Athanasius

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Posts by Athanasius

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  35

  This Thread Is For Elders & Those Affected By Them

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as an ex- elder, i can look back and see all the power and control we had as "shepherds".

  when i was an elder i genuinely tried to comply with anything "mother" demanded of us.

  i would reason that since "mother knows best", i would comply with the organization, even if it didn't quite seem so fair or right.. as time went by, i could not help but see the unfairness of soooo many rules and regulations.

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  Athanasius

  Like several other posters, I was also 26 when first appointed an elder. Though there were seven elders, including myself, on the BOE, three of us had been to college. I had two years of college at the time, another elder was a college graduate, and the third had served as an officer in the Marine Corps during WWII. Interestingly the three of us formed the liberal wing on the BOE. However, the longer I served the more liberal and independent I became. Since I didn't suck up the the CO, during my 12 years as an elder I only had one Circuit Assembly part even though I was considered a good public speaker.

  The former Marine officer and I served on several JCs together during which we handed down compassionate decisions. Of course these decisions were criticized by the more strict elders, and during the CO's visit we were also criticized for being too liberal.

  In the spring of 1984 the elder who was a college graduate was deleted as an elder. About that time I read Crisis of Conscience and realized that I could no longer in good conscience serve as an elder. I resigned in September of that year and faded.

  Unfortunately most of those whom we dealth with in a compassionate manner during JC meetings are still JWs.
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  54

  What Did You Do With All Your Watchtower Publications?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i needed room when i moved so i sadly threw my entire library away.

  i mentioned this to an exjw.

  he and his wife took all the hundreds of books, including bound volumes from the 1800s and are now using them for research and proof of watchtower lies.. what did you do with your books?.

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  Athanasius

  When I left the JWs in 1984 I had the Watchtower bound volumes going back to 1962. Since the Watchtower had ripped me off, I felt that I should get some money back at least. So I sold the collection to a JW Ministerial Servant for $120. I had some reprints of Russell's books which he also bought. I didn't tell him that the Russell reprints were published by the "Evil Slave." Why throw away trash that somebody will pay good money for.
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  10

  Baptism valid or not?

  by RaraAvis in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am curious to those of you who were baptised as jws and who have left the organization, but still consider yourselves christians, do you consider your baptism valid?

  how many of you out there felt the need to be rebaptised?.

  ra.

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  Athanasius

  I was only 9 years old when I was baptised as a JW and didn't really know what I was doing at the time. However, back then the JWs were still baptising in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So when I decided to be received into the Episcopal Church, I asked my priest about Baptism and he said that there was no re-baptism, that you were baptised or you weren't baptised. However, he recommended that I get a second opinion, so I visited another Episcopal priest who said basically the same thing. However, he said that if my JW Baptism bothered me, then I could be "Conditionally Baptised," a sacrament for those who didn't know if they had been baptised or not. Generally this was for adults who weren't sure if they had been baptised as infants.

  Therefore, I was Conditionally Baptised, confirmed, and received into the Church. Nevertheless, I don't consider my JW Baptism as valid.
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  39

  Sunday School Teacher Indicted for Murder and Rape - Still Lots of ?????

  by flipper in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  as some of you may have heard about the tragic rape and death of an 8 year old sandra cantu here in california in the town of tracy - there are still a lot of unanswered questions which beg to be answered and indeed the young girl's brutal murder cries out for an answer.. in case you missed it, to sum up briefly this young girl went missing from her mobile home park the end of march and for about 10 days the police and volunteers put on a massive manhunt .

  then finally after 10 days some farmworkers found sandra's body in a suitcase in an irrigation pond only about 2 miles from her home.

  search warrants were put out and neighbors were questioned including a baptist minister , his wife, and his 28 year old grandaughter melissa huckaby whose 5 year old daughter played with sandra all the time.

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  Athanasius

  Hi Flip.

  BizzyBee's scenario seems the most logical, that Ms. Huckaby accidentally killed the girl in a fit of anger and tried to cover it up by making it look like a kidnapping and sexual assault by an unknown perpretrator. She may be a mother, but mothers killing their own children are not that uncommon these days.

  Nevertheless, women are capable of heinous crimes. During World War II some of the women concentration camp guards were more brutal and sadistic than the men.
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  47

  Have you joined a new religious organisation since leaving the JW's?

  by Wee John in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  since leaving the jw's did you actively seek out another organisation, or did it find you?.

