smiddy

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Posts by smiddy

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  44

  My "best" friend (active JW) has just died

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  johnny santa cruz and i met around 1959 at a movie theater in fort worth, texas.. the purpose of that meeting was to create a fanclub for horror movie director william castle.

  a week or so later, johnny stopped me as i was walking home from elementary school.. "hey--i think i know you.

  weren't you at the william castle fanclub thing?".

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  smiddy

  2Nd attempt., sorry about that , the internet went down halfway through my reply.

  As I said we are on opposite sides of the world, I`m in Australia , Melbourne when I was converted in 1960. John Santa Cruz could not have been your "Johnny" as far as I know he lived here all of his life with 3 or was it 4 sisters,he was into body building though not with a club , and he would have not been more than 5` 8" in height,

  He was of Spanish descent which I am told Santa Cruz is not an uncommon name nor is John.

  So I think their could be hundreds of John Santa Cruz`s all around the world.

  Sorry if I burst your bubble.

  Take care Cobber , I enjoy your posts.

  smiddy
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  20

  How many times have the GB been wrong?

  by atomant in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  actually its quite amusing to observe the different reactions from within the org every time theres new light.how dumb does a person have to be to not realize its all a conjob.surely a thinking logical person would question all the changes over the years.lts almost like the blind leading the blind scenario.

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  smiddy

  They got one thing right ,

  " Religion Is A Snare And A Racket"

  smiddy
• 
  39

  JW marriages: “They” looked good on paper.

  by Londo111 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i applaud anyone, male or female, who overcomes shallowness and looks at a person’s deeper qualities, especially in regard dating and marriage.

  the movie and fashion industry does much to institute shallowness to the point that, in my opinion, it promotes outright discrimination and judgmentalism even as they give lip service to tolerance..

  on the other hand, among jehovah’s witnesses, there seem to be a preponderance of incompatible marriages.

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  smiddy

  I have two sons who were brought up from birth as J.W.`s , both married J.W.`s and both ended in divorce.

  We had a sister in our congregation who was married and divorced 4 times .

  Their were also many broken marriages that stayed together because of the religion .Unhappy as they were.

  smiddy
• 
  44

  My "best" friend (active JW) has just died

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  johnny santa cruz and i met around 1959 at a movie theater in fort worth, texas.. the purpose of that meeting was to create a fanclub for horror movie director william castle.

  a week or so later, johnny stopped me as i was walking home from elementary school.. "hey--i think i know you.

  weren't you at the william castle fanclub thing?".

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  smiddy

  Terry , sorry for your loss of a former friend .

  "After johnny was" outed" and he cut me dead , I never heard from him again"

  That intrigued me ,of course you don`t have to elaborate on that if you don`t want to, it`s really none of our business ,I`m just curious.

  What stood out to me in your post is the fact that a John Santa Cruz was responsible for me converting to the J.W.`s , obviously not the same person though .We are on different sides of the world for starters.

  I wonder sometimes about our memories of old friends we haven`t seen for many many years and when we do catch up it`s such a let down.

  Just saying.

  smiddy
• 
  30

  Some thoughts on guilt.

  by New day in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  had an interesting conversation with my wife recently.

  she struggles with physical, emotional and psychological problems which have often caused her to miss meetings.

  she mentioned how she is equally tortured by guilt if she misses meetings and ministry, and severe stress if she does them.

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  smiddy

  New day

  Sorry buddy , but you are a part of your wife`s problem , you were an Elder and she believed all that came out of your mouth,for God knows how long, being a dutiful wife and an obedient wife to her husband.

  Such wives in situations like this give over their all to their husbands believing the W.T. propaganda that they were directed by Holy Spirit.

  Naive ,gullible ,vulnerable ,women , were coerced to obey their husbands with the threat of disfellowshipping if they challenged their husbands in any way.They were made to feel guilty if they wern`t doing enough from the society`s standpoint. And they were made to feel guilty if they questioned the society`s explanation of anything,

  New day I sincerely hope you and your wife come to a better place , I do.

  Thanks for sharing your experience here , and get professional help for your wife.

  Convince her that professional help is available and they are not demonised

  smiddy
• 
  6

  Religion, a part of the American way of Life.

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  found this picture on the twitter account and it makes a wider perspective to me.. the jw religion is so part of the american way of life, just like the other religions in the us.. in the jw growth rate country's there is a market for this "better" life.

  the religion makes it possible.. western europe had that marketing mix need after world war 2 and maybe a part of the cold war.. see the picture, and you know, the similarities with the jw religion, the change will be in details and not fundamental.. gorby.

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  smiddy

  Thank`s Gorby,

  The Jehovah`s Witness religion is just another religion started started in America around the same times as the Christadelphians , the Christian Scientists ,Seventh day Adventists ,2nd Adventists, Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints,Assembly Of God ,? ,etc,etc. Some have been more successful than others however ,...

  The bottom line is it`s just another American scam religion.of that era. to make money .$$$$$$

  What financial benefit has resulted from the rank and file of any of these members ?..........ZILCH.

  What financial advantage has resulted from the said religious organizations ? .....$$$$$$$$ .... in most cases Billions.of $$$

  I rest my case

  smiddy
• 
  33

  Disturbing/Puzzling Skit at JW Function Last Night Plus Odd Choice of Music

  by Cadellin in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so i attended a fairly large jw gathering last night with my active, elder husband.

  it was a good-by party for a former special pioneer couple who have been demoted to reg pios and have now moved to a larger city to find work.

  anyway, there was music and skits.

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  smiddy

  If nothing else identifies J.W`. as a cult it`s the fact that they can`t have a get together anytime ,anywhere , among family and friends without having some religious portion thrown into the mix,

  What normal people include religion in family /friends social gatherings.Unless their a cult.

  smiddy
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  2

  Abel's religion would have been like the Memorial -- Cain's?

  by prologos in

  1. social
  2. humour

  so, the general jw population is forbidden to take the emblems at memorial time, the center ceremony of the wt religion.

  by comparison, how would abel's start-up worked out?

  well., the meat offered was forbidden to be eaten too.

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  smiddy

  I always thought Cain`s offering was more acceptable than Abel`s .

  Killing one of Jehovah`s creations ? as an animal sacrifice ? That can`t be right can it ?

  Presenting the first fruits of the Harvest , surely that would please Jehovah , yes ? Obviously no .

  And according to J.W.`s humans were not authorized to eat animals ` till after the flood ., so what a waste of life.

  And who said no forgiveness takes place unless blood is spilled ,Heb.9:22

  Oh that`s right it`s the blood thirsty God of the Bible.

  smiddy
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  45

  Berkshire Circuit (UK)

  by Dont_Believe_The_Truth in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm hearing rumours of huge changes within the berkshire circuit here in the uk .

  congregations being dispanded and kingdom halls closing down and being sold off.... official announcements within the next month apparently .

  does anyone else have anymore info?.

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  smiddy

  Welcome DBTT , look forward to hearing more from you.

  smiddy
• 
  47

  Hello Everyone!!!

  by Christian Gutierrez in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my name is christian and my wife is katja, and we have been out of the organization for a year and a half.

  we were both regular pioneers and i was a ministerial servant.

  we were very much happy to be witnesses and doing our best to do more for the organization.

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  smiddy

  Welcome Christian and Katja from Australia ,you are fortunate that you are both out together and being so young with the rest of your life ahead of you .I have enjoyed the freshness and young love that comes across in your videos ,enjoy your youth and live life to the full.

  But don`t waste more time than is necessary with this cult religion.

  smiddy