Reefton Jack

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Posts by Reefton Jack

• 
  93

  It must be "Global Warming"

  by Warlock in

  1. social
  2. current

  snow in malibu yesterday.

  .

  this morning i had to scrape the ice off my windshield and back window.. on the way to work i saw many a frozen front lawn and most cars were covered with ice like mine.. all on the outskirts of los angeles.. it must be "global warming".. warlock.

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  Reefton Jack

  The fact that Dr. Timothy Ball may be receiving funding from the Oil Industry does not in itself prove that everything he says is incorrect.
  
  Turn matters around, and imagine yourself as a supplier of a product that has attracted negative publicity:
  - publicity that you know to be misleading (or maybe just outright bl---y wrong!)
  
  Would you then be acting improperly if you hired expert opinion in to set the record straight on your behalf?
  
  Furthermore, would any positive thing that that person said be automatically wrong, just because you were funding the project?
  
  Likewise with the matter of Global Warming / Climate Change.
  Opinions from the likes of Dr. Timothy Ball cannot be dismissed, just because he may have received some funding from oil companies.
  To get a full handle on this matter, one has to dig a bit deeper than that.
  
  
  Please note that I am not here necessarily agreeing with all he says:
  - just pointing out that it is surely a rather short sighted approach to automatically reject any contrary ideas Dr. Ball puts forward about Climate Change, merely because he may have received funds from the Oil Industry!
  
  
  Jack.
  
  NB:
  Bearing in mind that this is a discussion about Global Warming / Climate Change
  - not cigarette advertising.
• 
  5

  The Scholors who have approved the NWT.....

  by A-Team in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i wonder how the faces of the gb and the pioneers will look like once they see this......

  http://www.forananswer.org/top_jw/scholars%20and%20nwt.htm

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  Reefton Jack

  Thanks for that link, fullofdoubtnow.
  While a "pioneer", I used to carry around with me a photocopy of Alexander Thomson's remarks about the New World Translation.
  These were liberally circulated amongst all the congregations in the district - although nobody seemed to know where the original had come from.
  
  
  Anyway,Thomson was described on this photocopied document as being "Advisor to The Queen on biblical languages" (whatever that is supposed to mean - although the dubs took it to mean that he was The Final Word on matters Hebrew and Koine Greek!)
  
  From viewing this Website,though, it comes as no surprise to learn that Alexander Thomson had no formal training in Hebrew or Koine Greek.
  (Just like a certain other person whom we all know about).
  
  It seems like Thomson's endorsement is yet another instance of many in the JW world where you just about need the Cat 992 Front-End Loader to clear all the Bull ###t away!
  
  
  Jack.
• 
  39

  ex JW atheists

  by Bobhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know we were sold a lie in believing god was only dealing with the wt and to obey them is to obey god.

  what puzzels me is that in rejecting the wt so many also reject their belief in god.

  surely they believed that god existed as witnesses.

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  Reefton Jack

  Mackin,
  
  I read your remarks with keen interest - namely about why you remained with the JWs.
  Many times I have wondered if the elders (even the members of the Governing Body)necessarily believe everything that they are saying.
  You have answered that one for us - and I thank you!
  
  Also, for a long time after breaking with the JWs, I had intense feelings of
  self-loathing - that I had fell for the lie for so long.
  Your account gives some understanding of why people may stick with this cluster###k
  (expletive deleted!) even after seeing through it for the charade that it is.
  (For the Record:
  I finally gave it away when I got to the point of not being able to carry on with the charade anymore -unfortunately, it cost me my family).
  
  As for athieism:
  - I am not much into labels, and I keep an open mind on this matter.
  However, in the 12 years since I told the WTS what to do with their idea of "The Truth", I have not seen anything to convince me that "god" is not some man-made idea, cooked up to control others.
  
  However, I have experienced certain events that are not possible to explain by science (rational thought?).
  
  For example:
  
  In mid-2003, when I was managing a power supply system in Papua New Guinea, I returned to my office one afternoon to discover that my key-ring was missing.
  Consequently, I re-traced my moves of earlier that afternoon; starting with the hydro-electric plant at the lower end of the valley.
  
  When I failed to locate the missing keys at that location,I set out up the vehicle track to the station at the top end of the valley.
  As I left, the staff at the Lower Power Station notified the Upper Station by radio-telephone that "The Boss' was on his way up to them ; looking for a set of missing keys.
  
  On arrival at the Upper Power Station, I went frantically searching the building for where I might have misplaced the keys.
  Meanwhile, the security guard went straight to my Toyota Hilux Double Cab truck, opened the rear door, and found the missing key ring lodged tightly up under the corner of the rear seat.
  (Evidently, these had been shaken loose from the clip on my belt, and then further shaken backwards by the jolting of the vehicle as I progressed uphill - along a rough track that would almost shake the fillings loose from your teeth!)
  
  Interestingly, when I questioned the security guard about how he found the missing key ring, he told me that " as soon as he heard the radio call, he knew that this key ring as lodged up under the right hand corner of the rear seat".
  
