Wanderer:
Yep, you pretty much summed up my life in your post! I vascillate between feeling like an embarrassed, stupid victim, to feeling righteous anger and resentment. Hope I graduate to just not caring one way or the other very soon.
Cog
cognizant dissident
JoinedPosts by cognizant dissident
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6
Watchtower Acceptance
by The wanderer inthe hope
promises of everlasting life in paradise earth are held.
out to the newly associated individuals.
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27
What one thing reminds you most of being a Witness?
by free2beme inthe mind is full of all kinds of things that can trigger memories.
it could be the taste of a certain spice that reminds you of a now passed relative who liked to cook.
it could be the smell of a perfume or cologne, that reminds you of a lover you once could not live without.
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cognizant dissident
lol @ free2beme:
My mom bought wrigley's juicy fruit gum to every meeting when I was a kid too. And her sister, brought wrigley's spearmint gum. We would usually get a stick of each. One for the talk and one for the watchtower. I realize now it was to shut us up and give us something to chew on since the spiritual food was so unpalatable to small children. I was so upset when all the talks came out telling us we couldn't chew gum at the meetings anymore. It was like the end of an era! Well, it would have been if I had obeyed it. I never stopped chewing gum at the meetings and I always gave my kid lifesavers to get through the assembly. One pack for the morning, one pack for the afternoon. How else is a little kid supposed to sit still for 6 hours? I didn't obey the vending machine rules either. (I can't believe the attendandants where Gary Bussey lives! I've never met anyone that rude here.) I guess I always was an independent (apostate) thinker at heart!
Cog
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8
What do you think people look down more on, Witnesses or New Age thinking?
by free2beme inmy sister last night was talking to me and saying, "you need to be careful that your son does not repeat the things you say about the new age thinking, wicca*, etc.
as most people are scared of that stuff and he will get looked down upon by others.
" i thought about this all day, and was thinking about something.
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cognizant dissident
I believe the kinds of people who look down on things they don't understand or know much about would look down on both equally and anything else they were unfamiliar with. I have found the "worldly" people I've met more open-minded to new or different beliefs than any of the JW's I know. People who are respectful to others beliefs would probably be respectful to both even if they didn't agree with them.
Cog
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25
Not enough words to tell you about it.
by Sparkplug inso at work i am a pretty chicken kind of person as far as the rules.
i usually walk the line and follow all of the code of business conduct things put upon me.
well last month the declared a surplus at my job.
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cognizant dissident
Sparky:
I think I see the problem. You are a sensitive woman with the heart of a poet (I liked your poem a lot), yet you work in a cold, heartless, corporate environment where it is survival of the fittest, and even your own friend may not back you up when her own back is to the wall. Who wouldn't cry in such a situation? You are human and you are being so hard on yourself!
Let's face it, sending joke e-mails is hardly a major crime in an otherwise stellar job performance history. Forgive yourself for the e-mail mistake, learn from it (someone is always watching), and move on. Ditto for the crying. The corporate world likes to treat everything as "just business" and often forgets the human element in a situation. So, your feelings got hurt and you let it show by crying. Not a big deal in the universe. If anyone at work gives you a hard time about it then tell them to "get over it". The big question is will you let yourself off the hook for making a little mistake and then getting emotional when the company made a huge deal of it? The elder's demand perfection and performance without support. We know that and how harmful it is to the flock emotionally, the corporate world demands the same and will beat you up (figuratively) if they don't get it. Will you let yourself make a mistake and stop beating yourself up for it?
cyberhugs,
Cog, (of the I have been in your shoes with the elder's and at work, reformed perfectionist class)
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"it's been said....."
by bonnzo inan elder in my hall prefixes his sentences with this phrase: "its been said...", usually followed by some ridiculous bullshit; an example: "it's been said that mans greatest accomplishment has been the worldwide preaching work".
i guess all scientific and medical advances are secondary.
anyway, his last one was this: "it's been said that by reading the awake magazine one can get the eqivalent to a college education.
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cognizant dissident
Well, next time some witness says reading the Awake! is the equivalent of a college education, ask them if they would let one of their brothers or sisters who had read every article on medicine and healthcare that the Awake! put out, operate on them next time they needed surgery? I think not!
Cog
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The Bible teaches that God kills unborn children
by free2beme ini was thinking about this today, in that so many christians claim the bible never speaks of god killing unborn children.
they use references to god saying that he would apply the "eye for an eye" rule with the accidental killing of a child in the womb of the woman.
yet, does anyone realize the bible speaks of the hebrew god as killing several, numerous, unborn children.
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cognizant dissident
"An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth, leaves the whole world blind and toothless".
Gandhi
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cognizant dissident
Yeah sure, first you have an innocent little birthday party... and the next thing you know you're asking for people's heads to be cut off and served to you on a platter... that's how it all starts ya know!
Happy Birthday!
Cog
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34
What do you like to read?
by JH in.
i must still be programmed to think like a jw, cause i like to read articles about how bad things are going in the world.
the worse the world conditions become, the more i love to read.
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cognizant dissident
Right now I am reading History of the World which is a compilation of many different historians who each have an expertise in a different area of civilization. So far, I've found lots of discrepancies in dates historians give for beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, destruct of Jerusalem, birth of Christ, etc. Its a great way to get conversations started with my husband about the society's chronologies without asking him to look at any "apostate" writings. Although, he does have a remarkable ability to dismiss all the learned historians of the world without actually reading or researching what they claim with a simple "they must be wrong!"
Cog
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A Dumb, Dumb, Dumb "Preaching Work"
by metatron inthe latest august kingdom ministry contains this little gem:.
" ....show how to handle the potential conversation stopper "i'm not interested in jehovah's witnesses".. um......... anybody remember that guy jesus, who started the whole idea of christian preaching, giving instructions on how to preach?.
like "casting pearls before swine" or shaking the dust off your feet if "a place will not receive you nor hear you"?
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cognizant dissident
But Metatron, if your house was on fire wouldn't you want the JW's to break down your door and pull you to safety? Even if they had to drag you kicking and screaming because you were disoriented from all the smoke inhalation? Shouldn't you be so grateful that they had saved your life by
shoving their literature down your throat against your willdragging you out of the fire?Cog
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Cab for cutie video!
by Dogpatch ingreat death cab for cutie video!.
i will follow you into the dark.. randy.
http://www.videocodezone.com/videos/d/death_cab_for_cutie/i_will_follow_you_into_the_dark.html.
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cognizant dissident
Beautiful song.