Posts by Swan

33

DO U BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH?

by Mary in

jw
friends

even though we were all raised with the firm doctrine that absolutely nothing happens to you after death, (except for those baptized before 1935 of course), does anyone here think that maybe something does happen after we die?

i've seen some programs about people that have reported having near death experiences.

while this doesn't offer proof, i find it very strange that one individual, during her nde, repeated a conversation she heard on an entirely different floor in the hospital while she was clinically dead.

Swan

Mary wrote:

Virtually every religion on earth believes in a life after death. JWs and other Adventist religions are about the only ones that don't. Perhaps that's one reason why so many Dubs lead a double life: they figure there's nothing after death, so they got nothing to lose.

Exactly. I believed all of that stuff since I was a small child. And I also believed that Jehovah could read my mind and my heart. So I was pretty sure I wouldn't make it throught the Great Trib. I WAS SCARED TO DEATH!

I actually figured that my best chance of making it was to die before the Big A so that I would be ressurected. I thought of suicide, but couldn't bring myself to do it.

Now I am at peace with it all. If there isn't an after-life, well life has been real good in the last 8 years as an xDub. If there is an after-life, cool!

Tammy

Edited by - UglyDuckling on 17 August 2002 14:20:35

Edited by - UglyDuckling on 17 August 2002 14:26:38

32

Non believers in god please.

by Monster in

jw
friends

a poster( don't ask who said, it i don't want argument with the person) here implied a while ago that many of the xjw here no longer believe in god because they cannot accept the "fact" that they willl be destroyed during armageddon.

in other words you are looking for ways to discredit that you ( you.

meaning anyone) will be destoryed.

Swan

Golden Girl asked:

For those that don't believe in God or Armageddon...did you ever believe? What about when you were a J.W.?
Did you believe anything then? Or is that maybe why you left?

Yes, I truly believed! And I was scared to death that I wouldn't measure up and would be destroyed! I grew up my whole life thinking that if Jehovah can read your heart and mind, then I would truly die when Armageddon came. In 1975 I was glad it didn't come. I was so scared I would not make it. I tried so hard to be a good person, and not to feel the way I did.

Eventually I learned that I was a good person, and that my feelings were only natural. That's when I began to doubt.

Mackin, you wrote:

However now that I have escaped the Borg, I no longer believe in any literal existence of "God." I don't have anything against anyone who does believe in God however. For many, such a belief is a good thing. And if believing works for you, then who am I to criticise.
The thing I don't like is the rules that religions (like a certain one we all know and love, well maybe not love exactly) impose on people, mostly to their detriment. I'm not afraid of Armageddon because I know that such a thing is not real, but rather a device invented by religions to subjugate their adherents. It has certainly worked well for the 'dubs!

I really agree with you. I think religion can be a very good thing and a very positive thing for some people. Just not for me.

Cults, on the other hand, I personally think are evil, because they don't allow a person to think for themselves, or reach these decisions on their own. I doubt Jim Jones followers or the Hale-Bopp followers would have chosen death if they had been able to make their own decisions.

Tammy

15

Franz book not available at Amazon

by cecewriter in

i ordered crisis of conscience from amazon a couple of days ago and today got a reply back from amazon that they don't have it.

and they won't be getting it.

i want to read mr. franz account.

Swan

I always try and support the local book stores and small websites like freeminds as opposed to Amazon. The only thing I order from Amazon are the latest popular DVDs and CDs. They have a great website though, which I use to print information like the publisher and ISBN, which I then take down to my local bookstores to order from them.

47

Is there anything that could make you go back?

by sleepy in

jw
friends

is there anything that could make you go back?.

what do you think, is there any change of belief or change of circumstance that could make you return to the jw fold?.

i cant see anything that could make me go back,but i was thinking mabye some of you religious types would go back if they changed some doctrinal things,or if they stopped banning blood.. how about if a family member was dying and hoped to see you in paradise would you go back for a while just to make them feel happy?

Swan

As for going back to being a JW again, Nope!

As for going back to a KH, yes, in rare situations, such as the funeral of a family member.

After the hell that they have put millions through, there is nothing that they can do to win me back now.