  I am always open to suggestions
  - BUT : how can that be explained by anything other than the paranormal?
  
  My thoughts anyway (from a raggedy-arsed electrician)
  
  
  Jack.
• 
  5

  Remember the "cliques" at the KH?

  by new boy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it really is amazing how many there are in every congregation of 100-120 people!.

  i was in a the " father is dfed (or unbelieving mate) but the mom and kids are in" clique.

  that is a real fun one............not!.........got into the "full time service or the rest of you are not doing enough" clique.

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  Reefton Jack

  Unfortunately, the cliques are the thing I remember most about JW congregations.
  The one I belonged to seemed to be called "The Elders' S###list"!
  
  Jack.
• 
  30

  Weak in the Faith = Lose Privilages

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  have you ever lost any privilages due to being spiritually weak?

  i wasn't going out in servive as much,not commenting and wasn't married to a witness.

  i was taken off the ministry school talk # 2,couldn't pray for the congregation,was taken off the sound equipment,couldn't pass out literature,couldn't receive a blood card and finally couldn't receive any books because i wasn't considered part of the congregation.that was fine with me.. what were the signs you received from your congregation telling you that you were weak in the faith?.

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  Reefton Jack

  Once again, the sole gauge of a person's spirituality is that column on the Monthly Report card that is entitled "Hours."
  
  "Sick" wouldn't be too strong a word to use to describe that way of looking at things.
  
  Jack.
• 
  14

  Those who are 50+, do you remember that there was an ice age coming?

  by Bonnie_Clyde in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i distinctly remember this from my childhood.

  i believe lots of concern and i suppose it was from the scientific community.

  now it's global warming, and i'm hearing that 99.9% of the "creditable" scientists believe it.

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  Reefton Jack

  I remember this well.
  In the late 1970s, there were several very severe winters in a row in the Northern Hemisphere.
  This led to a lot of dialogue - ranging from rational discussion to outright scare mongering - about another Ice Age.
  
  Others here are free to have a go at me for saying this - but it is one of the main reasons that I am hesitant to get too excited about current talk about Global Warming.
  
  
  
  
• 
  26

  Did You Overly Discipline Your Kids Because Of Being A Witness?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i knew a lot of jws that "beat" their child with the "rod" as a preferred "scriptural" form of punishment.

  corporal punishment was the norm while growing up......were you given the "rod" often?

  did you overly discipline your children??

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  Reefton Jack

  Minimus has hit the proverbial nail on the head with the observation that expecting small children to sit quietly and still for hour-after-hour-after-boring-hour is inhumane!
  That - coupled with all their talk about "The Rod" - tends witness parents to overdo the corporal punishment bit:
  - I know that I did!
  (Of the many regrets that I have about having been one of Them, this is by far the worst).
  
  Interestingly, my father resisted pressure from our JW grandmother to bring us up as witnesses, because he saw through this fallacy from the start.
  (Good on him for wising up to that one, silly b-g--r me for not.)
  
  All I can say is no wonder that most JW children end up telling collectively:
  - their parents,
  - the elders,
  - the WTS,
  - Plus the Watch Tower Society's version of God; what to do with its religion!
  
  
  
  
• 
  22

  WERE YOU A SICK WITNESS???

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  while you were a jw, were you generally feeling ill?

  ------did you know of persons that were initially pretty healthy but got depressed and sick because they never felt they could do enough??

  ?

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  Reefton Jack

  While I generally did not suffer ill health while a JW, my wife of the time - and also my two daughters - suffered badly.
  
  My wife had just about everything wrong with her that it is possible to have - plus several more things that medicine is only just learning about now!
  
  The daughters were diagnosed as having CFS (misleadingly referred to as "Tapanui Flu" back then) by the time they were in their early teens.
  
  Everyone, it seemed, had CFS:
  - Pioneers, Elders, Elders Wives, you name them; they had it.
  
  Interestingly, in the 12 years since I broke with them, I have not heard of ANYONE
  who suffers from CFS.
  If there is such a thing as "JW Sickness" - it would have to be Chronic Fatigue Syndrome!
  
  
  Jack.
• 
  21

  What kind of Ex-dub are you?

  by MsMcDucket in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  right now, i can't figure it out.

  i'm still scared to say anything to offend my daughters.

  i don't want them to cut me off completely, so does that make me a weak ex-dub?

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  Reefton Jack

  avidbiblereader - as far as I am concerned, you have hit the proverbial "nail on the head".
  
  i.e The issue is, what sort of a person you are.
  It is not for me to judge how better a person I have become since breaking with the Dubs 12 years ago
  - but I know one thing, it is not for want of trying!
  
  Jack.
• 
  26

  What EMOTIONS are evoked when you hear about or see JARACZ

  by What-A-Coincidence in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those who don't know who theodore jaracz is ...he is the current "president" of the wtbts.

  <<<< see pic!

  and tell dr. wac how you feel about the pic.. you won't find many pics of jaracz smiling by the way.

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  Reefton Jack

  If the God you are referring to is the same god as the WTS would have us believe in;
  then that so-and-so has a lot of fast talking to do, as well!
  
  Jack.