i am not now, nor have i ever been a jw but i have seen their propensity to try to play up being persecuted.
a friend of mine who is a jw (and the reason i sought out these message forums) made it abundantly clear that she thought (and i guess was encouraged to think) that most everything was persecution because "people hate jw's.".
now, from my experience i can say that i don't think people actually hate jw.
"blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." -- matthew 5:ll,l2
so they are anxious to play up the persecution factor believing that this is a good thing in the eyes of God.
these things about the society have been nagging me and i just couldnt keep them in any longer.
basically ive just told my mum everything about the org and what i think of it covering itself, misleading its followers and the issues of child abuse.
basically my dad said its people who have a vendetta against the society and a lot of the stories are made up.
yes, i think peacefulpete is right. what good will it do to beat them over the head with it? it would probably just make them angry and more set in their ways. sometimes (think back to why jw preaching methods are so effective) the way a message is presented makes all the difference in how it is accepted.
keep planting seeds as you find opportunities. if there is any way to get them to look at "crisis of conscience" by ray franz that would be good. -- if you have not yet read it yourself - read it. keep loving them, show them you care and that you are interested in what is best for them.
be wise!
best wishes, nowisee
"i can't wait for night to fall.
i can't wait for day to fade.
i can't wait for the dark to extinquish the sun, .
dear essie,
i am feeling your sadness along with you. i have just read your history on your website, which i want to say is unbelievable, but then, no, it is believable and i really do empathize with what you have been through, at least within your first marriage -- there are some parallels in my own story.
you are a wonderful writer and have a real gift for putting your feelings into words.
i hope that you will be able to ease your sadness by thinking of your wonderful daughter and husband. please feel the love that they have for you. though you have been shunned by misguided people and small minds, please don't let that overtake you. you are strong and brave and blessed. continue to send out your love and walk tall.
very best wishes to you with love, nowisee
i was so upset they voted kristy off last night.
but i loved her angry response too.
i was watching her on the morning show today, and they interrupted the show to broadcast one of the navy ships coming in to san diego.
i was hoping christy would last until the end too. i was so sad to see her go. she really had spirit and spunk.
hey, what about that heidi calling rob a traitor and two-faced, etc. sort of like the pot calling the kettle black! goodness i hope she doesn't win.
.
so many silly superstitions exist and many people really believe in them.. for example, if you break a mirror, you will get 7 years of bad luck.
some people are afraid of friday 13th, or seeing a black cat, and so many more superstitions.. are you superstitious, and about what?.
used to be. not now.
as many of you know, my wife had a stroke back in september.
i was so happy that over 80 people sent us public and private e-mails.
some sent flowers and one person sent a gift.
my best wishes to you both. i am glad that you have each other. you may be impatient, but every step is a step forward.
larc, i will never forget your kind words to me.
sincerely, nowisee
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okay, we had the "who's the most gorgeous woman in the world" post, so what about the male species??
hmmmmmm.......without a doubt, i'd have to vote for elvis when he was young...........man he was good looking!!
billygoat, that picture is right up there. what a gorgeous couple. i am happy for you.
having said that i would nominate my husband, a pierce brosnan lookalike with grey hair. i was even trying to get him to join one of those celebrity lookalike agencies, but he refused to dye his hair black.
"the most beautiful man i'd ever seen,
was only on the movie screen." -- written about al pacino in godfather I - i always went for the latin types.
what are some of the foods you remember being served at district and circuit assemblies.
i remember every sunday was roast chicken.
also i remember them serving knockwurst and saurkraut.
a segmented aluminum or tin tray.
mashed potatoes, meatloaf, some boiled to death stringbeans, a few lettuce leaves, some gelatin with fruit. and awful koolaid punch.
i was on that assembly line spooning out those mashed potatoes more times than i would like to remember! but i always gave a fair share.
for me, it's that i don't believe they have any authority over us.
they said....."this is wrong so you can't do it. if you do it you will be disfellowshipped, shunned, lose your family and everything you believe in."
then someone dies because they were following faithfully what wts said. family is shattered.
then a year or two later,...."oh now we have new light, it is ok now, don't worry. you can do it. no problem!"
most of us were still floundering as we faded away, were disassociated or disfellowshipped.
we were no doubt quite unhappy, unsettled, and felt like we "belonged nowhere".. when i first got out, i was so hurt to the core to realize that the "truth" was a lie, and i was so disillusioned about myself and my belief structure, that i couldn't even take my bible and open it and read without falling apart in tears.
gradually, as i struggled to heal myself, and learned to love and trust myself and others, i began thinking again about where i was in life, and what i really wanted to get out of this life, and what the future might hold.
wow, ravyn. i was around pagans for many years (i am assuming from what i have read about you that you are pagan -- wiccan??) when i had my new age bookstore. after exploring it to my satisfaction i knew that it was not for me. but i am very interested in why you felt it was for you. walkin???? really???? please say more.
rocketman, really life is just too short. so glad you are free of those rituals that were meaningless for you.
brummie -- said it for me as well. i used to think i had to know everything. i just don't have to know ALL the answers anymore.
best wishes, nowisee
