http://news.excite.com/news/r/011127/09/odd-survey-dc.
wellington (reuters) - the united states remains the sexual superpower of the world with americans making love more often and with more partners than any other nationality, according to a survey by a leading condom manufacturer.. durex ssl international said tuesday that its annual poll of 18,500 people in 28 countries showed the world was having more sex and starting earlier than ever before, and the united states was leading the field in all departments.. the survey -- carried out in may and published ahead of world aids day on december 1 -- showed respondents averaging sex 97 times a year, up from 96 last year.. but those americans questioned averaged sex 124 times a year with over 14 different partners and were also starting earlier than anyone else at an average age of 16.. the greeks made love the second most frequently -- 117 times a year on average -- while the germans were the second youngest to get started at 16.6 years.. france's reputation as a nation of lovers took something of a hit with frequency dropping from 121 times a year to 110 and slumping from top of the number of partners table to second with 13 compared to 17 a year ago.. japan remained bottom of the lovers league with an average 36 sexual encounters a year.. overall, 60 percent of respondents said they had sex at least once a week and four percent claimed to make love daily.. but single people had the least sex -- 86 times a year -- and the libido of married couples (100 times) also trailed those living together (145 times).. one in 10 people said they never had sex.. the global average age of first sex moved down slightly to 18.0 years from 18.1, while the number of partners dropped to 7.7 from 8.2.. men appeared to be more sexually active than women, claiming a frequency of 102 times a year against 91. men also claimed an average 10.7 partners, versus 4.6 for women.. the beach was the most popular venue for love making, with 27 percent of respondents putting it ahead of a runner-up hot tub.. .
closer.
Still chuckling about this one! Horny old Americans - we always have to be one up on the world, eh? Other countries must get sick of this, like I'm tired already of the "America is #1," "America is the greatest" hoopla since Sept. 11.
"Overall, 60 percent of respondents said they had sex at least once a week and four percent claimed to make love daily."
I'm reminded of the man when asked how often he had sex paused a moment and then said: "By myself or with a partner?"
S4
i'm still trying to make sense out of sex and the so called bibical view by the wts.
i guess to be fair to a certain extent the wts is only trying to follow the bible's view about sex, but i often wonder if maybe the current understanding is incorrect.. lets examine homosexuality for a moment.
for a long time i've always beleived what the society has taught in that homosexuality is wrong.
Leander,
When I was leaving the Witnesses, I also had to take a totally unbiased view of the Bible. I'd always tended to look at it in the way that Giled students are supposedly taught - to see it first as a book written in a specific time and place in a particular culture.
Try that - and when you do it becomes quite clear that the Bible is simply JUST THAT - a book of its time and culture. Allow slavery, chop off thieves' hands, cut off a woman's hand for grabbing a man by the nuts in a fight, make women wear headcoverings and see them as the "weaker vessel" and unfit to take any leadership roles over men (can anyone say Taliban??), allow men to sell their kids (virgin daughters especially), believe that tons and tons of folks are demon possessed instead of suffering from mental illness, allow men to have multiple wives. Need I go on??
The Bible's view of sex is the view of Mid-Eastern culture 3,000 years ago. Nothing inspired there, nothing extraordinary. Nothing to get too confused about.
C'mon, the great god who created the universe and is the god of love couldn't let his people know that slavery really sucked if you happened to be the slave?? The Isrealites certainly hated their times in slavery!! No - the Bible is just another good 'ol book. Some nice wisdom there, but simply confusing when taken too seriously. Good luck!
S4
why haz this debate on (evolution v/s creation) stil lively & well after all these years, when,it iz impossible to prove either case?.
posters like (jan) exibit lots of arrogance & name calling when challanged, why?.
my theory: people that have been involved in some religion (like the borg),after finding out they have been deceived swing their scale too far to the opposite side in a typical "overaction!
Moman,
Found your argument that many who leave the JWs turn to belief in evolution because they want to reject a belief in a controlling god as interesting. It's also the same argument that the WTS used years ago in the first book on evolution. And makes just about as much sense now as it did then.
