silentWatcher

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Posts by silentWatcher

• 
  92

  What keeps you from killing yourself?

  by AlmostAtheist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  every once in a while, the whole "futility of life" thing washes over me and something inside of me mentions the suicide option.

  not that it's ever seriously considered, but one of the low-level accounting-types in my head quietly sends around a "worst-case scenario" memo that everyone reads, then dismisses.. after all, things always perk up.

  "but," reminds the pessimistic little guy that should've been fired years ago, "they always go back down, too.

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  silentWatcher

  "Hey you bastards! I'm still here."
  
  
  ----------------------------------------------
  
  well said.
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  39

  Perfect, Nearly Perfect, and Mostly Perfect....Religion

  by jgnat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  kero-kero's goodbye post brought me to mind a common complaint amongst jw apologists, that all we do is bring up the bad stuff and old history.

  after all, "nobody's perfect".

  well, that would be fine and dandy if the wtbts hadn't set themselves up as the sole mouthpiece for jehovah in these 'last days'.

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  silentWatcher

  Anyone who claims to have the whole truth needs to keep his mirror gleaming, and check often.
  ---------------------
  
  yeah, but the rub is that they try to have both sides of the issue. The WT does NOT claim to be an inspired prophet, nor do they claim infallibility.
  There are WT articles where they explicitly state "We are not prophets". But, if you claim neither, then logically you must tolerate decsent. You acknowlege you MAY be wrong, and do not have all the answers.
  
  whatever,
  
  silent
• 
  279

  Golden Age Goodies

  by Leolaia in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  recently i had the pleasure to examine a stash of 1920s and 1930s golden age magazines, among the rarest of watchtower publications.

  i thought it would be a fun idea to have a thread in which i share with you some of the amazing, ridiculous, hilarious things contained therein.

  hence, this is the first post of a series of excerpts, scans, etc.

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  silentWatcher

  any rantings about rutherford's rantings on prohibition.
  
  
  -silent
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  4

  ATTENTION SIMON and other webmasters similarly situated

  by Oroborus21 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  howdy guys: .

  this post should be of special interest to webmasters and website owners that use "jehovah's witnesses" or any similar term as part of their identity.

  background: .

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  silentWatcher

  Curious,
  
  The WT goes after the ISP, usually sending a nasty-gram to them with 2 options: 1) pull the offending website or 2) go to court.
  
  ISP doesn't really care to spend several million to see whether the WT claims hold up in court or not, so they pull the website.
  
  My point is that while you are right de jure (not surprising), de facto the WT can do what they damn well please.
  
  -silent
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  33

  Apart from JW's, do others still feel 1914 was a turning point in history?

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the watchtower claims that hisorians say 1914 was when the world changed forever.

  as a jw the year 1914 is repeated so endlessly that it seems it must have been the turning point in history and hence the beginning of the last days.

  but i have never really heard anyone else ever mention that year, apart from the odd history lesson on ww1.. do people in general ever think of or discuss 1914 as being a year of any significance?.

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  silentWatcher

  Do people in general ever think of or discuss 1914 as being a year of any significance?
  
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------
  WWI was a major turning point; it's aftermath put into place the seeds for WWII, which defined the world for the next 50 years.
  
  Outside of WWI, the looney tune gold-nuts will tell you the US Federal Reserve started in 1914, and the loonier ones identify that with the beast of revelation (wish I was joking...)
  
  -silent
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  11

  Report: America May Have Been Abused as a Child

  by SixofNine in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  report: u.s. may have been abused during formative years

  june 21, 2006 | issue 4225 .

  washington, dca team of leading historians and psychiatrists issued a report wednesday claiming that the united states was likely the victim of abuse by its founding fathers and motherland when it was a young colony.enlarge image.

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  silentWatcher

  Democratic Symptoms Of Maltreatment handbook, or DSM-IV.
  
