Midget-Sasquatch

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Posts by Midget-Sasquatch

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  26

  So I finally said "I am pagan"

  by Sirona in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i told my jw mum and jw brother that i'm pagan, i mean, this time i really told them.. previously i'd "mentioned it" to my mum, who seemed to accept it, but then chose to totally ignore what i'd said.. anyway, i suspect my jw brother reads this board, because of some things he said.... .

  my mother said i'm "jumping on the bandwagon" which made me think she knows more about neo-paganism than i'd realised lol .

  my brother surprised me very much.

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  Midget-Sasquatch

  Merry Meet Sirona,

  I'm glad your family didn't totally freak out on you with your telling them. I'm sure that my family would be scared $h!tle$$ if I told them such a thing. As someone who has a very hard time in believing anything religious, I'm sincerely happy for you that you have found something that enriches you.

  Though I'm agnostic, I had many interesting conversations with a wiccan university classmate years ago. She took her chosen pantheon (norse gods), along with its key myths, and had explained its symbolism to me in a very enlightening manner. At the time I was reading up on the pagan mystery religions and their link with christian gnostics just to understand the history of the early christians. I have nearly my entire life felt devoid of spirituality despite my growing up a JW and going to a Roman Catholic school. But seeing her personalizing material such that it gave her real meaning, did more to stimulate my spiritual interest than any public talk or mass.

  Merry part
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  26

  Fading, but I dont think I can do it

  by vitty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ive been fading for about 7 months now, but i dont know if i can carry it off.. i was really upset by a family member, had a couple of drinks then phoned my sister, whoes not a jw, ( for a bit of sympathy) but then i revealed too much information about my fading.

  the thing is shes going on holiday with my other sister who is a jw, now im scared she might tell her.

  she wouldnt do it on pupose.. i feel im in quick sand, drowning, i would love to tell the way i really feel, but cant take the shunning.will this ever end?

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  Midget-Sasquatch

  Quite a few people I know who are also fading felt like that at some time or another. I'm always on the verge of breaking.Its very hard trying to pretend with your own family. I think that time will be on your side, as long as you look after yourself first though. If you're not ready to deal with the inevitable backlash from completely leaving the dubs, just go about playing the role of the spiritually tepid. That will dissuade non family JWs from engaging with you and more importantly it will not evoke a crisis situation with the family. I'll be honest with you. If you have all of your family in the dubs the fading will never end. You'll have to decide whether that sacrifice of some of your freedom is worth it, or if you'll be happier accepting a much a cooler level of interaction with them.

  I've slipped up quite a few times lately with my family and told them some of the troubles I have with JW doctrine. I regretted it. But in your case since you didn't directly tell the JW family yet, just tell the other person to please keep mum. If the family has already heard, then just be prepared to tell them that you were just so overwhlemed with work etc. That lately you felt drained on all levels. So to keep up your 'spirituality' you were just practicing a suggestion the Society had made. They 'encouraged' us to re-examine our beliefs and to try and prove the Troof to ourselves so that we can "truly make it our own". You wanted to do a thorough job, and so you were just playing devils advocate with some counterpoints. For a bit you were genuinely wondering about some of the stuff you came up with. You inadvertantly bounced some ideas off of someone else but you've since gotten satisfying answers to your questions. (Just avoid at all costs telling them which side you've settled on).

  Use as much WTS lingo as possible. Let them conclude that the dub world view and paradigm is still your reality, you're just not one of those 100 percenters...more like the 30. I really don't feel good about myself when lying to my family, so I can sympathize. I really feel for you. Hang in there. While with fading the dub crap is always going, you do get some very nice long periods of utter peace from it all.
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  39

  so, who here believes the Bible to be completely true?

  by hmm...interesting in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  anyone?

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  Midget-Sasquatch

  I don't. Apart from the inconsistencies, innaccuracies, and suspect histories, there are some distasteful portrayals of God in the OT. Whole different streams of christian sects had their books banned as heretical. Funny thing is that some of those books do a better job of invoking my spirituality than the 66 book Bible. Then again maybe thats just confirmation than I'm of the Eeeeeevil Slave.
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  39

  ALLEYMOM INJURED!!!!!!!!!!!!

  by Dansk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dear all,.

  marjorie (alleymom) might not thank us for publishing this news but you all need to know.

  this wonderfully caring lady has been injured in a car crash.

