Fatfreek

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Posts by Fatfreek

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  23

  Sent my letter in yesterday

  by HockeyMullet in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  five pages of therapy and they probably won't get past the first sentence that says i'm disassociating myself from the corporation (oh well).

  i just wanted to say that i've been lurking here for awhile and that this is really a helpful forum.

  lots of good info and advice!

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  Fatfreek

  Yes, we're proud of you, HockeyMullet. Welcome to your own coming out party.
  
  And to ICBehindTheCurtain -- you said: "... I think that eventually our day will come too, but first we want to enlighten as many as we can!!!"
  
  How profound! I'd never quite thought of it in that light. Those who wish to fade and stay in and enlighten have a truly great role as well. The WT powers can warn against the overt opposers, we apostates. However, those who are working from the inside have to be, for them, much more difficult to deal with.
  
  I've expressed it here before that I wish I'd done the fading thing instead. That was 28 years ago and there's no going back. Not only would it have eased my transition out but, who knows, perhaps I could have "enlightened" some loved ones with gentle and prolonged prods and suggestions and thoughts and questions.
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  17

  JWs, 7th day Adventist, etc. -- who was first to prohibit tobacco?

  by Fatfreek in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  as an old timer former jw, i remember well the tobacco prohibition.

  when i came in during the mid 50's it was looked down upon.

  i'd already started smoking in my early teens and didn't actually quit till i was 20. my motive?

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  Fatfreek

  You made your points, well, AckAck. "This is the slippery slope of legislating what is a sin and what isn't. What is a disfellowshipping offense and what isn't."
  
  Yes, our country's obsession with food seems at an all-time high. What used to be an occasional social function where people got together to visit, has turned into very regular events. I say the churches (yes, including JW's) are prime contributors to the obesity of our nation and its members -- and ones they wish to attract into membership with all kinds of dishes rich in artery-clogging anti-nutrients.
  
  Yet I don't suggest the JW's lower themselves to DF those who become obese, though it could be argued there is some Biblical connection re obesity (gluttony) any more than I agree with their harsh stand on tobacco using members. Both sets of folks need compassionate help -- not condemnation.
  
  Fats
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  17

  JWs, 7th day Adventist, etc. -- who was first to prohibit tobacco?

  by Fatfreek in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  as an old timer former jw, i remember well the tobacco prohibition.

  when i came in during the mid 50's it was looked down upon.

  i'd already started smoking in my early teens and didn't actually quit till i was 20. my motive?

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  Fatfreek

  "Sorry , I was of the view that DNA is allowed as a second witness. Please correct me if I'm wrong."
  
  While not conclusive, this was a question posed 6 months ago on this forum. Nobody could provide a WT quotation that showed that they now allow DNA and rape kit evidence. I challenge you to get to the bottom of this if you are so inclined. Ask one of your elders. Write the Society. Check your WT cdrom's. I, and many on this forum, do not believe they have ever allowed it. We could be wrong. The ball is in your court.
  
  Fats
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  17

  JWs, 7th day Adventist, etc. -- who was first to prohibit tobacco?

  by Fatfreek in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  as an old timer former jw, i remember well the tobacco prohibition.

  when i came in during the mid 50's it was looked down upon.

  i'd already started smoking in my early teens and didn't actually quit till i was 20. my motive?

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  Fatfreek

  "This is the side of the issue that you will never hear discussed on anti-JW & apostate websites."
  
  Well, now, I guess we're hearing it right now. And, guess what -- nothing exploded, nobody got injured or killed. One thing we have here is freedom of expression -- something some organized religions will not tolerate. And you know exactly who I'm referring to.
  
  I made an earlier comment, "Like not allowing DNA as being a second witness?", that you made no reference to. Is there something about DNA you don't trust as evidence in sexual cases? Or other rape kit evidence?
  
  Fats
• 
  17

  JWs, 7th day Adventist, etc. -- who was first to prohibit tobacco?

  by Fatfreek in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  as an old timer former jw, i remember well the tobacco prohibition.

  when i came in during the mid 50's it was looked down upon.

  i'd already started smoking in my early teens and didn't actually quit till i was 20. my motive?

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  Fatfreek

  Welcome to the board, BillyBoy. It is good to have fresh thinking.
  
  "... smoking is certainly not Christian. It is the most disgusting habit & breaks at least 2 fundamental scriptural principles - love of neighbour and sanctity of life. ..."
  
  If your list of most disgusting starts there, ummmm, where do you list the sexual predator situation, you know -- elders hiding behind the two witness rule -- the whole reason behind the Silent Lamb movement? Like not allowing DNA as being a second witness?
  
