You're right... I am obsessing, but you know what? After having someone pretend for almost two years to be your friend and attempt to radically change your way of thinking, and then to drop off the face of the earth?!?!?! I think I have a right to obsess... Oh, I'll get over it... I am just venting... that's all... I hope poster on this thread and on JWN understand that...
ptucker8357
JoinedPosts by ptucker8357
-
8
untitled
by ptucker8357 inok, so now, i think the initial shock of all this is wearing off and anger is replacing it.... today makes 5 weeks... 5 weeks since i had a study with my "study conductor" and 5 weeks since i have not heard the sound of his voice... this person was someone who espoused integrity, love, brotherhood, justice, compassion, and on and on... i was told that central to the jw religion was the ministry.... the ministry comes first, everything else second... having bible studies was integral... and since we lost our jobs, it appears no longer convenient to have a study, so i am dropped like a lead balloon.... i am mad for two reasons: for 4 years, this guy to be my friend... he worked directly for me and it's clear now that he did this to his own advantage.
why would you not be friends with the boss... i favored him in most situations... a very bad thing to do in business but apparently i was too naive to see it... he saw the opening and he took advantage of it... shoot man, how stupid could i be.... second reason is the study... we would so it at the beginning of the day at work or at the end when no one was around.
again an easy an convenienet way to get your field service requirement completed... now that the convenience is gone and i maybe haven't progressed as far as they would like, i am history... what is up with that.... some advice please... there is no way to get to this person... he no longer has a phone and he will not answer his email... i need to close this off somehow... should i send a letter or something to get this off my chest and let him know how under-handed i think this has been... maybe writing it down and sending it off would alleviate some of this anger?
-
-
-
8
untitled
by ptucker8357 inok, so now, i think the initial shock of all this is wearing off and anger is replacing it.... today makes 5 weeks... 5 weeks since i had a study with my "study conductor" and 5 weeks since i have not heard the sound of his voice... this person was someone who espoused integrity, love, brotherhood, justice, compassion, and on and on... i was told that central to the jw religion was the ministry.... the ministry comes first, everything else second... having bible studies was integral... and since we lost our jobs, it appears no longer convenient to have a study, so i am dropped like a lead balloon.... i am mad for two reasons: for 4 years, this guy to be my friend... he worked directly for me and it's clear now that he did this to his own advantage.
why would you not be friends with the boss... i favored him in most situations... a very bad thing to do in business but apparently i was too naive to see it... he saw the opening and he took advantage of it... shoot man, how stupid could i be.... second reason is the study... we would so it at the beginning of the day at work or at the end when no one was around.
again an easy an convenienet way to get your field service requirement completed... now that the convenience is gone and i maybe haven't progressed as far as they would like, i am history... what is up with that.... some advice please... there is no way to get to this person... he no longer has a phone and he will not answer his email... i need to close this off somehow... should i send a letter or something to get this off my chest and let him know how under-handed i think this has been... maybe writing it down and sending it off would alleviate some of this anger?
-
-
ptucker8357
... sorry, I forgot to put the subject line in...
-
8
untitled
by ptucker8357 inok, so now, i think the initial shock of all this is wearing off and anger is replacing it.... today makes 5 weeks... 5 weeks since i had a study with my "study conductor" and 5 weeks since i have not heard the sound of his voice... this person was someone who espoused integrity, love, brotherhood, justice, compassion, and on and on... i was told that central to the jw religion was the ministry.... the ministry comes first, everything else second... having bible studies was integral... and since we lost our jobs, it appears no longer convenient to have a study, so i am dropped like a lead balloon.... i am mad for two reasons: for 4 years, this guy to be my friend... he worked directly for me and it's clear now that he did this to his own advantage.
why would you not be friends with the boss... i favored him in most situations... a very bad thing to do in business but apparently i was too naive to see it... he saw the opening and he took advantage of it... shoot man, how stupid could i be.... second reason is the study... we would so it at the beginning of the day at work or at the end when no one was around.
again an easy an convenienet way to get your field service requirement completed... now that the convenience is gone and i maybe haven't progressed as far as they would like, i am history... what is up with that.... some advice please... there is no way to get to this person... he no longer has a phone and he will not answer his email... i need to close this off somehow... should i send a letter or something to get this off my chest and let him know how under-handed i think this has been... maybe writing it down and sending it off would alleviate some of this anger?
