jamiebowers

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Posts by jamiebowers

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  41

  How can I know for sure that the WTS isn't God's organization?

  by nbernat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i go back and forth everyday.

  one day i'm like, "suppress your gay feelings and what you think is wrong about this organization and keep going forward because you want eternal life and all of your friends are here and it's as close to the truth as it can possibly get so just deal with it.

  " others i'm like, "live your life.

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  jamiebowers

  I go back and forth everyday. One day I'm like, "Suppress your gay feelings and what you think is wrong about this organization and keep going forward because you want eternal life and all of your friends are here and it's as close to the truth as it can possibly get so just deal with it." Others I'm like, "Live your life. This is BS, they've been wrong plenty of times, it's hypocrisy all over, etc." Science is discovering that homosexuality is something people are born with and not a deviant behavior. Common sense tells me that this has to be true, because why would God make you a deviant? There's tons of information on line about being gay.
  
  I don't like the search function on this site because it doesn't seem to work too well for me. Where has the Watchtower Society gone wrong and why haven't the DO's and CO's who are especially bright and so well-versed in the scriptures not figure out it's a hoax (if it in fact is)? Look in the "Best of" threads. You might find some interesting reading there. Also check out http://www.quotes-watchtower.co.uk/ for some doctrinal changes. You may also want to read http://www.davidcox.com.mx/library/M/Martin,%20Walter%20-%20Kingdom%20of%20the%20Cults.pdf for a history lesson, and http://watchtowerdocuments.com/secrets.html to read about the current sex abuse scandals that the WTB&TS have worked hard to cover up. If that isn't enough for you, how about buying Crisis of Conscience, Combatting Mind Control, or just Google Jehovah's Witnesses or look them up on YouTube. There's also www.freeminds.org . There is a wealth of information out there that should help you. IMHO, the higher ups are either dilusional or have too much to lose to leave.
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  46

  Another One Joins JWD

  by allgoodthings... in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've been reading threads off and on for about a year now so i feel almost like i know some of you.

  i just thought i would take the opportunity to introduce myself to the board.

  it's very exciting to join up and become one of you.

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  jamiebowers

  Welcome! I'm not ordinarily shy, but the intellect of some on this board can be intimidating. Most are friendly, though.
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  51

  Ran into old JW friend in the airport...Correspondence has ensued...

  by Confession in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  it was the same weekend that my mom and dad, to my surprise, agreed to meet with me.

  i was in midland, michigan, about a month ago, only an hour or so from where they live.

  in the airport on monday morning, in walked john, someone i remembered well from the jw congregation of my youth.

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  jamiebowers

  I didn't realize that escaping from a corporate mind controlling cult wasn't "positive, encouraging, up-building". He sounds just as smug and self-righteous as a card carrying jw.
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  15

  -Are "apostates" more strict on WBTS doctrine than active Witnesses?

  by Awakened07 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  or: "common responses to criticism, by active jehovah's witnesses", which i could also have called this topic.. .

  -a video i just saw on youtube made by an active witness took me down memory lane a bit, and reminded me of how i used to think and respond to some common criticisms of the jws.

  as i started writing this post, i had planned to put this person's thoughts point-by-point, but it turned out he was pretty much only covering one common critisism.

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  jamiebowers

  Could it be said that 'apostates' are too harsh, too strict and to-the-letter when it comes to what the FDS says, and that this is not how the average JW sees things? Do you think an active Witness hears 'apostates' say "Well, they have to follow everything some old guys in Brooklyn says", and think to themselves, "Well, that's just not true, typical apostate lies and exaggerations." ? If so, would they have a point?

  Most apostates have experienced the "harsh, too strict and to the letter enforcement" of what the FDS says. The typical witness won't believe it until they are in a sticky situation themsleves or are close to someone who is. For instance, in my case I was a battered wife of a jw. It continued for years with the elders' knowledge. When it became dangerous for me to continue in the marriage, the elders tried to bully me into it. When I refused, they insisted that I had to remain single until I could prove adultery on his part. I was very traumatized, and the authorities were so concerned that they locked my jw husband up against his will in a mental institution. I explained to the elders that I just wanted to get away from him, hide from him if I had to. I'll never forget the smirk on one elders face when he told me that if I did that, I'd have to be single forever, since I wouldn't be around to catch him at adultery. That's when I offered to d'a myself, but they df'd me instead.

