dedpoet

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Posts by dedpoet

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  15

  As "Believers" in the bible do you feel "foolish" at the things you swallow

  by booker-t in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was listening to a radio program the other day and i must admit after the dj finished i felt so foolish to be a believer in the bible.

  he was asking listeners if someone were to come up to them now and say that their donkey talked to them or their snake said a sentence to them or that their neighbor turned into a pile of salt would they want that person committed as "crazy" or want to know what "drugs" they were on.

  but as believers in the bible we swallow anything it says without proof and rely solely on faith.

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  dedpoet

  It is kind of embarassing to admit that I swallowed most of it as a jw,
  though I always had private doubts about some things, like the story
  of Noahs Ark.

  I don't believe any of it now though.
• 
  31

  Do you get "tired" of "Apostates/ex-jws" bashing the WT to you?

  by booker-t in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know it is good to let out pent up anger for healing purposes, but do you ever get tired of some "apostates or ex-jws" constantly bashing the wt?

  for instance when you or having lunch and all they do is say "the evil wt this the evil wt that" during the whole time you are at lunch?

  sometimes i just don't feel like hearing it especially when i am at an event for fun.

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  dedpoet

  I do my share of watchtower bashing myself, but I do talk about other
  things. It sounds like your friend is more than a little obsessed with the
  evil org.
• 
  10

  A history of failed watchtower prophecy in verse

  by dedpoet in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's a little poem that linda and i put together last night about the prophetic .

  failures of the watchtower.

  linda had the idea, and i did most of the writing, so i. thought i'd post it for your amusement.

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  dedpoet

  Here's a little poem that Linda and I put together last night about the prophetic
  failures of the watchtower. Linda had the idea, and I did most of the writing, so I
  thought I'd post it for your amusement

  1914 was when Charlie thought
  That the battle of armageddon would be fought
  So with great expectation he approached that year
  But in 1915 the world was still here
  
  Charlie died, and the judge came along
  And he was singing the same old song
  This time it would be 1925, he said
  When all the ungodly would be dead
  
  But as before, 1926 arrived
  And all the ungodly seemed to have survived
  Within a few years boozer Joe was no more
  And the new man at the top was Nathan KnorrOne of his ideas for the organisation
  Was the writing of the new world translation
  He spoke of man's 6000 years on earth
  And pushed 1975 for all it was worth
  
  When 1976 came, and still no paradise
  The watchtower didn't apologise
  They said 1914 was now the important date
  And those that remembered it now knew their fate

  For their generation would by no means die out
  Before the promised paradise came about
  But all that changed in 1995
  When many of the generation were no longer alive

  The teaching on the anointed was clear
  Their gathering had been completed for over 70 years
  Until new light flashed in 2007
  And once more opened the door to heaven

  Since the 1870's for year after year
  The watchtower has said that the end is so near
  But not one of their prophecies came true
  They should say they're sorry, but they never do
  For when anything goes wrong, they always say the same
  It's never their fault, it's the brothers to blame

  Trev and Linda
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  6

  JW's versus RCC on child abuse

  by TooBad TooSad in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  it really is good news that the news of the recent settlement on the child abuse cases is coming out.

  bad news is that probably 99% of the witnesses will not believe it or put a different spin on it.

  the witnesses are.

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  dedpoet

  I personally believe that the Catholic Church was forced by bad publicity
  to deal with its child abuse problem. I suspect the Pope and his Cardinals
  would have preferred to keep it under wraps if they could have, but Catholicism
  is a major world religion, and the national church in many countries. Any reports
  of wrongdoing would be headline news in many parts of the world.

  The watchtower is, on the other hand, totally insignificant compared to the RCC,
  and its that anonymity that allows them to cover their scandals up as much as
  they are able. I would suspect that in some countries, like India and China, a large
  proportion of the population has never heard of jws, whereas the major religions
  are known throughout the world.
• 
  16

  Goldfish in Aquariums

  by DazedAndConfused in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am at the end of my rope.

  i lost my favorite "bubble-headed" goldfish.

  i have one goldfish left.

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  dedpoet

  Hi DazedAndConfused,

  I don't know much about goldfish but one of my relatives does, so I
  phoned her for advice when I saw your thread, and she emailed me
  these links, which she referred to when she started keeping them
  herself

  http://www.goldfishconnection.com/

  http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/care.html

  I hope they help

  dedpoet
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  20

  I can't talk to my parents.....

  by Adolfius in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as you can see from my posts i'm new here.

  i was born and raised in the borg....dad was/is an elder.

  i never liked the religion simply because it stopped me having fun like other "normal" kids.

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  dedpoet

  Hi Adolfius

  It is a shock finding out just how evei and deceitful the watchtower is, and
  then considering that your parents actually believe in and support this evil,
  and I can understand how you are feeling right now.

  However, don't blame your parents - they are captives of the concept that
  the watchtower is the only true religion, and are taught to believe that the
  organisation is everything, and must be held above all other things. Most
  jws aren't fully aware of the true nature of the org until they leave. They
  are most likely unaware of the recent child abuse lawsuits, for example,
  and if they do hear about them, they will be told that what has happened
  is due to persecution, and they'll accept that.

