The Girl From Oz

Hmmm... not so sure about the "longest legs" bit - I wish I did have them, though! :P--> Re usage of "mate" - generally used for males, but can also be applied to females. Generally used in the same way Yanks (what Aussies call all Americans) say "buddie" or "pal". What you call Cookies, we call biscuits. What you call biscuits, we call scones. What you call coolers, we call eskies. What you call soda, we call soft drink. What you call lemonade, we call lemon squash. What you call Sprite or 7Up, we call lemonade.

ROTFLOL!!! :D-->

Hey Tom, Do I have to pay a donation? All I can send ya is a kiss. Is that enough??

To me, you Yanks all have funny accents :P--> Even Refiner has a funny Pommy accent :P-->

I was already aware of this, so it's no shock. Looking from the outside in, I can understand why it appears that way. The JW religion is Jehovah-oriented rather than Jesus-oriented. JWs don't believe in the Trinity (and I still don't) so they view Jehovah (God) as higher than Jesus, his Son, and worship God first. They view any form of Jesus-worship as creature-worship, because Jesus was created by God. I would like to point out that just because the JW faith is primarily a cult, it doesn't mean that all followers do not have a relationship with God. To presume this would be erroneous, because we should not judge a person's standing with God. For example, when I was baptised as a JW, I saw myself getting baptised to GOD first and only. I never saw myself as being baptised to an organisation. Thus, when I was attending a Christian church, I saw no need for myself to get re-baptised, because in my heart I had already a relationship with God.

That would be too easy :)--> Now, I used to be a firm believer in the Christian faith, because that is how I was brought up to be. I was also brought up to go door-knocking every Saturday morning to try to convert others to my faith. But even as a Christian, I didn't think it was right to be so "in your face" with others who didn't believe the same as you. And I still don't. I believe that we should treat each other with respect. If I don't go preaching to Christians about alternative faiths, then why do Christians feel the need to preach to me? Or become so indignant when someone dares to question what they believe? As a Jw, I welcomed questions about my faith because I saw it as an opportunity to share my faith with others. But I only did that if I was asked. I didn't expect others to listen to me, whilst refusing to listen to others' points of view.

My arguments are not directed at you personally, Raf. You need to separate yourself from the argument, and just take the words for themselves, instead of internalising them.

Which is exactly what Refiner was expressing when he posted his "Why I Reject the Christ" thread. It was an opinion. Nothing more, nothing less. I can understand that after being in an abusive cult it is natural to doubt people's motives. However, it is part of the healing process to realise that not everyone has an alterior motive. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. ;)-->

If anyone wants to go to an ex-JW board to discuss the similarities between TWI and JWs, then I'd suggest www.jehovahs-witness.com Just a warning, not all who leave JWs remain Christians, so you will encounter others' viewpoints, but it's generally a polite board. They'll probably be serving cups of tea and cucumber sandwiches when you arrive! :)-->

Def59, Of course I'm not blaming God for the death of my mother. Just as I'm not praising him for the healing of my arm.

Raf, There is a HUGE difference between stating an opinion, and preaching to someone. Refiner was doing the former, not the latter. I'm not going to waste my time trying to explain that simple fact if you can't grasp that concept. As for the defending of the rights for anyone to post here, I still find it a curious statement. I believe we all have the right to post here, as long as the owner of this board permits us. It's by his graciousness that we all post here. "Defending the right" to post here would only be needed if the said poster was doing something conflagrantly in opposition to the board rules.

Well, Raf, I'm glad to see that you don't think that Refiner is trying to get people to reject Christ. Because if people were thinking that of him they would be most mistaken. "Defends your right to post here"???? What a most curious thing to say! Unless, of course, you are the owner of this board? Is that what you are inferring???

--> BTW Dottie, my mother was a God-fearing woman all her life, but it didn't stop her from dying of cancer when I was 11. Also, I broke my arm 2 mths ago. It's healing quite well, but not due to anyone's prayers. It's taken alot of hard work and exercise to get it to where it is now. Are you suggesting that God could have healed it quicker for me? If so, if he can heal broken bones, why did he let my mother die a painful death? Why did he leave 2 young women motherless?

Well, "Long Gone" interpreted Raf the same way. If I'm mistaken, I hope he understands. If I'm not, then I'd still like to see where Refiner has told anyone to reject the Christ. ;)-->

What is most frightening of all, is that people really believe this!!!

Hey Raf, can you show me where Refiner has told anyone to reject Christ? At least one link will do, there's a good chap.

hahahahaha.... you are funny!!! :D--> The film hasn't opened in Australia yet, but I plan to see it. Despite his faults, Mike Moore has brought to our attention many issues that have needed to be.

That was always my understanding too. It seems to me that VP was doing a little too much projecting ;)-->

Goey, Why does the subject of someone rejecting Jesus bother you so? Must all those who leave TWI stay Christians? Must all those who post on GS CAfe be Christians? Is not this a place for discussion of ideas and experiences? I'm most curious why a man's statement regarding Jesus bothers you so much?

Hi Belle, Your story is so similar to those of us who were in the Jehovahs Witnesses. The visits on you if you dont attend enough meetings, the implication that if you dont do what they say, God wont bless you, the wedding being organised according to how the church wants it, to the exclusion of outsiders, etc etc. I was never in The Way but I just want you to know that no matter how hard it is to leave, it will be worth it in the end. Pray to God to give you the strength to stand up to the corrupt leaders. I know you can do it :)-->

In other words, you are only welcome here if you think exactly like Goey. --> Goey, I've noticed that you haven't posted on my thread "Religion and Faith after Leaving A Cult". I don't know if it's because you haven't read it, but if you haven't, I'd suggest you do. Why? So that you can learn that TWI is no more unique than many other cults. There are many similarities between the various cults, and I know that we can learn from each other. Gaining this kind of knowledge helps us to grow and heal from our experiences in our respective cults. If we don't try to understand where we came from, then we are at risk of being hoodwinked again. It may not be another religion, but it could be a bad relationship, business deal or simply making bad choices in life in general. I know Refiner personally, and he has alot to offer this board. Now, everyone has a choice when he posts. You can choose to read his posts, and even comment; or if you don't like them, simply ignore them and concentrate on the posters you do like. It's simple netiquette that is practised on other discussion boards. Learn or ignore, the choice is up to you.

((((rascal))))) Just wanted to give you a hug for your anguish over your life in the Way. Many ex-JWs feel the same way, since we also had a "witnessing" ministry, designed to bring more people into the fold. We all thought we were doing God's work, but clearly were doing the work of man. The only ones who benefited from our work were the leaders, who profited from having many members in the organisation. But the thing to remember is, we were doing what we thought was right at the time. We thought we were doing God's ministry, and I'm sure we saw people benefiting at the time, or we would have seen the warning signs much earlier on.

The same happened with JWs. You were given "Bible study aids" to read and study with the person studying with you. Any questions you may have were usually answered with "you'll learn about that later". Eventually, you were convinced that the "Governing Body" (leaders of JWs) had your spiritual interests at heart and knew more than you, so any questions usually halted.

--> George perhaps but you.... :P-->

Thanks George, now I understand what you meant :o--> Still, it doesn't solve the problem of little puddles on the floor.... -->