Bonsai

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Posts by Bonsai

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  40

  What was your ''the last straw that broke the camels back'' moment

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there is a limit to how much straw (long yellow grass) a camel can carry on its back.

  if you keep putting more straw on top, it will finally break the camel's back.

  when you are at the last straw you are finally angry and will not take any more.. my moment (to stop attending all watchtower meetings) was after the harsh treatment from the elders and fellow congregation members of my second cousin who was disfellowhipped as a teenager.

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  Bonsai

  I realized that everything I did - everything that everyone was doing - was motivated, not by love, but by fear and guilt.

  That's no way to live, or raise a family, so I left and never went back.
  
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  72

  Update on everything going on in JW Land - Insider Information

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'd like to start off by saying that i will be very vague in everything i say.

  i am fairly "high up" in jw land and have to be somewhat careful how i word and say stuff.

  sorry in advance if any specific details are left out.

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  Bonsai

  I found his insights on the rock star adoration of the GB to be quite interesting. Thanks depressed soul. Hope things are looking up for you.
  
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  54

  The Watchtower is not invincible

  by Coded Logic in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  despite claims to the contrary, there's no guarantee the watchtower will be around in a few decades time.

  and it seems to me there's ever mounting evidence that the opposite may well be true.

  but it's not just that recruitment is down and their defectors are up.

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  Bonsai

  Like most other parasitic religions, as long as there is a host to prey on they are here to stay. They might diminish in size and power, but they'll find a way to survive. All it takes is one global disaster, like a massive pandemic or war, to get people flooding into kingdom halls. Its only natural for people to find alternative ways to save their own skin.
  
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  56

  OK friends lets be honest, if a Nuclear Holocaust took place today how many of you would return to the KH?

  by James Mixon in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  speaking for my self, no way in hell.. this question to see if you really have been deprogramed,.

  do you 100% believe it is not the truth.. a fourth of the world hit by a nuclear attack..

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  Bonsai

  This is an interesting hypothetical situation that you present. In my own personal case, I love this beautiful planet more than I love human beings (I do love my fellow man, but just not as much). The ONLY reason I could excuse some extraterrestrial being for destroying civilization as we know it would be because that higher being is merely trying to save the planet from complete annihilation. That being said, I think if God actually existed, he would thwart the nuclear war before it got started. If one-fourth of the planet is already destroyed, then you can bet your last silver dollar that there is no God. Either way, I'd rather eat pig vomit than put myself under the yoke of the magnificent seven. Never again.
  
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  4

  Warwick - My Retirement Home

  by Bonsai in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i'm tired.

  i dedicated the majority of my life to the whims of seven men who live in an ivory tower.

  i've heard recently that they are about to finish a new retirement home in beautiful, rural upstate new york.

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  Bonsai

  You know what? I'm tired. I dedicated the majority of my life to the whims of seven men who live in an ivory tower. I've heard recently that they are about to finish a new retirement home in beautiful, rural upstate New York. I neglected to go to college and build up a meaningful career because they discouraged me from doing so. Now I can't even scrape together the front money needed to start a loan on a house.

  So how about this, I've decided that I'll go ahead and move my family to Warwick and retire there. I'll let them take care of me like they take care of the GB and their special "helperzzz". No loan, no bills, insurance is covered and I will be in want of nothing. It should be fine, right? After all, I have been sending them donations since I was a child (no ice cream for me).
  

  Help me out folks. What do I need to do to make this happen? What does the common sheepie need to do so that they can live out there days in plush Warwick?
  
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  475

  What is the alternative to JW?

  by Formerbrother in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i mean this with all due respect, i would like to hear from genuine people who think jw have it wrong and then what is the truth?.

  im not talking about silly little quibbles here and there.. is jehovah real?

  the the bible is word?

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  Bonsai

  For example, when Jesus said "this is how you can identify my true followers, those who have love amongst themselves" which other organisation apart from JWs can also say that, in almost every nation around the world?

  What love have you experienced so deeply from them? If you have experienced this unprecedented love, why are you here? I have experienced individual love from them. But as a whole, I have seen that the more intimate JWs get with each other, the more they start to eat each other. All that condescending judgement, pious facade and conditional love really ate at me to the point where there was no alternative other than to puke them out of my life. You can only be a brainless yes-man in that organization for so long, but go ahead and give it a try! Maybe you are the personality type that just loves to lap all that stuff up! Hopefully not.
  
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  475

  What is the alternative to JW?

  by Formerbrother in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i mean this with all due respect, i would like to hear from genuine people who think jw have it wrong and then what is the truth?.

  im not talking about silly little quibbles here and there.. is jehovah real?

  the the bible is word?

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  Bonsai

  We all know they tried to replace the divine name with titles such as lord or god, but the original YHWH is the divine name, we just have do the best we can translating it in each language, we may not get it quite right as we all say it differently around the world.

  No, actually we don't. Why force a translation of a name that even Jesus never used? If it was so important to make a modern, hybrid version of the tetragrammaton why didn't Jesus do so in his day? Where is the written record of him using the divine name? Why not just call god "father" or "Lord"? Truth shouldn't have to be forced or manipulated or modernized to fit the agendas of men. If god does indeed exist, then he/she/it knows who he/she/it is no matter what name/title you choose to call he/she/it.
  
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  72

  CEDARS (Again) Is it really about religious beliefs?

  by Listener in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  john cedars has posted his latest blog "the trouble with apostates (and why it shouldn't put you off becoming one)".

  i acknowledge that he is entitled to his opionin just as we are ours but i am disappointed in some of his comments.. at this stage i'll try to be objective about it.

  he is defending his own position after all.. what bothers me most is his comments about athiests and christians which he seems to identify as being in conflict with each other.

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  Bonsai

  Evangelical activists are annoying and, at times, can be downright repulsive. That's just the way it is. They don't take no for an answer. And when you stand your ground they abandon logic and immediately try to employ guilt tripping, fear mongering tactics to beat you down. An atheist/agnostic would never do that. They might be persistent in showing you scientific evidence. They might laugh in your face and laugh at your beliefs. They might even call you a hopeless zombie, but they would never try to psychologically terrorize you with the threat of eternal torment or the wrath of some deity in a triumphant, arrogant manner like the Evangelicals do.

  Not every ex - JDub is going to get along and see eye-to-eye with your particular brand of truth. Big deal. I would rather spend my time with those who respect me for who I am and not what i believe, or more importantly, don't believe.
  
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  475

  What is the alternative to JW?

  by Formerbrother in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i mean this with all due respect, i would like to hear from genuine people who think jw have it wrong and then what is the truth?.

  im not talking about silly little quibbles here and there.. is jehovah real?

  the the bible is word?

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  Bonsai

  The alternative would be to stop making assumptions, follow the evidence. I think humanism is a good alternative to JWism. If you want to believe in an invisible, uncommunicative god, why do so on other people's terms? Why be affiliated with an organized religion at all? The blind will lead the blind (and your wallet as well).
  
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  15

  A True short story

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  ____a true story___.

  shortly after the incident, i drove back along the pacific coast in a euphoric daze of confusion, tears, and exhilaration; there was no place for it to go inside my head.

  i pulled over on the shoulder of the road and sat in stunned silence.

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  Bonsai

  Lovely account of a miraculous event!

  Moments later, thoughts inside my head still reverberated as though I were a bell struck into vibrations beyond control. I trembled. My hands were shaking. I was laughing and nodding my head: first “yes” and then, “no.” It happened. No, it could not have happened.
  And yet—it did!

  I thought you were going to go on about how you had lost your virginity! Then you totally through me a curve ball out of left field with the whale experience.