Posts by think41self

185

Long Intro From A Long Timer

by hillary_step in

jw
friends

i am a new to posting on this board though i have been actively reading your posts the past while and i thank some of you for the interesting viewpoints that you have verbalized and that i have enjoyed thinking on.

i am still an active jw, in fact an elder of 20 years standing hence my need to limit information about my personal circumstances.

i have served in a number of countries in europe as a pioneer and elder over the past three decades.

think41self

Step,

Thanks for explaining the name, I was wondering about that.

As for giving you the benefit of the doubt, that is one of the greatest things that has come from my freedom from the org...the ability to think for myself, and not judge people. When I remember the smug, self righteous,judgemental person I used to be, I shudder!

I was wondering how you were able to stay in the org. so long if you knew their teachings were not correct. It seemed to me the cognitive dissonance would have been overwhelming! But I understand making the choice for loved ones, that is the only thing that kept me in for the last 2 years I was there. But 20 years!! Egads, man, you must have the patience of a saint:) And I'll bet you've developed some pretty hefty leg muscles from struggling up Everest, so at least you got some benefit from the experience:)

Take care, think

185

Long Intro From A Long Timer

by hillary_step in

jw
friends

i am a new to posting on this board though i have been actively reading your posts the past while and i thank some of you for the interesting viewpoints that you have verbalized and that i have enjoyed thinking on.

i am still an active jw, in fact an elder of 20 years standing hence my need to limit information about my personal circumstances.

i have served in a number of countries in europe as a pioneer and elder over the past three decades.

think41self

Hi Hillary,

Welcome to the board! I can see from some of the responses that some here doubt the veracity of your story. They've been around longer than I have, so maybe they see something I don't. I am going to respond to your post as if it is sincere. If you have duped me, then the only thing I have lost is a few minutes of my time, which I can afford.

Many of the things you said struck a chord with me, because when I was in the org. I thought the same way. And when you are in denial, you can rationalize many things. It is your opinion that the members of the GB are sincere men, who believe they are doing God's will and protecting the flock at any cost. I of course do not personally know any of these men, but I tend to agree with you on that. I understand that kind of devotion, I used to feel it too. I do however believe that at this point in time, there logically must be some men in positions of power, who have had doubts about the rightness of their decisions, ie: disfellowshipping, blood, military service...but cannot overcome a long entrenched system to change the thinking. Any wavering on the part of the GB now would be a show of weakness, and they cannot afford that.

I also agree with your comment that we see these kinds of abuses of power in all organizations, political and religious, even corporate.
I also agree that they have been just as devastating to the people abused as any witnesses have been. That does not invalidate the suffering and death of the JWs who were trying to do the right thing, it just means others have been abused in like manner. Yes, these men are claiming to be directed by God, as do many religions, and yes they are even more bloodguilty in my opinion for that reason.

I do not agree with the thinking that we humans are all capable of the same degree of goodness or evil. I believe that we are all born with the same degree(except for the extreme cases of mental illness)but from there it is our circumstances and choices in life that shape us into who we become. Many of us here have been tested to the very limits of our endurance, and found out what we were capable of, and it only strengthened the core goodness that we have. There was no turning in our hearts to evil thoughts.

Lastly, I agree that we should all strive to leave the world a better place than we found it. That is what many on this board are trying to do, by helping others heal from the abuse they have suffered. If that is your intent. then welcome to the board and please stay.

think41self

31

Hi! I'm new.

by RipVanWinkle in

jw
friends

i chose the screen name of ripvanwinkle because this fictious characher went to sleep and awoke in a different world.

different setting and must have suffered emotional shock.

coping skills needed to be learned.. i sometimes feel a little like him.

think41self

Hi Rip,

Like your choice of screen name, it certainly fits the way many of us felt when we left, or were just thinking about leaving.

Do I think there's any hope of the society changing? Not a chance. They have a pretty good thing going, from their point of view. Why mess with success?

I don't know if you're just new to this board, or if you've been checking out others, but welcome:) I also can't tell from your post if you are still a JW. Either way, you can find a lot of help on this board, and others like it. So let us keep hearing from you:)

think41self

2

News of the Weird!

by think41self in

jw
friends

hey guys, .

had to share with you something that was in our local paper, the sunherald, under "news of the weird".

"raymond jones filed a complaint after having angrily stalked off his job during the 1998 holiday season, never to return, at a shoppers drug mart in vancouver, bc, because his boss told him to set up artificial poinsettias in a seasonal display, which he took as a directive to support the abhorrent idea of christmas(he is a jehovah's witness).

think41self

Good one Jim,

Oh, you just inspired another one in me! What if the millions of people who are sick to death of them knocking on their doors and disturbing perfectly good weekends and holidays filed suits?

think41self

3

What if we put God on trial?

by Amazing in

jw
friends

what if we put god on trial?

of course god cannot be put on trial by humans, and i doubt that he would submit to any subpoena from a human court.

but, what if we were able to do such a thing?

think41self

Hi Amazing,

Boy, you hit a hot button with this one for me.

