Welcome, “Sofia Lose”! So glad to hear of another person daring to investigate outside of the little JW box. I couldn’t help noticing you mentioning “’till death do us part” in your opening post. Although I certainly wish you and your partner the very best, you must ultimately be true to yourself. That is the important thing, as I believe that this is life – this go at the great smorgasbord – is a one-time-only occurrence. Live it well, and be true to yourself.
Posts by SAHS
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57Please Welcome me
by Sofia Lose inhave lurked here for many, many years.
female, latina, middle-aged, born-in, 3rd generation jw, northeast usa.
my fate is to continue to play the game 'till death do us part because the very strong and tangled web of friends, family, business, etc.
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Wife is FOR SURE waking up
by cappytan inwell, this is a new development.
she broached the subject of ttatt tonight.
said i was right about the flood.
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SAHS
“Island Man”: “Why not watch a movie about someone who is in the grip of a cult or some other psychologically manipulative authority that uses fear of the opposition to keep the person ignorant of the truth and in continued mental enslavement to the cult or authority.”
To “cappytan”: A really good movie to see about getting involved with cults is the 1981 movie Ticket to Heaven (see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083201/?mode=desktop&ref_=m_ft_dsk. My high school class called “Man In Society” actually showed that movie as part of the course. Later, my long-time elder dad gave a talk in that class as a guest speaker representing the local congregation. I hope at least one of the students in that class was able to connect the dots.
Anyway, “cappytan,” you should definitely watch that movie with her, as I am positive that it will set off some lightbulbs in her head. You can tell her that someone (me) recommended that movie. It’s most certainly worth a shot. Just stay home from the next meeting and “make it a Blockbuster night.” Consider it necessary medicinal therapy to help her wake up from the dangerous and life-sucking coma. -
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Hot topic in congregations: having a beard/goatee
by nevaagain ini am starting this topic because i was wondering, i see many who leave "the truth" are glad because they can finally have a beard.
is having a beard really a no go in congregations?
how is / was it in your congregation?.
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SAHS
I grew a full beard a few years ago when my family and I lived in a somewhat small town. I started growing it when my folks were away on vacation for a week. After they returned, I decided to just keep it growing. I let it grow for about a year or so. During that time, a couple of elders visited me and informed me that I would have to shave it off or else I would be off the Theocratic Ministry School. I defiantly kept it for a while longer, and I actually even had a lawyer in a high-end city law firm send a detailed opinion letter to the local elders, with a copy to the Canadian Bethel headquarters. I only shaved it off later to be able to more fully enjoy some romantic kisses – but that was only of my own accord.
My advice is: don’t ever allow any man-made “leaders” to dictate the grooming of your own body. Believe me, they’re certainly not entitled to that level of control! (They just think they are.)
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Epiphany moment this morning!!
by kairos inafter all my reading, conversations, study, meditating, video watching, etc.. this for me, could very well be the "end all" topic to clearly define why being a jw is useless.. there is zero scriptural evidence that following the rules of a "governing body" of men is required to be acceptable to god or to gain salvation ( everlasting life in paradise ).. when asked by anyone, this will be my reply.
"show me the evidence".... i don't care if it cries out, "i'm an apostate"!.
whomever hears the comment will not be able to ignore it.
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SAHS
Another good Scripture, which is certainly a bit of good advice, is Proverbs 14:15: “The naïve person believes every word, but the shrewd one ponders each step.” To that end, Acts 17:10, 11 is appropriate: “. . . The brothers sent both Paul and Silas to Beroea. On arriving, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they accepted the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”
Now, if the apostle Paul recommended “carefully examining” the actual Scriptures themselves, then surely it would be fitting to carefully examine any man-made organization/corporation claiming to be the one-and-only mouthpiece for Almighty God! (You would think, eh?) As the famous cosmologist Carl Sagan wrote in his book called Cosmos: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” (This is referred to by some as the “Sagan standard.”)
The WTS demands attention by everyone. And they deserve it – but not in the way they would like. Yes, such grandiose claims deserve attention all right – in the form of critical scrutiny. And with the Internet, the WTS is coming under the magnifying glass as to just exactly what they are and what they have been up to all along.
As 1 John 4:1 says: “Beloved ones, do not believe every inspired statement, but test the inspired statements to see whether they originate with God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Any man, or group of men, claiming to be a “prophet” should have every one of their so-called ‘inspired statements’ examined and scrutinized – that is, certainly before anyone would ever even consider giving their whole life to follow them!
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It's Over Johnny....The Demise of Jehovah's Witnesses
by ctrwtf ini think i've mentioned before that from time to time my commute on the bqe takes me past the old factory buildings and the soon to be former headquarters building.
i was struck the other day with how shabby they've become.
even 25 columbia heights, still currently occupied, its facade is filthy.
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SAHS
A terrorist type of attack is the very least of the WTS’ concern. There doesn’t need to be any, because the explosion of TTATT on the Internet is proving to be the ultimate means of their demise. Remember, it was “information” – that is, disseminated manipulation of information (i.e., contrived misinformation, sold for a dime) – that got them started in the first place, and so again it is information – that is, the real, factual information concerning TTATT – that is currently effecting their ultimate undoing. And that kind of information is anywhere and everywhere – which, unlike any kind of “donation arrangement,” can be acquired by anyone, anywhere at absolutely no charge whatsoever. And that’s gotta hurt! -
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Ooops. They're back at the anti-type game.
by scotoma ini thought it was ex"plane"d at the corporate meeting that type-antitypes were finished unless it expressly is stated in the bible.. from the feb 22 study article.
question on paragraph 11- what comparison found at psalm 122:3,4 could be applied to god's people today?.
during the coming time of trouble for this system, we will have to be truly united.
