Posts by no-zombie

5

In Defense of the Crusades

by aqwsed12345 in

christians in the eleventh century were not paranoid fanatics.

muslims really were gunning for them.

by the time the crusades started, muslims had already captured two-thirds of the christian world.

no-zombie

To aqwsed:

It seems to me that you are a professionally educated person with some interest in early history. That being the case, I'd thought you may appreciate a little feedback on your posts.

While no one could deny the effort you go to in making your position. The shear mass of your posts could scare many away from reading it, without a precis at the beginning to explain why someone should. Personally I find thesis statements do not adequately suffice in this regard, as a result I try the more simpler approach of using leading questions or problems to help engage an audience. And I do think that it is important to consider our readers, for if we needlessly tire them out, our well intent labors may prove to be in vane.

regards

20

The Hell of the POMI!

by The Bethelite in

jw
friends

i called a jehovah's witness friend of mine a couple weeks ago, yes i still consider him a friend though he would not say the same of me.

i've known him for almost 40 years.

our families went on many vacations together including my only trip back to bethel in 1996. this trip was made with 40 other "brothers and sisters.

no-zombie

While I have nothing personal against this guy ...

Let us never forget that people just like him, would turn any one of us in to a body of Elders for just commenting on this site. We don't have to be an alcoholic, an adulterer, a child abuser or a murder ... no ... just the sin of thinking for ourselves would be enough to earn Jehovah's loving 'medicine', that he is should now be appreciative of receiving.

14

A Real Man

by Vanderhoven7 in

the meaning of true love from a man.. by elizabeth rossi, freelance writer .

i hate to say this but most women will go their entire lifetime and never experience the meaning of actual true love.. it's even slightly depressing to think that most people will never understand how powerful this picture actually is; a prime example of how men should be treating their partner with everyday that passes.. we unfortunately live in a generation with men who have no idea what it takes to be a real man.. let me give you a couple examples of a real man ....... a real man asks about your day and genuinely cares about the answer.. a real man respects your boundaries and never forces you to anything you're not ready to do.. he makes time for you, and takes that time to learn and understand who you are as a person.. a real man consistently shows you the definition of effort with every day that passes.. he will call you randomly throughout the day just to check on you and your mental health.. a real man is undeniably committed to you and looks for new ways to fall in love with you with every day that passes.. he makes protecting your heart a number one priority.. a real man never makes permanent decisions based on temporary emotions.. he never confuses you on where you stand in his life.. a real man apologizes when he is wrong and stays true to his character.. he doesn't mind hurting other people's feeling to protect yours.. a real man gives you affection without sexual expectation.. a real man refuses to entertain any women that isn't you.. he has genuine intentions with you from day one and shows you how it truly feels to be a priority rather an option.. a real man will help you heal from the trauma that nobody apologized for.. a real man values you and would never put themselves in a position to lose you.. take my advice and wait for the man that never let's you fall asleep at night questioning your own self worth.. .

.

no-zombie

I don't like at all this modern conversion on 'what is a real man' as its intention has never been at all to motivate men to improve, but rather used as an emotionally driven weapon to tear down and insult. Because who can live up to a series of idealized expectations continuously? No one of course, not a man or a woman for that matter.

But I know that I'm 'real' ... I might not be perfect, but I'm 'real' enough.

49

Q about Jesus' sacrifice

by oncebitten in

jw
friends

i have several jw family members.

i have been shunned many years now.

i was not baptized, but i was indoctrinated as a child.

no-zombie

Its sort of more complicated than my previous post because there is the concept in Witness publications that the Christian scriptures was written for the anointed ones. And seeing that the Great Crowd of worshipers who have an earthly hope came much latter in times ... we get our rewards only because of our association with the remnant of the 144,000.

This is why this discussion of who, when and why sins are forgiven is a little muddy (well a lot muddy the deeper you dig) in this religion.

49

Q about Jesus' sacrifice

by oncebitten in

jw
friends

i have several jw family members.

i have been shunned many years now.

i was not baptized, but i was indoctrinated as a child.

no-zombie

Most Witnesses are ignorant of the current views from the Governing Body, as things change often. As a result so see things as if they had taken a snapshot of their beliefs when they were baptized, and keep it as the basis of how they view the Bible throughout their lives. And there are others who have never bothered reading their Watchtower study articles thoroughly and only pick up the highlights, misunderstanding things along the way. So we should expect to encounter those like your family, who aren't in tune with current doctrine.

But to answer your question about Jesus and sin, more directly. Biblically you are 100% right, however because the Organization has chosen to push Jesus into the background (in favor of underlining the name of God), Jesus' roll is not generally elaborated at the meetings or discussion articles. The example of King David get more air time than Jesus actually. Thus even from this angle, we can see why Witnesses may be ill informed about the Messiah's place in our lives.

