Last Sunday my fiance and I were in a supermarket checkout line and just ahead of us was a JW elder that I had served with when I was a elder. As far as I know I'm not DFd, but most JWs from my old congregation treat me as such because I haven't attended meetings in over 20 years. This guy got very nervous when he saw us. By the way my fiance is Russian Orthodox and was never a JW. Since there were lots of people around the JW couldn't ignore me without appearing rude. So I said hi and he nervously said hi. I introduced him to my fiance and as soon as he got his change from the checker he bolted out of the store. My fiance, who doesn't know much about JW practices, said the guy looked very unhappy like he lived a miserable life. She also wondered why he seemed to be afraid of me. After I explained the JW shunning practices, she said it sounds like a very stupid religion.
Athanasius
JoinedPosts by Athanasius
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49
I got shunned at Wal-Mart
by loosie inthis is actually hilarious to me.
i am not df'd or da'd.
i just haven't gone for 3 years.. this woman (sister) works at my daughters school.
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JW's always say you can use you own bible, true?
by Champion ini remember when i was young and still a jw we always said to the prospect"you can use any bible you want".
is that really true?.
could you use an niv or king james at the meetings?
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Athanasius
I always used other Bible versions in my talks when I was a JW. In fact after giving public talks there were always a few JWs who would ask the names of the different Bibles that I used so that they could get a copy for themselves. Often they would comment that the verse that I read from the New English Bible, the New International Version, the Jerusalem Bible, the New American Bible, or the Today's English Bible was so much more easily understood than the NWT. I also noticed that other brothers were using the New English Bible in their talks. One brother even used the New English Bible for the Bible reading in the Theocratic Mininstry School. However, in 1983 there was a Watchtower article that was critical of other Bible translations and boasted that only the NWT had the proper understanding. Therefore, non JW Bibles should not be used, and most brothers complied with this new directive. Nevertheless, I continued to use other Bibles in my talks, field service, and personal study. I liked to use the New International Version in field service to show the householder that JW doctrines could be found in any Bible. Interestingly I was never counseled for disobeying the Watchtower directive. I left the JWs in 1984, so I don't know what the current rules are concerning the use of other Bible translations. However, it was by reading non-JW Bibles and later the Watchtower's condemnation of their use that started me on the road to freedom.
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Pimping the Divine Name
by Farkel inobviously, a unique aspect of the wt religion is the name it has chosen, "jehovah's witnesses.
jehovah this.
jehovah that.
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Athanasius
Excellent post Fark. You are so right about the JWs' hangup with the name Jehovah. I remember the last Public Talk that I gave before leaving the JWs, I purposely didn't use the name Jehovah, but used God and Lord instead. By the middle of the talk nobody was sleeping, instead all were listening and many seemed a little nervous. The atmosphere in the hall was very strange and everyone was a bit on edge. So, not wanting to have this congregation's Body of Elders send my BOE a negative letter about my talk, I started using the name Jehovah in reference to God. When the audience heard the name Jehovah, they relaxed and some even went back to sleep. Guess the name has a relaxing effect on the JWs.
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Obama Joke
by uwishufish inobama gets to the pearly gate.
st peter greats him "name please".
obama: president obama.
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Athanasius
Not funny. However, Obama should also be concerned about radical feminists with rifles.
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Brotherly love in action ?
by lancelink inkind of a strange experience here, maybe someone can make me see what's going on.
my parents live in another state, to visit them would require at least a 22 hour drive, no trains, .
planes are fine but since the airport is in the middle of nowhere tickets are getting quite costly ($$$$$$.
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Athanasius
I agree with you Calico that many JWs want something in return for their assistance. After all, isn't that their sales pitch at the door, all the future rewards for joining the Witness religion, where the new recruit can live forever in perfect health on a paradise earth? Much of the JW message is designed to appeal one's self interest rather than the charity and good works of traditional Christianity. Quite often we hear about JWs who are ignored in their time of need by their fellow JWs. However, it is their neighbors who attend "Babylonish Churches" who note their plight and came to their aid.
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WHAT MADE YOU LEAVE? Doctrine or people?
by chuckyy inhi.. just wondering what made you take the final leap out of the org?
was it doctrinal in that certain things just didnt add up or was it because of the actions of people in the org.
that made you leave?
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Athanasius
Doctrine and the lack of real Bible Study. The JWs don't really study the Bible at their meetings. Instead they read selected texts mostly out of context to back their false doctrines.
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Very Rare! "MILITARISM" by JFR
by Nathan Natas insometime beween august of 1914 and october of 1916, the highly esteemed "judge" joseph franklin rutherford wrote a little tract with the title,.
"militarism - how will it be forever destroyed?
a masterly discourse by j. f. rutherford of the new york city bar".
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Athanasius
From what I have read Rutherford was never a member of the "New York City Bar," because there was no such association. However, Rutherford was known to frequent several New York City bars.
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I went into a Christian book store today!
by Hope4Others inedited to add: this whole experience, clicked to fast and it entered.. .
they had this sale on cool coffee mugs and i just said damit i'm going in.
a jw lives just a few houses down.
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Athanasius
I often visited Christian Bookstores when I was a JW back in the 1970s and 1980s and never got in trouble with the elders. In fact there were several from our congregation that bought books and Bibles from Christian Bookstores and nobody was counseled. Of course I left the JWs in 1984 and haven't kept up with the latest Watchtower rules and regulations. Have the rules changed? Are Christian Bookstores now forbidden to the JWs?
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How Many Here Are Born Again Christians Now?
by lovelylil injust wondering how many ex -jw's have become born again christians and whether or not this happened while you were still in the wt organization?
also, what is your experience now with god and christ?
** please non-believers, lets not use this thread to bash christianity again, or do the whole is there god/not god discussion all over again.
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Athanasius
I am Anglo-Catholic. Does that count?
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Scariest Movie you have ever seen?
by Layla33 ini know as exjws, probably for the most, there was a secret freedom in watching horror films without thinking you would have a demon as a bed buddy.. i am not very fond of every horror movie, but i will watch those that have an intelligent side to it and is not gore for the sake of gore.
like "the ring" got me going when i first watched it, just like "the blair witch project" did, which is more about suspense.
anyway, i never saw any of the saw movies, so i am going to try to watch saw iii tonight, since it is on showtime.
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Athanasius
The original Candyman movie that came out in 1992 was the scariest movie that I've ever seen. Just look in a mirror and say "Candyman" five times. The movie frightened my girlfriend so much that she had nightmares about it.