StephaneLaliberte

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Posts by StephaneLaliberte

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  7

  Judicial Committee Meetings

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you know of any judicial cases that is very trivial?

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  StephaneLaliberte

  A friend of mine got disfellowshipped for smoking two cigarettes at school. First time, he was regretful and told the elder. Second time, another JW told on him. He was 16. 2 cigarettes. Ridiculous.
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  25

  Do JWs buy old JW books to destroy?

  by mickbobcat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have never heard of this but i doubt its never been done.

  i sell some older jw books on etsy and have always been a bit afraid that some jws are buying them to destroy.

  if you have heard of this let me know.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  The sad reality is that if you show an old book to a "spiritual" JW today, you will immediately be flagged as an apostate. I remember, in my initial stages of questioning the "truth", I was about to share writings of Charles Russel with a friend of mine. He literally fled my house telling me that he would not hear anything that would cause his faith to be stumbled. We were talking, he stood up and walked out of my house, mid conversation! In the end, his irrational reaction had a higher negative impact on my faith than the writings of Charles Russel!!

  So, yeah, having old literature is a good thing for confirming your own decisions. Then, later, you can use these to discuss with people who were never JWs or that have since left the cult. But you will have next to no success with the JWs themselves. They view anyone digging the past in a very bad light.
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  17

  My favorite films of this century

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  so, i was thinking about which are my favorite films of the 21st century.. there are lots of 21st century films i haven't seen and want to see.. anyhoo, i came up with these .... the nightingale (2018).

  the lighthouse (2019).

  the martian (2015).

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Too many to list them all, but here are a few on top of my list
  

  Gladiator (2000)

  Mystic River (2003)

  The Departed (2006)

  There Will Be Blood (2007)

  No Country for Old Men (2007)

  inception (2010)

  interstellar (2014)
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  11

  Norm Macdonald 1959-2021

  by neat blue dog in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  any other fans of norm macdonald here?

  i think this is the only time where i actually felt a celebrity death.

  what a loss.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Well for one Norm was famous for literally making up crazy stories all the time for the sake of a joke

  Had the story of him getting it on with his friends wife been true, I doubt he would have made long lasting friendships as he did. How many people have you heard complaining about Norm for stuff like that? I haven't heard anything like it. The guy was a joke machine and respected as a comedian who would say anything for a laugh. So, that would fit perfectly well with his personality.
  
  
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  23

  Anyone have an obvious gay or lesbian in the congregation?

  by mickbobcat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i was a kid we had a kh with a basement and this guy joe winestien lived in it.

  he has passed away i believe.

  he was about 24 and used to hang around the young boys.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  I was part of a group of friends who made plenty of gay jokes as we thought they were simply funny. However, one day, my wife pointed to someone who seemed to be gay in our circle and so, we stopped making jokes. I remember that my friends and I weren't homophobes in that we bought into the idea that they were born that way and, unfortunately for them, they simply weren't allowed to have sex, ever. So, we didn't avoid them or even feel uncomfortable around them.

  Today, I realize that the amount of jokes we were making probably did hurt closeted gay friends that we weren't even aware of. There is no such thing as "gaydar". Some even get married as hetero trying to fight what they are.

  Being raised as a JW is already not ideal. Being gay and raised as a JW or any anti-gay religion is absolutely horrible.
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  15

  Get Vaccinated or Get laid Off

  by StephaneLaliberte in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i’m personally for the vaccine, took two shots and would take a third if asked.

  but i know a friend of mine that doesn’t want to take the vaccine who works for the government and now is faced with this choice: get vaccinated or get laid off.

  i don’t agree with this measure as it is totalitarian and runs against my core belief in individual freedom.. now, with that being said, what i don’t understand is that my friend still won’t get vaccinated.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  I’m personally for the vaccine, took two shots and would take a third if asked. But I know a friend of mine that doesn’t want to take the vaccine who works for the government and now is faced with this choice: Get Vaccinated or get laid off.

