Posts by Bonsai

1) many who were on the destructive path have been transformed by their teachings (this includes me who was once vicious, and presumptuous and atheistic).

2) equal monthly pay to all members of the bethel community regardless of whether they are bc members or sweepers.

this is something that still remains as an unattainable dream for the world.

Recently all the JW apologists have disappeared from this forum. Now all we get to enjoy are the occasional one-and-dones. I think more could be done to avoid scaring them away so quickly. Considering the fact that they are coming from a position of ignorance, I think we could be more patient and go easier on them (Myself included).

To the OP:

Thanks for your thoughts. I think almost any religion has some good points about it. Unfortunately, the things that you downplay such as the shunning policies are hurting a lot of people. It's sad because many people who are disfellowshipped left for valid reasons. Nobody deserves to be cut off from their loved ones. Nobody deserves to be treated as the living dead when they enter a kingdom hall to fight a weakness or try and makes things right with their god. Repenters should not have to suffer cruel and unusual punishment.

51

One Year Later - A Thank You to Tony Morris.

by cappytan in

jw
friends

dear anthony morris, iii:.

i wanted to send you a note of "thanks" on this special day.. why is this day special, you may ask?

one year ago today, you, tony, woke me up to the fact that the governing body could not have jehovah's blessing or direction.. last year, on november 8th & 9th, 2014, the united states branch visit was broadcast to over 1,000,000 jehovah's witnesses across the country.. as i sat at the kingdom hall listening to the "historic occasion," i was ignoring certain doubts that had surfaced in the few months prior.

Bonsai

Yeah. That speech was epic - epically stupid.

32

Hi First Post Here

by Distracted in

jw
friends

just wanted to break the ice and write my first post here and also talk about some things that are bothering me.

i don't go to meetings anymore and i have become inactive for years now.

i don't believe the witnesses have the truth more than any other organized religion.

Bonsai

Welcome Distracted. I can relate so well to how you are feeling. It's like we are stuck in between two worlds and don't seem to fit into either one. I also can relate to family members trying to guilt trip us, using fear-mongering tactics, to get us back into the organization. It's an uncomfortable time of transition, but it does get better as you make new friends and throw all that Fear Obligation and Guilt (mind FOG) manure out to pasture.

9

Does growing up in a religious family make you MEAN?

by Divergent in

jw
friends

yeah, i was mean.

could it be that i was not encouraged to have non-jw's as friends, so i viewed them as insignificant?

could it be that i found it difficult to live up to "christian standards" and took it out on others?

Bonsai

It made me mean that's for sure. I treated my disfella-shipped siblings like crap. I made fun of Catholics, Mormons, any pagan religion. I even told classmates that God was going to destroy them if they didn't become J-dubs. It's gonna take years to undo the damage that I have caused.

Interesting study results.

71

Which bible character do you hate the most?

by Bonsai in

the more i think about it, the more i feel an extreme dislike for the apostle paul.

he was on par with hitler in his treatment of the jews before he "saw the light".

he replaced jesus teachings of love and mercy with a more legalistic, pharisaical concept of devotion to god.. any evil person can come to believe in god and worship him if the scales were literally and miraculously removed from his eyes.

Bonsai

Truthexplorer,

Every good story has to have a super villain. But I don't think the buck stops with just Satan. How about the fact that God doesn't do anything for anyone when they need clear answers for the severe problems or crisis of faith that they are facing? All we have to work with is a vague human sacrifice that supposedly happened in some remote place two millennia ago. Then we have a bunch of confusing, poorly written scrolls mashed together to make the modern day bible. I'd say there is plenty of blame to spread all around. I don't see god spending much time clearing up the confusion (unless it's to help someone find a roof leak so they can attend a convention).

Also, I agree with everyone's thoughts on David. I liked him as a kid because he slayed a giant. Nowadays, I'd bet killing a giant would get you disfella-shipped, or worse, put you away in a maximum security prison for a very long time.

14

What it takes to keep separate from the world

by Sabin in

check out this mag.

june 15th, 1980.. without a doubt, our appreciating just how wicked & corrupt satan's world is will help us to keep separate from the world.

such appreciation will make it easy for us to obey the command found at psalms 97:10 "o you lovers of jehovah, hate what is bad.

Bonsai

What does it take to keep separate from this world? A world that our loving god Jehover has trapped every vile and rebellious spirit creature in the universe? Well, one could try living on Mars - which is where I'd like to ship out the (K)GB.

104

Farewell

by EdenOne in

"don't be dismayed by good-byes.

a farewell is necessary before you can meet again.

and meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.

Bonsai

I'm sorry to hear about all of this Eden.

I understand that there are a variety of valid reasons that would necessitate leaving a site like this. But leaving because you don't like one or two posters is somewhat perplexing. I feel like you have disfellowshipped all of us because you can't get along with one or two individuals. I thought, leaving a religion that promotes intolerance would help us to be better than that.

Why do you punish those of us who have treated you with nothing but respect and given you a listening ear when you needed it? Doesn't seem fair to me.

The fact of the matter is, in any organization, company, culture/ town there are going to be those who are respectful and listen patiently. There are also those who don't give a crap what we think or feel. They are going to speak their mind without finesse or regard for our feelings. Some like to disagree just for the fun of it. No matter where you go you have to learn to deal with those people instead of running away. There isn't one poster in this forum that doesn't have good things about them.

71

Which bible character do you hate the most?

by Bonsai in

the more i think about it, the more i feel an extreme dislike for the apostle paul.

he was on par with hitler in his treatment of the jews before he "saw the light".

he replaced jesus teachings of love and mercy with a more legalistic, pharisaical concept of devotion to god.. any evil person can come to believe in god and worship him if the scales were literally and miraculously removed from his eyes.

Bonsai

Thanks for sharing everyone! So hard to choose which writer or character you hate the most as there are so many to dislike!

I've gotten to the point where whenever I try to pick up the bible I get a headache. The whole bible itself just irritates me in so many ways. Paradoxically, I'm in awe of it for its antiquity, yet loathe it for all the confusion, pain and suffering that it's ambiguous contents have caused mankind.