i've "celebrated " christmas once or twice with past girlfriends but i have to admit i cant stand it.i did it out of respect for them.
why the hell is jesus so damn important to me that i have to celebrate this guys friggin birthday?
i understand that society has made christmas into a comercial holiday for those who dont want to make it about jesus but i for one cant pry apart all the jesus stuff, songs and the rest of it from the religious part of it.
If i had to give Christmas some meaning...i would have to say the true meaning of Christmas is sex.
Funny you should say that Frank,
Regarding Yule (Winter Solstice) - an origin of Christmas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule
According to neo-pagans, the Goddess has been impregnated by the God and gives birth to him again at Yule - 21 Dec, sparking a 7 day festival where clearly 25th slap bang in the middle. So in a round about way it is about sex. LOL
Sirona
from previous posters, we have had access to the watchtower's accounts (uk), and especially the related company (ibsa), but... apparantly accounts are not as easily available in america.. does that apply to canada too ?.
how much the organisation is worth worldwide ?how much profit the organisation makes worldwide ?.
i'd be interested to know.. thanks in advance.
Edited to add: Hi its Diamondblue posting on Sirona's account..DOH
Yes IBSA does appear to be turning over quite a bit of money.
2005-2006 Total Turnover - £14,079,000.00 whereas expenditure was £11,505,000.00
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/showcharity.asp?remchar=&chyno=216647
I am sorry but it doesnt cost £11m to operate given they do not have any staff and the Kingdom Halls support themselves - in simple terms the money is going somewhere - did somebody whisper New York?
G
many here freely trot out words like "cult" and "indoctrination".
"group-think" and "double talk" in describing witnesses, and my .
question is, if these words are apt (and i think there is a strong .
Qcmbr
I'm not minimising what happened to your family.
However, I'm talking about mainstream Catholicism in the area in which I live. Around here, its a fact that Catholics can do pretty much what they please! They are not forced to attend services and they can live their lives however they wish. I met lots of Catholics on the ministry when I was JW and I've known some as friends.
As for nuns, everyone is fully aware that being a nun involves lots of sacrifice etc. and I thought becoming one was voluntary?
Now there is clearly branches of Catholicism or people within it who are fundamentalist, but that isn't the whole story with Catholics IMHO.
Jehovahs witnesses take over a person's life - entirely - and dictate all that they do - to the point of death. There are NO JWs who can just do as they please and just attend on Sundays.
Sirona
many here freely trot out words like "cult" and "indoctrination".
"group-think" and "double talk" in describing witnesses, and my .
question is, if these words are apt (and i think there is a strong .
many here freely trot out words like "cult" and "indoctrination".
"group-think" and "double talk" in describing witnesses, and my .
question is, if these words are apt (and i think there is a strong .
Despite the fact that other religions have done horrible things, I still strongly believe that there is a vast difference between being a catholic (here in England) than being JW. Most people around here who say they are Catholic attend church when they wish and they live their lives how they wish. They don't have to refuse blood, they don't have disfellowshipping. Just because catholics have done bad things in the past does not mean that they are now a mind control cult.
The JWs fit the mind control criteria and they do make sure that their members are isolated from the rest of society. They are more dangerous than many religions - most of us could join a church and not be controlled - at least where I live.
I'm pagan, but I've also attended other Christian churches and so I know that they don't love bomb and they leave it up to you whether you attend or not. They certainly don't pry into your private life!
SIrona
i thought after 7 years out i had done a pretty good job of getting my mind free of the jws.. then yesterday i went on youtube and typed in jehovah's witness.
after watching a few apostate videos, i came across a pro-jw video of a convention.
as i started the video and they started singing "we thank you jehovah" i got a mega wave of nausea and felt like i had to switch the thing off.. has this happened to you?
I quit said:
I have been out over twenty years and still can't bring myself to read any of the crap they print.
This just shows the level of mental control they have over their members. This is a real cult with real indoctrination processes!
I wonder if there is any way we could "reverse" whatever has been shoved into our subconscious, so that we don't have these sorts of reactions?
Sirona
i thought after 7 years out i had done a pretty good job of getting my mind free of the jws.. then yesterday i went on youtube and typed in jehovah's witness.
after watching a few apostate videos, i came across a pro-jw video of a convention.
as i started the video and they started singing "we thank you jehovah" i got a mega wave of nausea and felt like i had to switch the thing off.. has this happened to you?
Some report a problem with nausea, clenched teeth or other outward signs of tension. This stage is extremely painful and frightening. Usually the longer a person or his family has been in the group, the more painful it is.
OMG. It is an "official symptom"
http://www.culthelp.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=7
I have also had to have injections of steriods into my jaw because of a jaw misalignment aggravated by clenching teeth.
Sirona
i've struggled with trying to believe in a god since i left the fold.
i've been indoctrinated by dubizm for most of my life and more and more it all seems pretty incredulous.
the latest lady liberty post about adam caused a lightbulb to go off...and i know you'll let me know if i'm wrong in my assessment.. all my life i've heard, "god cannot tell a lie" and "the bible is true.
When I left the JWs I searched lots of religions. I read a lot.
God doesn't have to be the Yahweh described in the bible. There are lots of concepts of God.
My personal views are that God permeates everything and is within and also outside the universe. However, human beings, as we interact with God, see certain "faces" or "facets" of god. So some would see an angel, some would see Allah, some Buddha, some Jesus, some Diana, Isis, Zeus, Hathor, Aphrodite.... etc.
Religious texts exist and give us insights. That is all they can provide us with, insights. We cannot take any religious text as 100% literal or 100% accurate.
Have you researched other faiths- non christian aswell?
Sirona
i thought after 7 years out i had done a pretty good job of getting my mind free of the jws.. then yesterday i went on youtube and typed in jehovah's witness.
after watching a few apostate videos, i came across a pro-jw video of a convention.
as i started the video and they started singing "we thank you jehovah" i got a mega wave of nausea and felt like i had to switch the thing off.. has this happened to you?
Jean,
That's it.
I suppose it is something to do with how we as individuals cope with emotional upset. I know that if I'm extremely upset, I will puke. I was just shocked that seeing that video could have that effect - almost like pavlov ringing a bell.
Sirona
i thought after 7 years out i had done a pretty good job of getting my mind free of the jws.. then yesterday i went on youtube and typed in jehovah's witness.
after watching a few apostate videos, i came across a pro-jw video of a convention.
as i started the video and they started singing "we thank you jehovah" i got a mega wave of nausea and felt like i had to switch the thing off.. has this happened to you?
Are you telling me you can stomach this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_eWzrooSgg
