Posts by kgfreeperson

13

Did apostates get you?

by Peppermint in

jw
friends

as a jehovah?s witness how did you respond to apostates?

do you recall from your past any chance encounters with one?

did this actually lead to you leaving the truth?

kgfreeperson

When you were still a believer, did ex-Witnesses or "opposers" have more credibility? (I guess neither had much credibility--but who were you more guarded against?)

28

hello,im 14 years old and i am a jehovahs witness.i have done research after things happened that didnt make sense to me.my sister has been disfellowshiped and is now out of the organization married wth 2 sons.my brother stopped going to the meetings and is engaged to be married to a non wittness in march of 05.my other brother has been reading apostate material and now doesnt believe this is the right religion and is very confused as am i.my mother is a avid witness was baptized in 1975 and pioneered for a while in the 80's.i love my mom very much,but i know this isnt the right religion and i want out.im not baptized but i was born in the truth so im on the ministry school and everything and im an unbaptized publisher.when my mom finnally finds out im leaving the truth it will break her heart as she really believes this is the right religion,and shes already had 3 kids do so.how can i leave without breaking her heart?i would stick it out for the next 3or4 years,just for her,but i really dont want to.plz help me figure things out.

kgfreeperson

This is something that I worried a lot about with my son's friends who were raised in strict fundamentalist families: they tended to experiment very early (and with great determination) with things that are really not good for growing young people! (Like smoking, drinking, and being sexually active at 11!) It was almost as if they were determined to kill themselves early before their parents' vengeful God could get a bead on them.

I am, of course, in full agreement with you about the validity of the Watchtower's teachings. But I'm really hoping that you can spend the time you have left living with your mother making choices that will provide a good basis for a happy and healthy adulthood. Just getting through every day when you are a teenager living at home in a less than perfect situation (definition of every American teenager I think) can seem to justify all sorts of bad choices. But you are going to be on your own in what really is a very short time (I know how long 4 years can seem, but really, in terms of percentage of your life, it is very short) and you want to be ready to fly, not held down by addictions/bad habits/babies/etc. which were the side-effects of your attempts to cope.

Ahem. You've probably either heard or thought all this stuff before. Sorry if this is preachy. But it would be really helpful if you could focus on the future you want and what you can do now to make it most likely rather than focusing on the present that you're trying to get through day by day.

Happy New Year!

14

Catholic organization donates $25 million to tsunami relief

by seattleniceguy in

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/110444609128.htm

it's amazing how as witnesses we used to just rip on other religions and organizations, not the least of which was the catholic church.

i was reading another article listing donations from various organizations and companies, and it looks like we're going to have a record outpouring here.

kgfreeperson

Well, that's $10 million more than Bush originally offered and only $10 million less than what has not been committed. Certainly the Catholic church is not more wealthy (more more responsible) than the United States?

18

John Dominic Crossan

by kgfreeperson in

i've been listening to john dominic crossan on the radio and am fascinated.

what are your opinions of him as a biblical scholar?

.

kgfreeperson

One thing he said that keeps coming back to me--from memory so I hope doesn't distort his meaning: does our belief in a second coming reflect our inability to accept the first? He points out that Jesus was resisting imperialism, but also resisting violence. The second coming, with its images of incredible and terrifying violence may, he suggests, be our wish for God to get it right this time. To recognize that killing all those who have displeased him is the only way to bring justice to the world.

I might have been a religious person if I had studied when young with John Crossan.

18

John Dominic Crossan

by kgfreeperson in

i've been listening to john dominic crossan on the radio and am fascinated.

what are your opinions of him as a biblical scholar?

.

kgfreeperson

I've been finding all the places he's been interviewed on public radio when his books have come out and have really enjoyed listening to him.

I didn't get the impression that Crossan thought Jesus body had been buried in a shallow grave and eaten by dogs--he may have written that, but that's not what he said. Rather, that Romans used crucifiction to warn others not to do whatever the crucified had done and the purpose was anihilation. Therefore, families were not allowed to take down the bodies and properly bury them, but the bodies were left on the cross/stake where their bodies would be eaten by animals. However, certainly some familiers were able to retrieve and bury bodies--he cited the recent discovery of a buried body with a nail through its heal indicating crucifiction.

I thought his point was that nobody really knew what happened to Jesus's body and that one could see the story of the death, burial and ressurrection becoming more and more what Christians hoped had happened.

I'm resisting ordering his most recent book on Paul because I already have a pile of recently acquired but as yet unread books making me feel guilty. But I'm looking forward to reading him.

77

THE WATCHTOWER HOW LONG DO YOU GIVE IT ????????????

by vitty in

jw
friends

now wishful thinking is different from the facts, but in our age of technology, which is pretty new!.

how long do you think the wts got before the "truth" is out ?

( i hope its soon).

kgfreeperson

Does anyone know the affect the internet has had on Scientology's recruiting efforts and their ability to hold on to their members? (I cannot imagine that if people can believe Scientology that the Watchtower is in any great danger of losing all its followers or of being able to recruit new followers.)

18

John Dominic Crossan

by kgfreeperson in

i've been listening to john dominic crossan on the radio and am fascinated.

what are your opinions of him as a biblical scholar?

.

kgfreeperson

I've been listening to John Dominic Crossan on the radio and am fascinated. What are your opinions of him as a biblical scholar?

Thanks.

77

THE WATCHTOWER HOW LONG DO YOU GIVE IT ????????????

by vitty in

jw
friends

now wishful thinking is different from the facts, but in our age of technology, which is pretty new!.

how long do you think the wts got before the "truth" is out ?

( i hope its soon).

kgfreeperson

I got offered that awful brochure at the door a week or so ago. So many things I wished I had said--here's a new one "I thought you weren't supposed to give that out to strangers! Whose voices you are supposed to be bewaring!)

Sigh. Maybe next time.

6

Watchtower Quotes

by Beans in

well the site has been revamped and many new topics added, enjoy and have fun!.

beans.

http://quotes.watchtower.ca/

kgfreeperson

A terrific site, even better! BTW, what is CCRA? (I couldn't find a link for it.) Thanks!

6

CAN YOU READ IN-BETWEEN THE LINES?

by Outaservice in

jw
friends

my married daughter is a jw and lives a considerable distance from me.

not having a lot of contact with her because of the organization's policies, i was unaware of her interest in poetry.

she submitted a piece which was published in a poetry book recently and i got a copy of the book.. the only thing is, i do not know what the meaning might be in the words, and if they relate at all to her witness upbringing or not.

kgfreeperson

I think we have some wonderful poetry explicators here!