Welcome to the board!
Richard
Skeptic
JoinedPosts by Skeptic
-
28
Hello all. Just introducing myself
by JamesThomas inthis is my first introduction post and my second post all together.
i hid in the corner for some time, just watching.
i was raised from about the age of five in the "truth".
-
-
-
13
Elder proud of nights work in Brothel !
by Simon ina true story ... .
one sunday morning, after the meeting, a local elder brings up in conversation that he had spent a night working at a brothel and not only didn't see any problem with it, but actually was rather proud of it!
of course he wasn't working working there ... .
-
-
Skeptic
LOL! He can work for a brothel, but I'll bet he'd refused to do the same work for a church.
Richard
-
16
a theory about parents/parenthood
by teejay inpersonally, i know of several cases -- and have heard of many more -- of grown children not getting along with their parents.
some of these cases that i know about have nothing to do with the jw experience.
these people -- parents and their children -- go years without speaking (although sometimes living in the same town) and actually see each other even less.
-
-
Skeptic
As LB and others have shown, life doesn't always follow that path.
In my case, I hope it does. - teejay
Chances are teejay, for you it will turn out good.
LB, I am sorry to hear about your situation. I empathize.
Richard
Edited by - Skeptic on 27 December 2002 15:50:7
-
9
Does god really love children?
by kelsey007 inmany people claim that the god of the bible loves children and fetuses.
but what does the bible say?
according to god's law, children are not persons but the property of their fathers, who may sell them as slaves.
-
-
Skeptic
God is the Supreme Sovereign.
He created everything and He can destroy anything He wants to.
In other words, it is morally right for God to be a hideous bastard if he choses to be. Why would you want to serve a God like that? (1 Sam. 15:3)
God knows the future, so He knows what children would be like in the future when they are grown up.
So, you are claiming that 1 Sam. 15:3 implies that every "suckling infant" in an ENTIRE nation will grow up to be evil; hence, God was right for killing them now? So, even if the suckling infants were taken and raised in Israel, they would still turn out bad? WOW!
It is my belief, based on the Scriptures I've read, that children who die before they are old enough to know right and wrong go to Heaven (notice when King David's son died, David said that he would "go see him" one day, and I don't think David was talking about going to Hell).
So, the way to guarantee that your children will go to Heaven is to kill them while they are very young? Then repent of course. Or sacrifice yourself....kill MANY young children....you will burn in Hell, but think of all the lives you will save!
But, to answer your question, I would like to post a few Scriptures showing how Jesus Christ (God in the Flesh) treated children:
True, there are some scriptures that show kindness towards children. Even abusive fathers are kind to their children sometimes. That does not excuse the abusive stuff though.
Richard
Edited by - Skeptic on 27 December 2002 2:33:56
Edited by - Skeptic on 27 December 2002 2:34:31
-
16
a theory about parents/parenthood
by teejay inpersonally, i know of several cases -- and have heard of many more -- of grown children not getting along with their parents.
some of these cases that i know about have nothing to do with the jw experience.
these people -- parents and their children -- go years without speaking (although sometimes living in the same town) and actually see each other even less.
-
-
Skeptic
When there is a breach in communication between a parent and their child, the parent is the reason. Period. I believe that.
As a general statement, this stand has merit. However, life is too complex for any rule to be applicable 100% of the time. There are circumstances where such a breach in communication is NOT the parents' fault. "Period" is too extreme a stance.
There is a point in most peoples' lives where they must take responsibility for their own lives. And if they won't, removing the harmful influence from a parent's life may be the best choice.
Every hard and fast rule falls apart under some extreme circumstance. That is why it is best for people to think and decide things for themselves.
Richard, who has seen many extreme circumstances
-
18
MY Best Birthday EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by Jesika inwell, this will be the best birthday i have ever had.
i had lunch with my mom and she has never had sushi before and she loved it.
it was sooooooo funny watching her try to use chopsticks....... to no avail--lol.
-
-
Skeptic
Well, I just got up....
Happy Birthday, Jes!!!
Richard
-
12
Shunning
by JH inwhen a person is disfellowshipped, no one in the congregation can talk to him.
why is it that in certain circumstances that an elder can talk to a disfellowshipped person?
is there a place in the bible where it says that some can talk to df'd people and others can't?
-
-
Skeptic
Blondie, you haven't hurt anyone. I enjoy your posts.
Officially, where I live, only the elders on that person's judicial committee can talk to them if it is necessary but not at length regarding getting magazines and literature...If in a different congregation than the one they were DF'd in, they should seek out an elder who might be familiar with their situation. Once a year 2 elders may call on them at home to see if they are interested in reinstatement...
Nobody else is supposed to talk to them except perhaps the attendants to direct them to a place to sit if appropriate or the brothers behind the literature/magazine counters.
So there are some elderettes that think they can talk to DF'd ones?!
Considering that an average publish who talks to DFed ones can be DFed themselves...where in the Bible is such talking to DFed ones allowed? This one makes as much sense as the rules about beards. So much for all teachings being from the Bible, eh?
Richard
-
14
JW's come knocking on Christmas
by DIM inwell, after 10 months, the jw's finally came knocking on my apartment - on christmas day!
in my head, i was going to debate with them, maybe even reason with them.....what actually happened is that for some reason, all of the emotional things inside of me came to the fore and i waited until they were leaving my apartment, i opened up my door, grabbed the tract, crumpled it into a ball, threw it at them and rattled off a string of profanities (which i won't repeat here, out of respect for simon's rules).
i was really mad at myself for doing this, but at the same time it provided an immense cartharsis for me.
-
-
Skeptic
At least the Mormans don't disfellowship, or shun or reject. They are very much family oriented, and they take care of each other. They don't condeme or judge other people for their individual opinions or beliefs.
Mormons are a high control group similar to the JWs. The ex-Mormons I talk to confirm this. They tell me that ex-members are shunned and that the Mormons are very judgemental, especially of fellow Mormons.
Every time we discuss the two religions with my ex-Mormon friends, we are struck by how similar the two groups are. The terminology and a few customs are different, but the level of control, the attitudes and actions, etc. are the same.
Talk to an ex-Mormon in the know. The effects of being a Mormon are the same as being a JW.
Richard
-
46
How Do You Measure Your Self Worth?
by minimus inhow do you feel about yourself?
do you struggle with what kind of person that you are?
do you feel happy, empty, or are are you apathetic?
-
-
Skeptic
I agree with Skeptic that some people have an external locus of control. That way of thinking was certainly fostered in the religion. I also agree with him that looking internally is more beneficial, though hard to do when coming from the JW culture.
Yes, the religion strongly encourages external locus. It also trys to severely undermine ones self-esteem.
Richard
-
17
Did anybody get The Bell?
by Nickey induring the thocratic school during our tuesday meetings, i dreaded hearing the bell.
*ding* someone had run over 5 minutes and had to cut their talk short.. this part always disturbed me.
nevermind the fact that these people worked hard to prepare their talk about something they felt was worthwhile, they have to be humiliated and cut off in front of the whole congregation.
-
-
Skeptic
Well, the best thing that ever happened to me for public speaking was falling over the podium twice in the same talk. The audience forgave me and that cured my stage fright. Hell, you can't do worse than that!
So, the bell never bothered me. But my timing was always pretty good anyway. Brothers have a much easier time with talks than sisters becasue we aren't having a "conversation" and can make our notes in point form.
I find the TMS a real blessing and still prefer the TMS Guidebook to any other public speaking book. I am a good public speaker due to that course and especially due to that very humilating talk and the audience's loving non-reaction. Plus, the school overseers I had were very kind and competent.
Richard