Sam, thanks for the youtube link to the interview. I will watch it when I have a chance. I am also reading COC but only a little at a time.
thedog1
JoinedPosts by thedog1
-
73
this week's wt study
by thedog1 ini conducted the wt study tonight on higher education.
i wondered what the reaction of the bros and sis would be.
there was no deviation from the idea that a university education is not a good idea.
-
-
-
63
The " HIGHER EDUCATION" thread!!!
by DATA-DOG inalright.
let's have the ultimate discussion on "higher education.
" let's talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly.
-
-
thedog1
DD, very well balanced comments about university, acknlowledging the pitfalls, but allowing individuals to make their own choice. Unfortunately, as you say, people will be stigmatized if they go or send their children to university. In our hall, one bro wantedto create some waves as the son of an elder is doing a hotel management course, not really uni but a two year course. Fortunately, it was generally ignored, but overall I think this article in the wt was very unbalanced. It gives the what I call the fanatical wing something to beat others with.
-
73
this week's wt study
by thedog1 ini conducted the wt study tonight on higher education.
i wondered what the reaction of the bros and sis would be.
there was no deviation from the idea that a university education is not a good idea.
-
-
thedog1
not so easy to ditch the study just like that. His whole family except his dad are fully in, and would really wonder why I could not continue. He also wants to be my friend and this is a very tight congregation where everybody is related to everybody else. I will have to see how it goes. On a personal level I want to help him to settle down and get his life together. General principles in the scriptures would really help him so I think I will concentrate on the positive, helpful and practical stuff.
-
73
this week's wt study
by thedog1 ini conducted the wt study tonight on higher education.
i wondered what the reaction of the bros and sis would be.
there was no deviation from the idea that a university education is not a good idea.
-
-
thedog1
hijosdelawatch, sad that somebody would be that rude to embarrass you in the wt study. I have always tried to avoid doing this. Some aspects of university life can pose a challenge to people in relation to values and beliefs, but I still think we should have freedom of choice without somebody breathing down our necks and making pointed, stupid comments about people not obeying Jehovah if they go to university. That is what free will is all about. Every time I conduct a WT study I try to take all viewpoints into consideration, and the circumstances of all present, as far as I can, to avoid making anybody feel accused or guilty about choices they make. Christianity is not about making people feel guilty, but encouraging people to follow Christ's example.
As to your question, Sam, about what I want, it's a good question. I don't know at the moment. I am currently conducting a bible study with the son of a sister in the congregation. He was very zealous for a while, then started to miss all the meetings and do nothing about studying etc. Yesterday we had a study and now, even though he is not baptised yet, he wants to pioneer! He seems to have seen the light. This made me feel very schizophrenic as I have, as you know, been having a lot of doubts recently. Now I am in the position of trying to help somebody else to progress to baptism. Interesting dilemma. Can I encourage him to officially take on a set of beliefs that I myself do not completely believe in anymore?
-
21
welcome new poster Jen1 on my thread 'making connections'
by losingit inplease welcome jen1 to the jwnforum.
she posted for the first time on my thread 'making connections.
' let's all please encourage her!!!!.
-
-
thedog1
Hi Jen 1. My wife is going through a similar situation but for very different reasons. We are in a very loving cong who are concerned if people are not well. She has had huge physical, emotional and psychological problems in the recent past, partly through trying too hard to live up to expectations of others. She also pioneered but found it too much, and now is turning into a bit of a hermit. some bros and sis are very concerned, genuinely, and that is nice. But she, probably like you, needs some room to breathe and decide what she will do next. She puts herself under pressure for not going on min, and attending meetings and being on school, but she told me recently that she just needs to take things at her own pace and try to survive. Just to live, and take it as she finds it. I am still serving as an elder and this makes her feel guilty for not being the good example of 'an elder's wife.' I have reassured her to forget that nonsense, and just try to find her own way to deal with it. Not the typical elder orthodox approach, but more a human being approach, I hope1
-
73
this week's wt study
by thedog1 ini conducted the wt study tonight on higher education.
i wondered what the reaction of the bros and sis would be.
there was no deviation from the idea that a university education is not a good idea.
