Posts by Cardinal Fang

8

Die for what i thinks right.

by KW13 in

jw
friends

i started a thread not long ago about how - if my mum had to choose between me (my life) or the society what would she choose.

i got the expected response.. today i took it a step further, i said.

personally even though i claim to be a christian i would not make you die for my beliefs.

Cardinal Fang

This is an issue in relation to the JWs which is particularly close to my heart. I'll explain why....

My mum (whom I love dearly), while still a relatively young dub, developed complications when she was pregnant with yours truly that brought the blood issue into play, and she refused transfusions despite the doctors' warnings that both our lives could be in danger.

Needless to say, we both survived (a fact I ascribe to a greater power in spite, not because of my mother's JW beliefs) and, growing up, I was actually proud of my mother's 'faithful' stance (the power of cult indoctrination is truly mind-boggling ).

Looking at the affair now from my post-exit perspective, of course, I am truly astounded (and disturbed) at the extent to which religious/cult brainwashing can override the most basic of positive human instincts (regarding both my mother's decision and my attitudes to it while a part of dubdom).

To get to the point you originally raised, KW, my attitude on the issue tends towards that of "if you want to die for the sake of your religious/political/other beliefs, be my guest, but don't presume to drag those without power or a voice into your martyrdom" (although others can still be deeply affected - the thought of any of my JW loved ones ending up in a 'blood issue' situation now is one I prefer not to dwell on).

All this from a religion that cites scripture stating that God sees the unborn child and that condemns abortion as murder (interestingly, the same religion that holds that there is no resurrection for stillborn babies - the unborn child is evidently enough of a human person to make abortion murder, but not enough to warrant resurrection - doublethink, anyone? )

Such policies and doctrines are emphatically NOT the product of a religion that represents a loving God - certainly not of a God who deserves anyone's worship.

Sorry if I rambled and missed the point slightly, but I just felt the need to share.

44

Name a rock band that describes the JW's...

by TresHappy in

jw
friends

.

real or not.... i say "twisted scripture"

Cardinal Fang

JAH WOBBLE

(OK, an individual artiste rather than a group - but he was a member of John Lydon's post-Pistols project Public Image Limited (PiL) - a band name that well describes the WTS, or at least its priorities - whose eponymous track Public Image always puts me strongly in mind of the WTS, and I quote:)
"What you wanted was never made clear Behind the image lay ignorance and fear You hide behind this public machine You still follow the same old scheme..."

Cardinal Fang, of the " 'Anarchist' doesn't really rhyme with 'Antichrist', does it, John? " Class

24

Which Event Made You Think That Armageddon Was Around The Corner?

by Arthur in

i realize that this topic has been discussed at length, but since i'm new to this site, i wanted to pose the question again.

i ask this question because of the wide range in ages of all of you on this site.

but what about those who had already left the organization before 2001?

Cardinal Fang

For me, it'd have to be the fall of the Berlin Wall - thought that was 'peace and security', and me unbaptised at the time (and still unbaptised, thank God ) ... something that I was able to use to deal with the sudden panic I experienced re 9/11, all of twelve years later - the 'Armageddon reflex' is very deeply ingrained, something almost primal...

Oh and btw, cheers to Darth Frosty for bringing up the 'UN Year of Peace' in 1986 - I'd forgotten all about that (says it all), but I seem to remember there being quite a hoo-ha in WT land leading up to it - the possibility of a 'last convention'... I gather they've had a quite a few of those since, lol

28

STOP THROWING YOUR PEARLS AT JW

by What-A-Coincidence in

live allah

Cardinal Fang

From what I've learned recently (from Islamic sources, no less), apparently old 'Hammy-Boy' took a nine-year-old girl as a wife in his old age... and I don't think it gets much more virginal than that.

Bearing in mind, of course, that "God's Chosen People" weren't exactly above that kind of thing themselves... especially after they'd just pillaged and slaughtered the families of the girls in question... *double *

"Anyone loving violence my soul certainly hates"??? Things that make you go...

HMMMMMM.....

9

Your Age in Chocolate!!! (fun)

by upside/down in

jw
friends

don't tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway-but the hershey man will know!

this is pretty neat.

don't cheat by scrolling down first!

Cardinal Fang

Bang on the button!

FREAKY DEAKY!!

(Probably some boring rational mathematical explanation for this, but freaky anyway )

Cardinal Fang, of the 'prefers plain to milk' class

15

Are you addicted?

by greendawn in

are you addicted to cigarettes or alcohol or perhaps some other habit that you would like to kick?

did you manage to fight successfully a habit in the past or planning a battle for the future?

i never had any addictions in the past except on sweet things which creates an excess weight problem, as many times as i tried to get rid of it up to now i failed.

Cardinal Fang

Hi, I'm Cardinal Fang and I'm an alcoholic...

Seriously, just passed 6 years in recovery... a couple of hospital detox admissions, at least one night in the cells, and incalculable mental/emotional torture (to both myself and my nearest and dearest) under my belt... was pretty much in the gutter by the end...

