atypical

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Posts by atypical

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  34

  Anyone feeling the Memorial pressure?

  by atypical in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those who are fading, do you feel the pressure building as the memorial approaches?

  family members who otherwise are busy with their own interests suddenly start paying more attention, dropping hints and holding their breath as it were.

  then there are the invitations.

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  atypical

  I realize the futility of the ritual, and I understand the viewpoints of those of you who are now Christians.

  Blondie hit it right on the head. My point was to find out who else is experiencing the strange dynamics that come with a believing spouse and/or immediate family who will think you are totally doomed if you don't go. Or if you go to please them, they will probably make a scene crying because they are so "happy" that you are in the kingdom hall.

  But again, I am not agonizing over the right and wrong of the actual celebration. I am way past that point, my friends.
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  34

  Anyone feeling the Memorial pressure?

  by atypical in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those who are fading, do you feel the pressure building as the memorial approaches?

  family members who otherwise are busy with their own interests suddenly start paying more attention, dropping hints and holding their breath as it were.

  then there are the invitations.

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  atypical

  For those who are fading, do you feel the pressure building as the memorial approaches? Family members who otherwise are busy with their own interests suddenly start paying more attention, dropping hints and holding their breath as it were.

  Then there are the invitations. I don't get this. All of a sudden brother overighteous tries to get a hold of you to give you a personal invitation to the memorial. As though it's his own function, a party being thrown in his honor or something.

  And if you don't go, oh be prepared for waterworks and broken hearts. It seems the ultimate sin is ignoring the memorial. Even my relatives who have never been witnesses and never want to be attend the memorial every year for some reason.

  Just curious how others deal with this subject.
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  10

  The End of Faith - Sam Harris

  by atypical in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anyone read this book: the end of faith.

  religion, terror, and the future of reason, by sam harris?

  i just bought it and i can't put it down.

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  atypical

  I guess the link isn't working. If you want to read excerpts, you can find them on www.samharris.org.
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  10

  The End of Faith - Sam Harris

  by atypical in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anyone read this book: the end of faith.

  religion, terror, and the future of reason, by sam harris?

  i just bought it and i can't put it down.

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  atypical

  Thanks, Java. I guess I missed that thread. I was flipping channels one night and saw him on the CNN book channel being interviewed. I was floored by his ability to answer questions logically. I had been thinking about buying the book ever since, and I finally got it yesterday.

  Here's some quotes from the book to give you a taste:
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  14

  threats

  by joelbear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  any interesting threats your parents would use on you.. my mom always said, remember there's an eye watchin' you.

  and when i would say something about a brother or sister or the society or something offbeat in general.

  she would say the she bears were going to eat me.. well she was close on the last one.

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  atypical

  I was threatened with being kicked out of the house. This was when I would disagree with my parents about the dating issue (they would not let me go out with girls at all, and I was 17). I was told that I was showing disrespect and would be immediately thrown out of the house if I did not back down and apologize. Since I had nowhere to go, I apologized.

  I also heard the she-bear thing many times when I was younger.
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  10

  The End of Faith - Sam Harris

  by atypical in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anyone read this book: the end of faith.

  religion, terror, and the future of reason, by sam harris?

  i just bought it and i can't put it down.

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  2. 
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  atypical

  
  Has anyone read this book: The End of Faith. Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason, by Sam Harris?

  I just bought it and I can't put it down. I heard about it on CNN, he was giving a press conference and I was really impressed with him.

  Add: www.samharris.org
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  27

  Cults, Crisis, Concision

  by RichieRich in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so this month (march) i promised my mother that i would auxillary pioneer with her.

  {that's 50 hours in field service, fyi}.

  i was supposed to turn in my application tonight, but alas, i forgot it.

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  atypical

  Richie, thanks for the really good post. I'm sorry to say the guilt trips are not going to end when you turn 18. I am 30, and I get into a similar conversation almost every few days with my mother. She relentlessly tries to equate her worth and her parenting skills with my feelings toward the organization. So anything I say, any good point I make, she responds with an apology for "not being the kind of mother I wanted" or "doing her best and giving everything she had for me".

  It is awful to deal with. A couple days ago I asked her a question: "Would you rather see me happy and healthy, or would you prefer to see me at meetings, even if I am miserable and suffering?"

  She responded, "I would rather prove Satan a liar."

  WTF? It can be overwhelming. I don't know exactly what will ever help this situation, but I have decided to follow the same course I am following with my wife (good advice I got here on JWD): I will prove that I am there for her, spend extra time with her, and reassure her of my love in ways that are completely unrelated to religion.

  After that nasty conversation, I called her back and told her this. "I love you and I would do anything for you. How I feel about religion has nothing to do with how I feel about you, and that will never change. As long as it depends on me, I never want to lose contact with you guys."

  Good luck to you, my man.
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  33

  What do you say in response to this???????

  by cr1234 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my brother in law wants to know::: if jw's don't have the truth then where do you go to worship?

  if i had something better then he would follow?

  i know i have heard this before from jw's but couldn't find the thread to answer him correctly.

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  atypical

  I hate that response. It's the same one I always get when I start making headway in the conversation.

  My response is to say that I do not like the "lesser of two evils" argument. I will not choose something that I know is incorrect only because I do not know of anything better. I will choose nothing, and keep looking!
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  21

  Who would win?

  by DigitalFokus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  who would win in a fist fight?

  a dub or a mormon and why?

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  atypical

  the dub would also give a speech afterward about how that was his "former personality" showing through and explain to everyone that the "truth" takes away those bad tendencies if you apply bible principles. He would then make a show of feeling very ashamed, and let everyone know that he should have waited for jehovah to kill that mormon for him.
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  8

  Are Circuit Overseers the Fatal Link?

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if we are seeing an attempt by the society to reduce its collective liability, then what about the circuit overseers?.

  i have long felt that, if the society is unable to overcome a growing cloud of liability, then circuit overseers could become the.

  fatal link that brings them down.

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  atypical

  I think that is going to be a major problem. COs also have an unreal amount of power and decision making authority. I have heard complaints my whole life about COs from hard-core, "faithful" dubs. I mean things like calling them "the evil slave" and such. I think changes will have to be made, but I have no idea what the org would replace the COs with. They have to have some way of keeping control of the individual congos.