Venting *#&(#*!

by Tashawaa 12 Replies latest jw friends

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  Tashawaa

  I'm getting that religious people realllly get on my nerves - no matter how "well meaning" they are. I read in one of the posts some advice to the newly "ex'd" and I appreciated it, especially the point how other's may want to "save" you now that you've left your religion.

  Get this... I work with 2 born-agains and my boss is a Mormon. They've all made some comments about that "I shouldn't let this experience destroy my faith in Jesus" (tolerable, assuming I believed in him) however, one co-worker has a new zeal for her born-again faith and has raised many topics with me because she respects my opinion. Yesterday, she pissed me off with a "how she's been so blessed". Nothing can piss me off more than this statement. It infers that God chooses who will do well, and who won't, and blesses them accordingly. I told her that I can agree with being appreciative of what we have, however ... blah, blah, blah. The short of it all is, this morning she showed me her morning "scripture" and commentary (shocking how much I'm learning that all religious people are very similar to JWs), and it happened to be on "foolish questioning".

  Hell, that use to be thrown in my face all the time as a witness. The threads here are full of them "Kangaroos only in Australia", the "144,000", etc. If it can't be answered by the Bible, then its a "foolish question". How nice and tidy. You're thinking ability is somehow dimishing your FAITH in God. Bullshit. If He exists, He can answer the questions -

  ooohhhhhh that felt good. Now back to work.
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  Silverleaf

  Hi Tashawaa,

  you wrote:

  "Yesterday, she pissed me off with a "how she's been so blessed". Nothing can piss me off more than this statement. It infers that God chooses who will do well, and who won't, and blesses them accordingly. "

  I know exactly how you feel. The worst are the people who win the lottery and the first thing they do is thank God for answering their prayers. It makes me want to slap them and remind them that if they truly believed in their God they'd be scared to death to win the lottery, since HE suppsedly doesn't let rich people into heaven.

  Silverleaf
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  blondie

  It infers that God chooses who will do well, and who won't, and blesses them accordingly.

  I always wondered why God allowed the apostle James to be beheaded at such a young age and his brother John lived to be 100. Did James do something wrong?

  Tash, just shut them down politely if you can.

  Blondie

  PS Where I work it violates the work rules to talk about religion other than on break or lunch. And it is enforced. Yay!
• 

  Tinkerbell4125

  All this reminds me of back when I was a Jehover Witnit and we had a pioneer sister and a brother to get into two separate car accidents the same weekend. The brother was a good brother and worked hard to support his wife and kids, but he didn't survive the accident. I remember how all the brothers and sisters at the hall commented on how Jehover's spirit was with the pioneer sister, how valueble she was to the borg because she was a pioneer. It always pissed me off royally because I felt, was this poor brother less valued because he wasn't a pioneer. I even commented about it to my brother who was a elder. He said I had a bad attitude. That wasn't anything new! They make me sick too.
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  benext

  Yes the "have a blessed day" crowd with their "Jesus Loves You" bag and the practiced pious facial expression. I was trapped on a bus two weeks ago with a woman who was apparently practicing her sermon for when she gets her own church. For 30 minutes she ranted until it was her stop. Know them well.
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  A Paduan

  Silverleaf,

  It's a funny thing that isn't it, after all the bible says about rich and poor, and giving what you have to the needy.

  Considering " any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple" and "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God"

  The ransom of a man's life is his riches, but the poor does not hear rebuke.

  What sort of 'blessing' are people after.

  paduan

  Edited by - a paduan on 31 October 2002 16:17:58
• 

  undercover

  All this reminds me of back when I was a Jehover Witnit and we had a pioneer sister and a brother to get into two separate car accidents the same weekend. The brother was a good brother and worked hard to support his wife and kids, but he didn't survive the accident. I remember how all the brothers and sisters at the hall commented on how Jehover's spirit was with the pioneer sister, how valueble she was to the borg because she was a pioneer. It always pissed me off royally because I felt, was this poor brother less valued because he wasn't a pioneer. I even commented about it to my brother who was a elder. He said I had a bad attitude. That wasn't anything new! They make me sick too.

  I remember shortly after 9/11 last year getting an email from someone who supposedly had contacts at Bethel. An experience was read to the Bethelites(according to this email) about how a young brother had for years been trying to get employment at some company in NY. He had finally been offered the job but he would have to start the same week he was scheduled to go to MS school. He was in a quandry. Should he miss the school and take this job, which would in the long run allow him to better provide for his family or should he turn down the job and go to the MS school? After much prayerful consideration he decided to turn down the job and go to the MS school. How blessed he was by this decision. His first day on the new job would have been 9/10/01 and the company's office was in the World Trade Center.

  I was instantly incensed. What about the 13 or so other brothers who did lose their lives? Were they not blessed? Were they not good JWs? Did they deserve to die? There was a brother who was a firefighter. He ran into the building because it was his job to help save people. He died. Should he prayerfully not have taken this job and sought some safer line of work? Just because this guy was lucky, yes, lucky, being blessed had nothing to do with it, his experience is used to try to manipulate JWs into being obedient little dubs. This experience, if true, upsets me everytime I think about. This is shameless manipulation of someones fate into trying to control peoples lives.
• 

  Tashawaa

  Thanks for the replies... it got me laughing. At least I know I'm not the only one annoyed by it. Yes the lottery, or my favorite - Music Awards. You always get one that "Thanks the Lord".

  I partially feel sorry for her. No not partially - fully. I, at one time in my life (its becoming a more foggy memory) wondered "what I was doing wrong" when I was pioneering, my husband (now ex) was an elder, we contributed $$$, answered diligently, looked for the shhhheeeeppp, didn't swear, smoke - well you get the picture - and I got a disease, he got fired, a death in the family all in a few months time. No "blessings" there. Guess I was going thru the "Job" syndrom then.

  Now I'm a divorced, casual smoking, binge drinkin', swearing cougar and I'm happy, have a few dollars in the bank, friends galore and the freedom to think and speak (what I'M thinkin' not some churned out "quotes"). I feel very "BLESSED". lol

  For me, its the guilt thing again. Also a way for this person to feel that the good in her life is do to her "god-fearing works, love, etc." whereas when bad happens, its basically that person's fault or something other's can avoid.

  Ohhhhh - it still pisses me too, with the whole "turn down foolish questioning"... bastards. Don't question anything OR wait until God provides the answer. I'm sick of waiting and I'll ask all the stupid foolish non-answerable questions I GD feel like asking! (hmmm, abit more steam released) LOL
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  outoftheorg

  Yes Tashawaa.

  I agree with your opinions of God putting special blessing and protection on some.

  But You missed the one that irritates me a lot. Give them a rational question or explanation on something and the reply is But You Must Have Faith!! And they smile at me. It is that damned self righteous smile that gets to me.

  Reminds me of the story of the guy that fell off a cliff. He grabs a bush growing out of the cliff and hangs on. He starts some heavy duty praying to God. Finally God answers and says "just let go".

  They guy keeps on praying and again God says" just let go" the guy says if I let go I will die. Again God says "You must have faith just let go".

  There is a long pause and finally the guy says " Is there anyone else up there?

  Outoftheorg
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  A Paduan

  lol "got any other salvations goin'"

  Yeah, the smile - it's like, " I'll just smile, this'll do the job " - I wonder, is that an angel of light disguise?

  Edited by - a paduan on 31 October 2002 18:33:50