Libby, each night I pick someone I loved who has died and tell them I miss them and goodnight as I lay in bed. That's my form of praying these days. It is an expression of remembrance and faith that they did in fact once exist. It makes me feel good to remember mom, both her laugh and scorn. God never blessed me with his face or communication so I choose not to talk with him anymore. Take control of your own belief system. Make it yours alone. Don't ever become a slave again. If God is out there he can't fault you for loving the good things in life. Welcome, your fog will clear and you will come to your own conclusions.
Wasanelder Once
JoinedPosts by Wasanelder Once
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41
Where do I go now?
by Libby inso i thought my purpose was to serve jehovah and get baptised.
where do i go now to get baptised?
is baptism even a requirement for serving god or was that just for the disciples and people of that time.
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Wasanelder Once
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An E-mail Exchange with an Elder
by Saename inever since i had become an atheist and started to listen to podcasts such as the one by sam harris or shows like the atheist experience, i began to think that it is my responsibility to believe as many true things and as few false things as possible.
in order to ensure that my beliefs are rationally justified, i started to follow logic, reason, and evidence.
i cannot say that all my beliefs are true, but i can definitely say that i make the efforts to ensure that they are at the very least reasonable.. i also became willing to debate people.
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Wasanelder Once
Fair enough. I look forward to your shorter posts. Those I will attempt. Just for kicks, notice how many replies you have, could it be because its too long and has too much to deal with?
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15
An E-mail Exchange with an Elder
by Saename inever since i had become an atheist and started to listen to podcasts such as the one by sam harris or shows like the atheist experience, i began to think that it is my responsibility to believe as many true things and as few false things as possible.
in order to ensure that my beliefs are rationally justified, i started to follow logic, reason, and evidence.
i cannot say that all my beliefs are true, but i can definitely say that i make the efforts to ensure that they are at the very least reasonable.. i also became willing to debate people.
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Wasanelder Once
Don't take this wrong but keep it brief. Pick a point and share it. Then in another post share another one. These sort of posts are hard for busy people to get the full value of due to time constraints. -
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Disfellowshipped Brother Gives Public Talk in Kingdom Hall
by The Searcher inabsolutely beautiful!.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vbmfx4isku.
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Wasanelder Once
The people didn't even hear anything different there, zoom! right over their heads. He had the same boring drone to him as all the speakers and I am sure they weren't even aware. That's what's sad about the KH and the public talks. I guess I gave apostate public talks all the time because i would focus on "undeserved kindness" ie; "Grace" in my public talks as often as possible. Man I don't care for the mentality that "I know this ancient book better than you, therefore I am holier than others." People make a living representing that book, pathetic. They can't do anything else skillfully so they hide behind it as if they wrote it. -
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The Surprise Of Many Over Shunning From Family And Friends
by dubstepped ini think there's a level of cognitive dissonance that is present within many that leave over the shunning thing.
i hear so many tales of people that leave and think that their family will talk to them.
sure, that does happen, but it's by far the minority.
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Wasanelder Once
If you are a lurker, still a witness, confused... read it and get used to it because this sort of abuse happens everyday. If you take a stand for what is right you may have to pay this price. Act wisely. You don't have to do it cold turkey. Read about fading and other options to get out incrementally, but GET OUT. We are here for you.
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How ballroom dancing helped our exit
by Finally Left injust wanted to say hello and thank you for all of your comments.
when i finally figured out this was not the truth it was nice to know i wasn't the only one - it was a surprise to learn how many there are.
february was my last month of service after 43 active years.
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Wasanelder Once
Foxtrot right out of that organization! Nice moves!
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Day 1: The Night of Anger, Tears, and Pain
by Saethydd inmy freedom came with a heavy cost.
i couldn't stand the dishonesty so when my sister went out of town on a trip i told my parents that i no longer wanted to be a jw.
when my sister got back and i told her she was so angry, said she really wanted to slap me, then she ran off sobbing, a few minutes later she deposited every gift i ever gave her in front of my door.. my entire family has turned against me.
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Wasanelder Once
Being honest with yourself is the best effort in life. A self inventory now and again can keep a person from becoming an automaton. The JW's desire all to be cookie cutter persons, slaves to a communal dullness and self deception. You have run with your hands in the air in sweet surrender to reality. The other hostages can't see the great crowd surrounding the bank where the Governing body keeps a gun filled with painful blanks pointed at them. Applause to you. Take courage and know others are with you.
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If a person is transgender and gets saved what will they go to heaven as?
by Nikorasu95 ini know this is a stupid question because the answer is obvious, but if a person was born a male and gets transgender surgery to turn into female will that person go to heaven as a male or female if they died saved?
i think they will go to heaven with the gender they were born with.
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Wasanelder Once
As a ghost. Perhaps a pirate or a clown?
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Asking a Jew about the Name "Jehovah"
by David_Jay injehovah's witnesses...that's the trademark of the religion, the use of the name "jehovah.
" if there is anything jws and non-jws can agree on is that this one thing sets them apart from everybody else.. i have only had witnesses come to my door less than five times since i left in the 1990s.
i guess they don't work the territory i live in often, or perhaps after that first time (which was still after the year 2000) they have marked the words "jew who knows a lot" or something in their notes on my address.
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Wasanelder Once
Too long, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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When was the first time you said, "thank you for your service" to someone?
by Coded Logic inmine was to some random guy in uniform i saw on the street about two years ago.
even as a jw i knew that we had a lot of freedoms here in the us that were hard earned.
it felt really good to finally be able to say in person to someone when i i did..
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Wasanelder Once
Coded, cool. You spend your life and the lives of your youngsters to stop the current rape in Africa, or the middle east or wherever. I say stop the culture that teaches that it's ok. Stop dumping billions in aid to the very same criminal countries where we prop up the dictator who later is exposed for the raping our government knew about all along. Nope, my kids will be taught not to die for bullshit governments. Our life is our own. Feel free to go rapist hunting if it makes you feel better. It's ironic that we never were put in danger of Vietnamese people until the war was over and they came to California and formed the most horrific gangs. Now they are definitely raping people. All those brave soldiers that didn't get a hug were used to make a mess and then it came back to bite us in the ass. Come to California and help prevent rapes!
"In the long-established mostly Mexican barrios along Anaheim Street, where increasing numbers of shops now display pictures of the temple of Angkor Wat, residents take refuge in their homes after dark, some turning off their lights for safety, as carloads of young men with guns cruise the streets."
"It's just like in a war zone," he said. "Everybody is scared. But you see, we Cambodians have no country to go back to. Our homeland is a war zone."
"Officer Chittapalo said Long Beach's Cambodians learned from Vietnamese gang members. "They had very good teachers who taught them very well: extortion, armed robbery, rape and other things like drive-by shootings," he said."
When you see a Vietnam vet, thank them for that. My point is, the soldier is not in charge of the war they are sent to, but they can choose whether or not to engage in a job where they kill for hire.