choosing life

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Posts by choosing life

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  1

  Religious Trauma In Childhood

  by serotonin_wraith in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i saw this on one of the advertisements on this site.. http://www.religioustrauma.com/?gclid=cncn5p_sxoccfq3txgode2wnia.

  if you haven't read it, have a look.

  i've found it really interesting.. .

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  choosing life

  This looks very good. More of this research needs to get into the news, to warn people. I became a witness to raise my children in a strong belief system to help them make good choices. Now my grown daughter has nightmares about her family being destroyed at Armegeddon. I wish I had this information 30 years ago.
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  ARE YOU RELIGIOUS BECAUSE YOU'RE AFRAID OF DEATH?

  by Dansk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been thinking about the above question a lot lately!

  i see so many so-called religious people being hypocritical to the religion they profess to have faith in.

  they may say "hey, i'm only human", as if this excuses their behaviour.

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  choosing life

  I think everyone would prefer not to have to die, unless life becomes intolerable.When I was first studying with the witnesses, I told my brother that when people died they just went to sleep, He thought that was great because he could do what ever he wanted in this life and then go to sleep. He said he would be unconscious anyway, so he couldn't care about anything. At first the thought horrified me.

  Flash forward 30 years and I realize you must live life for today. If there is a God, and an afterlife, that will be great. If not, then as my brother so aptly informed me, we will never know it. But I do watch people go through the dying process and death in my job frequently, and it is not a pretty picture. So I don't think anyone would sign up for it. But the ones who impress me the most are those who accept it and go peacefully.

  To answer the quesrtion (finally) I am spiritual, not religious because I don't think eternal death makes sense to me. Why should beautiful souls have to be obliterated. Isn,t the universe a lesser place at the destruction of any soul?
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  The Curse of the Living Death

  by Gill in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  christ said, when faced with the woman about to be stoned over alleged adultery, 'let he who is without sin, throw the first stone!'.

  of course there wasn't anyone with out sin and the woman left with her life.. shunning is 'the living death' for jws.. therefore, if they catch a woman, or a woman/man confesses to adultery, why do they then shun them and give them the 'living death'.. my mother was telling me about a young woman who had committed adultery in her cong.

  and had just married the man she'd had the affair with.

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  choosing life

  What would your mother like them to do? They already corrected the situation by legalizing their marriage. Now they are attending the meetings like the elders undoubtably told her she had to do to get reinstated. In other words, they are following all the rules of the religion she belongs to. Now she doesn't want them to sit together?

  When Jesus told the Samaritan woman that the man she had now was not her husband, he didn't refuse to speak to her or even give her moral council. Rather, this was the first person that he told directly that he was the messiah. I bet your mother wouldn't have liked that either.
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  21

  When A Loved One Leaves Jehovah

  by choosing life in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  has anyone read this article in the september 1, 2006 watchtower?

  i can't understand why the rank and file can't see who is really causing the pain by seperating loved ones over personal beliefs.. one woman says about her disfellowshipped brother, "this has been so hard for me to bear because in every other respect, he has been a wonderful brother to me.

  i especially miss him at large gatherings.".

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  choosing life

  Has anyone read this article in the September 1, 2006 Watchtower? I can't understand why the rank and file can't see who is really causing the pain by seperating loved ones over personal beliefs.

  One woman says about her disfellowshipped brother, "This has been so hard for me to bear because in every other respect, he has been a wonderful brother to me. I especially miss him at large gatherings."

  So she admits her brother is very good to her, but continues to shun him because she is told to and threatened with repercussions. So the ones that force this intolerable situation are the society. Neither her nor her brother want this. Do they read their own literature?

  I have had people tell me that the ones on ex-JW boards are just whining babies that won't fix their life. Another lady in the article whose children are disfellowshipped says she cries daily and another states, "My first instinct was to isolate myself like a wounded animal."

  Once again, they are suffering as well as the shunned ones. So why do it? Only because the society says so and hangs eternal death over their heads. The article is peppered with threats to any who do not go along with the policy, including mentioning those who rebelled against Moses' decisions and were punished by Jehovah. I, for one will start listening to them when they can show any proof that they speak for God. And that is never going to happen, because they have abandoned the scriptures and all human decency.
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  37

  for Christians: How did you decide on the Bible?

  by BlackSwan of Memphis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you who are christian and accept the bible as nothing less then the word of god, how did you come to that conclusion?

  how much research did you do into the bible to get to the point where you sat back and said, this is it?

  or was it zero research and more a leap of faith?.

