Posts by Daniel1555

31

German Branch visit talk Mark Sanderson (Parents; don't hinder young children to get baptized)

by Daniel1555 in

jw
friends

the video streaming of the german branch visit program was excrutiating 3.5 hours long.. i just went to see the last 45 min (part of mark sandersons talk).. i think sanderson is quite a sympathetic speaker and he kind of made a loving impression.. he didn't mention controversial stuff (except for one thing i will come to soon).

he mostly talked about how to find joy, even when life is not easy, and how much the gb loves the rank and file.. one point seemed soooo important to him.

parents and children.

Daniel1555

As some of you requested, here is my recording of Mark Sanderson talking about parents and children baptism.

It is not the full talk. It is just what he said about parents and children (12 min. long).

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/52h2c9loz0in2i8/AABQnGMfasf7Q7qPm7RZlMrBa?dl=0

4

Has anyone seen today's JW broadcast this Saturday to the KH's 5/09/2015

by WideAwake7 in

i have faded successfully with family intact now for 3 years ...but my in-laws are still in the borg.

they are so excited to go to this event than visit there patriarch father of 97 years of age in the hospital who is still a jw .... who we take care of 24 /7 at his home.

what is so important about today?

Daniel1555

You probably mean the german branch visit.

31

German Branch visit talk Mark Sanderson (Parents; don't hinder young children to get baptized)

by Daniel1555 in

jw
friends

the video streaming of the german branch visit program was excrutiating 3.5 hours long.. i just went to see the last 45 min (part of mark sandersons talk).. i think sanderson is quite a sympathetic speaker and he kind of made a loving impression.. he didn't mention controversial stuff (except for one thing i will come to soon).

he mostly talked about how to find joy, even when life is not easy, and how much the gb loves the rank and file.. one point seemed soooo important to him.

parents and children.

Daniel1555

The video streaming of the German Branch visit program was excrutiating 3.5 hours long.

I just went to see the last 45 min (part of Mark Sandersons talk).

I think Sanderson is quite a sympathetic speaker and he kind of made a loving impression.

He didn't mention controversial stuff (except for one thing I will come to soon). He mostly talked about how to find joy, even when life is not easy, and how much the gb loves the rank and file.

One point seemed soooo important to him. Parents and children. First he mentioned that he himself, the brother that is travelling with him and his wife, and the branch overseer (don't know the correct title) and his wife, they all WERE BAPTIZED BETWEEN AGE 9 AND 11. In other words, it is very good, if a child as young as 9 gets baptized.

Quite long he urged parents not to hinder young children to get baptized. He also talked about the reasons, why jw parents would possibly hinder young children for baptism.

The first reason he mentioned:

Fear of the parents that the child might be DISFELLOWSHIPPED later.

Second reason:

Parents wish that the child will have a good education and that it has goals in this regard.

He said (i recorded it): "At the various conventions this year, it is a real joy to see so many who have qualified for baptism, AMONG THEM WERE SOME QUITE YOUNG IN YEARS. You parents have to be commended for raising your children to have an appreciation for the truth and for encouraging them to make a dedication to serve Jehovah when young. Such dear young ones face many challenges at school and yet have qualified to get baptized speaks very well of the home training they have received. Well that beautifully expresses the viewpoint of the governing body. And now brothers I would like to ask you a question: DO YOU SHARE THAT VIEWPOINT OF THE GOVERNING BODY? ARE YOU HELPING YOUR CHILDREN TO BECOME UNBAPTIZED PUBLISHERS AND TO MAKE THEIR DEDICATION AT A YOUNG AGE?"

I felt the way he talked about this is a sign, that this might be a real problem for the gb.

31

They're Making it Impossible to Fade

by DarioKehl in

for those of you who have already faded due to family still being in, have you noticed how the noose is tightening?.

if it's not memorial, it's special day assembly.

if it's not that, it's convention or the special talk.

Daniel1555

If any elder approaches you saying, that you should hand in a copy of your blood card (or asks about the witnesses to your no blood decision) JUST SMILE AT HIM AND SAY SOMETHING LIKE: "Thank you so much, brother xxx for your concern. But no, my medical directive is something personal, that I will not share with you. Be assured that Jehovah knows about it, and I will fully rely on him if any urgency occurs."

