james_woods

Joined

• started 182 topics
• posted 12,226 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by james_woods

• 
  155

  Whats the dumbest reason youve been counseled?

  by avishai in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my friend was counseled for having a bad attitude because he wore white socks w/ his suit.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  james_woods

  This one was pointed at my ex-father in law. He was an elder in the congregation at the time. We had all gone quail hunting one saturday and the bird dog ran off chasing a rabbit. Father in law yells out "get your sorry a** back here you stupid SOB! We had a newbie bible student along and he reports him to the other elders for language. Naturally a little session is called.

  Now check this - he got out of by saying that female dogs were properly called bitches and therefore this was just good english and not really cursing! They followed up anyway by telling him that hunting was not really for christians, checking to make sure we fried the quails and ate them, and calling to mind Nimrod "the mighty hunter in opposition to Jehovah".
• 
  54

  "Witlesses", "JDumbs", other labels.. How do you feel about them?

  by AlmostAtheist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've commented before that the watchtower goes out of its way to label groups of people it doesn't want you to like -- "worldly people", "apostates", "christendom".

  there are scores of these labels.. people in general use them too: "spick", "n*gger", "trailer trash".

  once we allow ourselves to refer to people by a label, we automatically change them from an individual to a member of a group.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  james_woods

  Maybe these terms are OK (if just being posted in jest) but only if we are sure they do not carry prejudice or hate.

  I do remember being a young JW when one of the circuit overseers came to town. He had previously served in a Utah circuit and actually used the term "Morons" for the mormons around there - several times during the saturday night talk he gave. I was offended even though I have always had a deep sense of repulsion for what Brigham Young and bunch stood for.

  In another idiotic example, my sister got her holy roller style baptist preacher do my fathers funeral. He actually stood up there and said "see - we christians do not cry at funerals because we have the lord". Didn't notice that everybody was crying. Then he goes on to spout forth that only non-christians cry at a funeral because they don't have the lord. My wife (who is Vietnamese Buddhist) was sitting there. Thank god she didn't pick up on exactly what he was saying.

  Whoops! did I just post "holy roller"?
• 
  15

  People traumatised by cults other that the WTS

  by greendawn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the wts is just one of the cults that exploits and damages people, besides it there are many others that operate and damage their adherants in a similar or worse way.

  .

  did you happen to come across such individuals that were similarly traumatised by these other cults or read about them on the internet or books?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  james_woods

  So, I guess the lesson here is:

  Don't drink the KoolAid unless you have mixed it yourself. (Preferably with some Vodka in it)

  James
• 
  15

  People traumatised by cults other that the WTS

  by greendawn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the wts is just one of the cults that exploits and damages people, besides it there are many others that operate and damage their adherants in a similar or worse way.

  .

  did you happen to come across such individuals that were similarly traumatised by these other cults or read about them on the internet or books?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  james_woods

  Greendawn, I dont know if you remember but a while back I put up a little thread on a friend at my work who broke out of Scientology on his own. We compared the experience and it is a lot like Watchtower on many issues. That thread has slipped way back, but maybe you can look at it by checking my post history.

  This guy and I still talk and we often discuss what is happening in my associations with this site. He says he would like to do something like this for exScientology people, but is (reasonably so, I think) a little afraid of revenge tactics from these weirdos.
• 
  37

  convention freaky memories

  by joelbear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  sucking on lifesavers to stay awake.

  watching families eat meals during the session.

  the smell.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  james_woods

  Joel and all you other hilarious posters:

  This probably belongs in that other thread about the stupidest things somebody said, but the heart brain deal made me remember it:

  I remember walking up to the guy that did this talk at the assembly and saying that I did not think the heart really drives thought processes. I felt like it was just a symbolic way of expressing emotional thought.

  He replied that he knew the heart is involved in thought, because his HEART GOT BEATING FASTER when he got it on with his old lady!!! I kid you not - and I was an unmarried kid under 21!

  But, this was at the assembly right after the heart brain session - so maybe its still on topic here. Wonder if they still try to teach this BS?
• 
  37

  convention freaky memories

  by joelbear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  sucking on lifesavers to stay awake.

  watching families eat meals during the session.

  the smell.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  james_woods

  Getting dressed up in a phony beard and weird bible times clothes to do one of those stupid recorded pantomime dramas. (Can't have a real beard, though-)

  Working for about 6 weeks to make a huge fiberglass heart and brain with flashing lights in each to illustrate the thinking heart and brain. Got busted for throwing a phillips head scewdriver circus knifethrower style into the heard before the session and then they wouldnt let me work the light switches during the part. After all that work...

