Posts by AllTimeJeff

40

Warning to Witnesses with blood cards = 11 bags blood but still alive!!!

by Witness 007 in

i friend of mine wen't to a night club where things got out of hand, and a drunken fight resulted in him being stabbed in the abdomen with a large knife.

rushed to hospital {lucky boy 15 min drive} he arrives looking pale and too weak to walk, he already had lost alot of blood.

taken immediatley inside for emergency treatment.

AllTimeJeff

Just a couple of general observations.

Many here feel guilty. I hope in time that you will find peace. There is a saying that I think is true, and that our life is made up each individual decisions. Hindsight will always be 20/20. The fact is that the cult is culpable. We were all brainwashed into thinking that blood has to be viewed and handled in a certain way. Ingrained teachings are hard to overcome. Lets be honest, just to learn to think for ourselves is a major challenge......

I cannot help thinking of more than one example that I have personally known where dubs have had major accidents, the doctors wanted to transfuse , they refused and the family was told to expect their death - but they pulled through.. The human body is remarkable and very individual.

The exception proves the rule. Much depends on the individual, and it is an exercise in futility to consider every single variable, whether it the severity of the injury or condition, the health of the patient, any unknown problems, etc. The fact that the borg harps on everyone that survives doesn't in any way excuse the tens of thousands who have died. Furthermore, there are a small number of doctors who have been so stubborn they either want to treat with blood or nothing, and they need to get past their own egos. Doctors like that need to deal with cult members as best they can, despite their frustration. However, most doctors have no problem doing all they are allowed to do. The problem is that JW's are still allowed to do it.....

Anyway, to the dubs it is supposed to be a spiritual decision , so even if they were going to die it should not make any difference. So what is all this about safety?. Were the early Christians kidded into believing that the lions in the arena would not kill them? No, but they still went in..

The blood thing is a spiritual issue. Great point. What does it say about spirituality that in certain situations one can ingest a steak (where do you think the red color comes from, paint?) And organ transplants (no organ survivies a transplant unless blood is in it) but you can't have blood itself. Your illustration of the Christians and the lions I will let stand on its own merits, only to comment that the comparison is not the same thing.

I know that there is a clear line of division between rationalists who reject "spirituality" because of the arbitrary nature of these "rules" of god and JW apologists. The reasoning of apologists is totally contradictory. Life is sacred to god. Suppsedly. Blood can save your life, only Christs blood. Your blood, or another persons blood is not allowed if you are a JW. What is spiritual about that? (rhetorical question JW apologists, I was an elder, I know their explanations all too well) I have a better question: Why is god so arbitrary about what methods you can use to save your present life? Why do symbolic and pretend things matter more to the deity then our actual lives?

This is a ridiculous teaching, I have seen that now. If you are a JW, I respect your right to do with your own bodies what you will, but please don't inflict your beliefs on your kids and others. If you want to hurt yourself, hurt only yourself.....

PS Small edit for BlueBrother: Just responding to your comments, nothing personal. You are not in an easy or enviable position..... I hope all works out with you....

17

You've Gotta Own it Baby.......

by AllTimeJeff in

as i write this, i am sitting and watching pbs's tribute to johnny cash.

specificaly, the johnny cash show from the late 60's.

my dad as i recall told me about this show and how revolutionary and groundbreaking it was at the time.

AllTimeJeff

Dude, you don't need to apologize. You love your family. Enough said. I bet it is hell. I hope we can help you through it. Even if you can't come out right now, you can still own all that has happened, and accept what can't change right now....

14

The love button.....

by ex-nj-jw in

jw
friends

has anyone dared to push the love button hard??

i'm too chicken to try it .

nj.

AllTimeJeff

There's a button!??? DAMN! If only I had known this sooner......

8

Blog From A Christian Who Attended The Meeting Discussing the Sept.07 KM

by Justitia Themis in

very good reading.. http://apologeticfront.blogspot.com/2007/09/tightening-leash-watchtowers-attempt-to.html.

.

justitia.

AllTimeJeff

The Aid book was replaced in 1987 (?) or so by the 2 volume "Insight on the Scriptures." It is essentially the same thing with more pictures.....

77

The C word

by ness in

how do your minds work people??.

the word 'cult'.

who is comfortable saying they were raised in a 'cult' or were brainwashed temporarily by a 'cult'?.

AllTimeJeff

I have changed recently. I think they are a cult.

With the change to the members only WT, to the Sept KM QB on no independant study groups, combined with the control that is there through disfellowshipping, they are a cult. In addition, something I didn't think about till last night, but only cults have "initiation rites" for their young. Some are more disgusting then others. (that polygomous sect in Utah being an example) Nonetheless, even for the kids, you are on the hook before you are at an age of reason. It just struck me that only a cult would require a decision you made as a 9 year old stay binding to you all your life. Baptism is that tool....

I don't think they are like a Kool Aid cult, although if you do think that, I respect that. Frankly, I think they have blazed their own trail. They are on the cutting edge of "Mind control" cult technique. No need to compare them to any other cult, they are very unique.

For that matter, I think a number of fundamentalist religions can qualify as a cult. Many religions (not all, I am not trying to tick off thiests) use the bible to exhibit extreme control over thoughts and actions of their flocks. JW's happen to be one of the weirder ones....

