AllTimeJeff

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Posts by AllTimeJeff

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  80

  Was You a Bethelite, Elder,CO, DO, GB, Publisher, Missionary,Ministerial Servant or Pioneer class?????

  by Scott77 in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  when still in the watchtower, i used to be an assistant ministerial servant.

  true, there is no such title but its there unofficially for those one step to being a ministerial servant.

  been with it for about three years.

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  AllTimeJeff

  I "made it" to Elder, Gilead, Missionary.

  .... and then apostate.
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  15

  Introduction to Daniel - For Fun and Prophet

  by Farkel in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  introduction to daniel - for fun and prophet.

  when i was a dubbie, i considered reading the bible books to be a major and boring chore, mainly because i was required to believe all that stuff i was reading.

  trying to make sense out of nonsense is always a frustrating chore.

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  AllTimeJeff

  *please note that this is NOT a new Kindumb Melody*

  Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane
  I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
  Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
  God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
  
  They say Spain is pretty though I've never been
  Well Daniel says it's the best place that he's ever seen
  Oh and he should know, he's been there enough
  Lord I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much
  
  Daniel my brother you are older than me
  Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal
  Your eyes have died but you see more than I
  Daniel you're a star in the face of the sky
  
  Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane
  I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
  Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
  God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
  Oh God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes

  PS:
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  54

  For born ins- what tipped you off it was wrong

  by teela(2) in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  at a young age i remember watching tv and commenting why is the red cross always helping people and we don't.

  the second big one is if the witnesses only started up in 1890 - 1900 did jehovah not have anyone else doing the preaching work?.

  as a child i don't think we think about theological problems so what tipped you off?

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  AllTimeJeff

  After the suicide of my disfellowshiped brother, I barely showed any emotion, because I didn't know if I was allowed, and was told that I would cry once and get over it. After a couple of weeks, I reflected on the life of my brother that barely got started, and why I wasn't allowed to help him in his time of need. It wasn't right, and it never set well with me.

  Watching the events of 9/11/2001, and coming to the realization that THIS really was just like the GB painted Armageddon to be. And I would be happy watching 7 billion people go through what those thousands of people did, all getting their just punishment of death because they didn't accept that Watchtower magazine from that 8 year old girl and as a result, never became a lucky JW like me?

  Having to deal with sleazy pedophiles. Having to disfellowship people and watch them suffer, along with their families. Seeing how truly UNHAPPY the majority of JW's really were, not because of life, but because of their JW obligations.
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  43

  CO visit provides preview of April generation change!

  by agent zero in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i thought the april wt's brazen generation doctrine change would barely get an official mention before nor after the two paragraphs that deal with it, but yesterday i went to the circuit overseer's visit and in a talk from a bethel outline, he specifically mentioned the change, and i quote... "the very very very newest information we have available, from the april 15th 2010 watchtower!

  " ..reads the infamous paragraphs.. and then, "isn't that wonderful brothers and sisters?

  so now we understand that it means that brother russell's life overlapped with brother rutherford's who's life overlapped (he went through them all), so clearly, this means the end is near.".

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  AllTimeJeff

  I am among those who believe that there are certain CO's who are too vested, don't believe, but can't leave. So they leave little clues, getting overly enthusiastic for example over another generation change.

  Amazingly, the more stupid happy you are as an elder or CO, the better you look, even if you are totally being sarcastic. I gave more the a couple of talks where inside I was rolling my eyes (I gave a couple of talks hyping the Kingdom News tract campaigns, and I was so full of saccharin that the real true believers were crying...).

  If this CO really is that excited, all the better. I put even money that he is trying to get some low hanging fruit to think a bit. Being enthusiastic about another failed prophecy is a good way to get the gears creaking. I know it worked with me. Whenever a CO said "We've changed again, isn't that great?" I thought, "No, not really...."

  I remember one CO saying "We are a progressive religion. Do you really want to be a part of a religion that never changes as the light gets brighter?" Call me cynical, but looking back, I don't think that was an accident. I think that was a way of saying "We are going to change whatever, whenever it suits us."
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  10

  ~~ from the "other JWN" : You Are Defective

  by chickpea in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the tripe factory is in full production.

  http://jehovahs-witness-news.blogspot.com/2010/03/manufactures-alert.html.

  the maker of all human beings (jehovah god) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart.

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  AllTimeJeff

  Who is this guy? I am seeing in my minds eye coke bottle glasses, a Pentium 486 with dial up connectivity, and being surrounded by the Babyon the Great book with Aid book open on the table.

  Knee mail my @$$..... Love it. JW's need to keep posting on the internet, even if it is parroting the company line, so that the truly honest hearted ones will have the opportunity to be exposed to the information about JW's out there.....
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  79

  IT'S OFFICIAL - New Elder's Manual by end of 2010

  by sir82 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  per a "top secret, confidential, burn this after you read it" letter to all boes, dated march 2, 2010, but not read in our congregation until this past week:.

  new "kingdom ministry" school for all elders and ministerial servants, to be held (in the us anyway) between november 2010 and january 2011.. 6 hours of jaw dropping tedium instruction for ms, 9 for elders.

  ms session to be held on a sunday, elders on friday and saturday.. the "super secret surprise", for elders only: a new textbook will be released to be studied at this "school".

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  AllTimeJeff

  If the GB was in trouble with the current 1991 edition of the book, (it was called ks91 by the hyper self righteous CO's and DO's) they would have had their ass sued off by now.

