AllTimeJeff

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Posts by AllTimeJeff

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  1

  I finally updated my @!#$* avatar. It's really Truthy...

  by AllTimeJeff in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am officially into truthiness.

  colbert never presented a more prescient commentary than this one..... i remember when i first joined, i saw colbert's "truthiness" and laughed.

  i had no idea that the small bands of truth and facts were actually held together by the large fog of "belief".. no matter what you or anyone chooses to believe, i hope for all our sake, and especially in this context, for jw's who have left or have considered leaving, that we leave room in both our heads and hearts to facts, not just what feels good, but what is true.

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  AllTimeJeff

  http://www.cc.com/video-collections/ha9eov/the-colbert-report-the-word/63ite2

  Watch it and weep....
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  1

  I finally updated my @!#$* avatar. It's really Truthy...

  by AllTimeJeff in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am officially into truthiness.

  colbert never presented a more prescient commentary than this one..... i remember when i first joined, i saw colbert's "truthiness" and laughed.

  i had no idea that the small bands of truth and facts were actually held together by the large fog of "belief".. no matter what you or anyone chooses to believe, i hope for all our sake, and especially in this context, for jw's who have left or have considered leaving, that we leave room in both our heads and hearts to facts, not just what feels good, but what is true.

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  AllTimeJeff

  I am officially into Truthiness. Colbert never presented a more prescient commentary than this one....

  I remember when I first joined, I saw Colbert's "Truthiness" and laughed. I had no idea that the small bands of Truth and Facts were actually held together by the large fog of "Belief".

  No matter what you or anyone chooses to believe, I hope for all our sake, and especially in this context, for JW's who have left or have considered leaving, that we leave room in both our heads and hearts to facts, not just what feels good, but what is true.

  We have come too far to jerk back to darker times, when what we wished was true was actually valued more than what is actually true...
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  491

  What is your opinion of the news media?

  by minimus in

  1. social
  2. current

  to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

  most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

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  AllTimeJeff

  Trump is brazen, and feels entitled. What concerns me is that he has no interest in furthering democracy, just his own power.

  Btw, both parties are open to this criticism in the past. However, even at their very worst, I have never seen a Republican speak against the ideals of the founders the way Trump has. He has no respect for a very democratic institution, the free press. A press that has a proud tradition of over-reaching and promoting agendas at times. True. But within those confines of a free press comes the ability to hold the elected leaders accountable.

  Trump must be held accountable by the press, or this isn't a democracy. That is the very FIRST amendment.
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  491

  What is your opinion of the news media?

  by minimus in

  1. social
  2. current

  to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

  most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

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  AllTimeJeff

  Simon, I have no issue with you or anyone not trusting Hillary. I get that. And I voted for Hillary. Because she wasn't The Donald.... Because I don't trust him...

  Biases exist everywhere. But having said that, let's not throw out the baby with the bath water. Without a free press, much would be at stake. And that is my biggest beef with Trump. He is a genuine p***y who can't handle the press. And that smacks against EVERYTHING the founding fathers wanted for this nation.

  May I say that when I read your ops, it seems to me a bit naive to not recognize Putin's extreme interest in getting Russia back on a more even super power playing field with the United States. He is former KGB and by all accounts is a master intelligence operative. It isn't far fetched at all to surmise his attempts at influencing this past election. To what extent the influence worked, no one will ever agree. But there is no doubt, he was an influence...

  Trump isn't Hillary. Message received. I get that. However, I worry that Trump's early supporters are turning a blind eye to the legit evidence that Trump is in bed with Putin. Do I think WWIII is imminent? No. Do I think Trump has a lot to hide? Hell yes I do! Just release the damn tax returns. That will start the healing, a healing he has demonstrated no interest in starting. And who can at all expose that if not a free press?

  There does come a point where a leaders interest in governing a democracy comes into play. He has not engaged Congress. All of his actions are executive orders. Even more dangerous than trying to ban guns, he is attacking the very 1st amendment! Again, this is contrary to the intentions of the founders, and indeed, what caused the United States to become a super power in the first place.

  What Senator McCain says IS true: a free society is free so long as there is a free press. Dictators always suppress dissent. You don't have to like what they say, but they are free to poke holes in the powers that be, until they are no longer allowed to by the powers that be. That is what should worry us all, imo.
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  12

  Self Brainwashing

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so i would love to hear and make more comments here on how "self-brainwashing" is done in jehovah's witnesses and how it becomes a problem when trying to wake up our loved ones.leah remini was on bill maher's show on friday, feb. 17th.

  she had some great comments about things said on her series about scientology.

  one was how members are "self-brainwashing" because they spend some hours every day doing self-study.

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  AllTimeJeff

  For me, this resonates!

  I think they called it "Personal Study". (do they still call it that? lol) No one came to a meeting once I bought in with a more marked up piece of literature than me. Every scripture looked up and noted. Color coded. I was every bit self brainwashed.

  Then I would read those damn life stories in the WT about missionaries and CO's. When that is your reward system, of course you're going to set that as a goal. And to think I did it to myself...... :(
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  26

  Hit by a car evacuating due to oroville dam. Ever been hit?

  by Wasanelder Once in

  1. social
  2. current

  went back to get info from driver who tapped our car in line of cars exiting the area.

  after getting her info, she waited till i walked back to our car and punched the gas, hitting me.

  then drove off.