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SAHS
I have my own personal example of what I think is a valid Biblical type/antitype: 1 Samuel 21:12-15, which says, “David . . . became very much afraid of King Achish of Gath. So he disguised his sanity in their presence and acted insane while among them. He was making marks on the doors of the gate and letting his saliva run down his beard. Finally Achish said to his servants: ‘You see that this man is crazy! Why bring him to me? Do I have a shortage of crazy men that I need to have this one acting crazy before me? . . .’”
I firmly believe that this well typifies the Watchtower governing body in our time, because they seat themselves up on the throne supposedly as representatives of God’s sole organization on earth but they have been acting narcissistically, impulsively, erratically, capriciously, licentiously, delusional . . . crazy . . . right from the get-go, and really nothing has changed there!
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What is dating as a JW like
by UFCFan infirst off i want to say that i'm a teenager which makes my situation interesting.
i don't want to give too many details in case someone i know reads this but i'm between 14 and 18, homeschooled, and i've been awake for around one or one and a half years.
i already have a plan to attend usc or wisconsin university if i'm smart enough to get in and then move to san jose and try and get a job working for a hs football team or with a soccer team, since i want to coach sports or be an agent.. now, this all sounds great in theory but there's one thing i've been thinking about that makes me doubt my plan.
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SAHS
If you want to, as “MarkSutter” so eloquently put it, “go get that pussy,” then I think that would be fine, so long as:
• You are honest and upfront about your intentions regarding any kind of commitment (or lack thereof);
• You don’t intentionally harm her emotionally by just deviously and cruelly leading her on, using her, and then throwing her away;
• You are very stringent and meticulous about using proper and effective protection (ideally, both for yourself and herself, as combinations of protection are safer – an unwanted child is much more than a simple little whoopsie daisy!).
If she is okay with all of the above, then, well, who is any of us to judge? I mean, people have their little fling all the time, of all ages. It’s okay, as long as you both are aware of whatever strings are to be attached, or not to be attached. Oh, and make sure you both are very careful not to get caught, because, as you already know, things get rather nasty in JW land when the elders (WT police) find out about any kind of naughty naughty.
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What is dating as a JW like
by UFCFan infirst off i want to say that i'm a teenager which makes my situation interesting.
i don't want to give too many details in case someone i know reads this but i'm between 14 and 18, homeschooled, and i've been awake for around one or one and a half years.
i already have a plan to attend usc or wisconsin university if i'm smart enough to get in and then move to san jose and try and get a job working for a hs football team or with a soccer team, since i want to coach sports or be an agent.. now, this all sounds great in theory but there's one thing i've been thinking about that makes me doubt my plan.
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SAHS
Whatever you do, I would make sure that you get enough reasonable training and experience so as to have some financial plan, or at least backup plan. That way, you can keep your options open and ensure at least some level of independence and self-sufficiency. Tap into the power and resources available to you, and use them to your advantage.
The ultimate outcome, theoretically, would be if your prospective fiancée could be persuaded to consider some objective factual analysis of the Watchtower organization so as to eventually discover and espouse the real truth about “the truth.” But, unfortunately, the chance of that is close to nil, as it usually amounts to nothing more than pie in the sky to expect a devout JW to actually wake up and see the light. All well. You can also keep your options open with regard to seeking a romantic and intimate relationship; i.e., the wonderful big world outside the little JW bubble.
Best of luck to you, in all respects. I know you might not want to think about this at present, but there is always more fish in the sea.
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Make A Wish Trip to JW.ORG
by konceptual99 ina sick little girl goes to ny to meet caleb and sophia for her make a wish trip.. http://www.kmph.com/category/170789/video-landing-page?clipid=11142038&autostart=true.
i don't want to make too much comment as there is an innocent and poorly young girl at the heart of this but i do have to wonder what the purpose of the parents courting the media's attention over this really was..
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SAHS
“ToesUp”: “I find it interesting that the JW organization has sold millions of dollars in Real Estate and is building their new resort in NY but cannot afford to send a family to Brooklyn on their dime (to see there own facility).”
That’s an excellent point, considering that the governing body members actually have a private jet at their disposal for their travelling! So, obviously, they could certainly afford to give an all-expenses-paid trip for this family – and let them really travel in style too! They could do that for many other families as well. And it would be quite fitting, considering that quite a number of such young children, especially those suffering from leukemia, are in the predicament of facing certain death like that in the first place due to the governing body’s own ridiculous and despicable ban on life-saving blood transfusions for young children and even babies! So, the very least those stiff-necked bastards could do is foot the bill for a dying little girl’s travel expenes, for Christ’s sake!
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Make A Wish Trip to JW.ORG
by konceptual99 ina sick little girl goes to ny to meet caleb and sophia for her make a wish trip.. http://www.kmph.com/category/170789/video-landing-page?clipid=11142038&autostart=true.
i don't want to make too much comment as there is an innocent and poorly young girl at the heart of this but i do have to wonder what the purpose of the parents courting the media's attention over this really was..
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SAHS
Wait a minute here! Why is this girl’s family so anxious to grant her this wish before she dies as though it’s a final wish forevermore? Don’t they believe in a resurrection when supposedly the girl would have an eternity to visit the Bethel headquarters and meet whatever ruling earthly representatives there will be then? It almost sounds to me like some desperate attempt to fulfill a girl’s very last wish before she is no longer among the earthly living. As, I’m sure, at her age she wouldn’t be of the 144,000 anointed heavenly class, then supposedly she wouldn’t be leaving this planet anytime and thus would get another chance for living on the earth again, for eternity (evidently)! So, why the rush to visit the New York Bethel – especially since anyone can simply just go there on their own anyway? It almost decries a bit of a lack of faith on the parents’ part – at least in the resurrection.