Reefton Jack

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Posts by Reefton Jack

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  24

  The pro's and con's of being in the truth

  by The wanderer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it is understandable that individuals who read this thread will more.

  than likely become offended and to those who feel as such i will .

  apologize.

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  Reefton Jack

  The only benefit I took away was learning how to speak in public. But even that proved to be a bloody expensive course in public speaking!
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  25

  I miss the 'good old days'!

  by Outaservice in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  lets see now.......... monday night: prepare for the tuesday night book study i will conduct.

  also, have the family monday night watchtower study preparation.. tues night: drive over to an almost inactive brother's house to conduct the book study.

  prepared questions for the children ahead of time.

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  Reefton Jack

  All that was "Choosing the Best Way of Life" - so we were told in a book the WTS put out in the late 1970s, anyway!
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  26

  For the over 50 crowd: What advice...

  by serendipity in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  for those of you who are over 50, what advice regarding living a meaningful life would you give to the younger crowd?

  do you wish you took a different path earlier in life?

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  Reefton Jack

  Expanding a little on the excellent post by Garybuss:

  "Get the best education possible" and "Learn your trade before age 30"

  They say that it is never to late to get an education. No doubt that is true - as far as it goes.

  I learned the hard way, though, that the time for learning things is when you are straight out of High School. It is often difficult to pick up the tread later on. So, as far as learning a trade or getting further education - rip into it as soon as you complete High School. There will never be a more suitable time for either.

  Jack.
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  20

  Which flavor of "Christendom" did you think was most demonized? (when a JW)

  by Wasanelder Once in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i used to feel it was the catholic religion because of all its rituals.

  then i felt it was the latter day saints with all thier "personal testimony" and "prophet" doctrines.

  finally, after reading about the watchtower's history i've settled on the view that they are all equal.. how did you feel about it when you were a witnoid?.

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  Reefton Jack

  The consensus while I was in the borg was that all those who claimed to be "talking in tongues" were "demonised." I knew of many (including myself) who were terrified of anyone who attended a church group where this type event took place. The (polite!) collective term used to describe any such group was - I seem to remember - "charismatic." In our district, that included groups such as the Assembly of God, the New Life Centre, and the Church of Christ.

  Anyway, as far as we were concerned, they were all definitely "demonised" - and therefore to be given a wide berth.

  (My apologies to any here who may now attend such a church!)
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  19

  Is Our GOD directing the writing of the Awake?

  by architect in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  do you think the holy spirit directs the writing of the awake?

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  Reefton Jack

  They say that the first response that comes to mind is usually the correct one.

  In this instance, the first thing that comes to mind is that if God is directing the writing of the Awake magazine, then he (or she / they / it / or whatever) is not much of a god.

  Jack
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  14

  Jehovah's Witnesses and beards

  by Dave_T in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i was a jw, i don't remember having read in the watchtower literature a rule explicitely forbidding to be bearded.

  the pictures depicting "faithful witnesses" of the past (abraham, job,, moses, the apostles, etc.

  ) always show bearded men.

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  Reefton Jack

  Does anyone here remember a certain story that once seemed to be repeated everytime the subject of beards came up:

  Allegedly, one "brother" used to sport a well-groomed beard. At least, he did - until one day while engaged in Field Service / Hawking Watchtower Products, a woman was insistent that she "did not want to be part of a Student Rebellion."

  This supposed incident was (apparently!) proof that beards could "stumble" members of the public.

  Whether this incident ever happened or not, the story was repeated on the program of at least one District Assembly.

  I can remember when, in some congregations at least, the no-beard rule was relaxed for a few years in the mid-1970s. As the end was just that close now, it was thought that JWs must be trained to use their conscience. After all, once "persecution" hit - they would be cut off from the WTS, and unable to expect direction on every last thing!

  It followed from this that such matters as dress and grooming were matters of conscience - not matters for the WTS to legislate.

  Did the WTS soon do an about-face on that one, once they realised that this would give the R&F some control back in their lives! (Can't have that, can we?)

  Jack
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  26

  What rebellious actions did you or other do in your congregation?

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what rebellious actions did you or other do in your congregation, not enough to be disfellowshipped, but went a little too far.

  sometimes we have to unwind .

  i remember sitting in a brothers car.