  Most jws who respond to my story accuse me of committing adultery, saying that there is no way I would've been df'd for divorcing an abusive husband, because of what they read in the mags. It is made to seem that a battered wife has the option to end the marriage and everything is great. But the truth is, you can end the marriage but still must be connected to the abusive ex in order to prove subsequent adultery. For someone who is running for their life, it isn't an option. You are painted into a corner, and there is no way around that.

  Look at the many instances of battered women and molested children. Very seldom is the abuser subject to df'ing, but the victims or those who speak out on their behalf, are. And it is all because of the twisted logic of the WTB&TS. It is not surprising that jws think that the claims of apostates aren't true. There is so much published information about the child molestation scandals, yet jws don't believe it ever happened. If they do believe it, they are convinced that the reporting situation has been rectified, which couldn't be further from the truth. Look at the Murietta case, which has been in the news just in the last few days. The parents of the molested girls and the elders failed to report the crime to the police. It was a teacher who got the authorities involved.

  Look at the case of Ray Franz, who was df'd for eating lunch with an old friend who was df'd. What about Granny Grace, who was df'd for simply saying she didn't believe Christ returned in 1914. There are hundreds of cases where df'ing occured simply because of something someone thought out loud, yet the WTB&TS claims that the vast majority are df'd for immorality. What about the people who are df'd for slander when their only crime was warning parents about child molesters in their midst? Circular reasoning leads to twisted logic, and there's no way around it. JW's refuse to believe apostates under any condition; that's the point of brainwashing.
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  21

  Move is Complete! Life is Available!

  by Metamorphosis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so my move to a new city is now complete.

  it comes at the expense of losing my wife and my life for the past 30 + years - i still somehow feel at peace.

  my wife cheated on me.

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  jamiebowers

  Congrats and good luck. Life on the outside is soooooooooooo much better.
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  12

  JW's and weddings

  by nana1957 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am sure this has been discussed before, would appreciate anything on this.

  i was always under the assumption that a jw was not allowed to be an attendant in a 'worldly' wedding.

  meaning that you would not be able to be a bridesmaid or groomsman if you were baptized.

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  jamiebowers

  I really think it depends on how gung-ho the elders are. I knew of a baptized jw who was to be the best man at a wedding for a "worldly" couple. But the wedding never took place, because the bride and groom were killed just a day before the wedding. I've also heard that a baptized woman was strongly counseled by the elders in her congregation to avoid her unbaptized son's wedding, even though it wasn't in a church and a judge was officiating. The elders' view was that it was worldly association.
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  9

  Ah...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

  by sinis in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  is all i can say to what my mother told me last night about the convention.

  she saw some old buddies of mine (sure ain't my buddies when they never come by just because of differing beliefs...), and they asked how i was and she told them that i was an apostate, and that i had been brain washed!!!

  ahahahahahahahahaha is all i could say when i called up (she answered, i called to talk to my old man) and she told me that.

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  jamiebowers

  i think all the witnesses i know live their lives VERY fully. they arent just waiting around for some future thing to happen, they are happy, RIGHT now.

  Do jws really live full lives? Are their kids going to college uninhibited? Do they feel free to associate with who and read and think what they want? Can they freely pursue a career without being made to feel guilty about not selling publications full time for the WTB&TS? Are the ones who have lost family members to df'ing or death due to refusal of blood transfusions happy? Are the molested children and battered wives happy? I don't think so. Either you really don't know the jws as well as you think you do or they're putting on the "Jehovah's People are the Happiest People on Earth' show.
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  20

  The amazing intelligence of crows

  by inkling in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you haven't already, check out this amazing video of some remarkably clever crows.. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows.html.

  .

  [inkling].

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  jamiebowers

  I bet they'll do a great job of eating the 6 billion dead bodies in the new system.
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  40

  Watchtower Comments - MISSIONARY INTERVIEW

  by V in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  watchtower comments interviews lance (awakened at gilead) gilead graduate (2003) and former missionary.. see all videos and subscribe to watchtower comments here.. part 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enkkm_aa_j4.

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  jamiebowers

  It doesn't get much better than this!
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  13

  Hey, have any apostates done this?

  by Lady Zombie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm almost positive that someone(s) have done this, but since jws like to leave tracts in doors, waiting room tables, as tips .

  man, i'd sure like to leave those kind of tracts all over the place!.

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  jamiebowers

  There are printable flyers at silentlambs.org, but I can't find where they are on the site after a quick search.