mjarka911

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Posts by mjarka911

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  37

  where to now

  by betrayedbyall in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  confused, worried, angry, hurt and lots more - 45 years a witness and now disassociated last 3 weeks, family friends now shun me, very much alone, i need advice please please please, where do i go from here, anyone help please.

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  mjarka911

  I am so sorry for the hurt and betrayal you feel. I too DA'd myself after 35 years a true believer. I am currently completely shunned by my parents, sisters and friends of over 20 years. The advice to take a deep breath is excellent. For years you filtered the world thru the watchtower, enjoy now taking life as it comes and making up your own mind. We conditioned ourselves for decades to allow others to tell us what we feel and think. Please get the book Crisis of Conscience by Ray Franz. He was a gentle true believer like us up to and including his time as a governing body member. The information he has for you cannot be found anywhere else. You seem like a good person. Trust your instincts!

  Good Luck (yea, you can say that now!)

  Matt
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  5

  I'm an idiot

  by mjarka911 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  i'm just a dumb firefighter, could someone tell me what "bttt" stands for?.

  you guys are the best!

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  mjarka911

  I'm just a dumb firefighter, could someone tell me what "BTTT" stands for?

  You guys are the best!
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  73

  Famous Atheist Now Believes in God

  by MegaDude in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://abcnews.go.com/us/wirestory?id=315976

  article i read today..... .

  famous atheist now believes in god .

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  mjarka911

  Hey Bradley

  You seem to have taken this guy's flip/flop very seriously. Hang in there!
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  2

  Transfusion debate?

  by mjarka911 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wonder if the recent shooting of jw aaron davis and his wife in a parking lot will spark any debate on jw's and blood transfusions.

  could the shooter's lawyer argue that although he did shoot the two, their lives may have been saved by transfusions.

  if you hit and cause a minor injury to a christian scientist but he refuses the necessary medical treatment and dies of complications...can you be charged with murder?

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  mjarka911

  I wonder if the recent shooting of JW Aaron Davis and his wife in a parking lot will spark any debate on JW's and blood transfusions. Could the shooter's lawyer argue that although he did shoot the two, their lives may have been saved by transfusions. If you hit and cause a minor injury to a Christian Scientist but he refuses the necessary medical treatment and dies of complications...can you be charged with murder?

  A big, white hot national spotlight on this teaching would do some good. Katie Couric or Stone Phillips could really do this one justice!

  Thoughts?
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  23

  On becoming a (shunned) person...

  by logansrun in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as i walked back from the bank to my car yesterday i saw an elder and his wife from my old, old congregation.

  i waved, but they didn't see me.

  they entered their car, backed up and i stood exactly two feet away from their window smiling and waving.

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  mjarka911

  Hey Brad,

  Did you have problems with cats back in that hall? I'm picturing you being called back to the Library - the litter box siting on the table as evidence. Jonny K coughing up a hairball.

  P.S. - who was it?
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  23

  On becoming a (shunned) person...

  by logansrun in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as i walked back from the bank to my car yesterday i saw an elder and his wife from my old, old congregation.

  i waved, but they didn't see me.

  they entered their car, backed up and i stood exactly two feet away from their window smiling and waving.

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  mjarka911
• 
  72

  WHY DO YOU INSIST on clinging to the Bible as anything other than fiction?

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  have you made the same effort investigating the history of how scripture was written down, compiled, redacted and selected as you did reinforcing your jw doctrines week after week at the kingdom hall?.

  if you have; then you know it cannot be factual.. there have always been agendas.

  the people with the agendas needed to wield power and using an invisible backup agent was a great device for controlling others.. somebody is always insisting they have an invisible and mysterious source of divine information and selling it like hotcakes and syrup.

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  mjarka911

  For me, it was natural to research the bible after leaving the organization. After an entire lifetime of preaching that only the JW teachings were in harmony with the bible the question had to be resolved. If I believed in the bible but felt the JW org was not the right one - then which was?

  I really enjoyed this site:

  http://www.geocities.com/questioningpage/index.html

  It is well reasoned with no agenda. It logically follows a path of questioning that, if you are serious about doing the heavy lifting of research , can only lead one place. Also, I enjoyed Who Wrote the Bible by Friedman. It opened my eyes to all the things Fred Franz omitted in creating the NWT.

  In the end - I just feel free. Who knows if this life is all we get? Make the most of it doing what is important to you and leaving the world a better place after you're gone!

  P.S. Terry - I always enjoy the way your mind works.
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  26

  Time to tell my story

  by NoMoreMeetings in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my life story leaving jw's came out in the following newspaper article.

  thought i'd share it with all of you.. i was an elder for 8 years.

  for 2. left in 2002.. .

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  mjarka911

  Thank you so much for sharing your story, but I wonder if you could find the time to tell us more. As a former elder and PO - were there other policies, decisions, GB teachings that caused you to doubt that you can share. The rank and file is so unaware of what goes on behind the scenes and the back channels of communication. I for one would love to hear any elder stories that reinforced your decision that the WT is not God's channel.
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  17

  Were does the responsibility lie?

  by mjarka911 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  3 of us ex-mind/social control victims met yesterday for breakfast in the chicago area and discussed the subject of culpability within the wt org.

  where do you think the responsibility lies.

  is everyone on the congregational level guilty because at one time or another we all had doubts that we compartmentalized?

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  mjarka911

  3 of us ex-mind/social control victims met yesterday for breakfast in the Chicago area and discussed the subject of culpability within the Wt org. Where do you think the responsibility lies. Is everyone on the congregational level guilty because at one time or another we all had doubts that we compartmentalized? Does it just start with the elders who know the double standards and inconsistencies, or are they just as much victims as us because they are told from HQ that the GB has God's spirit? One person even argued that the GB members themselves might really believe the bullshit somehow and delude themselves. Who is responsible for the damage done to families, lives society because of this fantasy belief system?
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  7

  Anyone from the chicagoland area?

  by mjarka911 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

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  beside bradley (logansrun), is there anyone from the chicagoland area posting?

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  mjarka911

  Beside Bradley (logansrun), is there anyone from the chicagoland area posting?