Posts by digderidoo

54

Ray Franz Passed Away Today

by Amazing in

jw
friends

i just received word that ray franz passed away today at 1:37 pm eastern daylight time.

the cause of death is stated as head trauma, likely due to falling to the ground, and a stroke could have also been part of the cause or a result of the fall.

he died at emory university hospital in atlanta about 17 minutes after being taken off life support.

digderidoo

Sad news, i've only just learned this as i hardly log on here anymore.

His book changed my life, he was a great man and his life really made a difference to many people including myself. I sent him an email of thanks for his book and to my surprise got a lengthy reply, the one thing that he said that will always stick in my mind is that although he had spent a great number of years in the Jehovah's Witness religion he wasn't angry because of it, rather he liked to view all those years as making him the man he was that day (about 2 years ago), that he never viewed any of those years as wasted years. It always stuck in my mind because if i live to his age i'm not even half way through, so why spend the rest of those future years angry at my 'lost years' in the Jehovah's Witness religion? I told him to be glad in the knowledge that he has made a difference, because he certainly did to me and to someone else i know, aswell as countless others i've coresponded with over the years.

R.I.P. Ray Franz....an inspiration, somebody who really made a difference and left his mark on this world.

Paul

30

Can You Suspend Your Disbelief?

by Robdar in

jw
friends

i have been playing a game with my boyfriend (it totally blew his mind, btw) and would like to invite you to participate, but first you must suspend your disbelief.

if you choose to play, here is the game:.

go outside and look up into the sky.

digderidoo

Yes it works!.....always knew i was he centre of the universe

Paul

61

can spirituality replace religion?

by make yourself in

i was watching cnn, an d they asked this question and this one lady called in and claimed she wasn't raised in a religious household.

but she remembered when she was in elementary school that this jw girl asked her if she was spritual she said no, then the jw told her she would go to hell.

wow.

digderidoo

When you say replacing religion, you have to ask is there a hole that needs replacing. Spirituality would certainly fill that hole, but so would many other things.

I think you can be spiritual without being religious, but you can't be religious without being spiritual.

Personally i'm spiritual, but that's not now based on how many meetings i attend or how many hours i spend knocking doors. I really feel as though the society has defined the word spiritual to mean something completely different to what the actual word means.

Paul

44

Transexual starts a study...what happens next??

by digderidoo in

jw
friends

so my mother was telling me that a transexual, don't know if she's pre or post op (nobody does apparently), has started attending meetings and started a bible study.. she answers up in meetings and has been attending a few weeks.

apparently she looks very much like a woman but has a distinctive masculine voice.

i asked my mother what will happen?

digderidoo

So my mother was telling me that a transexual, don't know if she's pre or post op (nobody does apparently), has started attending meetings and started a bible study.

She answers up in meetings and has been attending a few weeks. Apparently she looks very much like a woman but has a distinctive masculine voice. I asked my mother what will happen? Will she be forced to become a man again or what? My mother says she doesn't know.

So, out of curiosity does anyone here know what will happen? Would she be allowed to be baptised if she is post op? Or would she be forced to become a man or dress as a man before being allowed on service, etc, etc? I must admit i'm quite surprised she's allowed to answer up. I guess the elders do not want to frighten her off.

Paul

41

JWS is a fraud...

by vilot in

jw
friends

wes and april started an exjw discussion board thinking simon would end this board...it attracted many new members and grew into a bit hit in the exjw world...but a funny thing happened they started to ask for funds to keep the site up and asked for donations they poured in and yet it was not enough they keep ask and the funds keep pouring in...month after month and yet it was never enough...then it dawned on the members they were just pocketing the money and holding the members hostage..."send money or the site will go down"...they kept sending and they kept pocketing the money.... .

avoid these people like the plage they will just rip you off and pocket the money....

digderidoo

Vilot,

$1,000 donations in one year and $71 a month in google ads is not alot of money.

By my reckoning that's $1852 a year, or $154.33 a month or $35.62 a week gross turnover. Take off the expense of running the site, you're not left with much. If April was going to attempt to fraud i would imagine that she could think of something more lucrative than setting up an ex jw site.