14

Any news on JWs in the Ukraine?

by careful in

the war in the ukraine has been going on for 2+ years now, yet very little has been put forth by the org on how the witnesses are doing there.

especially of interest would be just how the org has implemented their relatively new 'alternative service is ok' policy in lieu of real military service in a place where warfare is actually occurring.

yet nothing is forthcoming from the gb on this matter, or any other issues, really.. does anyone know what's been going on the regarding the witnesses there?.

no-zombie

Mariupol is in Russian controlled territory now.

14

Any news on JWs in the Ukraine?

by careful in

the war in the ukraine has been going on for 2+ years now, yet very little has been put forth by the org on how the witnesses are doing there.

especially of interest would be just how the org has implemented their relatively new 'alternative service is ok' policy in lieu of real military service in a place where warfare is actually occurring.

yet nothing is forthcoming from the gb on this matter, or any other issues, really.. does anyone know what's been going on the regarding the witnesses there?.

no-zombie

Hi Careful,

I read a few months ago that because of the large number of draft dodgers, the Ukrainian courts are now beginning imprisoning those who do so. However as a former soviet country (newly turned to the West) I be surprised if they actually have an "alternative service' clause on their books. If they did, there would not have been the need for so many run away.

However I would like to know how are they going for another reason.

As I talked about in another post, I'm not a believer in waiting for the Organization's disaster relief committee being of any more use than turning my pain into a photo op for the next 'watching the world' article.

Yes like you said, some Witness families in Europe have how been housing Witness refugees in their apartments for over two years. And while it might have been fun for the first few weeks (and caused quite a buzz at the local Kingdom Hall) I sure by now that feeling is quite old. And for those who have been forced to return, was there a line of silver JW.*** trucks filled with building supplies, furniture, food and clothing, waiting for them inside Ukraine so they can restart their lives? Yeh ... I would like to know that answer to that question too.

6

Massachusetts JW exile

by oldstory70 in

i am way late to the party on this message board but i saw that there were some folks from the new england area who had stories about familiar jws that i grew up with.

my story, as brief as i can tell it, goes like this.. i was born in boston, ma in the early 70s to two my mom and dad who were in their early 20s and woefully unprepared for marriage and raising kids.

dad becomes drunk and violent, mom is bipolar, desperate and high strung and looking anywhere for help.

no-zombie

Welcome oldstory,

You'll find many of us have been wounded in some way, and this place is good for decompressing if you have a need. Anyway welcome aboard.

no-zombie

40

How does the Govering Body get enlightenment?

by no-zombie in

from the earliest of times of the catholic church's ecumenical councils were used to make major changes to its doctrinal direction.

decisions were made by bishops, they were ratified by the pope ... and it was done.

and the laity had to accepted them or not.. and while splinter catholic religions accepted most of these councils, non-trinitarian faiths which developed latter (of which jehovah's witnesses are apart) did not.

no-zombie

Of course in the 21st century there is going to be problems and issues, not directly commented upon in the Bible. And there are certain passages that are obviously, unclear. So in regards to this whole 'enlightenment' topic, I'm quite ok with speculation, provided it is talked about in that manner ... and treated differently to the commandments set out in stone.

Unfortunately this distinction doesn't exist with the Governing Body. And as a result, we find 'utterances born from holy spirit' that need to be revised, on a regular basis. Which I would think is rather embarrassing.

40

How does the Govering Body get enlightenment?

by no-zombie in

from the earliest of times of the catholic church's ecumenical councils were used to make major changes to its doctrinal direction.

decisions were made by bishops, they were ratified by the pope ... and it was done.

and the laity had to accepted them or not.. and while splinter catholic religions accepted most of these councils, non-trinitarian faiths which developed latter (of which jehovah's witnesses are apart) did not.

no-zombie

In the past, I used to believe like what TonusOh said in that "that they prayed to Jehovah, and God would use his Holy Spirit to guide their discussions and influence their decisions". But in time I saw that even that had a flaw, because the facts and the Society's history showed that sometimes Jehovah directed the Governing Body and sometimes he didn't. How could you know, which was which?

Even the claim that God 'influences" their decisions is too fluffy. In that, how does it work exactly? Wasn't that just another kind of 'revelation'? That's what used to get me going. How did anything work exactly? I mean in the first century, the apostles didn't have this problem. Either Jesus, an angle or a miracle directly told them what to do or what to believe and that was it.

I have the same sort problem when people say that Jehovah blessed them. Like really? Did he personally bless you ... or did someone read the Bible and decide to do something nice?

As a result I have my own conclusions about this topic today, but while those in the congregation love to talk about being 'God's special people', I've found that in the end, the actual mechanics of how things works is rather short on detail and sometimes very hard to believe.