My answer is YES. You can go right back to that original bible story of Adam & Eve and the serpent to begin the trial proceedings. Which one of us who are parents have had our children disobey us? All of us. Did we sentence them to death because of the infraction, no matter how serious? NO Why would God(supposedly a loving parent)?

Well, then you can come back with: But they were perfect, they had the strength to resist temptation. Ok, but did they, these two innocent, God like creatures, have the experience and understanding to resist a creature(supposedly Satan) who was a master manipulator, and had been alive for eons? If the bible is true, he was able to deceive angels, who lived in God's presence, so why is it so hard to see how he could trick a little kid?(which is what Adam, and especially Eve were to him).

Not one of us normal, reasonably well adjusted parents would deal with our children so harshly, and not only them, but all of their future generations! Talk about human rights violations! God should be put on trial for that. When I brought my children into the world, I accepted full responsibility for them, and will NEVER abandon them. So where is God?

think41self

3

THANK YOU ALL, FROM NOJW'S HUSBAND

by nojw86 in

jw
friends

much appreciated all posts from so many well wishers, my wife says thanks again, things progressing slowly results are coming slowly also.

she hopes to be back on the board soon.

regards too all again.

think41self

Hi hubby,

Thanks for letting us know how she is. Let her know she is missed, and we are sending positive mental vibes over the air waves to her:)

think41self

2

News of the Weird!

by think41self in

jw
friends

hey guys, .

had to share with you something that was in our local paper, the sunherald, under "news of the weird".

"raymond jones filed a complaint after having angrily stalked off his job during the 1998 holiday season, never to return, at a shoppers drug mart in vancouver, bc, because his boss told him to set up artificial poinsettias in a seasonal display, which he took as a directive to support the abhorrent idea of christmas(he is a jehovah's witness).

think41self

Hey guys,

Had to share with you something that was in our local paper, The SunHerald, under "news of the weird".

"Raymond Jones filed a complaint after having angrily stalked off his job during the 1998 holiday season, never to return, at a Shoppers Drug Mart in Vancouver, BC, because his boss told him to set up artificial poinsettias in a seasonal display, which he took as a directive to support the abhorrent idea of Christmas(he is a Jehovah's Witness). Results: Mr. Jones won a $30,000 judgement from the provinces's human rights panel in January".

What do you think? Will this start a new trend among constantly poor JW's? Better yet, maybe all of those victims who have been abused by the "system of the society" should file a suit claiming their human rights have been violated, because they have!

Think41self

30

I didn't survive an Apostate Convention

by expatbrit in

jw
friends

so i get this envelope in the mail.

i know it's, like, apostate stuff.

because it doesn't fall to the floor after coming through the letter box.. inside is an invitation:.

think41self

Expat,

That was hilarious:) I'm just starting to feel like I know some of these people, and it seemed that your "uses" of their personalities was right on.

Thanks,

Think

3

Circumstances change your attitude.

by Undecided in

jw
friends

i was sitting in my swing in the back yard yesterday enjoying the beautiful day and watching the birds as they courted, pecked the trees, and sang.

it was heart warming to view the creation.

then a robin flew over to the tree above my head and i said no, don't crap on my head.

think41self

Interesting post.

I agree, your attitude and current circumstances affect how you feel at any given time. For example, I used to think:"how could anyone ever leave God's org? I can understand drifting away, etc.. but to leave and (shudder) turn apostate!" I simply could not imagine it.

Then my circumstances changed, and many years of repressed doubts and inconsistencies added up, my "faith" was literally blown out of the water. And not because I did anything wrong or different, at the time still making every effort to do everything "Gods' way". And guess what? It wasn't working. And I learned the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over, but expecting a different result.
So I had two choices. Keep doing things the same way, and getting nowhere, or opening my mind to the slightest possibility that what I was doing wasn't the right thing, or even really Gods' way, for that matter. And once you crack open that door of possibilities, you can't go back. So now I'm free, and much happier.

As to being religious or having a particular faith, yes I agree, you either have it or you don't. I don't think there's a lot of middle ground there. Now, belonging to a certain religion or being spiritual is an entirely different matter. Lots of gray areas. I for one do not belong to any religious org. and never will again, but am I a spiritual person? Yes, I am. As a matter of fact I'm a better person without the religious restrictions and predjudices clouding my mind.

Thanks for sharing your "wandering thoughts". Sometimes we wander into good territory:)

Tracy

104

Elders' Gems of Wisdom

by stephenw20 in

jw
friends

my dad asked the co about this one.

mat 27:52-53. and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, .

and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

think41self

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here, but had to respond to this one.

The funniest thing I heard recently at the Kingdom Hall was at the last memorial I attended 2 years ago. A very old brother was asked to give the prayer over the bread, and he said "Thank you Jehovah for sending us your son to die on the CROSS for us".

I thought that was appropriate for the last time I ever set foot in the place.

think41self