kls,
Does it do any good? I believe it does.
Nevertheless, even if it were totally false and totally bad, do you really think it necessary to hate it? Hate can do a lot of harm to the hater, you know.
B.
logansrun
JoinedPosts by logansrun
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149
Do you hate the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses?
by logansrun in.
a simple question: do you hate the religion of jehovah's witnesses?
feel free to elaborate on your answer.. b.
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149
Do you hate the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses?
by logansrun in.
a simple question: do you hate the religion of jehovah's witnesses?
feel free to elaborate on your answer.. b.
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logansrun
A simple question: Do you hate the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses?
Feel free to elaborate on your answer.
B.
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58
WHO IS JOHN GALT? (A survey on Ayn Rand)
by Terry insince its publication in 1957, atlas shrugged has sold more than five million copies.
perhaps a measure of the book's continuing influence may be estimated from the results of a survey conducted jointly by the library of congress and book-of-the-month club in 1991. the survey asked readers which books had made a difference in people's lives.
the results found atlas shrugged placing second only to the bible.
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logansrun
Funny that most psychological research -- and many people's personal experience -- show that humans are happiest when they are not self-centered, which is totally opposite to the core of Rand's philosophy. Where would the world be if Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Albert Schweitzer and other great figures who gave tirelessly and selflessly to humanity had followed the "ethical egoist" path advocated by Rand?
B.
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26
the reasons why we leave makes a difference...
by littletree ini have a dilemma (did i spell dilemma correctly?
): i am the only person i know, of any of my former witness associates, who left because i started doubting/stopped believing the teachings.
i did research on the internet, read books, talked to people from different religions, etc.
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logansrun
Donna,
I'm a "walk away" with some quasi-JW contacts as well. You might find the following thread that I wrote a while ago interesting:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/64267/1.ashx
B.
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26
the reasons why we leave makes a difference...
by littletree ini have a dilemma (did i spell dilemma correctly?
): i am the only person i know, of any of my former witness associates, who left because i started doubting/stopped believing the teachings.
i did research on the internet, read books, talked to people from different religions, etc.
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logansrun
Sometimes I wish I left for "morality" reasons.
I would tell them to take a walk in a public place -- for me it was the zoo -- and ask them to picture, really picture, all these people being destroyed by God. Ask them to invision (sp?) giant buildings crashing down on that young couple with a baby in a stroller -- the young childs brains splattering out all over the pavement simply because they are not Jehovah's Witnesses. (Sorry if this is graphic, but it's necessary). Ask them to think of 9-11 happening on a WORLDWIDE scale -- all caused by a "just" God who wants to destroy people for painting Easter eggs and for practicing masturbation.
That can't be God.
Of course, these girls might not be as emotionally ready for this. And they may not have the brains to reason about the religion logically. Oh well. If they just want to have gobs of sex and still believe in some retarded belief system there really is nothing more you can do. If you were a "good little JW" you may want to pay attention to them, though...since you might learn some important lessons, if you know what I mean.
B.
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78
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW
by Terry inthere are a large number of very smart people here.
a vast array of intelligences has a power and scope quite out of the ordinary.
ask a question you've always wanted to know (not necessarily religious in nature; just in general) from trivia to personal inquiry......let it out now.
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logansrun
I can understand why men feel this way, but my experience with women is that they just can't get enough of me, sexually speaking that is.
B.
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78
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW
by Terry inthere are a large number of very smart people here.
a vast array of intelligences has a power and scope quite out of the ordinary.
ask a question you've always wanted to know (not necessarily religious in nature; just in general) from trivia to personal inquiry......let it out now.
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logansrun
Oh, I forgot to add...
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22
Three years ago this month, I left the JWs...
by logansrun inthe exact day, lost in a memory that was unconcerned with the details of the moment, is unimportant.
what is important is that three years ago -- in may of 2002 -- i left the jws.
it was at the end of the month, for i realized soon afterword that this would be the first month since becoming a publisher that i did not turn in my time.
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logansrun
Thanks for all the nice replies. I was feeling a little bit down this morning, to be honest. Perhaps it's the gloomy weather Chicago has had the past few days, but hearing from some of you folks who have "been there" is really meaningful. I just hope I can continue to grow. I hope we all can grow.