  I don’t agree with this measure as it is totalitarian and runs against my core belief in individual freedom.

  Now, with that being said, what I don’t understand is that my friend still won’t get vaccinated. Here me out: Someone pulls a knife on you in the street and tells you to give him your money. You have the choice to comply or run the risk of getting stab and possibly die. Most people will give their money while some will fight back and run the risk.

  Handing your money over doesn’t mean you agree with person that stole your money. It simply means that you weighted the risks and considering the imminent threat, you chose the path of least resistance. Same goes with the vaccine in my opinion. You can get vaccinated or loose your job.

  What saddens me about all this is that my friend thinks about this all the time, goes to sleep crying and feels utterly violated and betrayed by the very government she is working for. While I agree that she is indeed betrayed by the government and shouldn’t be forced, I can’t help but wonder why she is so obsessed about this. Taking the vaccine is safer than driving to your workplace everyday! I don’t understand the logic, I really don’t.

  Anyways, thought I’d share this as it feels like the JWs not going to war. If there is a war where I’m called upon, I’ll likely go. But I would also respect people who simply don’t want to fight on religious grounds.
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  122

  1995 generation change

  by Gorb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  now, many years later, i remember the 1995 generation change, very well.. since early youth, hearing my father explaining in field service the 2520 years.

  it was his main theme in the field.. with the change my doubts started.

  with some jw friends we did not trust the organization anymore.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I was not too stubbled by it. I mean, I already didn't believe that teaching when I got baptized in '92, so, it didn't come as a surprise and I didn't care much about it.

  It was only much much later, like in my early 30s, that, on this board, someone wrote that they preached about this date right on the magazines. That was the purpose of the magazine, that the generation that saw 1914 wouldn't pass away. It is only then that it dawned on me that the preaching work was somewhat bogus. If you go out and preach something false to billions of people in hundreds of languages, it is still false. The wide distribution doesn't make it true. That was part of the elements that slowly drove me out of the cult with my family.
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  7

  Ezekiel's Temple Vision Changed

  by IWant2Leave in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it was nauseating to listen to the book study the past week on zoom.

  old timers, and elders who have served for decades took the change of the vision in ezekiel chapter 40 thru 48 without blinking an eye.

  just drank it down.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  When I was "in", from time to time, people would leave the truth and people around were saying that they were spiritually weak for stumbling on bible prophecies. Like other JWs, I felt that people stay in the truth because they love Jehovah and don't get bugged down in measly little details of the prophecies. I felt that way for several years and when changes to our "understanding" were done, I wasn't troubled at all.

  Then I read somewhere (Ray Franz's books?) that if these prophecies were indeed not important, was it a loving and kind Christian trait to disfellowship people who publicly did not believe them? That's when I realized that this was a cult and not a Christian religion.
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  7

  2021-September-S-147--Announcements And Reminders!

  by Atlantis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  2021-september-s-147-announcements and reminders.

  https://www.filemail.com/d/jthlqvljltxzpch.

  https://we.tl/t-o3ynodngru.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  Problems can result when a publisher uses the form to make arrangements for a relative or others to be contacted by one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

  My dad once arranged for a brother to pay me a visit. I wasn't there and he left a note on my door. I called my dad and reminded him that encouragements only work when someone becomes inactive due to becoming tired, or discouraged. In my case, it was irreconcilable differences in core religious beliefs. There is nothing a brother like this can do. Well, there is in fact one thing he can do: leave my house convinced that I'm an apostate, schedule a Judicial Committee and have me disfellowshipped.

  My dad never sent anyone else to my house after this.
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  19

  How do JW feel about CBD?

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am not so sure if i am willing to discuss cbd with my jw aunt.

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  StephaneLaliberte

  They're fine with it if you've got a prescription. Then again, I've never heard of any elder asking to see proof of prescription.

  JWs are against the use of recreational drugs (except alcohol) and abuse of medicinal drugs.