one story in the bible that always left me puzzled was the story of jacob wrestling with the man/angel/god.
whoever it was that was wrestling with him was said not to have been able to overpower jacob so he disjointed his hip.
at the end of the account it said jacob named the place peniel because "there i saw god face to face and and yet my life was spared.".
Hey band on the run "as a child these stories made no sense, no morality, no compassion"
Exactly. You'd think an omnipotent creator would find a better way to communicate than through a collection of stories open to hundreds of different interpretations.
i'm 19, and i'm still currently a jw.
i guess i'm a born-in, or whatever you guys call it.
i've had some serious issues with the faith at the moment, and sexuality is a huge part.
Welcome magotan!
Im sorry you're going through this.
I feel your stress levels must be crazy high at the moment. Please find support & ways to feel good about yourself & relax.
Exercise, nature, pets, yoga, meditation, music, swimming, anything that works for you.
It will get better
i am interested in the answers for a new poll.
also, feel free to suggest other options, wording etc.agreed in full with the watchtower guidelinesagreed with shunning in general, but not for familywas stumbled by this practice but shunned as instructeddid not agree with the practice and secretly associated with disfellowshipped people .
for me personally, i did not agree with the practice and secretly associated with disfellowshipped people, even whilst at bethel.
I always thought shunning was too harsh. I ran into a DF sister once & we smiled & waved at ech other, what's the harm? I was always glad that I did that, she had been a really good friend to me.
I was shunned and it was terrible. I was in a small town, and I became afraid to leave the house incase I ran into someone.
here is the phone conversation my super zealous betholite sister just had with me:.
sister - how was your ministry this morning?.
me- i didn't make it out (actually i haven't been out on a sat morning in months).
Hey lost in thought, "only JWs are that nice!" it's such a big myth that the witnesses perpetuate, that the only nice people are in their own organisation, what a lie
When I left I spent years being surprised and the warmth, kindness and generosity I found amongst so called wordly people. People who like you for who you are, not what you believe. JWs offer no true friendship, because the second you voice a doubt they will back away so as not to be contaminated by you. If you leave, they won't speak to you again. That's not true friendship.
When I was out, I was homeless, 4 different people at my work offered me their lounge room floor/sofa as a temporary measure, I lived amongst those people for months
Enjoy your Saturdays with your BFF
this is a sincere question.
do you worry about offending active witnesses?
JWs love being offended, reinforces their general "rightness" versus all others "wrongness"
hi guys.
richard e. kelly has kindly contributed a great article to jwsurvey.org on the link below.... http://jwsurvey.org/child-abuse-2/bo-juel-jensen-could-he-be-watchtowers-worst-nightmare.
richard tells the story of bo juel jensen, an ex-witness who has been doing marvellous work in raising awareness of watchtower child abuse mishandling in norway.. as with most child abuse victims, bo's story is a disturbing one.
I can't stop thinking about this. Now this is probably a stupid question, I'm new to this forum, and my knowledge of witnesses is based on my childhood, but I'm puzzled....
I know that we were taught to dogmatically obey the rules of the world except when they conflict with Gods laws.
For example my parent was rigid about declaring every cent of earned income and paying tax on it, even though they had a cash in hand job (as a cleaner ofcourse!!!).
but when someone has committed a serious crime, do elders believe that witnesses are not subject to the laws of this system?
Where is this in scripture?
Was it ever in a talk or article?
Do rank and file witnesses know this?
How do the elders think this ok?
hi guys.
richard e. kelly has kindly contributed a great article to jwsurvey.org on the link below.... http://jwsurvey.org/child-abuse-2/bo-juel-jensen-could-he-be-watchtowers-worst-nightmare.
richard tells the story of bo juel jensen, an ex-witness who has been doing marvellous work in raising awareness of watchtower child abuse mishandling in norway.. as with most child abuse victims, bo's story is a disturbing one.
Thanks cedars, this is so impressive. Bo Juel Jensen has an incredible story, and sadly there are plenty more like it out there.
They are cowards when faced with the issue of child abuse. Sweep it under the mat & hope it goes away.
I've heard stories about what has gone on in Australia, what Bo is doing will bring more forward I'm sure.
wow... the irony is amazing.
so here we have a cartoon about how to deal with bullying, which in itself is a positive message.
what's incredible is that it's brought to you by a religious organization that dominates your life, and requires absolute, loyal submission from its members.. if you should dare stand up and question its unique, ever-changing, brand of contradicting "christian" doctrine, then you will be labeled as "weak", "worldly", "bad association", and possibly an "apostate".
Hey Darth, this is the right place to vent :) go for it
wow... the irony is amazing.
so here we have a cartoon about how to deal with bullying, which in itself is a positive message.
what's incredible is that it's brought to you by a religious organization that dominates your life, and requires absolute, loyal submission from its members.. if you should dare stand up and question its unique, ever-changing, brand of contradicting "christian" doctrine, then you will be labeled as "weak", "worldly", "bad association", and possibly an "apostate".
So.......if people don't talk to me at school because of my religious beliefs I am being bullied........... But if my friends/family don't talk to me because i am not a JW then i am being bullied shunned which is of course completely different because its being done in a spirit of love ......HAHAHAHA Thanks Darth for posting this
you guessed it.... .
http://www.jw.org/download/?fileformat=pdf&issue=201304&output=html&pub=g&langwritten=e&option=trgchlzrqvnyvrxf&txtcmslang=e.
cedars.
Hey balaamsass, well done! Why should they be immune from the laws of the land? If you were beaten up by a stranger on the street you'd report it, right?
JWs have created a culture in which bullies thrive, from the platform, in the congregation, in marriages.
This is because they care more about the reputation of the organisation than about the safety of any individual members.
In this way they are the same as other religions.
