hello my fellow "apostates".
just wanted to say hi.
i'm still in the borg but mentally out.
Welcome fakefading!
As often observed on JWN you could one day be very pleasantly surprised by the outcome patient and simple questions and basic shared exploratory research can have.
As long as you never dump on your wife you should be fine.
There is no point in beating a blind person with a stick because they cannot (yet) see what you can...
In the mean time may you have blast and make many good friends here on JWN.
Fernando
SE QLD, Australia
i am beginning to see a complete unbalanced shift from one end of the spectrum to the other.
i'll use jw's as the example but this would apply to any religion and any person.
if you just accepted the jw teachings unquestionably from the governing body because you felt they were the highest authority on the matter and 'trusted' them before waking up to ttatt you may shift to the other end of the spectrum.
Personally I don't believe education and science belong in the same category as religion.
I find them opposite.
Except if one is talking about propaganda masquerading as education, and vested self-interest masquerading as science.
if memory serves there have been discussions about:.
pressure to donate to cover convention expenses far beyond actual expenses.
obtaining venue subsidies and or sponsorships but not passing on the savings to the flock.
If memory serves there have been discussions about:
pressure to donate to cover convention expenses far beyond actual expenses
obtaining venue subsidies and or sponsorships but not passing on the savings to the flock
parking fees to generate more revenue
Tonight I suddenly wondered if anyone has any information on what undisclosed kick-backs the Watchtower might be collecting from hotels on the approved list? If so what percentage? Would they be as bold as 50%?
Is there any proof of coercion to stick to the approved list?
Did arranging accommodation in private homes stop in favour of hotels that could and would pay "commissions"?
Surely our favourite council of octo-popes wouldn't go to all the trouble of drawing up a list of approved or recommended hotels if there wasn't anything in it for them?
(Apologies if this has been asked and answered elsewhere.)
about a year ago i had an exchange of emails with an elder of a congregation where all my jw relatives attend.
i asked him all kinds of questions regarding blood, 607, shunning, evolution, higher education.
as anticipated, he either had no answer or provided an evasive one.
I have come to conclude that the Watchtower may possibly be largely right in the way they interpret Hades versus Gehenna.
However in staking out a definitive and supremacist sectarian position on peripheral doctrine they are simply promoting apostate Nicaean ethnocentrism.
It is no accident that those who call themselves "publishers of the Good News" are ignorant of the "Good News" according to Paul, Moses, Isaiah and Psalms.
nasa.apod.gov.
(astronomy picture of the day) shows the sizes of 12 exo planets (compared to earth), that have been found to be in the habitable, liquid water 'goldilocks ' zone of their sun-like stars.. may be it is more than a 'world-wide brotherhood' and sad that we have to be the lucky ones with satan confined here.
.
why does the watchtower place a harsh burden on it's low-paid and low-skilled army of witnesses?
the district conventions don't really add much value, you have witnesses making minimum wage with both husband and wife working while the elite witnesses can afford to burn a ton of cash making the poor witnesses feel worse about themselves.
i remember, some of the really poor witnesses would bring their own "cooker" to the motel to make "top ramen" and mac&cheese" while the company men had the elites take them out for "surf and turf" and other great feasts, the poor witnesses get the shaft was they are told how lucky they are to financially struggle to afford to pay for their hotels.. .
The poor versus the company men and the elites...
Yup, saw more than enough of that...
i think there has always been your average garden variety pioneer couples and mr and mrs cobe and back in the day these tended to be a little bit dorky the wife -homely, the husband -fatherly, they shopped at thrift stores and lived in someone elses garage.
but as competition for a slice of the power pie has ramped up over the years what we have now seems to be a whole new ball game.
does ultimate power lie with the men, the "family heads"?
Just bumping this very apt description of the power mongering clergy that the Watchtower breeds so well and so routinely.
the assemblies would be get better results and get more people to come and be inspired if they were more encouraging.
instead the assemblies are a giant guilt trip.
don't go to college, don't get a good job, dont buy things even if you can afford them, don't play violent games, don't flirt.
People who fully embrace the free gift of faith cannot be controlled anymore by an illegitimate, authoritarian and apostate ruling religious clergy class.
The Watchtower's strategy to keep people from knowing about the free gift of faith, and receiving it, is relatively simple:
Redefine faith to mean religious belief.
Truncate and obfuscate the liberating, explicit, naked and unabridged gospel, until it is impotent.
having an interesting time at the moment with my faith journey.
my hubs was confirmed a catholic and his views are no women priests because there weren't any in the bible.
hence, the absence in rc churches.. my mother is a jw.
Personally I think it is great that women are barred (read protected) from becoming part of the "ruling religious clergy class" (Pharisees).
In my experience "religion" and the unabridged gospel lead in opposite directions.
Men seem to be "naturally" good at creating and promoting religion, war and division.
Women on the other hand seem naturally more inclined to community, spirituality and faith.
Even scripture suggests that women will play a major part in revealing and promoting God's ultimate solution for transforming human society:
"The women telling the good news are a large army" (Psalm 68:11).
Whilst I do believe in the priesthood (and sainthood) of all believers including women, this priesthood (and sainthood) differs considerably from manmade imitations.
here's my story.
i'm 24 years old and i live in brazil.
i'm a 3rd gen born-in jw and all close relatives in the borg (parents, grandparents, uncles, wife, inlaws) except my little sister (she's 16 and didnt buy jw doctrine).
Welcome alonein321!
May you and your wife be able to patiently and progressively explore peaceful solutions that can deliver the best outcomes for you both.
Whether you want to save the marriage or not, it is not productive to beat a blind person with a stick because they cannot see what you can.
At any rate there are many here that will do their best to support you whichever way to choose to go in life.
We look forward to getting to know you better, and hope for the best outcome possible.
Greetings
Fernando
