Posts by seattleniceguy

19

How would you respond?

by ralmo in

jw
friends

my brother sent me this.

(see below) i have not been associated w the religion for at least 7 years and have made it clear to him and all of my family that i do not intend to ever be a part of it again.

he emailed this to my entire family (all witnesses me being the exception).

seattleniceguy

Brummie - Amen to that!

Sandy - Violent movies: Yeah, when I read the book of Judges I was so shocked at the graphic depictions of violence, I almost doubted everything right there. But alas.

Happiness over bad things happening: I definitely agree with this. I noticed this while I was still in the organization. It's like people almost want bad things to happen. Whenever I'd hear about an earthquake, it seemed like some part of my brain was hoping it was some 14.0 mega-destroyer. And it seems like Witnesses eagerly devour reports that crime is going up (even if they misrepresent the report to do so). It's like the more destruction, the better, because it means Armageddon is just around the next bend. Unfortunately, they started saying that a thousand bends ago.

As to making a response, I thought this quote might form the kernal of a thought-provoking comment:

And as so often proved Scripturally in this journal, the present generation will not pass away before Armageddon occurs!?Matthew 24:21, 34.

This statement reflects the old understanding of "this generation." If you were to preach this statement from door to door today, you would be disfellowshipped for apostasy. Since this article contains at least one statement that is admittedly untrue, are you sure the rest of it holds up? Why are you sure?

I think to press the issue any further would result in major systems shutdown for your brother. However, you might be able to get him to read at least the first two sentences: the first one is harmless enough, and indeed reflects an knowledge of "the truth." The second one is thought-provoking and undeniable. I would consider it a victory to get a Witness to go that far. Anything further is icing on the cake.

Those are my two cents! And like the other poster said, I'd be interested in know how (or if) you reply.

SNG

20

Expressing My Thanks For Simon's Board.

by Guest 77 in

jw
friends

i 've been on this board for some time now, and i would like to express my thanks to simon for putting up with plenty of diversified personalties.

also, many thanks to all the moderators.. what the coming year has in store for this forum, well, only time will tell.

hopefully, as it has been going of late, it will 'mature' to another level.

seattleniceguy

Simon,

I've been incredibly impressed by both the technical quality of the board, and the wonderful people here. Thanks for creating such a great place for minds to come together. Thank you, mods, for facilitating the place!

SNG

55

Just popping in to say Hi!

by Coeur de Lion in

jw
friends

hello, i am new here, and i am hoping to stay a while.

it will take me a while to find my way round.. a couple of questions.

1. any good suggestions on where i can find more details on "the best way" to leave this god forsaken organization?.

seattleniceguy

Hello and welcome to the board!

It sounds like your mind is already pretty well made up about leaving, but I think for myself, the single most important thing I did in deciding what to do with my life was to read literature by XJWs and communicate with others who were going through the same thing. I think by hanging out and talking to the friends here, your path will gradually reveal itself to you.

Again, welcome.

SNG

36

what do you REALLY want for christmas?

by missylissy in

jw
friends

if you could have anyone thing for christmas, what would it be.

it can be, an actual object, or sumthing you'd really like to happen.

but, what do you really want for christmas?

seattleniceguy

You know, Dandy, I don't think I have ever seen a Chia Pet in real life. ;-) I bet you have a little collection of 'em, don't ya. C'mon, own up....

I dunno what I really want. Sometimes I wish my old girlfriend would wake up and see the light, but then I wonder if I really even knew her, or how much of her personality was some product of fear/guilt/conditioning. I'd certainly like my old dub friends to come to their senses. It'd be nice to have my mom and sister realize they don't need to believe I'm possessed by demons.

Then again - I have all of you! What more could a person ask for!

SNG

12

how is your self confidence?

by freelife in

jw
friends

one of the things that i have noticed since i have been out of the borg is how my self confidence always seems to be in the dumper.

i don't know if this is beause we were never permited to have any original thoughts or if it is just a personality flaw.

i am always looking for assurance from my fiancee, friends, and coworkers that i am doing good.

seattleniceguy

Hi Freelife,

I understand where you're coming from. So much of our identity is tied up in roles that when you take the role away, sometimes we don't know who we really are. When I left the organization in September, I was hit hard. I didn't know what my long-term goals were. I didn't know what my real interests were. I felt unmotivated to work. It was rough.

For me, reading helped. But also being around friends that affirmed the things that I used to think about myself - that i was a good guy, that I did have things to offer - got me back on track. It was also helpful to connect with the community by volunteering and talking with my neighbors. I've actually started hanging out with my neighbor across the street almost every day now. It's wonderful to have that kind of friendship right in your local area. Those kind of connections make you realize that you are valued as a person.

It's a tough road. You've certainly got my moral support. Keep that chin up, Freelife!

SNG

16

Michael Crichton: Travels

by seattleniceguy in

has anyone here read this book?

i'm curious to learn your reactions to it.

i'll also give a quick overview for those of you who've yet to read it.. travels is a non-fictional account of crichton's own person travels, both geographical and spiritual.

seattleniceguy

Hi MegaDude,

The point you made about the honesty in the book is also what struck me. I am a staunch rationalist, and I had severe problems with all that magic shtuff. And I have read debunkings of Uri Geller.

