Posts by done4good

25

Newbie

by davegod in

jw
friends

interesting place!

for whatever reason i have never chosen to search for such an bbs.

i don't know how i will fit in.

My D/A letter

by done4good in

jw
friends

after managing a successful fade, the long thread started by nvrgnbk made me think a bit.

up until then, i maintained a fairly hardline stance that the borg would need to d/f me if they really wanted me "out".

but then, i began to consider a few things.

After managing a successful fade, the long thread started by nvrgnbk made me think a bit. Up until then, I maintained a fairly hardline stance that the borg would need to d/f me if they really wanted me "out". But then, I began to consider a few things. First of all, I DID manage a successful fade. No one calls me, and my family dosen't speak to me anyway. I have no vested interest in "officially" remaining a jw. There is simply no benefit to me anymore for doing so. I believe the congregation elders and the society should know my position, (and I DO feel an inner need to set the matter straight with myself), so I decided to d/a. Here is my letter, simple and to the point:

Dear Body of Elders:
This letter is to inform you that I no longer wish to be associated with Jehovah’s Witnesses. This decision has been made due to issues of both lack of integrity and honesty on the part of the organization. I suggest you do your own research, and come to your own conclusions.
Regards,
Jason P. Vanrell
Some Questions for Consideration:

1. Was Jerusalem really destroyed in 607 B.C.E.?
2. What was Beth Sarim?
3. What is a UN NGO and why would the Society want to be one?
4. What is the Society’s position on reporting known pedophiles in the congregation to the authorities?
5. What happened during the 1960’s and 1970’s with Malawi and Mexico?
6. What is Pyramidology? And why would Charles Taze Russell want to use this practice?
7. When was the idea of a Governing Body actually formed? Did the president and Vice President actually want this at the time of its inception?
8. What was the significance of 1874, 1881, 1925, or 1941?
9. Was C.T. Russell an Adventist?
10. Was Joseph Rutherford chosen to succeed Russell?

88

CIGAR AFICIONADOS?

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

what you smokin'?.

done4good

Give Nat Sherman's a try. Lots of smoke, good punch, and yes, six pack of beer buzz...My new weekend smoke.

j

20

How much control does the WTS really have?

by dozy in

a theme regularly running through ex-jw / apostate posts is their conviction that the worship of jws is at best of a high control basis or at worst exhibits cult-like tendencies , so they often delight in the freedom that they now enjoy.. but in reality , how much control is exhibited on the average witness?

to take one example , at least 40k are dfd in an average year , and one would assume 3 - 5x this figure are reproved privately or publicly.

that means that over a 10 year period 20% - 25% of jws are seriously flouting the strongest moral code of jws , usually for immorality , emphasized in wt after wt , meeting after meeting.

done4good

The real control victims (if that term is advisable) are the hard core 20%. These are the ones learn foreign languages , actively pioneer , give up parenthood , often have the most mind numbing of secular jobs or toil away in Bethel for years. They apply WTS counsel to the smallest level , even down to the smallest trivial degree , often to their own disadvantage. Sadly they take on board counsel that isn’t really directed at them

See your other comment below:

Ex-Jws often point to WT articles or quote public talks which state strict and often silly restrictions , non or dubiously-biblical in many cases. I’ve even highlighted some of these myself , in the past. But how much notice is really taken by the average JW? Other than a hard-core 20% (which you would get in any organisation) , I just don’t see the average JW paying much attention , and they often seem happy to duck and dive and rationalise away any issue that they don’t agree with.

This is precisely why the "real" mind control victims are the "average" jw. Despite the fact that they CAN ignore the counsel given off the platform, they still believe lock, stock, and barrel. If that isn't mind control, I don't know what is.

j

38

Why So Many More Atheists in Europe?

by bavman in

top 50 countries .

with highest proportion of atheists / agnostics.

(zuckerman, 2005)below is a list of the top fifty countries containing the largest measured percentage of people who identify as atheist, agnostic, or non-believer in god.

done4good

Europeans have evolved more than the rest of us living in the "New World" (ie. Australia, NZ, USA etc).
Thye have had so much more time to evolve past the religion stage. It has nothing to do with intelligence, education, genes etc.
It just takes time.
Pope

A simple, yet very astute post. I think you nailed it, Pope.

j

13

What Stage Are You At Now?

by mtsgrad in

jw
friends

i was born in the "truth" and reached the dizzy heights of becoming a servant and that attended the ministerial school.

in the last three years i emotionallly left the "truth" and stopped attending last year.

however, i am still very confused theologically.

done4good

Libery's right-sagan! I just finished a book called "misquoting jesus" actually written by a bible scolar of which the WT org has none on staff... as a matter of fact, the ignorance most witnesses have about the bible other than their ability to misquote it, is really amaizing. Check this book out dude, you'll love it,

Good read, Dawg. I read it a few months ago myself.

I would say Liberty stated my take perfectly. No need to reiterate.

j

38

Why So Many More Atheists in Europe?

by bavman in

top 50 countries .

with highest proportion of atheists / agnostics.

(zuckerman, 2005)below is a list of the top fifty countries containing the largest measured percentage of people who identify as atheist, agnostic, or non-believer in god.

done4good

Btw, I do not intend any USA-bashing here as done4good puts it: those are really interesting and complex questions.

I did not mean to paint with too broad of a brush here, I just saw the thread may have been veering towards another "dumb American" thread again, and wanted to cut that off at the pass. I would agree that this is a very interesting topic, and I only intended to keep the content to the facts.

Jason

34

Do you think that the 'Convention' tract work will seem silly to most?

by AK - Jeff in

in this territory it will mean 'inviting' people to a religious convention about 200 miles away, about a religion that most already do not care about.

i believe this could be a 'tactical error' on the part of the gb, who seem mostly interesting in keeping the urgency level on high with this.

but as far as future converts are concerned, won't most people who were riding the fence as to classifying this group as a cult, go ahead and jump down on the affirmative side of the fence with this stupidity?

done4good

So, is it OK for these non-jws attending to stay in a non-society recommended hotel now???

Just a thought.

j

38

Why So Many More Atheists in Europe?

by bavman in

top 50 countries .

with highest proportion of atheists / agnostics.

(zuckerman, 2005)below is a list of the top fifty countries containing the largest measured percentage of people who identify as atheist, agnostic, or non-believer in god.

done4good

No education, the get tested to the hilt so they never get a good education until colledge. Which most can't afford.

No offense 5go, but with that spelling, and sentence structure, I wouldn't be talking about lack of education on anyone else's part. I trust you were just trying to make a point here...

Jason, (Of the tired of all of the USA bashing class), and yes, a proud agnostic.

88

CIGAR AFICIONADOS?

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

what you smokin'?.

done4good

Working from home this week...Picked up the goodies yesterday. Humidor, lighters, cutter, and an assortment of stogies. Gonna light up a Mac now, in fact.

j