Posts by Separation of Powers

35

God is love, but if you dont love him back he will slaughter you!

by BU2B in

this was one of the things that first got me thinking.

i noticed how in books like "draw close to jehovah" they paint god as a loving, warm, just god who does not desire any to die.

i could not love him at all, let alone with my whole heart.

just what am I supposed to believe now??

by purrpurr in

while i'm glad i found this site, it has also crumbled to bits everything i've believed in my whole life.

i feel like the certainty, magic and wonder has gone out of my life.

this has left a huge hole in my soul.

It is true that you don't have to go from faith to no faith, many on here hold on to some vestige of faith. Some simply transfer their faith. The caption that the original poster chose, "Just what am I supposed to believe in now?" is strikingly similar to my own experience. When you are programmed to believe that you have the one and only "Truth" and that everyone, I mean EVERYONE else is wrong and for that will die, then it is a tremendously painful ordeal. Some, even on this forum, were not totally and completely vested in the whole Watchtower thing, sure, they went to meetings and to service, but they may have been half-hearted at their full-effort. Others, like I am assuming the poster to be, fell hook, line, and sinker, so for them, faith to no faith is painful.

By the way, I really do appreciate your comments. I find them very insightful and poignant. And the name....GO ROCKY!

94

just what am I supposed to believe now??

by purrpurr in

while i'm glad i found this site, it has also crumbled to bits everything i've believed in my whole life.

i feel like the certainty, magic and wonder has gone out of my life.

this has left a huge hole in my soul.

Separation of Powers

PurrPurr,

To go from faith to no faith is painful. It is like recognizing the hypocrisy of your parents for the first time...devastating.

There are many on this forum that have simply repositioned their faith. For some, that is a viable option. Some people need to "believe" in something. Others, like the humanists on the forum, recognize the importance of living a good life, a good virtuous life, without the constraints of organized religion or some creed to hold onto.

I, like you, was lost. The realization that it was all a sham led me down a very depressing pathway toward self-destruction. Fortunately, I recognized what was happening before I made any irreversible moves or actions. When I did, I came to realize that I didn't need faith, I needed answers. I didn't want religion. I didn't want god or gods. I simply wanted to address the reality of this life.

So, I started searching for answers. I read Hassan's books to determine my programming and combat it. I read Franz' books to justify my realization that it was all malarkey. I read books on philosophy. Books on religion. Books on psychology. Just books.

I came across a book by an author, Stephen Bachelor, entitled Buddhism without Beliefs. It intrigued me. It answered the most important question I had..."Why do we suffer?" It just made sense. By the end of the book, I had come to the realization that the difficulties that we all encounter have plagued mankind since the dawn of time and that no magical "paradise" or "eternal life" was the answer. Those hopes did not address the "now," they served as a bandaid for the open wound that is suffering. When I came to the realization that life is suffering and the kind of life that would help mitigate that suffering, it was an epiphany beyond description. I did not, however, become a Buddhist. I simply began to view life in a different way. It has helped tremendously with the void. It has been both therapeutic and transformative.

Good luck on your journey.

SOP

39

My wife sees the lack of love and.. Any suggestions on how to proceed?

by BU2B in

jw
friends

in the past few weeks, my wife has been seeing more and more the lack of love and caring from jws.

for example, she is organizing a "princess party" for our 4 year old daughter.

a couple of the parents have expressed reservations about this since they think princesses may be "too magical" even though we know they have been to disneyworld, and watch the disney channel.

Separation of Powers

If your daughter goes to preschool or kinder ask her if there are any classmates that she would like to invite...meet the parents of those children and see just how much support you will have from regular, ordinary, non-fanatical people. That will have an everlasting impact on your wife especially cause "worldly" people are all selfish, lying, abusive drunkards that let their kids do absolutely anything that they want! LOL

15

Bible Highlights(this week) : What is the bitter water that an adulteress had to drink in Numbers 5:24?

by raymond frantz in

in this week's bible highlights we read about the bizarre trial by ordeal that a woman had to undergo if she was under suspicion of adultery .in number 5:24 we read about this strange "bitter water" that she had to drink resulting if guildy to a sponteneous degeneration of her reproductive organs ,please read the rest of the article here for more clarification ,maybe you can use it this week during the bible highlights at the meeting.... what is the bitter water that a woman had to drink in numbers 5:24?.

Separation of Powers

Jaegermeister

15

Bible Highlights(this week) : What is the bitter water that an adulteress had to drink in Numbers 5:24?

by raymond frantz in

in this week's bible highlights we read about the bizarre trial by ordeal that a woman had to undergo if she was under suspicion of adultery .in number 5:24 we read about this strange "bitter water" that she had to drink resulting if guildy to a sponteneous degeneration of her reproductive organs ,please read the rest of the article here for more clarification ,maybe you can use it this week during the bible highlights at the meeting.... what is the bitter water that a woman had to drink in numbers 5:24?.

Separation of Powers

Sounds like something out of the novel DUNE

66

Will the JW.Org Site make a difference ?

by Phizzy in

it will obviously make a difference to how jw's obtain their literatrash, they will have to download and print it all themselves before long.. it will make a small difference to the dtod work, they will now refer even genuine questions and interest etc to the site, not taking the opportunity to "witness" on the initial call at all.

this has been happening already to a degree.. the difference i am mainly interested in is the capture of new suckers in to the borg.. we will be able to see when we get 2014's figures, sometime next year, what the rate of increase was over the last ten years.. phizzy the prophet predicts that the rate of increase over the next ten years will not be significantly up.

probably down, but certainly, i feel, not so different from the last ten.. should i be around in ten years to do so, i will wish to ask jw's:.

Separation of Powers

It already has...it is the golden calf to which the sacrifices are being made. A tract campaign costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in printing costs and countless millions in gas and time consumed by those participating...these are the sacrifices, the burnt offerings to the idol that it has become...just wait for the jewelry line and tattoos!

86

For those of you that LEFT.....

by DocHouse in

...did you also toss your faith as well?.

Separation of Powers

Yeah...pretty much. Life is suffering. We need to address how to deal with that suffering NOW...not simply hold in expectation something that will address it in the future. Faith is the "assured expectation of things hoped for" well, I don't HOPE for anything. I live each day as if it was my last. I tell my family I love them. I mend fences when they break down. I cherish the little things. Faith kept me blind to the NOW in longing for tomorrow. Life is a miracle...have faith in that!

41

What's the story behind Adam and Eve and fig leaves.

by jam in

where they blind?

nakedness is a sin between married folks?.

that is so silly.

Separation of Powers

They are large and cover a good bit of area. Depending on just when they were gathered, if, for example, they were gathered when the fruit was ripe, then they would more than likely be a bit sticky because of the fig juice dripping on them from when birds would eat the fruit. That would make them adhere to the body better...

3

Qestions freom Readers 1962 ,2/1 :Will we know in the new system the names of the 144 000 that proved faithful to the end?

by raymond frantz in

another gem from the 1962 watchtower : questions from readers 2/1,p95will we know in the new system the names of the 144 000 that proved faithful to the end?this topic has not been discussed in recent years .will we know the names of the anointed that proved faithful to the end?

is there any scriptural basis for it ?

really good article backed from a couple of interesting verses ,enjoy.... .

Separation of Powers

It may be a requirement to memorize every one of their names in order to gain eternal life. Its like the citizenship test for the immigrant. Who was the first President of the Republic?