SnakesInTheTower

Joined

• started 213 topics
• posted 3,695 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by SnakesInTheTower

• 
  83

  Do not Disassociate, Anull your baptism

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am now a jedi, so trust me on this.. .

  why dis-associate, you are just playing by the wts rules?

  how can you dis-associate anyway, you never thought you were baptised as a watchtower society member, you thought your dedication was to god, so why formally disassociate from something you did not formally join?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  necroposting....a new term? necro- meaning death.

  Snakes ()
• 
  5

  Anyone know Brown family from St.Louis, MO or West Lafayette IN?

  by SnakesInTheTower in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many moons ago my family was close to a family of dubs by the last name of brown.

  i believe the first names of the parents were floyd and dena.

  they had a bunch of kids.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  bttt
• 
  2

  Have you ever heard of the PBSA?

  by SnakesInTheTower in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  my mom liked to send the wt and cbs scriptures to everyone.

  she did to me for years.

  i noticed about 6 months ago she quit sending them to me.

  1. 
  2. 
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  My mom liked to send the WT and CBS scriptures to everyone. She did to me for years. I noticed about 6 months ago she quit sending them to me. I dont know if she still sends them to the people on her list.

  I know there were/are those Theocratic Ministry School notebooks going around, though now there is so little to put in them I don't see why anyone would bother. One year I compiled one of those and I think I distributed about 85 copies (at cost). A couple of years after that, the WTBTS made an announcement about not doing that.

  When I went to pioneer school, I could't figure out why some fellow pioneers had several old green bibles in their rooms..until I seen them cut and pasting (literally) the scriptures to paste into a notebook for the school. Seemed like more work than necessary (compared to actually looking up the scriptures?). Last I hear, I knew an elder that printed out scripture notebooks of all the scriptures in the pioneer text book and gave them to all new pioneers going to the school... I think a CO got on their case.

  How lazy can people get? As if the WT Library CD isn't enough for their so-called "study and research." LOL

  Snakes ()
• 
  6

  What is wrong with me?...........

  by oompa in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why oh why can't i seem to shut up!......i am not the ragin open doubter/apostate i was two years ago and who raged on for a year.....making me a shunned being to most of my so called friends and causing my wife scars on her soul..........but why the hell do i feel so compelled to wake up my retired mom and dad and wife/son/?......and the other jw friends that will still come over for one of my famous grillouts (just ask changeling, newlite, robert7, and wings)???.

  i know it is tough enough for me to move on socially at 45 but how much harder for my parents?

  why the hell do i so want to alert/wake up them and my wife and son and anyone else i care about to the lies we have believed since birth?.....after all, they do have a right to believe what they want, and i (hope) i respect their position.....so wtf is wrong with me there??.........oompa.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  oompa...nothing is wrong with you....when you believe someone is in danger, whether it is physical or spiritual or emotional, it is natural to want to help them. When it is family and close friends, the desire to help them escape is exponential. I know.

  My 65 year old JW mom has doubts, but yet she has known nothing else in the last 40 years. When she moved states a year or so back, that would have been the perfect time for her to fade. It was then I tried to talk some sense into her. It did no good. The JW life (field service™ and Meetings™) are her whole social structure.

  Worse, by attempting to get her to think, it put an unconscious wedge in her mind that exists to this day. She promises not to shun me, but it is easier for her to say that when she lives 10-12 hours away. We talk only every week to 10 days. Why? Because it is hard for both of us. She wants to share her experiences from service and meetings and I want her to be able to do that. Conversely, I find it difficult to pretend I am interested in the subject, even if I am intensely interested in my mom.

  My mom and I have to agree to disagree. (Or as French philosopher Voltaire said: "I do not agree with a thing you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.") I like Voltaire.

  Now back to your situation. You know if you are open about your doubts and disbelief all bets are off, right? What you have to decide is: How much bull$hit are you willing to put up with for the sake of peace in your family? Because in the end, either way, they will keep believeing. Based on your previous postings, it appears you will NOT "wake up" your JW family. What can be different is whether you are still a part of their lives, with a chance, remote or not, to affect their thinking quietly.

  Will it mean making sacrifices (ie, going to Meetings™)? Possibly. What other sacrifices are you willing to make for your family? Would you give your life for them? Of course. That is the difficult hand that WTBTS is forcing in your case. They may not be asking for you to commit suicide, but they are forcing you to give up the freedom of the life away from the cult.

  Does any of that make sense? I do not envy you your position. Feel free to PM me if you like. We on this board are each other's support in this ongoing battle.

  Snakes ()
• 
  83

  Do not Disassociate, Anull your baptism

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am now a jedi, so trust me on this.. .

  why dis-associate, you are just playing by the wts rules?

  how can you dis-associate anyway, you never thought you were baptised as a watchtower society member, you thought your dedication was to god, so why formally disassociate from something you did not formally join?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  Ahhh..a resurrected thread... and good info and debate for the newbies.

  as to the point of an annulment letter. I thought about the fact that what I vowed at my baptism is different than what is vowed now. (see the 2 questions in the old om book vs the new om and current od books). Have you ever wondered why the Society pushes auxiliary pioneering and regular pioneering so hard? It has nothing to do with field ministry. It has everything to do with legal paperwork.