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  Reefton Jack

  Compared with some of the stories here, the most rebellious things I ever did were quite tame!

  When the WTS was pushing the "conscience" bit in the mid-1970s, I grew a beard for a time. Also, I took to wearing a polo neck, rather than the regulation shirt with stand-up collar plus tie costume.That lasted until I was informed that I could not be used to give prayer.

  Looking back, these seem like no big deal at all.

  At the time, though, I did both to hand the old "two fingered salute" to the elders.

  Jack.
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  35

  Hi! Any other Latter Day Saints here?

  by ElderBarry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi my name is lisa.

  i'm not an elder of course and never have been.

  i was a jw for just a few years and then relocated and left it behind.

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  Reefton Jack

  I am not an LDS - for that matter, not in any way religious, either.

  I do, however, have friends that are LDS.

  One thing that does impress me about the "Mormons" / Church of the Latter Day Saints is how family friendly they are - certainly in comparison to the WTS.

  I resent the WTS for many reasons - but if I had to single out one thing more than the others, it would be how their whole theology / way of life prevented me from having a stabe life with my family.

  Bad experiences during my 28 years with the JWs have soured me towards religion in any of its forms - and for all time. But I would never want to deny that right to anyone else. As far as I am concerned, too many people died in two world wars guaranteeing such things as freedom of worship for me to want to interfere!
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  55

  Do you think a nuclear weapon will be used in war or terrorism in our time?

  by free2beme in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with all those nukes out there, and all the countries that have them or are making them.

  do you think it is something we should expect, that in our lifetime a nuclear weapon will be used in war or an act of terrorism?

  i personally think it is possible, and i think it would be the middle east that would see this happening.

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  Reefton Jack

  When the Soviet Union broke up in the early 1990s, a lot of sophisticated military equipment and ordinance was available for purchase - whether sold officially / legally or on the Black Market.

  You would have to ask how much control could have possibly been excercised over the security of their nuclear weapons during that time? Soviet nuclear weapons - including the lower yielding "tactical" ones - were deployed in countries which overnight became laws to themselves.

  Add to that the fact that a primitive yet effective atomic bomb (e.g. of the Hiroshima type) is not that difficult to make. The major obstacle used to be getting hold of the necessary weapons-grade uranium to make the device. But with the upheaval that went on after the collapse of the Soviet Union, how much of that material went missing?

  I am only surprised that a nuclear device has not already been used by terrorists. We all well remember a certain group of people that was deranged enough to crash an air-liner into a high-rise building in a terror attack. If they are crazy enough to do that, then they are crazy enough to use a nuclear device for the same purpose!

  Jack.
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  159

  Firearms And Shooting...

  by Justice-One in

  1. social
  2. physical

  i thought i would open up a thread on firearms and shooting.

  personally i was raised around firearms as my dad was not a jw.

  some of my earliest memories are of my dad teaching me how to put a round in a fleas ass at 200 meters.

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  Reefton Jack

  I come from a remote rural background, and grew up around firearms.At one point owned a fair collection of rifles, and in those years did a lot of hunting. However, when I moved to the city some years ago, I got rid of most of my rifles - simply because the opportunities for doing any hunting were no longer there.

  These days, I have taken up smallbore shooting as a hobby - and as a way of keeping my eye in. (I still have dreams of one day moving back to the bush!)

  I do, however, have reservations about how much protection carrying a gun on your person actually affords. I say this from my own experience. During the years 2003 - 2005, I lived in a certain Third World country with a particularly bad violent crime problem. Had I been legally able to arm myself at that time, I would have done so. (Previous writers here have mentioned how Gun Control Laws only penalise the legitimate gun owner!)

  However, the only people that I knew during that time who got shot were both carrying a gun on their person.

  There was at least one instance in which I would have used a gun if I had had one. Even that would not have not prevented the stoning attack that had taken place on my vehicle - use of the gun would have been done in a fit of rage afterwards(I was bloody ropable by then!), and to "teach the ######s a lesson."

  Also, given the "payback" system that operates in that country,tremendous problems would have resulted from any such shooting (fatal or otherwise). Later,in the sober light of day, I had to agree with others that it was just as well that I was not armed on that occassion.

  My experiences anyway,

  Jack.