Although it's been by no means an easy road, overall, my life has changed beyond measure...now at university working to recover as much of a career and a life as I can from what the WT and alcohol conspired to take from me... perhaps equally as importantly, going into recovery forced me to seriously examine myself and my life, and to be brutally honest about it, which in turn forced me to make the painful yet necessary decision to divorce myself from the WT, for which I now thank God as I understand Him (yes, I know, AA-speak, but for this ex-dub, the freedom to have one's own conception of a Higher Power was/is heady stuff )

As for your situation, Greendawn, I can't share beyond my own experience (no personal knowledge of weight problems/compulsive eating), though if you feel it might pose a serious problem, I know there is an Overeaters Anonymous programme in existence, but you'd have to find out if there were any groups handy.

Speaking for myself, I know (as is common with many recovering alkies), I developed (and still have) a bit of a sweet tooth, and my physique is far from being a Greek god's (unless Dionysius counts ), but when it comes down to it, being overweight, to the best of my knowledge, rarely leads to people losing their jobs, homes, families, or sanity... it's all relative.

Wishing you all the best in achieving your goals,

'C.F.'

20

YOU HAVE BEEN PUT ON NOTICE!!!!

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

.

Cardinal Fang

FYI looking_glass:

'Wee' (meaning 'small') has been used throughout Scotland for centuries, and by the look of the terraced apartments in the background, I'd say it's a fair bet that the pic was taken somewhere in either Glasgow or Edinburgh.

(I'm Scottish, can you tell? lol)

Cardinal Fang, of the "Here's tae us, wha's like us, damn few an' they're a' deid!" class

23

Embarrassing...........

by beachbugg in

ok, i was giving one of those rehearsed skits during the ministry school meeting one time and i got the giggles..........seriously bad situation.

the lady sitting across from me forgot "her line" and it struck me funny.

the more i tried to get past it, the funnier it became.

Cardinal Fang

Not a story of personal embarrassment, but one that, similar to Moggy Lover's, plays on the 'common language divide' and the US-centric Gibbering Body's woeful lack of knowledge of colloquial usage among their anglophone brethren around the globe...

The context: a drama, mid-to-late-80s that some of you may remember, which featured the trials of a faithful young brother forced to fight off the attentions (pffffft) of a worldly young Jezebel at school.

He relates his traumatic experiences to his righteous old mum, climaxing (arf) with... "...then she dragged me into an empty classroom and tried to get me to commit fornication with her!!" - to which his mother responded with an anguished cry of -

"Oh, Randy!!!"

... for such was the boy's name.

The GB were obviously blissfully unaware that 'randy', in UK and (I think) Antipodean English translates to the US 'horny'.

The ripple of snorting and choking that swept the crowd at the convention I attended will stay with me forever - I only wish I had been at one of the larger internationals (London) where there may have been American dubs present, just to witness their expressions of utter mystification at the barely-suppressed pandemonium erupting around them....

16

WT FEB. 15 Barf quote on "Increasing Light"

by stillAwitness in

"accepting a change when it comes and adapting to it can be difficult," admits one longtime elder.

what has helped him accept the many refinements he has witnessed in the 48 years that he has been a kingdom proclaimer?

he ansewrs: "having the right attitude is the key.

Cardinal Fang

From "whom" to "where" - a complete 180-degree twist of scripture to bend to WT dogma - in quite literally the same breath.

The totality of both the brainwashing and the mental blindness is at once breathtaking and frightening.

Lest we forget, we were all in that same mental black hole ourselves once, and I personally thank whatever Power there may be that I am free - as far as I am concerned, it is nothing short of a miracle.

"A blindness that touches perfection, but hurts just like anything else."

- from the song 'Isolation' by Joy Division

18

What is Love?

by Soapydish in

i've become confused w/love in these past two years.

my wife says she's polyamorous.

that opened my eyes to a whole way of seeing things.

Cardinal Fang

I have one dear XJW friend (now happily in an exclusive LTR) who, several years ago, became embroiled (and burnt) in a relationship with a man who described himself as 'polyamorous'...

Where I'm from (Scotland), we have a fine, earthy old word which more accurately (and realistically) describes men like him...huremaister (lit. "whoremaster" = rough trans. "womaniser") (NB in no way meant misogynistically... it is a very old word and hence of its time)

I'm sorry, but IMHO, 'polyamory' is just a psychobabble BS excuse for people behaving like dogs. I'm not saying that it's realistic (or even possible) for people not to feel sexually attracted to others beside their partner (before any of the board's well-known libertines dive in )... but I would argue that it is not possible to put in the same degree of emotional investment that a 'serious' emotionally and sexually intimate relationship (if that's what we're discussing, rather than random sh***ing or 'friends with benefits') would seem to demand with more than one person at a time.

My 0.02 (which, as a long-term single, may not count for 5h!t to some people... but I still have my standards - and no, that's not why I'm single - far too long and depressing a story...)

(BTW, slightly overdone with the brackets, d'ya think? )