I thought you were a prison officer (they wear white shirts and black shoulder lapels in England).I changed my avatar too, cos im vain.
Katiekitten
I like your avatar better than his.
U
i've changed my avatar, 'cos after a few comments on here about me being an 'old man' i realised that some people thought my old one was a pic of me.
it wasn't (honest) it ws a scan of a postcard.
i'm not that old (50).. so now, i'll use a pic of the car instead.
I thought you were a prison officer (they wear white shirts and black shoulder lapels in England).I changed my avatar too, cos im vain.
Katiekitten
I like your avatar better than his.
U
i've changed my avatar, 'cos after a few comments on here about me being an 'old man' i realised that some people thought my old one was a pic of me.
it wasn't (honest) it ws a scan of a postcard.
i'm not that old (50).. so now, i'll use a pic of the car instead.
Are you a pilot for an airline?
u
in a recent discussion with a couple of district overseers and other heavies , the topic of the internet and apostate sites came up.
i asked what impact these were making , numerically , among jws.
the prevailing view was that , numerically , there was negligible impact.
here is another factor when one looks at why the ratio hasn't changed. I believe that is very clearly evident here: There is a utter disrespect and outright hostile attitude toward people who take their faith seriously, whether it is cultic JW faith or Christian. Not only that, but the very ones who chastise Christians for intolerance are very intolerant of the above.
JWs take a glance at some of the titles of the posts and run screaming from here. If they dig a little deeper they find this is the norm. The Watchtower always warns them that 'apostates hate God, the Bible and just want to shipwreck the faith of Christians."
So many of us 'apostates' are just exactly what they have been warned about. It is one thing to lose faith in a cult, it is another to have one's faith in God also at stake.
Rex
Sad but true. There is a lot of hostility to our former masters.
U
I remember well,
Kansas City, Arrowhead Stadium, 8days in the sun.
Three people died, two at the hands of rapist out side the stadium.
the black panthers reportedly tried to take over the money in accounting, but the black brothers reportedly told them that water was thicker than blood.
Re: tailgate parties--Absolutely not allowed. WT does not want anyone to enjoy any part of the assembly.
Brant
ive been a member of this board for just over four years, and i have never posted an introduction.
i mostly stick to the "fluff" threads, because they are safe.
i wont be attacked for an unpopular point of view, or hurt anyone elses feelings.
Gwyneth,
You wrote:
The things I learned on this board simply enraged me. I felt betrayed and duped by the WTBTS. Then I became bitter and resentful--that I missed out on my childhood, that I didn’t go to college, that I married too young. Angry about the UN scandal and the child molestation policy and the blood issue. But, the bitterness was far more palatable than thinking that I was worse than dog vomit to God. I am still locked in the bitterness, and I am jealous of the people who have let it go. My mom and sister have both moved on with no looking back. It’s the bitterness that drives me to be an active opposer of JW’s. My mom and sister have no desire to participate, overtly or subtly, in the demise of the WTBTS, and my dad thinks it’s sacrilegious. I live for it.
I really appreciated your story. I also have the same intense anger at the WT. So many bright people have been cheated of a better life and education by the WT.
Thanks for your story.
Brant
high cierra: teen scores best-ever ib mark at bhs
royal gazette, bermuda - 4 hours ago .
... cierra, a jehovahs witness who was named the islands outstanding teen 2006 earlier this year, does not intend to go to university but will instead carry ...
Danny,
thanks for those sites. I have been looking for months for the comparative education figures of JW's.
Brant
i just had a very enjoyable, insightful conversation with gregor, "the kool-aid man".
i learned some things and shared some things, and i think we are both the better for the conversation.. i think it would do everyone a lot of good to occasionally remember that on this forum, due to the limitations of the medium, we can really only see a weird sort of 2-dimensional person (sometimes only a 1-dimensional person) through the posts we read.
i just wanted to let everyone know i am glad i am getting to know gregor.
I have spoken a number of times with Garybuss, and have met in person a number of the people that have the Texas Apostafest, Big Tex and Cruzenhart, and enjoyed meeting even Elsewhere, even though he got his kiddie car broken last week. I have really enjoyed meeting some nice people.
I don't quite understand the reluctance to meet people in person. But, I am an old man with not a hell of a lot to lose, and I really enjoy getting to know people better.
Can someone tell me why it is so "unsafe"? I have pm'd several people in the Kansas-Missouri area to try to get together for breakfast or something and never get a response.
Ask Big Tex. I'm not a stalker. I take my wife with me everywhere I go.
Brandon, hope to meet you someday.