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  Midget-Sasquatch

  Its nice to hear that you weren't hurt too badly. Hope you have a speedy recovery Alleymom.
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  16

  Jesus Baptism

  by Nosferatu in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've been thinking about the whole baptism issue, and it doesn't make any sense.

  jesus was baptized.

  why did jesus have to get baptized?

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  Midget-Sasquatch

  Leolaia

  I?m with you on there being a link with the Essenes. They had some interesting ways of applying OT prophecies to themselves didn?t they? Almost WTS like. Another thing I find persuasive is that in their Manual of Discipline there was a passage on how their ritual of baptism was specifically for remission of sins, and an initiation that set themselves onto the path of salvation....much like John?s baptism and that of the early Christians. The Gospels must have been addressing some bit of actual history.

  Narkissos

  Thanks for that link to Price?s essay. I enjoyed that thought experiment of his. I never gave much thought to that notion of Jesus being the ressurrected baptist. Interesting idea.Christ a mythical figure created by some of John?s followers after his death.....Hmmmm. Well whether it was John's followers or followers of an actual man Jesus, that got the buzz going on in Palestine, we can thank Paul for alot of the other mythology that developed.

  Nosferatu

  Thank you for the great thread topic. I never know what curiosities can end up being clues or fossils of some reworked history. I appreciate all the input.
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  16

  Jesus Baptism

  by Nosferatu in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've been thinking about the whole baptism issue, and it doesn't make any sense.

  jesus was baptized.

  why did jesus have to get baptized?

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  Midget-Sasquatch

  Narkissos:

  Nice job on laying out the different ways the NT Gospels portray the link between Jesus and John's movements. I think it strongly suggests rivalry between the two groups and how proto-orthodox christians tried to convince the other side to join them/prove they were superior.

  To anyone:

  Were Jesus and his early followers a splinter group from John's movement ? Josephus (though not the most accurate historian) did say the Baptist was very popular - but said no such thing about the Christians.
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  20

  Weird DREAMS ...

  by frenchbabyface in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .... weird dreams.

  i'm afraid to think that some particular dreams have a meaning, it's like my intuition talking to me.

  i do not always understand their meaning from the start, but later it happen that i can see exactly what they meant (one lately was quiet interesting to realised about the why's and the what exactly).

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  Midget-Sasquatch

  FBF,

  From my experience, most of my dreams weren't telling me anything. If I were you, I'd consciously think about something totally different as you're in bed about to sleep. Something pleasant or fun for a while. If you get that weird dream repeatedly though, then it's likely to be something really important to you. And what I find is tat with each repeat of the dream I get other details that help me work out what its all about.
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  17

  Comments You Will Not Hear at the 11-14-04 WT Study Highlights

  by blondie in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  comments you will not hear at the 11-14-04 wt study (october 1, 2004) highlights

  review comments

  tender affection and love.

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  Midget-Sasquatch

  ALANF

  I think you've gotten to the root of why shunning is so easy for them. It was a bit of the converse with me.Since my early teens I knew I didn't believe or fit in with JWs. The cool rebellious teens who also thought it was all bunk didn't take to me. That left the true believers. I decided not to get really close with any of them though. I wanted to spare myself the pain of losing friends once I left the Org. If I knew I would eventually settle on the "fading" approach, I would have been a bit more closer with some of them. Even then only to a point, because my true feelings would have brought me before a Judicial Committee.
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  17

  Comments You Will Not Hear at the 11-14-04 WT Study Highlights

  by blondie in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  comments you will not hear at the 11-14-04 wt study (october 1, 2004) highlights

  review comments

  tender affection and love.

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  Midget-Sasquatch

  PRESTON

  I completely understand how upset you must have been to have that family turn on you so quickly. I was so irate that I was thinking what a #$%^&*@ ungrateful bunch of $%^* #$^%$*)!!!!!. But then Blondie's insight tempered my anger. Its sad how the ORG can manipulate people, keeping them hooked, getting them to burn bridges with good people on the outside, so that they're stuck inside.But I'm sure that in their hearts they at least know you sincerely cared, and that they weren't a means for you to rack up some brownie points with the CO and the BOE.
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  49

  DESCRIBE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  describe a jehovah's witness.

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  Midget-Sasquatch

  Sorta like the GB describes them but modified to fit reality.

  http://www.brock.ac.uk/minisites/blacksheep/images/fleeced/cover1.jpg