Posts by AlmostAtheist

22

Hi. Are exJW non-Fundy Christian Americans welcome here?

by binadub in

jw
friends

20 years ago

just wondering?

20 years ago

AlmostAtheist 20 years ago

Welcome! I haven't been here long (or been an ex-JW for long) but I've found the live-and-let-live approach considerably more enjoyable than the live-and-choke-the-life-outta-anybody-who-doesn't-buy-it approach the JW's foisted on me.

I can't imagine what you'd have to believe to be "unwelcome" in this group. Start making irrational statements along the lines of "I believe it because some men in Brooklyn said I should" and you might be batted about the head with a bookbag full of Reference Bibles, but you probably wouldn't say anything like that anyway...

How long have you known the truth about "The Truth"? My wife and I started fading a month or so ago.

Dave

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2

You were nominated to me through divine revelation from God

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

20 years ago

check it out... a new twist on the old nigerian scam..... dearly beloved,.

"it is by grace we are saved,not by works lest any man boast about.

it is amazing that while we are yet sinners christ died for us.

20 years ago

AlmostAtheist 20 years ago

I second the nomination.

All in favor?

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36

Found an Awake at the rest stop today..and I knew exactly what to do....

by Dawn in

jw
friends

20 years ago

found it at a rest stop today while traveling.

i thought about tossing it, but decided it had a much better purpose.

it was an issue on what to teach your young child - cute picture of a little girl (about 4 years old) on the cover.. so - i took it to my car, got out a pretty purple pen and wrote on the cover "this religion has a major probelm with pedophiles and is hurtful to young children.

20 years ago

AlmostAtheist 20 years ago

Dawn got me to thinking, If we could work up a doctrine that's easy to destroy with a scripture or two and a nice sound-bite that would fit on a label, we could print up bunches of them and keep them handy for slapping on these mags we find lying around. Those puppies might actually do some good for a change! Like Dawn said, the hand writing is more eye-catching, but I doubt I'd take the time to write on every mag I ran across. I would slap a label on them, though.

Has somebody already done this?

My pet doctrine is birthdays since it's so easy to refute and it proves they 'go beyond what is written', but its hard to just cite a scripture and blow it away. Anything more obvious (and less trivial) leaping to mind?

Good going, Dawn.

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10

Cigar recommendations?

by AlmostAtheist in

20 years ago

hey all,.

i've only recently begun smoking and i find that i like cigars.

cigarettes aren't doing it for me, they burn up too fast and you have to keep knocking the ash into something.

20 years ago

AlmostAtheist 20 years ago

Would a kindly moderator please move this to [Friends]? Sorry, I'm ... well.. stupid.

Anyway, thanks for the comments so far. Ouch, $8 a pop? At least that would push me more toward once a week territory, instead of the twice a day area I've been flirting with.

OK then, how about I ask what's your cheapest recommendation? I like beer too. I usually drink domestic junk, but I splurge on a decent brand now and again. I enjoyed Caffrey's until they stopped selling it in the US. Wexford's a half-decent substitute.

So even $10 wouldn't be out of the question once in awhile. More than that would make me lie awake at nights, nodding off now and then, only to wake screaming. Maybe I'm cheap.

Dave

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10

Cigar recommendations?

by AlmostAtheist in

20 years ago

hey all,.

i've only recently begun smoking and i find that i like cigars.

cigarettes aren't doing it for me, they burn up too fast and you have to keep knocking the ash into something.

20 years ago

AlmostAtheist 20 years ago

Hey all,

I've only recently begun smoking and I find that I like cigars. Cigarettes aren't doing it for me, they burn up too fast and you have to keep knocking the ash into something. A vice ought at least to support laziness, in my opinion, and a cigar seems to fit the bill. For taste, I've enjoyed Camels (wides) and Virgina Slims. (How's that for a mix?)

I enjoyed some Swisher Sweets (strawberry, I think) that were about 50 cents a throw. I tried some White Owls that were a $1 a piece, but they were almost exactly like the Swishers. Then I tried a five-pack of swisher sweets "perfecto"'s. Awful! Like sucking in gaseous sandpaper! I also found that I didn't care for Hav-A-Tampa Jewels (Berry), they were [something bad], maybe harsh? Sharp? Forgive me, I'm new at this.

So, assuming I'm only willing to dump at most $2 a throw on these puppies (averaged out, a $40 box of 20 would be fine), what should I be smoking? Any recommendations?

Of course, I realize I'm deducting x years from my life by doing this, and perhaps I'll decide to quit later on that basis. But for now, assume that any "you'll die" arguments aren't worth bothering with. I'm an ex-JW, I'm used to ignoring facts that don't support my beliefs.

Dave

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42

What Made Things Finally "Click" With You To Know This Was Not The Truth?

by minimus in

jw
friends

20 years ago

for me it was the realization that there was no "faithful & discreet slave", that all the prophecies "proving" that jehovah's witnesses are the only religion approved by god is bogus and the realization that this is a "cult" and there is no real normal sense of love and affection in the "truth".

20 years ago

AlmostAtheist 20 years ago

The flood story, Balaam striking up a casual conversation with his donkey, and the paradox-problem of praying for others made me decide that the Bible couldn't really be a "Holy Book", so JW's couldn't really have "the truth" since there was no truth to be had. I assumed (naively) that they still had the Bible right, but the Bible itself was wrong.