  While we can look at the doctrines of the watchtower objectively, they
  cannot. We can question things with no fear of retribution, they would
  not dare do so, as they would be punished. As for the rape rule, I guess
  until a family has had such a ruling imposed on themselves or their child,
  they mosy likely wouldn't be fully aware of its implications.

  I would advise you not to ostracise your parents - you may be their only hope
  of ever escaping the watchtower. Maybe you could instigate a conversation with
  them which might make them think. If you do choose to avoid them, telling them
  why might have impact as well.

  Whatever you do, good luck.

  dedpoet
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  23

  What can I possibly do..........

  by passive suicide in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i am at a loss.

  i've finally realized what my heart has been questioning for many years...'the truth', quite possibly/probably...is not.

  meanwhile..........i have a wife, and child........both of which are firmly in the grasp of my former beliefs.

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  dedpoet

  Hello passive suicide, and welcome to the forum.

  You are facing the same kind of dilemna that many on this board have faced,
  and that many still face. To be doubting the watchtower while your loved ones
  are still true believers is an unenviable position to find yourself in, and I feel for
  you.

  As to why there is so much animosity from the watchtower towards those who
  leave, the truth is those who see through their teachings become a danger to them.
  They cannot be trusted not to share what they are finding with their loved ones
  and other believers, and therefore have to be pilloried by the society and shunned
  by other jws. The watchtower call this shunning an act of love to remind the
  doubter of what they have left behind, but it's really a security measure on their
  part, to protect them from potential further losses if any other jws ask the leaver
  why he left, and investigate the watchtower's doctrines for themselves. The trurh
  is there is simply no honourable way to leave this religion.

  If you do take steps to leave the watchtower, expect a lot of emotional pressure,
  especially from your still-loyal family members. You wifes' comment about your
  child lieing beside you dying at armageddon is an example. I've heard of exiting
  jws with young children being labelled child killers by their family still in the
  watchtower.

  As for further research, I suggest you read Crisis of Conscience by Ray Franz.
  This is an excellent publication, and reveals what really goes on inside the
  governing body, of which Ray is a former member. Also, there are several Quotes
  sites on the internet, with excerpts from watchtower publications which help us
  to see how the society has changed it's doctrine, usually to suit it's circumstances,
  over the years. There is a link to one of them here:

  http://www.quotes-watchtower.co.uk/home.html

  However you choose to deal with your current situation, I sincerely wish you
  well. Please keep reading and posting on here though. This is a good place to
  be for anyone doubting the watchtower and in need of support.

  dedpoet
• 
  64

  Board Demographics

  by snowbird in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  maybe this thread has already been started before.

  please forgive me if it has, but i would like to know how many on board are active witnesses, inactive, da/df''d, or never been witnesses.. i am inactive since 2005, black female, separated, head of household, etc.. rsvp.

  snowbird.

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  dedpoet

  I'm white, male amd married to another former jw

  I haven't been to a kh since November 1999, and am da'd
• 
  8

  article on settlement not in our paper, just the online version

  by Mulan in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i went through our morning paper, twice, but the article is not there.

  it is online though, but you have to have the link.

  the front page has no information to get you there.

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  dedpoet

  The two witnessess for abuse cases no longer exists as much as I was told. I came back last year after being out for nearly 14yrs. The first question I asked was what does the Society do about child abuse, I was informed that the two witness was not necassary

  Well, it's still applied in the UK, and I'd bet everywhere else. We all know
  that the jws use it to avoid dealing with child abuse cases, and preserve
  their precious reputation, which is obviously more important than the welfare
  of a child. To abandon it would mean that they admit they have a problem, and
  might even be wrong about something, and the watchtower simply don't do
  that.

  Mulan:

  I went through our morning paper, twice, but the article is not there

  I haven't heard of it getting much publicity in the UK, and I've emailed a few
  of the national daily papers. I hoped they might be interested as we had a
  particularly unpleasant chils abuse case in the news recently here, and it
  involved a jw. Maybe some might use it, I hope so, but as you say, contrary
  to what the watchtower thinks, there is very little general interest in jw issues
  anyway.
• 
  10

  Watchtower spin on press conferences

  by NanaR in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  someone on another thread mentioned the "watchtower spin" on the settlements.

  has a watchtower statement been posted, or a link to one?.

  ruth.

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  dedpoet

  Hi Nana, there was a statement from the watchtower in the news report

  The Jehovah's Witnesses, whose headquarters are in Brooklyn, N.Y., said Thursday that they were pleased to see the lawsuits resolved, declining further comment.

  "Our loving heavenly Father makes it clear in his Word, the Bible, that he abhors child abuse," a statement from the denomination said.

  "As an organization, we will continually strive to educate families and congregations with sound Scriptural teachings that they can use to protect their children from child molesters. And we will continue to do our utmost to protect children from this horrible crime and sin."

  Full report here

  http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/05/10/ap3709733.html