Posts by garybuss

99

How many years left to Armageddon

by JH in

with all the emphasis put on armageddon in the org.

can we throw away all the signs that jesus gave, just because we quit being a jw?.

does armageddon scare you as much as when you were a jw?

garybuss

I am inclined to accept the evidence that the universe is not a fine running clock like the Watch Tower Publishing Corporation and it's agents taught me. The universe seems to be an explosion in progress and the chances are pretty good that the planet Earth will be involved in a collision that may well end human life.

And:

I am inclined to accept the possibility that some trigger happy leader will start a nuclear war and change a large portion of the environment to an extent that much of the planet can not support human life.

I do not accept as fact the legend that there exists a malevolent or benevolent superhuman controlling force. Nor do I accept the ancient writings of primitive cultures as actual or factual. I do not see any evidence that ghosts or gods exist and I do not see any evidence to support the theory of life after death.

I have long lost the fear of impending doom and I have no fear of ghost stories or the dark or of that which I can not control. I certainly do not fear the reality of death.

To fear an event scheduled by a mythological storybook character seems to me to be an incredible waste of energy at this point. Maybe an objective research on the history of god will diffuse these apocalyptic delusions. For me, it was impossible to fear the Wizard once I had looked behind the curtain. See the movie, The Wizard Of Oz. It's good deprogramming stuff.

Did anyone see the movie, A Ticket To Heaven? gary

The Way I See it http://www.freeminds.org/buss/buss.htm

3

thought I was safe, but....

by happy2b in

jw
friends

they came to my door last week.

i saw the watchtowers, so to save this poor ol' 'brother's" voice, i opted to tell them that i had ds'd myself 4years ago.

usually this will ward them off as if i had the plague.

garybuss

I wonder what CD they have . . . . I'd like to see it.

8

Just venting

by dsgal in

jw
friends

i faded from the jws thirteen months ago and since then i have only been called on by two elderly pioneer "sisters" a couple of times.no loving shepherding calls from the elders,not even once.i always felt out of place at the kh because i didn't have any friends there.never once got invited to social gatherings the whole year i went there.what's with all the clique $hit?that's about as far from jesus' teachings as i've ever seen.now today out of the blue i have a message on my machine from one of the elder's mother.i didn't call her back.wonder what came over her to think of me anyway?oh well,you all might not understand my feelings but i feel better now that i sat down and typed it out.

garybuss

Elders love JWs like weasels love chickens.

11

The internet, really a good place for information?

by sleepy in

jw
friends

.

is the internet really a good place to find information?a lot of people have learnt the truth about jehovahs witnesses through the internet, via web sites that proclaim to expose the truth about them.. but is the internet a safe place to gather information on important subjects?grated its very easy to find what you are looking for most of the time,but just how trust worthy is the information found within?often when i look at sites that discuss subject i have a good knowledge of there is a lot of nonsense talked by people who havent got a clue but just want to have a say.it is not always easy for the "novice" to determine who is the "expert" and who is not.. the internet suffers from this problem more than say books, because it is so easy for just anyone to write what they want, whereas to make a book you have to go through a lot of effort and it will have been read and checked by other people.. i tend to treat the internet like i treat people.i only listen if people can give a good explaination as to what they are saying or believe, if none is provided i will ignore the information whethr it is correct or not as there is no basis for me to trust it.. so in order to give good information we must always try to explain why we belive something to be the case.. dont just trust what you read (most people dont anyway)always look for the reasons why, and think of counter arguments , only then except what is writen and still be a little sceptical.

garybuss

The most unreliable information I ever got in my life was from books and magazines and the most dishonest entity I have even dealt with was a book publishing corporation.

15

Does the WT EVER Admit to being Wrong?

by UnDisfellowshipped in

jw
friends

can the governing body of hypocrites ever admit that they are wrong?

the watchtower august 1st 1978 issue, page 3:.

can you admit when you are wrong?.

garybuss

The modern Watch Tower Publishing Corporation takes pride in admitting they are wrong. One of their core teachings is the position that a requirement for a true organization is their willingness to admit to making mistakes.

The Watch Tower Publishing Corporation, in it's mission to prove it is owned and managed by God, makes assumptions and draws erroneous conclusions to be presented to the world as "truth". Then, all who will be approved for association with the agents of the Watch Tower Publishing Corporation are required to accept that erroneous conclusion, or be marked for ostracism.