  Sitting with a couple of teenage girls who pretended to take notes in old-time secretary shorthand. They were really gossiping to each other about boys, of course. They didn't know I could read it because I took it in high school to get ready for college class notes.

  Sitting through a long preconvention attendant meeting on how to handle it if a STREAKER should invade us. Blabbering constantly with other attendant jerks on our all-important walkie talkies.

  Walking into my VERY LAST JW meeting EVER on a Saturday morning in the basement of the Civic Auditorium in Oklahoma City, smelling those hamburgers frying, and just turning around and getting in my Corvette and burning out back on to the street. The speaker was - believe me or not - bitching about APOSTATES!
• 
  21

  Lifesavers story . . . Jehovah's Witness love and honesty . . . missing

  by garybuss in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  never have i been more aware of the lengths that the watch tower society was willing to go to maintain their donations and their control of us witnesses than i was at the district assembly in bismarck nd in 1975. this is where i began to doubt my acceptance level of the doctrine called the doctrine called the "theocratic war strategy" (tws).

  that is, the viewpoint that says it is all right to lie to jehovah's enemies.

  (see aid and insight under lie).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  james_woods

  Gary & TallTexan,

  You both pulled up a long lost memory from a big convention back in about 1972 at the Houston Astrodome. I was a young guy working in the cafeteria administration office (buying supplies, keeping track of inventory, etc.). We had a semi-trailer load of cubed steaks, chicken breasts, etc. for the cafeteria. This was about a 6 or 7 day convention so the food was just stored right there in the trailer - it was one of those refrigerated kind with a gasoline motor on the front to drive the refrigeration. It either quit or ran out of gas or something about tuesday, and the temperature naturally went up fast (houston in the summer). It took about a day and a half to get it running again.

  There was a big discussion between the big-wigs there in the office - did they dare go ahead and use this stuff after it had seen about 65F for at least 6 or 7 hours before they got it cooled back down? I just sat there and listened because I was only about 23 years old.

  It turned out to be one of those Prince Charles type decisions: lets see-

  Diana //or// Camilla

  Spend the money to buy fresh food //or// Chance food poisoning the friends

  Well, I hope Charles and Camilla are very happy. And, to my knowledge, we did not give anybody salmonella. But, you can be sure that junk got cooked and served. Only one senior brother tried to stop them and he got shouted down and told to trust in the lord.
• 
  15

  Does anyone else here fly?

  by james_woods in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  don't know if this has been done before, but i just got the notion that it would be fun to see if anyone else here is a pilot or private airplane owner?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  james_woods

  OK, so maybe I should have put the word AIRPLANE in the subject line...

  I got my license back in Jdub days- 1967-1969 (I was 18-20 then). And yes, I got a little talking to from the Congregation Servant over it. (this was before elders). Again I used the excuse that my grandfather was not a witness and he wanted me to do it as an educational experience. (same way I got through college).

  I would say I have flown pretty much 75% of everything in the single engine world, including some pretty interesting sports and aerobatic ships. I used to own a Bellanca Citabria for about 5 years.

  Reluctantly decided to give it up recently because blood pressure and eyesight are not quite what they used to be...

  but, taildraggers with control sticks forever!
• 
  210

  Real 'BIG' news WTS sued biggie worker compensation

  by DannyHaszard in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  jehovah's loses comp case

  church may be forced to pay millions

  by jess wisloski.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  james_woods

  And maybe there is a tie-in here with the tragedy of the Bethel worker who ran over that lady on the way to his congregation and cost the WT about 1.5M in the settlement...the common factor being that Bethelites may legally be employees rather than volunteers. So, did they give them proper hours, health care, maternity benefits, affirmative action, living wages (minimum wage) etc...after all, we are talking about a billion dollar corporation with 6000 employees here!
• 
  15

  Does anyone else here fly?

  by james_woods in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  don't know if this has been done before, but i just got the notion that it would be fun to see if anyone else here is a pilot or private airplane owner?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  james_woods

  Don't know if this has been done before, but I just got the notion that it would be fun to see if anyone else here is a pilot or private airplane owner?