  It wouldn't surprise me if this new book was different from the layout that has been in existence since the 70's. My opinion is that the GB really did write ks91, and that this edition will have been filtered through the Legal Dept top to bottom.

  As it always the case, afterwards, the talks and how it evolves will ultimately tell the tale for the next 20 odd years of how elders administer to a congregation. This thing was rumored since 2005, it took them this long to get it out. That's how much proofreading went into it.

  At the end of the day, not a whole lot will change. A lot of politics will take place as elders who read and understand it first will beat the new manual over the heads of elders who are stuck in the past. That will be fun.... Esp for me, as I won't have to look at those idiot elders anymore.

  This makes it official. I have been out for close to 4 years, I am no longer super up to date. I think I will throw a party.....
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  78

  Brand New: Currently Totally Devastated

  by daringhart13 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm brand new to the board.

  long time, "big shot" elder, ....taught at km school, conventions, etc.

  yeah, i know it means nothing....but it gives you an idea of how deep i've been a jw.. i don't even really know what to write at this point.

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  AllTimeJeff

  Hi there and welcome! I am a former elder and Gilead grad. I totally understand where you are coming from. Elders who leave because of a lack of love, to me, they are among my favorites to read, because you have a moral imperative behind what you say and write....

  First of all, it does get better. I won't lie and say that in two weeks, or a month, it will all be ok. You have many decisions to make over time. (no rush on that btw) The best, happiest thing for you right now is that you can take the lid off your head. Read, be open minded to both viewpoints and people, and give yourself some time to let it all in. Or out.

  As an elder, in my congregation, we were politically correct, so we didn't openly disparage our flock, even at elders meetings. Occasionally, we all would make comments about certain ones who ticked us off. Thats just how it worked. As an elder, I saw mental illness on a scale I could scarcely have anticipated. The JW people are by and large, a nice group of dedicated, misled people. They need real care, but are denied this by amateur's masquerading as elders, spiritual leaders who can't find there way out of a paper bag. The only real requirement at the end of the day to be and stay an elder is to back up all GB directives with 100% enthusiasm.

  I am guessing that is why there is an elder shortage right now.

  Anyway, welcome! I read you are getting some therapy. (did I read that right?) If so, that is well worth the time, and I wish you all the best as you break free from the sickness that you were in.
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  31

  HOW do you know what you KNOW you know?

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  remember how certain you were as a jehovah's witness?.

  you just knew what you knew was right 100%.

  you staked your life on it, didn't you?.

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  AllTimeJeff

  You are going to find that there are people who care about knowing and learning, as opposed to caring about what they believe.

  Beliefs have little to do with what is provable. If I told you that due to my own anecdotal musings, I think that (wo)mankind is hardwired to search for meaning and purpose in life, and that this seems to trump all else, that is a belief of mine that knowledge and learning can't validate 100%. If I tried to say that this quest for meaning is essentially what the word "spirituality" is turning into, those who disagree with me would debate me not on the substance, but on the semantics of the word "spirituality".

  At a certain point, esp after leaving the WTBTS, one must engage in a years long quest, to question everything, to read, to be open minded. At the end of that journey, one only need find himself.

  What happens often (it seems to me anyway) is that instead of being open to other ideas as a quest, the quest turns into a search for self-validation. (i.e. "I know God exists, I must find out where, how, and who is worshiping him correctly, or at least to my tastes....." or "I am certain God doesn't exist, and I will immerse myself in what I already know...")

  Either way is flawed. It is much more honest, and much more difficult, to say at the start "You know what? For whatever reason, I bought into the GB doctrines. There is a lot to learn. I need to be really humble and observe and learn and READ."

  I think it curious that one very major question is not asked by many when they first leave, but to me, I wonder about it for everyone who ever leaves: What was it about me that caused me to believe the GB dogma and that got me to stop thinking? Why did I believe it? What was it about me that was, in my own fashion, attracted to the JW's in the first place?"

  To me, that is where all of us need to start imo. If we can figure out ourselves, and why we somehow bought in, even if we were just born in's, then it gives a much more solid platform to launch into a search into what we know, if only because we start with ourselves first.

  At the end of it all, we will not add to what we are, but discover what we are, and from there, comes the knowledge of what we know, that makes each of us unique.

  I am very much an existential person, and what gives purpose and meaning to an individual while at the same time, respecting the differences in others is a higher road to tread. We all need to "know" and believe in something. But there aren't shortcuts to it. It takes time, serious introspection, and dedication to mine out who we are and why we are here.

  Peace!
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  35

  Why would a woman want to look like that?

  by TD in

  1. social
  2. physical

  i was leafing through a diet and exercisie magazine my wife subscribes to and noticed (not for the first time) that the female fitness models don't look like women at all.

  --they look like anorexic teenaged boys with long hair.. skinny to the point of emaciation is not fit.

  i would be willing to bet that not one of these models could even run a 10k.

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  AllTimeJeff

  The genius of the marketing is that these skinny models aren't designed for men, but for women.

  I think most men know and want women with curves. The problem is, many women get these images from advertisers and think that this is what men want.

  To any women who cares about my opinion, curves are cool and rule. Don't be fooled by this bullsh*t advertising.

  Kate Moss is gross, btw.... Kate Winslet? *sigh* :)
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  78

  Challenge to board:I know the one problem with JW's & Christians in one word.Do You?

  by chapstick in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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• 

  AllTimeJeff

  Ok then....

  I think I was a bit hasty on calling you off licking the 9 volt....