After seeing that, I obviously haven't missed out on anything in the 14 years since I broke with them.
Jack.
Reefton Jack
JoinedPosts by Reefton Jack
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41
New " Witness Only " Watchtower - Even More Controlling - Check this Out
by flipper init had been 5 years or more since i even read a watchtower article after exiting the witness cult in late 2003. but i was curious to see if the new " witness only " watchtowers were more controlling than i remember them being 5 years ago.
and it certainly opened my eyes to the extreme control.
when you have been away from it - you can really see the difference !
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Reefton Jack
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39
Do you feel reading through the bible in the past has benefited you at all?
by Hope4Others inputting the doctrine aside do you feel it has given you any advantages?
case in point my son posts on university sites and often the topic about the bible.
and god come up.
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Reefton Jack
Not by one iota!
Jack. -
39
How have you benefited by leaving the WT Organization?
by Quirky1 inthis is just a curious study.
i would love to get everyone's input on how each individual or couple has benefited from leaving the jw/wtbs as well as how their life is currently vs. being part of the organization.. eyes wide open .
quirky1 .
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Reefton Jack
Since giving them the heave-ho, I have been able to be myself; not someone who was trying to shoe-horn himself into the mould of a WTS clone.
This was not achieved overnight:
- it took many years to rediscover the person I was before the WT Madness took hold.
For quite a time, I lost direction completely (exacerbated by the death of my son in an accident 10 years ago).
But, in the end, it has been well worth it; not having to continuously pretend you are something that you never could be.
(If entry in to the "New System" is dependent on a person being a good book salesman,then I dip out before I even start!)
Jack. -
36
Supernaturalism and reason.
by Narkissos inreading one more time (on the umpteenth thread about the 70 weeks of daniel, into which i'm not going again) the idea that "anti-supercalifragilnaturalistic bias" ruin the unbelievers' (or misbelievers') exegesis of bible texts, and readily admitting to such... bias, i have one very general and simple question which might be worth its own thread.. here it is:.
once you admit such thing as the "supernatural", .
on what grounds can you assess anything.
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Reefton Jack
After working in Papua New Guinea off and on for nearly 17 years, I have witnessed events that could not be explained by science.
This always posed a proper conundrum for me, being someone who:
- works in a scientific discipline.
- is never comfortable without solid facts to work with.
- And who,in particular, quickly becomes unsettled if he has to try and figure things out by guesswork!
I remain open to suggestion, but I have seen certain things happen that do tend to suggest the supernatural.
Jack. -
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If there is such a thing as "ONE TRUE RELIGION...
by JH inif there is such a thing as "one true religion", then lots of good honest god loving people will die at armageddon.. although jw's don't gamble, chosing the correct religion, if there is one, is a gamble.. .
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Reefton Jack
Don't get me started!
If I may steal a quote made recently by another poster on this discussion board:
"When two people are arguing about religion, both are wrong."
Jack. -
18
Wife Abuse
by ZeroZen injws from what ive read seem to be very sexest they dont let women have a voice in the religion, and my friend said he was talking to a member and he said it is ok to hit and abuse your wife is this true?
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Reefton Jack
I grew up in a (non-JW) home where my parents did not always get on the best.
However, my first introduction to domestic violence was at 17 years of age, when I left home and came into
"The Truth."
In the JW family that I lived with that first year, the husband and wife had frequent differences of opinion.
One of the elders told me that the husband concerned needed to, to quote; "clobber her", in order to establish his "headship."
If that isn't condoning wife beating, then it is a bloody good imitation of it!
Jack. -
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How being a JW improved my study skills
by Mysterious inwe all saw these barf articles about how kids did better in school because of the skills they learned as jws so i thought i should post all the wonderful benefits i have gained.
-i have learned how to look like i'm paying attention in class without actually doing so [yay participation marks, boo not understanding what's on the test].
-i have learned to underline on autopilot with no intrinsic benefit to my study skills [my book looks like wwiii so why don't i know anything].
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Reefton Jack
It has been stated that reading the Watchtower and Awake is the equivalent of a university degree.
It certainly got me mine:
- a Bachelor of Stupidity.
Jack.
(with his tongue driven hard into his cheek!) -
23
educated elder or uneducated elder which was the best ?
by looloo inthe ones i know are either life long window cleaners with little education behind them or ex army /police /teacher types that are used to public talking and a bit of power , which ones did you find were the best elders ie kind and caring , i would go for the uneducated window cleaner /manual worker type by my experiance , in fact it was because the intelligent ones believed it was "the truth" that made me think well it must be true if he believes it
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Reefton Jack
I only ever knew of one elder who had completed a university education. (Hardly surprising, given the WTS downer on education).
This particular elder held a degree in electrical engineering, and was by most definitions of the term, a good person.
However, so were some others who had had minimal education
- I recall one elder who would never got to high school; while poorly educated, he was far from stupid.
From my experience, I would have to agree with those posters who have noted that a person's educational level did not seem to make much of a difference as to who made the best elder.
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47
What do you remember about the Conventions?
by ScoobySnax inwhen i think back, i remember being excited in the 80's.
i remember the 5p food token strips at twickenham, london.
you could get hot fresh doughnuts and burgers.
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Reefton Jack
I agree with the posters who describe the WTS as not being child-friendly.
THAT is what I remember about the conventions, and no, I don't miss the things!
I am only thankful that my father woke up to that from day one, and resisted the pressure that his JW mother put on him to raise his children (two sisters and me) "In the Truth."
Unfortunately, I had to find out the hard way the the JWs are not family friendly, and dragged my children along to the full JW Indoctrination Program, including the conventions.
That is still something that I feel bad about.
Jack. -
45
Would You Really Want To Live Forever With Dubs?
by shamus100 inhere is the hypothetical question of the day - would you, or more appropriately, could you live forever in paradise on earth with jw's?
with the hypocrosy, silly elders, silly people... feeding lions and cleaning up after animals... everyone living by waterfalls, like the jw's always portray in they're psychotic pamphlets..... or would you rather be dead.
i, personally, would much rather be dead.
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Reefton Jack
This reminds me of the opening stanzas of the Canadian poet, Robert Service, and his poem
"The Wage Slave."
This starts off
"When the long, long day is over, and the Big Boss gives me my pay,
I hope that it won't be hellfire, as some of the parsons say.
And I hope that it won't be heaven, with some of the parsons I've met-"