Joel Wideman

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Posts by Joel Wideman

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  21

  Did you ever 'Google' yourself?

  by Legolas in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm not on it, but my husband is!...

  (his business picture)

  try it and if anything funny comes up show us!

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  Joel Wideman

  My blog is the first hit and most of the hits on the first page are me. The one on the Megan's Law site, however, is not.
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  18

  Are there any former dubs who were petrified by the demons?

  by Check_Your_Premises in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  how did you get over these phobias?.

  was there a christian or bibilical based explanation that helped you to get over these phobias?.

  cyp

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  Joel Wideman

  I used to be tormented by nightmares about demons, starting - not surprisingly - around the time I began having doubts. It was so bad that I couldn't sleep, and to this day I still have insomnia, though those nightmares are long gone.
  Finding out that my mother's "demon problems" were due to mental illness was a real eye opener.
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  22

  Hi

  by finallyfree05 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'm new and this is my first post......mine is a long story i will share later.

  i'm at work and just wanted to say hi to you all

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  Joel Wideman

  Welcome!
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  20

  Is god all knowing?

  by gringojj in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i dont understand how god can be omnipotent, and all knowing, but that doesnt apply to knowing the future?

  god is not human.

  he had the power to create us.

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  Joel Wideman

  I believe that God knows all possible futures. He knows how likely we are to make each choice, the outcome of each choice we make, and how our choices interact. The kicker is that He wants us to have that choice, so to most of us it looks like either He doesn't know or He doesn't care. But I believe that, like a parent raising a child, He prefers that we learn from our mistakes. Our growing population and civilization is proof that we are capable of doing so.
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  12

  worried about my sister, looking for insight

  by bigsis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm new to this site and forum so i'm not sure i'm in the right place.

  my sister married a j.w.

  and now they have a baby.

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  Joel Wideman

  Welcome! As Now What? pointed out, pushing will only reinforce the persecution complex. I myself know this all too well. The best thing you can do is show them unconditional love.
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  28

  Mormons and JW: same horror story, different halloween costume!

  by dezpbem in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a while back i did some online research on the mormons.

  i came across some ex-mormons sites.

  i was shocked to see that their exit stories and problems were almost the same!

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  Joel Wideman

  It was researching the LDS that led me to my understanding of the WTS. There's some scary parallels there.
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  19

  How long did you LURK before joining in the fun???

  by kid-A in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am curious, how many of you were lurkers on jwd before joining in the party?

  im not sure if there is anyway to know how many people at any given time are just reading the posts and not posting, versus active members.

  i am going to do a pseudo-scientific analysis based on responses to the following questions:.

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  Joel Wideman

  Actually, I was looking for an online group to participate in.
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  38

  Does anyone know of a good church I could go to?

  by Andrea Wideman in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  after being a catholic and a jw i am really gun shy about organized religions.

  i identify myself simply as a christian.

  i am looking for a church to go to for fellowship.

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  Joel Wideman

  So, it isn't that you want a church, you want a singing group. Got it. ;)
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  38

  Does anyone know of a good church I could go to?

  by Andrea Wideman in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  after being a catholic and a jw i am really gun shy about organized religions.

  i identify myself simply as a christian.

  i am looking for a church to go to for fellowship.

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  Joel Wideman

  Why do you feel you need to belong to a church? I do not feel this way. I am perfectly happy having a personal relationship with Jesus, and I don't need any man-made organisation telling me how to do that.
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  22

  The GB, Evil incarnate, or just trapped like the rest?

  by daystar in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if you believe that the wbts is a high control group, cult, or whatever, do you also believe that the design, the isolationist doctrines and subtle mind control is all on purpose?

  or did it just sort of evolve that way?.

  in other words, do you think russell, rutherford and the governing body purposefully look(ed) for, or make(made) up, biblical evidence to support controlling doctrines?

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  Joel Wideman

  Third explanation: Crazy.