I'm happy by nature and I get angry when I read all of the bad experiences people have had. Some of the things written here make me FURIOUS! It makes me wanna find the nearest KH and drive a car into it. Not really but it makes me wish that the WTS would just collapse and be rendered null and void. That is a good anger to have. But I dont let the anger run my life.
crinklestein
JoinedPosts by crinklestein
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45
What Makes Some ExJWs So Angry & Others So Pleasant???
by minimus in.
from what i can see, it appears that some exwitnesses are either handling life outside the organization pretty well or not well at all.
i wonder if some persons simply, by nature are angry, unhappy persons while others are naturally good, "honest-hearted ones" that simply want to find some measure of happiness.
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"Jehovah will fix it"
by onacruse ingawwwwwwddd, how many times did i say that, and how many times have i heard it.
notice how much it has to do with nebulous isues?
"that elder is an unchristian jerk.
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crinklestein
I remember hearing this all the time too and people stopped saying it around me when I would reply with, "Well, if you say that God allows bad things to happen to prove Satan wrong then why do you think he'll step in to fix YOUR problems? That would be proving Satan right, wouldn't it?"
Satan claimed that Job was obedient to God because of the protection and prosperity He gave him. "Of course he follows you. Look at everything you give him!" Take it away and see if he remains faithful. Funny how JW's don't apply it to themselvse. I love the book of Job. It makes you realize that regardless of who you are, God allows bad things to happen to you and that you must endure through it, if for nothing else than to be humbled. But JW's like to think they have a wall of protection around them. I don't think so!
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Blondie's Updates on Child Sexual Abuse Issues
by blondie ina step foward in wisconsin re clergy reporting abuse...except most abuse is revealed in private conversations.
statute of limitations increased.
sidepoint, does the wts consider themselves "clergy"?
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crinklestein
The WTS has claimed to be like clergy in the past as an excuse why they didn't report child abuse. But now that it's required they will find some other reason not to.
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My last post will be on 4/22/04
by Brownboy in.
now is your chance to post your true sentiments.
this date will be my last post.. feel free to ridicule, humiliate, scorn, ravage, or whatever you all are used to..................as a disciple of christ, i should expect it.. brownboy
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crinklestein
A bit late for me but...Why wait until 4/22 to leave? If you're pissed about something why not leave now? Unless you have to allow a timeframe to garner sympathy.
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Why I think Bush is scary
by Simon inhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4767542/ in woodward's portrait, president bush is single-minded, and possibly simple-minded, in his resolve.
he seems to have relied more on divine guidance than the considered opinions of his top advisers.
bush told woodward that as he approached the final decision to go to war, "i was praying for strength to do the lord's will ... i'm surely not going to justify war based on god.
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crinklestein
Head for the mountains....BUSH!
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mother called!!
by boy@crossroads inmy mother knows i haven't been going to the meetings lately.
we haven't officially had a 'heart to heart' yet.
well she calls up today (sunday after about lunchtime) and immediately begins asking 'where were you yesterday, i tried to call you 5 times?
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crinklestein
Its interesting how I thought that witnesses were sane, normal people while I was one. But now that I'm out of the fold, they're pretty much nuts. Nothing can reason with them. I recently told my mother that I'm doing research on my own without taking the Society's words for what is the Truth. And I've tried different reasoning tactics with her, but none has worked yet. And while she's staying "faithful" and unmovable to her religion, I start to ask myself if I'm doing what's right. Do the Witnesses have the right religion? So, while I try to help others, it has an effect on my self-esteem and self-worth. When my mother calls, I know she cares about me, but its hard to distinguish her love and her fear of me being destroyed by God. And I really do wish the Society would just #*$& themselves and leave everybody's lives alone. But, oh well for that. The only encouragement I can give is to keep true to yourself. I know that sounds broad, but always consider your feelings. If there's nobody you can trust, then trust yourself.
Isn't that how the JW religion started to being with? Someone who wasn't satisfied with they found in the current religions DID HIS OWN RESEARCH AND STUDYING. The result was "The Truth". Hey mom, maybe I'm being guided by God's hand too!
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mother called!!
by boy@crossroads inmy mother knows i haven't been going to the meetings lately.
we haven't officially had a 'heart to heart' yet.
well she calls up today (sunday after about lunchtime) and immediately begins asking 'where were you yesterday, i tried to call you 5 times?
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crinklestein
Hi I read the above with great interest and understanding. I spent the day with my mum and my kids on saturday..nice day out, small talk. No bible bashing, no questions, no encouragement, nothing...I didnt kid myself that all was well though. 8.15 this morning, I was barely awake, when the phone rang. Its mother dear, can we take little one to the meeting. This tells me that they have obviously given up on me, and are now homing in on my babies who are far more vunerable. When I said no, I was met with, 'But its the special talk!' . The answer is still no, we already have plans for this morning. hmmm, she wasnt happy, but I actually felt that for once I am making my own choices for me and my children. Its only taken 31 years! We had a nice morning wandering round the shops and playing!