B.
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22
Three years ago this month, I left the JWs...
by logansrun inthe exact day, lost in a memory that was unconcerned with the details of the moment, is unimportant.
what is important is that three years ago -- in may of 2002 -- i left the jws.
it was at the end of the month, for i realized soon afterword that this would be the first month since becoming a publisher that i did not turn in my time.
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logansrun
Running Man,
I conducted the book study that Tuesday, left that Sunday. I think it's a good bet that my congregation was flabberghasted (sp?) at my leaving.
The first year was the toughest, although year two was not a cake-walk either. If I could trace back when I started to make some real emotional-practical-spriritual progress I would point to last spring when I went to the Dallas Apostafest. I think it was a cathartic experience for me. Got rid of a lot of demons on that trip.
B.
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22
Three years ago this month, I left the JWs...
by logansrun inthe exact day, lost in a memory that was unconcerned with the details of the moment, is unimportant.
what is important is that three years ago -- in may of 2002 -- i left the jws.
it was at the end of the month, for i realized soon afterword that this would be the first month since becoming a publisher that i did not turn in my time.
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logansrun
The exact day, lost in a memory that was unconcerned with the details of the moment, is unimportant. What is important is that three years ago -- in May of 2002 -- I left the JWs. It was at the end of the month, for I realized soon afterword that this would be the first month since becoming a publisher that I did not turn in my time.
I left swiftly and unexpectedly. I was to read the Watchtower that day, the day my mother confronted me with what she knew were my doubts. I confessed I did not want anything to do with the Witnesses anymore; that I no longer believed in it and felt it was a cult. It was an emotional moment. My relief at my confession was soon followed by the full weight of what my words meant. I had for over a year and a half immersed myself in following questions that screamed in my mind. My faith crumbled inside. This fact soon became obvious by my absence at the Kingdom Hall, and what my mother must have told the elders and members of my family. What was said about me will probably forever be a mystery.
I can honestly say that for a long time after my dramatic departure from the world I was raised in and knew I was a complete mess. Emotionally, financially, mentally, academically, and otherwise. The pain of deciding to leave had a ripple effect on every aspect of my life. It has taken a long time to recover, if one can be said to really "recover" from it all.
For me, the last three years have been a period of continued questioning, mistakes and growth. My personality is deeply introspective, a character trait which is both a strenght and liablility. When I left the JWs I quickly immersed myself in the ex-Witness online community, starting at the now defunct "Beyond Jehovah's Witnesses" message board and then here at JWD. Along this twisted road I have turned my attention to areas of interest to me that layed dorment when I was a JW. What about other religions, such as Buddhism? What do history's philosophers teach? Where do I stand politically? Some people "sow their wild oats" upon leaving the Witnesses -- I read books.
On the road I have had to discover, through trial and error (mostly error) who I am and what the world is. I have tried on many hats: atheist, philosophical theist, libertarian, socialist, radical, conservative, post-modernist, rationalist, irrationalist. I've encountered and been excited by so many "ism's" that I've lost count. In the process I've stepped on people's toes -- and my own -- as I fumbled to dance with what I believe and what I want to stand for.
What do I stand for? Who am I really? I don't think that I can truthfully answer that question, nor can anyone about themselves, for that matter. I am reminded of what Lau Tzu said about the Tao: "Those who know it do not speak of it. Those who speak of it do not know it." All I can say with confidence is what I am not: I am not a Jehovah's Witness. I am not an immoralist. I am not a fundamentalist atheist or theist. Via negativa.
I have come to the understanding that leaving the Witnesses is a process, a developmental process of growth. This process sometimes means regressing a little. To go forward sometimes you have to step backward. For me, this has meant giving up "the spiritual life" for a while since leaving the JWs. I count this as one of those strange "backward to go forward" periods. It was accompanied by a certain meanness towards those who look at the world differently, religiously perhaps. It meant getting very worked up over the fact that some people think differently than I. But, considering the "group think" mentality that I was coming from, this meanness was regressive progress. I'm not sure if on-line arguments, backbiting, "letting it all out on the screen" and so forth is a necessary period of painful growth before one can look upon self and others with equanimity or not. All I know is that I feel different than I did three years ago. Or two. Or one.
I feel good. The journey continues...
Bradley