franklin J

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Posts by franklin J

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  78

  Positive about jw

  by one in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there are many thing i dont regret about jw

  learning from jw about cristmas is one of them

  the jw were very open about cristmas, going against the "system" require some strenght and that in itself attracted many to the jw org.

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  franklin J

  Having been raised as a Jehovahs witness and leaving the faith in my early 20s, I think I have a good comparison to make.

  In fact; I have an EXCELLENT comparison to make.

  The ONLY thing remotely positive of which I could credit that relgion with is possibly self discipline. I learned that at an early age. As a child; I learned to be "different" from the other kids I went to school with. I did not belong; and learned to do things on my own; not swayed by peer pressure. I chose to make this a positive issue in my life; others have not dealt so positively with this. It is a hard life for a child to have to be different from their peers.

  The good values system in my life I learned from my parents. The Biblical knowledge I was " pumped" with as a child; was all relearned in college classes of ancient history; with a very different slant and secular meaning. The "public speaking" was also learned in college; albeit that I had a head start due to my "ministry school" training. Easiest "A " I ever got in school. If I use my plublic speaking skills now with a client or addressing an audience for a presentation; it is due to my self confidence as a person and professional; not my "trust in Jehovah"

  As for the shunning ( of which the JWs are so proud); I learned that there are real "friends" in the world; that there are good and decent people such as myself "in the world"; all living the same life and striving to make sense of the 75 plus years we all share this planet together ; on a journey to who knows where or why. There are all the same loves and losses and happiness and pain; why make life any harder than it has to be? Why inflict pain on your fellow man; for no other reason than that he has a different perspective than you?

  I have learned the hard way that the Jehovahs Witnesses and their teachings are not any different than the Nazis of fascist WW2 Germany.

  Anything Positive? NO.
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  10

  I just have some questions.

  by FanofStoudemire in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  but i had some questions and i have tried everything to find information about jw.

  i am only 16. so if i say something that is typed wrong or sounds mean or rood i apoligise.

  i have bad spelling also.

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  franklin J

  dear Fan,

  welcome to the forum. The posters you will encounter here are all X JWs who have left the faith for various reasons; not the least of which are because of some of the points you mention.

  Your questions are all valid ( not at all rude) and are all questions which some of US still wonder. The Jehovahs Witnesses are basically a fundamentalist christian faith. If your aunt; whom you mentioned;has previously joined and no longer spends as much time with you; do not take it personally. The JWs are a very insulated religion; and they do not ( as a rule) mingle with outsiders.

  To answer your questions in order:

  a) The JWs do not celebrate holidays because they believe them to be of "pagan origin". This also serves to identify them as different.

  b)They do not accept blood transfusions because of their interpertation of the Bible; believing it to be a direction from their creator to not accept blood in any form ( animal or human)

  c) There is no "relaxed form" of the Jehovahs Witness religion. It is an all encompassing way of life: is either black or white. You are either a practicing member or you are not. They do not tolerate anything " in between".

  d) The Jehovahs Witnesses do not salute the flag; considering their allegiance to only be to God. Your question is very appropriate and carries much weight: as you say; many died for the freedoms in this country and for the freedom to choose whatever religion one desires. The Jehovahs Witnesses do not recognize such freedoms as coming from men (they arttribute their good fortune and freedoms as coming from God); and do not acknowledge the privledges of which so many died for .

  e) as for the issues of the Cross and Trinity; these are doctrinal issues of which the Jehovahs Witnesses have their own interpertion of Bible text. They firmly believe that they are right and every other interpertation of the Bible is wrong.

  Rember; the JWs may be sincere in their efforts to worship God ( and what consciencious religious person is not?) However their closed mindedness and lack of tolerance for any other way of life and religion can be damaging to some. And they do not promote or encourage any kind of secular education; this in itself is reason to question.

  This forum is a very good source to learn about the Jehovahs Witnesses from those of us who have lived a life of it and found the teachings to be "deficiant".

  Good luck, Frank
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  33

  Guess what I got for x-mas???

  by morty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a job offer!!!!!.

  i am tickled pink about it.

  i have been out of work for a while now(3 years almost) due to my back injury and a company that i voleenter for, offered me a postion at collage wages!!

