daniel-p

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Posts by daniel-p

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  11

  Morning Worship at Bethel - Social Security and Pensions

  by Bethelite Elder in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  recently,.

  there was a morning worship a few days ago where the gb member spoke about false security.

  he stated that many people look to social security and pensions for their security and how unwise that is.

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  daniel-p

  Now, we all understand that Bethelites do not have any social security, a pension plan, in fact they do not have health insurance. However, in the branch manual it illudes to the fact that after a member has served at Bethel over 5 years, he will be cared for. Also, that was a common thought among Bethelites over the years. However, we see that this has changed or was an unwritten myth all along.

  This seemed to have been their policy up until the early 2000s when the "streamlining" started to take place. But now, it seems they will try to get rid of anyone with a major (or even less major) health problem so long as it doesn't cause a lot of fallout (i.e. taking into consideration how connected the person is, who their relatives are, etc.).
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  159

  Breaking News: Big Trouble with the Watchtower

  by Bethelite Elder in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a couple of weeks ago, an ex-bethelite(10 years) by the name of mel smith was disfellowshipped.

  i understand that he still lives in ny are and has a mortgage company.

  evidently, he was hurt while serving at the farm and watchtower did some horrible things to him.

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  daniel-p

  Sigh. If only JWs would as be skeptical about their own religion as we all are about what is said about their own religion.

  Farkel, don't lament our reasoning ability--we've simply regained a healthy sense of suspicion... something the Jdubs don't have. We do have aguy's name, though. I wonder if there would be a way to verify if this Mel Smith was, indeed a Bethelite.
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  159

  Breaking News: Big Trouble with the Watchtower

  by Bethelite Elder in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a couple of weeks ago, an ex-bethelite(10 years) by the name of mel smith was disfellowshipped.

  i understand that he still lives in ny are and has a mortgage company.

  evidently, he was hurt while serving at the farm and watchtower did some horrible things to him.

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  daniel-p

  AE's typical bullshit aside (yes, go f*&% yourself, AE), it would be nice to have more info on this, espeically since it's coming from a new poster. THe part that makes me especially suspicious is the Oprah invitation and major book deal. Also, this is not anywhere near "the worst story" in connection with how Watchtower treats people.
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  159

  Breaking News: Big Trouble with the Watchtower

  by Bethelite Elder in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a couple of weeks ago, an ex-bethelite(10 years) by the name of mel smith was disfellowshipped.

  i understand that he still lives in ny are and has a mortgage company.

  evidently, he was hurt while serving at the farm and watchtower did some horrible things to him.

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  daniel-p

  yup thats right...exactly what im saying...isnt a jw so maybe lies....Mel has been put out(hence i said when some are put out) so why would he want to say positive things.(maybe thats clearer for you :) )

  Well, as usual, AE, your reasoning is at the ten-year-old level. I was "put out" from Bethel, and yet had, and still have, good things to say about it, thrus proving your over-simplistic theory wrong.

  Fact is though, there are tons of stories just like this. Bethel tried to get rid of me once before when I had a very minor injury, but I fought it and won.
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  51

  Everything About Being An Elder is Weird (my misc rambling memories of being an elder)

  by AllTimeJeff in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  for any brother who is a jehovah's witness, the goal is put before them to reach out for the privilege of being an elder.

  i can only speak for myself, but being born into the religion, i wanted to be an elder since i was 5. i would have much rather wanted to be a doctor or engineer, but those are the breaks..... i'll skip the part about what it takes to reach out, all the crap you have to put up with as a ministerial servant to get appointed, and go straight to the reality.. i know many elders who sincerely just wanted to be shepherds.

  i did want the spotlight.

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  daniel-p

  Yep. Sucks.
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  8

  The Lack of Tradition

  by daniel-p in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for me, part of the void i feel after having faded from the witnesses is due to a lack of tradition that--albeit a little generic--helped to establish meaning and purpose as time went by.

  sometimes i long for traditions--religious or otherwise--that would help fill that void of watching time pass but not having any rituals to help give it meaning.

  but then i think how shallow it would be to join some religion, or try to convince myself intellectually that a certain god existed, just for the rituals involved.

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  daniel-p

  You know Daniel, this is probably one of the main things I feel the JW's have taken away from many of us. The ability to be happy and content in the here and now. It seems like we were just making it through our todays so we could get to the new order. As though today isn't good enough. I think to some extent, many religions are like that, particularly christianity.

  You're exactly right! i want so bad to just BE... live day to day and be happy with a domestic life. But no... have to be constantly after something... filling this ongoing void.
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  8

  The Lack of Tradition

  by daniel-p in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for me, part of the void i feel after having faded from the witnesses is due to a lack of tradition that--albeit a little generic--helped to establish meaning and purpose as time went by.

  sometimes i long for traditions--religious or otherwise--that would help fill that void of watching time pass but not having any rituals to help give it meaning.

  but then i think how shallow it would be to join some religion, or try to convince myself intellectually that a certain god existed, just for the rituals involved.

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  daniel-p

  beks, seaons are huge for me too... unfortunately where I live we have 360 days out of the year of full sunshine and 70-degree weather. Perfect for the old folks, dreadfully boring for people like me. The change between summer and fall is marked by a 5 to 10 degree shift in the weather, and... that's it. No fall colors, no crispness in the air, no piles of leaves in the streets, no nothing. It's actully very depressing for me, believe it or not.
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  232

  Is Atheism a Form of Blind Faith?

  by passwordprotected in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if god is outside of nature and therefore cannot be proved or disproved by science, is atheism a form of blind faith?

  after all, it cannot be defended on the basis of pure reason.. steven jay gould said;.

  "science simply cannot by its legitimate methods adjudicate the issue of god's possible superintendence of nature.

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  daniel-p

  What's so intellectually hard about not knowing, and not needing to know, the existence of a Creator?

  Please refer to the OP. I'm not suggesting it's intellectually hard. I'm surprised you've decided to use a strawman.

  Okay, I'll rephrase it: Why do you need to create belief?
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  8

  The Lack of Tradition

  by daniel-p in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for me, part of the void i feel after having faded from the witnesses is due to a lack of tradition that--albeit a little generic--helped to establish meaning and purpose as time went by.

  sometimes i long for traditions--religious or otherwise--that would help fill that void of watching time pass but not having any rituals to help give it meaning.

  but then i think how shallow it would be to join some religion, or try to convince myself intellectually that a certain god existed, just for the rituals involved.

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  daniel-p

  For me, part of the void I feel after having faded from the Witnesses is due to a lack of tradition that--albeit a little generic--helped to establish meaning and purpose as time went by.
  
  Sometimes I long for traditions--religious or otherwise--that would help fill that void of watching time pass but not having any rituals to help give it meaning. But then I think how shallow it would be to join some religion, or try to convince myself intellectually that a certain god existed, just for the rituals involved.
  
  How do you feel? Have you ever felt that void of tradition? And if so, how have you made up for it?
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  23

  Falling Asleep at Work

  by daniel-p in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so who has a job that is boring enough to fall asleep at?

  i've never yet fallen asleep on the job, but it would be very esy to do so based on how inane most of my work is, despite the fact that i actually do use my brain.

  sometimes it's just so dry and technical i can't keep it up.. i have a nice fancy chair that leans back to my specifictions of resistance, so it would easy to tilt back and snooze a bit.

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  daniel-p

  It's happening again... doesn't help that i was awake all night worrying about my job... egad... now im falling alseep on the job, what a vicious circle!