James Free

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Posts by James Free

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  38

  Goodbye from James Free

  by James Free in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i joined jwd i still felt the need for a 'support group' and jwd was full of similar people wanting to share their experience.

  now the time has come for me to leave - i am now able to put 35 years of jw living completely out of my head.. .

  many factors have helped me, and jwd was an important part of that, and i will always be grateful to simon for setting up this forum.. .

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  James Free

  When I joined JWD I still felt the need for a 'support group' and JWD was full of similar people wanting to share their experience. Now the time has come for me to leave - I am now able to put 35 years of JW living completely out of my head.
  
  Many factors have helped me, and JWD was an important part of that, and I will always be grateful to Simon for setting up this forum.
  
  I would probably have stayed longer, but the forum is not what it was. Newbies ARE discouraged (OF COURSE they may still suffer from some JW indoctrination and may sometimes defend the beliefs they held for years - berating them does nothing to help them past it), and it is not unusual to read an intolerant reply to a poster.
  
  I am sure this happened from time to time when I first joined, so why is it so much more noticeable now for me? Maybe in part because I am ready to move on. And maybe in part because the forum seems to have moved on into 'middle age' - The vitality, interesting life experiences, information from JW insiders, quality doctrinal discussions etc have given way to pulp - Just read the active thread topics to see that.
  
  I always thought when the time came, I would not write a goodbye thread. They always seemed pointless, since by tomorrow James Free will be forgotten. But I hope that my comments on the current state of this board might persuade even a small number to realize that things need to change here before it's too late, and the 'support group' is no longer there for the next new ex-JW.
  
  Richard James - Free at last.
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  7

  Aid to Bible Understanding, 1971

  by poki in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  hello to all, any of you have the topic over "chronology", from the book "aid to bible understanding" ( perhaps on his original edition of 1971) in the form of a pdf file, or another format?

  i m in the corroboration of excerpts of ray franz s book and carls olof johnson s book, when they speak on the real and original text of the "aid" book, and what was his real content, all this, before of the problems of 1975-1980. thanks

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  James Free

  Yes JCanon, but COJ does not claim to be Christ as you do, so whatever he says immediately is more credible.
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  95

  most disturbing movie scene you've seen?

  by knock knock in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i haven't seen this topic on here so i thought i'd.... hmmm, maybe it's because it's just too disturbing?

  to me, the scene in saving private ryan - the two soldiers in the small upstairs room fighting hand to hand to the death (by stabbing).

  i think that is the most disturbing thing i've seen on screen and there were plenty just in that film alone.

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  James Free

  Hostel - I have seen so much over the years that very little fazes me, but this one was a new height of violence.
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  5

  reexamine.org

  by Borgia in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i visited the website today and got this nice page with references to the us military and the message that the domianname had expired on nov.10th.

  this year.

  so, it it down permanently or is it a sort of maintenance hickup like last september?

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  James Free

  The site has been down for a long time. All the info that was there is available all over the net, you just need to Google to find it.
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  13

  If JW Minors Confide in You ...

  by compound complex in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  greetings friends,.

  many of us are still on good terms with jw friends and family.

  my particular concern revolves around being honest with minor dubbies who may confide in us regarding doubts or problems they have "acting" out the role determined by their witness parents.

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  James Free

  I will talk with any Witness and their children. It is ESSENTIAL to use tact, and to plant seeds rather than cut down trees of belief. But apart from that, if 'crossing the line' means going against the parents and getting them to see it's not really the 'truth' I would cross it gladly.
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  12

  Current address for the WT?

  by carla in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what is the current address for the wt these days?

  brooklyn or patterson?

  thanks much.

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  James Free

  Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, C/O
  Kingsboro Psychiatric Center
  681 Clarkson Avenue
  Brooklyn, NY 11203
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  77

  What's the big deal with Jesus' "sacrifice"?

  by bluesapphire in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what was the big deal with that dam tree to begin with!

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  James Free

  Jesus' death paid God for the sins of Mankind and redeemed us all from Adamic sin. That's why, two thousand years later, things are so much better.
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  32

  Did You Feel That Jehovah Blessed or Punished You?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  were you one of those witnesses that believed anything good that happened was because jehovah god was blessing you and when something bad happened, it was evidence of "no blessings"??

  ?

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  James Free

  I used to pray. I used to give HIM the praise when things went right, and remember He won't allow us to be tested beyond what we can endure when things went wrong.
  
  Now I have finally worked it out - HE DOESN'T GIVE A SH*T WHAT HAPPENS TO ANY OF US.
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  37

  My Letter to the Editor regarding Emma's death!

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  i have had relatively high success in getting the local rag to run my letters in the opinion page.

  i hope this one is printed.. .

  to the editor; on october 25 the british press was awash with the story of young emma gough from tellford, uk.

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  James Free

  Your lack of understanding of the obvious is not needed here. This thread is started in obvious seriousness and you are hijacking it into foolish areas.

  First, I am just as upset that this woman died, apparently due to her refusal to have blood. So don't call me an apologist. However, the other poster has the right to express an opinion, and they are not wrong that the official cause of death is not known and it IS possible that she would have died even with a transfusion. However, equally true is the possibility that she died as a direct result of her refusal for blood.
  
  What upsets me is the way certain posters like you do not tolerate other views and basically tell others to get lost. If you don't want discussion, don't frequent a discussion board yourself!
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  24

  Being prejudiced

  by purplesofa in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  growing up, my mother was very prejudiced.

  mostly against black people.

  i had no choice on the matter of my skin color.

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  James Free

  prejudices are learned behaviors

  I totally agree. Thankfully they can be unlearned too.