-
-
ptucker8357
Ok, so now, I think the initial shock of all this is wearing off and anger is replacing it...
Today makes 5 weeks... 5 weeks since I had a study with my "study conductor" and 5 weeks since I have not heard the sound of his voice... This person was someone who espoused integrity, love, brotherhood, justice, compassion, and on and on... I was told that central to the JW religion was the ministry.... the ministry comes first, everything else second... Having bible studies was integral... and since we lost our jobs, it appears no longer convenient to have a study, so I am dropped like a lead balloon...
I am mad for two reasons: For 4 years, this guy to be my friend... He worked directly for me and it's clear now that he did this to his own advantage. Why would you not be friends with the boss... I favored him in most situations... a very bad thing to do in business but apparently I was too naive to see it... He saw the opening and he took advantage of it... shoot man, how stupid could I be...
Second reason is the study... We would so it at the beginning of the day at work or at the end when no one was around. Again an easy an convenienet way to get your field service requirement completed... Now that the convenience is gone and I maybe haven't progressed as far as they would like, I am history... what is up with that...
Some advice please... there is no way to get to this person... he no longer has a phone and he will not answer his email... I need to close this off somehow... should I send a letter or something to get this off my chest and let him know how under-handed I think this has been... Maybe writing it down and sending it off would alleviate some of this anger? Or should I be the better person and just let it go?
-
49
Worshipping Jehovah without all the rules?
by ptucker8357 inhi again.... i've been searching around for a few days now trying to understand whether or not there are spiritual folks out there who believe some of the fundamental tenents of the witness religion, but don't believe in all the rules that the gb puts forth... many of the folks that i talk to tell me that the only way to salvation is through acceptance of jesus as god.
i do accept jesus as the messiah, as a perfect man that god sent to atone for the sins of adam, but i don't believe he is god.... i believe there is one god, one son and one holy spirit and they are not three persons in one god... i feel weird whenever i go to another service that exalts the trinity, as well as some other basic rituals of their religion.... am i making sense?.
-
-
ptucker8357
Thanks for all the great feedback, all....
My issues with the trinity and the deity of Jesus really has nothing to do with what I was taught as a bible student. It just defies logic to me and, being a very logical person in most other aspects of my life, I can't believe something without some sort of real information to back it up. I guess some would say that I lack faith, but as several have mentioned in this thread, there are many examples that would make you question the trinity idea ... (maybe I just don't understand it well enough)...
And why did Jesus make it a point to say the Father was greater than him? Also if Jesus was God, who resurrected him when he died?
And another... The night prior to Jesus's death, He looks to his Father and says, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me." Was He talking to Himself?!?!?!
H
Furthermore, how can the Holy Spirit be a person? I think the idea of the Spirit being an active force of God is spot on... One for the JWs, I guess...
-
49
Worshipping Jehovah without all the rules?
by ptucker8357 inhi again.... i've been searching around for a few days now trying to understand whether or not there are spiritual folks out there who believe some of the fundamental tenents of the witness religion, but don't believe in all the rules that the gb puts forth... many of the folks that i talk to tell me that the only way to salvation is through acceptance of jesus as god.
i do accept jesus as the messiah, as a perfect man that god sent to atone for the sins of adam, but i don't believe he is god.... i believe there is one god, one son and one holy spirit and they are not three persons in one god... i feel weird whenever i go to another service that exalts the trinity, as well as some other basic rituals of their religion.... am i making sense?.
-
-
ptucker8357
Hi again...
I've been searching around for a few days now trying to understand whether or not there are spiritual folks out there who believe some of the fundamental tenents of the Witness religion, but don't believe in all the rules that the GB puts forth... Many of the folks that I talk to tell me that the only way to salvation is through acceptance of Jesus as God. I do accept Jesus as the Messiah, as a perfect man that God sent to atone for the sins of Adam, but I don't believe he is God.... I believe there is one God, One Son and One Holy Spirit and they are not three persons in one God... I feel weird whenever I go to another service that exalts the Trinity, as well as some other basic rituals of their religion...
Am I making sense?