18

Child Baptisims Really Pissing Me Off. Linked to DF's

by oompa in

as a parent with a df'd 22 year old son who i love to hang with, i just need to vent a little.

my completly ingrained family do not treat him as family.

it kills me.

AllTimeJeff

Great point. Having served on 3 judicial committees with teens less then 2 years after I sat in on their "baptism committee", I was struck by how unready these kids were. "Unready" isn't the right word. It's entrapment.

In the bible, only full grown men and women made the choice to be baptized. I would also add that baptism amounted to a decleration that you accepted Jesus, not that you were subjecting yourself to full time shunning for pissing off a group of angry men stuck in a board room.

The reasoning here is very sound. We don't encourage people to make "life long" decisions about who you can or can't get married to. In fact, there is even the remedy for divorce. But once you are in, you are in.

It's like what Michael Corleone said in Godfather III "Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in" There is no exit strategy. And for those of you who made that life long decision as a teen, or worse, as a 8,9, or 10 year old, the grew up and found out the truth about "da troof", tough luck! Play the game the GB states for you too or else lose your family.

Chalk it up to the pile of ruined families the borg is responsible for...

17

You've Gotta Own it Baby.......

by AllTimeJeff in

as i write this, i am sitting and watching pbs's tribute to johnny cash.

specificaly, the johnny cash show from the late 60's.

my dad as i recall told me about this show and how revolutionary and groundbreaking it was at the time.

AllTimeJeff

Bono rocks! Great use of those lyrics Shell....

17

You've Gotta Own it Baby.......

by AllTimeJeff in

as i write this, i am sitting and watching pbs's tribute to johnny cash.

specificaly, the johnny cash show from the late 60's.

my dad as i recall told me about this show and how revolutionary and groundbreaking it was at the time.

AllTimeJeff

As I write this, I am sitting and watching PBS's tribute to Johnny Cash. Specificaly, the Johnny Cash Show from the late 60's. My dad as I recall told me about this show and how revolutionary and groundbreaking it was at the time. Cash of course was a rebel through and through. From where I sit today, it is amazing they gave him a show. He was against the Vietnam War vocally and used his show to promote that view. I heard "The Man in Black" for the first time in a decade at least. Now whatever you think about this guy, Johnny Cash is a man. I saw "Walk the Line" on the flight back from my missionary assignment. (True story: I had no idea they even shot the movie till I saw it on the flight...lol... Gotta love how in touch missionaries are....)

This all led me to something that I believe: You have to own who you are, where you come from, what you like, and what you don't. That doesn't mean that you need to be an @$$hole about your pov. Far from it. Hopefully, as ex JW's, most of us can relate to how stupid and dangerous that is. Yet, there is nothing wrong with doing your thing! I am sitting here right now reflecting on the fact that I have very eclectic tastes in music and philosophies in life. I know there is no one else like me. Period. And there are times I want to get bitter over opportunities that I missed, but I can also tell you that I have been forged through fire. I am sure that is true for all of us.....

So we have to own our pasts and the decisions we make in the future. We need to embrace what we like and not aplogize for it. If there is something that we disagree with, even on a fundamental level, we can still use our experience as JW's and realize that there are worse things that can happen then merely disagreeing with someone. We could censure a person. We could reject people and lifestyles we don't understand. That is worse.

So own it! Own yourself. Accept yourself. In the end, there is no other way to go....

Just the miscellanious ramblings of an appreciative ex JW.........

12

Deuteronomy 24:16 vs 2 Sam 12:14

by erynw in

i was looking at who incited david to take the census, satan or jahooba (2 sam 24:1 vs 1 chron 21:1).

anyway, i was searching the wt 2006 cd and i came across this qfr that has nothing to do with what i was looking for, but i could not believe what i was reading.

this has to be one of the most inane "reasonings" from the scriptures i have ever read.

AllTimeJeff

This explanation was offered at Gilead, although the wording has softened. It is interesting how they open themselves up to supporting late term abortion with the reasoning used.

Of course, you would have to have your head out of your ass to realize that at all....

70

THOSE WHO ARENT JEHOVAH WITNESSES

by the333 in

jw
friends

those who aren't in the truth i feel much pity for you.

all of you are filled with much hatred and anger that all you can do is blast out of your stupid mouths horrible things about the one true religion.

i feel sorry for you that you will not have ever lasting life.

AllTimeJeff

I don't have hate in my heart at all. I want to come back and have my ex wife back, all my friends, all the adulation I had as an elder and missionary.

So perhaps (at least in my case, because I can't speak for anyone else) you should ask yourself, "What would motivate me to leave all that I had behind?" I don't think I am happier since I left. But I can tell you that I can look at myself in the mirror, because when I realized what I was promoting was a lie, I at least was honest enough to accept the evidence and leave.

I just wanted to respond to your assertions; I have no way of knowing you at all or what motivated you to post what you did, but you have run into a group of broken hearted people, not hateful ones. You are the one who is actually hateful enough to come here and presume in the name of Jehovah that we are all dead. So at best, you have the burden of carrying around your own beliefs about who is going to be alive and dead, as you have been taught to believe. Thanks for letting us know that we are dead in your opinion. That means a lot, it really does....