Jehovah's Witnesses

[DavidMn]

One of my really good gay friends is an ex-witness and from what he's told me, this is definitely the most backwards, restrictive religion I've ever heard of. I dont really know much about it other than what he's told me, but I sure as hell am gla I didnt have to grow up in that sort of environment. I mean they evern encourage young people not to further their education after high school. What kind of F**ked up people wouldnt want their kids to have every competitve advantage in today's world. OH sorry I forgot, they think Armageddon is right around the corner.:laugh:

[carrie721]

One of my really good gay friends is an ex-witness and from what he's told me, this is definitely the most backwards, restrictive religion I've ever heard of. I dont really know much about it other than what he's told me, but I sure as hell am gla I didnt have to grow up in that sort of environment. I mean they evern encourage young people not to further their education after high school. What kind of F**ked up people wouldnt want their kids to have every competitve advantage in today's world. OH sorry I forgot, they think Armageddon is right around the corner.:laugh:

mormons are scarier, imo. go read under the banner of heaven!

[DavidMn]

mormons are scarier, imo. go read under the banner of heaven!You can probably guess what happened when my friend came out to his parents...

[jannieC]

mormons are scarier, imo. go read under the banner of heaven!
My ex-husband's family are Mormons. And they're not freaks. Anything can be taken to extreme. :shrug:

[DavidMn]

My ex-husband's family are Mormons. And they're not freaks. Anything can be taken to extreme. :shrug:Very good point. it always seems that the bad ones ruin it for the good, doesnt it?>

[DrummerDeanna]

My ex-husband's family are Mormons. And they're not freaks. Anything can be taken to extreme. :shrug:


Exactly.

I've also had good friends who are Jehova's Witnesses - and they went to college - no problem. You were fed one-sided or bogus information.

edit - got a little mad...said some things...deleted them. I have the post before thinking problem.

[carrie721]

My ex-husband's family are Mormons. And they're not freaks. Anything can be taken to extreme. :shrug:

this is true ... but it's more fun to make sweeping generalizations! :D what i meant was i find the belief system scarier, not the actual people.

[DavidMn]

Exactly.

I've also had good friends who are Jehova's Witnesses - and they went to college - no problem. You were fed one-sided or bogus information.

And I think it's really ****ty of you to start a whole thread bashing an actual established religion - how incredibly classless and jerky.

How's about a "those freakish Amish" or "Jerk Jew" thread?

All religions have their extremist factions - don't judge a whole thing becuase of a few :mad:I'm sorry I offended you. That wasnt my intent. Please accept my apologies.

[DrummerDeanna]

I'm sorry I offended you. That wasnt my intent. Please accept my apologies.

whatev. I should have just stayed out of it - and will from here on out :) Smack away.

[DavidMn]

whatev. I should have just stayed out of it - and will from here on out :) Smack away.No I have no problems with someone criticizing an opinion I have. I mean if it helps me be more enlightened, all the better. Have a nice day.
:)

[estranged4life]

One of my really good gay friends is an ex-witness and from what he's told me, this is definitely the most backwards, restrictive religion I've ever heard of. I dont really know much about it other than what he's told me, but I sure as hell am gla I didnt have to grow up in that sort of environment. I mean they evern encourage young people not to further their education after high school. What kind of F**ked up people wouldnt want their kids to have every competitve advantage in today's world. OH sorry I forgot, they think Armageddon is right around the corner.:laugh:

but being that I live in the heart of the Bible-Belt the worse of the worse are the Southern Baptists (Not all are bad, but most I have had contact with are misguided-One of the reasons why Deb will not let those she works with know that her religion of choice is Wiccan, Because they can have her fired.)

The Baptist church I was forced to attend as a child was similar to the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka:

All gays/lesbians/alternative lifestyles will burn in hell
All minorities will burn in hell (No minorities at this church, Which was the largest in my hometown)
Any person who doesnt submit to the Church will burn in hell
All other religions are mockeries and shall burn in hell

(The above rules caused some of the views I USED to have towards people...Until I totally rebelled against those views)

As for Mormons, I also got along with them fine, As I have with Hindus, Wiccans (I married one) & Satanists (Yes, In the past I had friends who were openly Satanists-Probably the most honest people I met...And no, they do not sacrifice ANY animals since that is against one of the basic laws in the Satanic Bible.).