Then I met you kind folks.

Now I see that you can pretty much prove and disprove anything you like from the Bible. I've always been pretty gullible, and I guess when they disproved the other religion's doctrines, and proved their own, coupled with giving me reasons to believe the Bible, I bought it. It never occurred to me (stupidly) to see if any other religion could do the same thing. Terry has mentioned that he's ashamed of himself for allowing himself to be misled this way, for blindly buying things without proof that have such a high price. Once I saw JW's for what they really are, I was ashamed, and angry.

And for the record, the made-up rules like birthdays, holidays, blood and fractions, and the 607 thing were killers for me. Oh, and the "we don't know what we're talking about so we're going to change our minds every year or two and call it 'New Light'" policy seems ludicrous now, though I bought it happily as a dub. I was never too impressed with the UN scandal, though it's interesting. I think if I'd been a dub and been told about the UN thing, I wouldn't have considered it a big deal.

Dave

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19

A confrontation

by kwintestal in

20 years ago

last night was one of the toughest nights to date in my adult life.. my parents and grandmother had been repeatedly asking mrs. kwin about arrangements to get to the assembly this comming weekend.

she isn't going and my family were unaware of her change in beliefs regarding the wts.

so, instead of putting things off, not giving an answer, avoiding the situation, we stood up.. i'm not sure how long we were there for, an hour, maybe two but it seemed like forever.

20 years ago

AlmostAtheist 20 years ago

I'm sorry for your trouble and sadness, Kwin. The turmoil. My wife and I got similar reactions from simply expressing doubts about the birthday issue. Despite a relatively calm discussion, my sister-in-law broke down in tears because she thought we were "losing the truth".

As has been stated, your relatives believe you are at the same time thumbing your nose at the only true God, and handing over your free pass to paradise. From their perspective, you're nuts. Something must be wrong. You're deluded. You've snapped. Etc.

If you don't find yourselves out-and-out disfellowshipped, they will likely continue to associate with you. Despite this first explosive meeting, do you think you can still fade without getting DF/DA? Or do you intend to DA anyway?

All the best to you and your wife. Enjoy life, it is truly wonderful.

Dave

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21

FEAR!! PANIC!! ALARM!!

by Terry in

jw
friends

20 years ago

i use to be afraid of the dark.i would feel the ___presence__of unseen things.

creepy stuff.. but, when i became agnostic and left all things religious behind me a very strange side effect took place in my life.

just this: nothing makes me afraid anymore!.

20 years ago

AlmostAtheist 20 years ago

I know what you mean, Terry. It's like with all the boogin's gone, it's a level playing field. Nobody can float through walls at you, plant thoughts in your head, or transmit advertising into your dreams. (Yet!)

But I do still have some fears that I think qualify as irrational. My worst is parking lots. When I'm with my 6-year-old, I really, really want to hold his hand. It's like I can imagine the collective Fates gunning for him with vehicles. I try to remember that people are watchful, my son is responsible, and I try to walk it safely. But it still scares me.

But at least if he has a bad dream, I don't have to worry it is because such-or-so item bought from a yard sale is "demonized". (I never quite bought that line, but some part of me believed it was at least possible.)

Dave

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59

My Life in Jehovah's Service - VERY INTERESTING STORY

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

21 years ago

" the overseer made it quite plain..

"if i can't say i have been advised not to serve in alternate service--why are you actually doing it?

i was there to serve jehovah; consequently i was doing jehovah's will.

18 years ago

AlmostAtheist 20 years ago

Wow Terry. Wow.

Your other piece that Randy referenced on the Governing Body was equally well done. I especially enjoyed the metaphor you used when 1914 didn't turn out to be The End after all:

"The collective noses of all those Witnesses throughout the decades who faithfully mouthed the words of their guides, the Governing Body, were rubbed in yet another change. New light!"

You have a bitterness, but it's aged nicely. Sort of flavor in an Italian dish that you taste but can't quite identify, keeping some other overpowering flavor at bay. Us new de-converts still have a raw bitterness, your writing gives me hope of a time when I won't be an ex-JW anymore, I'll just be a guy.

Dave

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10

Children's Book for Athiests

by StinkyPantz in

jw
friends

20 years ago

i'd like the perspective of thiests and athiests alike: what do you think about such a book?

maybe not this book in particular, but the whole concept of a children's book that gives a simple view of athiesm?

as an agnostic, married to an athiest, i like the idea.

20 years ago

AlmostAtheist 20 years ago

I like the idea of such a book, but this one seems too absolutist. 'There are no gods, they are made up. Like dragons.' I happen to buy that, but Gina doesn't. I would rather feed our kids something more moderate, along the lines of a discussion between two kids about how one parent believes in a god and the other doesn't. Or three, or four, covering some major religions. In "kid-speak". Just to open them up to the idea that there's more than one god out there competing for their attention, in addition to the none-of-the-above option.

"Dave's Big Book of Apostate Tales for Children and Young Adults" -- Buy it at Amazon.com

I remember when Zach was three and was asking me about Jehovah, "Does Jehovah have legs?"

"No," I told him, "He can move around, but he doesn't have legs like you do."

He considered this for a moment and said, "Does he walk on his butt?"

"'Does God Walk on his Butt?' - Answering Your Children's Questions About God" -- Amazon.com

Dave

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