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  choosing life

  Oh, I decided this because parts of the bible resonate with my innermost thoughts. I have done much investigation into the selecting of the canon and archeological and historical evidence, but all that has little to do with the message. I am speaking of the whole bible, but especially of the teachings of Jesus.
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  37

  for Christians: How did you decide on the Bible?

  by BlackSwan of Memphis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you who are christian and accept the bible as nothing less then the word of god, how did you come to that conclusion?

  how much research did you do into the bible to get to the point where you sat back and said, this is it?

  or was it zero research and more a leap of faith?.

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  choosing life

  The Bible is a spiritual book and only when you look at it for spiritual guidance, is it helpful. It was never meant to be used as a weapon between different factions of "believers". Neither was it meant to be worshipped and placed above mercy toward others. It is a personal message to each reader and when you go beyond this and set up strict systems of worship with some trying to rule over other people's faith, you start to idolize the book and lose the message.
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  11

  Big Brother is shouting at you!

  by Elsewhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  now this sounds creepy!

  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=405477&in_page_id=1770.

  big brother is shouting at you.

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  choosing life

  It is interesting that Orwell wrote about English socialism. His concern about the relinquishing of personal privacy is very applicable today. No one wants to give up the very private part of their lives. To be watched by cameras is already a commen occurance. When we have to start interacting with these cameras, this is another step to giving up our privacy.

  I am afraid that is the way the world is headed, though. We all know how hard it can be to have to hide from people and not be able to speak our opinions as we would like. In the US, many liberties are being taken for granted and the current administration is abusing its power. One thing is for sure- they always use fear as a tactic or excuse. Fear is probably the greatest motivator because we all want to feel secure. The society uses it well-fear of losing loved ones, fear of being shamed etc.

  Interesting article. Thanks for posting it.
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  32

  Maybe Interesting Blood News

  by truth.ceeker in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  i had a meeting with my heart surgeon yesterday, and after informing him of our faith, my wife still holding onto to parts of the organization, the dr. said that, "there is a new form that just came out last year from your mother church in new york.

  " what this document does is (1) make it clear that the person is not allowing blood to be used, (2) makes it clear that the dr. will have a court order ready in case blood is deemed medically necessary to sustain life and (3) absolves the person's conscience of any guilt if it came down to it.

  i'm not sure if this document has been discussed before, but i thought that it was a bit intriguing.

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  choosing life

  In the truth-- You need to read some current statistics on the true dangers vs. benefits of blood transfusions. I suggest The tort of misrepresentation. And if witnesses would allow their members to store their own blood or use that of a witness relative, the dangers would even be lower. You can't base things on experiences you are aware of only. And I am aware of many clean, moral people who give blood out of a sense of moral responsibility who are not "icky'. I have seen the people too that come to blood drives as I work at a hospital.
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  5

  Quintessential Damnation Article Against JWs Now Online

  by Madame Quixote in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

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  http://www.reexamine.info/images/bloodessay.pdf.

  please spread the word about it!.

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  choosing life

  Thanks for posting the link I am very interested in reading this because it gives me hope that the blood policy will one day be history. Of couse, it there will be an attempt to "rewrite history" on the part of the society if this does happen. I certainly never realized that organ transplants were once considered cannibalism when I was a good dub.
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  15

  Got my copies of August and September Awakes today! Funny and sad story.

  by hubert in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  i was in my truck in town and talking with my sis-in-law whom i met on a side street, and while we were discussing something, she noticed a group of 4 people, 2 women, and two girls, walking up and down the other side of the street, then they got in their car, and stayed there.

  so, when she left, i pulled right up next to them, and asked them if they happened to be j.w.'s?

  the driver gave me a huge smile, and said, "yes, we are!

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  choosing life

  I don't think you were reading too much into the Awake article. This is the first time they have referred to blood as an organ. And they were definately stressing that fact. This immediately got my attention. They never say they change things, rather they ease into it, as if they aren't really changing a doctrine at all.I think they are in danger of losing lawsuits in the future over the blood issue and are looking for a way out. And they are losing members by the droves.If they were to change this doctrine, the religion would be more attractive to the public.What do most people know about the dubs? That they are that crazy religious group who won't take blood. They need more money right now (or want more money) so why not do away with this stumbling block?