  It is about you signing a piece of paper. Once you sign that piece of paper (application), you say that you support the organization. You have effectively amended the original contract (your baptism vows). If you go to Bethel, Gilead, MTS (or even apply for them), you sign away your rights, if indeed you have any.

  If you agree to be an elder or MS, then effectively you also agree to support the GB's new rules and vows, whether or not you sign anything or not. It makes you not only subject to the new vows, it makes you culpable in making others subject to them.

  If you never signed those papers or took on any responsibilities (including being a Regional KH Construction Volunteer), then you might get by with it.

  More importantly....if you were a minor when you took the baptism vows and none of the above applies to you, then you might have a better chance of annuling the baptism. The unofficial "marking" would still take place.

  It would be the same as if an unbaptized person decides to walk away.... the elders might acknowledge that such a person "didnt know better" (either as a study or as a kid)...but they would still make it known to the congregation that such ones are a "danger"...nooo... they will never make a formal announcement... but you can bet the Marking Talk™ will be just as effective in keeping the cult members in line to protect "Loyalty to Jehovah" (aka "loyalty to the Organization.")

  just a thought.

  Snakes ()
• 
  5

  Anyone know Brown family from St.Louis, MO or West Lafayette IN?

  by SnakesInTheTower in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  many moons ago my family was close to a family of dubs by the last name of brown.

  i believe the first names of the parents were floyd and dena.

  they had a bunch of kids.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  Many moons ago my family was close to a family of dubs by the last name of Brown. I believe the first names of the parents were Floyd and Dena. They had a bunch of kids. They were in St. Louis for a long time then they moved to West Lafayette, Indiana. I think my dad met the father at an elder's school way back before their family moved to Indiana.

  WL Ind. was the last place I remember seeing them... and that was the summer of 1981. It had to be that summer, there was a movie (Lion of the Desert) that was released that spring. I was surprised our folks let us see it. I seem to remember the Browns being very uber-strict JWs. My parents were only a little less so. Despite the PG rating, it was a very bloody, gory war movie. I think our parents just wanted us out of the house. I seem to remember it was a hot summer and West Lafayette being a very very boring place for teenagers.

  Often wondered what happened to the kids especially. The oldest was a bit older than me... I wonder if they become ultra JW and off to bethel or if they seen the light somewhere down the road. They were good people as far as I ever knew. Be nice to see whatever happened...

  Snakes ()
• 
  8

  March looks are soooo deceptive!

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am looking out my 'lakeview' window.

  i see sunshine, a few whispy clouds, and beautiful blue vistas.. it looks 70 degrees.

  the newly greened grass looks springlike.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  Yesterday was so nice until the front came through... It was 79F from 2 until 4 pm then the temps dropped to 57 by 8pm and 40 by midnight. By this morning it was down to 28.

  I am not far from you Jeff.... SW (corrected) of you I think

  Snakes ()
• 
  56

  Will there be Electricity in the "NEW SYSTEM"?

  by african GB Member in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  or is it considered worldly?.

  how are they going to communicate without electricity?.

  what will they use to light up kingdom halls during thursday night meetings?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  Don't y'all know.....All power comes from New Light straight from the GB.

  Oh wait...why is my alarm clock blinking 12:00? Was that a flicker on the computer monitor....a blip from my UPS backup?

  Guess that New Light isn't working out so well.

  Snakes ()
• 
  7

  Graphic Design Assist Needed....

  by SnakesInTheTower in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  completely unjw related..other than it is part of my path away from watchtower and on to fun real life stuff... lol.. i am part of a social club on my college campus that works on environmental and sustainability ("green") issues.

  last semester we changed the name of the club and i also started on a new logo (currently a 1mb .bmp).

  we had someone working on it but they have disappeared.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  JD.. I think because of the nature of what the pros do with the logo (uploading the file for use in tshirts and other display elements) it cant be a word doc. I have tons of experience in Microshaft Office... lol

  GG and sacolton...I have PMed you my email addy... I cant PM the file, has to be email. I would post the logo here, but I have to maintain what little of my JW fader status I have left....

  thanks for your offers of help.... greatly appreciated

  Snakes ()
• 
  108

  Artwork...post yours here

  by coffee_black in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  going through some of my files... came across some photos of some artwork of mine... thought it might be fun to share with others here who are into art.

  so post some of your artwork.

  i painted this a couple of years ago... hope this works.... coffee .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  SnakesInTheTower

  What amazing talent we have on this board! I have had the privlege of seeing some of Purps' portfolio in person. It just keeps getting better.

  The college I attend is having a 60s theme for this year's spring fest...that would be cool to have purps' art there..it is very 60s looking.. (and that is a good thing)

  I never made it much past stick figures and the whole digital thing is passing me by, despite my affinity for computers..

  oh...can anyone give me some ideas on what to do with a logo I am working on (I can email the logo).

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/172565/1/Graphic-Design-Assist-Needed

  Snakes ()