Posts by Bonsai

35

Japanese sister woke up with this Watchtower article !

by nakanozzi in

a japanese sister who recently woke up revealed me that she became extremely suspicious about the organization after reading watchtower article .oct.15 2015page31.

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Bonsai

Zeb, "Omedetou gozaimasu" is "congratulations" in Japanese.

Divergent you are right. They embrace the flabby seven as their new, modern emperors and their loyalty has no limits.

26

A troubling visit with a satisfying end.

by Bonsai in

so, i've been out for 2 years now.

just picked up and walked away from the wacky religion that tried to control every part of my life through fear and guilt.

i've been wondering as the months go by what would happen when an elder finally showed up at my door and pressed the issue as to why i ceased all activity and then tried to reactivate me.

So, I've been out for 2 years now. Just picked up and walked away from the wacky religion that tried to control every part of my life through fear and guilt. I've been wondering as the months go by what would happen when an elder finally showed up at my door and pressed the issue as to why I ceased all activity and then tried to reactivate me. Would I fly into a rage and tell him to get the heck off my property? Would I chase him to his car while screaming obscenities at him? Or would I calmly get into a debate with him about TTATT and archeological discoveries? Would I feel compassion for him and view him as a victim of fear and superstition, thus avoiding any controversial topics and part on good terms? Depending on the day and my mood, any of those scenarios are possible.

I have no wish to DA for the sake of my wife's side of the family still in. But if push comes to shove, I'd willingly attend a JC and teach them what real truth is. If I had it my way I'd do whatever it takes to wash my hands of the whole fear mongering bloody lot of them. To hell with their fear, guilt and obsessive worship of a man made organization and its capricious, violent, baby butchering deity.

So, today was the day when that persistent, nosy elder finally caught me home and completely off guard. I was sitting in my garden near the gate of the entrance of my house, watching the butterflies flit about in the butterfly garden. Suddenly the elder comes up and starts speaking to me.

At first I was livid that my peace was ruined by his visit. These people cant take no for an answer. He's been calling on my house once a month now for the last six months and up until now we were lucky in not being home most of the time. The few times we were home, we'd retreat to the interior and avoid what was likely to end up being a confrontation between him and I. It's just bloody bad luck that one of my neighbors is also a return visit of his, giving him the excuse to show up at my door from time to time.

Well, he starts in on the small talk ignoring the look of irritation on my face which any good publisher would know to be a sign for them to make a quick exit. Well, surprisingly, my anxiety and rage quickly dissippated to nothing as I thought, what the hell, it's a beautiful day and what can this harmless old dude do to me?

So we engaged in meaningless banter and he went on his way. But before he left a troubling look came over his face. He said, " I should probably tell you that we can no longer go to the kingdom hall near here anymore. Our congregation and the 2 congregations sharing the hall have to start attending another hall that is 30 minutes from here. Our hall will be sold off."

I was so happy! 7 congregations being squished into a small hall that is way off the beaten path of where I live. Good riddance! Almost every day I had to drive by that hall and it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Now it will be gone! Poof! What a delicious ending to an unsavory visit. I don't know about the rest of the world, but in Japan, the JWs are in decline!

52

Any thought behind your " Avatar"

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

i think that's the correct phrase?

anyway when i first came here, that little picture that "the rebel" hides behind, was a self portrait of a very sad man, who simply had too much knowledge.

now i feel after 7 months here, i should repaint that " avetor" give some happiness to the eyes, and a contented smile to the lips.. in short my " avetor" was a self portrait of a man with too much knowledge.

Bonsai

I love bonsai - the horticultural art of training trees to grow in flat containers. My avatar is a picture of Mt. Fuji, which I visit often and in my opinion is the very essence of beauty and power.

Many westerners see "bonsai" and they mistake it for "banzai" which can be a war cry or just mean "Hurray!" or "Long life to you!"

18

A world without religion? Any different?

by punkofnice in

i wonder what it would be like, without any religion in the world?

i don't think it would be like 'imagine' by lennon.. i don't believe it will ever happen.

even if it did, people are the same.

Bonsai

I'd sure like to give it a try. Religions can always be reinvented later on. It'd be nice to have a break from all the superstition and guilt tripping for 300 years or so.