The elders can't do anything but respect your decisions in this regard.

(Looking forward if any elder would have the nerve to approach me with this, as I told them in great detail why I would accept a blood transfusion for myself and my son and even donate blood.)

17

so back to thee days a week at the KH

by oppostate in

so now with the saturday viewing of videos at the kh there's pressure to be at the kh to see the gb do their thing.

this week's thing of course is beg for more money.

also they are meeting to practice singing the new songs when no new videos are out.

Daniel1555

Are those Saturday meetings gb approved?

Seems to me it is just an initiative by some brothers or your body of elders.

Shouldn't the whole saturday be used for field service?

13

Germany Branch Visit May 10 by Mark Sanderson

by Daniel1555 in

jw
friends

this saturday is the branch visit of mark sanderson in the selters german bethel.. there will be a video streaming for all the congs.. some of you might have heard branch visit talks of sanderson.. will there be something special or controversial?.

i am not sure if i should attend even if it's just for noting or recording some controversial stuff.

would be hard though, 3 hours of wasted time.

Daniel1555

This Saturday is the Branch visit of Mark Sanderson in the Selters German Bethel.

There will be a video streaming for all the congs.

Some of you might have heard branch visit talks of Sanderson.

Will there be something special or controversial?

I am not sure if I should attend even if it's just for noting or recording some controversial stuff. Would be hard though, 3 hours of wasted time. Probably better sleep in

70

Need Help

by ThisFellowCheap in

jw
friends

i'm in dire need of assitance, and i have decided to humbly come here.... first, let me reintroduce myself.

my name is kolabomi, a nigerian and a proud one too.

i am a graduate student in one of my country's leading university.

Daniel1555

Minimus:

When and how did he ask for money before?

20

Prayer with my son before lunch. Your advice / experiences needed!

by Daniel1555 in

jw
friends

dear friends,.

i would like to hear your comments or suggestions on the following:.

a little background info.. i managed to fade completely.

Daniel1555

Awakenednow:

Thanks so much for your good wishes and your experiences and advice.

I wish you all the best with your situation too.

20

Prayer with my son before lunch. Your advice / experiences needed!

by Daniel1555 in

jw
friends

dear friends,.

i would like to hear your comments or suggestions on the following:.

a little background info.. i managed to fade completely.

Daniel1555

Thank you so much for you great advice and experiences.

As some of you have suggested I will take it easy and show my son in the future that people also in our family have different ways of talking to their creator and that we can't say this certain way is the truth.

I thought of a different way handling this prayer situation.

When I will be alone eating with my son, I'll tell him. "Honey, today we won't say a prayer. We will say something really funny." Then I will do a funny table saying with him. He loves funny stuff and he just loves to laugh and giggle.

Then another time when my parents will come, he will maybe ask, that we do the funny table saying.

Then another time I will let my father say a prayer and so on. By doing this, he will see the differences and I can stimulate his independent thinking and also tolerance for different views.

Thanks so much.

20

Prayer with my son before lunch. Your advice / experiences needed!

by Daniel1555 in

jw
friends

dear friends,.

i would like to hear your comments or suggestions on the following:.

a little background info.. i managed to fade completely.

Daniel1555

Dear friends,

I would like to hear your comments or suggestions on the following:

A little background info.

I managed to fade completely. My wife and I are separated and in divorce right now. My wonderful little son is now 2.5 years old and living with his mum who is a devout JW. In fact she tried a lot to reduce my time with him. It didn't work out. At the moment I am 2 days with him all 2 weeks and I am fighting for more time. When we will go to court for our divorce, my lawyer will ask the judge to make sure, that during my visitation time he is with me, even when it conflicts with my wife's kingdom hall meeting time. Also there will be shared custody (as is usual in germany) especially because I want to be involved in all important decisions (also with regard to medical urgencies). Moreover we will ask the judge to state, that she shouldn't hinder my son's relationship to me because of the fact that she views me as an apostate. I think it is important, that I further the relationship of my son to his mum and vice versa (also not talking negative about the other person).

