Posts by Phantom Stranger

20

What ISP do you use?

by Gadget in

jw
friends

broadband has just been made available in my area and i want to sign up for it(dial-up is driving me mad....), but i don't know which broadband isp is the best one to use.

i can get a good deal with aol, but i've been warned against using them.

i would have used freeserve, but i've got a dial up connection with them now and its real real bad.

these quotes

by lastcall in

disfellowshipping?practicing a bible standard.

disfellowshipping is a procedure which is laid down in the bible .

a young girl who was disfellowshipped and later reinstated said: "i am happy that jehovah loves his people enough to see that his organization is kept clean.

Phantom Stranger

Hey, PR departments do it all the time - I'm sure the WTS learned well.

45

My Sister's Wedding - Good and Bad News

by kelpie in

ok.. firstly let me see i can explain this with out too much rambling..... for those who know me, know that i was disfellowshiped in june this year.

before this time, my mother, stepfather and sister shunned me.

since my disfellowshipping, i have not had contact with my parents and an occasional text message from my sister.. i found out last week that my sister was getting married on the saturday just gone (11th october) so i decided to give her a call on friday to wish her luck for her wedding.

Phantom Stranger

I haven't read all the posts, just the original.

I stayed in the WTS for years, fearing I would kill my grandmother if I left. I was convinced that it would kill my grandmother. As it turns out, she survived for many years after I left, and I had greatly understimated her.

They can't make decisions for you, and you can't make decisions for them - you each can only live your own lives. For any of us to subvert what we really believe, to forsake opportunities to live as fulfilling a life as possible, in order to try to make other people happier - this is indeed the meaning of "sin". You won't really save them - as long as there is someone to try to manipulate (like your other sis) they will pull the same cheap tactics. It's not because of you - it's because of their choices.

From your comment that you will disappoint others if you go back, it seems that you are making many decisions based on other people. Please, do yourself and your kids a favor - stop it! You are teaching your kids (by example) to forsake one's own happiness in order to attempt to please other people. Think about what kind of life you want for your kids - then go out and live that life as a shining example - all the others be damned, no matter what "side" they're on.

All the best in the world,

PS

32

Browns

by maybesbabies in

why can't the browns win??!?!?!!??!?!

they obviously have talent on that team!!!!

i think coach davis has not been utilizing his players to their full potential.

Phantom Stranger

As a Charger fan, I say stop yer whining.

49

What's Your Favorite Drink???

by minimus in

jw
friends

since it's the weekend, i'm thinking of trying some new drinks.

i'll be in new york city on sunday, too, so i want to know what you enjoy so that i can think of you while i'm away.

Phantom Stranger

Yeah, min, I ask them questions.

22

the society and education

by NewYork44M in

jw
friends

experience over the weekend.

just to clarify..... sad is the societys official acronym for special assembly day.

i attended yesterday at the brooklyn assembly hall with approximately 1,800 others.

Phantom Stranger

So bring the income up a click or two, but don't learn enough to really change your life.

Fortunately, you can't go for a CPA until you've been in the field for a while anyway, so perhaps she will come out from under the ether...

71

CHURCH OF JEHOVAH

by [email protected] in

jw
friends

.

please be reminded of this alternative now that the watchtower society has brought horrible reproach upon god's good name.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/churchofjehovah/

Phantom Stranger

Thanks for the compliment, CoM, but I doubt he's "realized" anything of the kind.

Perhaps he's surprised by the plethora of posts confirming how Jah blessed everyone here...

62

My turn to ask some questions

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

ok i rarely ask questions but hey i might as well do this too.

but to make life a lot easier for you i will put tham all in one thread when you first came here what did you expect?what were you looking for?did you find it and if so how?if you were looking for information how did you look for it - ask a question?

wander through the threads?

Phantom Stranger

When you first came here what did you expect? What were you looking for? I was doing online research after reading Jehovah's Witnesses - Portrait of a Contemporary Religions Movement, by Andrew Holden.
If you were looking for information how did you look for it -
- ask a question?
- wander through the threads?
- use the search utility?
- other?

How did you feel coming here at first? I was full of trepidation - I did not like the tenor of many of the posts, and felt that there was little benefit in joining the fray. I had been out for well over a decade, and felt no need to identify myself as a former JW.
How long did you read before signing up and posting? I stopped by a few times over about a year - then I joined in (under another name) on a thread about mind control, because I felt strongly (and still do) about the topic, and how many use it to insulate themselves from their own past actions.
What made you feel safe enough to post that first time? Safety was not an issue.
If you came across some of the flaming on here, how did you feel and what convinced you to stay? I found the flaming to be a waste of time, as I do on every board I've ever been on. I've served as resident expert on some boards, and I stopped doing that because of the incredible time wasting that goes on when people are more committed to being right than they are to making a difference and getting something positive accomplished. I have stayed around mostly because of some encouraging PM's I've received about my posts and my "come-from", and because as a writer this is a great venue to state what matters to me and what I believe, and possibly assist another human at a time of need. I would not have come to this position on my own, but those who have PM'd have given me a new outlook on posting here. Of course, the recent dumbass-diaspora has helped.

If you have been here for a while now

How do you feel over-all about this website? A positive support for many, a potential escape for real life for some, a replacement for a real life for an unfortunate few.
Do you still come here for the same reasons as you came in the beginning? No.
How has the board changed? Recently got a lot more civil - glad someone created a kiddie pool elsewhere.
How does this affect you? Well, I stayed.
Have you thought of leaving? If yes then why stay? What keeps you coming back? See above. I do suspect that for many who use it as a support, it's easier to outgrow than it is to leave.

What do you see as the main goal for this board? Well, it's not a community in that sense - it belongs to a private individual. If you're asking me what I think Simon's goal is, I don't know.

42

Did you recieve help?

by shamus in

did you ask or recieve help from the elders?.

if so, were they helpful?

i did once... they're help was more troubling than not.

Phantom Stranger

My experience of elders is identical to that of white men in positions of middling authority: some are assholes, some were indifferent, some did there best in situations where they were unqualified by training and education, and a few were good men who took the job seriously, and worked hard to make a difference.

Some of them sucked - but no more than in any similar group. Some of them were men I respect to this day.

31

do y'all get road rage?

by Brummie in

jw
friends

i'm considered to be very laid back but today i could have easily knocked someone on the nose for nearly causing a car accident that could have injured quite a few people, i wanted to hit the roof, perhaps its my first experience with road rage.

(or maybe the meds were wearing off...lol).. do you get it or have you been a victim?.

see ya next week, take care, oh and dont pap the horn if you see me on the road :).

Phantom Stranger

I used to get road rage.

I was in a seminar and the facilitator asked, "Who gets stressed out in traffic?" I expected everyone to raise their hand. Most did, but not all. The facilitator pointed out, "Notice that it's not universal. That means the stress is not inherent in the traffic - or else everyone weould feel it. You are the one that brings the stress - it's your response! And if it was an impossible response to avoid, they'd be stressed too!"

Ever since that day I've noticed whenever I start to get angry, and I rein it in.I wasn't put on the planet to tell other people how they ought to drive - in fact, I'm pretty sure that I'm not here to enforce, correct, or hold people accountable without their consent.

Now I just ask myself, "Remember that stupid thing that I did in a car? I'm so glad that bonehead move didn't get anyone hurt. I sure learned from that - hopefully they will too."