Posts by gitasatsangha

34

Got a phone call from my Elder dad

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

for those who don't know by background, i was raised in the organization, third generation.

there are many elders, two anointed, a po and many pioneers in my family with all sorts of contact with cos, dos, and people in bethel.

to get to my point... my father just called me.

Why do you still believe?

by flower in

someone posted on another thread a comment that i found interesting.

something like once you find out the truth about the 'truth' its impossible to stop there and not question everything as far as religion and the existance of god.

i'm sure most of us that were raised in the watchterror org and have found out that we were decieved our whole lives have examined this subject at some point.

gitasatsangha

have any of you got a reason to believe as you do, or do you have any thoughts on the matter

A bit vitriolic there, but I will take the bait. We see the universe through various means and have come to some points of fact, such as the universe is very very big, and very very old. Granted. What put it there? If it always existed, the point would be moot, and we could quietly ponder the fabric of reality, perhaps, but instead we have this glimpse that in fact something Happened. So the universe began. What there was before the singularity of instantaneous universe, we don't know and probably never will know, but that in itself comes to be that there was some point of creation. We cannot specifically say whether it happened by itself or whether it is part of some ongoing phenomina which is not understandable to our current sciences.

But if all that happened at once, then the Universe itself is as close to god as makes all ends, so you, I, the toilet across the hall and everything else is part of this divine-ness. Or it might just be drab everyday stuff. The reason for making this a religions matter has to do with finding what we are all about.

Are you just a pile of chemicals arranged in a complex pattern called Mr so-and-so or is there more then that? Is there perhaps more to creation then meets the eye. The religionist must say yes, because his main point of search is for the meaning between the lines. In the course of that search a lot is uncovered and a lot of utter crap is thrown in, typically. So the concept of God varies from individual to individual, be it the Mother, some vengeful invisible man, your fellow human beings, or the deities. Maybe everyone is right, and we are just looking at it from odd viewpoints, like millions of images through an insect's compound eyes. This makes religion the perrenial philosophy. It won't end, but it will take new forms. There are various methods people undertake, either on purpose, or unwitingly to understand. Some methods include devotional love, good deads, attendance of clerical functions, meditation, knowledge, and so on.

But religion should be practical. If it isn't practical it is of no value, and probably is harmful.

16

Offerings at Christian Church's

by goofy in

jw
friends

what do you think about offerings or collection plates being passed at church's?

i sometimes go to this christian church and they pass a plate.

being raised a witness, i sometimes get a weird feeling that they are doing something wrong and it bothers me?

gitasatsangha

I don't mind contributing to religious organizations. The one I have a connection to does a great deal of work running hospices, and teaching literacy. For that matter the monks don't see a dime of the money. But if I were christian I suppose I would have a problem seeing one of these giant cheap warehouse churces with 5000 members and a preacher who has a leerjet. Then again I wouldn't go if I didn't like it, and I would not contribute. Churches need a certain amount of money to exist. If you go to one and feel you get your money worth, why not give something back.

25

What are your experiences of dating in the truth?

by goofy in

jw
friends

i really never dated that much inside the orgainisation because of a lack of available brothers.

the couple of times i did not great.

i once asked a brother out and it was all over the congregation as to how inappropriate that was since it should be the man who does the asking.

gitasatsangha

my exeriences: JW girls generally felt Third Base was not unclean behavior.

11

Help Men Feed on Christ The Living Bread/JOHN BEHEADED 5000 FED

by gitasatsangha in

former jw kids, how did you survive the endless hours of meetings?

when i was a kid the part of that kingdum song that goes "help men feed on christ the living bread" always made me think of some poor anthropomorphic slice of pumpernickel being devoured by people in dress clothes.

ok, it still does.. another one that gave me a laugh was one of the by-lines at the top of the older nwt.

gitasatsangha

Inside the front cover of the song book, there is a large picture of some Israelite men,

I know this is odd thing to do, but in the back cover, count the men and then count pairs of feet. They made too many men with one pair of feet missing.

