Posts by Zoos

28

Remember this picture?

by Zoos in

i went to a small non-denominational church yesterday - first time in a church since i left the borg 4 years ago - and this is how i observed several of the members singing.. .

boy... do those people love to sing.. .

i try not to judge the sincerity of others but i was a little put off by the experience because it looked fake, showy display-ish.

Zoos

jws, I'm having the same reaction to the entire experience that you just described.

I understand it's going to be a different experience. For crying out loud, it's not a kingdom hall... it's not WATCHTOWER. But it has to not feel fake. Too much of what I observed felt.... showy.

And as far as doctrine goes I am resigned to the fact that there is nowhere I can go where I'll find a message 100% in line with my understanding of things. Ergo, Christian freedom. Unlike at a kingdom hall, I have the right to take what I want and leave the rest. Trinity, hellfire... not a problem. I don't feel obligated to swallow it or face a judicial committee or the threat of destruction at armageddon.

I've decided to give it one more chance to hit me right. I read My Christian Quest - From Jehovah's Witness to Son of God, by Ronald E. Frye (former circuit overseer). He talked about his experience in joining a small church after he left the organization and I decided to give it a try based on his recommendation.

We'll see what happens.

38

Unbelievable Watchtower quote from 1962!!.. ''Don't waste time speculating on what year Armageddon will come'' (check it on cd-rom if you like)

by defender of truth in

wt 6/15 1962 p.380-383.

"likewise it is possible to spend valuable time speculating on matters concerning the future.

one might ask, in what year will armageddon begin?...jehovah has not provided answers at this time.

Zoos

DATA-DOG: I even warned others to be careful of JWN because ther were "real apostates" here!

OH MY GOD! I did that too! LOL

28

Remember this picture?

by Zoos in

i went to a small non-denominational church yesterday - first time in a church since i left the borg 4 years ago - and this is how i observed several of the members singing.. .

boy... do those people love to sing.. .

i try not to judge the sincerity of others but i was a little put off by the experience because it looked fake, showy display-ish.

Zoos

Of course you do. It's not that old.

I went to a small non-denominational church yesterday - first time in a church since I left the borg 4 years ago - and this is how I observed several of the members singing.

BOY... DO THOSE PEOPLE LOVE TO SING.

I try not to judge the sincerity of others but I was a little put off by the experience because it looked fake, showy display-ish. For me, reading the bible, worship, etc... is a mental exercise, not an emotional one. So, I don't get this hands-in-the-air thing. I know that is a bit of a JW mind-set... at least I'm pretty sure it is. If someone in the hall was observed carrying on like this during the song they might be counseled to tone it down. AND YET they draw pictures of people singing just this way.

I'm a little twisted and confused.

75

FORGIVENESS ... You owe it to your health

by ABibleStudent in

i'm cleaning up my home of unnecessary magazines/newsletters that i have accumulated over the years.

while i was working as an employee i did not feel like i had the time to read them.

now that i'm not working as an employee but work as a volunteer to network and maintain workplace skills, i seem to have more time to read.. after reading many threads by former jws, i thought that the following article might help some to heal.

Zoos

I have kind of an odd relationship with forgiveness. It seems I'm only capable of forgiving someone if I can move that individual into a place in my mind where he/she never had any real value to me in the first place.

That's easily accomplished when I think of some of the poop dished to me by a couple of elders. They really never held any value in my life and so forgiving them is reasonably effortless. If they were to walk up to me today with even the slightest humility, I could shake their hand in a second.

Harder is the family. Given my tumultuous past with them - condemned for being gay - it is possible for me to move those people into a place where they never held any real value in my life, thus easier to forgive. But sometimes they leak into the crevasses of my mind where I store the valuable things. That's when it starts to hurt again and I find myself unable to forgive.

I hope to step off this roller-coaster someday.

20

Some JW on the street, my reaction...

by sp74bb in

jw
friends

today i had some of my worst experiences.

i saw a jw group walking on preaching.

one of them knows me well, we share a lot of week-end on rbc.. my first reaction was rage and nerves.

Zoos

Trujw, Ammo... those are great experiences.

I saw a group of JWs in the neighborhood two days ago as I was coming home from the store. They usually always knock and so I came in and did a mad rehearsal of how to act, what to say. I steadied myself. As I was sitting at the computer checking a few things I heard the knock. I could feel the pressure mount as I walked toward the door.

It was the UPS man.

16

Past couple years of being awake might be catching up with me

by noonehome in

i was a little too honest with a super close friend who is one of the most important people in my life.

my mistake.

she talked to an elder about my doubts...i know she had my best interests in mind and i hold nothing against her.

