DesertRat

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Posts by DesertRat

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  59

  To what belief system do you subscribe? Belief-O-Matic!

  by daystar in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  take the old belief-o-matic survey and post your results!.

  here are my rather interesting results:.

  1. unitarian universalism (100%) 2. mainline to liberal christian protestants (83%) 3. liberal quakers (82%) 4. neo-pagan (81%) 5. christian science (church of christ, scientist) (80%) 6. secular humanism (78%) 7. new age (67%) 8. baha'i faith (61%) 9. nontheist (60%) 10. church of jesus christ of latter-day saints (mormons) (57%) 11. new thought (55%) 12. hinduism (52%) 13. scientology (50%) 14. jehovah's witness (48%) 15. taoism (48%) 16. theravada buddhism (45%) 17. mainline to conservative christian/protestant (36%) 18. sikhism (32%) 19. mahayana buddhism (31%) 20. jainism (23%) 21. orthodox quaker (21%) 22. eastern orthodox (20%) 23. orthodox judaism (20%) 24. roman catholic (20%) 25. reform judaism (18%) 26. seventh day adventist (17%) 27. islam (5%)

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  DesertRat

  This site was an immense help to me early in the fade (late 2000 - 2002) when I was struggling to define a spiritual direction for myself. I still find it helpful now & then to see where I am at..

  My latest Top Ten are as follows:

  1.) Neo-Pagan (100%)

  2.) Unitarian Universalism (91%)

  3.) New Age (87%)

  4.) Mahayana Buddhism (83%)

  5.) Liberal Quakers (80%)

  6.) Jainism (77%)

  7.) Reform Judaism (76%)

  8.) Baha'i Faith (71%)

  9.) Sikhism (70%)

  10.) Hinduism (69%)

  #1, which occasionally trades places with #'s 3 or 4, has always made sense because of my primary interest in Native teachings, drumming, medicine wheels, Mayan/Toltec wisdom, etc.

  #2--There is a Unitarian Universalist church nearby which I have attended perhaps a half-dozen times. I love the eclectic atmosphere & wide variety of belief systems tolerated, but have no desire to commit myself fully to any one church or belief system (at least not now..)

  And guess what comes in dead last??? Yes...EVERY TIME!!! Think that should eliminate any lingering questions as to whether there still is, or ever will be, a place for me in the Org..

  Isn't freedom wonderful???

  DR
• 
  21

  Do you express your emotions?

  by greendawn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you find it easy to express your emotions or do you tend to lock them up and conceal them?

  women are of course better than men in venting their emotions even if by crying something that men are not supposed to do except under extreme circumstances that create great emotional upheaval eg death of spouse.

  southern europeans are also better at expressing emotion than northern europeans.

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  DesertRat

  I was never one to express my emotions openly (more a result of upbringing than a gender issue). One thing is for sure, however--they have been coming out alot more lately. Just yesterday I read a thread here about a young JW who committed suicide, & had to leave my desk for several minutes. Perhaps this is another sign of newfound 'freedom.."

  DR
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  35

  Newbie intro

  by Just as I am in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been lurking here for a few months now, reading all the net soup archived postings and wanted to make an intro.

  i've never posted to a forum before, so please excuse anything not in proper form!

  like many of you, i was born and raised jw, third generation.

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  DesertRat

  Just As I Am & Squarebzz:

  Warmest welcome to you both!!!

  DesertRat
• 
  27

  another life gone

  by darth frosty in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this past thurs a young brother ended his life.

  in writing he stated that he could not live up to the demands placed on him.

  i am quite sure that all the local witnesses will hear about this and think what they are programed to think: we need the new system.

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  DesertRat

  Van Gogh--thank you for your kind thoughts. I think that reading about this tragic experience hit me especially close to home (I had to go into the Men's Room here at work & lose it for around five minutes) because I was planning my own demise--it would have been my fourth attempt--only weeks before being referred to this site. My heart is broken because this poor kid never made it here & found, as I have, that there is hope & help for all of us JW-wounded even in the darkest moments..

  Darth Frosty--I think that many others besides myself have taken inspiration from the last paragraph of your post. If not for this site, & a few very compassionate & understanding people, I might not be here right now..

  to all

  DR
• 
  27

  another life gone

  by darth frosty in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this past thurs a young brother ended his life.

  in writing he stated that he could not live up to the demands placed on him.

  i am quite sure that all the local witnesses will hear about this and think what they are programed to think: we need the new system.

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  DesertRat

  Maybe it is a sign of progress in my 'recovery' from the Org that I am now crying & feeling for someone I never had the privilege to meet (& perhaps help in some way)? Over & over the thought has gone through my mind, "It could have been me." Really, it could have been any number of us, at one time or other..

