DanTheMan

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Posts by DanTheMan

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  16

  No more shunning from me!

  by Dawn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was a jw for years, and i constantly run into old "friends" at the store, gym, doctor's, cinema, etc.

  up to now, i have just looked the other way because i knew they couldn't talk to me.. but after reading some posts here - i realized that i was contributing to their shunning.

  acting like i was still under their law - well no more!!.

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  DanTheMan

  I like your thinking Dawn. I only recently da'd, and i haven't come across any of my former dub acquaintences. But, I'm not playing by their rules anymore. Their gonna get a big smile and "hello" whether they like it or not. Bwuahahahaha
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  28

  A question for the English

  by apostate man in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have no intentions of starting a flame.

  but, i have a few questions.. i was reading this thread http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=24652&site=3&page=1 and it occured to me that americans and brits have a lot not in common.

  i will admit i am not very educated when it comes to england.

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  DanTheMan

  I like British people. I have met several, a keen sense of humor seems to be part of the British make-up, more so than with Americans. I agree that the citizens of this country may be stupid enough to elect a religious zealot for president. Dubya comes pretty close, I think that Pat Robertson and the rest of the Christian mafia were pretty happy at him being elected. I don't blame the British for being a little bit cynical towards America.
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  51

  The Watchtower is NOT a false prophet .. yes/no

  by refiners fire in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does a prophet have to claim to speak for "god" to be a false prophet?.

  can he be a false prophet if he claims to speak for someone else who speaks to god?.

  can he be a false prophet if he interprets a biblical prophet in a new way?.

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  DanTheMan

  I don't see how any reasonable person could deny the Watchtower being a false prophet. When an organization claims to be God's channel, that they have been entrusted with the Master's belongings, that they are "anointed" (thereby having special insight into Jah's mind & purpose) but repeatedly publish Armageddon dates that go unfulfilled, well, DUH! Crisis of Conscience chapter 9 is such a great expose of the "corporate" mentality of the WTBTS. As expectations over 1975 grew and grew, and hundreds of thousands were being baptized, did the WT back off of it? No, they didn't, not one bit. They only became more and more drunk with their false hopes, and passed the bottle to the R&F. I was only vaguely aware of the 1975 debacle when I became a dub, I wish I had known more.
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  2

  a thought on porn & forn

  by DanTheMan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  people who are only recent ex-dubs, or who are still attending the miserable meetings, how much have we heard over the past few years about the dangers of porn on the internet, how so many are falling into sexual sin (the wts are repressed prudes if ever there were -).

  well, here's my story - in 1997 (my fourth year as a baptized dub) i got a computer with internet access.

  it didn't take me long to find the porn sites.

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  DanTheMan

  People who are only recent ex-dubs, or who are still attending the miserable meetings, how much have we heard over the past few years about the dangers of porn on the internet, how so many are falling into sexual sin (the WTS are repressed prudes if ever there were -).

  Well, here's my story - In 1997 (my fourth year as a baptized dub) I got a computer with internet access. It didn't take me long to find the porn sites. It became very addictive to me. Of course, since I was trying to be a good JW, the shame I felt after a one-handed internet surfing episode was extreme. Which only seemed to make the problem worse. I fought an up and down battle with internet porn for the next few years, constantly going to the elders with my problem, even going so far as to take the modem out of my computer & giving it to an elder to hold on to for a while.

  Back in October of 2001, I stopped going to meetings. I had become very disgusted with much of what I saw in the congs, and I was having some serious doubts as to whether this was "the truth". Lo and behold, guess what happened? I no longer have any inclination towards surfing for internet porn. The problem vanished when I quit going to meetings. The lifting of this burden is wonderful beyond what I can express.

  My theory as to why I couldn't control my porn addiction as a dub, but as an ex-dub it has become a non-issue?

  1. The endless emphasis on "fornicators and adulterers" seems only to increase sexual curiosity and appetite.

  2. The constant pressure to conform to WT standards of behavior and conduct create unbearable stress for many in the congs, and porn is a great (but sick) outlet for relieving stress.

  3. In the congs, women have precious little identity and individuality. The prettiest and most sensuous females in the congs are given way more attention than the more average or ugly ones. If you are an ugly female in "Jehovah's Organization" - forget it, you're dead weight. "We really appreciate all your effort and sacrifices sister uglypioneer. We know how much you long for companionship, just wait on Jehovah, and in time he will fulfill your desire". barf

  Women in the borg are just skirts.

  Just some thoughts.
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  18

  Women Today Are Ugly

  by TMS in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a few weakminded postates have posted pictures on this board of modern women they deemed beautiful.

  huh!

  if these folk were better grounded in the truth, they would know that since creation female beauty has greatly deteriorated.

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  DanTheMan

  Is beauty just a physical thing?

  There are many paintings of women from the middle ages that have survived to our time. They don't seem any different.