Sorry mom but I'm the one raising my children, not you. So I decide where they go, what they are tought and who they associate with.
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Why didn't Abraham suspect it was Satan telling him to kill Isaac?
by True North inhaven't we all heard of those who've killed others -- even their own children -- after (they claimed) hearing a voice telling them to do so?
most people would consider these ones to have been insane if they really thought they'd heard such things.
on the other hand, some jws, i would suspect, would think that these murderers may actually have heard demonic voices.
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crinklestein
The point that is trying to be made is this:
If God said that it was wrong and evil to kill an innocent person then why would God tell you to kill someone to prove your faith to Him?
Abe would've proven his faith more by REFUSING to kill his son. By saying, "No God, I will NOT kill my son! You've said in the past that murder is evil and wrong. I would be violating your law and my code of ethics if I do what you ask." How is it proving your faith to God when you are violating his laws? What, just because God changed his mind on this one occassion makes it ok for you to do it?
God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they would die. What if God told them, one day, to eat from it to prove their faith? Would'nt they be confused on what to do? "We have to eat the fruit to prove our faith!"
"But God told us not to before so we'll prove our faith by NOT eating it!"
"But God said we could eat it now."
"God says he is everlasting and unchanging. Why the sudden change? Is God a hypocrit?"
"..."Just because God says to do something doesn't make it right to do. Because you would still have to answer to YOUR CONSCIENCE, your built in sense of right and wrong, your sense of justice. And God wouldn't force you to violate your moral and ethical code just to prove your faith to Him. This account of Abe and Issac has never sat well with me as it is not like God to request this. It sounds as if Satan or a demon was asking him to do this and Abe was duped.
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Has this happened to you?
by ball. ini just went round the corner for a breakfast in the local cafe, and as i was about to go in, there was a jw, one of my best mates, just coming out.
i just stood there and looked at him in amazement, as i haven't seen him in 10 years and he had changed a lot.
i guess i have too.
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crinklestein
I never have to deal with this problem as nobody where I live knows I was a dub and I haven't been back home in a while. I've thought about what I would do if I ran into some of them and figured I would act like I didn't see them but Amazing has me thinking I would do exactly as he says. I'm a smartass...I think I may enjoy that!
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Disagreeing With God's Representative
by Euphemism init's been a while since i posted anything biblical... christianity is not really my cup of tea anymore, except from a purely academic perspective.
however, i just had an interesting thought today.
the jws always say that you should submit your judgment to the organization.
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crinklestein
One of the meetings I had with the elders was when they were telling me to stop asking questions. I asked, "How does one learn truth if one doesn't ask questions?" There were alot of things said that I can't quite remember but I told them that I noticed alot of inconsistancies and one of those was how they say that you should not lean upon your own understanding of the Bible. You should believe what the Org tells you. They agreed with that.
Then I said, "What did Rutherford do when he founded the Bible students?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Let's crack out the Proclaimer's book and see what Rutherford did when he formed The Bible Students." I found the book in the back room, scanned a bit and started reading from the bio of Rutherford which detailed how he was going from one religion to another and then decided to throw away all preconcieved beliefs that he had and decided to read the entire Bible as if reading it for the first time. As if he never heard of Christianity or God before. It, in fact, said that he came to his own conclusions on spiritual matters and found all the other religions to be wrong.
After reading this I asked again, "So again, what did Rutherford do that you are asking me not to do?'
"You're not supposed to rely on your own understanding?"
"Then who'se is it that I'm supposed to rely on?"
"The Organization's."
"OK...and where did they get THEIR understanding from?"
"Jehovah, of course!"
"No, originally."
"I don't follow."
"They learned it from Rutherford. And how did he learn it?"
"...."
"By relying on his own understanding!"
"That's different. He was being guided by God," they said.
To which I said, "And how do you know I'm not? People said the same thing of Rutherford. They said he shouldn't do what he did, called him crazy. If this Org really is God's Org and those people were wrong then they weren't really a good judge of a person's spiritual status with God. Who's to say you're any better of a judge? But what you are telling me not to do is exactly what the founder of this religion did when he founded this religion! So if you're saying that doing that is WRONG then you are saying that this entire religion is WRONG!"
They quickly changed the subject but I wouldn't let them. I told them "We aren't done discussing this topic yet. Answer my question!" I wasn't letting them push me around and I wasn't letting them weasle their way out without answering my questions. I demanded answers and they refused to answer them. That was when I told them, "You claim, as elders, that you were appointed this position directly by God. As such you are bound by His laws. One of those laws is to be a spiritual leader and to provide guidance. If a sheep gets lost it is your responsibility to find him and guide him back to the flock with love and care. So guide me. Help me. Help me understand the answers to these questions. If you chose to not answer my questions then you give me no choice but to rely on my own understanding. So what's it going to be? Shall I rely on your understandings...or mine?"
The still refused to answer my questions. So I told them, "Then you FORCE me to rely on myself. You refuse to help me, to guide me. Therefore I find it impossible to rely on YOU. You have failed me through your inactions. Good day." And I walked out.