hi all
Just like to say I never came across racism when I was a witness but thats easy for me to say as a white in a 98% white city.
Some interesting stuff to muse over:
http://www.geocities.com/paulblizard/blacks.html
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Free2Bme
JoinedPosts by Free2Bme
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26
Is the WTBTS racist?
by esther inin australia there are separate congregations for aboriginal witnesses.
the official line is that the nonwitness aboriginals are more responsive to other aboriginals.
that may be so, but that doesn't mean that they should be kept separate for meetings.
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Free2Bme
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God's Hero
by Norm inthose who are believers and worry about meeting gods standard for moral, ethics and general behavior seem to have very little to worry about.
at least if we are to take the bible serious.
take the example of the well know hero and judge, samson.
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Free2Bme
wow what a great post!
I haven't laughed so much since the other night when a JW in an ex-Jw chat room told me I was not free of the truth and just needed to read my bible daily to find it again ( do you think that is another radical new thought?)
You have inspired me to root around in my bible to see what other heros I can find.
So as another Samson-like hero would say "I'll be back"Free
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55
Demons / Urban Legends! Which Is It????
by Big Jim inhas anyone on this board ever experienced contact with demons?.
i have heard demons talked about for years, however i have never known anyone that has had any real experiences with them, i have only heard storys.. .
(some quotes).
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Free2Bme
Dunno about demons but my friend used to live in a house with weird stuff going on. Toys moved by themselves round the kid's room and my friend was held down on her bed by a force that violated her (she was frightened to death!)
I used to stay over once a week and woke up in the middle of the night to see a cloudy figure stooping over me.
I can't explain any of it but it sure is scary when it happens!Free
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How to Leave WT and Intact
by JT inone of the most painful things i continue to see here on this forum as well as all the others is that many who want to leave wt simply don't know how to leave and remain "intact" as it were.. i recall talking with jw who "formally disassociated themselves back in the 70s and it was not till the 90s and the net did they finally feel free.
or many who jump up and write a letter off to mo larry and curly (congregation service committee).
while i feel there is absolutely nothing wrong with writing a letter for many it is a matter of.
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Free2Bme
I just drifted away when I left.Started missing odd meetings went to attending odd meetings until it became no meetings at all. I moved across the city and started a new life.
Just one problem with the drifting away method I was to find...
Keep looking over your shoulder 'cause the minute you step out of line then theres a knock on the door and 2 unfamiliar guys in suits are standing on your doorstep!
So if you are planning on living a blameless life then it's worth a try but if you hope to try out those wings in a less than strictly biblical direction get ready to be shot down in mid-air!
At least DF or DA is OUT-WITH-NO-DOUBTBravo to the brave who spell it out in letters. Personally I would not give them the rod to beat me with.
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13
Would you forgive the shunners?
by nojw86 inif after all the years of being shunned by family , friends , would you forgive or forget them and all the misery they handed you, or maybe let them think about it for somtime before you talked to them again.
of course this can only happen freely if they left the org.
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Free2Bme
The queer thing about being shunned as opposed to being the one actually doing the shunning is I find it a lot easier.
My mum made a comment the other day about sister so-and-so who is df'd always bowing her head respectfully when walking past Witnesses in the street. That made me mad and I made a mental note to continue to greet and smile cheerfully at any JW I come across.
Similar to an earlier comment I say my love for them was not conditional.
(and on a naughty note most of them I couldn't give a toss about anyway- hey the only humble pie i'd ever eat better taste like Mississippi Mud)Free
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Cheeky Chatter
by Free2Bme ini was just kinda curious about something.... i've seen a few chatrooms hosted by jw's inviting interested persons to ask questions (as long as they are not too probing or you detect a distinct rise in blood pressure but thats another subject) and i just wondered if these hammer-wielding witnesses count their time and put it in their monthly report.. maybe they keep a record of curious guests and count each time they pop in for a chat as a return visit.. in these modern times is there a section on the report sheet for internet interest or cyberspace studies?.
could a e-mailing of an article count as a placement?.
oh when i think of those hours i spent pioneering in the cold and wet knocking on doors with housewives crouching behind the sofa with their hands over kids mouths.... can you imagine futuristic talks on the platform in the ministry school with instructions on effective arguments to use on pc-holders with a couple of zealous elderly sisters huddled over lap top computers with techno-terror on their faces?.