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  AllTimeJeff

  Got hit by a Cadillac STS crossing a downtown intersection at approx 25 MPH in 2007. Flipped in the air twice and 25 feet later, landed soundly on my @$$. I am pretty sure that's where I landed, because I don't think landing on my head would have bounced...

  Sorry to hear dude. Hope you recover. As they say, people are crazy.
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  26

  Does Paul preach a fundamentally different religion than Jesus?

  by Yesu Kristo Bwana Wangu in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  controversy has arisen regarding jesus versus paul as scholars debate the different emphases and messages of jesus and paul.1 jesus preached the kingdom of heaven.

  paul did not.

  paul preached justification by faith alone.

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  AllTimeJeff

  Read the Gospels. Have a notebook and take good notes. Note what speaks to you. repeat for the Pauline letters. Compare what is the same and what is different. Draw your own conclusions. Anyone who can read is just as entitled to your conclusions as "scholars".

  Then, live with your conclusions. Hopefully, they won't hurt your neighbor.
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  36

  In Your Opinion Do Today's Elders Recognize That The Religion Is BS?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i always wondered that while i was in especially when i was an elder.

  i recognize that some people,elders included are brain-dead.

  but do you think that the average older today knows it's all nonsense?

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  AllTimeJeff

  I think that this question illustrates that beliefs are more important than facts. My JW elder experience taught me that elders accepted their "appointment" for different reasons. Some were going to be loyal to the SS Russell/Rutherford/Knorr no matter what bearing. Others wanted to help people. Some thought they were worshiping Jehovah Jesus. Others just wanted to reach their goal....

  To me, what tests most elders are the pedophilia cases. You have to be totally bought in to support the GB bullshit on that. And yet, some sincerely believed that is what YHWH wanted. Sooo, their bullshit tolerance was clearly higher.

  I think the average elder is below average, but, having said that, it just depends if you are looking for the nonsense. If you aren't, you won't see it. If you are willing to be honest to even a small extent, you can see it. I have no idea to tell who sees what or how they interpret it.

  My gut tells me that if you're a youngish elder, there is a fair amount of ego involved. If you're older, there is a fair amount of time involved. For both, a certain amount of nonsense would likely be tolerated...
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  26

  I feel like I'm losing my religion/faith

  by christina1111 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i'm a baptized jw...been baptized for 8 years...and throughout the years i've been baptized i see "hypocrisy" so to speak in the religion...when you're new and not baptized that's when the jws want to invite you to every gathering they have, they want to appear like they're your best friend...they want to help you out when needed and so forth...however, once you're baptized you go to the elders for help they don't help you....all they do is gather you around the office...have bibles in hand and so forth...they give you articles as well, instead of physically helping you out....but yet when you weren't baptized they would physically help you out and not throw scriptures and articles in your face.

  also when you ask for help and so forth with the bros/sisters they want to throw the "each one must carry his/her own load" scripture at you.....but yet what happened to the scripture of taking care of widows and people who are orphans?.

  it's not just one congregation...throughout the 8 years i've been baptized i've been through many kingdom halls...many towns...many states...when i was inactive for awhile i even pretended to not be baptized and just play dumb when the witnesses came to my door...they're much nicer to you when you're not baptized then when you are baptized...why is that?.

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  AllTimeJeff

  I don't like to refer to my past too much, but in this case, I will.

  I was in Gilead class 119. Born in. Lost my family I loved while I was in, then, when I discovered as an elder that what was taught and how people were treated didn't match up, I was shunned. I left of my own accord. I wasn't kicked out. I decided to start anew based on what I saw and what I learned....

  I have no agenda. It's been 10 years. Your decisions are your own. Having said that, I absolutely empathize with what you are seeing right now. The decisions are never just logical, they are also emotional, and they do cover all things spiritual.

  Towards the end, after Gilead and when I came back from Cameroon, I would go knock on a door, and when it seemed appropriate, I would ask the householder what they thought. And I just listened. It was refreshing. I thanked them for sharing.

  My one thought for you is that whatever reasons you see and you think are good enough. JW's are conditioned to look for "the truth". Maybe you're looking for a reason, someone else's reason, and maybe that is your thing. If your thing is to do it your way, that is just as valid. When I talked with people at their doors before I left, I was impressed with how developed most people's "think for yourself" muscle was compared to mine. 10 years later, my own thoughts, what I am, is the only truly unique thing I can offer the world. It's the only thing any of us can offer.

  JW's unwittingly (or wittingly) took away your ability to feel good about being yourself. Think about that. You are an individual. Except to JW's. Whatever your first name was, they replaced it with "Sister"...

  Be you. Feel good. That doesn't mean to do whatever you want, but deep down, you already know your own mind and who you are. Explore that. Being you and finding you is much more important a pursuit than figuring out why JW's are the way they are.... IMO
• 
  491

  What is your opinion of the news media?

  by minimus in

  1. social
  2. current

  to me they have an agenda and they really don't care about professional journalism.

  most are untrustworthy and that's a shame.

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  AllTimeJeff

  Thanks minimus. As are you....