Posts by Bonsai

21

JWs With A Financial Interest In The Org

by JW_Rogue in

through personal experiences which i'd rather not relate because it would give away my identity i have come to a realization.

many brothers own businesses that a greatly supported by witness activities.

when local congregations need some service they will prefer to do business with a jw.

Bonsai

You mean a financial interest like this?

http://ameblo.jp/shou-tan-jw/entry-12050523831.html

or this? (sorry it's in Japanese)

https://www.etsy.com/jp/search?q=jw+org+tie+clip&page=1

Disgusting...

754

Theists, why does God allow suffering..

by The Quiet One in

..specifically, the suffering of animals.

you can talk about free will/sin/people choosing to not listen to god etc to explain human suffering being allowed.. but how can you love a god that allows animals, that haven't sinned or chosen to not have anything to do with god, to have their short lives ended in often long, drawn out, painful ways.

i could list stories i've read that would probably make you feel ill, but i'm not looking to shock anyone or start an emotional debate.

Bonsai

StrongHaiku, that has got to be the best post that I have read this month. So true. I couldn't have expressed it any better. We should have a post of the month award!

58

My introduction and confession

by elderINewton in

jw
friends

well another big bad elder here just wanting to say sorry.. i'm sorry that so many were treated like crap, and shown that god's love is not to be found around jehovah's witnesses.

i'm sorry that inadvertently i've likely taught many to judge and as such see that racism permeates every corner of the jw world, else why else would someone be of the world, or even inactive.

i'm sorry i sat in on a jc, and voted to df.

Bonsai

I left partly to protect my daughter as well. You have to do what is best for your family and you really can leave without compromising good, wholesome morals. I raise a cup (of coffee) to your freedom sir! Welcome to the forum!

18

What if Satan repent

by James Mixon in

satan, god i'm sorry for my misdeed, will you forgive me.

tell satan.

satan comes.

Bonsai

I'd rather have god repent for letting himself daydream about killing 99% of the people on this planet because they have a hard time believing in his holy invisibleness.

I hope that if a god exists, he is not the vindictive, jealous, hide-and-seek variety such as stated in the bible.

This thread reminds me of the movie "Noah" where the rock monster demons told Noah that they would help him because "we just want to return to the creator". Since we created these god's in our minds, we might as well give them human-like emotions.

39

Just an introduction

by Israel Ricky Gonzales in

just wanted to say hello since i am new to this forum.

allow myself to introduce myself.

lol.

Bonsai

Hola hermano!

You've been through some rough times. I hope thinks will start to brighten up for you.

21

Hi all, the prodigal daughter returns to JWD.

by cattails in

jw
friends

it's been four years (has it really been that long) that i haven't been on jwd.. i was back out west for a long while and i came back to new england.

just got an appartment with another sister and things are looking up.

i'm keeping under the radar and avoiding elder visits--not fully out of the kingdom hall yet.

Bonsai

I was back out west for a long while and I came back to New England.

Yes. New England has a way of sucking you back in even though all you want to do is escape from it.

I'm dreading the days when I will have to go back, but it beckons to me, reaching out with its cold wintery hands all the way to Asia.

waste a good part of the morning at Dunkin Donuts

What I would give to be able to waste time at a Dunkin Donuts! I want hazelnut coffee!!!!!

Welcome!

754

Theists, why does God allow suffering..

by The Quiet One in

..specifically, the suffering of animals.

you can talk about free will/sin/people choosing to not listen to god etc to explain human suffering being allowed.. but how can you love a god that allows animals, that haven't sinned or chosen to not have anything to do with god, to have their short lives ended in often long, drawn out, painful ways.

i could list stories i've read that would probably make you feel ill, but i'm not looking to shock anyone or start an emotional debate.

