Posts by anti-absolutism

8

Just venting

by dsgal in

jw
friends

i faded from the jws thirteen months ago and since then i have only been called on by two elderly pioneer "sisters" a couple of times.no loving shepherding calls from the elders,not even once.i always felt out of place at the kh because i didn't have any friends there.never once got invited to social gatherings the whole year i went there.what's with all the clique $hit?that's about as far from jesus' teachings as i've ever seen.now today out of the blue i have a message on my machine from one of the elder's mother.i didn't call her back.wonder what came over her to think of me anyway?oh well,you all might not understand my feelings but i feel better now that i sat down and typed it out.

anti-absolutism

I can certainly relate to how you feel, dsgal. I grew up in a town with 2 KH's: one English, one French. They never associated with each other. Also, the cliques in the English hall, ( mine), were unbelievable. At one point my sister and I were the only ones not invited to a certain youth gathering. My sister made a point to mention it to the Elders. The next party they had she was invited, and I wasn't. The really amazing thing is that when I asked my sister why I wasn't invited again, it was the first she had given any thought to it. (And it was nothing to do with me being bad association... that came about 5 years later, due in large part to their making me realize their love was so conditional........ lol)

That is one of the biggest problems with the JW's, they have NO idea of what LOVE really is. How hard is it to love people that feel exactly the same as you... NOT hard at all.

Fact is, that no matter how many people reply to this, there are many who know EXACTLY what you are talking about. Try not to let it get you down. You have to understand that the JW's DO NOT really understand what they are doing. They basically feel that they are the chosen people, simply by being a JW. Whether they follow Jesus' example, like you said, probably almost never crosses their mind.

You have to look at them as having the mentality of a person who gets the letter from Ed McMahon, and believes that they already are going to receive the $10,000,000 automatically, ignoring the rules, odds and fine print.

I TRULY believe that 95% of JW's are very nice people, just extremely misguided. Hey, it's like this: the entire JW org. is like a coach that finds some people that really love basketball, and immediately says yes we can win a championship, and blindly follows that path, never being able to realize that they should have some KNOWLEDGE of the game first. They never DO learn the game but spend the rest of their effort believing that they are winning. It's fun until you realize it's a lie. Some, unfortunately, never do. I think you have realized that.

I hope that analogy makes sense to you..... it certainly does to me... lol

Feel free to e-mail me if you found anything I said helpful.. I am fairly new to this site myself, but I can honestly say that what I say and virtually all others say is pure and loving. May this help you in your tough times.... X0X0X0X0X0X0X0 Brad

2

My four year old just made me laugh!!!!!

by anti-absolutism in

i just sat down at the puter and my four year old came in, sat down beside me, calmly picked up my new world translation bible and said, "daddy, what is this bible for?

" boy does that open up a great debate.

if she only knew the impact of her question...... i thought it was really cute.

anti-absolutism

I just sat down at the puter and my four year old came in, sat down beside me, calmly picked up my New World Translation Bible and said, "daddy, what is this Bible for?" Boy does that open up a great debate. If she only knew the impact of her question...... I thought it was really cute.

What scripture is it that says, "out of the mouths of babes".....? lol (rhetorical question there, btw)

5

Doctrines

by Phil in

all religions have doctrines.

these doctrines, without exception have been "invented " by man.so it does not matter which religion you choose, you are relying on what a man or group of men say or think what god wants.

various religions have different ways of indoctrinating a person into believing in what he says.

anti-absolutism

I do agree that all religions have basically been "invented or created" by men, and I personally am at a stage that I do not personally prescribe to any ONE particular belief, but there are some religions that go to such extremes that they are virtually "EVIL" personified.

From my research these ones closest to evil, which I stay away from the furthest, are the ones that are the MOST ABSOLUTE in their teaching. (thus, my Username.. )

Other than ABSOLUTISM, the other thing they all have in common is SEPARATISM. JW's and Mormons are battling for the Championship title on this one, I think.

My opinion to anybody looking for a Faith, from personal experience and research, is that if they take the scripture to be no part of the world literal at all, RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's not just the literal deaths at Waco and Temple's Gate that kill people. Some people live their lives in spiritual death, unfortunately.

Brad

34

"Dead conscious of nothing at all" .....

by anti-absolutism in

.

when speaking to a jw the other day, i didn't really have a good explanation of ecclesiastes 9:5, where it says that the dead are conscious of nothing at all.. what is everybody's take on it?

anti-absolutism

When speaking to a JW the other day, I didn't really have a good explanation of Ecclesiastes 9:5, where it says that the dead are conscious of nothing at all.

What is everybody's take on it?

37

Okay...just why is the "ransom" so gr...

by logansrun in

jw
friends

reading the march 2003 okm brought up a question i've had for a long time....why do christians feel the the death of jesus was this unbelievably loving act by both god and christ?

i mean, god knew his son would be faithful to death (because of prophecy...not much of a test on j.c.

eh?

anti-absolutism

Yeah, not to disrespect the good advice found in the Bible, (although I find some of the Old Testament's deeds done in God's name horriffic...Jericho, 185,000 Assyrians killed, etc.) but that is one thing I have always wondered about. Why it was such a great deed, when his reward from his father was guaranteed.

What do current Christians who are ex-JW's think.... is this just a JW problem?

34

Can't shake the feeling the end is near, help me

by m0nk3y in

jw
friends

i hate this feeling .. i try and reason with myself thats its the life long programming that i have been through .. but the world events atm are really getting me nervous ... please people help me get past this :/edited by - m0nk3y on 12 february 2003 1:34:50.

anti-absolutism

It is a greater proof that you are being loved when love comes from strangers than when it comes from those who DEMAND that you accept their love, and that they in turn DEMAND it in return from you.

I have only been on this site myself for a few days, but I feel that the love is genuine from the people here, because the people here have no alterior motives........ be strong, and remember doom has been predicted for centuries and it has NEVER been as bad as predicted..... it will be fine again...... some people just get off on creating fear, others on creating love.... find the right ones to get your energy from..... Take care, Brad E-mail me if you like

22

I have been free for 1647 days!!!

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

i've been free for 1647 days!!!

four years!!!

i left the borg on august 9, 1998 and have been enjoying every minute of it!!!

anti-absolutism

My conscious mind tells me I've been out for 3 years and 7 months. Unfortunately things keep happening in my life that prove to my subconscious mind that I'm never completely out!!

But I am certainlt A LOT happier, so heading in the best direction. Thanks for asking. Brad

4

Eternal Life through Jesus - When did it start?

by anti-absolutism in

ok this one might seem odd to some people... as christians, (i personally am not sure if i want to consider myself christian yet) is the belief that, since christ gave us the opportunity to have eternal life, or an immortal soul, that it was only after his death that we had the opportunity?

in other words did the people who died before his death not have the opprtunity and therefore are still just dead?.

your response is appreciated, as brief as possible, please.

anti-absolutism

OK this one might seem odd to some people... As Christians, (I personally am not sure if I want to consider myself Christian yet) is the belief that, since Christ gave us the opportunity to have Eternal life, or an immortal soul, that it was only after his death that we had the opportunity? In other words did the people who died before his death not have the opprtunity and therefore are still just dead?

Your response is appreciated, as brief as possible, please. Thank you

3