under the radar

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Posts by under the radar

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  14

  Old Watchtower publications in improved format

  by Watchtower-Free in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the website avoidjw.org has been working to improve all the older documents.

  right now, all the zion's watch towers from 1880 - 1908 and the watch towers from 1909 to 1920 have been improved drastically.

  i'm currently working on updating pdfs from 1921 to 1949. this updating will include the following features:1. reduced file sizes.2.

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  under the radar

  Thank you so much for passing this information along. And please give the owner of avoidjw.org my personal thanks for all his hard work. It's invaluable.
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  21

  This Thing That Was My Mother

  by TimeBandit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this thing that was my mother.

  this thing that was my mother, so withered and blackened now,.

  was once so kind and loving, but things have changed somehow.. remember when you'd hold me, and soothe my childhood fears?.

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  under the radar

  TimeBandit, your poem was very moving. I hope your pain is eased a bit by sharing.
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  61

  Did others experience this on the ministry or among JWs generally?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  sometimes it's hard to know if our own experience of jws was typical and what features were peculiar to our own area or the individual jws we knew personally.

  i was wondering if others experienced this among jws:.

  a few times on the ministry, when we were working wealthy areas with large houses, some brothers and sisters would make the comment that they look forward to taking ownership of one of these big houses after armageddon, when the worldly people have vacated them.

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  under the radar

  I haven't been out in service for 25 years, but I do remember the "friends" talking about which property and houses they'd like to take over in the New World™. It must be pretty common. Recent study articles in the Watchtower exhorted JW's to learn unquestioning obedience now so they can be content after Armageddon if their assigned work and accommodations aren't their first preference.

  I don't think even the GODs (Guardians of Doctrine) in New York really believe all that Armageddon and New System™ nonsense, but just in case, they're already starting to lower their followers' expectations.

  On another note, I too have been "accused" many times of living in my Paradise now, implying that I should give it all up in hopes of the other Paradise after Armageddon. Uh...no. If I seem to be in Paradise now, it's only because of my own hard work and diligence, getting the necessary education and training, and then persistently pursuing the career until I got my foot in the door, starting at the very bottom. That, and several lucky breaks. But even the lucky breaks (like being at the right place at the right time) wouldn't have done any good if I hadn't already acquired the qualifications and experience needed. So yes, I'm enjoying the fruits of my labor immensely. And no, I don't feel the least bit guilty about it.

  Besides, I wouldn't even want to live in a world run under any Theocracy. Life in ancient Israel was no picnic. Similar in many ways to ISIS. If "Paradise" were run like the Borg, but with governmental power and authority to physically punish, it would be much the same. No thanks!
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  45

  Printing presses, bye... bye...

  by sp74bb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  bye... bye.... no more new printing presses for jw.org... the growth is so tremendous (irony...).. all printing work in europe will be arrange in the next month only in selters (germany), but no renovation or upgrading in printing presses is expected... it will be a full outsourcing :).

  a worldly company axel s******* will be used.

  this company is known to be printing bild newspaper... the interesting part of it is the logistics will be as well outsourced.

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  under the radar

  Outsourcing all the printing might be a reasonable business decision, but what happens during the Great Tribulation™? Won't Satan's world™ cut off this source of "life-giving spiritual food©"? Oh my, whatever shall we do?

  I feel bad for the Bethelites, especially the older ones, who have devoted their lives to this mind-control cult and are now being involuntarily "released to the field." James 2:16 comes to mind. It seems particularly appropriate because their service at Bethel is the very reason most don't have any transferrable skills or work experience. The Society essentially made them destitute and unemployable, and puts them on the street with little notice and no concern for their welfare. No compensation or consideration for decades of faithful service. How heartless!

  New Living Translation
  and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well"--but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

  The only positive thing I can see about all this is that maybe fewer young people will be hoodwinked and deluded into sacrificing their education, careers, and future to serve this legalistic money-grubbing sorry excuse for a religion.
  
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  26

  Who are the "Inactive"?

  by thereishope in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this was my starting point in this journey of rediscovery, and i've made great strides, but here i am again asking the same question.

  all this talk re the rc and the shunning of the inactive ones.

  there is no announcement made obviously about "shun sister so-and-so, as she is inactive.

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  under the radar

  Heaven, I'm very sorry to hear about your dad. That's a horrible disease.
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  19

  Disfellowshipped ex-wife Dies - Now What?

  by snugglebunny in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it was a shock despite us being divorced for over 40 years.

  my son from that marriage phoned me with the news of sandra's death a couple of days ago, followed by my daughter.. sandra was one of 5 siblings.

  the other 4 are still jw's.

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  under the radar

  I'm with sparky1. You and Mrs. Snuggles are both class acts! And your daughter showed that her heart was in the right place too. You people, regardless of your actual religious beliefs, have shown far more "Christ-like" love and humanity than the typical self-righteous and judgmental JW ever would. Their actions are based on what others might think or how their actions might be viewed. Yours are based on consideration and respect for others, looking for the good in them and overlooking old hurts.