  I can't imagine that Eve had it that much over Halle Berry or Claudia Schiffer.

  When I was in high school, there was this girl named Marilyn, you wouldn't even begin to believe how perfect she was, physically. A specimen like no other. I felt bad for her, she was just too much. Guys went bonkers for her, stared at her everywhere she went. She didn't know how to deal with it. She ended up a big drug-head, I don't know what she is doing now. Probably stuck in an abusive relationship.
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  10

  How do I pray?

  by DIAMOND in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  being a dub all my life i only know how to pray the dub way.

  you know the robotic, saying the samething the sameway using all the dub language and expression.

  now that i'm taking matters in my own hands i find that i really don't know how to pray.

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  DanTheMan

  I feel for you Diamond. My prayers as a dub were robotic, too. It's funny how the WTS slams Christendom for their canned prayers, but it's no different in the borg - "We thank you for these meetings that give us spiritual encouragement, help us where we fall short in pleasing you, may your spirit be with those who are not able to be with us because of circumstances, in Jesus name" - always a variation on these themes. I never could pray to Jehovah because I was never a zealous dub at all, I hid my JW affiliation from workmates, and the last 5 years I was a dub I went out door-to-door maybe 5 times. And when it is constantly drilled into your head that the only worthwhile activity you can possibly engage in is distributing WT literature, it really takes it's toll on the self-esteem. My prayers lately are pretty simple, I like the serenity prayer.
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  22

  song #87

  by blindfool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so, how many of you woke up with this song in your head this morning?.

  no matter how hard i try, it seems i can't get this song out of my head this morning.

  "the bread stands for jesus christ body, he gave on behalf of us all.

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  DanTheMan

  Funny, I had one of the lovely Kingdom Melodies running through my mind today, I can't remember what it was though. "What will you bring, Jehovah's Kingdom..." Oh how I hated that one - and it seemed like that was a once-a-weeker. "Christ Our Exemplar" wasn't bad. Overall, the songs sucked. And the canned music just made it suck worse.
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  39

  Are you happy?

  by teejay in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in the context of this forum, happiness at its core is generally defined in one of two ways: a) being a witness or, b) not being a witness.

  most of us consider ourselves happier since leaving the organization.

  because of a recent discussion between violetanai and marilyn, i've thought about it some more, only to reaffirm the truth i already discovered some time ago.

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  DanTheMan

  I agree with what most people have said about chemical/biological factors and how they relate to happiness. But I think you can change your chemistry. I used to suffer from extreme social anxiety, and I think a lot of that was bad chemistry, but slowly over the years I'm learning to overcome it. One of my favorite self-help books is called "Taming Your Gremlin" by Richard Carson. It uses a metaphor of a "Gremlin" as the inner "you are bad/hopeless/stupid/incompetent/unworthy" voice that I think so many of us deal with. The book has some really good tips on how to deal with that voice. I hope that someday I can get to a point where I'm stable enough to have an intimate relationship, but that is a ways off yet, I think. I am sure that my brain chemistry is getting better and better, and leaving the borg (talk about a Gremlin) can only improve things more. One of the things that I hated about the Borg was that it seemed so Darwinian, where only the fittest survive - fittest as in the people who can swallow that shit week after week and never question it and are so able to suppress their doubts and ignore how f***ed up things are in the congs. I'm really rambling here -
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  11

  meaning of life questions

  by ballistic in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you remember those articles called "what is the meaning of life?".

  there was almost one in every watchtower and books such as "live forever" had chapters devoted to the subject.

  i think there was a picture of some lonely guy looking out to sea across a sunset with that typical witness depressed but joyfull look.. any way, i was thinking to myself after finding such an article on the web that i haven't been pre-occupied by such questions since leaving the borg.

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  DanTheMan

  My stepmother lives by a philosophy of what is, is. Sorta gets me through sometimes. I also find comfort in the serenity prayer -

  God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

  Dwelling on the "meaning of life", I think is somewhat foolish and self-centered.
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  33

  So you want to brag, eh???

  by LDH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok ok ok so i stole englishman's phrasing.. one thing i'd been noticing about a certain troll's posts, they seem to center around personal accomplishments.. perhaps, that's not such a bad thing.

  this person obviously isn't getting any encouragement to pursue "selfish desires" by the congregation, therefore he and others feel the need to go bragging.. growing up jw doesn't exactly encourage your creativity; on the contrary it stifles artistic expression and personal growth.. so perhaps there is something that *you* can do very well (or not so well but it's still your thang as jt would say) that is very special.. we all know that dave (seven) is great at art, and tr can pick any damn lock he chooses, but what about the rest of us?.

  lisa

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  DanTheMan

  I can play a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar solos note for note. That isn't really creative though, when I think about it. I've never been able to come up with a single good note of my own. *sigh* Maybe someday creative inspiration will strike and I'll come up with something really good.