Athanasius

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Posts by Athanasius

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  47

  How many have stopped attending at YOUR Kingdumb Hell?

  by hamsterbait in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  on a recent thread about the fleecing of the sheeples, one poster said their congo was down to 85 publishers from 102.. the last hall i attended had 80-odd publishers 20 years ago, now only 30.. how much of a decline at your kh?.

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  Athanasius

  An Ex-JW friend of mine informed me that the Forrestville KH has been sold. I called their phone number a few minutes ago and it has been disconnected with no further information. Forrestville is in the Wine Country, about 70 miles north of San Francisco. The congregation started back in 1960. I left the JWs in 1984, but as an elder I gave several PTs at the Forrestville KH during the 1970s and 80s and the attendance was around 60.

  Sonoma County in Northern California, where I live, is still growing in population, but the number of KHs listed in the phone book are about the same number as when I left.
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  1

  Brad Scott, Santa Rosa, CA, JW

  by Athanasius in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  brad scott, a local jw character, passed away the other day.

  he was famous locally for his street witnessing.

  since i left the jws in 1984, i'm not aware of his present status as a jw.

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  Athanasius

  Brad Scott, a local JW character, passed away the other day. He was famous locally for his street witnessing. Since I left the JWs in 1984, I'm not aware of his present status as a JW. According to the article in the local newspaper he seemed too independent to fit in with mainstream JWs. Anyway, here is the link to his obit.

  http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20140418/articles/140419509
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  30

  Were you a minor when you were baptized

  by Watchtower-Free in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/xjwrg3/permalink/10152034643265835/?qa_ref=qd.

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  Athanasius

  I was only nine year old when I got dunked. That was back in 1955. Really didn't want to get baptized, but my JW mother insisted. But back in those days a number of young kids got dunked. One kid in our congregation was only six when he took the plunge.
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  36

  Why JW assemblies NEED to change

  by kneehighmiah in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the assemblies would be get better results and get more people to come and be inspired if they were more encouraging.

  instead the assemblies are a giant guilt trip.

  don't go to college, don't get a good job, dont buy things even if you can afford them, don't play violent games, don't flirt.

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  Athanasius

  Being a history buff, Zeb, I know that you are referring to Edward Everett. In addition to being a U.S. Senator, he also served in Congress as a representative, served as Secretary of State, and was the Vice Presidential candidate for the Constatution Party in 1860.

  But your point is well taken. In fact Wilfred Knox, an Anglican priest, once said that an effective sermon should be no longer than 15 minutes. If one goes over that time they lose their audience. And that was always the major problem with JW conventions. I remember the 8 day International conventions of the 1950s and 1960s. After sitting for a couple of days hearing boring talks, your mind went numb for the remaining 6 days and you prayed that the torture would end.
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  24

  Thirty Years a Watch Tower Slave

  by Londo111 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i just finished reading this and enjoyed it.

  however, if i was newly awakening or on the verge of awakening, i dont think this book would have helped me a great deal.

  brother schnell has some good thoughts, however, he is short on detail and description, and even shorter on proof and documentation.. it is interesting reading about the transition of the bible students from a small group of independent noncomformists into an organization characterized by total conformity.

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  Athanasius

  I read 30 Years A Watchtower Slave back in 1973 when I was still a JW, and an elder. Though the book didn't cause me to leave the JWs at the time, for me it did answer the question as to why Hitler persecuted the JWs in Germany. I never bought the Watchtower's explanation for the persecution. But Schnell's book gave a more satisfying answer. Hitler viewed the JWs as a political threat to his regime, and Schnell's discription of the JW organization in Germany shows why Hitler felt justified in taking extreme action against this American cult.

  However, Ray Franz's COC was a much better book. In fact it was reading COC that hastened my departure from the JWs.
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  58

  What are you reading right now??

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am reading "stranger in a strange land" by robert a. heinlein.

  i read it over 20 years ago.

  now i am reading it from a completely different perspective.

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  Athanasius

  Currently reading FIDEL CASTRO by Robert E. Quirk. Quirk explodes some of the myths about Castro's early life. For example Fidel wasn't that great a baseball player to be even considered for a position on a major league team in the U.S.
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  18

  How many changes since you have been out?

  by done4good in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  pixel's boe letter made me think of this.

  i have been out since january 2006. here are the ones i can think of:.

  1. deletion of cong.

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  Athanasius

  I left the JWs 30 years ago, so it may take me a few days to sort out all the changes since 1984. Also keep in mind that since Rutherford died in 1942 there have been a number of changes back to the "old light." For example the "superior authorities" being the earthly governments, which was Russell's belief.
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  39

  At what point did you destroy your Blood card?

  by BU2B in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know for me it was soon after lurking here for awhile and reading some threads on the issue.

  i remenber when i tore it into little tiny pieces.

  it felt so liberating..

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  Athanasius

  I left the JWs in 1984 and forgot that I still carried the "no blood card" in my wallet. I think it was a couple of years later when I got a new wallet that I found that card. Fortunately I didn't have any medical emergencies during that time. Anyway I burned the card.
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  13

  New JW Elder Instructional Video, How Many Times Was Jesus Christ Mentioned? His name?

  by RottenRiley in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  i counted zero, can anyone else verify the watchtower's new aid to instruct judicial matters never mentioned our lord and saviour jesus christ, the messiah?.

  or for my deist and atheist friends, did they mention the name of jesus of nazareth?

  thank you friends!.

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  Athanasius

  I also noticed how the elders said Je-HO-vah. That was strange, like some of the actors were closet apostates. But the plastic smile on the elder's face almost made the video seem like a parody of life in JWland.
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  6

  When you were a JW, how did you find the time to prepare your talks?

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  at home?

  at work?.

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  Athanasius

  Since I left the JWs in 1984, things have probably changed a lot at the KH since then. But back then most SM parts were relatively easy to prepare and I generally worked them up after work the night before the meeting. The MS talk #1 (the Instruction Talk) was 15 minutes long and was often an actual Bible discussion, and so needed several hours to prepare, which was done over several evenings after work.

  The JW culture was different then. Most of us who served as elders took our responsiblity seriously and prepared our parts for the benefit of the flock. So we took whatever time was necessary to prepare. Because we were allowed some individuality, our meetings weren't as boreing as they would later become.