amccullough

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Posts by amccullough

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  16

  Then what is the WT child abuse policy....

  by amccullough in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i have recently had the misofortune of being involved in the revealing of a child molestation case.

  my wife's niece recently came forward about being molested approximately 5 years ago by someone holding responsibilities in her congregation.

  my in-laws found out the same day as we did.

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  amccullough

  I have recently had the misofortune of being involved in the revealing of a child molestation case. My wife's niece recently came forward about being molested approximately 5 years ago by someone holding responsibilities in her congregation. My in-laws found out the same day as we did. They went straight to their elders (in a different town)and we encouraged the mother of the child to go straight to the police. This was difficult, as the accused was a dearly loved friend of ours who had overcome some serious trials in his own life and transformed himself into a respectable human being. Anyhow the out of town elders contacted the local elders immediately. The local elders no doubt contacted HQ, and then went straight to the police BEFORE THE MOTHER EVEN MADE IT TO THE POLICE. I see lots of statements on this DB and others that it is WT policy to conceal these people but that has not been my personal experience. Within 2 weeks the man was arrested and I believe he goes on trial today.
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  30

  There is no escape, no way out...

  by butalbee in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been invited to go to a study group again, by a sister who i work with, she said she would like to explain some doctrines to me that i might had misunderstood, and would like to get together and talk.

  she also gave me 5 magazines--told me, of the great articles, that i should read.

  yep!!

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  amccullough

  You lot are right! These evil people probably sit at home thinking "How can I get that God Damned Whore to become a JW again so I can chalk another one up!!!" Does it occur to any of you that these people have honourable intentions whether you agree with them or not??? Have a little empathy and if it bothers you that they keep trying to "save your life" than simply tell them that you understand what they are trying to do and appreciate it but you firmly disagree with their beliefs and are not interested in revisiting them. It is possible to show respect for others' beliefs. This whole DB whines and moans about not being respected for their difference in beliefs but is not willing to show any respect to others.
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  7

  Prince married in JW ceremony

  by Gopher in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this was reported by minneapolis tv station kmsp, and the link for the story below is http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news.asp?contentid=207277.

  1/12/02, 7 a.m. et) -- prince was married in hawaii on new year's eve, to girlfriend manuela testolini.

  testolini, 25, is 18 years younger than prince (43).

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  amccullough

  Isn't that called invasion of privacy? Aren't their legal ramifications to posting the contact information of someone and encouraging others to contact them unsolicited? I'd be pretty upset if I found out someone had posted my information on a DB, especially one that I was not associated with.
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  40

  Why God cannot have existed forever.

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why god cannot have existed forever.. this is something a friend of mine brought up a number of years ago.at the time i just thought that to understand how a god existed forever was just beyond our little brains.. well now after reading a lot more physics books i think its evidence a god couldn't have existed forever and therefore would had a begining (if there was a god).. basically if god had lived from infinity in the past we wouldn't have been created yet as there would always be forever untill we were created.. do you get that?.

  at any point in time we could take, if time went back forever then you could never get to that point in time.

  you would always have infinity infront of you.. sorry if this doesn't make much sense as it is not easy to describe.

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  amccullough

  Mindchild
  

  You can play even more thought experiments to test the absurdity of God being here forever. Consider this...why couldn't there have been TWO GODS that were here forever, why not 3,4,10, 100, 1000, or 29438573004592332 Gods? If you are going to use magical thinking and assume that one God was always here forever and ever it is just as valid to assume more Gods were there.

  This is true but it still does not DISPROVE that God has existed forever. In the rest of your post, you attempt to apply physical attributes to a metaphysical being. That is similar to saying that aliens can't exist because there is not enough oxygen on the other planets.
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  40

  Why God cannot have existed forever.

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why god cannot have existed forever.. this is something a friend of mine brought up a number of years ago.at the time i just thought that to understand how a god existed forever was just beyond our little brains.. well now after reading a lot more physics books i think its evidence a god couldn't have existed forever and therefore would had a begining (if there was a god).. basically if god had lived from infinity in the past we wouldn't have been created yet as there would always be forever untill we were created.. do you get that?.

  at any point in time we could take, if time went back forever then you could never get to that point in time.

  you would always have infinity infront of you.. sorry if this doesn't make much sense as it is not easy to describe.