Except for the caffeine thing with Mormons I always liked 'em (My former high school prinicipal was Mormon. His son was a friend of mine and I used to tease his Father when I would see him buying Coca-Cola from the pop machines at school early in the morning before schools start. His excuse "Oh well, I dont think God would mind a Coke every once and awhile...Cause I need the jolt from the sugar rush" :lol: )

[carrie721]

southern babtists can be scary too. in actuality, i find all religions scary, though. i think they do more harm than good.

[jannieC]

but being that I live in the heart of the Bible-Belt the worse of the worse are the Southern Baptists (Not all are bad, but most I have had contact with are misguided-One of the reasons why Deb will not let those she works with know that her religion of choice is Wiccan, Because they can have her fired.)

The church I was forced to attend as a child was similar to the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka:

All gays/lesbians/alternative lifestyles will burn in hell
All minorities will burn in hell
Any person who doesnt submit to the Church will burn in hell
All other religions are mockeries and shall burn in hell




I work as a secretary for a Southern Baptist church ( I live in North Carolina, which is most definitely the Bible Belt). I am not a member, as I was not raised Baptist, but I have to say that these people are the most amazing and wonderful people, ever. They give and give and give. We, along with 2 other churches make up a group called West End Ministries. Our church feeds the homeless, another one clothes them, and the third runs the Boys and Girls Club. My boss (the pastor) is the chaplain for the local Police and Fire Departments. In addition to feeding the homeless, he works tirelessly to fight crime in our area. Just yesterday, he was interviewed by CBS and NPR because the crime rate in our medium sized town has gone DOWN this year, whereas most mid sized cities' crime rates have gone up.

Do I agree with all the tenets of the Baptist religion? Hell no (heh). Do I respect these Christians that give so much of their time, money, and energy to serve God? Most definitely.

My boss has taught me more about spirituality in the year I've known him than anyone else in the 38 years I've been on this planet.

Personally, I think we talk about religion too much. Bad experiences, bad images, bad everythings have made many people bitter. My bottom line is that one's relationship with God is a personal one. I don't care what other people believe. I feel for people who suffered in the "name of God". But that suffering came from the people involved, not the religious belief.

[carrie721]

But that suffering came from the people involved, not the religious belief.

you've brought up an interesting point ... would people who commit atrocities in the name of religion commit them anyway in a world without religion? hmm.

[estranged4life]

I work as a secretary for a Southern Baptist church ( I live in North Carolina, which is most definitely the Bible Belt). I am not a member, as I was not raised Baptist, but I have to say that these people are the most amazing and wonderful people, ever. They give and give and give. We, along with 2 other churches make up a group called West End Ministries. Our church feeds the homeless, another one clothes them, and the third runs the Boys and Girls Club. My boss (the pastor) is the chaplain for the local Police and Fire Departments. In addition to feeding the homeless, he works tirelessly to fight crime in our area. Just yesterday, he was interviewed by CBS and NPR because the crime rate in our medium sized town has gone DOWN this year, whereas most mid sized cities' crime rates have gone up.


Like I said not all Baptists (Or Southern Baptists)are bad, but here in Oklahoma they seem to be more zealot-like than I prefer...Another turn off to me (Let me worship God in my own way, Not in someone elses distorted way...That is all I ever asked for.)

Hell, I used to live in Tulsa, OK (population 520,000)-The city with the most churches per capita of ANY city in the US (That is a fact-More churches than LA, NY, Chicago, Houston which are the 4 largest cities in the US) and every street corner had some type of church, Yet that was the most evil city in the US if ya ask me (Vegas has nothing on Tulsa)...A city half as large as OKC (OKC is over a million in populatin, It is actually larger than New Orleans), but with more crime, hatred, racism-Maybe someone is missing a message in Tulsa :shrug:

[HomerMcvie]

southern babtists can be scary too. in actuality, i find all religions scary, though. i think they do more harm than good.
Ditto what you said. Religious people USUALLY scare the bejesus (misspelling I know...get it?:) ) out of me.

