Posts by freeman

40

Were You Successful In The Ministry?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i know of very few people that helped bring people in the "truth".

even those who concentrated on their own families usually realize that their children do not want the "truth".

most publishers were disorganized with regard to their return visits and house-to-house records.

freeman

I was very successful; I never converted anyone. Thank God!

Freeman

51

after reading the thread about posing in the nude, i was suprised to see how many people on here had done that....made me start to wonder what other interesting tidbits (hence the title of this thread) i didn't know about my fellow posters.

so what interesting or unusual thing have you done or been or seen in your life?

posed in the nude?

freeman

You could say I had some unusual experiences.

In the 80’s I did some undercover work for the federal government, and that was a lot of fun, however things didn’t always go so good because one time they got me mixed up with the real bad guys that I was monitoring for the government.

I once had my phone lines tapped, my phone records seized by the FBI, and I have even been followed by the DEA. All that was lots of fun, NOT! Connected with this stuff was something that happened to one of my contacts in Germany. The poor SOB had gasoline poured on him and was set on fire like a big torch. As it turns out he was an operative of the KGB and when the KGB was done with him, I guess they decided they didn’t want to leave any loose ends. (Note to self: Don’t ever work for organizations that have a really bad retirement plan. ) If anyone wants me to, I can try and scan a copy of the small newspaper article that talked about who this poor SOB was was and how he died. Just let me know.

Anyway, I don’t do that sort of stuff anymore, but inside, part of me sometimes wants to get back in the game, especially since 9/11. But then I think about my family, and just how scary some of this stuff was at the time. Even though it all worked out OK in the end, it was a nightmare I do not wish to ever repeat. Trust me, you do not want to ever be on the business end of the FBI!

I know the smart move now is for me to keep doing what I do, play with computers and keep them running for the FAA. Now I’m just a computer guy, and that’s all I aspire to be, but boy oh boy I sure will have some stories for the grandkids!

Freeman

23

Do You Consider Yourself An Honest Person?

by minimus in

jw
friends

many jw's can lie and feel that they are only using "theocratic stratergy".

some people are extremely above board and any thought of lying would not ever be considered.

some feel that they are very honest but would still cheat on taxes if they could get away with it.

freeman

I consider myself pretty honest, but I believe all things are relative; there are no absolutes IMHO.

In my previous vocation I had the opportunity to steal large sums of money with very little chance of ever being caught.

For many years it was my job to test the security of sensitive and critical systems by trying to hack into them without detection. I was often quite successful. This included payroll computers and government computers transferring millions of dollars. It’s kind of cool having a payroll computer put your name on a real check in the amount you choose. Yet I never once used my knowledge to steal, the challenge is the reward, not the potential money. Sometimes it not the lack of opportunity or the fear of being caught that makes people honest, sometimes it’s just the way they are.

All that said, it is also quite true that sometimes I bring home a pen or two from the office without even thinking about it. I guess I’m a bit quirky that way.

Freeman

17

Dino cancer

by peacefulpete in

i have been reading about dinosaurs and other contemporaneous animals and have repeatedly encountered examples of physical malformation (diseased or deformed bone and teeth)and evidence of bone cancer over 100 million years ago.

does this not refute the position held by jws that disease resulted from adam's sin?

comments?

freeman

Demar: I won’t tell you what or whatnot to believe that is up to you, however you do owe it to yourself to examine the source of this information you are getting. Upon closer examination, you may find it is just a tad less then: accurate, unbiased, and for that matter scientific.

As an aside, don’t you think it was very clever of God to make salt water and fresh water fish and somehow preserve both types during the flood when all water was mixed together, and then put all the thousands of different types of little fishes back in their natural environment again after the flood was over? I’ll bet there were both fresh and salt-water tanks on the Arc. I also thought that it was pretty clever of God to equip so many herbivores with the ability to deliver lethal poison just in case one day they had to become carnivores. I guess God looked into the future and saw the need down the road.

