Posts by thecarpenter

152

Does Knowing the Truth Make you a Happier person?

by gumby in

many of us who were once jehovah's witnesses had a measure of happiness in our lives.

for me, i had a hope in the future, i had answers as to why we are all here, i believed in a loving god who looked after me and cared about me, i had answers to all of lifes big questions.. when i found out the truth about the witnesses, i was lost in a great big world and now had no answers other than the fact that what i once believed was "the truth" in actuality wasn't the truth.i now had to start all over in my search for truth.

for me, it wasn't long before i found what i thought was the truth since i always believed in the bible.

thecarpenter

Hey gumby, it's good hearing from you again, posting here must be therapy for your soul.

As for your question, knowing the truth about the "Truth" has made me much more content. I no longer have to waste my time looking for answers designed for tickling my ear.

When I found out the truth about the witnesses, I was lost in a great big world and now had no answers other than the fact that what I once believed was "the Truth" in actuality wasn't the truth.I now had to start all over in my search for truth.

This starting all over actually isn't such a bad thing, what I come to realize and accept is that I don't know all the answers, nor do I really need all the answers presently. I really not inclined to accept all the "present truth" about science because we are really just scratching the surface, there is so much to know (I accept the discoveries, just not the metaphysical implication). I am also disinclined to accepted the finality of atheism because at this point, we still don't have all the information and as you said, it is kind of empty. If there is a real God or entity that we can identify as God (which I am inclined to believe), then eventually he will have to act and I don't believe it will be in a great display of worldwide destruction because some people had problems with the evidence. We will just have to wait and see and do our best to be decent human beings and try to reach our potential.

That is sort of where I am right now and I can live with that.

By the way, the hair didn't grow back from the last nutsack shinin I got from you.

thecarpenter from the hairless class

186

I have some very good news...

by Abandoned in

jw
friends

...but i can't say anything more right now.

still, it's amazingly, wonderfully, ain't the sky a gorgeous shade of blue today kind of news.

wish me luck... .

thecarpenter

Is one of novels going to be published? A new and better job? Good luck whatever it is!

31

So what is it with women and closets?

by onacruse in

jw
friends

so we're remodeling a bedroom in our house, and that includes me adding (at considerable expenditure of personal energy, i might add!

) a new shelving layout in the closet.. now, i ask kate what she thinks is best, and add a full shelf here, and a bank of multiple shelves there...and then, all of a sudden she starts going on and on about how much extra space she's going to have for all her "stuff" (guys, you know what i mean!

lol).

thecarpenter

I had to install custom closet setups for rich clients in the past and I was always amazed how much bigger the lady of the house closet was. One time we had to a cubicle set up for all her shoes and I swear, she must have had a 100 pairs.....

3

Jesus Cano (bethel elder child molester) prison update

by johnny cip in

jesus cano.

is in protective custody in newburgh n.y. a very quiet prisoner.

not many visitors.

thecarpenter

I really don't feel sorry for him. If he was having problems with his personal life, he should have gotten help. He chose to molest those weaker and more vulerable than him, like his taskmasters in bethel.

20

Al Franken

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

any al franken fans out there?

thecarpenter

I use to love his skits on SNL, but like Radisson, I don't care for his political views. As for the Maha Rushie, he rocks!!!

72

BASIC thinking....a TEST of how rational we are.

by Terry in

darkness and light.. something and nothing.. heat and cold.. happiness and sadness.. love and hate.. which of the above are actually existing things and which are conceptual constructs?.

hint: this is a trick question.

but, go ahead and answer anyway.

thecarpenter

terry, put a shirt on, you look cold.

23

Then and now, your journey on JWD

by greendawn in

when you compare the way you feel now as members of this forum with how you felt on your early days here what sort of thoughts and feelings come up?

what was your journey here like?

for me i have gone a long way, when i came here i loathed typing long posts, and hardly knew how to go about forums i was basically a forum virgin.

thecarpenter

hmmm, this is a pretty good question. I have to say that when I left the Jdubs (after reading Crisis of Conscience), I came here at the suggestion of a friend. I had looked at this site previously but wasn't really interested in joining a forum. Once I made up the decision in my heart that I wasn't going to return to the organization, I was more determined to investigate it more thoroughly. I was just blown away at the level of scholarship of some of the posters, the strength of the logic and evidence presented on the site. I spent months pouring over the personal experiences of the various posters, reading up on the debates of WT apologist, following up on the issues related to the WT and so on. The forum helped to remove any lingering doubts that I had regarding my decision to leave and reinforced my hope and courage to start over again.

It has been almost a year now and I don't feel guilty over my decision nor do I feel that somehow the watchtower is god channel of communication. (miscommunication and deceit is more appropriate) I also had the wonderful privilege to meet a number of JWD'ers at a mini-apostafest, meetup groups and just a dinner here and there. Met elsewhere, truthsetsonefree, lonelysheep, radisson, pratt1, RR, audispere, CD, stevenyc, Asheron, BetterDaze. Great bunch of people and I hope to meet more in my 2nd year on JWD, maybe gumby, mary, metatron (I never met a big M&M before), blonde, gary buss, dogpatch, purplesofa, auldsoul, Leolaia, lady lee, JH, terry, honesty, blackswan of memphis (thump, thump, thump) and so on. (sorry if I excluded anyone but there are too many people to type that I would like to meet)

By the way, thanks simon for the forum.

10

Meet ups

by DJK in

are there meet ups planned for the new england area?

if not, how can i get direct info about starting plans?

thecarpenter

Well the next NYC Ex-Jehovah's Witness Friendship Group will be meeting on March 17th at 6:30pm.

http://www.slate-ny.com/

Slate
54 West 21st Street
New York , NY 10011
212 989-0096

If you are in the area, join us. We had 11 people in each group the last two months, 4 of them were jwd posters. It was a real blast.

Lonely sheep, we'll save a seat for you.

49

Stuck in a dead-end job because of obeying anti-higher education policy?

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

did you refrain from obtaining a degree or advanced studies when you had the chance because it wasn't the witness thing to do?

how has this affected your life?

comments, rants, and personal experiences please.

thecarpenter

Well, I regret not finishing school when I first became a witness almost 25 years ago. I struggled job wise for a number of years while I pioneering and immersed myself with other WT cult activities, ignoring other important activities in my life. I did succeed though in eventually getting a good job (income, benefits, pension etc...) But honestly I feel I shortchanged myself in the process. I started school again a few months after my last meeting with the borg and what a great time I been having. I always loved school and even though I'm in my 40's, I plan to get my bachelors and probably apply to graduate school for my masters or PhD (maybe even medical school if I can maintain a high GPA ha, ha). I don't view school as a burden but as a joy and now I am living part of a dream.

Where I go from there, who knows but I am enjoying the ride.

'I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.' - Henry David Thoreau

24

What kind of work would you like to do?

by averyniceguy in

jw
friends

what kind of work would you like to do?

just do not consider how much they pay.

thecarpenter

Well I'm a carpenter and I love building things. But I noticed a toll construction takes on the body so I'm back in college and majoring in psychology. (Hey Lawrence - great minds think alike)
I don't plan on ever stopping woodworking but I do like intellectual pursuits as well.