garybuss

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Posts by garybuss

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  19

  Ex-JW from Minnesota

  by Adonai438 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i've been reading a lot of stories posted here and have to say i'm glad to know there are so many ex-jw's!.

  so, jehovah's witnesses sounded pretty good to me-- it never occured to me that a religion could be wrong.

  was i not good enough for god?

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  garybuss

  Born in Pipestone Minnesota. Now live just cross the border in South Dakota.

  Happy day to all,

  gb
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  30

  Purpose of life

  by ItsJustMe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the ageold question that i'm sure we have all given some degree of thought to...what is the purpose of life?

  anyone have a theory/opinion they would like to share?.

  my personal opinion on this is not solid enough yet to be considered a belief.

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  garybuss

  ItsJustMe wrote: <...what is the purpose of life? >

  Where did we come from?
  What are we doing here?
  Where are we going?

  Those are the questions all philosophy tries to answer.

  Those also are the questions all religions claim to have the answers to. The best both science and religion have to offer is theory. The difference is, science admits to the theory. Religion presents opinion as fact and opinion stated as fact is the definition of dogmatism.

  I ask myself - *What is my purpose in being here?* My answer is this. Who cares? I am the product of two people's experiments with reproduction. Now my job is to help other people and enjoy life as much as I can.
  
  Best wishes to all,

  gb
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  26

  JW Marraiges

  by sweetone2377 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  how many here were married as jw's to jw's??

  if so, what was your main purpose in getting married to this person?

  i ask this because, i married my dh so that i could get to know him.

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  garybuss

  Hi Shelly, All,

  I married both times as a JW to a JW in a Kingdom Hall. I married for the same reasons that anyone in any religion marries. Some of those are the hope of: fulfillment, happiness, love, sex, children, acceptance, prosperity and an easier, more interesting life.

  My first wife died from virtually untreated leukemia. I am still married 30 years later to my second wife. Both were lovely girls and I am proud they chose me to marry. I have 4 (now grown) sons and I received all of the things I had hoped to receive from the partnerships.

  Marriage like life, because it is an element of life (for me), has inevitable ups and downs. To think a partnership will never have challenges and discouragements is magical thinking. Everyone gets to know their spouse after the marriage when the actor and actresses retire. Not being allowed to date must complicate that. I dated. . . really, I courted. It was fun. I'm glad I got to do it.

  Divorce is not the failure of the marriage. Divorce is the proof of the failure of the partners and proof that the partners have publicly admitted defeat. I believe there is no *perfect* marriage just like I think there is no *perfect* divorce. Happiness is not a product of the marriage no more than happiness is a product of the divorce. Marriage and happiness are two separate, unrelated issues.

  The marriage failure rate is much higher than the divorce rate. The two are different subjects. A marriage can be a success for one partner and a failure for the other partner and that marriage has failed even though there is no divorce.

  Failure of marriage is not perpetual. Failure can be short and last a day or an hour. Neither can success be perpetual. It too is contingent and fragile. All divorces happen in spite of the successes, the good times. All marriages continue in spite of the failures, the bad times.

  It is my perception of my observations that an unhappy married person was an unhappy single person and will be an unhappy divorced or remarried person.

  The motive for the marriage is second to the attitudes and behaviors of the partners. When a couple invite children into the marriage, they too become partners in the marriage. This fact is often forgotten in the periscope viewed world of the religious and the right. Children have full partnership rights and an equal vote. An equal vote they are seldom given.
  
  Marriage is like any other partnership. It has a beginning, a purpose, and an ending.

  The JW twist on marriage is flawed by nature. The JW marriage is a license for sex and authority to start a dictatorship. Often the dictator is malevolent. The insertion of the deity/organization between the partners is divisive by nature, contingent, and a block to intimacy. The children are trapped and either squeezed or spun out. Their rights are never recognized. They are not cherished and protected. They are ordered and marched and displayed and spanked and indoctrinated but they are not cherished and protected.

  I wish I had had better teachers sooner. But today is not too late to be a caring partner and an appreciative father. Humans have a tendency to want to pair bond and reproduce. Religion has a tendency to get in the middle of that and insert all sorts of preposterous rules. When the enforcers of the rules come into the family homes to enforce their made up rules, a line has been crossed and a real problem is exposed . . . waiting for solution.

  Happy holidays all, whatever that means to you . . .

  gb
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  86

  Silliest thing that Witnesses told you was wrong?

  by gilwarrior in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  there are two things.

  in the early and mid 80s there were witnesses saying that the cartoon characters the smurfs were not acceptable for witnesses.

  i had two smurf cartoon books and my mother made me throw them away.

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  garybuss

  Hi All,

  #1) I was told *You don't have to worry about having to go to high school, Armageddon will come before that.* I started high school in 1958.

  #2) *You will never have to get married and raise children in this old system, Armageddon will come before that.* I was first married in 1967 near the beginning of the 1975 nonsense. My youngest of 4 sons is 22 years old.

