Narkissos

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Posts by Narkissos

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  16

  Illegals Working at Wal-Mart Arrested

  by simplesally in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  apparently there was a raid and many illegal immigrants were arrested when they came to work to clean the wal-mart.

  of course, wal-mart executives who knowingly hired or contracted these people to clean will be in trouble too, but what is so amazing is the attitude of the illegal immigrant.. now mr. zavala feels cheated, saying he worked as hard as he could pursuing the american dream, only to face an immigration hearing that could lead to deportation for himself, his wife, eunice, and their three children, 10, 7 and 5 years old.

  he was one of 250 janitors employed by wal-mart contractors who were arrested at 60 wal-mart stores before dawn on thursday.. "my family's not happy about this," said mr. zavala, who said he paid a "coyote" $2,000 to smuggle him into the united states three years ago.

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  Narkissos

  Oops. Definitely not my thread.
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  30

  JWD Maps Europe

  by Lady Lee in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  and one for the folks in europe.

  i know you're out there.. please post the country you are in.

  i will do my best to get you as close to where you live as possible - well in the same country.. as you can see we have a ways to go.

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  Narkissos

  France, just north of Paris
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  21

  What message did you retain from the bible?

  by JH in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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  having read the bible over and over again, how would you resume summarize what you read in the bible?

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  Narkissos

  "Résumer" in French means to sum up, very different from the main use of English "to resume". It's what translators call a "faux ami" (false friend)...

  My opinion is that "summing up" the Bible is the worst thing you can do to it. There is no such thing as a "Bible message", rather hundreds of schools and ideas which often clash with one another. When you accept as "the Bible message" what seems to be the "main thread" (e.g. the Deuteronomistic History in the OT, or Luke-Acts in the NT) you are bound to miss the minority views which are most interesting. My guess is that you have to pick up the ideas you like where they are and forget about the rest, although what you once dropped as meaningless may well appeal to you later on. "Love your neighbour as yourself" comes from a very ritualistic text (Leviticus); "God is love" from a very sectarian form of Christianity (the johannine community, which also promotes the shunning of "apostates"). Nothing's simple.
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  48

  I Am Officially Apostate!

  by shamus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i just got word through the grape vine that i am apostate now... i emailed everyone in my address book the vicki bower thingy and talk is that i'm apostate!.

  please fully welcome me into your fold.

  the truth sucks.

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  Narkissos

  Welcome Shamus to this very open club! I read your story yesterday and was deeply moved.

  When I was DFd, I remembered the story about the lunatic leaning over the wall of the asylum, calling a passerby and asking: "Are you many in here?"

  Well, we definitely are.

  Take care,

  Narkissos
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  24

  What is happenning in France?

  by AlanB in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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  just wondered if anyone knows what is happenning in france.

  my parents told me something about the french printing presses being moved to london for some reason.. any ideas?

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  Narkissos

  Amac: the religion is definitely not "oppressed". JWs here are freely keeping on their activities (I just saw two of them on the marketplace where I live, which is rather new in France). I think French courts just targeted the national organization where it hurts (at the cashbox), and to me it's a pretty good idea. The WT makes money out of "volunteer" work (of which I had my fair share), without paying social charges, and then the social system has to pay for the social and medical care of the volunteers (including former volunteers like me)... There is no attack on the religious side of the cult, only on the business side. One obvious difference between the French and American view (theoretically at least) is that religion is not legally considered "sacred" or a means for "sacralizing money"... How long it will last is also up to American citizens!
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  24

  What is happenning in France?

  by AlanB in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  just wondered if anyone knows what is happenning in france.

  my parents told me something about the french printing presses being moved to london for some reason.. any ideas?

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  Narkissos

  One correspondent on the afore-mentioned French-speaking board suggested me just to call the Bethel and ask. This I did and had confirmation that the printing facility did move to England... I guess such a step means the WT really considers the French case desperate.

  Well, let me enjoy that before the next invasion!
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  24

  What is happenning in France?

  by AlanB in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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  just wondered if anyone knows what is happenning in france.

  my parents told me something about the french printing presses being moved to london for some reason.. any ideas?

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  Narkissos

  The only reference I got at this time is the extension of the printing facilities in London: http://www.jw-media.org/newsroom/index.htm?content=/region/americas/usa/english/releases/growth/usa_e030901.htm
  The relation to the WT work in France remains to be documented.
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  24

  What is happenning in France?

  by AlanB in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  just wondered if anyone knows what is happenning in france.

  my parents told me something about the french printing presses being moved to london for some reason.. any ideas?

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  Narkissos

  I live in France (and even worked in the French Bethel in the 80's) but I have no first-hand information about the local WT now. Just heard they got a couple of adverse sentences in the French courts on tax issues in the last few years. I just asked the question on a French-speaking xJW board, hope I get some reply soon. I'll let you know.
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  87

  Who are the A/As on the board?

  by starfish422 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  not alcoholics anonymous, mind you.

  :) atheists/agnostics.

  i know there are some of us here; who's with me?

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  Narkissos

  I'd say atheist. Too much religion, theology and Bible study in my life for agnosticism.

  Still, I believe (!) there is lot to be remembered (and reinterpreted) in religion and theology: faith, for instance, which can be seen as a specific way (different from knowledge and experience) of relating to people and things around you; or prayer, which is to me a vital form of language/thought I still readily indulge in, even if I do not imagine anymore somebody listening...
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  263

  Growing up a gay Jehovah's Witness (My Life Story)

  by m0nk3y in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i feel the need to express how i feel and felt about my life as a gay man.

  i was brought up from birth as a jehovahs witness.

  this has played a major part in my life and it has been a real struggle to get past.

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  Narkissos

  Hello Suey,

  Thanks for reviving this thread: since I am a Newbie too (welcome anyway!), without your reply I wouldn't have read Josh's very moving story (thank you Josh for sharing it, at such a cost!).

  Suey, I'm quite ashamed to admit I could have said approximately what you wrote -- I mean 25 years ago, when I was still a "good JW"... You may realize later in life that, sometimes, it takes more courage (and faith, indeed) to follow on one's desires than to resist them. And that the "prohibiting God" is just a mask over our own fears.