  ---------------------------------------------------------------
  
  you have to take a few courses in Abnormal Psychology to fully appreciate that joke!
  
  -silent (of the "we get the onion in print here in madison"
• 
  53

  Sorry, need to moan and belly ache

  by Elsewhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i normally try not to moan and belly ache here, but today i'm really down.

  the other day i was kidding and joking about being "socially-challenged", it can be fun to do this... but sometimes it catches up to me.

  i spend the vast majority of my evenings and weekends alone... movies, restaurants, community events, parties, you name it.

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  silentWatcher

  Else,
  
  I sympathize, and have the same problems. Plus, I'm not even that cute. :-(
  
  Do you think you have a slight case of Asperger's syndrome? I've been diagnosed with a mild case myself. I think that plus the social hobbling of being raised a JW plus being overweight most of my life has done me in.
  
  I've given up going out, even alone. Fortunately, I'm at a point in my life where I can work 80 - 90 hours a week in grad school, and have sometihng to show for it. hey, on pace to do my doctorate in computer science in 4 years (mean here in the department is 6.5 years)
  
  my advisor loves me, but it gets old pretty fast. The only thing that worries me is that I'm one of those people that if I died suddenly in my apartment, they wouldn't find the body for several weeks. Actually, since I keep enough in the checking account and have the rent automatically withdrawn, it could even be several months...
  
  sigh. oh well, back to work...
  
  -doug
• 
  56

  A Chance to Wreck The Society.....

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if it's true that the society is starting a special campaign against "false religion", we may have them at our mercy!!!!!!!!!.

  think about it: if they are stupid enough to print some cheap tract that shows churches and 'stars of david' as 'false religion', we may.

  be able to cause enormous trouble by sending these to all public agencies dealing with intolerance and prejudice.. more than that, by posing as witnesses, these tracts may be sent to various people and groups with accompanying letters.

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  silentWatcher

  great idea metatron, but I think jourles is right. I would be shocked if publications don't get a once-over by the legal department before hitting the presses. any ex-bethelites with insider info would be welcome. My 2nd hand source indicated that someone in legal signs off on most material these days, but maybe W-A-C or Barbara Anderson or someone with 1st hand knowledge can confirm.
  
  
  They seem to rely more on the local JW "interpreting" the publications. Oh, see that guy dressed up like a priest? That MUST be Christendom. See the guy with the robes and the beard? That must be a rabbi or a iman. The article never explicitly SAYS who is in the picture nor does the picture contain any identifying symbols (they looks like stock photos or drawings), but the local JW fills-in-the blank.
  
  
  But the good local dubbies "can read between the lines". The last few years I was in (late 90's) I heard this more and more often from COs on the platform.
  
  "the opposers twist what we print, but let the reader use discernment. we know what mother is REALLY means..." Believe me, for the controversial WT articles, the comments during the WT study are much more "hard-core" than what they dare print. But, unless you are there, you never hear it. They AREN'T pulling that many punches.
  
  
  You are right, we ARE having an effect at that level.
• 
  16

  Anyone in Upstate NY?

  by What-A-Coincidence in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  due to a new business venture ... the family is relocating.

  hopefully this will help our fade.

  gonna be nice to leave this congregation.

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  silentWatcher

  From central NY -- NY Circuits 21, 7, and 40. Family friends with many heavies in NY Circuit 21.
  pm me if interested.
  
  -silent
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  18

  another state to allow death penalty for child molesters

  by candidlynuts in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  oklahoma gov.

  approves death penalty for repeat child molesters.

  friday , june 09, 2006. .

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  silentWatcher

  If a pedophile were sentenced to life without parole the first time, there'd be no need for an exection on the second offense. Even better, the second child would not have to endure the horror of rape.
  
  --------------------
  
  and it's actually cheaper too. death penalty cases cost ~$3-4 million (after appeals). That is the cost of approximately 150 years of incarceration.
  
  plus, prison isn't exactly fun for child molesters either.
  
  -silent