16

Something missing from Aug KM

by CC Ryder in

jw
friends

i just read the aug km again on reborns post.

i noticed that they did not include what to do if they come upon a disfellowshipped or disassociated person who is stranded and in need of help.

this had been previously covered with this same material the last that i remember.

Swan

After I DAed myself, I got AAA. Didn't see any reason to depend on the Watchtower being consistent after all the other flip flops they did.

Tammy

48

My cat--Need Your Help in Naming Her

by patio34 in

jw
friends

i have a new cat.

a smallish young adult (1-2 years old) female, with black & gold back and white chest, belly and feet.

i can't come up with a name i like.

Swan

I always liked Kasey as in K.C. for Kitty Cat. I love the word play.

For what it's worth.

Tammy

9

Finding Someone From a Long Time Ago

by Jesus Christ in

jw
friends

ok, say someone was trying to find someone they once knew.

what advice would you give them?

its a woman who's since gotten married and divorced since the last time you talked to them back in the early/mid 90's and has also had a kid.

Swan

Public records will cost you, but are probably the best way to find her. If you know her address (city) then the newspaper morgue (some papers have this online now) for birth and divorce announcements would help you find her married name. Does she still use her married name, or did she go back to her old name? You can try anywho.com in her old name just to be sure.

Hope this helps. I might come up with some other ideas after a good night's sleep.

33

DO U BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH?

by Mary in

jw
friends

even though we were all raised with the firm doctrine that absolutely nothing happens to you after death, (except for those baptized before 1935 of course), does anyone here think that maybe something does happen after we die?

i've seen some programs about people that have reported having near death experiences.

while this doesn't offer proof, i find it very strange that one individual, during her nde, repeated a conversation she heard on an entirely different floor in the hospital while she was clinically dead.

Swan

Not really no. Death is the absence of life, IMO. It is non-existence. I'm okay with that. But as skeptical as I am, I wouldn't mind being pleasantly surprised to find out otherwise!

32

Non believers in god please.

by Monster in

jw
friends

a poster( don't ask who said, it i don't want argument with the person) here implied a while ago that many of the xjw here no longer believe in god because they cannot accept the "fact" that they willl be destroyed during armageddon.

in other words you are looking for ways to discredit that you ( you.

meaning anyone) will be destoryed.

Swan

I don't know if I qualify for this post. I would consider myself an agnostic. I am skeptical that God exists. I will keep an open mind, but until then I really don't see any method to this madness called life that can't be explained by other means. If there really was a God, wouldn't we have a clear idea about what was going on?

My theory is that God is a way for superstitious man to reconcile the fact that death is inevitable and final. It is the absence of life. Some people can't accept that. So they believe in God and an after-life, and that's okay. I think religion and beliefs like that serve a useful purpose in that sense.

So whether I die in some Armageddon or I get hit by a bus tomorrow, I will end up the same way. As Solomon said, the same eventuality. So it really doesn't matter to me how I get there, I am at peace now. In the present. As a JW I was always in turmoil, never in peace, and certainly not free. As an xJW, I am at peace with the final outcome, and I am doing some things that I hope will leave the Earth and humanity in just a little better shape. That gives me purpose.

Does that cover it?

Tammy

22

Oh Mother...

by joannadandy in

jw
friends

i get a phone call at work today.

i am very stressed, my boss has left, thus i am in charge.

i had little to no sleep and was very cranky that i was left to blow up 200 balloons by myself.. on the phone is my mother.

Swan

Ahh, but apparantly did not hang it all the way up. I then hear her ranting to my father about how spoiled I am, and how I never do anything for her, but bend over backwards for anyone else but her, and how smart I think I am, and goes on and on for a solid 3 minute rant about what an awful person I am. When she appeared done, I hung up the phone on my end and went back to work.

Gosh! I know how that must have hurt. We expect unconditional love from our parents; it is really a disappointment when that appears in jeopardy.

It isn't easy, but I have to agree with others on this board who suggested having a confrontation with her, adult to adult, to clear the air. Inform her of what you heard. Bring up the point that her treating you like her awful spoiled child will bring about that kind of a relationship, but treating you as she would an adult friend will probably bring about the same back bending behavior you show to others.

It is really amazing how we often get the very relationship out of people that we expect. Parents are sometimes the last ones to realize this point when it comes to their own adult children.

I hope this helps.

Tammy