drew sagan

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Posts by drew sagan

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  32

  Crisis of Consciousness: Finally Got It

  by RAYZORBLADE in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  oops, well i had intended to post a message along with this new topic and my fingers were faster than my brain (need more coffee .

  well, i suppose it's like preaching to the converted; me obtaining this book, but i guess it's one of those things i just needed to do to finalize everything.. i know there are countless topics on ray franz' book.

  but to finally pick it up, i feel like: 'i can hardly wait to read it'.. before, i more or less figured: 'i am out of the wtbts, so why bother?'.

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  drew sagan

  I remember when I first started reading CoC way back in 2005. What a journey it has been since then!
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  27

  New Update On Hubby - He said he doesn't care what the society says about..

  by cognac in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  people being destroyed at the big a. i told him how tramatic it was for me that i was told basically just everyone would die around me would die... that the days would be just as in noah's day and in the "my book of bible stories" there was even a baby would die and that my mom said that even babies would die at a because jehovah new that they would grow up to be just like there parents... i told him that the society said this also and this is probably where my mom got it from.... he said, "i don't care what the society says, jehovah is loving and our loving god will judge us the way that he wants and not the societys way.

  then he just held me and said to pretend i was that little 6 year old and he said, "now, your mom is telling you that jehovah loves everyone and will save everyone he can, just not really evil people... he loves you and everybody very, very much...".

  i fell asleep last night for the very first time knowing that somebody i love and that's close to me was on my side with this issue and against the society on this... it just took yet another huge weight off me... .

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  drew sagan

  I agree with Eliveleth. Having a good relationship makes your chances on this working out very good.
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  4

  AMERICAN RELIGIOUS IDENTIFICATION SURVEY, 2001

  by darkuncle29 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i thought this may be of interest to some, don't know if its been posted before.. .

  american religious identification survey, 2001. the graduate center of the city university of new york.

  http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf.

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  drew sagan

  Some groups such as Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses appear to attract a large number of converts (“in-switchers”), but also nearly as large a number of apostates (“outswitchers”). It is also interesting to note that Buddhists also fall into this category of what one might call high-turnover religious groups.

  This has everything to do with the level of commitment that the LDS church as well as the Watchtower asks its members to give.
  
  Both groups:
  
  A. Tell their members that their group is the only group on earth approved of by God.
  
  B. Require that their members spend large amounts of time in group sponsored activities, usually which have no interactivity with people outside the group.
  
  By making people follow such a strict path the number of ex-members and apostates is going to be larger than in religions that are typically less involved in the daily life of their members. Its a case of "the more you ask, the more you get".
  
  I think the high turnover in Buddhism mentioned has more to do with westerners "trying it out", looking at something new only for the novelty to wear off.
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  6

  1/3rd of the way to 10 K

  by JK666 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i remember when i was a noob, and it seemed like forever to get to 100 posts.

  it seems like the posting increased exponentially for a while, and i was posting like crazy, sometimes maxing out the limit of 75 posts a day.

  now i think that i am declining, but have more interaction with members of this forum through telephone, email, and personal communications.

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  drew sagan

  I have a feeling I'm going to be stuck around 3,000 for quite some time.
  
  This board can be so addicting sometimes, but lately I've been able to fight the power ;)
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  3

  Need advice from geek experts - want to start interactive sites

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey experts,.

  i am interested in starting an interactive website similar to wikipedia where experts can help add and edit comments and suggestions.

  for instance, i would like to have a site on witnessing to jehovah's witnesses that had good ideas on how to talk to jehovah's witnesses without turning them off on particular subjects.

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  drew sagan

  Joomla is 100% free as well BTW
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  3

  Need advice from geek experts - want to start interactive sites

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey experts,.

  i am interested in starting an interactive website similar to wikipedia where experts can help add and edit comments and suggestions.

  for instance, i would like to have a site on witnessing to jehovah's witnesses that had good ideas on how to talk to jehovah's witnesses without turning them off on particular subjects.

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  drew sagan

  The software that runs Wikipedia is free. You can download it and install it on your web server. It does however require that you have a few things (like php 5.0 and mysql)
  
  Joomla is a great software package as well. There are lots of plug-in modules and components that fit the system. It also can manage user accounts. I have a site that is almost ready to go live with it.
  
  PM me if you want details or further info.
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  43

  JW woman in trouble

  by lisa_82069 in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  i am not a jw and only know what my friend has told me about the faith.

  i saw this website and decided to see if i could get another opinion on this matter.

  during the course of my business, i have met and become friends with a troubled woman who was born into a jw family.

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  drew sagan

  Because the Jehovah's Witness religion is male dominated women often can be abused within it's system. There are no checks and balances within the group that operate for womens rights. Women who seek help often within the religions authority structure many times can find themselves in a worse position than where they started.
  
  Even if you don't share this with her, I suggest you listen to this audio file:
  
  Shirley Jackson life story
  
  Its a sad story (with a bit of hope). It illustrates well what can happen to women in the Watchtower.
  
  You also might want to try to get the book Crisis of Conscience in her hands. Most likely she will reject anything you try to offer her, but it might be worth a shot.
  
  More than anything else show love to her. Just somebody outside the religion showing them care can help.
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  43

  What is the HIDDEN purpose of the Watchtower corporation?

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  why does the average man or woman on the street only have a vague awareness of who jehovah's witnesses are and what they stand for?

  isn't it weird they know next to nothing after over a hundred years of door to door work???.

  ask yourself why this has been such an ineffective ministry.. one actor, tom cruise, has raised more awareness about his own religion (scientology) than all the watchtower magazines placed at a million households.

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  drew sagan

  The first thing I began to question when I started to doubt the Watchtower was field service. I could see that we where just wasting our time, and that giving people magazines simply wasn't effective.
  
  I think the Watchtower really doesn't want to draw attention to itself. Even though they tell their members they want to reach all people, the leaders really know what section of the population they want to reach with their message (lonely people at home with possibly no social connections). I believe the leaders are happy with 1-5% growth. Anything to big and then they would have to deal with some of the problems larger groups face in the public square. So I think they would rather waste magazines while continue to do things they way they have for the past 70 years rather than move for big drastic change.
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  13

  GOVERNING BODY MEMBERS;AD100-1900

  by badboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it has been claimed that there always been a governing body,so who has been members supposedly of this governing body in the past.

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  drew sagan

  It's an interesting conversation for sure.
  
  The big question to ask is why didn't the first "governing body" continue to pick successors?
  
  This is a question that has never been discussed in Watchtower literature. Their lack of comment shows what a stretch it is for them to compare their modern governing body to whatever happened thousands of years ago.
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  100

  Moral Values of an Atheist

  by hamilcarr in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  some thoughts spinning through my head .... what does it mean to be an atheist?

  it means you cannot imagine your homosexual neighbor being slaughtered by a loving god at judgment's day, it means you don't consider the primitive tribe described in numbers 31 that slew midianite men and raped innocent virgins to be god's first covenant people, it means you don't believe mankind is so perverted that it is in need of salvation through a man who came 'not with peace, but with a sword', it means you have high moral values that apply not only to the members of your denomination but to all men.. h. .

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  drew sagan

  it means you have high moral values that apply not only to the members of your denomination but to all men.

  It may possibly mean all the things you listed before it since those are based on concepts of what the Bible is, but being an atheist doesn't automatically give a person "high moral values" that transcend all religious affiliations.