I was embarrassed. I'd sometimes rather have walked over burning coals than explain the wacky beliefs I was supposed to have had. Everything from someone sneezing to the blood issue and holidays and political involvement had me cringing whenever they would come up.
rocketman
JoinedPosts by rocketman
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54
Do you think a lot of JWs are ashamed of their beliefs?
by I quit! inthe reason i asked this is because i'm going to the funeral of a man who wasn't a jw.
my mother-in-law has lived in the same neighborhood as him for years and knows his wife.
i asked her if she was going attend the funeral service.
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98
It might be better to not even have the Internet. April 15th WT
by life is to short inok i was just blown away when i heard this today while driving, at first i thought it was the some old same old but then it went on and it seems like it is on a different level.. the subheading is "guard your heart by exercising self-control.
on page 27 par 17 it says "one way a person could wonder into the foolish course of the "young man in want of heart" is by aimlessly flipping though television channels or surfing the internet.
whether intentionally or not, he might chance upon sexually stimulating scenes.
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rocketman
What Lunatic Faith wrote in her first post really caughet my attention - being lectured on dress because jw men supposedly can't control their own impulses. Wow, that woman lecturing her was truly deluded. There they are, immersed in their religion, and they can't even control their roving eyeballs in the Kindom Hall, while God's Word is (supposedly) being discussed. Good grief. And yet we know that this religion is saturated with sexual obsession, so it doesn't surprise me.
As far as the Internet goes, Mad Sweeney's comment is something I'll echo - how many jws really decide not to have Internet? We're never told who these people are - they are under the guise of "some". Now, there probably are a few who don't have it, but that's likely because they can't afford it. If a jw can afford it, it's a pretty good bet they'll have it.
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Do not let work get in the way of pioneering
by life is to short inthe april 15th wt is strange and it just throws things in here and there that are kind of out of sort.
i think it sticks in your mind more like hey i probably should pioneer when they throw things in that are kind of in left feild.. like this example on pages 16 and 17 it is talking about making decisions and in paragraph 15 it says "for example a congregation publisher might decide to pioneer.
will he succeed?
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rocketman
Miseryloveselders wrote:
"
Part of why I stopped donating any money to the WT is because of articles like this. They have a lot of nerve to print this kind of stuff. When you consider the wear and tear on your vehicle, the money spent on clothing and shoes, the time spent "willfully volunteering" for a publishing company, after a while one has to say that enough is enough. What more do you want from us? All the time spent in field service, preparing for field service, preparing for and attending meetings, its never enough for them. Never enough. They want you to pay for the CO and his wife, pay for some mediocre speaker from Bethel to come and deliver a talk at your local congregation, pay for rooms at hotels that they have contracts with to stay during the conventions and assemblies, pay for suits, ties, dress shirts, shoes, brake pads, gas, oil changes, the electric bill at the hall, the gas bill at the hall, the water bill at the hall, the phone bill at the hall, clean the hall after the meeting, spring cleaning at the hall, fall cleaning at the hall, take the CO and his wife out to eat, take the visiting speaker and his family out to eat, occasionally take the DO and his wife out to eat, drive around doing return visits, etc.. It never ends. On top of that, none of that is good enough for them as they want you to do more. Please.
You know, Babylon the Great actually has services and charities for the general public. Everything from hospitals, soup kitchens, temporary shelter for the homeless, funds for people suffering abroad in various countries dealing with disease, earthquakes, hunger, poverty, you name it. What do Jehovah's Witnesses have? A "volunteer" service offerering literature and free bible studies that nobody wants. Those volunteering are routinely and systematically made to feel that their work is never good enough. The only charitable work Jehovah's Witnesses do is provide free shelter, the best medical care, and luxury living to anonymous shysters at Bethel."
This is just about the best two-paragraph summation of the jw religion that I have ever read. Excellent post on an excellent thread.
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Stupid not just once but twice, and it is praised
by therevealer in12 the watchtower ?
5 what good results there can be when.
children are trained to keep a simple eye!.
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rocketman
Let's just say, absurd as it seems, that this story is true. What does it do? It does nothing but set up another generation of jw youths for failure. Where are all the jws who, in the past, did the same thing - turned down a good opportunity in order to pioneer? How many of them are at or near retirement with nothing saved? How many are having health issues and can actually afford health insurance? How many can do anything to help someone else financially? - They can't even take care of themselves and have already lived the majority of their lives dependent on others for help.
I know this because I've seen it in my own family. Relatives who are aging and have no real way to retire and will work until they die or are too old to enjoy life. Relatives who lost a spouse and can barely fend for themselves, often needing help. It's sad. They gave their best to the WTS in the 1960s and 70s and the decades beyond, and now have virtually nothing.
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55
Believers: Does Jesus Personally Talk to You?
by leavingwt insome of my christian co-workers have related to me how jesus has spoken to them.
one of the comments that i remember specifically, was this:.
"jesus put it on my heart to [take a certain course of action].
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rocketman
Badseed wrote: "
There's a church across the river from where I live. I went there a few times, enjoyed parts of it. I like to be honest about my past so struck a conversation with the minister, 1- told him I had no money to give him 2- I was an x jw, etc. I always felt they really didn't like me because I'm not into pastor worship. He's not god and I don't believe god talks to him more than anyone else. Not what he claims though.
So a while back, since they have some real estate, I wanted to rent an appartment from them. The reason was a new tenant had moved into my building and she was a real pain, dirty, slob, bad element and I wanted to get away from her at all cost. The pastor's wife told me that her and her husband had prayed over it and the answer they got was that they should not rent to me. Six months down the road, the slob upstairs moves out, guess where?? In one of the pastor's rentals. Now that's payback.LOL Within a year, that real estate will lose half its value, it will be totally destroyed. They just finished two weeks of renovating her old rent here, the place stunk, not even funny.