Zoos

If I lose these people I'll die

You most certainly will not die. You will get hurt like the rest of us, but you will not die. You will strengthen yourself starting now, you will plant your feet, you will rely on the resources of this forum, you will lean into the storm... you will do everything it takes and you will not have to do it alone.

Capeesh?

11

JWS CELEBRATE 100 YEARS SINCE 1914: HAPPY BIRTHDAY 1914 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

by steve2 in

jw
friends

the us edition of the june kingdom ministry urges the still-active witnesses to get out and preach in august saying that it is fitting because the anniversary of the start of the time of the end will be in that month.

what arch hypocrites!.

they won't allow children to have birthdays but they celebrate a date on a calendar that suits their doctrinal purpose...which is itself virtually the "birthday" of the start of the time of the end - according to their doctrine.. perhaps the "celebrations" will backfire when they try to load 100 candles on the celebratory cake and there will be a huge burnout of faith in this man-made date.. besides, the organization was incorporated in 1876 - decades before 1914.. there may well be moments of unease when the few witnesses with operating brain cells realize the organization has kept them in panic-mode to urgently preach about an end that never comes.

Zoos

Splash, Prologos, I see now. That makes sense. (EDIT: Your point makes sense, not WT dogma) This means my understanding was flawed even when in.

Steve2, sorry for the sideline.

11

JWS CELEBRATE 100 YEARS SINCE 1914: HAPPY BIRTHDAY 1914 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

by steve2 in

jw
friends

the us edition of the june kingdom ministry urges the still-active witnesses to get out and preach in august saying that it is fitting because the anniversary of the start of the time of the end will be in that month.

what arch hypocrites!.

they won't allow children to have birthdays but they celebrate a date on a calendar that suits their doctrinal purpose...which is itself virtually the "birthday" of the start of the time of the end - according to their doctrine.. perhaps the "celebrations" will backfire when they try to load 100 candles on the celebratory cake and there will be a huge burnout of faith in this man-made date.. besides, the organization was incorporated in 1876 - decades before 1914.. there may well be moments of unease when the few witnesses with operating brain cells realize the organization has kept them in panic-mode to urgently preach about an end that never comes.

Zoos

Not trying to derail the thread...

Watchtower, September 1, 1989, p.18 par.3

Since Jesus will never die again, he is in position to rule as King over mankind for a thousand years and to “bruise” the head of the symbolic serpent, crushing him out of existence after the end of the Thousand Year Reign.

JWs understand his rule as king started in 1914. WT stated doctrine is that his rule will last 1000 years. If I'm missing something here I'll be happy to participate in a new thread to hammer out the details.

31

"The Devil is at Work!"

by HeyThere in

i consider myself a christian.

seriously did not even think that jw was that much different...but now i know better and it has my mind spinning.

i have stopped answering questions, say my own prayers to god at the meetings, and plastr on a fake smile.

Zoos

HeyThere, as I was reading your post I thought of the experience provided in this thread by Don Cameron, author of Captives of a Concept - highly recommended reading for you.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/229474/1/Applying-Chapter-21-e2809cCaptives-of-a-Concepte2809d#.U1Jlq_ldXdd

Sounds like you're very fortunate in that your husband and in-laws don't appear to be hard-core against what you are saying, taking more of a Christian-esque approach to your difference in understanding. Use that card wisely. It is unique. May I suggest you get Don's book and try the method used by the guy in this experience.

And best wishes on your surgery.

12

Here is my prediction.

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

i think next year they will have the memorial at a larger event space like where they held their circuit assemblies.

i noticed each first congregation at each kingdom hall has to leave immediately because each 2nd congregation is coming afterwards.

the first congregation does not really have the time to greet new people after the memorial.

Zoos

Emeth that is the way my old congregation started doing it, just about the time I was waking up.

In fact, that first time in a large banquet room at a local Marriott Hotel was also the last time I met (in a JW atmosphere) with my then bible study. I had admitted to him during our last few studies together that I was beginning to have doubts about the religion I was teaching him. He rightly asked, "If you don't believe this stuff, what's the point of continuing this study?"

Anyway, he met me at the Marriott for his first and last Memorial out of respect. When the singing started, it sounded terrible and pathetic as this was also the first year the new song book came out and nobody knew the melody. I was SOOO embarrassed - not only in front of this soon-to-be ex bible study, but also the hotel staff that was supporting the event.

Watchtower craziness is bad enough when it is conducted within the confines of a Kingdom Hall. When it starts leaking out into other people's buildings... YIKES!

BTW - that ex bible student and I are now awesome friends.