Bonsai

I go for a walk in the forest and a tick latches on to my clothes. While I'm sleeping the tick bites into me and inserts lyme disease. I weaken get sick and without treatment I will likely die. Another man goes into the jungle, gets bitten by a viper and dies a horrible death. A third man walks into the forest and eats a poisonous berry that he mistook for a black berry. He dies... Where was god? Why did he create the natural world to be like that? The answer is: He didn't. There is no loving god. There probably, in all likelihood, is no creator at all.

No matter how you try to stretch it, this universe gives us no indication that a loving god exists. People want to believe he does (me included), but reality can be a bit**.

17

Jehovah's Witness meets a Born Again Christian on a Train. Oh and a Muslim

by passwordprotected in

a couple of saturdays ago i and my girlfriend (who happens to be baptised into the greek orthodox religion, but practises greek catholic...no, she's not greek) were on the virgin train from glasgow to london.. we had reserved seats on the quiet zone of the train, because y'know, a 5 hour train journey shouldn't be sullied by mobile phones ringing and noisy conversations.. somewhere around the lake district a very tall woman sits at the table across the carriage from us, a table already occupied by a very chatty, bearded man in his late 50s, along with his wife.

this man was directing people where to stow their luggage and asking random travellers questions about their journey to the point where i sent my girlfriend a text message (easier to communicate that way without others overhearing us) asking if he was the "train boss".. he struck up a conversation with this new passenger about his travels, but i wasn't really paying attention as i was watching a movie on my ipad, wearing noise cancelling headphones.

after a little while i noticed they'd stopped chatting and the woman was now reading.

Bonsai

What the devil is a "Virgin train"? i didn't know trains could have sex.

69

Thinking of Going Full Disclosure With Wife. Sorta

by freemindfade in

jw
friends

soliciting any and all opinions.

as some of you may know, wife is full in pioneer.

my fade has gone from us fighting.

Bonsai

Two things I forgot to add about my experience with my wife and getting her out with me:

She had already seen some injustices within the congregation and i think that when i told her my true feelings those experiences that she had, helped to open her eyes to what I was saying. The other thing that really really helped was moving away from the congregation where she had all kinds of sentimental attachments to. I started the fade in a new hall. In the new cong, she had no friendships and it was much easier for her to see the messed up side of the cong. Had we stayed in the original congregation, I think she would have resisted me much more firmly, also she would have been more prone to the love bombing of her mother congregation.

I want to make it clear that when I told her that I was done,that she didnt have to leave with me. I said I'd support her if she wanted to continue. I even said I'd drop her off at the kingdomhall. Over and over I stressed that i loved her regardless of religion. Yet I made it clear that I was miserable and could no longer continue while holding on to my sanity.

At first she braved through it and tried to go to the meetings, but the rumors and questions that she had to continually deal with really irritated her. She noticed that people started to look at her funny and act unnatural around her. All this commotion finally gave her the strength to be honest with herself and start examining her religion.

To sum it up, timing is important, especially if something within the congregation is really bothering her.

Moving to a neutral location really helps, too.

Good luck FMF!

Also, JWdaughter: We love having you here. Your contributions and feelings are valuable and add insight to this forum. If people have a problem that you are Muslim, they can go fly a kite! I, for one, am glad there are all kinds of people on this forum.

25

All quiet on the western front

by campaign of hate in

recently it seems very quiet in jw land.. jw broadcasting has been in full swing for months now, nobody bats an eye lid at that anymore.. so the question is, what is next?

the next organisation change, the next doctrine change.

it seems like this is the quiet before the storm.. the way things are going, it's almost like they try and one up their last change, things in jw land get that bit more crazy every year.. i'm hedging my bets toward a monthly public talk broadcast straight from new york.

Bonsai

Exactly what Doc said.Licking their wounds in a cave somewhere.

The leaders are scared ishtless of losing control or doing something to start a mass exodus.

I think the next Nulite will be them proclaiming the great tribulation has begun, so expect imminent persecution.

In reality they will just replace the overused "last days' with "great tribulation" to get people active and productive.