  There was a severely depressed older JW in a congregation we once attended who took her own life. No one had seen or heard from her in about three days, so a couple of pioneer sisters went by to check on her & found her body on the kitchen floor. The truly sad & ironic part was that the cause of death was written RIGHT INTO THE OBITUARY. "Marian W., longtime resident who enjoyed gardening & talking to others about the Bible, died Wednesday of an INTENTIONAL DRUG OVERDOSE.." My mother (still an active JW) was later told that several JW's in the vicinity were asked about it at the doors. One householder allegedly stated, "But I thought you call yourselves the happiest people on earth?"

  I would LOVE to know what (if anything) was said in response to that..

  DR
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  54

  What Bothers You The Most About Jehovah's Witnesses?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for me, i think it's their hypocrisy.

  they lead (the vast majority) a double life.

  and ultimately they look down on anyone not a jw yet they won't even wn up to it.

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  DesertRat

  Besides the hypocrisy & other points already touched on...the fact that a person's best is never good enough. For me there was the constant pressure to do more, more, MORE--usually without acknowledgment or commendation of any kind. And don't dare give yourself credit for anything--you're just doing what Jehovah expects of you!!! For someone who has already struggled throughout life with much lower-than-average self-esteem (due to Asperger's & other factors), messages such as these were especially detrimental emotionally & psychologically.

  What bothers me most, however, is the fact that I wasted over 25 years of my life among them, trying to please them, & now must pick up the pieces & learn skills for 'normal' living that most people in my age bracket probably mastered years ago..

  DR
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  35

  when and where

  by purplebunnyfoofoo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  when and where were you baptized.

  1974 in evansville indiana, roberts muncipal stadium

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  DesertRat

  1987 at the Assembly Hall in Woodburn, OR
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  10

  You might be a Witness, if ... (in the spirit of redneck jokes)

  by free2beme in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  feel free to add on.. if you ever went to another religions funeral, and handed out watchtower publications and thought that was okay ... you might be a witness.

  if you thought you were getting to old, and needed to get married as soon as possible and were only 20 ... you might be a witness.

  if you remember preaching "the end is near" for over twenty years, and claim to be okay that it did not come yet ... you might be a witness.

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  DesertRat

  If you HAD a Smurf as a child, but were made to throw it out after a Special Needs talk...you might be a Witness.

  If you were ever discouraged from talking about 'what you wanted to be when you grow up,' because 'the New Order will already be here'...you might be a Witness.

  If your idea of fun was playing Bible charades with the same kids from the Hall (& you got mad because you pulled Jonah's name out of the hat when you wanted David or Goliath...)...you might be a Witness.

  If you happened to be at home on Halloween night & your parents made you pass out magazines to any trick-or-treaters that came by...you might be a Witness.

  If your milk at the convention was warm & you said nothing for fear of disrespecting 'Jehovah's arrangement'...you might be a Witness.

  If you held back the tears at your father's funeral because nobody else was crying & might think you lacked faith in the resurrection hope...you might be a Witness.

  If you heard stories about the atrocities in Malawi & smiled at the thought of 'how WONDERFUL that these brothers died faithful'...you might be a Witness.

  If you were scheduled to read the Watchtower lesson but replaced at the last minute because of your 'five o'clock shadow'...you might be a Witness.

  If you had your heart set on a Mazda Miata, but an elder talked you out of it...you might be a Witness.

  If you ever popped your last twenty into the Contribution Box when you really could have used it for gas (aka 'relying on Jehovah')...you might be a Witness.

  If you did run out of gas that night, & called it a 'test'...you might be a Witness.

  If a Good Samaritan drove by & offered to help, & you called it 'Jehovah's direction'...you might be a Witness.

  If you tried to thank the benefactor afterwards by offering a copy of the Watchtower or Awake...you might be a Witness.

  DR
• 
  10

  Can you think of any WT books that aren't 192 pages?

  by silentWatcher in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  so, the latest book at the convention was 224 pages, and not the typical 192 pages.

  more manna from heaven :-) .

  besides the greatest man book, can you think of any regular issue book (nwt, proclaimers books, bound volumes, etc not included) that was not 192 pages.

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  DesertRat

  Just old enough here to remember 'From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained'--definitely 192-PLUS pages filled with graphic images of "what will happen to those who don't obey Jehovah" (as whispered into my ear by my mother during many a meeting...)

  DR
• 
  17

  Little things that mean alot

  by beautifulisfree in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  okay i hate to sound mean but witnesses in my opinion are mean and rude (that once included me) without even realizing it, maybe.

  because the little things that non-witnesses do in everyday life for others and their family mean alot to ones they love or complete strangers.. what are some little things you can do know that show someone you care..that you weren't allowed to do before?.

  1. saying "bless you" after someone sneezes

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  DesertRat

  Signing a birthday card here at work & not handing it back to the sender with the recorded message, "So sorry, I don't celebrate..."

  DR