[JazmenFlowers]

one of my best friends is a JW. she is one of the best people that I've ever met. totally a friend anyone would be lucky to have. but like others have said, anything taken to an extreme is not good.

[GODDESS6]

my only problem w/ JW & mormons is that there is a latter day saints church like 5 blks from me & a JW 's kingdom hall like a blk from me & they continually come up to my neighborhood, i mean monthly & even tho i say politely that i am not interested, they come back & back & back &...:shrug: ~ they leave pamphlets on people cars & really don't wanna take no for an answer, i even had happen 1 day where i just didn't answer the door when they came & they opened up my screen door & tried the knob:distress: ~ now these are just the group by me, i don't mean them any disrespect as a whole, either religion, but after awhile when they don't quit, it gets disturbing~

[becca]

The early Christian church co-opted many pagan or wiccan observances in western Europe such as Easter and Yuletide, timing their days for marking Jesus events with the spring equinox and the winter solstice, which is why the eastern European church(es) has different days for things than Rome does.

Keeping people uneducated and unquestioning is how some seek to 'shephard a flock' I guess. :( Talk about lost in the wilderness. I think it's a long tradition in North America for religious groups to seek to exclude people and exclude themselves from everyone else. This is why so m any seem to exist within their own universe rarely making contact with the rest of us, except of course when somebody does or says something unusually newsworthy.

Many seem to have a selfishly childlike magic spell kind of religion to me, where all you have to do is believe without questioning or testing and the magical Jesus will rescue you from all the bad doomed unbelievers. All you have to do is take a peek at the ridiculous left Behind gbooks to see the underside of such a mentality, I can't even call it a belief system as the system part of the equation is virtually ansent. Anyway, it's all talk, even what I'm doing here, because it says "by their works you shall know them". There are a lot of good people doing good works who seek to follow Jesus' example, and their are others who maybe do them in spite of what they think of people who seek to follow Jesus. :D

[becca]

when they don't quit, it gets disturbing

This is why the Jehovah's Witnesses are actually illegal in some countries, mostly in Asia.

[CelticGypsy]

mormons are scarier, imo. go read under the banner of heaven!


No kidding!!!! You should meet my brother-in-law. My brother-in-law constantly put down gay people and he has NEVER met a gay person in his life!!! I just want to slug him when he starts opening his narrow-minded yap:laugh: He's a Republican and loves Rush Limbaugh.

[Brwn_eyes0511]

Neal is JW, well used to be.. and his parents still are as far as I know! He has told me some interesting things about JW that I never really knew before... if he would ever pop up around here every once in a while he could tell us more. ;)

[michelle2677]

If they ever show up at our door, my husband just tells them he's catholic (which he is) and they turn around and walk away. He's probably the antichrist to them.

But just to "pooooosssibly" (probably not tho :) ) change some opinions on southern baptists-I am (yeah, and I married a catholic *L *) and I don't feel if you drink alcohol-you're going to hell (****..I hope not anyway!!!! :o )
I do not feel that gays are evil and going to hell
I feel that they should also be able to marry. It's not our right to decide who we should or should not love-etc.
I do not feel that all other religions are crap and if you don't believe EXACTLY what I believe, you are an evil person and should be burned at the stake.
I dont' push my beliefs on other people. As long as someone treats me with respect and doesnt' fall into my hatred list (see below) -I don't make any judgements on where people are going after they die.

The only people I think should burn in hell are : child molesters, and people who abuse animals. Well...maybe not the ONLY people...but that about sums up my hatred list.

Ha. because my husband is catholic-he gets a lot of people telling him he's going to burn in hell. I just told him to say..."I like warm weather". They shut up pretty quickly.