My parents (who are also JW's) are often with me when I visit my son. I have a good relationship to my parents. They know exactly why I left the JW's (or why I am inactive in their eyes). They know that I think the bible is man's word and not inspired of god, they know that I hate the shunning of df / da persons and they in most details know, why I think the borg's view of blood is completely wrong. I even told my mum a few month's ago, that I don't pray to Jehovah anymore, because in the bible he ordered or committed cruelest acts (mass murder, genocide and murder of children and babies). I explained to her, that during all of this, my personal relationship to god became stronger, but that my view of god changed and that he / she is most certainly not the god of the bible. In fact I still believe in a "creator" or a "higher force", I just don't believe in organized religion anymore. I am also very interested in science. I for example believe that evolution is a fact and that human life is much older than the 6000 years as described in the bible. This is for me not in contradiction to the concept of a creator or god.

Sorry for the long introduction.

Now I come to my problem:

When my parents and me are eating lunch with my son, they always want to pray to Jehovah before the meal (as they did in all their life). As I explained before, I hate to pray to a cruel god, and I view "Jehovah" as a cruel god. So until now, when we were together with my son, I always said the prayer, because I don't want my father to pray to "Jehovah" with my son. So as I prayed, I never mentioned the name "Jehovah." I just made it short and used words for a 2 year old, like praying to our "papa", "thanking that we could have fun playing together" or "thanking for the animals" etc. But I always ended the prayer like "through your son Jesus - Amen." Lately however, my mum started saying to my son before my lunch prayer. "Now let's thank "Jehovah."

When I am alone, I never pray before the meal. I think it is an empty tradition, especially always the same endings "through Jesus - Amen." Especially I have problems with it, as I don't believe that Jesus had to die this agonizing death for us. The doctrine of the ransom is something I find very cruel and a manmade doctrine (I believe though that Jesus was an extraordinary person and a "son" of god in the sense that all of us can be "sons" or "daughters" of god). However I don't really want to elaborate on this thought with my parents, that I am technically not even a "christian" (as a christian must believe in the ransom).

So when I pray at those times, and use those endings, I kind of feel like a hypocrite. And I don't want to be something I am not, before my son, especially as my son is still very young and is learning so much and views me as a role model. Moreover he is indoctrinated constantly when he is with my wife. My goal is to strengthen his critical thinking abilities. But on the other hand I also don't want to upset my parents too much.

Moreover I want to show to my son, that we are free "when" and "how" we pray.

Therefore I see 3 options:

1.

No prayer at all when we are eating together with my son.

I would have to explain to my parents again, that I don't pray to "Jehovah." So I can't pray in the way they expect a prayer to be acceptable. Of course they would be free to pray silently for themselves.

It is difficult for me to explain this to them, because I don't want to hurt their feelings.

I maybe could tell them, that I don't want prayer to be just a "tradition", something superficial or a "must." Moreover Jesus said in Matth. 6 that when praying you should go to your private room, shutting the door, pray to your father who is in secret. Maybe I could tell them, that prayer is for me something very personal and private, and that I will do that with my son in other circumstances and not before lunch.

On the other hand, wouldn't it be strange for my son to see, that I don't pray before lunch but that my parents silently pray?

What do you think about this all?

2. a compromise

I pray before lunch, but on my way and most certainly not to Jehovah.

On my personal way of praying, I never say "in the name of Jesus" or "Amen."

I could explain to my parents, that I pray differently and not to Jehovah. Maybe they decide for themselves, that they couldn't share in such a prayer.

Or I could compromise and make a simple prayer and use "in the name of Jesus" and "Amen" just to please my parents.

When doing this, I would need to explain to them, that they shouldn't say "now let's pray to Jehovah" before the prayer.

But somehow I would feel like deceiving myself and my son.

3.

I tell my parents, that I instead of a "regular prayer", I want to introduce another thing before lunch. A funny "table saying" (a short funny verse or saying) or sometimes a children's prayer.

What do you think about this? How would you react in this situation? Did you maybe even make some experiences with that?

How can I tell my parents in a diplomatic way?

(I will go to bed now, so I can reply tomorrow)