Cold Steel: " What do the Jehovah's Witnesses believe? Are we the only human beings, or did God create other worlds with humans on them? "
It's been a long time since I was a dub, but I think they believe that we (human beings, and especially dubs) are the pinnacle of all creation anywhere, and that no other life exists anywhere else in the universe.
in the past there were horses here.. .
i could gently lay my head up against them and breath in the delicious unique fragrance that subtly drifts from a horse.. as the warm pleasant sent entered me it immediately calmed my nerves, stopped my mind, and carried me along into a sense of unmoving unity.
there was no longer a me and a horse; there was just pure presence/life/being.. no words can explain.. .
My grey-cheeked parakeet used to snuggle against my neck and fall asleep. The feel of his tiny body pressed against me in perfect trust and love made for some of the most contented moments in my life.
i get too many callers in my neighborhood, and i need to invest in a no soliciting sign for the front door.
i do not appreciate uninvited callers, unless they are there to tell me there's an immediate need to evacuate.
i absolutely won't buy anything at the door.
I like Farkel's recent suggestion -- chalk body outlines on your driveway and scatter a few Watchtowers on them.
since the anointed class used to be the faithful and discreet slave, i wondered if and how they can be disciplined through being disfellowshiped?
aren't they given a little more latitude in how they interpret scriptures and in what they say?
do people in kingdom halls who have anointed members defer to them in any way?
Cold Steel: D on't people who think they're anointed have to tell the elders of their status?
No. They announce their status by eating crackers and sipping wine at the funnest holiday the dubs have, the annual "Memorial" of the Last Supper.
I don't know how people announce these things to the elders, nor what happens if the elders don't agree.
If a dub claims to be anointed, the elders cannot agree or disagree. It's assumed the dub is what he says he is.
Which is more prestigious? Being an elder or being a member of the heavenly class?
If the dub is male but not an elder, the elder still has more status. If the dub is male AND an elder, he's golden. If the dub is female, there is almost no pestige. In fact, she is more closely scrutinized than the other dubs in her KH to make sure she's behaving appropriately ala dub standards.
Are there cases where someone declares and then is badmouthed by members in the congregation?
Not in my KH. Although one of the "anointed" sisters once invited me to her house for drinks and proceeded to viciously gossip about everybody else in the congregation. Quite an eye-opener about the sanctity of the "anointed class."
I understand declaring when you're not really a member of that class is a serious sin. If you do everything else right, but are wrong about that, would Jehovah forgive you? Or would you forfeit your resurrection?
If the dub falsely claims to be anointed, dub doctrine dictates that the dub will have an eternal dirt nap when he/she dies. But the means by which a dub becomes "anointed" are so nebulous, there's almost no reason to falsify their claim. If the dub feels especially content after a large dinner, that could be taken as a sign by the dub.
Finally, after becoming a Jehovah's Witness, how long does it take before you're informed that you are of that class? Are we talking days, months, or years?
Assuming Jehovah does the informing by means only dubs could invent, it could be any time after baptism. Underage baptized dubs might be questioned about their claim; but, otherwise, all dubs are potential "anointees."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ordqfh0byw.
it's those who demand certainty who make a mockery of faith.. this talk will stick with you..
From the movie "Doubt." Sister Beauvier, a fire-breathing dragon of a nun, has succeeded in ridding the school of Father Flynn, a pedophile
priest. At the end of the movie, she expresses her doubts, not about whether she was wrong about Father Flynn (she wasn't), but about her
faith in a church that allowed such abuse to continue without any real consequence. It's the most poignant, most human and most real
moment in the film:
Sister James: I wish I could be like you. Sister Beauvier: Why? S. James: Because I can't sleep anymore. S. Beauvier: Maybe we're not supposed to sleep so well. They made Father Flynn pastor of Saint Jerome. S. James: Who?
S. Beauvier: The bishop. Appointed Father Flynn pastor of Saint Jerome Church and School. It's a promotion.
S. James: You didn't tell them? S. Beauvier: Oh, I told our good monsignor. I crossed the garden, and I told him. He did not believe it to be true. S. James: Then why did Father Flynn go? What did you say to make him leave? S. Beauvier: That I had called a nun in his previous parish, that I had found out his prior history of infringements. S. James: So you did prove it? S. Beauvier: I made no such call. S. James: You lied?
S. Beauvier: Yes. S. James: But if he'd had no such history, the lie wouldn't have worked. S. Beauvier: His resignation was his confession. He was what I thought he was. And he's gone. S. James: I can't believe you lied.
S. Beauvier: In the pursuit of wrongdoing, one steps away from God. Of course, there is a price.
S. James: I see. S. Beauvier: Oh. Sister James.
S. James: What is it, Sister?
S. Beauvier [collapsing and weeping]: I have doubts. I have such doubts.
Doubt is what keeps us human, humble, and compassionate.
oh boy - how many will show up here?
lol!
i found this intresting check it out, copy an pasted as well <3.
3dogs1husband: "R ecognizing the world has changed, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leaders announced Sunday night that missionaries will do less door-to-door proselytizing, and instead, use the Internet to recruit new church members. "
With permission for increased use of the Internet, I wonder how many LDS will leave their cult as a result of information they read about it.
3dogs1husband: "Oh boy - how many will show up here?"
They're already here. Cold Steel has been here for several years doing his very best to "educate" us godless heathens about the glory and wonder that is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
i have basically thrown away all of my bound volumes and loose wt and awake magazines.
i kept some bpoks, the insight to the scriptures, god's love, the reasoning book, and daniel's prophecies (this was my favorite) .
i held onto insight to the scriptures after reading some of ray franz's book, crisis of conscience.
I kept my NWT for reference and occasional laughs.
context was a discussion of anti-war groups.
the caption for the pic described the jws as "pathetic" (probably reflecting the victorious postwar mood).
outlaw could probably have some fun incorporating this pic into his comments!
How odd. Last week I saw that guy wandering the boardwalk at Ocean City, MD, muttering to himself.
luke 17:2 -- "it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.".
what exdub, when he/she was a dub, has not been "stumbled" by their loving fellow dubs?
according to wts doctrine, those who cause others to stumble in their faith deserve death.
After reading your posts, I feel I must change from my ballgown to sackcloth. All I can think of is Neil Young's line -- "Oh, the damage done."
All of the nominees win the Millstone Award, with an extra-special heavy award to the WTS.
Party's over.
check out this awesome video - part 7 in a series where a mormon uses the witnesses as a proxy to figure out why his own faith is wrong.. sparlock, hassan's bite model, and even the 2013 "human apostates" convention talk all make cameos.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmesmlhydru.
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cedars.
Cold Steel: " Without a God it’s already thrown away. The second you’re dead, everything ceases to exist from your standpoint. Everything you experienced, everything you learned, thought about or attained to comes to absolutely nothing. All the enjoyment you gleaned from life, all the despair, achievements, wisdom—everything—is meaningless. "
I have no problem with "meaninglessness." I invest my own meaning into my own life. When I'm gone, "nothingness" is what I expect; I don't fear it. The highest honor I aspire to is Matthew Arnold's standard -- that I "saw life steadily and saw it whole."
I am truly unable to understand why anyone needs more than that. Are you that afraid of death, CS, that you must believe in something more?
"The free-thinking of one age is the common sense of the next."