Freeman

17

Dino cancer

by peacefulpete in

i have been reading about dinosaurs and other contemporaneous animals and have repeatedly encountered examples of physical malformation (diseased or deformed bone and teeth)and evidence of bone cancer over 100 million years ago.

does this not refute the position held by jws that disease resulted from adam's sin?

comments?

freeman

Free Will: Do the fade thing and don’t pay to much attention to anyone’s words, particularly mine. The literal Adam and Eve creation /sin passed on to all descendants idea as presented by the Watchtower was always a sore point with me and one in which I always had to never completely level with myself intellectually because to do so could damage my entire belief system, the JW belief system that is. Remember, the JW belief system is inflexible and all knowing, and any deviation from that “present truth” is viewed with suspicion.

The validity of your particular belief system or non-belief has nothing to do with intellect or education whatsoever. What matters is what makes you comfortable and what seems to be correct from your point of view at a particular moment in time. For me, I feel that being a moral person, avoiding doing harm to others whenever possible, and trying to leave this world a little better then I found it is fundamental to my current belief system. What does that make me? If that makes me a Christian, that’s fine with me; if it makes me a Buddhist, that’s OK too. That said however, I won’t be saddled by a particular label.

I don’t like labels because I associate labels with the exclusive club mentality that often seems to accompany such membership. I did myself and my family great harm by joining a club that turned out to be a really bad one. Obviously I am not very good at choosing clubs. And because of my poor track record, I don’t want to be a member of any club at this time. That’s just me and my way of doing it, and what is good for you may be completely different. I wish you peace and success in your journey to find the truth.

Freeman

17

Dino cancer

by peacefulpete in

i have been reading about dinosaurs and other contemporaneous animals and have repeatedly encountered examples of physical malformation (diseased or deformed bone and teeth)and evidence of bone cancer over 100 million years ago.

does this not refute the position held by jws that disease resulted from adam's sin?

comments?

freeman

Wow that was a close one, eh Dino. Glad to here you escaped that one.

A few weeks ago we had to put the family dog to sleep as she had incurable cancer, in fact her swollen glands in her neck were making it very difficult for her to breath and eat.

She was a purebred black lab with a wonderful personality. She was completely black except around her chin as her hairs were starting to turn gray in recent years. Long before we knew the dog was sick, I used this living example to plant a seed in the mind of my devoutly Dub wife by asking a simple question: Why do you suppose animals get gray hair when they get older and even die of the same aliments people die of? She look at me dumbfounded and said she never thought of that.

I guess when Adam sinned, his DNA was damaged and it was passed on to his offspring, and since all the animals living back then were essentially the Adam and Eve family pets, their DNA was also effected too. Yep I’m sure that’s how it happened.

I wonder if one day the light will suddenly go on and she will see the folly at the root of this myth. I doubt it, but one can always hope.

Freeman

40

I attended my first meeting at a KH!!

by playdrums in

for the memorial service i went with my girlfriend.

she's the jw.

i also brought my best friend.

freeman

Playdrums: I very much enjoyed your comments. It’s refreshing to hear what an obviously intelligent and articulate outsider such as yourself thinks of the JW proceedings. From a Christian perspective, I’ll bet you must see what transpired or rather what didn’t transpire, as nothing less then blasphemous. Such a scripted display of enforced non-participation in something meant for everyone is in essence a mocking of the Christian Communion itself, would you not agree?

I am happy you have your wits about you and that you see this sham for what it is, I am however sad that the same is not true for your girlfriend. Perhaps you can help her find her way out; I’m still working on my wife, there is always hope.

Freeman

32

Hows come I wanna just sit on my ass today and do nothin?

by gumby in

jw
friends

well my job cancelled today....it's raining and cold, my back is sore, and i'm in a good mood.. heres the problem,.

my sweet little wife wants to do re-do our floors(old wood under the carpet ), and wants to re-finish them.

i was all set for the weekend to start......but i've got today off and .....well.....there's no reason i shouldn't start now and get up off my butt.......but remember it's raining, my back is sore, and i'm having fun doing this right now.

freeman

I’m here to support you Gumby, ya poor lazy bastard!