  Volumes have been written about the silly teachings of this group.
  
  
  gb
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  25

  Way Back When You Were A Witness.......

  by LB in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  back in the dark ages did you used to come into message boards like this one, or h20 and try to defend the watchtower society?

  i did and things didn't work out so well.

  actually they worked out fine, i switched teams.

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  garybuss

  Hi TJ, All,

  Seems to me like the internet as well as information such as that found in COC and Apocalypse Delayed has not influenced as many to leave group activity as collectively it has helped prevent those who have left or been booted out from *wanting* to return. New recruits are helped as well. Prudent individuals who are in the indoctrination *study* process are helped to make a rational decision and I am aware of many who chose not to become involved after they looked at the available facts.

  Used to be a walkaway or a castaway Witness was much like a letter without proper postage. They had a tendency to return. Now we become informed, heal and move on . . . never to return.

  Best wishes to all,
  
  gb
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  29

  do you still want to live forever?

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  imagine that chance was offered to you .is it something you still desire?.

  i wonder how desriable it would be to live forever.what problems it would bring.would we want to stay married to the same person, would we get to know everyone on earth?.

  how would it effect our attitude toward life , would we get anything done knowing there was no rush?.

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  garybuss

  I'd like to live a real life in an objective world and die a human death. The idea of immortality of some sort has given people the justification, motivation and courage to do some incredibly irrational things against their own best interests. I'd much rather meet you coming down the highway at me in your car knowing you are a rational, objective, realistic humanist than wondering if you are a magical thinking theist living out some delusion.
  
  Just my knee jerk reaction to the idea of immortality. :-)

  Happy week everybody . . .

  gb
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  30

  I just DA'ed myself

  by disneycuty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just sent disassociated letter to my congregation after spending 26 years of my life as a jehovah's witness.

  i am a newbie to this chat forum and i am happy to be part of this forum.

  let me tell you a little background about myself.

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  garybuss

  Hi disneycuty

  Wish you the best. Too bad we have to loose our families, friends, homes, jobs and a normal life just to change our religious affiliation, or just to be free from religion.
  
  Too bad a board like this is even necessary but I'm glad it's here.
  
  Look forward to reading your story.
  
  gb
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  8

  SPIRITUAL INCOMPETENCE

  by Victor_E in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the founders of america were great men and women who fled religious intolerance from the motherlands to give birth to a new nation where religious freedom would be guaranteed by law.

  these laws have become a safe heaven for cults and all kinds of religious scams who hide behind the laws that make churches immune from prosecution.

  russell and company found that the laws of the land allowed him to set up his religion to be able to market his pyramidology beliefs through literature sales.

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  garybuss

  Hi Victor, All,

  Thanks for posting. As you know, I am a long time fan of your work.

  It took some time after quitting Watch Tower Corporation activity for me to understand the scope of the publishing company's influence on me. It all revolved around the books and magazines the leaders wrote and published.

  On Sunday morning we went door to door offering the books and magazines the leaders wrote and published. On Sunday afternoon we had a *talk* where the speaker quoted from the books and magazines the leaders wrote and published. Then we had a Watchtower study where we studied the books and magazines the leaders wrote and published.

  Monday evening was personal study night where we studied the books and magazines the leaders wrote and published.

  Tuesday was bookstudy night where we studied the books the leaders wrote and published. In the 50's we had one hour service before the meeting to distribute the magazines the leaders wrote and published.

  Wednesday night was backcall night and we returned to people who had accepted the books and magazines the leaders wrote and published.

  Thursday night was meeting night where we talked about and read from the books and magazines the leaders wrote and published.

  Saturday morning was service and we went door to door with the books and magazines the leaders wrote and published.

  Best wishes Victor. I'll be watching for more posts from you. Thanks again,
  
  gb
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  23

  Genesis Error: The Rainbow Covenant

  by JosephAlward in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  after the lord had drowned every living thing on the surface of the earth except noah and his family and the animals brought to the ark, he told noah that from that time forth there would be no more apocalyptic floods, and as a token of his good intentions the lord would create the rainbow:.

  and god...spake unto noah, and to his sons with him, saying...i establish my covenant with you.... neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

  and god said, this is the token of the covenant which i make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: i do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

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  garybuss

  Most of you have seen this by now but for those who have not, here is a drawing of the Hebrew Universe.
  
  > http://www.garybuss.org/hebrew_universe.htm
  
  gb
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  20

  AWAKE Article about WTC Bombing

  by Sirona in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  awake jan 8 2002:.

  "the events of september 11, 2001, in new york city, washington d.c., and pennsylvania will be indelibly impressed on the minds of millions, if not billions, of the world's inhabitants.

  where were you when you saw or heard the news of the attack on the world trade center in new york and on the pentagon in washington?.

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  garybuss

  These high control groups have to fit everything in their frame. If it won't fit . . . then they just re-frame. This event of 9-11 has been used to sell everything from religion to cars. I can't wait for the Watch Tower Corporation to show where they predicted this event before it happened like they claimed to have predicted the start of WWI in 1914.
  
  gb