IslandWoman you are singing to the choir on this one. With the experience we have as jw's youwould think that we would slow down and be empathetic in order to help the dubs. But for some reason on these sites the Wt bashing never ends- It never ceases to amaze how we never stop to think- how would we have reacted to such comments about the wt when we were loyal dubs- unless most here never really bought into it to begin with.
kelsey007
JoinedPosts by kelsey007
-
36
The Pot Calling the Kettle Black
by IslandWoman ini wonder sometimes if to outsiders who visit this and other xjw discussion boards it seems as if xjws never "bought the farm" and that's why they look down on those who did.
there is much ridicule of the rank and file here, why?
if we placed literature, conducted a bible study, brought a bible study to the point of baptism, gave talks, commented at the watchtower study, volunteered,
-
-
-
14
The Morality of Teenage Baptism
by metatron inif the watchtower claims it only does what the bible says.
and does not "go beyond the things that are written", then by.
what authority does it encourage the baptism of teenagers?.
-
-
kelsey007
Intersting to say the least. I remember thinking about this when I was being pushed to get baptized as a teen. I kept argueing that Jesus did not get baptized until he was in his 30's.
Of course the catholics take it to another level all together. Infant baptisms. And then there are the mormons who baptize the dead. Jw's are far from being alone in strange and if you will unbiblical pratices-
-
5
If only I could have had one more moment
by kenpodragon inwhen i was about 23 years old a friend of mine came down with cancer.
we had spent a lot of our time growing up together, from fishing to doing the pioneer thing.
basically, we knew each other very well.
-
-
kelsey007
LyinEyes count your blessings. However, my experience is that they do hold respect in the case of minors in such situations. Not all situations mind you, but in the case of an unbaptized youth I have not noticed that they attack the underage. They go instead to the "head of the house". Maybe this is not true in all cases, but again I can only speak of what I have seen.
Like your family, even though my ex is still a JW my son was allowed to make his own decision- without any jw-bashing on my part. He too made the decision that the WT was not for him. I would have still loved and respected him if had chosen to go with his mother....
I now feel so much better knowing that the decision was his and made without verbal influence from me. To me it made his choice even better and substantial.
-
15
food for thought
by ballistic in.
here's some light reading for you.... http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/finalmeals.htm.
i was wondering if anybody ordered "to go"..
-
-
kelsey007
Knowing I was about to die I would order and send it to those who had time to enjoy the meal..
-
24
A small victory or more??
by JG inlast night my wife told me that she would be celebrating the holidays with me and the kids.
she said i'm a good husband and i deserve it.
she also said maybe we should look at other religions together.
-
-
kelsey007
How wonderful! Sounds like you exercised quiet patience and she came to this in her onw time!
Congradulations!
-
9
"Community Facility" 1988 reveals Borg
by Dogpatch incheck out this file and the links to its sources, from a "jw disssident" in canada that may have prevented its being built:.
http://www.freeminds.org/history/communityfacility.htm.
randy watters.
-
-
kelsey007
Thank you for sharing this! This is exactly the venue I would hope to see. This guy is on target with what needs to be done to force change and protect the innocent. Well worded and well thought out!
-
6
JW Youth killed in car accident in Ohio
by mamashel inthis story made me cringe.
my daughters boyfriend (who is no longer in) and her came over sunday to tell me the news of a young boy we knew from a previous hall we attended.
he was about 19 or 20 years old.. my daughter said that his dad had just recently kicked him out of the house because they felt he was going against jehovahs will.
-
-
kelsey007
Recently I almost lost my 22 year old son to bacterial menegitis. Only a short time before I had ordered my son out of the house. His behaviour was very disuptive to my life. As he laid in the hospital near death I was not overwhelmed by guilt for having forced him out of my home.
After taking Jon off of life support he cam out of his comma and though he lost both of his feet he is alive. My feelings of love for Jon never left- even as I felt compelled to kick him out of my house. His mother is an active JW. Though I do not support the WT I have never been on an anti-JW campaign. I never take lightly the feelings of others- jw or not. I never try to impute what may be in the hearts of others or what their motivations may or may not be.
As my heart goes out to the family of this young man I think it sad to use this as a vehicle to further bash and pick apart the religion of his father's choice. This type of attitude rings loudly of the message in another post I read- "Were any of them witnesses?"
Is ones hate toward the WT so great that we feel the need to use it as a opportunity to bash the WT once again? Have we forgotten that we too, or at least most of us, were jw's as shared in these beliefs?