9

Iraq!!!....Will JW's go to where the 'need is greatest' after the war?

by digderidoo in

jw
friends

after iraq has been invaded/liberated.....will congregations begin to sprout up?

at the end of the cold war the witnesses increased their numbers in the eastern bloc quite dramatically from what i remember.. will the same happen in iraq?.

who will go to 'spread the good news'?....how many will say 'here i am send me'?

gitasatsangha

Witnesses have never done very well in predominantly Muslim countries. The "Chaldean" minority is Orthodox Christian, IIRC, so they might have a chance at converting a few of them, but I doubt it.

11

Help Men Feed on Christ The Living Bread/JOHN BEHEADED 5000 FED

by gitasatsangha in

former jw kids, how did you survive the endless hours of meetings?

when i was a kid the part of that kingdum song that goes "help men feed on christ the living bread" always made me think of some poor anthropomorphic slice of pumpernickel being devoured by people in dress clothes.

ok, it still does.. another one that gave me a laugh was one of the by-lines at the top of the older nwt.

gitasatsangha

Lordy I am not only a thread killer, but a thread persona non grata.

11

Help Men Feed on Christ The Living Bread/JOHN BEHEADED 5000 FED

by gitasatsangha in

former jw kids, how did you survive the endless hours of meetings?

when i was a kid the part of that kingdum song that goes "help men feed on christ the living bread" always made me think of some poor anthropomorphic slice of pumpernickel being devoured by people in dress clothes.

ok, it still does.. another one that gave me a laugh was one of the by-lines at the top of the older nwt.

gitasatsangha

Former JW kids, how did you survive the endless hours of meetings?

When I was a kid the part of that Kingdum song that goes "Help Men Feed on Christ The Living Bread" always made me think of some poor anthropomorphic slice of pumpernickel being devoured by people in dress clothes. Ok, it still does.

Another one that gave me a laugh was one of the by-lines at the top of the older NWT. They always had little descriptions of what was going on at the top of each page of the bible. sometimes they ran out of space and had to get creative. My favorite was:

JOHN BEHEADED 5,000 FED

And of course any sexual reference was a hoot. Making odd faces at the poor brother trying to trudge through "With her breasts may you be intoxicated at all times/a lovable hind and a charming mountain goat/"

What stuff did you find especially funny?

8

POST-JW: How many have returned to school/college/university?

by RAYZORBLADE in

jw
friends

i know that this question has been asked before, but there are newer members on the forum, and as a nice diversion, i thought i'd post this question:

since many of us are now no longer jehovah's witnesses, how many of you returned to post-secondary education?

in some cases, i know some quit high school, so if you have returned there, it'd be interesting to hear your stories.

gitasatsangha

Are you in any form of schooling right now?

Yes

What did some of you take in your schooling?

I have changed majors so many damned times it's apalling.

Did you major in anything?

Computer Information Management, at the moment.

Did you attain a certificate/degree/doctorate etc.?

working on it

Do you feel fulfilled with your decision?

Yes. Thank God for Wordly Education.

Do you plan to go back to school/college/university to upgrade?

When I get my Masters I am done.

It'd be neat to see your replies. Thank you in advance.

You're Welcome. Thanks for asking.

23

How many of you belong to another religion now, and if so, which?

by berylblue in

i've always wanted so much to know the true god and to do his will, but it seems i struck out at the kh.

my deep spiritual need is not being met, but i don't want to jump from the frying pan into the fire, you know?.

beryl.

gitasatsangha

The idea of belonging to a religion seems a bit abhorrent, unless it is an interdependancy. The word religion is a bit like the word moderate: everyone has a different idea where should be placed. So I would say religion is a way of life, a way of doing things and viewing things. In that regard it is very personal. But do we identify with various religions? Surely! Like the old song by Rush says, even if you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.

Since I left the dubs I have been interested foremost in spiritual traditions of ecumenical spirit. I can't accept any belief that says "I am the only way. All others are false." That sort of thinking is not very scientific or productive. I have studied many religions, such as Buddhism, Philosophical Taoism, Islam, Bahai, and so on. In the end I became most interested in the Ramakrishna movement. One thing I think we either need to learn, or perhaps know inherently and choose to forget, is that all religions, if practised with sincerity, lead to God. Getting to understand ourselves, surely is a good goal, and worth some effort.

There is a desire to leave it all behind upon leaving the witnesses, but to some degree, the lessons learned the hardway are lost. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater, as they say. Unbridled cynicism is really just circular reasoning.