The only reason I became open to the possibility is that I have no reason to believe that Crichton would lie. Everything in the book leads you to trust that this is a very genuine man, if very human at times (as you mention). Since he himself claims to have bent the spoons and describes in detail how it happened, I find it hard to believe that any deception could have been practiced, unless he is lying bold-facedly.

36

Comments You Won't Hear at the 12-14-03 WT Study

by blondie in

" men take the lead, women merely "support.".

what contributed to priscilla's zeal and courage?

(luke 8:1-3).. yes, the privilege of doing the marketing, cooking, cleaning up, and laundry of 13 men while they did evangelizing.. wt 12/1/75 p. 717 christian greatness comes from serving.

seattleniceguy

Wow. Blondie, I know it's been said, but I just wanted to add my voice:
Bravo!

SNG

31

Throwing out Old Watchtowers

by Okram in

when you were a jw,.

did u feel guilty about throwing out old copies of the watchtower even if you had the yearly bound volumes?

my mom won't do it.

seattleniceguy

Nosferatu: ROTFLMAO!!

It is pretty weird how the Witnesses think having literature on hand at all times is a life-and-death matter. Like you're going to be running for cover, dodging bullets, being lined up against the wall for refusing to burn incense to the emperor, and then you think, "Wait a minute...I remember there was this article about sea lions...Jesus, I don't know what to do! I need to know the Christian view of vasectomies and I need to know NOW! Somebody gimme a Watchtower! Or a tract, or like an invitation to the Memorial, or somethin'! I need paper!!!!!!!! Aughghghghh" <sound of machine gun fire opening up on literature-less dub>

14

4 every WT that a member reads,presumely 4 R read by non-members

by badboy in

jw
friends

i have worked that out b/c they r 6 million members, and they print 24 million wts.

seattleniceguy

Go Mysterious! I've seen this December 29 date bantied about, and I have to admit, I'm pretty pumped for you even though I don't know what is happening! :)

You know, it's funny about the magazines. I could never place them. And I got so sick of them stacking up that I reduced my order to one copy of each. Since magazines no longer came in the mail, that meant for anyone smart enough to do the math (1 minus 1 = 0) that I wasn't placing any of my own mags. I just started borrowing a set from someone, which was nice because if I didn't place them I could give 'em back!

The really funny thing is that during this time, I considered myself totally loyal - probably more loyal then ever before. When I went out in service, I used the Bible almost exclusively. By the end, I didn't really give a flying squirrel whether I placed any literature. I would just share a couple off-the-beaten-path scriptures and apply them to some current event. I remember a few people looking at me with admiration when they saw my technique. Maybe they were jealous of my being free of "magazine burden." It certainly was refreshing not having to work against an endlessly accruing pile all the time.

'Course, it's way more refreshing not having to deal with "WT burden."

SNG

2

What a dream

by seattleniceguy in

jw
friends

just got up from a nap a little bit ago.

i had the weirdest dream.

i was reuniting with some non-witness family members that i hadn't seen in a long time.

seattleniceguy

Just got up from a nap a little bit ago. I had the weirdest dream. I was reuniting with some non-Witness family members that I hadn't seen in a long time. Everything was going along normally until for some reason we were all in a Kingdom Hall. It wasn't very packed out - there were only around 20 people there, of which maybe 10 were Witnesses, but all the elders were there for some reason.

So in this really empty hall, to start the meeting, the brother goes up there and says that the CD player is broken, so instead he's hooked up a Casio keyboard to the sound system and he's going to turn on the drum machine to mark time for us. We all know the tune so it shouldn't be a problem.

The beat starts, and sure enough, it's a really cheesy drum machine groove, complete with the high-hat opening on the "and of four." The problem is, the drum beat is this totally disco 4/4 beat, but they song they've announced is in 6/8. I'm sitting there thinking, This should be amusing. The brother on the platform puts his hands up as if to conduct, but of course he doesn't know how to direct music, so he just kind of points and says, "Now!"

Nobody sings. You hear a couple sisters loyally make a half-hearted attempt, but they barely get through the first word before becoming confused. Everyone is standing there, scratching their heads. By this point, out of sheer sense of challenge, I'm trying to hum the song against the beat, or at least figure out how it would work. I'm scratching my chin, thinking, What kind of weird subdivision would you....

Meanwhile, every elder in the hall is up on stage, trying to figure out what to do. They're pacing around. I see cabinets opening and closing, slide projector screens coming down from the ceiling. Somebody's adjusting the podium. I can't help myself. I start to smirk and laugh out loud. These guys look like a pack of lunatics.

Finally, I start to feel embarassed for them. No one seems to know the obvious - the beat is incompatible with this song. I figure it would be far easier just to lose the Casio and sing without its "assistance." I'm even willing to lead the group. I stand up. I raise my hand and take a breath of air to speak and --

I wake up.

Pretty weird, huh?