esther

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Posts by esther

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  30

  BEW's ..........Irrational Thoughts

  by LadyBug in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been having some pretty irrational thoughts lately.. its only been 3 months since we decided it is not the "truth".

  but sometimes i think we (my family) would have been better off if we had stayed inactive witnesses.

  the strain affects the whole family.. sometimes it feels like my whole world has fallen apart.

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  esther

  BEW, as you know, I also left 3 months ago. I also had all the answers, but now only questions remain.

  You said

  Many times I feel like "ignorance is bliss". Even if wrong at least I had some beliefs as a witness.

  I also feel that way on occasion, because I feel as if I am adrift in an unknown ocean, and the anchor which had kept me safe for so long has been removed.

  However, I mostly feel that the pain will diminish, and hopefully fade right away. And although it is scary to be adrift, there is always the hope that when we have finally sorted out what we do or don't believe in, we will be happy.

  esther
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  19

  Bye all

  by randyaussie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just a note to all to say bye.i'm pissing off to north queensland.. had a fucking great time with all of you.

  especialy all you sexy women in here.

  even you wendy mommy.

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  esther

  Bye Randy love. Look after that georgeous little girl. I am gonna miss you

  Love esther
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  28

  (FAQ WT site) Do you shun former members?

  by D wiltshire in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here's some thing right from the official jw site under fequently asked questions.. do you shun former members?.

  those who simply cease to be involved in the faith are not shunned.

  in compliance with the scriptures, however, members can be expelled for serious unchristian conduct, such as stealing, drunkenness, or adultery, if they do not repent and cease such actions.

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  esther

  D Wiltshire, you said that you thought the org was saying

  If you leave don't say any thing negative about us and we will leave you alone. If you reveal any damaging information about us we will come after you and put a label on you, and then you will be shunned.

  I presume that you mean anyone who is not DF'd, here. However, the fact is that if anyone DA's themselves, they are shunned, even if they don't give out any information to anyone.

  Also, if anyone becomes inactive, the elders are supposed to 'help them spiritually'. So if an inactive one tries to explain why they are don't go to meetings etc, they are already counted as guilty of revealing damaging information, even though it is only to the elders.

  Lying in fact, if not technically

  esther
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  33

  Quotes of Wisdom

  by LadyBug in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i love quotes of wisdom, so i thought i'd post some for others who like them too.

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  bew

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  esther

  Unhappiness is in not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it - Don Herold

  The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience. - Eleanor Roosevelt

  The difference between greatness and mediocrity is often how an individual views a mistake -Noel Boswell

  Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going -Jim Ryun
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  63

  Suggestions for baby names please

  by hippikon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we would like to ask you good folk ( the bad ones can play as well) for suggestions for baby names.

  its getting close now and we need ideas.

  we dont know the sex yet.

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  esther

  Hippi

  I like Jasmine, Georgina, Denise or Sarah for a girl

  For a boy, I like David, Andrew or Daniel

  esther
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  56

  The Name Jehovah

  by ruffian in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  please can someone shed light on the claim that when the bible was originaly written it had the name jehovah in it over 7000 times but it was changed because of superstition?

  how do you dispute it?

  exactly where did they get that crazy version of their bible anyway?

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  esther

  Ruffian, you asked about God's name in the bible. It is true that there are no vowels in ancient Hebrew, and the letters representing God's name are YHWH. The argument about which is the closer to the real pronunciation is just academic, because there is NO way for us to find out now.

  It was not used in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

  In the foreword to the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, it says, concerning God's name:

  One of the remarkable facts, not only about the extant manuscripts of the original Greek text, but of many versions, ancient and modern, is the absence of the divine name

  There is quite a lot of reasoning about this for the next few pages. It then says

  The evidence is, therefore, that the original text of the Christian Greek Scriptures has been tampered with…

  Later on it asks how a modern translator to can know or determine when to use the divine name, and answers with

  By determining where the inspired Christian writers have quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures…

  Is that the information you wanted, Mustang?
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  9

  To Lauralisa

  by OrangeBlossom in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  welcome to the board, lauralisa.. you've been through so much and i'm glad you found us.

  you mentioned that your husband got custody or your children.

  did you get them back after you left the borg?

