ballistic

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Posts by ballistic

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  13

  Elders, Jews and Dead Bunnies

  by KalebOutWest in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i thought i would give my personal experience on who i am, how i came into the world of watchtower, why i left, etc.

  this would explain a lot about the answers i give and why they don't directly reflect my personal convictions (like a normal person--and i do mean that literally, kinda).

  i cannot put everything here, but i can start bit by bit.. when i was 17 years old, my mother was on her third marriage and kinda starting her fourth (as she was dating this surfer dude-like guy who wasn't even 5 years older than me).

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  ballistic

  I would have called this...

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  "2 Elders, Jews and Dead Bunnies, four weddings and a funeral" ;)
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  30

  Experiences After Leaving

  by Freeatlast2024 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i am writing to ask if anyone cares to share their experience and/or offer advice for people leaving.

  i was raised in the religion, and both my parents died when i was very young.

  i recently stopped associating because my conscience no longer allows me to preach or support the organization.

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  ballistic

  It's one hell of a journey and I didn't come through it unscathed. I lost my father at age 13 and saw a pioneer brother as a role model and followed that. But I found myself torn between trying to get a solid job and pioneering, everything seemed to be a choice of those two completely different things, and my now step dad made life at home intolerable, and even showed me the door literally, at age 15. I left home and moved congregations at age 17, but I found I lost the gel I had with all the congregation at the previous hall where our efforts were on rebuilding the hall every weekend. About that time I started to drink (always a little bit more than everyone else) and found temporary relief from anxiety. I married the first girl who came along who was stalking me, and things really went downhill from there. The marriage lasted two years.

  Things are fine from me now. I do still have a few mental health gremlins, but I have a wonderful partner and am bringing up two boys 5 and 6 and attempting at every moment to be the father that sadly, I didn't have.
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  73

  JWN, 23 years posting Blondie

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  can i call you friends, i think so after 23 years posting here.

  i am dismayed how jwn is being "dominated" or taken over by a few posters, peppering the comments.

  in the past, the admin did not approve of this and did remove some posters from jwn.

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  ballistic

  Will have to look up how long I've been posting... :)
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  17

  Research project: A study designed to explore the experience of leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses

  by Researcher2023 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as part of a psychology msc research project, i am looking for participants to take part in a study designed to explore the experience of leaving the jehovah’s witnesses.. former witnesses who were raised in the organisation will be asked a few questions about their reasons for leaving, their experience of leaving, and how their life has changed since leaving.. taking part involves completing an interview over the internet.

  according to research needs, the number of questions asked in each interview may vary.

  the interview will take between 5 – 90 minutes depending on the questions asked and the level of detail you wish to provide.. your participation will remain confidential and anonymous, and it is completely voluntary so that you may withdraw at any time up to two weeks after the interview.

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  ballistic

  I volunteered to take part in this.
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  39

  ALL babies are "little enemies of God"...

  by BoogerMan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  straight from the horse's gb's mouth - from the 2022 convention broadcast.. it's at the 38 min.

  30 secs.

  point of the jw broadcast: https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/#en/mediaitems/2022convention/pub-co-r22_1_video.

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  ballistic

  In a meditative state, it is possible to experience that love is what connects everything in the Universe and if you believe like I do that the Universe is God, then indeed, God is love. The Universe loves all creation in it's infinite forms and the process of creation. It's easy to see that God is love in this context. How far removed from that repulsive video and the statement made therein!
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  13

  Random thoughts on the Jubilee in the UK

  by ballistic in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  saluting the flag was something not encountered very often here in the 1970s uk, in fact that kind of nationalism or patriotism was something i'd been warned about as a young boy, being brought up in the jehovah's witnesses from age 4, through meetings and the publications.

  at some point, i don't know when, i decided it was more american, whether rightly or wrongly.. but even so, there was a large black and white photo of our entire school in panoramic format right outside my classroom on the wall saluting the flag, and i think this was the 1977 25 year jubilee of queen elizabeth ii.. now as a young person attending a fairly religious school in the 1970's, you were used to "making a stand" for things, letter in hand first day in a new class, and being ushered into one room or another to avoid religious assemblies and other xmas, and other seasonal celebrations.. one day the teachers, in their abundant wisdom, stood myself and a younger witness in the corridor right outside the assembly hall where the children would filter past.

  every second or third child that filtered past would ask, "why are you standing there?

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  ballistic

  I remember the Silver Jubilee though, I was in junior school at the time and we all got a commemorative coin

  I do remember the whole class finding a set of the decimal coins 1p - 50p in a wooden plinth. I thought at the time it was because we were all born in the year of decimalisation, but I'm not sure. There was one on each desk apart from mine.

  Anyhow, I went to the teachers desk (picture Oliver Twist, "Please Sir can I have some more") and was told, that she didn't think I would want one because it's a celebration. And there was in fact, no coin set forth coming for me.

  You might as well have just slapped me and said, "I'm gunna stitch you up boy!"