My point? The pastor and his wife prayed god, I didn't, yet they got stuck with the rotten apple and my wishes were answered. I wonder what god was trying to tell them? I have yet to meet the wife so I can tell her. It'll make my day when I do."
This experience kind of sums up my feeling on the matter. How do I REALLY know whether God or Jesus has in some way communicated with me or worked in my life somehow? I just don't know. I don't speak to God in prayer - I just can't speak audibly or inaudibly to someone I can't see. I do read the Bible and try to do what is right. And sometimes I feel like, when things in my life work out a certain way, that maybe, just maybe, God/Jesus was looking out for me. But I have doubts, because it's hard to know for sure. I can't tell whether something is just happenstance (like the experience by Badseed) or whether it's somehow God-directed. I should add that maybe Badseed's experience shows that God was trying to teach the pastor and his wife a lesson. I mean, who knows?
The other issue I have is that too many awful things happen to people to believe that God is somehow pulling the strings. If he's behind it for good, is he not behind it for bad? And if so, why allow such terrible things? And what about people who survive plane crashes and such as say that God was with them - why them and not the ones who died?
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For those that are and have been married,did the JW lifestyle aggravate "typical" marital and family problems?
by miseryloveselders ini ask this in consideration of last week's and this week's congregation bible study which focuses on the responsibilities of christian parents, and husbands.
i also ask this in harmony with itscrap&theyknowit's thread which is a heluva opening post by the way.
i linked it below for those that aren't familiar with it.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/206133/1/why-i-eventually-left.
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rocketman
It put a strain on my marriage. My wife always hated the subservient role that was expected of women. The two of us saw eye-to-eye on how to raise our child generally but my wife was very gung-ho when it came to the so-called truth, expecting the kid to have her bible reading done and taking a hard line on several issues, while I was more laid-back about such things generally.
It did little or nothing to soldify the marriage, despite the constant admonishment. In fact, especially as my role in the congregation increased as especially after becoming an elder, I felt that being 'used' heavily, getting up on the platform and speaking on various subjects including family life, just left me more open to criticism on how I was falling short of such ideals. For example, I didn't want to do a home bible study, and yet there I would be conducting meeting parts which at times included the need for a family study.
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Crazy Is Flirting a Sin? Q & A
by Iamallcool inchristianity -- christian living/is flirting a sinadvertisement.
expert: phillip senn - 10/10/2008.
question.
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rocketman
I don't view it as "sinful", but I do view it as problematic. For one thing, I can't seem to tell whether I'm being flirted with or whether she's just being nice and maybe a bit gregarious. I think some women (and men) get labeled as flirtatious when in fact they are simply friendly. That's why I've soured on it over the years. Unless both people are definitely trying to send a signal that they want to date, I just don't see the value of it.
I realize that some people just want to flirt in order to put a 'feeler' out, to see whether someone might be interested. That's fine, but I think that, unless it's an unmistakable signal, it can be misconstrued. And worse yet is when friendliness is mistaken as flirting.
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Feb.20 WT Study: "Reap Blessings Through God's Spirit-Guided King!
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite induring the brain-numbing lesson this week, i looked ahead at the article for next week.
it's hard to get past the title alone:.
reap blessings through god's spirit-guided king!.
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rocketman
Over the years they've come up with some very clumsily-worded (and corny) titles. The _________________ - Why?, _____________ - How? and _______________ - When? titles always made me cringe. There are too many to number, but we've all seen them. Just insert whatever topic you want and then dash question. I'm still waiting for "Sex - Why?"
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26
Thank you, and Goodbye
by cyberjesus inthanks once again to all of those who post in this forum.
and good bye to those of you who choose to leave.. the healing process of exiting a cult is a slow one.
specially if you were born in it.
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rocketman
A few years ago, I considered myself as "fading" from this board (already faded completely from jw-dum). I only visted the board about once every few months. All the discussions about the religion were, at that point, actually kind of hampering my recovery. I felt as if the jws still had a hold on me. The board had helped immensely, but it seemed like time to move on.
But after a couple years, I started visting more often, and now I'm back almost daily. I no longer feel the 'hold' of the religion, so being here no longer feels like a fight. The subject matter is very thought-provoking, and if I want to avoid jw-related topics, there's plenty else to read and comment on. So I'm back, and I'm glad I didn't start a Farewell Thread.
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Sports That Do Not Interest You
by minimus inone sport that i think is lame is pro hockey.
it's the only sport where players are expected to beat the crap out of each other.
it's not as much about scoring but how many punches were thrown!
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rocketman
I'm a football (American football) fan first and foremost, but I've been at hockey games and watched it on TV since the 1970s.
I don't like the fighting either and I see no purpose in it. Hockey is a physical sport, with plenty of chances to retaliate short of fisticuffs. So if a guy takes you to the boards and you don't like it, you'll get your chance to do the same. I don't see why a fight is needed.
You'll notice that there are seldom any fights in NFL games. Now, I'm sure there's plenty of nasty stuff going on. But if a player doesn't like it, he will get a chance to 'right the wrong' by planting a hit or block on someone. So the score can be evened without resorting to a fist fight.
What I'm saying is that, the more physical a sport is, the LESS need there is for fighting.
The one sport in which fighting does not surprise me is baseball. If a pitcher throws at a guy's head, the batter has no way to even things up unless he charges the mound. I'm not saying it's right, but in baseball, the lack of physical contact would seem to heighten the sense of frustration in some instances.