[Nico]

One of my really good gay friends is an ex-witness and from what he's told me, this is definitely the most backwards, restrictive religion I've ever heard of. I dont really know much about it other than what he's told me, but I sure as hell am gla I didnt have to grow up in that sort of environment. I mean they evern encourage young people not to further their education after high school. What kind of F**ked up people wouldnt want their kids to have every competitve advantage in today's world. OH sorry I forgot, they think Armageddon is right around the corner.:laugh:

I'm sorry, but I think your friend may have exaggerated. My aunt and uncle are both Jehovah's Witnesses and both have gone through college, completed their master's, and hold respectable jobs while also particpating in their field ministry work and attending meetings. They are also insanely normal and kind people and definitely not "f*ked up" by any standards. I respect that your friend may have felt stifled or restricted, but not all Jehovah's Witnesses are as what he has told you. I've met many and found them to be very kind and decent people. If they believe Armageddon is coming, they have their right to their beliefs.

That's how I feel.

[DavidMn]

I'm sorry, but I think your friend may have exaggerated. My aunt and uncle are both Jehovah's Witnesses and both have gone through college, completed their master's, and hold respectable jobs while also particpating in their field ministry work and attending meetings. They are also insanely normal and kind people and definitely not "f*ked up" by any standards. I respect that your friend may have felt stifled or restricted, but not all Jehovah's Witnesses are as what he has told you. I've met many and found them to be very kind and decent people. If they believe Armageddon is coming, they have their right to their beliefs.

That's how I feel.I have no problem with that> I think I may have come across as a bit heavyhanded in my original post.

[Nico]

I have no problem with that> I think I may have come across as a bit heavyhanded in my original post.

But it's good that you accept other people's perspectives on the matter. :nod:

[tynan88]

Do I agree with all the tenets of the Baptist religion? Hell no (heh). Do I respect these Christians that give so much of their time, money, and energy to serve God? Most definitely.


This is the exact problem that I have with Christians and most people of an organised religion, they serve God before one another. I believe that Jesus taught us to work for one another not from some huge distant master in the sky.

I think that if I had to choose between a religious and a non-religious person who has devoted their life to charity, in general the non-religious one will be a better person because they do it simply to help others and not with a desire to reach eternal life.

[jannieC]

This is the exact problem that I have with Christians and most people of an organised religion, they serve God before one another. I believe that Jesus taught us to work for one another not from some huge distant master in the sky.

I think that if I had to choose between a religious and a non-religious person who has devoted their life to charity, in general the non-religious one will be a better person because they do it simply to help others and not with a desire to reach eternal life.
I don't get the impression that they're doing it for eternal life <i>at all</i>. They do it because that's how they believe God wants them to live. That as a good person/Christian you should help others. And to be truthful, these particular people are so down to earth and based in reality, I would be really surprised if someone said something about being rewarded with eternal life.

I work in a soup kitchen and I am a patient volunteer for Hospice. I'm not Baptist, but I do feel as though if there IS a God, he/she wants for me to do the things I do.

[irishgrl]

Ive known many decent (and some not so decent) from many different religions. People are people.

My beef with Mormonism is that it was completely fabricated by Joseph Smith from a combination of the Mason's ceremonies, and his own imagination. supported here (http://wind.prohosting.com/rlanwood/jsmith.htm) :distress:

EDIT: to support my assertion, I will list some links I found from a quick query, but they are by no means exhaustive:
Plain Truth about the Mormons (http://www.biblebelievers.com/jmelton/Mormons.html)
The Truth about Joseph Smith (http://www.padfield.com/acrobat/sermons/mormonism.pdf)
False foundations of the Mormon Church (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/4809/mormon.html)
Mormonism, Anatomy of a Colossal Fraud (http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/stephen_eck/mormon.html)
Arrest records of Joseph Smith (http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon430.htm) note: this site is by EX Mormons!!!


I want to say that while I fault the authenticity of the Origins of Mormonism, there is much that the Mormon Church does that is admirable. They are deeply committed to family and they also believe in helping their members who are going through hard times. They practice clean living, and treat their bodies like temples (all things that we ALL should be doing) and they are hard working, decent people in the main.