COMF

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Posts by COMF

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  23

  ex-JW's : Would you go to war?

  by Jim Lad in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my ex-brother in law phoned this morning and asked me how i felt about going to war now that i'm not in the org anymore.

  with so many years of being told not to i wonder how many of us still feel that way.

  would you be worldly conscientious objectors or would you defend...etc.... i'm not trying to antaganize or be inappropriate.

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  COMF

  I came of age during the Vietnam war. I was not a JW then, but in my mind I couldn't justify going to fight there. I would have tried for conscientious objector status, had the necessity arisen. It didn't. For three years I was eligible for the draft. They didn't call me, and I didn't volunteer.

  Since then, I've never had to consider the possibility of fighting in a war.

  Now, I can tell you this: I will defend what's mine. And I'm quite capable of killing another person who threatens me or mine. I would go to fight against armies invading my country. Whether I would be willing to leave my country to fight on foreign soil would depend on how convinced I was that such action was truly a necessary defense of what is mine.

  COMF

  Edited to add this PS:
  When I say "my country," I don't mean that I am patriotic to the United States simply because it is the United States. I mean that something threatens my home, and I will fight to protect my home.
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  85

  AMERICA'S REVENGE HAS STARTED!

  by nicolaou in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  reports are coming in (bbc) of tracer fire and explosions in kabul, afghanistan.. this is of course wher osama bin laden is holed up - have the fbi/cia managed to successfully pin this atrocity on him already?.

  nic'

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  COMF

  Do you think, given the amount of information you have to share, that your thread title might be described as "irresponsible," nicolaou?

  COMF
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  21

  ATTENDENCE AT KINGDOM HALLS SET TO RISE

  by radar in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes folks.

  twin towers hit!!!.

  prelude to armaggeddon?.

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  COMF

  Is this the sign we have been waiting for??

  Uh... yeah, sis, it sure is. The destruction of the World Trades Tower is clearly the United Nations destroying Babylon The Great.

  Scary but exciting?

  Something's scary, all right.

  COMF
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  25

  Austinmer/Bulli KH Burns! Arson?

  by Stephanus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the kingdom hall occupied by the bulli and austinmer congregations burned last week, and there are rumours that it was arson.

  can anyone shed any light on this?

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  COMF

  Drloss, my words were not based on the assumption that this was arson by a fanatic exJW contingent. They were based on Kent's words in this thread: Where can I send petrol? and on the words of Francoise not long back, when he described the torching of a newly built kingdom hall as "a beautiful sight."

  I don't find the deliberate destruction of other people's property to be beautiful. Nor do I think it is something to joke about. I haven't lost all sense of decency just because I'm an exJW. This mindset, that violence and destruction against the WBTS are good and desirable things, sickens me, and I have deep reservations about how far I would trust or want to be involved with anyone who flaunts such an attitude publicly this way, however tongue-in-cheek it may have been intended.

  COMF
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  25

  Austinmer/Bulli KH Burns! Arson?

  by Stephanus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the kingdom hall occupied by the bulli and austinmer congregations burned last week, and there are rumours that it was arson.

  can anyone shed any light on this?

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  COMF

  Have some anti-JWs reached the level of the anti-abortionists who kill nurses, doctors and patients at abortion clinics? How is this different from the torching of black churches in the American south by racial bigots in the 50's and 60's?

  COMF
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  21

  Watchtower Article Titles We'll Never See

  by COMF in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i saw redhorsewoman's thread title, "the time is at hand", and knew why she picked it: because the society uses that phrase all the time (or used to when i was in, anyway... i'm betting they still do).

  it reminded me of a district assembly part from along about 1983 called "now is the time" (can any of you brighter types guess which song they chose to accompany it?).

  this got me to thinking of how the society has these pet phrases they use over and over again, often featuring them in some thinly reworked format (like going from "now is the time" to "the time is at hand") as article titles.

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  COMF

  Nathan, man, you have me literally falling out of my chair laughing. I vote for this one as Best of Show:

  "Babylon The Great Has Fallen - Big Honkin' Deal"

  COMF

  P.S. On this one, though: "The Beauty of Porcupine Sex" ...I believe it would be better rendered as, "Porcupine Sex: A Prickly Subject"
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  21

  Watchtower Article Titles We'll Never See

  by COMF in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i saw redhorsewoman's thread title, "the time is at hand", and knew why she picked it: because the society uses that phrase all the time (or used to when i was in, anyway... i'm betting they still do).

  it reminded me of a district assembly part from along about 1983 called "now is the time" (can any of you brighter types guess which song they chose to accompany it?).

  this got me to thinking of how the society has these pet phrases they use over and over again, often featuring them in some thinly reworked format (like going from "now is the time" to "the time is at hand") as article titles.