How sad that this young man was killed under any circumstances. My thoughts are with his father as he deals with this pain. To lose one's child is the worst of all losses one can face-
In repsonse to yura: I have never pushed my children toward any dorections except that they have an education, be honest, caring and find happiness in what ever course they may choose in life. I have a close friend who gets offended when I say that her son may be happy as a mail carrier. She has expectations of him being a lawyer of doctor- which is fine and good if that is what HE want and chooses. But equally being a mail carrier or janitor for that matter may be fullfilling to him. His career path is not what makes him who he is. His wealth or lack of it does not make him what he is. It is what is in HIS heart that makes him.
Edited by - kelsey007 on 2 October 2002 15:29:48
-
61
Are we wrong to attack the Elders?
by MARTINLEYSHON ini see a number of board members alluding to the elders as antagonists.
this is amoral.
there is an inference that these ones ( elders ) can think for themselves, they cannot.
-
-
kelsey007
The question should be: From where we sit today- as ex jw's- is it productive to attack the elders or nitpick the WT? Is it healthy?
Are we not seeking to limit freedom of choice for others? Our experiences with the WT lead us to feel a certain way about the org. Millions of others still choose the WT course of life. To call the elders or the WT evil is only an admission that most here were either evil are a part of evil for a good part of our lives.
Was it continual criticisms from ex jws that prompted you to leave the WT? Or was it personal experiences from within the WT that prompted your leave? Did not most of us here, as jw's, close our ears to apostates? Do you not remember how you and most all jw's viewed negative comments about the WT or the elders while you were Bro. or Sis. Loyal?
To me then it is not a question of "is it wrong"? To me it is a question of "is it right"? Is it productive? And does it really help us "get beyond" the experience"?
It seems to me that ex-jws more than another other ex-members of a religion remain consumed with the organization that they were at one time a part of. No other ex members seem so thrilled to see a group picked apart.
I have often compared the relationship to that of a recently divorced person. They claim they hate thier ex. They compare their ex to new relationships. They express glee when they feel vindicated that something they accused their ex of is exposed. They can't get their ex out of their minds. Bottom line they are still in love with thier ex and can't move on.... Always making statements of "Oh no, my ex is about to ruin someone elses life the way they did mine!" I must warn this person before they get involved with my ex-
-
27
You can hate for many years, but you can love for
by kenpodragon inone of those subjects we all study at some point in school, is the holocaust.
i remember thinking before i learned about it, that i knew all the horrors of this event already.
after all, it had been mentioned on many programs.
-
-
kelsey007
"Could you ever begin to love Charles Manson if......" It is not a matter of hating evil- it is a matter of finding something to love and making that your focus- not to dwell on the evils of others, after all in some way or the other we each have some evil.
-
20
JW's, no worse than anyone else?
by sleepy inas far as i can see most jw's no worse than anyone else on this planet.
humans are often in "conflict" with the opinions of other humans , believing their ideal is "right" while others are "wrong".in general the people that make up jehovahs witness, that is seperate from those leading ,are often trying to do their best to do what they think is right.this sometimes leads them to do things i believe are wrong even .but so do many other people and groups do things i think are wrong.am i the only one who is right?i think not.there are no rules to being human just choices, some based on what some feel to be scientific reality other on spiritual fealing other on something else.
who desides what is the best, is there even a best way of life?so while i belive jw's are factualy wrong and this causes them to do , what seem to me to be illogical things so do most other people just in different ways.edited by - sleepy on 1 october 2002 14:17:32.
-
-
kelsey007
The bottom line is that most all here were affected by the WT. That is where their focus is. At least the WT does not stone women for having sex out of wedlock and make the women wear veils in public or behead people in soccor fields.
The world is full of radical religions. Once I got out of the WT and really looked at christianity I began to see how the whole concept was radical- virgin birth and th like. I do not bash others for not agreeing with me on that- but I equally do not want to see others bashed for thier choices in life. Some of the responses in this thread validated parts of what I have been trying to say. The list of things that some here hate about the WT.
It is best to get beyond any feelings toward the WT. To get beyond the anger- especially if one thinks that they want to help anyone- abuse victim or otherwise. A good therapist does not rally on the anger and hate side of thier victim. The therapist does not encourage the patient to go in public and make statements against what they need to get beyond. The therapist encourages private conversation and venting to get beyond the anger.
The heading at the top of the WT press release post read: "who are these people?" We know who they are. We were them. We of all people should be able to be more reasonable and logical in our approach to JW abuse victims. The jw's are human with human feelings just as we are and were and all others on this planet are. We need not fuel thier armagedon fire. We need not add credence to thier beliefs. And that is, I am afraid, just what we are doing....