  .

  have you found yourself apathetic to all religions?.

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  Athanasius

  Left the JWs in 1984 of my own volition. For a couple of years I didn't attend any religious services. Beginning in 1987 I attended a variety of religious services, Independent Bible Students, New Age, Unitarian, Conservative and Reform Synagogues, Roman Catholic, and Unity before being received and confirmed into the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in 1991.
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  27

  Did people with those signs outside the assemblies and meetings strengthen or weaken your beliefs?

  by BonaFide in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  whenever i saw people with signs against the witnesses outside the assemblies, it always strengthened my belief that the witnesses were right.. what about you?.

  bf.

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  Athanasius

  It depended on the sign and the people displaying them. If their arguements were based on what we as JWS were taught was a mis-interpretation of Scripture, I would ignore them. However, those that brought up Watchtower scandals from the past, did perk my interest. However, it was reading Crisis of Conscience that really got me out of the JW religion.
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  4

  Attended Episcopal Wedding Ceremony Last Month

  by Athanasius in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi everyone.. yes, i attended an episcopal wedding service last month.

  my russian fiancee and i finally tied the knot.

  we had a beautiful service.

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  Athanasius

  Hi St. Ann. Did the elder who performed your wedding ceremony at the KH give the audience a lecture about others not kissing the bride, throwing rice, etc.? My ex-wife and I were married at the KH in the 1960s and that was something that was in the wedding talk outline I think. Anyway, its so good to be free of all those rediculous Watchtower rules. What was nice about our church wedding was that my priest made it very personal. It was about my wife and I and God and our happiness. Not like the Watchtower infomercial that we had to endure at a KH wedding.

  Sorry that during your wedding ceremony at the KH you had to come down the aisle to the tune of the Shulamite Remnant. My ex-wife marched down the aisle to Praise Jah With Me. Watchtower hymns are so, well difficult to sing, terrible to listen to, and, and a number of other things better left unsaid.

  Isn't it nice to be free of Watchtower bondage.
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  4

  Attended Episcopal Wedding Ceremony Last Month

  by Athanasius in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi everyone.. yes, i attended an episcopal wedding service last month.

  my russian fiancee and i finally tied the knot.

  we had a beautiful service.

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  Athanasius

  Hi everyone.

  Yes, I attended an Episcopal Wedding service last month. My own. My Russian fiancee and I finally tied the knot. We had a beautiful service. Her grandson walked her down the aisle and my cousin, who is a DFd JW was my best man. During the ceremony I read 1 Corinthians 13 from the New English Bible. This chapter has a beautiful description of love. My priest gave a wonderful homily. Our music director played the traditional wedding march, something denied me at my first wedding in the Kingdom Hall, and he sang "Ave Maria."

  It was a small private service with just my and my wife's close family and friends in attendance. Later we had a reception at our house. Fortunately most of my family is out of the Watchtower, so my daughter and her husband, my sister and her husband were able to be in church to share our happiness. My wife's family were never involved with the Witnesses, so they had no problem with the service, even though they belong to a different church family. My mother, who is still a devout JW, though unable to attend the service at church, was able to come to the reception.

  My wife is Russian Orthodox, and we plan to have a Russian Orthodox wedding service next year in Sevastople, Ukraine, when we visit her family next year.
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  27

  JW School K-12 I went

  by outofservice in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the jw academy post brought back my memories of going to a school run by jw's in the late 70's in hollywood fla. i went for 4 and 5 th grade.

  i t was quite odd and i do believe i have suppressed most of my memories of it.

  has anybody else ever heard of such a thing ?

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  Athanasius
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  18

  Anyone else going to church this Easter Sunday?

  by passwordprotected in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm starting my day at 6.30am on top of the campsie hills for a brief dawn service with an ecumenical group of christians.

  then it's back to one of the lennoxtown church for a roll and sausage.

  our own church's service is at 12noon, so i may be able to go back to bed for an hour......hahahahahahaha i crack myself up.. what are you guys doing this easter sunday?.

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  Athanasius

  I am going to Easter services this Sunday. I am Anglo-Catholic (Episcopalian) and my wife is Russian Orthodox. Since the Russian Orthodox Easter is next week she is able to go to church with me this Sunday for our Easter. New Sunday I will go with her to the Orthodox Church for their Easter service. That is what is so nice about our Church families. We can attend both services as a couple.