I have a much simpler explanation, which Jan made quite clear. Evolution is simply a fact of life and science. When you leave the Witnesses and can actually think for yourself on this issue, and you take the time to investigate it, a thinking person simply has to accept the facts.
This really has nothing to do with a god or creator. It's simply an explanation of what IS. Many evolutionists believe in a god, and all the more power to them. Where there is a problem is that many religionists continue to believe the myths of their religion, its stories, as though they were literally facts instead of truths spoken in metaphor. The myths of religion - like the Genesis accounts - when taken literally, simply collapse under the evidence of science.
Perhaps you live where you've been able to watch Bill Moyer's discussions with Joseph Campbell on "The Power of Myth." Where I live it's running right now on PBS. Campbell makes clear how ruinous it is for humanity when religion views it's truths as the only truths, and how foolish for religion to view it's myths as literal.
Why does the evolution/creation debate still live on? Due to the fear of literalists and fundamentalists to take an unbiased view of their beliefs. The ideas of evolution will continue to, well, evolve and expand. Religious fundamentalism will continue to devolve and shrink as more thinking people leave it behind.
S4
i haven't told this to very many people, so here goes.. when i was a child, my parents became jw's (i was almost 5), so i had celebrated christmas a few times, but have few memories of it, other than the bubble lights, and a huge tree and my grandparent's house.
when we stopped celebrating it, i didn't really "get it", and i still believed in santa claus.
i just thought he didn't come to our house anymore.
Great stories here from everyone. Thanks, Mulan.
I think it is absolutely necessary for all of us to have a mythology of sorts to guide us and help us through life. Santa is great for kids, and most are smart enough to figure it out. We all need some fun and magic. My granddaughter had a Barbie party last Friday - ten little girls with assorted moms and grandmoms. She told me I couldn't come as Ken - "Because he's not real, he's just pretend." She's four, and has it figured out.
The problem comes when people start believing that the mythology is fact and reality. Then it's called religion - and fundamentalism is its most mindless expression - as all us X-JWs know!
A funny story about Santa. Last year my grandaughter - who is being raised a Witness - had all these arguments with her Mom about whether Santa was coming to her house. My daughter told her not that Santa didn't exist, but that he wouldn't be coming to her house because they didn't celebrate Xmas. One day they were driving out of the mall and there is a Santa waving to everyone, and he gives my granddaughter a big wave and smile.
"See! I TOLD you Santa Claus knew me!" my granddaughter told her mother triumphantly.
S4
when i was a witness we would tell the public that although we didnt keep xmas or birthdays etc,we made up for it the rest of the year and even have special occasions for giving at other times.. well,the reality,for me as a kid,and my other brothers and sister was that we didnt cellebrate cristmas and didnt celebrate anything else so we went without,there were practically no times for giving or recieving .
how was it for you?
We had three children we raised when both my wife and I were JWs. AT LEAST once a year we had parties with gift giving that included grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. My wife, who is still a JW, continues to give tons of gifts to her kids and grandkids now.
We also had music parties, dances, costume parties, etc. Anniversaries are also BIG gift giving times for us, as well as several other JW friends. I organized tons of what would be considered big get-togethers for the congregation when I was an elder. Talent shows, formal dances for teens, etc., often with a bunch of kids from a number of congregations.
Not huge, but maybe 40 or so. We never had any serious problems - though I did get a bit of flack from time to time - which I did not put up with lightly. Pity the fool that dared hassle me about giving kids a good time!!
So not all JWs were anti-party assholes. Though I do remember DO Dennis Raftopolis really dumping on the elders meeting at the circuit assembly one time about Witness parties. He said at one costume party someone came dressed as Geo. Washington "What's next, General Patton?" he asked. Dennis could be fun - but a clueless company man at times.
S4
just wanted to know if any of you have read the entire bible?