  Fats
• 
  17

  JWs, 7th day Adventist, etc. -- who was first to prohibit tobacco?

  by Fatfreek in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  as an old timer former jw, i remember well the tobacco prohibition.

  when i came in during the mid 50's it was looked down upon.

  i'd already started smoking in my early teens and didn't actually quit till i was 20. my motive?

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  Fatfreek

  This, from TIME Mar. 3, 1923, archives, is interesting. It shows (by inference) that the Witnesses adopted what some U.S. state governments (not Ohio) had tried many years earlier:
  
  ...
  KANSAS: A bill is before the Legislature to make the possession of cigarettes or material for making cigarettes an offence punishable by imprisonment. Kansas already has a law against selling, or giving away cigarettes, but none against smoking them.
  
  OHIO: An anti-cigarette bill was killed by the Legislature.
  
  UTAH: Ernest Bamberger, Republican Senatorial candidate in 1922, and three of his friends were arrested for smoking in a Salt Lake City cafe. Other arrests were also made. Utah has a law prohibiting smoking in public and the sale of cigarettes. The Freeman's League is agitating for the repeal of the law. The Mormon Church is in favor of the anti-tobacco legislation.
  ...
  
  Fats
• 
  17

  JWs, 7th day Adventist, etc. -- who was first to prohibit tobacco?

  by Fatfreek in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  as an old timer former jw, i remember well the tobacco prohibition.

  when i came in during the mid 50's it was looked down upon.

  i'd already started smoking in my early teens and didn't actually quit till i was 20. my motive?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Fatfreek

  As an old timer former JW, I remember well the tobacco prohibition.
  
  When I came in during the mid 50's it was looked down upon. I'd already started smoking in my early teens and didn't actually quit till I was 20. My motive? Interestingly, it wasn't the JW's negative spin, or the medical community's cautionary messages. My first-born came along and I made up my mind that I didn't want him to see me with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth.
  
  Before that, I was a young MS at the time but was still a closet smoker. Another brother happened by my workplace and I knew he spotted me in the act while I was loading a truck. That evening I resigned my position with the utmost guilt. The CO (called congregation servant then) encouraged me to stay on with my promise that I would quit. I didn't want the pressure. I wanted to do it on my own terms -- which I did several months down the road, during a long weekend that followed my son's birth.
  
  Then came the early 70's (I think) when the disfellowshipping penalty for tobacco made its debut. Yes, I was free by that time but I recall the feelings of anger at the WT and empathy for the chain-smoking ones, especially the elderly. Anger at the WT for imposing such a severe penalty. Yeah, kick out the very ones who need emotional help. Yeah, we know God won't allow tobacco on the new earth so let's get a head start -- help HIM out with our own pre-screening process. Yeah, we can legislate human behavior.
  
  My question now, as I reflect on the Tobacco prohibition is, who was first? What religious group took the lead as trying to guide its flock away from tobacco use? I understand Seventh Day Adventists are included. Who else? Any estimated dates on when such warnings took place?
  
  Fats
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  16

  She has cancer. What about her job?

  by Fatfreek in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my son's wife was diagnosed today with lung cancer.

  it wasn't a big surprise to anyone, including her.

  until now, this 44 year old was a lifetime smoker.

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  Fatfreek

  Better news. (with lung cancer, I understand there may be no such thing as good news) Her employer is giving her 3 months leave of absence -- with pay. So they are trying to be fair. Her cancer is Large Cell type, the "better" of the two. It has spread to the lymph nodes. So it's going to be chemo, etc. Thanks so much for your support. My son frequents this board and will be reading your posts. Fats
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  16

  She has cancer. What about her job?

  by Fatfreek in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my son's wife was diagnosed today with lung cancer.

  it wasn't a big surprise to anyone, including her.

  until now, this 44 year old was a lifetime smoker.

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  Fatfreek

  Thanks, all, for your comments. I've passed them along. He now says he will stay mum unless pinned down by, say, her manager.
  
  Fats
• 
  16

  She has cancer. What about her job?

  by Fatfreek in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my son's wife was diagnosed today with lung cancer.

  it wasn't a big surprise to anyone, including her.

  until now, this 44 year old was a lifetime smoker.

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  3. 
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  Fatfreek

  My son's wife was diagnosed today with lung cancer. It wasn't a big surprise to anyone, including her. Until now, this 44 year old was a lifetime smoker. Of course, we wish her the best and that treatments will put it into remission. They haven't yet said what type (I understand there are generally two types) it is.
  
  He told me this afternoon that he was going by her workplace and tell them the news. I suggested that he wait and not volunteer anything. Am I being overly suspicious? He'd told me several months ago that one of her co-workers got terminated because they learned she was pregnant.
  
  Fats