He's hard to look at seriously! He's the best advertisement for not being a jw!
just saying!
i get the feelings that stephen lett tries to come across as mr. rogers but there are times it oozes through that he is a lot more dominant and controlling then he lets on.
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He's hard to look at seriously! He's the best advertisement for not being a jw!
just saying!
the humanist organisation in the uk wants to protect non-religious people who leave their church/religion from being punished for doing so.
they want the religious hate crime legislation in the uk to be extended to people who are not religious.
i hope they will succeed.
Maybe shunning is not a legal crime---------but it sure as hell is a moral crime!
just saying!
i know of two older couples who have gone overseas to live in recent years.
one could be classified in my opinion as a “need greater” although i think it might also have to do with getting more for their money.
the other i think was seeking out a cheaper and more naturally beautiful environment to live in their retirement years.. what i wondered is if these people are disenchanted and bored with life in the states.
I know a fairly young couple (in their 40's) that moved to China. I know they were starting to fade from the wt but never really said so. They get back to California once a year and the 'brother' has confided in me about how easy it is to be a jw in China. Lots of faking. No real field service and just occasional meetings. Once his parents pass away, he'll just walk IMHO.
just saying!
holy shit!
i went to the meeting on thursday night to hear my grandson and my daughter give their "talk" on the misery school!.
the very first part on the next meeting that follows the misery school was a 15-20 minute part, with a video of course, on the many ways to donate money to the wt!
Holy shit! I went to the meeting on Thursday night to hear my grandson and my daughter give their "talk" on the misery school!
The very first part on the next meeting that follows the misery school was a 15-20 minute part, with a video of course, on the many ways to donate money to the wt! I know this is nothing new but wow 15-20 minute part! lol and wow!
I guess jehober is having trouble making ends meet.
just saying!
lifestyle.
' i'm an atheist and i don't need god to give thanks or show gratitude.
jennifer furner,huffpost 3 hours ago .
I really think that this person hit the nail on the head. So many of our loved ones who are jw's cling tenaciously to their delusional hope of a "paradise earth" (the term paradise earth is not in the bible). Everything they do is because they will one day be in paradise.
I know that I'm very thankful that I no longer cling to that delusion and realize that lives are all about arbitrary circumstances both good and bad and we need to be thankful for the good ones and not thankful to a sky daddy who does nothing for anyone anytime!
just saying!
lifestyle.
' i'm an atheist and i don't need god to give thanks or show gratitude.
jennifer furner,huffpost 3 hours ago .
Lifestyle
I'm Not 'Blessed.' I'm An Atheist And I Don't Need God To Give Thanks Or Show Gratitude
Jennifer Furner,HuffPost 3 hours ago
The worn hinges squeak as I pull the heavy wooden door open. Inside is a cavernous room, its walls made of stone. Looking back at me is a fireplace with a wrought-iron log holder that reminds me of an overgrown spider. The stone surrounding it is scarred with black ash.
It’s dim in here; two small hexagon windows let in only a fraction of the sunlight on this relatively bright November day. A chalice rests on each sill. A few stones stick further out from the wall; on them, the remnants of candles.
Though the chapel has a vaguely druid quality, it too closely resembles a church from the organized religion I gave up many years ago.
I came to give thanks, but the chapel asks me to kneel, to pray, to light a candle, and that no longer feels authentic to me.
How does one give thanks outside of religion?
I thank my friends, family, strangers who make my coffee. But I am also thankful for a goodness that can’t be assigned to mere mortals ― a goodness, I feel, that is bigger than we are. Sure, I’ve accomplished things myself that contributed to my happiness, but I don’t feel I can take all the credit. So what deserves that credit? The universe? The energy around me? The earth? It’s not clear. But what is clear to me is it’s not a deity.
I came to the chapel to say “thank you,” but instead, I say, “No, thank you.” I close the door, turning my back on the stone structure built into the side of the hill.