Paul

41

JWS is a fraud...

by vilot in

jw
friends

wes and april started an exjw discussion board thinking simon would end this board...it attracted many new members and grew into a bit hit in the exjw world...but a funny thing happened they started to ask for funds to keep the site up and asked for donations they poured in and yet it was not enough they keep ask and the funds keep pouring in...month after month and yet it was never enough...then it dawned on the members they were just pocketing the money and holding the members hostage..."send money or the site will go down"...they kept sending and they kept pocketing the money.... .

avoid these people like the plage they will just rip you off and pocket the money....

digderidoo

April and her husband have invested a lot of time and effort into that site.

What you have to realise is that when it was set up, this site was closing down, or should i say JWD the predecessor to JWN was. At the time people here didn't know where to go, there were a couple of ex jw sites out there but not one particular site that everyone went to. When April set it up, she set it up with Simon's blessing. I believe he helped her with technical difficulties, etc. Many people from here went over there, it was only when Simon decided to reinvent JWD as JWN that people decided to stay here.

April should be commended for what she has done there, she has worked hard, she also does this around looking after a house and a number of children. if you say she is doing it as a fraud then you obviously weren't around at the beginning, when it was set up, otherwise you would know the reasons she set it up and why she did it.

If you don't want to donate then don't. The site does cost money to run, it's not free to set up any site, especially as it grew very fast in such a short time. In fact when Simon originally set this site up i'm sure he will tell you that he was out of pocket. There was and probably still is a paypal tab here to donate. April may well ask for donations to keep the site running, in fact there have been times in the early stages when it has closed down for a few days because of finances. I don't believe she is making a profit from it, because i have seen the reasons as to why she set the site up, however if she does make soemthing from it, then i'm pretty sure that it comes well below the minimum wage fro all the hours she has put into the site.

Paul

25

Faded 10 years ago, now considering DA'ing!

by NutFlush in

jw
friends

long-time occasional lurker, first-time poster.

cliffs notes version: i'm thinking of da'ing in order to shake my family up a bit, even though i haven't been involved with jws in more than 10 years.

longer version: i was raised as a jw but never got baptized.

digderidoo

Welcome to the forum.

Echoing what's been said you haven't been baptised so you have nothing to DA yourself from. Only baptised JW's get to disassociate themselves.

You may well still feel some sort of connection because of your upbringing and it may be wise to stick around and debunk the JW myth, but as for you officially DA'ing yourself, you have nothing to DA yourself from as you never officially joined by getting baptised.

Paul

10

Pedophilia: Belgium Branch Letter to the BOE

by Nick! in

jw
friends

belgium branch pedophilia letter to the boe.

i have received recently the attached copy of a letter dated january 26 2000, which is supposed to be an official communication to all congregations in belgium, giving instructions on how to deal with pedophilia cases.. .

i am interested to understand if this letter, from the belgium branch, .

digderidoo

I wonder about the authenticity of the letter.

If it's addressed to Belgian congregations then why is it in English and not French?

It ends with 'Being by your side in your beautiful pastoral work...'. I have never heard JW's refer to their work as pastoral, that sounds more Christianity type of phrase.

Paul

15

what to do on xmas day when your all alone?

by highdose in

jw
friends

since i don't have the answer perhaps you guys could supply some?.

digderidoo

I will pass on what somebody told me.

Another name for Christmas day is Friday.

Paul

22

Daniel 9:2.... 70 years question

by digderidoo in

sorry to rehash an old topic.. in the first year of his reign, i, daniel, understood from the scriptures, according to the word of the lord given to jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of jerusalem would last seventy years.

daniel is clearly speaking of jeremiah 25, but here he speaks of the desolation of jerusalem, rather than a babylonian dominance of jeremiah.. so how does daniel fit in with a 587/6 date for the destruction of jerusalem and the dominance of the babylonian empire refered to in jeremiah?.

paul.

digderidoo

Thanks Ann.

JCanon, i have asked about Daniel 9:2, not about Josephus....if you have something to say on the matter stick to Daniel, rather than your own Messianic agenda.

Paul