-
36
Friends, Study Partners, and then GONE...
by ptucker8357 inabout a year and 12 ago, after much conversation with a jw co-worker, we began a formal study.
we studied religiously (no pun intended) almost every week unless i was on business travel or there was a sickness or other item that precluded us from getting together.. .
during that process, we became very strong, close friends... at least that is what i thought was happening.
-
-
ptucker8357
In reality, I think I have been the victim of my own naivete... not being able to discern the difference between friendship (me) and someone's "job" to become my friend so that I could become his conquest... there's a distinct lack of integrity here... pouncing on someone with ulterior motives in mind...
I don't buy the thought that he has his own problems to deal with and has backed himself out of our world and back into his own... rather, now that I look rationally at this, I think he has looked at the job loss situation as his out... since we are not working together, he doesn't see me... he doesn't have to tell me to my face that we are no longer friends (because I have not gone through water baptism)... he can simply walk away... and as much as that might hurt to admit... that, I believe, is what has happened...
I wish him well and I think I will take several of you up on you suggestions to reach out to him (when some of this hurt wears off...) and let him know that he was a good friend to me and that I enjoyed our time... thanks for the suggestions... I am glad I found you guys :)
pTuck
-
36
Friends, Study Partners, and then GONE...
by ptucker8357 inabout a year and 12 ago, after much conversation with a jw co-worker, we began a formal study.
we studied religiously (no pun intended) almost every week unless i was on business travel or there was a sickness or other item that precluded us from getting together.. .
during that process, we became very strong, close friends... at least that is what i thought was happening.
-
-
ptucker8357
I did start to go to meetings... not that often because I had strong family opposition, but when I did go, I felt warm and welcomed... I even went to this year's Memorial... it was weird tho, as the usual warm, welcome feeling wasn't there... Maybe some of the folks I met were starting to think I wasn't serious because it had been well over a year since the study started...
Where in the Bible did Jesus set a time limit on people's recognizing their own spirituality... Did I miss it... and was there some other message in Jesus's Sermon on the Mount telling people that you should walk away from good, open-hearted people if they don't conform... Did not Jesus extend his hands to all... the Samaritan Woman at the well... the lepers... the blind and misguided... this is clear... how can JWs not see this? This is a mind-blowing experience for me...
You have all been thoughtful and helpful... thank you... I don't know what's worse... me not realizing this sooner, me being so susceptible, me losing someone who I thought cared about me... combine all three of these and it doesn't make for a warm and fuzzy feeling inside...
If I can be blatant here... I am pissed...
-
36
Friends, Study Partners, and then GONE...
by ptucker8357 inabout a year and 12 ago, after much conversation with a jw co-worker, we began a formal study.
we studied religiously (no pun intended) almost every week unless i was on business travel or there was a sickness or other item that precluded us from getting together.. .
during that process, we became very strong, close friends... at least that is what i thought was happening.
-
-
ptucker8357
About a year and ½ ago, after much conversation with a JW co-worker, we began a formal study. We studied religiously (no pun intended) almost every week unless I was on business travel or there was a sickness or other item that precluded us from getting together.
During that process, we became very strong, close friends… at least that is what I thought was happening. We talked about starting our own business. We worked out at the gym three out of five days a week. We met to run 5Ks on Saturdays. I cherished that friendship because I never had such a close friendship with another man before… I’ve been married for nearly 30 years and had spent so much time building a career that there never seemed to be time for friendships…
One month ago, we both lost our jobs. At that point, he told me he was too busy and could not study with me anymore and he did not know when we would be able to re-start the study. He told me to find someone else in a Hall closer to my own home. I let three weeks go by and still I heard nothing from him despite my phone calls, emails and text messages. I finally sent an email asking what was up and asking if he was angry at me… this behavior on his part totally shocked me (and hurt me). He always talked of love, compassion, and brotherhood… reaching out to help people when they needed it. And, I needed it and he was pretty much ignoring me.
I finally got an email back in which he said he just did not have the time for me. It was disappointing but that’s the way it was…
I am totally bewildered. I apparently made a huge mistake and maybe this is God’s way of telling me that… needless to say, that doesn’t take away the hurt.
When I first started studying, others told me to watch out… that if I didn’t follow suit and get baptized within a time that the JWs decided was acceptable, they would write me off and move on… friend or no friend… Is that what has happened?
What’s Christian about this behavior? How can you just convince someone of your friendship and then just walk away…
I am freaked…