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Free2Bme
I was just kinda curious about something...
I've seen a few chatrooms hosted by JW's inviting interested persons to ask questions (as long as they are not too probing or you detect a distinct rise in blood pressure but thats another subject) and I just wondered if these hammer-wielding witnesses count their time and put it in their monthly report.
Maybe they keep a record of curious guests and count each time they pop in for a chat as a return visit.
In these modern times is there a section on the report sheet for Internet Interest or Cyberspace Studies?
Could a e-mailing of an article count as a placement?
Oh when I think of those hours I spent pioneering in the cold and wet knocking on doors with housewives crouching behind the sofa with their hands over kids mouths...
Can you imagine futuristic talks on the platform in the ministry school with instructions on effective arguments to use on PC-holders with a couple of zealous elderly sisters huddled over lap top computers with techno-terror on their faces?
Oops sorry starting to get carried away there but the possibilities are endless!ps didn't you just detest the end of month ritual and wish you could stick a few extra hours/rv/books/mags/bible studies on? Even worse the inevitable dodging of the elder collecting reports because a)you had forgot sort-of to put it in or b) it was so bad you were in line for a bit of a ticking off or c) worst of all you had -omigod- nothing whatsoever to report and you were getting the slow shaking of the head and get-ready-for-a-shepherding-call look as he got you cornered in the foyer just beating a retreat...
aaah you have to laugh..
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Brain Dead
by Free2Bme injust like to comment on the brain deadening effect of the jw way of life.
it's bizarre how completely oblivious they are to major issues such as doctrinal changes !
it's like they just calmly accept anything the org says without engaging their thought processes.. the 'generation' change was pretty amazing and would affect their door-to-door message in a big way yet it seemed to be met with a collective shrug.. i can remember triumphantly waving matt24:34 in many an impatient householders face as conclusive proof the end was nigh.. even more baffling is the fact that if i had been a bit of a swat and decided the society had got it wrong and the generation referred to the wicked generation rather than a generation of people alive in 1914 who would witness the end i would probably have been in big trouble and labelled 'apostate'.. it's as if the worldwide congregation is in a trance.
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Free2Bme
Hi again
Thanks for your views.
By the way I did not intend to come across as scornful of the rank and file.
My mum and other friends & family are JW's and I was one myself for 20 years.
I wish I could say I found a clearing in the mist one day,saw everything that was wrong then boldly escaped waving my arms in the air!
For me it was more the case of I drifted away through loneliness and ended up with a worldly guy and got DF'd.
Maybe or should I say probably if I had married in the Truth I would still be drifting along as smug and sure of my superiority over those"poor sods in the world "as any JW I seemingly 'scorn' today.
That is why I asked for advice at the end of my post. I genuinely wish there was a way to get beyond the zombie-like acceptance that yes I myself was part of when I was in the org.
Sometimes I get angry and bitter about things that have gone on and want to hit out but I'm not going to plead for forgiveness for that.I'm a Yorkshire lass and I call a spade a spade.But if I step out of line as a newbie I have a feeling you will all bounce on my head lol so I'm wearing a safety helmet from now on.
Anyway I think this forum idea is brill and can't wait to share loads of stuff with y'all and just generally chew the fat.Free
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HELLO? HELLO? "ALL" SIGN IN???????
by waiting insimon did away with the sex forum - so i must take the tradional route and post under "make new friends.
" how mundane!.
fyi ---- for all of us, please take the time to write a sentence or two about yourselves, and encourage new ones to do the same.
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Free2Bme
Hi everyone
I'm English,38 and am married to a sexy muslim.
I started attending meetings at 7, was baptized
at 16. I was very bright but in the truth you had to
pioneer so I gave up my dream of University, got a crummy
part-time job and tried hard to be zealous though I was
petrified on the service.
Most of my friends married very young but I was shy and
plumpish so I was always passed over for skinny sisters.
Despite all the counsel, of course young brothers weren't
too bothered about the 'secret person of the heart' as long
as you were pretty and had a nice body.
So I got quite lonely and contented myself with the notion
that in the new system Jehovah would give me a sexy bod
and I would live happy ever after.
By the time I was 27 I'd had enough. So had the 2 young sisters
I lived with.We started going out and inevitably missing meetings.