The chapel is just one of the many religious markers on the 60-plus acres of this property used for retreats that I travel to several weekends a year. There are statues of Mary or Joseph peeking out from under bushes, but also Buddhas sitting quietly next to benches. There are crosses that seem to pop up out of the grass, but also symbols of other faiths and ways of thinking. This place celebrates sacredness in whatever form you like.
I prefer neither the Christian symbols nor those of any other belief system. I no longer believe in a superior being, much to my mother’s disappointment. She is a devout Catholic and tried to raise her children to be the same. Our Catholic community was a meaningful part of my childhood; for those memories, I will always be thankful.
But thankful to whom? No one, I guess.
As a child, I would thank God. I would kneel on the ground, fold my hands together, and look up to the sky. “Thank you for keeping me and my family safe,” was part of my daily evening prayers. The other part was my asking for something: more protection, more love, more patience. “Please, God, help me to...” I would say. If I didn’t receive what I asked for, then I would feel it was my fault. I had failed to please God. I wasn’t worthy to receive what I desired.
In America, God and thankfulness are often intertwined. When people are thankful, they frequently use the word “blessed.” God has blessed them, blessed their lives, has chosen for whatever divine reason to shower His good graces on them. And in return, they worship Him ― unless they are ungrateful, and then, we’re often told, they deserve to go to hell.
I don’t use the word “blessed” anymore.
Instead, I say “lucky.” I don’t believe in luck, exactly, only the arbitrariness of my good fortune. My life is merely a smattering of circumstances. If any of those circumstances had been changed in any way anywhere along the way, so would my life be changed.
I prefer this view. I will not believe in a God who gets to choose which people suffer. If people suffer, it’s because circumstances of life happen, and whatever those circumstances happen to be either end up causing suffering or they don’t. Likewise, I do not believe that good people get rewarded for being good. I don’t believe pop stars win awards because they pray more than others. I don’t believe football players make touchdowns because God has chosen them to.
I don’t think there was a day where I woke up and decided that I was an atheist. It happened over time, as I experienced more inequalities in the world, as I learned more about science, as I witnessed more suffering. My parents mourn that I won’t one day join them in heaven, but the only place I’ve planned on going for a while now is the ground, where my body can nourish the earth and my energy can give life to something else.
We believe in what gives us the most comfort. For my parents, eternity is their comfort. I personally like the idea of a more definitive end. It gives my time here on earth more meaning to know I only have the amount of breaths I take every day to be the best person I can be. And since I’ve given up God, I feel more satisfied being the best person I can be for me instead of following anyone else’s instructions for living.
here's a new article that came out:.
do jehovah’s witnesses baptize infants?no.
the bible does not endorse infant baptism.
8 year old daughter one of the elders in our congregation got dipped last assembly! wtf!
just saying!
...because high heels originated with the persian military!.
https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/the-curious-origin-of-the-high-heel/p07sqgpy?playlist=fashion.
At 1 Peter 3:3 Paul wrote "Do not let your adornment be external—the braiding of hair and the wearing of gold ornaments or fine clothing— "
When Paul wrote "Do Not" was that just a suggestion or a command?just saying!below is the copied page found in jw.org from nov. 4, 2019:.
the governing body is pleased to announce that a new milestone has been reached in our efforts to make disciples of people of all the nations.
jw.org now has articles, videos, and audio content available in 1,000 languages, including 100 sign languages..
Once again the wt has bragging rights about 'numbers'. Numbers are extremely important to the wt society. They can no longer brag about the increase in members or the increase in the number of congregations or how much literature they gave away. So now they have to brag about how many languages they have translated. They have translated, not the Bible, but only their bullshit into 1,000 languages.
Oh---they can brag about the increase in the numbers of how many can now sip the wine and nibble the crackers at the Memorial. lol lol
just saying!
the organization stresses to elders to be careful with members of the opposite sex.
never be alone with a sister whether it be in field service or paying a visit by means of a shepherding call.
do you know of any elders that flirted or were overly “touchy” with females?
I was 'hit on' by several elders wives----------back in the day! Wow the 70's were something.
just saying!