Posts by gumb

10

"Hey buddy, can you spare a dime?"

by gumb in

"hey buddy, can you spare a dime?".

we can all help make the world a better place to live in without even involving our purse/wallet, and requiring only a tiny amount of time.

these 'dime time' acts of kindness to our fellow human beings can help reduce stress in others and therefore contribute to a happier world.

gumb

"Hey buddy, can you spare a dime?"

We can all help make the world a better place to live in without even involving our purse/wallet, and requiring only a tiny amount of time. These 'dime time' acts of kindness to our fellow human beings can help reduce stress in others and therefore contribute to a happier world. Here is an example of what I mean - bear in mind that in the UK we drive on the left.

You're driving in your car towards a set of traffic lights on a crossroads. It's your right of way straight ahead, but you notice another vehicle on the opposite side of the road indicating to turn across your path to the road on your left. There is a queue of other vehicles stuck behind this vehicle. Do you drive on thinking to yourself, "Well that's their problem!", or do you say to yourself, "I know how I would feel being stuck behind this person, and who knows when the lights are going to turn red, so I'll give way to him/her so the others can get moving"?

I'd like to hear of other examples of opportunities for 'dime time' altruism.

11

BEWARE THE CYBERPATHS!

by gumb in

beware the cyberpaths!.

in the years that i've taken part in various web discussion groups, from time to time i've come across people that i can only describe as "cyberpaths".

"trolls" is of course another term for them, although i don't believe all trolls are necessarily people with personality disorders.

gumb

Thanks Outlaw. But please don't use the term 'dub' on me, 'cause I'm not one, even though I've never been DF'd or DA'd and I've lost count of how many years its been since I was last seen inside a kingdom hall. :O)

13

Start your own conspiracy theory...just for fun!!!!

by restrangled in

make your own conspiracy theoryconfused about how the world works?

why not make sense of it all with a grand conspiracy theory!

however, there are just too many of these floating around.

gumb

What a great idea, restrangled! At last a bit of light relief.

19

New

by ayhra in

hi i just came across this site can someone tell me is this a forum for ex-jw's or anti jw.. thanks.

gumb

Welcome ayhira. You will find all sorts here, but I think most do not have much of a good word to say about the Watch Tower Society!

11

BEWARE THE CYBERPATHS!

by gumb in

beware the cyberpaths!.

in the years that i've taken part in various web discussion groups, from time to time i've come across people that i can only describe as "cyberpaths".

"trolls" is of course another term for them, although i don't believe all trolls are necessarily people with personality disorders.

gumb

BEWARE THE CYBERPATHS!

In the years that I've taken part in various web discussion groups, from time to time I've come across people that I can only describe as "cyberpaths". "Trolls" is of course another term for them, although I don't believe all trolls are necessarily people with personality disorders. Here are some features I would look for in determining whether a poster is a cyberpath.

1. They don't seem to post very often unless they see an opening for personal attack.

2. They may side with the apparent majority view on a subject because it gives them more confidence (i.e gang mentality).

3. They don't appear to be interested in debating relevant points.

4. They ingage in inflammatory remarks - the cheapest shots being those which question other person's sanity/intellect.

5. They may target 'newbies' in the hope that these will be easy targets (i.e. bully mentality).

If you think you may be the target of a cyberpath, my advice to you is this.

1. Don't be drawn into an argument with the person. They are naturally pugnacious and will thrive on your interaction with them.

2. Do not refer to them by name. This denies them the personal acknowledgement they crave.

3. Ignore them. I know this may be hard, particularly if they taunt you for it, but you must not allow yourself to be manipulated.

4. If it really bothers you, raise the matter with one of the moderators.

I should add a note of caution here. It may be that the person is simply in a bad (or mischievous) mood, or something you posted hit a raw nerve, so do not be hasty in labelling someone a cyberpath. Eventually their true nature will be revealed. However, you have the right to refuse communication with anyone.

I welcome any other comments and advice - but not from any cyberpaths, thank you!

46

Long Time Current Bethelite's Take On the Young, New Gov. Body Members

by Seeker4 in

i was talking to a friend yesterday whose sister and brother-in-law have been at bethel for three decades at least, working in important departments that put them in contact with the writing dept., gov.

body, etc.

on a daily basis.. this friend of mine has been a witness for half a century, and has been fading for the past 3-4 years.

gumb

Q: You're welcome! I'm sure there are many more scriptures on bad shepherds.

46

Long Time Current Bethelite's Take On the Young, New Gov. Body Members

by Seeker4 in

i was talking to a friend yesterday whose sister and brother-in-law have been at bethel for three decades at least, working in important departments that put them in contact with the writing dept., gov.

body, etc.

on a daily basis.. this friend of mine has been a witness for half a century, and has been fading for the past 3-4 years.

gumb

AvidBibleReader was spot on with the 10 tribe split example.

I don't believe there will ever be a significant change within the WTS. One rather apt scripture from their 'Word Of God' follows.

"The sickened ones you have not strengthened, and the ailing one you have not healed, and the broken one you have not bandaged, and the dispersed one you have not brought back, and the lost one you have not sought to find, but with harshness you have had them in subjection, even with tyranny." - Ezekiel 34:4 (NWT)

51

Women are hateful

by Hellrider in

i hate women.

they are evil.

disagree?.

gumb

Hey Mouthy, I don't think Cliff was ever a witness, but I think his mum is/was or maybe a sister of his. However, his old guitarist friend Hank Marvin definitely is and he lives in Perth, in southern Australia. He plays a good instrumental version of 'Devil Woman' though!

95

men are hateful

by Crumpet in

i hate men.

they are evil.

disagree?.

gumb

Crumpet, keep your chin up! Even JWD may spring a few surprises.

27

JW's and the internet

by *jeremiah* in

growing up as a jw in the 70's and 80's we didn't have the influence of the internet.

i, of course, believed i was in "the truth" and never heard anything (from the outside) that negative about our jw religion.

of course, now and again, we had some angry people at the door, but other than that i can't recall very many outside negative criticisms.

gumb

I think places like this forum are extremely helpful for many JWs who are expressing doubts about their religion.

The problem I found when I first started my internet searches was that I came across a lot of sites that were indeed full of hatred, and tended to be counterproductive given my fragile spiritual state at the time. Also, many of these anti-WT sites were trying to promote some other kind of "Christian" religion, and I wasn't interested! What I was looking for, and eventually found was sincere voices who didn't want to give me another religion and who didn't want to knock down without building up. It was via the internet that I learned about "Crisis Of Conscience". I read tentatively through that book and was touched by the calm manner in which Ray Franz gave an account of his experiences.

There are many JWs, I believe, who want to remain spiritual persons but who are afraid that the great religious edifice upon which their lives are built will come crashing down and they will be unable to pick up the pieces if they start researching. They will be helped only through a carefully planned exit strategy, and I don't think a lot stuff out on the internet will facilitate that very well. If we want to help set others free from the grip of the WTS we have to have a sense of responsibility in what we write. Doubting JWs need our empathy and patience, and to be shown that anything that they might interpret as 'hatred' is not directed against them personally, but against the WTS. They must be shown that the GB "have seated themselves in the seat of Moses" (Matthew 23:2) as a prophet (or mouthpiece) of God, and therefore deserve to be weighed in the balance.