In the mid-70's I never missed a regular meeting and also had a few JC and elder meetings every month. This did not include home Bible studies, shepherding calls and field service. I also did a lot of guest speaking for public talks in other congs. sometimes attending my own Sunday meeting before or after, schedule permitting. Also, it was fairly common to be cornered by a brother or sister after the meeting and spend an hour or so discussing a concern of theirs. I am not complaining about the latter demand on my time, these were very good people who were trying their best to deal with some serious situations. All this time, I was also the husband and father of a big family (5 kids by '78) and making a living.
Posts by Gregor
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15What's the most meetings you went to in a row, without missing any?
by JH inlets put it at 3 meetings a week.. my record is about 12 meetings in a row without missing.. normally, i'd miss 1 meeting per 2 weeks, in my best days..
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16
Proud mom moment - have to share.
by Princess inmy eight year old daughter has wanted to run with me for a long time.
i had us signed up for a girls only run last winter but we woke to snow so i blew it off.
this year i was determined to find a winter run for us.
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Gregor
Congratulations. Great activity for a young lady to enjoy with mom.
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30
Do you understand the ransom?
by Fisherman inbecause i am a christian i accept the ransom with a leap of faith but undrstanding it is beyond my imagination.
i cannot justify torturing and killing the innocent, but that is only my thinking.
god must have good reasons for what he does.
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Gregor
"Jesus' vicarious death can be explained through a number of distinct metaphors: expiation sacrifice, propitiation sacrifice, passover lamb, act of intercession, substitutive punishment, redemption, ransom, etc. The very diversity of (strictly) mutually exclusive metaphors, sometimes by the same authors, should prevent the reader from considering any of them as more than a metaphor among others, i.e. as THE true and final explanation."
Yeah, that's it. Rubbing alcohol and maybe some very good weed.
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Do you understand the ransom?
by Fisherman inbecause i am a christian i accept the ransom with a leap of faith but undrstanding it is beyond my imagination.
i cannot justify torturing and killing the innocent, but that is only my thinking.
god must have good reasons for what he does.
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Gregor
Yes, If I put $250,000.00 in unmarked bills in a large bag and leave it next to the big oak tree by the horseshoe pits at City Park, and DO NOT tell the police or the FBI about it, then you will release my little Bobby, unharmed (except for his right ear, which you sent to me as proof you really had him and I am taking it on faith that it was his ear and not some other kids ear).
But if your talking about the Jesus Christ ransom deal, hell no I don't understand. It sounds like something someone thought up after drinking rubbing alcohol.
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Demonic expereiences
by Tyrone van leyen inall bs and religion aside we've all heard the demon stories of the witnesses but has anyone actually had an personal experience such that you can't explain with your rational mind that shocked you and may lend credence to the possibility of something paranormal.
not something hyped, or emotional,but something your gut told you is just couldn't happen and did?
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Gregor
I think it is really strange when someone is talking to you and suddenly their head rotates 360 degrees and their tongue is green and long and flicks in and out of their mouth. There must be some rational explanation for this, like maybe they just got a bad taco, but, still, it kind of creeps you out.
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48
What's The Worst Personality Trait Or Negative Quality A Person Can Have???
by minimus ini can put up with a lot of things.
but i avoid people who are "users".
you know the type....always taking, never giving, always looking to take advantage of someone......and i don't like liars all that much either.
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Gregor
How about the chronic VICTIM? These unfortunate people can point a finger at someone or something to blame for every negative thing that has ever happened to them. In some cases they may be on target, but they can't move on and they just let it gnaw at their insides and waste a lot of energy being angry. At worst, they can't accept that sometimes negative things just happen and they cast about for a target to focus their frustration on. Anguish over "what could have been" eats at them constantly. This personality trait bogs people down and prevents them from moving on to more positive things. It can also be a tactic to avoid personal responsibility for the direction their life is going.
I think ex-JWs especially need to be on guard to avoid letting the WTS continue to bring them down even after they know it is a sham. The years invested in following a bogus religeous cult can never be reclaimed.
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23
For Newbies: EXCELLENT Judicial meeting with LOTS of info!!
by Lady Liberty inthought i would bump to the top this excellent tape recording of a judicial meeting.
you will find the person "on trial" has bneen a elder himself.
once he realised things were not adding up he ended up disassociating himself along with his wife.
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Gregor
This was 22 years ago. I would like to know how this couple is doing now. Hope they are well. I went through a similar situation just a few years earlier than this. I don't mean this in a critical way, but a lot of their discussion I look back on as pointless arguing over concepts that are absurd to me now... throwing scriptures back and forth, arguing about 587 vs 607, the age of a person in 1914, who or what is the true mediator between God and man, etc, etc.
I was in the same state of mind when I left but now it just sounds like members of a UFO cult having a falling out over wether the mother ship rotates clockwise or counter-clockwise. It's all a crock.
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Does anyone remember this member?
by nonamegiven inhmmm.
anyone remember him?
well, take a sec to read this post.
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Gregor
Makes one wonder how many in the org are living a sham out of fear of losing friends and family who in turn are living the same lie themselves... I imagine there are probably married couples who lay in bed next to each other with apostate thoughts going through their heads. They rise the next morning, get dressed and go out in field service together...
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22
How embarrassed were you to be a JW?
by exwitless ini, for one, was often embarrassed to be a jw; i always felt guilty about that, because it was always drilled into us that we should never be ashamed of our "religious heritage".
well, it's really hard to be the only one at your workplace who doesn't celebrate christmas, birthdays, etc.
it just draws so much unwanted attention to you, like when people try to tiptoe around certain subjects in your presence.
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Gregor
Was always miserable the first few days of school each year, waiting for someone to notice I didn't salute the flag.
Then, as an adult when I would get trapped in a national anthem situation at a ballpark, (remember when the WTS ruled that we should not stand up?)
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Why aren't the 144,000 put to a greater use?
by RULES & REGULATIONS inwe've been told that the 144,000 are providing the ''spiritual food'' and that there are a little over 8,000 of them on earth today.
every prayer that is ever given,they are thanked for providing the "spiritual food".. if that is the case ,why does the food(yum,yum) only come from new york?
why is the writing look like its written by sixth graders?
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Gregor
Once had a 'super' elder who was of the so called 'annointed'. He was a carpet installer by trade (this was in California) but his life revolved around being a Brooklyn groupie. He knew a lot of the FDS back east and was always writing or phoning them, like he was their equal. Several of us elders secretly thought he was one sandwich short of a picnic. He once spent about 3 years spearheading an assembly hall project which he seemed to believe was his divine purpose in life. It was built in Madera, Calif. When his 20 yr old nephew attempted to seduce my 12 yr old daughter he never forgave me for going to the police. Said it was a Matthew chap. 18 situation. I got the asshole nephew into a real big pot of trouble.