I was firstly stopped from taking up the offer from a large company to sponsor me through university to do the degree course in electrical engineering.
A year or two later, the elders succeeded in getting me to abandon my apprenticeship as a telecommunications technician.
(That is how fanatical many in our part of the world were about the coming "End" in 1975).
I admire those who have picked up the pieces afterwards, and and gone ahead to complete a degree course at university.
The best time to study for such things, though, is when you are straight out of high school:
- as I am finding out right now, as I battle my way through the course to obtain an electrical contractors licence!
Jack.
Reefton Jack
JoinedPosts by Reefton Jack
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35
What Careers, Opportunities Did you Have to Sacrifice - to be a Witness ?
by flipper ini know this may be an annoying subject .
but if you did have to give up doing what you wanted in a career or opportunity - what was it ?
how controlling was the organization over you, and were you counseled by elders or higher ups to not pursue certain jobs, opportunities, college , etc - so that you stayed in the witnesses for awhile ; not doing what you wanted?
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Reefton Jack
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31
Age wise, what are/were the best years of your life?
by oompa ini'm thinking mid 20's to mid 30's..........although i had a hell of a 15.......................oompa
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Reefton Jack
Early to mid teens - just before the Watchtower Madness took hold.
Jack. -
42
How do you fell when you look back at your time as a JW ??
by karter into me not all bad taught me some good life skills howerever 38 years i could have done alot with that time...............karter
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Reefton Jack
I feel a lot of things,but very few of them any good.
I still cannot fully explain how I fell for the whole thing in the beginning, and then remained suckered-in for so long afterwards. (Embarrassment features strongly here!)
The only benefit that I came away with (flawed as it may be) is learning how to speak in public.
But ..... even that was a bloody expensive course in public speaking!
Jack. -
48
Would YOU Remain A JW If You Thought The Watchtower Could Be Reformed?
by minimus inpersonally, i don't think the organization is reformable.
while i was an elder, i tried to be a more moderate voice and as i grew older any harsher attitudes disappaited from within me.
as they say, all the good (and smart) elders have left.
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Reefton Jack
"Religioned Out" would best describe me.
So, no - I would have no inclination to stay with / return to a reformed Watchtower.
(Even if there could ever be such a thing).
Jack. -
43
State A Simple Opinion About Jehovah's Witnesses
by minimus ini think jehovah's witnesses are extremely judgmental.
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Reefton Jack
They fit into one of two categories - either:
(i) Sincere but misguided.
OR ELSE
(ii) Trapped. -
36
was Rutherford a drunk person ?
by jose45xyz inis there anything to prove that rutherford had the custom to be drunk ?.
thank you in advance.
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Reefton Jack
Certainly, the garbage that he spouted strongly suggests that he was under the influence of something.
Jack. -
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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
After seeing that, I obviously haven't missed out on anything in the 14 years since I broke with them.
Jack. -
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. -
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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.