-
-
thedog1
I conducted the WT study tonight on higher education. I wondered what the reaction of the bros and sis would be. There was no deviation from the idea that a university education is not a good idea. This was somewhat amusing to me as the qualifications I have include a university degree, although I did it through distance learning, through online courses etc. But I still have a degree which is useful for the educational work I do by which I make my living. I actually wanted to post a question after one of the final paragraphs of the study which relates the experience of a bright young man who chose to do a vocational course instead of university and feels that it has been worth it to him because of reaching his spiritual goals. The question I wanted to ask, but I ran out of time was, 'So, is it right under any circumstances to go to university?' But I didn't get to ask it!
-
37
Help me...!
by OneDayillBeFree inlost my job, just a week before making the final arrangements to move into my very own apartment.. got a speeding ticket on the following sunday for trying to make it to the meeting "on time", (never made it to the hall, just parked in the back of a shopping center for 2 hours in silence).. marked by the elders for quitting pioneering, no more commenting and "failing to adhere to bible counsel".. jw family sees me as a disappointment.
non-jw family is too far away to care.. found out ex-girlfriend got df'ed and is now pregnant.
puts some of the blame on me for how things turned out.. realizing that she's not entirely wrong as i was still an ignorant, kiss-ass, die hard jwdub when we started dating, always putting the "kingdom interests first" never having time for her since "the end was so freaking close" and then warping her up in the mess of me learning ttatt.. dwelling night after night in "what could have been" if i had never been a jw.. alternating between being a theist, atheist and agnostic on a daily basis to the point where i don't care anymore yet getting creeped the f*ck out when facing my own mortality and the thought of me dying alone.. always coming to the same conclusion, when i find myself alone on friday nights and weekends, that i have no actual friends, only two conditional jw "friends" which are both currently out of town for about a month and 0 real, non-jw friends.. haven't been able to sleep well in literally weeks now.
-
-
thedog1
Some great posts here. Some really good advice. And particularly the offer of help from you Sam (aka Kate Wild). Now that is what I call Christianity in action. You are some lady. Maybe apologies to all the ex-Christians on this forum, though not really as I am still an active Witness, elder, etc.) but I hope I acknowledge good sense when I see it.
-
10
Happy Friday the 13th!
by wearewatchingyouman inanybody have any plans to chase black cats under ladders while breaking mirrors and spilling salt?.
-
-
thedog1
sorry, dekatria!!
-
10
Happy Friday the 13th!
by wearewatchingyouman inanybody have any plans to chase black cats under ladders while breaking mirrors and spilling salt?.
-
-
thedog1
Wow, I love that paraskevidekatriaphobia. As all of us Greek scholars know, Paraskevi is Friday in Greek, and detatria is 13!!!!
-
52
I gave up my job to pioneer, did you? Matt 6.33 did Jehovah provide?
by KateWild ini was a chemical analyst.
i loved my job, and love chemistry.
i worked in a variety of fields such a pharmaceutical and industrial.
-
-
thedog1
Sam, as to your question as to whether i gave up a career for the kingdom, I have to say that I didn't. I have done so many different types of work over the years, none of which I really minded, so long as I could keep my head above water and provide for my wife and myself. Window cleaning, having my own business, and now teaching, which I enjoy immensely. I always had an interest in writing but never had the time to develop it. I have been trying to write a book, mostly personal experience of living in a foreign country for a number of years, but very slow process. That is one of the main things I did not pursue because I was very busy with congregational activities. The brother in the article does seem to be maybe acting out of self-interest if he hated his job. Now he seems to have found another then it has worked out ok for him, but to take a flyer and hope for the best with young children to support seems foolish. There is only myself and my wife in our family and even at that I would not just up and leave a job to pioneer in a blind faith sort of way. The scriptural obligation is for a man to take care of his wife and family, and providing he is not doing something unscriptural, then he should do his very best to support them financially. We are constantly encouraged to go and imitate the ant and his wise ways in preparing for the future in the book of Proverbs. We don't need to be over the top about it, just sensible to provide for unexpected twists and turns. Some bros I know have made foolish decisions and then sometimes expect the cong to provide for them. Personally we can of course do what we can, but an individual's own responsibility is still always there.