My story: I’m at work, the computers are running fine so I don’t have to do anything work wise, my boss is not in today and I’m all alone so I have all the time in the world to do anything I want.

However, I have a very intimidating 900-page psychology book sitting in front of me busting my balls. What I should be doing is working on a very hard paper due this Friday in which I am supposed to contrast Spearman’s model of intelligence and Gardners’s multiple intelligences (oh the joy).

Wait it gets better; it has to be in a format acceptable to the American Psychological Association even though it will never be published by the APA or anyone else for that matter. Soooo just what am I doing as the deadline approaches?

I am reading all the posts at JWD (and responding to yours) when I should be up off my lazy ass writing a paper comparing the thoughts of dead psychologists to each other (God knows the fate of humanity and the continuance of life as we know it depends upon this).

And what will happen should I get off my lazy ass and complete this task? Well I believe that then the aforementioned *&^%**! paper will make it’s way to someone that will grade it, point out the numerous errors I have made (making sure that I understand this assignment was in fact child’s play to someone of his intellect and stature) thus having the net effect lowering my grade average. Said &*%^#$! worthless paper will then be placed in a metallic cylindrical device awaiting final transport to a landfill. And no I’m not going to recycle, if I’m getting a shitty grade it’s going in the regular garbage!

So there you go Gumby, you’re not the only lazy bastard around here. We poor lazy bastards must all stick together.

Freeman (poor lazy bastard class)

24

Curious about Abortion Stand Now

by Oroborus21 in

jw
friends

howdy,.

ok this is not to say that only jws are anti-abortion or that persons are not capable of fluctuating on this issue for reasons other than orthodox jw reasons or completely unrelated to them, *phew*.

but what i was wondering and my question for the exjws here is this: .

freeman

Yes I think there is in fact not a small but a very large difference between the two. The only reason I made such a provocative statement to that woman was just to get her to think and reevaluate things. I also was busting her chops because sometimes I just like to kibitz.

I won’t impose my beliefs or non- beliefs on people but I do strongly feel people need to show responsibility, particularly in areas involving their health and life and death. Before I was married I was very reckless and I could have impacted a lot of lives adversely including my own. Fortunately that did not happen, I was saved through dumb luck, so as far as I know there are not a bunch of little Freemen running around. Now my children are entering an age when they have the ability to very easily screw-up their lives with one foolish act. I hope they will be responsible, because sooner or later luck runs out.

This reminds me of something that happened many years ago. My wife had a miscarriage and we were told in no uncertain terms that we would not see our child in the resurrection due to the fact that it never drew its first breath; it hence was never a living soul. Oh how comforting that elders words to us were in our time of grief…NOT!

Based on that logic, abortions at virtually any stage should be ok for a JW. Then again this is the twisted world of Tower logic, black is white, up is down, and the truth is in fact as we all know, a lie.

Freeman

16

Iraqis in Iran (free from US military) express their support for Saddam

by Elsewhere in

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,83889,00.html

200 iraqis storm their embassy in iran .

friday, april 11, 2003. .

freeman

REPOST DUE TO TECHNICAL PROBLEMS:

Gitasat, I always thought that in the technical sense only members of the Semitic people of the Arabian peninsula could be considered Arab, however in the context of colloquial speech, many more people consider themselves Arab, even those not indigenous to the Arabian peninsula.

I tend to look at it that this way: People consider the bubbling wine in their glass Champaign regardless of its origin, when technically Champaign comes from only one small part of the world, and everything else is just sparkling wine.

I guess it depends on your point of view. I’m not dogmatic about it either way but if you try telling that to a few of the people that I work with, they may get kind of upset because they do in fact consider themselves Arab even though they do not originate from the Arab peninsula. Interesting post, thanks for your thoughts.

Freeman