i originally wrote this blog a few years ago, but yesterday a friend that is struggling to decide whether or not she will tell her family that she no longer accepts the jehovahs witness religious doctrine reminded me of it so i am re-sharing (with updates).. its not always completely freeing to come out of the closet (as an atheist in my case) and i wanted her to understand that.. i had a very strange realization recently: i dont know what its like to be someones adult child.
my parents didnt get the privilege of seeing me come of age.
i didnt get walked down the aisle when i got married.
Thank you for your beautiful post. I've been grieving my parents and family for over 25 years.
I keep the following quote in mind. It's a small comfort on dark nights like tonight (my girlfriend and I are talking about getting married). Yet another thing I won't be able to share with them.
The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.
let's think about this for a bit.
adam was tempted and sinned by eating of the fruit.
he missed out on immortality by being denied the tree of life.
If you can consider a disbelief in God, Jesus, etc. (as I do), here's another explanation that may pop up:
You can look at the OT and pick out scriptures that make it seem like Jesus (The Messiah) was supposed to die as a ransom for all, etc. On the other hand, you can (as Jews do) look at the OT and pick out scriptures that make it seem like The Messiah was supposed to reestablish the nation of Israel, the temple, etc. Even the disciples (being Jewish) had this expectation. The earliest writings we have are at least 20 after his death so we don't have a truly contemporary record.
So, here is something to consider, is it possible the idea of "the ransom" was "new light"? In other words, could it be that the original disciples assumed Jesus was the Messiah (as the Jews expected), became disappointed when he died, and developed the idea of the "ransom" to explain his death?
Far fetched? We currently have the GB rewriting their history and beliefs as we speak. This is not the first or last religion to do so.
who here have suffer from vertigo?
if so how did you combat it?
how long.
Vertigo could be a symptom of something else. Don't take medical advice from a bunch of anonymous retards like us - go see your doctor.
I agree. I edited my original post to "Please go see a Doctor..."
who here have suffer from vertigo?
if so how did you combat it?
how long.
..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.
LorenzoSmithXVII - But yes, there are many horrors that God permits.
You can stop right there. If he exists and is all powerful, why would he permit ANY horrors? I can come up with a number of scenarios where we could have avoided all of the suffering from the start. Can't you? I can come up with a number of ways so people could gain eternal life without passing through a sadistic rube-goldberg, "Hunger Games"-like, gauntlet. Can't you? I can come up with better ideas and laws he has (e.g. sanctioning of slavery, subjugation of women, genocide, etc.). Can't you? I can think of better ways to communicate the most important message in the history of the Universe clearly with mankind as opposed to using dead languages, hearsay, riddles, interpretations, etc. Can't you?
The God you describe is not only a "moral reprobate and a dick" to quote Viviane, but he lacks any imagination. I am better than your God. And, so are you because, if I substituted "God" with "Zeus" (or some other God that for some reason you do not worship) in your post, you would have found your explanation absurd and immoral.
a couple of saturdays ago i and my girlfriend (who happens to be baptised into the greek orthodox religion, but practises greek catholic...no, she's not greek) were on the virgin train from glasgow to london.. we had reserved seats on the quiet zone of the train, because y'know, a 5 hour train journey shouldn't be sullied by mobile phones ringing and noisy conversations.. somewhere around the lake district a very tall woman sits at the table across the carriage from us, a table already occupied by a very chatty, bearded man in his late 50s, along with his wife.
this man was directing people where to stow their luggage and asking random travellers questions about their journey to the point where i sent my girlfriend a text message (easier to communicate that way without others overhearing us) asking if he was the "train boss".. he struck up a conversation with this new passenger about his travels, but i wasn't really paying attention as i was watching a movie on my ipad, wearing noise cancelling headphones.
after a little while i noticed they'd stopped chatting and the woman was now reading.
LOL! I thought the post was an intro to a joke too...
Maybe put a thought bubble over each person that says:
"My God is good. My holy book is from God. My religion is the true religion. I am special. Everyone else who doesn't believe what I do is going to meet a horrible end. Only my people will be saved. Why can't everyone see it as I do?"
If it wasn't so tragic, it would be funny.
soliciting any and all opinions.
as some of you may know, wife is full in pioneer.
my fade has gone from us fighting.
FayeDunaway - Oh my, those last 4 posts were quite discouraging.
Maybe my post came across as discouraging. Sorry about that. But, sometimes it is necessary and useful to contemplate the "worst case scenario" and the reality of what could happen. The stoics had a technique called the "premeditatio malorum", or the technique of contemplating potential misfortunes in advance. The exercise was to take a fear and imagine (sometimes live it temporarily) to put it into perspective. (If you like sci-fi, think about this like the "Gom Jabbar" exercise in "Dune" if that helps.)
Ultimately, the exercise was meant to convey that regardless of the outcome you still had yourself. This is reality and there are no guarantees. Only you can decide what is best. But, like I said, I do not regret a single minute. I still have me.
soliciting any and all opinions.
as some of you may know, wife is full in pioneer.
my fade has gone from us fighting.
I look at many of the stories on this site from freemindfade and many others and I cannot imagine what you might be going through. Leaving the Organization (in whatever way), is not a trivial decision and has some real and very serious repercussions and consequences. My heart goes out to you. I can offer my empathy and support, and I can offer you one more thing. Over 25 years ago I took a stand, and I lost everything including family, friends, work, and a fiancé. I do not regret one minute.
honestly, they really have nothing going for them except that they are in an exclusive club.
they are in a better place than anyone else.
they have it over everyone else because of their superiority.
the awake oct 2015 is now up on jw org.. one article talks about young adults returning to their parents home and tries to give them some advice.. one of the highlighted comments are these magical words.
<<remember, more important than what you do is becoming proficient at what you do.>>.
i don't see how it's more important to become more proficient in that window washing job than working towards a more interesting and better paying job.
I remember, 30 years ago, washing windows, cleaning filthy bathrooms, waxing floors, shampooing carpets, etc. all so that I could pioneer. Believe it or not, I actually felt good about the work I was doing because it supported the thing I loved the most, being a JW. I now realize that I was indoctrinated to love the organization more than myself. As long as that is the case, you can learn to like/love anything they tell you to.