Brant
http://www.frappr.com/xjws .
don't know if this is done already, but here is a pretty neat way for us all to map out where we are so if anyone is travelling, they know who is in the area...if anyone thinks this is a good idea, feel free to click and update!
edited to add...it has chat, too.
I'm in.
(I think)
Uninformed
anyone know this poor soul?
randy
a brother who served as a curcuit and district.
Some of your comments are really over the top. Some of you sound like serial killers.
I left the WT as soon as I realized it was not what it purported to be.
I resigned as an elder after being one for 30 years over 5 years before I left. I was an elder because I wanted to help people. It is true that I sat in on judicial cases over the years.
I was a member of a comittee that made a serious mistake when we disfellowshipped one youngster, about 18. I went home and cried all night, called the CO and told him it was wrong. He said to ask the comittee to meet again and fix it. The other brothers refused to meet. I went to the boys home the following evening and apologized to his parents and to him, with tears. I never got over being party to such a harsh decision, a decision that wasn't even close to being helpful or kind.
I told the kid that anytime he wanted to be reinstated to come to me and I would convene a hearing for him and I promised that I would try to influence the others to go along. He never came back.
I never knowingly was harsh or unkind before that or since that occasion. I may have been and not realized it. The judicial process is not the right way to deal with people anyway. There are exceptions. I was on comittees that dealt with pedophiles. Two 'brothers' went to prison from that congregation.
The Bible says, "O You lovers of Jehovah, hate what is bad". Some of the comments made have displayed a deep hatred of the elders rather than the mistaken or bad acts of elders.
I personally think some of you might want to reconsider such a position. Knowing that we all need mercy, Jesus said that "with the same judgment we judge others, we will be judged."
In my years as an elder, I tried to do good toward those that I considered Jehovah's sheep. I am not saying that I never made a mistake, but I am saying that I never knowingly or deliberately was mean.
I am sorry that some elders were so mean and harsh to you. It makes me sad that men abuse their power. While I may repent and apologize for any arrogance or unkindness that I may have manifested, you don't have to forgive me. Jehovah, who is the 'searcher of hearts' knows, and that is enough.
I hate arrogance, whether it is my own, or elders or bodies of elders or CO's or DO's or GB, or whether it is displayed by people here on this DB. Winning the argument is not my goal. I can't hold a candle to the intelligence or ability to express myself as some of you obviously do and have. Humility might dictate that we try to be kinder toward one another though. I kind of thought we were all in this together and we were trying to help one another make sense out of our lives after learning the 'truth about the truth'.
As far as current JW's, elders, CO's and DO's and GB, I agree that if they stick with the WT after they understand what is really happening then they are drinking the cup of the anger of God. But, like the apostle Paul, before his conversion, he really thought that he was doing the right thing in persecuting Christians and his previous conduct was forgiven him.
Romans 14:10--
10
But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you also look down on your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written: "‘As I live,’ says Jehovah, ‘to me every knee will bend down, and every tongue will make open acknowledgment to God.’" 12 So, then, each of us will render an account for himself to God.It is uncomfortable sitting on the other side of the table. It was also two months ago when I faced the Judicial Committee that refused to give me a scriptural basis for the charge of APOSTASY that was brought before me and my wife. But it is over and they have no power over me. While it is true that they have labeled me and have destroyed 45 years of friendships and caused one of my children to disown my wife and I, we feel that the release has been well worth the price.
I hate the WT for what it has done to all of us, some worse than others.
But for that hatred to be leveled against people of all sorts who have themselves left the WT I feel is totally out of place.
Hopefully, your friend,
Brant
anyone know this poor soul?
randy
a brother who served as a curcuit and district.
there is so much garbage in this thread it is hard to know where to begin. a good place to start is to point out that this man is not an exjw. he is an ex overlord. he is still a jehovah's witness and i have not seen one thing that says he wants it to be any different.the hypocrisy of the exelders on this board is the same as when they weren't exs. and you still don't understand why the r&f hate you. "we were all kind and compassionate when we were the borg's hired guns. blah, blah, blah." bullshit!!! we didn't believe you then and we don't believe you now!
as for your attempt to lay a guilt trip on those who don't feel empathy for this "...pitiful former district overseer..." you can take it and stick it where the sun don't shine. stupid doesn't live here anymore.
j2s
j2s and LDH,
I think you guys are being as harsh as I ever was.
Some of us have left and repented. No forgiveness?
Why is it ok for you to be so mean now, and it wasn't ok for us to do the same? Both are wrong.
Thats why we all need the blood of Christ. We all need forgiveness.
We acted in stupidity and in a false sense of the reality, but we did so mistakenly.
Are you sure that you want to destroy us now?
Brant