That’s true and I won’t call you Shirley. The whole Jehovah's Witness movement has been dumbed down. No group study and one hour meetings. As a 10 year old boy I was giving a 3 scripture sermon and book offer at the door. Now they just give out pamphlets and make a run for it. I guess with the end so near they are in a hurry. Oh the sorry trade!
THE GLADIATOR
JoinedPosts by THE GLADIATOR
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83
The perplexing conundrum 607 b.c.e condensed down to ONE SIMPLE FACT
by Brother of the Hawk ini was encouraged to post this thought, so here it is.. i recently finished reading "the gentile times reconsidered" by bro.
carl olof jonsson, ( third edition).
phew!!
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The perplexing conundrum 607 b.c.e condensed down to ONE SIMPLE FACT
by Brother of the Hawk ini was encouraged to post this thought, so here it is.. i recently finished reading "the gentile times reconsidered" by bro.
carl olof jonsson, ( third edition).
phew!!
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THE GLADIATOR
Regarding the opening post, I don’t think the average Jehovah's Witness at the door can concentrate for long enough to follow your dates. The last two to call on me were two women who invited me to a Sunday assembly.
I asked if I could go with them and they just giggled. I then asked if I they would be given a new date for Armageddon at the assembly, because the old one didn’t work out. They looked at each other, shook their head and told me they didn’t know. Next time I won’t ask such complicated questions. Bless them!
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INTELLECTUAL HONESTY....what is it?
by Terry infreud said:.
"if it were really a matter of indifference what we belive, then we might just as well build our bridges of cardboard as of stone, or inject a tenth of a gram of morphine into a patient instead of a hundredth, or take teargas as a narcotic instead of ether; but the intellectual anarchists themselves would strongly repudiate any such practical applications of their theory.".
intellectual honesty requires a match between the real world; the practical world where things either work or do not work at all.....and the state of mind inside your head.. .
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THE GLADIATOR
As always a good post Terry.
Life presents us with many choices and out of fear of making the wrong decisions, we often seek guidance. Seeking guidance can lead to allowing others to decide for us. This can be avoided if we are aware. Intellectual honesty involves awareness, which separates illusion from reality.
The search for truth is a personal responsibility and sometimes the conclusions reached may not be the ones we had hoped for. It is sometimes easier to believe what we want to, rather than face reality. Reality is not always agreeable, but it is always truthful.There is truth in love. There is truth in the silent witness of nature, for it never lies it simply is.
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Are we all bitter?
by LouBelle ini posted a link on fb that lead to a topic here.
i then had one of my 'friends' start having a go about how bitter everyone is here....fact he said.
(he used to be a jw elder but left a while back, not sure why he left or if he has even researched the faith since leaving) the more i tried to reason with him that actually it is a support forum, the more he lashed out that everyone here bad mouths the jw's and only attack the jw's.
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THE GLADIATOR
As we each look back over our life we all have regrets, disappointments and with hindsight things we would do differently. Even people who were never Jehovah's Witnesses have regrets. I had some good times as a Jehovah's Witness and had many decent friends. It was simply time to move on. My only regret is losing my younger brother to the cult; heartbreaking but inevitable. Now I live for each day and count my blessings.
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Do you blame Jehovah, Yahweh, God, Jesus, etc. for the corruption of the borg?
by Fading Begins indo you hold god accountable for the corruption of the borg?
i've noticed there seems to be a bitterness, by some, that includes "god" in the equation, when discussing the borg and their policies, the governing body, elders actions, etc.
do the borg's transgressions originate with god, or does he feel the same disgust as we do?
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THE GLADIATOR
It seems to me that Russell started out with good intentions. Rutherford turned it into a business and the rest is history.
Now I think the only god that is involved is money.
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Ricky Gervais on atheism & some ideas we can relate to
by alecholmesthedetective ini found this article really interesting because of the similar thoughts ricky expresses i could relate to and think are good food for thought irrespect of what you believe at the present time.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/12/19/a-holiday-message-from-ricky-gervais-why-im-an-atheist/.
for example.... people who believe in god dont need proof of his existence, and they certainly dont want evidence to the contrary.
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THE GLADIATOR
alecholmesthedetective " I pity many of my friends and family in much the same way. And I can't just stand by doing nothing. I'm 'lucky' that I don't live with my family so I could do this all on my own without external pressure from them. But now the time has come when I have to face them and I simply can't pretend."
