well, it had to come to this eventually.. this winter my wife and daughter and i celebrated christmas with my in-laws, with whom we currently live (high school english teachers don't make much money!).
my in-laws have been inactive for about two years, and this year, they decided to celebrate the holidays.
one reason for this is that their son, who is eight, has multiple disabilities -- can't see, trouble hearing, other, quite sever, issues -- and christmas, with its presents and wrapping and loud carols and trees and wreaths is, well, a very accessible experience for him, the way, say, my kingdom ministry and the watchtower are not.. well, as a household we went all out.
So sorry to hear of your family's problems, Dedalus. Could it be possible that God is really directing this organization and their cold, heartless policies? Maybe he wants loving, kindhearted caring people to disassociate themselves before its too late.
Warrigal
in 1986, when space shuttle challenger exploded in mid air, it seemed to be a greater disaster than what happened today with columbia.
both are just as bad, but it seems that we get used to bad news.
maybe since 9/11, we got used to tragedies on a greater scale.
This morning when I heard the news of the Columbia's loss on the radio, I felt as if someone had kicked me in the stomach. I'll never get used to the tragic loss of even one life. This was so unexpected as they were so close to landing.
With time the pictures and the reports will pass into history. Today it is too raw.
hello all.. i used to think, early 1999 to be precise, that i might be following satan and sininng against the holy spirit by deliberatley leaving the organization.
in my list of 30-odd nails in my jw coffin i have this.
i thought it might help the lurkers who wonder the same.. peace.
Where does the Holy Spirit stand in the matter of child abuse? If God condemned rape and molestation as a sin worthy of death, how could questioning the teachings of the org. be the unforgiveable sin? If the org. welcomes a child molester back into its fold, does that constitute a resurrection?
If the Holy Spirit is God's active force; why didn't it 'get active' to protect the children who were victimized?
Warrigal
contrary to what many romance books state, romance has little to do with jewelry, chocolates, roses or sex.
romance doesnt have to be expensive or sap hours from your day.
romance is not a once or twice a year thing.
But I still want CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!! and jewelry and cash and....mostly CHOCOLATE.
Warrigal....of the gettin' more materialistic by the minute class
a while ago i posted an essay "why do we tell our stories?
" http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=32755&site=3 this is why we wait so long to do that.
in the world victims remain quiet about abuse.
Thanks, Lady Lee. That sums it up beautifully. Too many victims are told that they won't be believed if they tell and they fall for that story. It is truly heartbreaking that the very people they turn to for spiritual support are the ones enslaving them in the cycle of abuse.
Warrigal
when one studies the bible, one is encouraged to "run to jehovah, for he is a strong tower," jehovah is supposed to let us "roll our burdens" on him, "throw" our burdens on him, ones are told that he will lift us up like eagles, jehovah is salvation.. with all that said, my question is: why did the governing body and elders in the various congregations think that they were protecting jehovah's name by not coming forth with truth on matters of the court.
whenever a jw is defrauded or molested, i would think that jehovah is strong enough to clear his own name.
after all, jw's are told that they can sanctify jehovah's name but only jehovah can vindicate his own name.. aren't they playing god by trying to cover up?
Another good point! Thats what I like about this board....the ability to freely discuss anything about the org.
First of all, it was this org who hijacked God's name and applied it to themselves based upon the scripture in Isaiah. The use of the personal name of God was never authorized or justified or intended to be bestown upon any group of men....otherwise Jesus would have freely used his father's name in his dealings with his followers. They would have been the original Jehovah's Witnesses.
But Jesus' followers were known as Christians. They followed the Christ who was mediator between God and men. They didn't take the father's name in vain and use it as a blind for their badness. Their actions never brought shame upon God the father.
The organization will suffer God's vengeance for their actions. And thats another reason why I don't want to be known as a Jehovah's Witness.
Warrigal
let me start by saying that i deplore much of the teachings of the watchtower and am convinced that it is not "the truth.
" either through ignorance, error or deliberate action they have caused great heartache for thousands and unknown heartache for millions.
i have thoroughly disconnected myself from their teachings and would rightly speak out against what i know to be harmful in that organization.
I see your point, logansrun, but you must remember that for many of us the local elders represented the WTS. If an elder was one who opposed men wearing jeans, that was the impression one got of the entire organization. Each KH was its own little world and those inhabiting it were told that this is what Jehovah said.
If you had no way of getting the 'big picture', you went by what you experienced. I was a member of a congregation where the presiding elder hated cats....and I owned cats. I was counselled for wearing cat earrings. Nothing I said made any difference.....cats were not to be kept by a true witness of Jehovah.
Then when I got the bigger picture....the Dateline expose for one thing....it all seemed to blow up at once. All the lies, the deceptions, the petty power struggles. So for me...yes it was easy to justify all the criticisms heaped upon the society. Now I'm slowly learning to separate the wheat from the chaff and viewing the org. with a critical eye.
Warrigal
as an apostate, or disfellowshipped or disassociated person/jw.
do you find that you judge xjw's based on the reason they were either disfellowshipped or disassociated?
like, do you view persons disfellowshipped for smoking, different than those who committed adultery?
At the KH I used to attend, the announcement was made after the Service Meeting that "so and so has been disfellowshipped." The congregation was never told the reason for the action. The same was true of disassociated ones. Talk about grist for the rumor mill !! In the parking lot after the meeting had ended there were lots of reasons and speculations as to why "so and so" was no longer with the congregation. Warrigal
whether this is going to work out or flop, i am not sure.
the goal however is to make my eating habits public in an attempt to prevent myself from straying off my diet.
i have not always been overweight but currently i am friggen huge.
Hooray for you, Jelly; One piece of advice, for what its worth. You'll probably start on a walking program as thats the easiest form of excercise....don't have to join a health club or buy a bicycle....but do buy yourself a good, supportive pair of shoes that are suited for walking.
My walking program initially derailed because my feet hurt so bad. I invested in some walking shoes and premium socks and now I cover many miles every day. It does make a difference in your resolve to keep going if your dogs aren't barkin'.
Warrigal (out and walking before dawn)
nearly everyone i know is 40 yrs old this year, even today a good friend reached the big 40. .
i'm 40 in september (omg) and i dont feel any older than when i was 18. do you?
did you dread it, did you make a fuss?
Hey Brummie! By 40 I was well into my second childhood. Past 50 and I got to do the things I missed in my teens. Past 60.....the sky's the limit. Enjoy your age. Do everything you want to do. Remember to Play every day. Its very important.
Warrigal of the does what she wants ta do class