- i remember that it was mentioned in the congregation many times that this would be a requirement that we were to read the bible in its totality at least once and especially as elders!.
i myself never had the time (or energy) to read the scriptures from cover to cover.
Yes. Read it all straight through one time, essentialy to say that I did. It is sort of a mindless exercise, as some parts are just not that valuable. Always loved Proverbs, the gospels, and my favorite is Ecclesiates. Great little bit of philosophy there in Eccl. - not quite like what most Christians would imagine.
A turning point for me in leaving both the Witnesses and eventually Christianity all together was reading Genesis without any preconceptions about what it meant. An unbiased reading reveals it to be the book of myths and ancient stories it always was. No Satan in Eden, two different creation stories, Jehovah wandering the earth and eating lunch with Abraham. Great mythology, but mythology nontheless.
About translations, I'm not sure. Always liked the Living Bible, but the NWT is so deeply ingrained into my thinking, it is hard to get away from it. I do very little Bible reading now. I think I got my fill, and so much more interesting and useful stuff to read now. Good question. And I also liked Comf's list of things a man ought to experience at least once. Have done most of them.
S4
can someone here tell me what the current policy is in jw conventions in terms of inviting the public.
is the public invited only for the special talk on sunday or can they come in at any time?
if a memeber of the public does come into the assembly hall, are they escorted or kept under surveillance the entire time or just a short while?
Mindchild,
My wife went to a special assembly day yesterday. No difference in security. It would seem this is the same at conventions. This is the way things have been for years:
No one can really tell if you are a JW or the "public" - except if you dress differently, attendants will keep an eye on you. Security around the stage, especially at Conventions and with well-known Gov. Body members, has always been pretty visible.
If someone wanted to get into a convention or assembly without drawing undue attention, the key would be to look as much like a JW as possible. No one is "escorted" anywhere for the most part. A notorious anti-Witness might be followed around by a couple of attendants and escorted out if they caused a disturbance.
S4
ok, so i became a jw when i was in my mid 20's.
i was in my prime.. i was so busy being a witness, taking in the truth, pioneering bla bla bla that i feel like i've missed out on life totally.
now i'm pushing 40 and i'm tired.
Welcome Jo,
Your prime, especially in this culture, is just starting. I figure it runs from maybe 35 to 65. Some folks will stretch that considerably longer, others will be old farts at 29.
The tiredness is just being worn out in an organization that wears you out and tosses you away. What a great life you have ahead of you now. Use each day the best that you can. It's simply wondrous.
Pierced Angel, I'd be interested in your response to the thread I started over in the Sex, Marriage and Relationships section. I think it's called Two Sex Questions or something similar. Your quest for wildness is one I fully understand - though I seem to have followed through on it a bit more than you did! Left the JWs and grabbed life by the balls, figuratively speaking!
S4
one of the things many of us faced as we left the wts was the loss of respect from witnesses that we may have really liked.
some may point to us as those who have lost jehovah's spirit and blessing in their life, and are suffering the consequences.
these can be hard issues to face.. yesterday i was discussing these ideas with a psychologist friend, and later with my wife.
Room 215,
My wife remains an active JW, albeit a very liberal one who takes a great deal of what she hears with a grain of salt. Being a JW is her culture, is the best way I can describe it. Her parents and one of our kids are still Witnesses. I would say that she and my daughter tend to be the "new JW" that we've talked about here on occasion - holding their own counsel on a number of issues and not necessarily taking the WTS totally seriously.
S4
the thread on judicial committes reminded me of my last meeting.
as a jw elder.
a major rift had developed on the body of elders.
All of these experiences brought back a lot of memories to me. I served as an elder for about 15 years. I worked with a lot of "good" brothers, but I think we all understand that a "good" elder NEVER really rocked the boat.
Then I think of some of the other elders I knew, so cocksure, so arrogant, so positive they were doing God's will, so condescending and controlling - and still serving. Oh, the damage they've done. They will go to their graves seeing themselves as saints and saviors.
S4
