garyneal

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Posts by garyneal

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  16

  Was Hitler atheist?

  by zound in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've heard that hitler did what he did in the name of atheism from various theists - or at least that he was an atheist.

  i wasn't sure about it, but found this quote today.

  thoughts?.

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  garyneal

  He was excommunicated in 1965,which is kind of beside the point.

  Um, yeah considering that he died in 1945.
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  14

  Why so many unbelieving spouses?

  by garyneal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i had been thinking about religion and religious services in general and perhaps i am just noticing it more because of my personal involvement but it seems that the jehovahs witness religion tends to have more incidents of mixed marriages where one partner is considered the unbelieving spouse than other religions or churches.

  of course, i have not been to church is a while and even when i did go to church i found that there werent as many instances of a spouse going it alone in the church without their partner.

  i guess that is partly why i got discouraged in going to church as i felt like i could only bring half my family to it.. the main thing i would like to discuss, though, is why does there seem to be a higher number of mixed marriages within this religion as opposed to other religions.

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  garyneal

  I had been thinking about religion and religious services in general and perhaps I am just noticing it more because of my personal involvement but it seems that the Jehovah’s Witness religion tends to have more incidents of mixed marriages where one partner is considered the ‘unbelieving spouse’ than other religions or churches. Of course, I have not been to church is a while and even when I did go to church I found that there weren’t as many instances of a spouse ‘going it alone’ in the church without their partner. I guess that is partly why I got discouraged in going to church as I felt like I could only bring ‘half my family’ to it.

  The main thing I would like to discuss, though, is why does there seem to be a higher number of mixed marriages within this religion as opposed to other religions. Perhaps there really isn’t but it seems that way because of our involvement with the religion. Perhaps it really is that way and there is something unique to the religion that lends itself to these occurrences. I am sure this has been discussed in various degrees before but I find myself thinking on this more and more. It would also be interesting to know if other religions have a similar number of mixed marriages, say the Mormons for example. Perhaps our Mormon posters (Qcmbr and ColdSteel) could shed some light on this.

  I think about my marriage and the situation between us. Even back before I learned the truth about the truth I resisted becoming a Jehovah’s Witness. I think this was because of their stance on the holidays, their insistence on being the only true religion, the prejudices that were taught to me about them, and their strange stance on avoiding so many other activities (claiming demons were lurking at every corner). The ‘us vs. them’ attitude that they took along with their insistence on being the only true religion reminded me so much of the days I used to attend the IFB churches that it was hard to take them seriously. Especially considering that I had already debunked those claims from those IFB churches years ago. I remember my philosophy courses in college helped me to develop more critical thinking skills which became much sharper in recent years due to this religion and my exposure to it.

  The prejudices I harbored against them were taught to me mainly by the IFB churches. After leaving the IFB churches for more main stream churches I found the attitude towards JW’s mixed with some people considering them Christian and others not. I was obviously open minded enough to listen to what they taught considering that I did study with them for nearly 6 years off and on and even found myself agreeing with them in certain instances. Never-the-less, I became another UBM in a sea of UBM’s so I guess my own insight answers the question concerning why I choose to be an UBM. Any other insights as to why there seems to be so many of them in this religion?
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  16

  I want to start a website/ministry to help JWs leaving - how and why?

  by Dogpatch in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i have plenty of tips on my older site on starting ministries or outreaches.

  though today they are now generally sites for public assistance, not personal blogs or opinion or doctrinal sites.

  free minds has covered doctrines, news, opinions, and more for 32 years (since 1996 online).

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  garyneal

  During my times of doubt I turned to freeminds.org and 4jehovah.org, I will never forget those transitioning years so thanks. I found this site through freeminds the same way OTWO did and that was when my eyes really began to open.
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  15

  If the earth is going to burn up as Born Agains teach would that make Jesus a "false prophet"?

  by booker-t in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  as i have mentioned here for many years there are some things i totally disagree with the wt society on but one thing i do believe they have right is that the earth is going to last forever.

  one thing that has always amazed me with born agains that teach the earth is going to burn up is the scripture where jesus says "the meek will inherit the earth".

  this is clear and plain and why would jesus outright "lie" about the earth if he knew it was going to burn up?

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  garyneal

  Troll much, booker-t?
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  130

  Involved with a JW woman

  by jonza in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  okay so i'm dating a born-in jw woman, she's younger than me and has no kids.

  i'm a christian man whos divorced with 2 kids.

  we're in love and seriously want to be together.

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  garyneal

  You are setting yourself up for an unending nightmare.

  Agreed

  Seriously, getting involved with a JW, when you are not one and have no plans to become one (good for you), is just setting yourself up for a lifetime of drama, heartache, and headaches.

  Agreed

  Dude, your opening posts shows that you have a lot of expectations from this marraige that I doubt in all sincerity will play out without a great deal of drama and compromise. I love my JW wife and am happy to be with her but if I knew then what I know now about how the religion would play out in our marraige I would definitely think twice about it.
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  67

  Raising kids - JW mother, agnostic father

  by Zana in

  1. social
  2. family

  my wife and i have two wonderful children aged 1 and 3. i was raised as a lutheran but stopped believing in my late teen years.

  my wife is what i would call a liberal jw (yes, i believe such people exist .

  sooner or later our children will have questions about religion and the differences mom and dad show towards it.

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  garyneal

  Well, it looks like you got a lot of advice. All I can add is raising kids in this environment is tough. Right now your wife might be a liberal witness but if she longs to have the family that goes to the hall together she may change. That happened to me and I can tell you that it was not pretty.

  As a former cultist, myself, I can relate. I used to also be subjected to the black and white thinking that comes from the more fundamentalist type churches and I use to dream of having the 'perfect Christian family.' I no longer qualify for that now as my beliefs have changed dramatically and don't fit in with the traditional Christian mold anymore. I guess, like you, I am more agnostic now.

  Your wife may go back and forth between wanting to be balanced and wanting to drag he kids to every meeting because it is best for their 'spiritual health.' For me, it is sad to watch my wife not trust her own thinking when it comes to her battle between what she really wants to do and what she is 'supposed' to do. I try to give my kids a variety of experiences, teach about a variety of beliefs, and challenge dogmatic thinking (like Super Why being magical and wrong). As a former fundy cultist I am all too familiar with this type of idiotic thinking.
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  42

  Are all JWs united in their beliefs?

  by enigma1863 in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  so i used to think that all witnesses believed the same exact thing but i have heard some claims that they believe things i'm not familiar with.

  do you know if it's true?

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  garyneal

  I know for a fact my wife does not agree with every Jehovah's Witness belief, but she will defend them and their actions if pressed.
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  12

  Using Disgust

  by jgnat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  another poster saw a flash of ...disgust.... from a loved-one, and pondered the implications.

  good catch.

  disgust is an interesting emotion and it is linked to all sorts of behavior.

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  garyneal

  So how am I to respond if he treats the Church picnic the same way...as from Satan?

  Don't know but I do recall one day a while back when I took my wife with me to church and she saw the stainglass portraits of Jesus and the cross and she said that she felt like she was in entering a den of demons. What a cult!
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  77

  Did You Go To The Memorial?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i didn't and i don't care about it..

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  garyneal

  Now the wine.
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  77

  Did You Go To The Memorial?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i didn't and i don't care about it..

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  garyneal

  The bread was passed.