"When I think about myself and my history, I really do wonder if I might have realised the Witnesses don't have the truth much sooner if only I had access to the information I now have earlier. Of course I might have just brushed it aside because I was "not ready to hear it". But I really doubt that would have been my response to be honest. I think I would have just got to this point faster. My life might have been a whole lot different. It makes you wonder doesn't it. But then you can never tell I suppose."
I don't think I would have ever taken apostate literature apart from towards the end. What I did take notice of as a JW were the people who stopped being witnesses. I personally couldn't understand why people would stop being a JW and I was always eager to understand why. I did question quite a few, not people who were disfellowshipped but the faders. Unfortunately no one ever gave me reason to doubt the "truth" although I now now that some of these people did not believe it. Of course it is understandable why people are cautious about what they say but I think it is important to show some sense of dissatisfaction with the doctrine because to use a retail phrase "people buy of people" cold, critical analysis of witness theology no matter how well it is written could never make you question more then someone who you admire and understand turning their back on the organization.
Peppermint
JoinedPosts by Peppermint
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19
An apostate experiment - what would happen?
by slimboyfat inwhat would happen if a copy of crisis of conscience and a short well-written covering letter were sent to every single jehovah's witness worldwide?
i realise this is not practical and probably dubious morally, but that is not the point of my question.
call it a thought experiment if you will.
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Peppermint
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Kids are posting their Salvia trips on the internet
by MsMcDucket inhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjxb7qfck0m you will see lots of other teenagers' uploads in the *associated* list pane.
i thought that this kid was dying when i watched it.
it didn't look like fun to me!.
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Peppermint
Well that was painful to watch. Made me remember how stupid I was at that age also.
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Ultimate Scientology Video Finally Reveals The Secret To Unlocking Your...
by Dogpatch inalways quick to act, the church of scientology has officially revamped their youtube channel, mere months after the internet collectively made wet fart noises at them.
their tiny number of subscribers, huge number of channel views, and disabling of comments and ratings kind of gives you an idea of where the coss net cred stands these days.
i guess they arent equipped to handle the kind of soul-crushing and surgically-precise criticisms the cracked bloggers must grapple with every day (ie, gayyyyyyyy).
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Peppermint
And to think this all stated with an article in Astounding-Science-Fiction magazine in 1950. Its amazing how stuff escalates to the point it becomes ridiculousness.
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I am now a Master
by Velvetann ini just made master member.
i can't believe how comfortable i have gotten here,.
i didn't like it at first because i didn't understand about the ones that posted with sarcasm, now i can't go a day without checking in.. i have to thank the werewolf game for helping me achieve 500 posts faster.
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Peppermint
Your not the only one.
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18
Rutherford v. The United States--PDF!
by Atlantis inrutherford v. the united states--pdf!
b=bookmarked s=searchable r=reduced from 325-mb to 156-mb rutherford v. the united states: read the exciting case of joseph f. rutherford, the leader of jehovah's witnesses who was found guilty in 1918 of "conspiracy to violate the espionage law" and sentenced to 20 years in the federal penitentiary in atlanta, ga. all the dramatic court testimony is presented in this pdf which combines two large volumes into one file.
here is one of the most controversial trials in the history of american religion, and there are extras included with this file!
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Peppermint
Thanks Atlantis, just downloaded it - Theres a lot of stuff there.
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10
Do you still say...in the name of Jesus Christ...
by tan ini'm just thankful all the time.
i speak to the universe...i call god my "buddy" aor "grand creator" and so forth.
don't actually pray anymore but wondered what others do.
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Peppermint
I really struggled with prayer, It felt so artificial even when I was a true believer.
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46
Be honest. Would having more money make you happier?
by nicolaou init's not that simple of course but i would certainly appreciate the freedom and time that cash in the bank would give me.
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how about you?.
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Peppermint
I don't think that having more money always leads to a better life, it all depends on what your goals are. If you enjoy owning things just for the sake of it or because its a status symbol, you just higher your expectations in life and strive towards whatever is just out of your grip. Life is never fulfilled.
My dream would be to live on a smallholding generate my own power and food and be completely self sustainable till the day I die. Yes, I would like a big windfall now but I would put it to good use, to facilitate a simpler and lower impact lifestyle for the future. -
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If you believe in nothing, then how do you know JW's are wrong?
by slimboyfat inmany who leave the witnesses go on to affirm other recognisable sets of beliefs.
some become christians of various sorts, others tend toward patriotism as a kind of rejection of the anti-patriotic stance of the watchtower, while yet more simply affirm in general the secular values of mainstream society.
do you believe jehovah's witnesses are wrong?
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Peppermint
Slim,
As you sort of mentioned I don't think anyone "believes nothing" I think the people who say that have just had a gutfull of religion and choose to cut themselves off from anything spiritual or philosophical. They know it has the potential to harm them and so avoid it in the same way a recovering alcoholic would try to avoid alcohol even if its just a sherry trifle. -
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American-isms
by White Dove inwhat are some words or phrases that people outside of the usa find amusing or interesting?
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Peppermint
"Another thing that I remember was how common it was for Australians to call women "love," as in "How may I help you, love?" And they used this term of endearment with total strangers."
That is a common phrase in the UK but I remember when I first moved down to Devon, here it is more common to use the phrase "My lover" to both men and women, which can be most disconcerting. -
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I have a theory regarding Elders
by Peppermint inthere has been much talk about the reasons for the demise of the book study.
the society claim rising gas/petrol prices, which of course is not the real reason.
some here think its down to declining numbers of elders and those who are reaching out.
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Peppermint
"American-isms? Since I'm an American, before becoming an adult, I had no idea we were different from the rest of the world as Americans. This is interesting. I've never thought about -isms before. What are some American-isms? OK, I know the English like to say "jolly good" and "bloody this or that" but what do Americans say that is unique to...us? By the way, "bloody" to English is like what to Americans? I've always wondered why bloody is a bad word over there."
Not sure if I should get into this as its bound to cause offense somewhere but here go's. The americanisms I mentioned and had in mind are more the style of speach and type of content then the actual meaning of words.
To my mind Americans are a bit whiny and shrill in the way they speak, and also things come across a little sickly especially the dramas. But apart from that I think your all bloody lovely.