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  COMF

  I saw RedHorseWoman's thread title, "The Time is At Hand", and knew why she picked it: because the society uses that phrase all the time (or used to when I was in, anyway... I'm betting they still do). It reminded me of a district assembly part from along about 1983 called "Now is the Time" (can any of you brighter types guess which song they chose to accompany it?).

  This got me to thinking of how the society has these pet phrases they use over and over again, often featuring them in some thinly reworked format (like going from "Now is the Time" to "The Time is At Hand") as article titles. It would be interesting to see a variation on this theme: Titles You'll Never See in the Watchtower.

  Kicking things off with RedHorseWoman's classic:

  Now Is Not The Time!

  And, from the bowels of antiquity:

  Who Really Is Demonstrably Not the Faithful and Discreet Slave?
  Are You Ready For Jehovah's Day to be Postponed Indefinitely?
  Finding Hopelessness in a Thriving Economy
  Do Miracles Still Happen? Did they ever?
  Living a Life of Deep Regret
  Serving Disloyally with a Disloyal Organization
  Family Study that Brings Misery!
  Do You Live for Today or for a Nonexistent Future?
  Bearing Up Under Imagined Pressure
  Idiotic Advice for Modern Marriage
  Let Your Utterance Be Always Seasoned With Pepper
  Youths - Resist Pressure from the Congregation!
  Shepherding the Flock With Personal Gain in View
  Your Maker Cares Nothing for You
  Storing Up Riches in Real Estate
  Letting God's Name Be Sanctimonious
  Inspite of the News
  Love Believes All Things (and So Do Six Million Shmucks)

  Anybody got more?

  COMF
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  20

  How Long have you been here?

  by Unclepenn1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been on several witness mb's sporatically within the last couple of years.

  hanging on one for a while, then hangin on another.

  how long has this one been here?

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  COMF

  Hi, UncleP! I remember you from H2O. There was a mass exodus from there over to this board a few months back when Farkel announced he was leaving there to come here. We all just followed along like mice following the pied piper. Glad to see you show up!

  COMF
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  6

  Sisters of the Stars & Stripes

  by Uncanny in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have just tv-watched two very famous and very rich fleshly sisters, venus and serena williams, play out the final of the 2001 us open tennis championship for women.. venus, the older girl, won the match as expected after two regulation, rather ho hum sets of 'grand slam' tennis.

  (maybe their dad had already done a deal with them on who was going to be the winner today.

  ) anyway, the big new york crowd seemed to get their money's worth, more maybe from the novelty value of sibling rivalry rather than high standard court play.

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  COMF

  You're right about this being diametrically opposed to what we have heard and seen throughout JW history over, at least, the past 40 years (not sure about before that). And those who passed up opportunities to play sports for fun or profit because of the society's overbearing position on them, must be shaking their heads with regret.

  However, I see no hypocrisy here on the part of the girls. They are quite public about what they are doing. And, after all, isn't this what we want... a loosening of the rigid standards, a moving away from the old to a more tolerant, accepting new?

  I don't see this as a bad thing.

  COMF
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  3

  Do it for yourself - further education

  by Celtic in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many of us have suffered at some time from ontological insecurity, who am i, where am i going?

  what do i want to do with my life?

  often, it can take a while to start seeing your personal dreams pay off, but when you do, it really is the best feeling ever.. i have not a qualification at present to my name but i've fought and fought to get to where i am now, going to college for the first time in my life at the grand age of 34 to study 3 of the subjects that are extremely close to my heart.. garden design, environmental conservation and farm diversification and sustainability.. my first two days this past week, well, it just felt great to be plugging into life with what i always wanted to do, and i'd encourage anyone else to do the same.. learn new skills, meet new people, question things, inquire with an inquisitive mind, challenge yourselves, motivate others, try new sporting activities, hell, go skydiving, that much oxogen blowing up the nostrils must be one hell of a rush.. still, be kind to yourselves, know your limits and don't beat yourself up too much like i've done to myself and learnt the hard way, that this does one no positive favours.. i guess what i'm trying to say is, go out there and enjoy your life, you have this given right and the only thing that is stopping any of you is you.. give life stink!!

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  COMF

  Kat, (assuming you're in the USA) there is all kinds of money available for older students and for students who are parents. Because I was a single parent of two, working fulltime and up in years, I received a Pell Grant each semester which covered all my tuition and all my books and usually left enough after that to pay a month's rent.

  Check with the financial aid department of your school. The people in there get paid to help you find money; that's what they do. They can steer you to scholarships tailored for your situation, and help you with manageable student loans.

  Let us know how it goes for you. I love reading success stories!

  COMF