That is the point that most who leave JWs arrive at.
Hope you find a way through the maze and manage to keep family members on side.
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Ricky Gervais on atheism & some ideas we can relate to
by alecholmesthedetective ini found this article really interesting because of the similar thoughts ricky expresses i could relate to and think are good food for thought irrespect of what you believe at the present time.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/12/19/a-holiday-message-from-ricky-gervais-why-im-an-atheist/.
for example.... people who believe in god dont need proof of his existence, and they certainly dont want evidence to the contrary.
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THE GLADIATOR
still thinking The original book is called - Opening the Door to Jehovah's Witnesses. It's available on Amazon.co.uk. The updated version is available on all Amazon sites and Lulu, as a download. It's called - Can Jehovah's Witnesses Survive? by Trevor Willis.
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Ricky Gervais on atheism & some ideas we can relate to
by alecholmesthedetective ini found this article really interesting because of the similar thoughts ricky expresses i could relate to and think are good food for thought irrespect of what you believe at the present time.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/12/19/a-holiday-message-from-ricky-gervais-why-im-an-atheist/.
for example.... people who believe in god dont need proof of his existence, and they certainly dont want evidence to the contrary.
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THE GLADIATOR
Ricky Gervais - As an atheist, I see nothing “wrong” in believing in a god. I don’t think there is a god, but belief in him does no harm.
I thought this to be the case but now have concluded that it is a matter of degree. Many people believe in a god and that belief brings them comfort. The harm is done when people take their belief to extremes and allow it to take over their lives. In the end they are on a mission to save the world. I have seen the damage it has done to my own family, all of whom now shun me, except one brother. My other brother, who is in his 50's, is still eaking out a living with a window cleaning round. He lives in a tiny house, has no pension and shuns me, as he waits for the 'new world.' It is pitiful to see the way that his fantasy believes have improverised him and robbed him of living a fuller life. I loved him deeply.
Family members didn’t shun me initially but as I tried to reach out to them and discus the contradictions in their beliefs they started to withdraw. I wrote a book about Jehovah's Witness and the curtain came down. So it was my own fault that I lost my family. Should I have stood by and watched them waste their lives without expressing my concern? The answer for me is no. If you love someone you reach out and try to help, whatever the cost.
My brother and ex-family are just one example who happen to be Jehovah's Witnesses. All religious belief can have the same effect. Over the years I have seen other people that I care for move down the slippery slope of placing their hopes and expectation in magical thinking. As each year passes they slide further and further down that slippery slope. In time the gap between them and those that cannot accept their fantasy becomes more difficult to bridge. If their partner does not come on board, divorce is common. Birds of a feather flock together and fragile truces between people with opposing views seldom last unless one side is prepared to remain silent.
To speak out and challenge or to remain silent? That is the question.
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Do you have an arrest record ? Ever been arrested?
by Glander infortunately, i don't have an arrest record.. but i was arrested one day walking through a parking lot when a young woman was struggling to exit her low-slung sports car with no knickers on..
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THE GLADIATOR
Glander People who have been arrested are perhaps likely to be dishonest. Therefore they are unlikely to tell you the truth. Ah but what is the truth...
This could be a whole can of worms.............
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conscious of my spiritual need, what next?
by stillhurts inso once you leave, what next?
have you found anything from a spiritual standpoint that brings you happiness and satisfaction?.
have you been so scarred by the teaching that "all religions are wrong", that you can't see the truth anywhere?.
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THE GLADIATOR
stillhurts You have been given some good advice here. When I left Jehovah's Witnesses I visited a number of Christian churches. Started reading about Zen Buddhism, Tao and philosophy; even got involved in meditation groups and the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism. All these disciplines point towards a higher path. The difficulty is that as one becomes involved there is always a structure and hierarchy that starts to monitor the progress you are making.
In the end I decided that my hard won freedom was priceless and I would pursue a spiritual path independently of any particular group. I stay in touch but have gone freelance. So far my spiritual search has not uncovered a god but led to a peace and understanding that I did not enjoy as a Jehovah's Witness. I hope that you avoid the pitfalls along the way in your search for truth. You may have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince or Princess.
