduit to a universe where everyone has only one foot and they're not a greedy bunch fortunately. Perhaps you can recalibrate yours to my frequency.

Silverleaf

8

Fear breeds ignorance. . .

by DCs Ghost in

jw
friends

as requested by silver .

sometimes the truth is overshadowed by fear, .

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=10781&site=3.

Silverleaf

Dan, it's probably wrong of me to get a chuckle from your quote, but I did.

DC, thanks for making the new thread!

Bridgette, you wrote:

>>What I have found in my study of Wicca and the various Nature Paths, is a removal of religion, or rules in one's spirituality. It helps me to unfold my innate spirituality, with NO ONE in between myself and the energy of the universe (feminine and masculine/god/goddess--yin/yang, if you will).<<

Absolutely! I think this touches on another thread that was here somewhere about Bible-trained conscience - where we were discussing how some people believe that Christianity is necessary for one to have morality - the Pagan paths teach that we are each responsible for our own lives, we make our own morality. You don't need a thousand-page book of rules on how to conduct yourself in order to be a good person. If you do as you wish, as long as you harm none and fully accept responsibility for yourself with God/Goddess or the universe, you'll do pretty well.

You also wrote:

(i.e. latest Discovery about probable existence of parallel universes--fascinating!).

Of course there are parallel universes. How else do we explain how you can put 10 socks in the dryer and only 9 come out?

Silverleaf

20

Women admit to regular lies

by JanH in

jw
friends

women admit to regular lies .

nearly one in four british women would try to conceive without their partner's consent if they wanted a baby, research suggests.

a survey by women's magazine that's life!, found that many women are prepared to lie about almost any aspect of their life.

Silverleaf

Oh Jan, you really started trouble, didn't you?

How about this one for the men,

"I don't need to ask directions, I know where I'm going!"

or

when passing a hottie on the street, "No, I wasn't looking at her rear, honest!"

or one my hubby has used,

"No, if given the chance I would NOT sleep with Sarah Michelle Gellar."

Now there's a HUGE one!!

Silverleaf

51

satanism, witchcraft and devil worship. . . . . .

by DCs Ghost in

jw
friends

contrary to popular belief and what society and the media will portray satanism, devil worship and witchcraft are 3 very independent systems of belief, .

sure, to those who are afraid of looking into books dealing with the occult, for fear of being possessed or what have you, i write this as a vent because it makes me laugh when i hear people assume that the three are the same, they aren't, .

and the reality is that even though the three get bunched up as the same, many times it is the ignorance of the practitioners which keeps the ignorance alive.

Silverleaf

Hey DC, et al,

you wrote:

>>thanks for the support,
i had been wantng to put this up for a while, for numerous reasons, but mainly to clear the misconception for those who may be biased or scared to read about such things,<<

What say we move this discussion to another thread? The subject line may still be scaring some people away.

Silverleaf

51

satanism, witchcraft and devil worship. . . . . .

by DCs Ghost in

jw
friends

contrary to popular belief and what society and the media will portray satanism, devil worship and witchcraft are 3 very independent systems of belief, .

sure, to those who are afraid of looking into books dealing with the occult, for fear of being possessed or what have you, i write this as a vent because it makes me laugh when i hear people assume that the three are the same, they aren't, .

and the reality is that even though the three get bunched up as the same, many times it is the ignorance of the practitioners which keeps the ignorance alive.

Silverleaf

Hi Bridgette,

I'm relatively new to my path as well. I've spent many years avoiding religion all together, and a lot of it had to do with fear of being controlled - about 12 years ago I was involved with a JW and at that time considered joining the [b]org. He and I used to have long discussions that usually turned into arguments about God and religion and my beliefs were always Pagan in nature which upset him very much, but I realized there was no way I could change what I believed. I was so devastated by that relationship that I used to shake every time I saw JWs in the neighborhood. I was actually afraid of them and it turned me off of religion all together for many years.

I started reading about Wicca specifically and Paganism in general when my husband [a former Catholic] got some books from a friend of his. Nothing ever connected with me so deeply and for about a year I've been studying everything I can get my hands on. I guess I'd call myself a Pagan Universalist at this point but my beliefs are still evolving. I found it's such a better way to look at life, as something to be celebrated and a never-ending cycle. I could never imagine living life as though the world were going to end any minute and believing that some people will be destroyed forever and never have a second chance.

Best wishes on your journey - I hope you enjoy it as much as I am.

Silverleaf

51

satanism, witchcraft and devil worship. . . . . .

by DCs Ghost in

jw
friends

contrary to popular belief and what society and the media will portray satanism, devil worship and witchcraft are 3 very independent systems of belief, .

sure, to those who are afraid of looking into books dealing with the occult, for fear of being possessed or what have you, i write this as a vent because it makes me laugh when i hear people assume that the three are the same, they aren't, .

and the reality is that even though the three get bunched up as the same, many times it is the ignorance of the practitioners which keeps the ignorance alive.

Silverleaf

DC,

Bravo on your post! It's a shame so many people still believe the contrary.

and Bridgettte, you wrote:

>>Only when I connected to the feminine aspect of the universe (yes, Goddess) did I feel like I finally began to understand "god". This angry, punitive, corporate head, male godhead I'd always had crammed down my throat--I could never connect to.<<

My sentiments exactly! Blessed be,

Silverleaf