Making and admitting doctrinal error is a fundamental feature of the Watch Tower Publishing Corporation. They have a prolific history of error and attempted correction and then, revision of that correction. Now, and for the last century or so, all "new light" has simply been revisions in prior presentations.

Anyone seeking to belong to a high control, apocalyptic group, that makes and exchanges mistakes as a highlighted feature, and has never gotten one objective prediction right in their entire history, I highly recommend the Jehovah's Witness group.

Edited by - garybuss on 14 February 2003 8:24:24

14

How can I successfully Deprogram?

by ikhandi in

jw
friends

for months i have been questioning in my mind whether i still believe what i was taught in this organization.

my belief system is very much intact.

i stopped using illegal drugs(this got me on the disfellow ship in the first place) i don't lie or steal, but still curse like crazy.

garybuss

I had to accept that everything I had learned at home, in religion, and in school was wrong. Then I started from scratch with skepticism. I kept the multiplication tables but I had to re-learn the English language. All I had learned about relationships, ethics, life, death, and money was wrong. I made huge decisions based on assumptions . . . all wrong.

The biggest mistake I ever made was giving Jehovah's Witnesses access to my sons.

The Way I See it http://www.freeminds.org/buss/buss.htm

4

Lesson learned...never assume...

by Makena1 in

thinking of a topic for this post was difficult - but in the end i kept coming back to the "never assume" theme.

a bit of backround.

my mother's family settled in texas in the late 1800's.

garybuss

Back in the middle 1990's I was still making regular duty visits to my parent's home. My JW mother told me one day that my cousin died. He was not a JW. I asked when . . . she said three months ago. I asked why she didn't sell me in time to attend the funeral. She said, "We didn't think you'd care.".

Those parents drove half way across the country to visit my JW brother that year. The parents live 5 miles from me. That year they never visited me once nor did they call once in that year.

9

Provision of the FDS - March KM

by Stephanus in

jw
friends

thanks to dmouse.

http://jsefton.users1.50megs.com/kmscans.htm.

highlights: bottom of p. 1 - the hunting down of inactives is confirmed .

garybuss

"Those who have been lifelong captives to false teachings may find it difficult to comprehend the freedom offered by God's Word." (Our Kingdom Ministry" March 2003, page 8)

13

My JW Folks

by CraigSA in

jw
friends

so now they have branded me an apostate and not fit to talk to, they have never met their 1 and 2 year old grandchildren and are smeering my name all over the place because i wont send thm pictures and let my wife email them with information on whats going on in my family...my outlook is simple...either they except my whole family including me or they can put the fact that they have a son and daughter-in-law and two grandchildren out of their minds...but now i am starting to doubt that...whats everyones thoughts?

garybuss

Hi Craig

I have lived out your life in my own. Today my Witness relatives do attempt to keep in touch with my wife but snub and shun me. When my wife associates with those who reject me, my wife rejects me. I would not want to be married to a woman who would do that.

If you come into my world and tell me you want association with me but you intend to snub and shun my wife, I will hang up on you or show you the door in one microsecond.

To understand some things, I have had to take them out of their context and set them into a different context. Would you question whether to continue shopping in a store that told you that you could shop there but your wife could not even enter the door? Think along these lines a bit.

I personally know you are on the right track. I would take it a step farther. I would call them up and tell them they are disfellowshipped by your family and they are forbidden to have ANY contact with ANY member. ESPECIALLY the children. If they refuse, I would get a legal restraining order against them.

Best wishes, gary

17

Logically, the DA'd should not be shunned!

by metatron in

if the bible sez that shunning applies to "anyone called a brother" who engages in serious sin,.

then logically, if a person made clear to everyone - congregation, neighbors and community - that he is.

not one of jw's, no shunning would apply - over and above any 'worldly person'.. likewise, it would not apply to any df'd person either - if they made clear they are no longer a jw in any way.. of course, such logic cannot be grasped by the watchtower - who would voluntarily submit to their dominance.

garybuss

Welcome c_harris! Are you the C Harris I know?

[email protected]

Edited by - garybuss on 11 February 2003 20:14:4