I had been out of the truth for over a year when I had my first ever relationship with a man and mainly because I was incredibly naive
and desperate to feel normal I let him move in. Despite being in a
different area I got a visit from elders who I didn't know and
I was DF'd.
It's taken 10 years for me to realise the society does not have
the truth. In fact I had felt unable to pray for all these years
even when my nan was dying. The brainwashing had done it's
job.
Now I feel so free. I'm happily married to a wonderful guy who
worships me.
The internet has educated me and transformed my views. I have
discovered great ex-JW sites that are full of wit and hope as well as
sad and bitter tales.
I look forward to getting to know you all and using you all as
my group therapy to get all the crap out of my system once and for all.PET HATE: JWs who insist on being arrogant in chat rooms for ex JWs
when they can't wait to boot you out if you dare to try and sneak for a peek in one of their chat rooms!!!!Free
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To Mommy - re: New Light
by Farkel inmommy,.
in another thread you stated to me,.
: my mother, when we spoke said that she beleives the org should have new information come out(new light brighter and brighter).
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Free2Bme
Don't give up trying to get through to your mum. My mum has been a JW for more than 30 years and she is a respected and valued member. I have been talking to her about the numerous disrepencies in WT teachings for more than 4 years. She has passed through several stages and I have had to completely back off lots of times but at last she openly admits the WTS is wrong and she has been deceived.
Now she is in no-man's land contemplating walking away from every friend she has and all she put such genuine faith in.
Many times I wish I had left her ignorant and arrogant in that witness way because I feel like I am swiping her meal out of her hands then leaving her to starve !! I know it's not the truth but I haven't found a convenient replacement.
But I had to tell her and it must be for the best to break free from hypocrisy.
Queer isn't it but I wish she had kept fighting me and come back with evidence that the WTS was right and she had not wasted 32years any more than I wasted 20 years!
I don't know if she will be able to leave. I've told her I respect her decision either way even if she chooses to live a lie and feel safe rather than face the big bad world.Keep it up (gently)
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Brain Dead
by Free2Bme injust like to comment on the brain deadening effect of the jw way of life.
it's bizarre how completely oblivious they are to major issues such as doctrinal changes !
it's like they just calmly accept anything the org says without engaging their thought processes.. the 'generation' change was pretty amazing and would affect their door-to-door message in a big way yet it seemed to be met with a collective shrug.. i can remember triumphantly waving matt24:34 in many an impatient householders face as conclusive proof the end was nigh.. even more baffling is the fact that if i had been a bit of a swat and decided the society had got it wrong and the generation referred to the wicked generation rather than a generation of people alive in 1914 who would witness the end i would probably have been in big trouble and labelled 'apostate'.. it's as if the worldwide congregation is in a trance.
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Free2Bme
Hi All
Just like to comment on the brain deadening effect of the JW way of life. It's bizarre how completely oblivious they are to major issues such as doctrinal changes ! It's like they just calmly accept anything the org says without engaging their thought processes.
The 'generation' change was pretty amazing and would affect their door-to-door message in a big way yet it seemed to be met with a collective shrug.
I can remember triumphantly waving Matt24:34 in many an impatient householders face as conclusive proof the End was nigh.
Even more baffling is the fact that if I had been a bit of a swat and decided the society had got it wrong and the generation referred to the wicked generation rather than a generation of people alive in 1914 who would witness the end I would probably have been in big trouble and labelled 'apostate'.
It's as if the worldwide congregation is in a trance. They are all playing SIMON SAID. They all talk in jargon and answer questions uniformally without really absorbing the nitty-gritty. They can't be reached because their minds and hearts have been manipulated and controlled.
So sickeningly sincere and sickeningly smug.Numb to everything but the life-swallowing routine.
My heart goes out to them all especially family and friends I left behind because I cannot tell them the hundreds of mind-blowing things I have discovered about the 'truth'.I want to rescue them but I know they are happy in their blissful ignorance.
I can remember the horror of apostasy that is part of being a witness and how it seemed worse than murder or fornication. But as defined in the JW elders manual viewable on the net an apostate is someone who has a different opinion to the org. Well that must mean the org. itself has been apostate because it keeps disagreeing with itself!!
How do you get past the fear and reach the heart and reasoning mind of someone so they can at least make an informed choice?phew! good to get that off my chest!
Free