lucius annaeus seneca, roman statesman, 4bc - 65ad: "religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.".
this comes to mind as trump has been throwing the word "god" around.
there are a lot of outwardly religious people in this government.. benjamin franklin: "the way to see faith is to shut the eye of reason.".
Hey, all, thanks for the great comments. I worked all day in the snow yesterday , my brain has just thawed out.
Ruby, that's interesting about Seneca and the Romans. Something to read up on.
Religion scares the crap out of me, it seems to be a wired in part of being human. So many people who leave religion go to something similar like multi level marketing or fanatical political groups.
It's important at a time like this to become active about the craziness in our government, at the same time I feel the need to stay under the radar.
As a teenager my high school coach wanted me to go out for the baseball team- as I had some good skills at the time- but my staunch elder dad would not allow me to go out for the team as it conflicted with Tuesday night meetings.
And I always loved music, collected it since I was a kid . But in my early 20's I wasn't allowed as a JW to be in a band- so years after I left the Witnesses I took up guitar and the last 6 years or so I'm making up for lost time writing songs and just finished producing my 3rd album. It's been a really healing experience for me and it's one thing I didn't let the JW cult rob me of- my music. Pursue your dreams now folks- don't wait another day
a bit of an update, last weekend was my great grandmothers funeral, now, she was never a jw, and never was going to be, no matter how hard my mother, and grandmother tried to preach to her, she was the type of person that would kindly accept a wt or a book, but she wouldn't bother reading them.. anyways, she was a great wonderful and inspiring woman, the funeral was extremely sad, she had been a school teacher for over 35 years and a member of various clubs, so there were a lot of folks besides family that attended.. well, anyways i was there and so was my jw mother, stepfather, and grandmother, we were cordial, didn't talk about anything jw related because, it was great grandmothers funeral, not really a time to discuss how i am an evil sinner, or how i've escaped the org by avoiding df'ing, right?
wrong, as i'm sitting waiting for the service to begin, a lady shows up, now- i have known this woman for a long time, apparently she baby sat me as a small child, (like i remember?
) so she isn't someone i was ever close with, but knew of her or when she was around would say hi to and make small talk.. to give you a tid-bit on her personality though, she is one of those crazy jw's.. she claims to have been possessed by a demon, very very wacky on the prophesies, or gb talks, etc.
RAVEN- My deepest condolences to you on the loss of your great grandmother- she seems like she was an astounding woman, sorry for your loss.
As regards this wack job of a " sister " bugging you- it's SO like JW's to not honor boundaries like this, totally inappropriate though when you are mourning your dear great grandmother's death . You handled it really well by just kind of ignoring her and letting her fester in her own emotional juices. No amount of reasoning will stop these types of JW fanatics from thinking that we are " doomed " - so the best thing is to not get into any contact with her at a later date. Totally avoid her intrusion into your life as she will try to make you miserable by what she perceives as " saving " you. In reality you'll save YOURSELF by rejecting any of her intrusions on your personal boundaries. I feel for you- I've dealt with JW wack jobs like this- it's disconcerting to say the least. You are handling it well. Keep on keeping on. Take care, and I'm sorry for your loss
this is a little long, but stick with me.. if you recall, when the building work was in full swing at the new lakefront villa (warwick), wt was having workers come and they would put them up for a year, or more, while they were providing "volunteer services".
with that, and the impending need for hundreds and hundreds of new khs in the usa territory, the congregations were abuzz with the need for "continued construction volunteers".
recently, as many of you know, wt headquarters has sent pretty much everyone home, and is no longer needing workers at the new warwick site, as the building is mostly complete, with the dedication coming up later this year.
Interesting thread. Thanks for sharing. And really sad as well. Just like the GB member Ted Jaracz stated in the early 1980's - " the needs of the organization take priority over the individual needs of the brothers and sisters. " Or something like that.
So your experiences you related prove testimony to that fact. WT Society will throw any of it's members under the bus if the " needs " change with WT leaders priorities. And at this time and moment in WT history- the needs and priorities involve saving $$$ so the WT Society can pay off child abuse lawsuits. As well as storing billions $$$$ in their offshore bank accounts . Pretty disgusting. More lives are wrecked from this organization and it's leaders - numbering in the millions worldwide
Good points Jeff. Like yourself in many ways I " blew up the bridge " to a large extent when I stopped attending in 2003. I view it like you do in that all we have is the rest of our life from here on out- so why not make the best out of that life that we can and enjoy it ? Totally. I'm glad to see that you've moved on and you are enjoying life, Good for you . Take care, Peace out, Mr. Flipper
lucius annaeus seneca, roman statesman, 4bc - 65ad: "religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.".
this comes to mind as trump has been throwing the word "god" around.
there are a lot of outwardly religious people in this government.. benjamin franklin: "the way to see faith is to shut the eye of reason.".
Great thread my dear wife. I agree- I feel religion has been used for thousands of years by governments and the wealthy as a tool or a vehicle to keep large groups of people controlled and submissive to their detriment. We see it all the time today and throughout history.
I believe Trump like other politicians before him- will use religion insofar as it benefits his agenda to consolidate his power and control over the American people. Once again- it will be used as a vehicle or tool for him to get what he wants. Power and esteem- at least in his own assessment of himself
i know some has been posted about leah remini and her split from scientology.
i just wanted to add after finishing it last night, it is a must watch for questioning jws...every episode has familiar situations and parallels that will make jws really think (or squirm).
My wife and I watched every episode of Leah's show- it was fantastic and well done. Leah and Mike Rinder really exposed the workings of what goes on in Scientology as well as many mind control cults. The final show with Steve Hassan on it was outstanding. He and Leah were even crying on it due to the stresses of having been in cults themselves. I was crying with them. I hope they are able to come back and have more shows in the series.
Thanks Toes Up for the heads up on the Conan O' Brien show with Leah Remini on it. We'll have to watch that on demand on Xfinity. Peace out, mr. Flipper
lucius annaeus seneca, roman statesman, 4bc - 65ad: "religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.".
this comes to mind as trump has been throwing the word "god" around.
there are a lot of outwardly religious people in this government.. benjamin franklin: "the way to see faith is to shut the eye of reason.".
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Roman Statesman, 4BC - 65AD: "Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."
This comes to mind as Trump has been throwing the word "God" around. There are a lot of outwardly religious people in this government.
Benjamin Franklin: "The way to see faith is to shut the eye of reason."
And Napoleon Bonaparte: "There must be religion - otherwise the poor would murder the rich."
" " " "Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet."
The Question- Educate yourself by reading on the Internet. Many of us left the JW organization because it IS a criminal organization and cannot support it any longer. What's YOUR excuse for staying ? You enjoy supporting criminals ? Peace out, Mr. Flipper
Are you getting points with Jehovah for being on this site?
There is a lot more going on here than debating the bible (which is a bunch of bs anyway).
Like exposing the many crimes of the despicable watchtower. Like helping people who are being shunned by their entire families and friends.
Crybabies? for wanting to expose child abuse? But of course, being a jw you can't imagine that being anywhere near as important as protecting the organization. Or reading all your holy propaganda. What a sad way to live.