  My hat's off to you all. Class acts, indeed.
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  135

  I've been found out!

  by pale.emperor in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  well, thats it folks.. my identity on here has been rumbled and reported to the elders.

  someone, somehow, has figured out that im a member of this site and - rather than speak to me - has promptly reported me to the elders.

  i just feel sad for my daughter.

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  under the radar

  I suspect your wife's parents are already encouraging her to leave you on grounds of "spiritual endangerment." That's a Watchtower contrived excuse to "allow" a couple to separate when neither has committed adultery but one has seen behind the curtain and no longer wants bow to the self-appointed GODs (Guardians of Doctrine) in New York. If your wife does leave, it exposes your child to enhanced indoctrination in Watchtower cult-think without your being there to intervene. That kind of pressure can have a devastating effect on her freedom of thought and reason and her development as an independent-thinking adult capable of making her own decisions based on facts and not superstition.

  Separation like this often leads to divorce. The "faithful" mate (usually the wife) simply waits out the "apostate" mate. Eventually, nature will win out and now the JW can get a "scriptural" divorce and be free to remarry. This often leaves the other (usually the husband) on the hook for alimony and child support even though he has little or no opportunity to counteract the insidious effect of Watchtower propaganda during his child's most crucial formative years.
  

  I know it's none of my business, but this is what I would recommend, based on my own experience:

  Before this happens, demand that your wife return to you in accord with 1 Cor. 7:13.
  

  New Living Translation

  "And if a Christian woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living

  with her, she must not leave him."

  Don't attack her religion, or give her any reason to feel her faith is "endangered." The Society says that even a disfellowshipped mate is to be rendered the "marital due," so how much more so a mate that is simply inactive or disinterested. So show her even more affection and let her know your feelings about her religion have no effect on your love and appreciation for her as your wife.

  You would be entirely within your rights as "head of the household" to limit your child's exposure to the Truth™, ranging from outright forbidding any discussion of it in her presence to simply not requiring her to go to meetings or in field service if she doesn't want to. You could also forbid her to be baptized before she is a legal adult.

  For what it's worth, this exact situation came up when my son was young. I took the moderate approach of requiring him to accompany his mother to meetings out of regard for her feelings, but not out in field service unless he wanted to go. No one was allowed to "study" with him except his mother. I also absolutely forbade his getting baptized before he was 18. He never attended another meeting after he turned 18, except for a couple of Memorials as a special favor to his mom. Now he's an educated, successful adult who can think for himself. I know that's what you want for your child, and here's proof it can be done.

  However you decide to approach this, and whatever happens, please know that you are not alone and we are all rooting for you. Good luck!
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  39

  "how awful it must be to be dying as an apostate!"

  by purrpurr in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i heard today about a former jw/now apostate who is dying in hospital.

  this information was accompanied by the comment of "wouldn't be awful to be lying there in hospital,dying as an apostate!

  knowing that you have no hope!?

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  under the radar

  I don't believe in any god, at least as described in the Bible or any other "holy book." IF, and that's a big if, there is life or consciousness after death, I can't believe it is anything like what any religion teaches. We'll all find out eventually. Meanwhile, if I were nearing the point of death, I'm sure I'd be much more comforted by the fact that I had lived my life the best way I knew how, without any pretensions or judging of others who'd made different life decisions, than I would be by the desperate hope that I'd been "good" enough to avoid being tortured for all eternity by some vengeful and petty god.
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  123

  Message from Designer Stubble to the former JWR members

  by Designer Stubble in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  message from designer stubble to the former jwr members.

  first of all i am glad to see that many of you have found your way to this great forum, facilitated by simon.

  i am sure that after the dust of the jwr shutdown has settled, you will find this to be a good new home.. i would like to apologize for the sudden closure of jwr.

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  under the radar

  Would the owner of JWR be interested in giving or selling the site to Simon or someone like him? If Simon got it, he could handle the transfer in whatever way seemed best. If he had to pay for it, I would bet lots of people here would contribute towards that unexpected expense. But if JWR's owner simply wanted to walk away, it would be a very generous gesture indeed to simply pass to baton to Simon and give his community some sense of continuity.

  I really can't see why this wouldn't make sense. The owner could still walk away completely unfettered. I wonder if something else is at play here. Hmmm...
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  8

  Who was more selfless? Jesus or Brenda Lee Marquez McCool?

  by Wasanelder Once in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jesus was a perfect sinless human (they say) who came to die for mankind.

  he gave up his perfect life for all.

  selfless?

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• 

  under the radar

  I'm with everyone else here. Brenda Lee showed true courage and unconditional love for her son. She literally took a bullet for him.

  The unbreakable bond of a mother's love is practically universal across all cultures and nationalities, unless it's co-opted and corrupted by slavish adherence to the arbitrary decrees of some mind-control cult. Any particular one come to mind? In the JW world, mothers (and fathers) are all too willing to sacrifice their children's lives on the altar of their own religious beliefs.

  I don't believe in the myths and fairy tales of any religion. But I do believe in the power of love, especially a mother's love for her child.

  A toast and a salute to Brenda Lee!