10

Marking Talk of Couple

by Hadriel in

at no time did the elders ever mention apostasy.

days later after a shepherding call which only covered child abuse handling they are being marked as if they are trying to get their own followers etc.

so so sad.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ktm7fsqwrw.

Bonsai

I doubt this guy giving the talk made it through high school. " Is the organization perfect? Well no, it's ran by imperfect men."

And no one would say click on this. Just about anyone on here can say what they need to say or use the org's own publications to show the holes and fallacies in their teachings.

150

Start A Butterfly Garden!

by Bonsai in

jw
friends

time to take a break from debating religion.

take in a breath of fresh air and be healed by the wonders of nature around you.. how many of you have a garden?

how many have a nice flower patch to go with your vegetable garden?

Bonsai

Kaik, thanks for the report! I love azaleas, too. More importantly, the swallowtail butterflies love their flowers as well.

Xanthippe, It may be a noxious weed, but as least the Lamiums's yellow flower heads look pretty cool! I have a noxious vine that is trying to take over my garden . It is called "hekusokazura" in Japanese. "he (pronounced 'hey')" means fart, "kuso" means poop, and "kazura" means vine, so it's called "fart poop vine". Touch the leaves and you can guess what awful smell it gives off. I'd rather be battling your invasive weed than mine!

Black Sheep, Thank you for protecting the monarchs! Their survival is dependent on people like you! The fact that you would let an old one land and die on your shoulder says a lot about the kind of person you are. Such patience, compassion and mercy! Most people would just brush it off and let it fall to the ground where it would slowly die from a million ant bites. I, too have to limit the amount of caterpillars I let in my garden, otherwise all the hosts plants would quickly be exhausted and there would be no future generations of butterflies to look forward to.

Grreat Teacher, sorry about the squirrels. If you can't beat them, run away from them! I moved to a region where they don't exist! Those damn weasels however! Grrr!

150

Start A Butterfly Garden!

by Bonsai in

jw
friends

time to take a break from debating religion.

take in a breath of fresh air and be healed by the wonders of nature around you.. how many of you have a garden?

how many have a nice flower patch to go with your vegetable garden?

Bonsai

Xanthippe, I don't think Monardna bee balm is invasive. They will spread out in rich, moist soils. They have shallow roots so you can just rip out the ones you don't like and give them away if you want. Their red or purple flowers smell great and the butterflies and bees will flock to them. I tried growing them here, but the zone is too hot and humid so they succumb to mildew almost every time.

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

Cold Steel, as I see it, it would appear to me that, evidently, It's interesting to note that whatever you are smoking must be some pretty good stuff. Hook a brother up! You must be seeing talking unicorns and resurrected dinosaurs playing chess in your new world visions.

Regardless of when predation began, ...Oh, how you love to move the goal posts when it suits you.

10

I am a happy Man!!!

by Aprostate Exam in

i am a happy man!

i texted my mother a couple of questions.

i asked if she thought that my children will die in armagedon even if they were good, and had a possitive outlook on life.

Bonsai

Para bien! My madre assured me the same thing. I'm always a bit anxious that after an assembly or the memorial she will go back into full cult mode and cut us off. Yet, so far so good!

Massive earthquakes in southern Japan

by Bonsai in

a strong 6.2 earthquake a few days ago in southern japan was followed by a magnitude 7.3 quake this morning in nearly the same area.

looks like a war zone there.

thankfully, i don't live in the area where the earthquakes and aftershocks are occurring.

Bonsai

A strong 6.2 earthquake a few days ago in southern Japan was followed by a magnitude 7.3 quake this morning in nearly the same area. Looks like a war zone there. Thankfully, I don't live in the area where the earthquakes and aftershocks are occurring.

Apartment buildings collapsed like an accordion, landslides and fires occurred last night.

Only God would have known these earthquakes would happen. What a perfect time for god to show his love and concern for mankind when a natural disaster occurs. What a perfect time to prove to those who have doubts that he does indeed exist, yet god does nothing and we are left to clean up the mess.

No wonder when JW's go to someone's door people turn them away. How can you take any god seriously that does nothing to help mankind when they need him the most?