recently,i noticed that some teenagers and "weak" publishers.
weren't actually shunning my step-daughter.
i warned her to meet.
You know, you guys make trying to fade away quietly really difficult!
I mean, when I read threads like this I'm just dying to walk into a Sunday meeting, grab a mic and shout "F#%@ you, you miserable sodding power crazed gits!!!"
Being an ex-JW really develops fruits of the spirit, such as self-control.....
Expatbrit
lets dance, we have added "wt letters" section to the website.
it will offer a new letter each week added to a list with an introduction.
read the introduction, click to view the letter and see if it answers the questions.
Vile. Truly vile.
Silentlambs, a couple of questions.
I note that the letter dates from December 1992. Presumably you are aware of the congregation or region this took place in. Were there any subsequent developments? Or is this guy still at large?
Surely the press would love to get hold of this? I'm thinking of putting together some kind of e-mail package and sending it to various of the larger Canadian newspapers e.g. the Toronto Star etc. Any recommendations, based on your experience so far, of the best way to present this kind of material?
This material is dynamite. Thank you for dragging it up from the WT swamp.
Expatbrit
i was raised as a catholic.
it used to be considered a sin to eat meat on friday.
even for a little boy who was at the age of reason.. i remember very well the time when i was in the second grade about the age of 7 that i did eat a hot dog on a friday.. i knew that it was a sin but i ate it anyway.
Teejay:
That's a good one, but not the one I was thinking of.
This is it, from the Awake, April 22, 1970 (Knorr must have had a real boner for the Catholics that year):
The effect upon many devout Catholics has been devastating. "All these years I thought it was a sin to eat meat," explained a housewife in the midwestern United States. "Now I suddenly find out it isn't a sin. That's hard to understand."
If you are a Catholic, can you understand how a practice that was considered by the Church a "mortal sin" can suddenly be approved? If it was a sin five years ago, why is it not today? Many Catholics cannot understand.
When a woman in Canada was asked how she felt about the changes in her church, she replied: "I don't know. Maybe you can tell me. What are they going to do with all those people sent to hell for eating meat on Friday?"
Not just a few Catholics have asked such questions. The change in teaching has shaken their confidence in the Church. Would you not feel the same way if what you had always been taught to be vital for salvation was suddenly considered unnecessary? Would you not be inclined to question other teachings of your church also?
How I could have gone through all those years without turning paragraphs like this around and seeing if the WT measured up to it's own writings just amazes me.
Expatbrit
on the lighter side of mental health issues, i was curious as to some good ideas you all had regarding the methods you use to reduce stress.
i will give two of my favorites and hope that several of you would provide one or two others and then come back in a day or two if others miss a favorite of yours.. .
two of my favorites are humor and music.
Larc:
I read the Watchtower and meditate on the marvellous blessings showered upon us by the Faithful and Discreet Slave.
Sometimes I look forward to the joyous new system of things that's just around the corner, with peace and love covering the whole earth.
Or occasionally, I'll call up an elder and have a lovely in-depth biblical discussion.
Oh yes, most of the time I relieve my stress by visualising vile apostates having their entrails ripped out through their belly buttons and wrapped around their necks, while their eyeballs bubble and fizz in their blistering sockets.
I think I'll go have a nap now. The fish I had for lunch might have been a bit funny.......
Expatbrit, relieving his stress through sarcasm.
p.s. Humour is my main way to really reduce stress. Watching Britcoms like Python or Mr Bean etc. I also have a den full of old books and antiques which I can escape to and read a good book while listening to Mozart.
enough people have now made it clear that they are very offended by francoise's use of the f word.. the trouble is, of course, that every protest made propels the ghastly heading back to the top of the board.. c'mon, francoise, do the honourable thing and delete / change the heading.. englishman.
Yes, I agree too.
While expletives can have a useful part to play in communication, they shouldn't be used gratuitously.
Putting the F word in a heading is counter-productive.
Expatbrit
i was raised as a catholic.
it used to be considered a sin to eat meat on friday.
even for a little boy who was at the age of reason.. i remember very well the time when i was in the second grade about the age of 7 that i did eat a hot dog on a friday.. i knew that it was a sin but i ate it anyway.
Chester:
I enjoyed your post.
I seem to recall the WT making a big to-do about the meat on Fridays change. Along the lines of quoting a disturbed Catholic saying how she didn't know what to believe any more. If anyone has the quote, please refresh my memory of it; it's one of the daftest pieces of WT hypocrisy, imo.
I enjoyed how the WT's attempts at informational control actually encouraged you to find out for yourself. "Methinks they do protest too much". Shows how they recognise that the internet with it's freedom of information is a huge threat to them.
Question: did your wife leave the WT too, or are you now in a "divided household"? If so, how's it going? Does she try to pressure you into going to the meetings again? My wife makes an "invitation" to me to "escort her to the meetings" every so often.
Expatbrit
when people hand out religious flyers, which a young man did today, i feel annoyed, like a salesman trying to hock his wares when i don't need what he's selling.. the young man and the church he represented were a lot less intrusive with their ministry than jw's, though.
that's why it angers me to know that jw's go out of their way to disrupt peoples lives with a bogus religion at the prodding of the likes of the wts.
it's like a yugo car salesman knocking on doors telling people how good the company is.
Amen, Brother!
Expatbrit
when i was 13, all of the other kids in my congregation were taking home school, getting them out of the "bad association" in public school.
they talked me into it too.. of course, at 13 trying to get me to actually do the schooling was a feat that no one could master.. i worked for a brother in the cong.
full time, and never finished the schooling.. so...flash forward.
Slayer:
As an employer, when I look at candidate's resumes, their schooling is relatively unimportant in my evaluation of them. What I look for, overwhelmingly, is their actual experience and achievements in employment.
In short: your resume should minimize your lack of formal schooling, and emphasize your previous achievements in your managerial position.
Plus, I've never seen a resume devoid of obvious spelling or grammatical errors. If ever I do, that person will automatically qualify for an interview. Check, check, check.....
You probably know this already, so good luck with the job-hunting; I'm sure you'll have rapid success.
And yes, it pisses me off too how the WT damages people's potential for achievement. The loss is tragic and incalculable.
Expatbrit
douglas adams, the creator of the marvellous hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, died on friday of a heart attack, aged 49.. i not usually affected to much by the deaths of public figures, but this one brought a lump to my throat.. the bbc: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1326000/1326657.stm.
tributes on the bbc: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/newsid_1326000/1326735.stm.
expatbrit
Douglas Adams, the creator of the marvellous Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, died on Friday of a heart attack, aged 49.
I not usually affected to much by the deaths of public figures, but this one brought a lump to my throat.
the bbc: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1326000/1326657.stm
tributes on the bbc: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/newsid_1326000/1326735.stm
Expatbrit
i am very interested to know how all of you feel about the subject of death and the future.
do you fear death?
what do you think are the possibilities for the future?.
The WT forces the idea that we are "bad" and "sinners" down our throats. Only by obeying them to the nth degree can we have a hope of surviving God's wrath. Even then it's only a "probably you may be concealed...".
So is it really suprising that so many of us as JW's had this fear of dying because we might not cut the mustard for a resurrection? I was one of those, too.
Now? If there is an afterlife, it'll be interesting to find out. If not, then I'll just be in non-existence. No worries.
Expatbrit