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  amccullough

  Wow, astrophysicists now are we? I'm sorry, but your theory holds no ground. God is assumed metaphysical, not of our physical universe, and therefore cannot be proven or disproven by physics. Man's scientific studies may take us to the end of the universe and discover it's beginning and end, but who's not to say there's a whole lot more out there?
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  6

  AntiAging News Again

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  scientists say methuselah's age should be attainable by research.

  in not too distant future - because of findings from icelandic.

  gene pool.. http://thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=135692002.

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  amccullough

  Yeah, I doubt that will create an over population problem.
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  13

  Update on my Brother and Cousin...

  by mindfield in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  as some of you know, my brother and cousin have been planning to tell their parents about their beliefs (or rather, lack of) about the jw's and their decision not to attend meetings or convert others.. well, they did it much quicker than i ever expected.

  they did it before yesterday, to be more precise.

  both of them...phew.

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  amccullough

  Maybe I used the wrong wording as most of the replies seem to have missed my point. By saying I have no respect, I mean it in the sense that I have no admiration for their choice. If they are giving it up on a whim, than it is what I said previously, a PRICEY GAMBLE.
  On the other hand, I can empathize and respect someone who has come to a conclusion based on diligent study.
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  20

  Having intense nostalgia-is that bad?

  by ashitaka in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm having a wee bout of memory.

  i've been hearing a lot of the old crew i used to hang out with when i was a jw.

  my old best friend, he's getting married soon.

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  amccullough

  Obviously, all relationships are two ways, unless you are a stalker. I'm sure there are a lot of people who complain about being shunned, when they were also avoiding their JW friends because they KNEW it wouldn't work, or that their love is conditional. If you want any freedom of speech, you should do whatever YOU think is right to maintain the friendship, whether you think it is futile or not. Have a little faith in the human spirit and try to be understanding and at least you can say you've done your part.
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  13

  Update on my Brother and Cousin...

  by mindfield in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  as some of you know, my brother and cousin have been planning to tell their parents about their beliefs (or rather, lack of) about the jw's and their decision not to attend meetings or convert others.. well, they did it much quicker than i ever expected.

  they did it before yesterday, to be more precise.

  both of them...phew.

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  amccullough

  I thought your post was interesting...I agree somewhat. I have no respect for people who stop being JWs because they have a few doubts, so they up and move in with a boyfriend or girlfriend or do whatever they wanted to, but couldn't as a JW. That just tells me they didn't like the lifestyle and are not all that interested if it is true or not, but more interested in living life how they want to live. Theoretically, that is a pricey gamble. I do respect someone who studies their doubts and comes to a conclusion, whether it is the same as mine or not.

  One thing about this discussion board that I've noticed, is that many are happy when others stop being JWs or would like to help people to see why they shouldn't be JW's...it makes me wonder...if you were fooled into being a JW for blank number of years, what makes you so sure that you are not being fooled into another way of thinking now. Because if, by chance, that is the case, then you are costing other people their lives. It makes a person no different than someone who first becomes a witness and then tells everyone from their old religion how they need to change.

  A lot of people site bad experiences as a good reason, but most of the problems seem to me to not be related to the religion, but the people in the religion that are around them. A lot of these experiences seem to have the possibility of happenining in any religion where the followers are as actively involved as JWs. I realize this is a blanket statement and is not meant to be applied as such, but for each situation these thoughts should be considered. Perhaps this should have been a new thread...

  Cheers,
  Andrew
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  22

  Are you really ready for big moral issues?

  by Mindchild in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  while reading the abortion thread on this site today, i was reminded of a college class i took on dealing with ethical and moral issues.

  i learned something interesting in this class and it was that just because we have strong beliefs about something, it doesn't give us any rights to impose our beliefs on others.. this is of course the "christian" way...to demand that their beliefs should be the standard by which we all live our lives.

  this intolerance, or in milder cases disgust for nonconformers, is in itself one of the huge moral issues we face.. essentially, regardless of things being right or wrong, our world defines societal norms by community standards.

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  amccullough

  Interesting question, but there are so many variables that the chances of any solution working out are slim...I imagine there would be a mad rush. If everyone was level headed, then my suggestion would be one adult male (whoever is either physically strongest or most experienced in survival) to care for the others, 2 women (one a mother, and one physically capable of assisting in survival), and 3 children. You could probably squeeze in more children if the raft fits 6 adults. I doubt that would happen though...(ed.note: referring to the whole situation, not just the squeezing children in part.)

  Cheers,
  Andrew