  The teacher had never made alternate arrangements for my benefit with regard to celebrations before.
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  13

  Random thoughts on the Jubilee in the UK

  by ballistic in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  saluting the flag was something not encountered very often here in the 1970s uk, in fact that kind of nationalism or patriotism was something i'd been warned about as a young boy, being brought up in the jehovah's witnesses from age 4, through meetings and the publications.

  at some point, i don't know when, i decided it was more american, whether rightly or wrongly.. but even so, there was a large black and white photo of our entire school in panoramic format right outside my classroom on the wall saluting the flag, and i think this was the 1977 25 year jubilee of queen elizabeth ii.. now as a young person attending a fairly religious school in the 1970's, you were used to "making a stand" for things, letter in hand first day in a new class, and being ushered into one room or another to avoid religious assemblies and other xmas, and other seasonal celebrations.. one day the teachers, in their abundant wisdom, stood myself and a younger witness in the corridor right outside the assembly hall where the children would filter past.

  every second or third child that filtered past would ask, "why are you standing there?

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  ballistic

  Hi BluesBrother, I agree about the national anthem and experienced that in person. But with regard to saluting the flag, despite the large flag pole at the front of the school and the large black and white photograph picturing it, perhaps I should have stated, I never actually encountered the feared event of saluting the flag.
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  35

  Still here.

  by Lee Marsh in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the last 2 1/2 years have been extremely stressful.

  while the rest of the world was dealing with covid, i was also dealing with cancer.

  in fact it seems none of my doctors knew about it.

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  ballistic

  Well done, I didn't expect the story to go like that as an infrequent member I hadn't heard about it.
• 
  13

  Random thoughts on the Jubilee in the UK

  by ballistic in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  saluting the flag was something not encountered very often here in the 1970s uk, in fact that kind of nationalism or patriotism was something i'd been warned about as a young boy, being brought up in the jehovah's witnesses from age 4, through meetings and the publications.

  at some point, i don't know when, i decided it was more american, whether rightly or wrongly.. but even so, there was a large black and white photo of our entire school in panoramic format right outside my classroom on the wall saluting the flag, and i think this was the 1977 25 year jubilee of queen elizabeth ii.. now as a young person attending a fairly religious school in the 1970's, you were used to "making a stand" for things, letter in hand first day in a new class, and being ushered into one room or another to avoid religious assemblies and other xmas, and other seasonal celebrations.. one day the teachers, in their abundant wisdom, stood myself and a younger witness in the corridor right outside the assembly hall where the children would filter past.

  every second or third child that filtered past would ask, "why are you standing there?

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  ballistic

  Saluting the flag was something not encountered very often here in the 1970s UK, in fact that kind of nationalism or patriotism was something I'd been warned about as a young boy, being brought up in the Jehovah's Witnesses from age 4, through meetings and the publications. At some point, I don't know when, I decided it was more American, whether rightly or wrongly.

  But even so, there was a large black and white photo of our entire school in panoramic format right outside my classroom on the wall saluting the flag, and I think this was the 1977 25 year jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

  Now as a young person attending a fairly religious school in the 1970's, you were used to "making a stand" for things, letter in hand first day in a new class, and being ushered into one room or another to avoid religious assemblies and other xmas, and other seasonal celebrations.

  One day the teachers, in their abundant wisdom, stood myself and a younger Witness in the corridor right outside the assembly hall where the children would filter past. Every second or third child that filtered past would ask, "why are you standing there?" To which we would just say a few words and tediously repeat to every child which asked.

  But there was one thing that would really make my little head worried... the jubilee, the saluting of the flag. In fact, it didn't matter the 1977 jubilee had been and gone. I was still worried that a situation involving saluting the flag would be thrust upon me and I wouldn't know what to do or how to make a stand, or even how to explain it.

  So, what I did was ask my mother every day before leaving for school, "mom, are they saluting the flag today?" and she would say "no, of course not," and that was fine, for a day, for a week, for a term, until one day, I forgot to ask her.

  Really it's no wonder as an adult that I suffer from Anxiety and have struggled with stress one way or another over the years. That day, I would not forget that I had forgotten to ask my mother, would they salute the flag, and I was filled with dread, clenching my fists and biting my nails, just waiting for the clock to tick by, every second closer to home time when I could finally breath. But one day that wasn't before asking to go to the medical room, because I felt sick, and bent over that sick room toilet wrenching to try to make myself sick. Oh yes, I went home that day for sure, my face was red, I was sweaty and probably looked extremely worn down from all that well, real stress, and the effects of trying to be sick.

  And everyday I would ask my mother again, and every day I saw that large panoramic picture on the wall on the way into class.

  I'm pleased to say today, as I contextualise these events, although I can't completely shake the events completely out of my mind (us anxiety sufferers can have the habit of replaying painful memories) I do have two wonderful boys age 2 and 3 (nearly 4) every time I look at them or explain about the school they will go to, or nursery or what they have to look forward to, I am filled with that joy that brings tears to your eyes.
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  29

  If you think Watchtower is disappearing any time soon…

  by Reservations in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  you are sadly mistaken.. i hear people say it on here all the time, and dare i say his name *cough* lloyd evans *cough* has said it a number of times, that watchtower is running scared and watchtower is in decline….. we need to put in perspective the decrease from the 2020 report.

  if we calculate a yearly -0.6 decrease over a 10 year period from 2020 figures it leaves us the grand total number of witnesses of:.

  by 2030: - 7,933,479. by 2040: - 7,471,357. by 2050: - 7,036,154. i agree that this is a significant decrease, but let’s not kid ourselves, the wt organisation will still be alive and well even with an annual 0.6% loss.

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  ballistic

  Reservations, you predict a single rate of decline based on a recent small set of data. It will go more like this:

  Map of the Rise and Fall of Toys "R" Us - YouTube