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  esther

  Welcome lauralisa. In the survey thread you said

  I truly adored learning about the doctrinal issues. Almost all universally-held religious beliefs had confounded me - e.g. eternal torture for just about everybody after death, why is there a future resurrection if you (if you got "it" right) were already in heaven, why were we even placed on this planet if we were just going to suffer a whole lot and then die and go off somewhere else (what was the frickin point of that.?) ..... all of these and more questions had always bugged me.

  That is how I felt when I started studying. It all seemed to make more sense than the other religions.

  I am glad that you are happy now, and once again, welcome.

  esther
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  113

  Please Respond To Survey! 25 more needed please.

  by Big Jim in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it seems like to me the majority of people who are in the truth, are were in the truth was a result of either a family member are a friend witnessing to them and not many seem to have been found in the door to door work.. from my years of associating with the borg i cannot recall many coming in the truth from the door to door work.. how were you sucked in?

  for me it was my aunt who has now even though i am not disfellowshipped decided to write me out of her will to the tune of about $150,000.00 (maybe i should hang around a couple more years)dont think i will.. please respond .

  thanks.

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  esther

  D2D. We had just moved, so only knew my husband's workmates. Like lauralisa, I knew God's name. At least, I knew the tetragrammtron(sp?). Didn't know the bible, so studied with the 7 Day Adventists at the same time, and also asked one of my husband's workmates (a devout Christadelphian), to show me where the 'Truth' book was wrong. The trinity didn't make sense, so I stopped studying with the adventists. The only fault our Christadelphian friend found was to do with Satan, and his explanation there was to the effect that where the bible proved Satan existed it was an error.

  The lack of racism in the congregation in my area was a major factor in my belief that JWs practiced the love that Jesus said there would be among his disciples.

  I never converted anyone, even when I was given studies. I brought my children up in it, but they had missionaries to study with them.

  esther
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  17

  How Many Ways Can You Spell Hypocrit?

  by ros in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  interesting profile in the 2/15/2000 watchtower (pp.26-29) praising a 17th-century orthodox church patriarch who was murdered and thrown to the sharks for attempting to effect reform in his church.

  quote:.

  cyril lucaris (b.

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  esther

  Ros, you asked

  Can you BELIEVE they actually published that in the Watchtower, and it goes right over the heads of the R&FJW???

  I have one suggestion, maybe they didn't read it. I was an active JW at the time that this article was printed, but this is the first time that I have noticed that article. I was so bored with the repetition of information that I ceased reading the magazines, KMs, and books long before I realized it wasn't the truth. I didn't offer the magazines when I went d2d, so there was no need for me to know anything about them.

  esther
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  20

  Why DO they stay?

  by BugEye in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there is much discussion of the "dumbness" of those still in and the reason that they stay.. some of the reasons that i have seen are:.

  they want everything in black and white.. they prefer to leave thinking to others.. they are scared to be shunned.. they are just ignorant souls who are on the "opium of the people".

  they dont want others to think bad of them.. while i agree that there is no one single reason and that everyone is different, i feel that the real reason is a much deeper one.

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  esther

  BugEye, good question. You said

  Most of the literature from the WTS is presented in a "textbook" fashion, which impressively convinces people that the contained information must be correct.

  That is true, particularly since it contains references. The WTBTS insinuates that there are many opposers, so people think that if there were inaccuracies, it would be common knowledge. So they don't check.

  Had Enough, you said

  knowing the future as it was "prophecied in the Bible", his promises, his word...was the strongest hold on me fortified by all the "fulfilled prophecies" before us as proof these promises would also come true.

  This was true for me, too.

  Pathofthorns, you said

  There is also more information available to those with doubts than at any other time.

  While this is true, you must realise that (1) good JWs, even if they have access to the internet, do not usually go to 'apostates' for information and (2) JWs are brainwashed into thinking that the doubts are caused by being 'spiritually weak', so tend to try to improve their spirituality. Also, the majority of dubs do not know about the injustices and corruption within the organisation. I had quite a shock when I found out how much covering up goes on in the organisation, and I had already left before I looked at any 'apostate' sites.

  You also put down people who become JWs by saying

  No reasonable or thinking person will ever sign up to be a JW. Only the "stupid, ignorant or gullible" do, and that mostly encompasses JW children who have not the intellectual maturity to critically examine things before making such a serious decision.

  And then you have the nerve to say that you weren't being critical of others

  Boozy, Dana, Redhorsewoman I agree with your comments

  esther