i have been thinking a lot since i posted my experience about leaving the troof.
if you haven't read it already, it's here:.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/59152/1.ashx.
Shamus:
When I was disfellowshipped from the congregation, I sent a letter to every family in the congregation explaining my reasons for leaving and informing them of the treatment I received from the elders. I never had a response from anyone...but did have the satisfaction to have the last word.
when we first left the dubs, we celebrated x-mas pretty much straight away, but had no decorations or tree, and only gave gifts to each other.
for some reason it just seemed wrong to put up decorations and we continued to celebrate this way for about 5 years.
we decided to put up decorations when it was my daughters 1st x-mas, and have never looked back.
Jehovah's Witnesses are not the first to reject Christmas because of its pagan origins. Many early Protestant churches once viewed Christmas and other "Catholic" holidays as unacceptable. Puritans refused to celebrate it for the same reasons. I remember years ago seeing an old Baptist publication that condemned Christmas as not being "Christian."
So, for those who choose not to celebrate, there is a tradition that is much older than the Watchtower Society that avoided all that was considered "materialistic" and "unchristian." The choice is up to the individual. But if one chooses not to celebrate, one will be among other Christians who made the same choice.
when we first left the dubs, we celebrated x-mas pretty much straight away, but had no decorations or tree, and only gave gifts to each other.
for some reason it just seemed wrong to put up decorations and we continued to celebrate this way for about 5 years.
we decided to put up decorations when it was my daughters 1st x-mas, and have never looked back.
Auntie Jane:
My wife and I no longer wait for a special holiday to celebrate with friends and family. We celebrate for the joy of getting together and sharing our lives... not for an assigned day largely set by commercial interests. To us there is something almost obscene in watching children tear off the wrappings, throw aside the gift and then look for more. In a month, most of the gifts are forgotten or broken.
Our kids who left the organization celebrated Christmas in a big way at first. But we've noticed that they have toned down much of it now. In fact, one of our daughters recently said she "dreads" the thought of another one. We do enjoy the music and lights of the season.
We always thought the decision of the Watchtower Society was arbitrary. We would have respected it more if they had given the reasons why it considered it pagan and unchristian...and then left it up to each individual to make a decision about it.
Do we celebrate birthdays? Yes...especially those of our grandchildren. The one holiday that we do enjoy is Thanksgiving. We never did understand the reason of the Watchtower for eliminating it. It probably was a matter of control. It's the one time when family members, JWs and non-JWs, used to come together as a family. And this was, perhaps, the greatest danger of all.
the arizona republic reports on this story: "eeoc suits claim bias at 3 valley businesses.
employees allege religious discrimination.
the equal employment opportunity commission has sued three prominent valley businesses in behalf of a mormon, non mormon, and 2 jehovah's witness workers, who allegedly were discriminated against because of their religious affiliations.
Discrimination is ugly wherever it appears. But one also has to wonder what prompted the manager to take such an action? Imagine the "preaching work" that must have been done with 2 JWs and a Mormon working in the same environment???
Apple:
My impression is that Jehovah's Witnesses had much to do with the writing of that obituary. It sounds too much like an "experience" that one would hear at an assembly or Kingdom Hall. It would be interesting to hear comments from her neighbors and relatives who were not in the organization.
It's sad that she died at such an relatively early age. As already expressed, I hope she found fulfillment in her active life as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Having been in the organization for that length of time, I wonder if she ever had doubts and questions about the Watchtower Society?
i found this comment from http://www.catholicherald.com/saunders/03ws/ws030925.htm
the jehovah witnesses say that jesus is god's son, but is inferior to god.
they condemn the trinity as pagan idolatry and accordingly deny christ's divinity.
It is a misnomer to call it a "Trinitarian Formula." I would call it a scriptural formula instead. Trinitarians seem to jump on such references to "prove" their doctrine. For years they cited 1 John 5:7 until scholars clearly showed it was a later addition to the Bible. But the fact is the Bible does not teach the trinity. The abundance of evidence lies with the unitarian belief.
yes verginia, i did not go to the one day assembly today because of these reasons:
i sang with my friends at a night club till 1:am, and i slept till noon, and just had to set in my sweats and eat hot cakes with sausage gravy along with a cup of coffee.
and because i find surfing the web much more educational and entertaining than setting on hard seats hearing some cone head asking me "what sort of persons ought you to be blah blah" and waiting in lines to go pee and do #2, and i find it much more fun to plop down in front of my tv and watch cable springer eating potato chips and dip.
Singing man:
Which one did you attend: Polo Grounds or the Tent City? We were at the Polo Grounds. At times, we had to sit in the hot sun. We had three little ones with us. We had to stand in those long cafeteria lines for lunch. It was quite an experience. One that I'm not anxious to repeat! We stayed with an old Jewish woman in the Bronx. We laughed when she asked us if we would like a nice drink of orange juice. We politely said we would. She said "Good, I'll take your oranges and squeeze them for you." We also ate a late meal in a Jewish Restaurant. We were the only Gentiles there. But the manager brought us over some delicious soup "on the house" to have with our meal. We appreciated his kindness.
Looking back my wife and I wonder how we did it all. But after leaving the organization, we vowed never to attend another assembly of any kind. Now, we seek out the quiet refuge of national and state parks. We learn more about God in these places than we ever did at the assemblies.
not sure if you remember me but i have posted here a few times and i read the boards whenever i get a chance (not very often now because baby no.
i have a question for you all reguarding my cousin-in-law, hope you can help me.
he is baptised but fell in love with a worldy girl and was pretty much living with her for a year but still attending meeting (the old double-life).
Judith:
I'm not sure what the official position is these days. But years ago one had to be officially disfellowshipped or disassociated. There were individuals who did a "fade out" by moving to another area. Sometimes people would say "well, he disassociated himself." But family members and friends could still have association with this person since nothing was done officially. The person was merely considered to be "weak."
My brother-in-law "faded out' when he moved to California. His wife and children still associated. But he condemned the Watchtower Society and thought the elders were "bastards." His wife and children never reported him because they loved him and didn't want the family life to change. (I admired them for this.) Sadly, when he died the "bastards" performed his funeral service.
Jehovah's Witnesses seem to need the official labelling regardless of how a person may feel about the organization.
.
ayn rand is mine.
just wondering so i can find a new book or books to read *smiles*.
I never was one much for fiction. But I do enjoy a good historical novel if it is well done. I did enjoy James Michner. He used to do a lot of research before writing his novels. Two of my favorites were Hawaii and The Source.
most of you are familiar with the history of the united nations.
prior to world war ii, the organization was formerly known as the league of nations.
after world war ii, the organization renamed itself the united nations, the so called world government which was to prevent anything like world war ii from ever happening again.. the united nations has rarely been united.
One always has to be careful in making prophetic application to a specific era. What if we are not living in the "time of the end?" Then, any application is of no value. Some Christians down through the centuries were convinced that their time was "the end." They made elaborate applications identifying each symbol in Revelation and other prophetic books. It sounded very reasonable at the time. But it simply was not true.
When I became a JW in the 1950s, I could not conceive how conditions could get any worse. I was convinced that we only had a few years left before "the end." Now, people look back to those years as a time of relative peace and happiness. Fifty years later, conditions are generally worse. But what we have to determine from all of this is whether or not we are just observing the end of a way of life or even a civilization rather than the end of the world. History is replete with examples of great civilizations that have come and gone. Perhaps, we are just observing another cycle of the same.