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  franklin J

  mort,

  good luck,

  frank
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  83

  Who Pays The Ferryman....?

  by hillary_step in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  french philosopher blaise pascal once noted, "men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.

  " a case study for this statement can clearly be evidenced by the governing body of jehovahs witnesses.. the gb present themselves as lovers of truth and righteousness who are the only persons on this planet who speak for god.

  this doctrine is at the very core of the beliefs of jehovahs witnesses and is one of the few that cannot be rationalized away by wts apologists.

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  franklin J

  good post Hilary....

  ...Are there Nazis in Brooklyn?

  ..and just WHAT is the difference in the 2 fascists beliefs?
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  8

  Okay, Armageddon's never coming.

  by Nosferatu in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we're almost in the year 2005. back in my jw days, i never saw mankind making it to the year 2000 without armageddon happening.

  it's now almost 5 years since the new millenium began.

  either jehovah's shitty chariot has lost a wheel, or his earthly organization is actually a huge dung pile in brooklyn.. armageddon isn't coming.

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  franklin J

  LOL,

  this is one funny post.....but its Christmas...

  I'll go with it....lets ALL have a good time!+
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  29

  Question of the Year----"Why Does Hillary_Step Love Me More Than You Do?"

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i need to know.........

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  franklin J

  Min,

  SIMON loves you too ; Simon gets one (1) American dollar for every one of your posts....so you just keep the posts coming....
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  67

  Have you read my experience in the Awake?Read this

  by ELON14 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many of you already know my real name.i'm the one whose experience was published in the sep 8 1994 awake mag.

  i would like to stress that although i have good reason to be angry and bitter, nothing i say here is said in anger but only in sadness.

  i write this to say that if i could take back many of my words i said in that experience , i would.

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  franklin J

  welcome
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  29

  death of a friends child; funeral obligation

  by franklin J in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a friend of mine just lost his young 4 year son in a sleigh accident.

  the child ( the same age as my young caroline) sledded down the front hill of his property into the path of an on coming school bus.

  terrible tragedy.. my wife and i ; who have known them for some time; must attend the service this eveing.

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  franklin J

  Thank you all for your supportive responses; the death of a child-any child-transcends religious differences and cuts us all.

  The services and the funeral at the cemetary were unreal; like every parents nightmare.

  As my wife and I stepped away toward our car, sobbing; she said " we get to leave here and go home; poor Janine and Tom have to stay and live with this nightmare." Again; all we could do is hug them and grieve with them. It was the worst thing I have ever had to do.

  thank you all again for your support.
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  13

  Has the Watchtower lost its credibility?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  child abuse, documentarys on watchtower cover-ups of child molestation, un scandal, disfellowshipping changes, flip-flop doctrines, loss of life due to refusing blood transfusions, disfellowshipping whistleblowers etc.. you name it, the watchtower has done it.. years ago, it was hard to hear anything bad about the society.

  other than a few "disgruntled ones" (tm) most people (in and out the org) had little bad to say about the dubs.. now, it's only "bad all the time.

  " everytime a news article on jw appears, it's usually bad.. it seems the only good media attention they get these days is coverage of their district conventions and the odd quickbuild.. have the attitudes of people changed towards jw's in your community?.

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  franklin J

  I tend to agree with "justtickledPink"...mainstrean America is really not concerned with JWs, good or bad. What mainstream America does notice is that the JWs are a very "insular" group; like the Amish or the Hasidic Jews; they do not contribute anything to anyone outside their own sphere....and contribute ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to Society in general. Therefore they are not acknowledged....they are the butt of jokes ( door to door)

  The world goes on...
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  14

  Hungover ...

  by BrendaCloutier in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey, guys, i'm sorry if i did anything to offend you yesterday.

  i havent had alcohol in over 14 years, but i was having a psychotic experience.

  a bad case of ... (brummie dots) ... triggered it.. for a while there i thought i had found the true source of the unverse in ... (brummie dots) ... and i wanted to make sure all of mankind knew of ... (brummie dots) ... and that all they required to be worshipped was a little .

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  franklin J

  yes, pop some aspirin and drink lots of water....

  that usually works for me....