I agree with a lot of what's been said (on both sides of the discussion!), and enjoyed the read.
If some of you could take a look and perhaps respond to my idea which is relevant to the newbie/manner of posting issue that would be great. Cheers.
Eyes Open
JoinedPosts by Eyes Open
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176
You Who Have Been on the Board For Awhile - What Are your Concerns ?
by flipper inwell, it's late.
i need to go to sleep, got home from work, but i thought i started a newbie thread why not a thread for those who have been on the board a long time , or for awhile now ?
so, lay it on me, what are your concerns for jwd ?
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139
Favorite Quotes
by Abandoned ini love inspirational quotes.
i read through them from time to time and i always feel better after sharing the thoughts of yesterday and today's greatest minds.
"if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.
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Eyes Open
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
- The Bene GesseritI know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid. You're afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone, and then I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world without you, a world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries, a world where anything is possible. Where we go from there, is a choice I leave to you.
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Wow, I can't believe I'm doing this....
by megawatt inwelp...
it's been a crazy ride for over 25 years, pretty much raised as a witness (ever since i could remember), rebelled against my parents, came back, straighten out for a little while, married within "the truth", but the last 5 to 7 years, i've been seriously questioning the changes and doctrines established by the wts.
never thought i would be looking from this side of the fence.
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Eyes Open
I wholeheartedly agree with using a different translation of the bible. A very important point!
I used the New English bible and it flows so much better than the NWT, and is so much simpler to understand.
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What do you think about Demons now?
by tooktheredpill inhi guys!.
as many of you know, i'm still inside the borg, but my mind is completely disconnected.
i had a chat with some friends during the week, and they started sharing experiences they had, dealing with demons in the past.. i heard some stories from brothers from cuba, that used to be mediums or "saints", and how the demons "immediately started to attack them when they started learning the truth(tm)".
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Eyes Open
I've just come across an interesting YouTube video showing a demon in the film Dumb & Dumber. If you have the volume up reasonably loud you can also hear a strange crying noise.
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70
What do you think about Demons now?
by tooktheredpill inhi guys!.
as many of you know, i'm still inside the borg, but my mind is completely disconnected.
i had a chat with some friends during the week, and they started sharing experiences they had, dealing with demons in the past.. i heard some stories from brothers from cuba, that used to be mediums or "saints", and how the demons "immediately started to attack them when they started learning the truth(tm)".
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Eyes Open
I think they're really, really scary. At least in Doom 3.
Seriously, they didn't seem very interested in me when we tried an online ouija board. Couldn't get a response. Maybe that's becuase we were using a touchpad instead of a mouse.
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Law suits by the Society against websites
by isnrblog inon this site and others i have been reading about the watchtower society suing bloggers and website owners because they quoted the watchtowers publications.
a couple of observations.
if you quote a publication that was publically distributed by the millions of copies, how could you be liable?
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Eyes Open
The internet, as well as better education in general, has arrived; their days are numbered. No amount of money will save them. It might not be in our lifetimes, but the sect will die.
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Wow, I can't believe I'm doing this....
by megawatt inwelp...
it's been a crazy ride for over 25 years, pretty much raised as a witness (ever since i could remember), rebelled against my parents, came back, straighten out for a little while, married within "the truth", but the last 5 to 7 years, i've been seriously questioning the changes and doctrines established by the wts.
never thought i would be looking from this side of the fence.
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Eyes Open
megawatt,
Hello there, and welcome. You sound like someone who is determined to do what is right, wherever that may take you, and that, Sir, is the most important part of your decision made. Everything else will come in time. Don't feel rushed, and stay true to yourself (even if that requires delicacy around others, including your wife, for the moment).
If I may share a little of my experience which I think you might find helpful...
When I had doubts, I decided I would keep my research to what the Watchtower Society claimed was its basis of teaching: the bible. That way, I would not be "deceived" by anyone who was wicked at heart and out to destroy what, to me, may have been the true religion by reading falsehoods on the internet. I used educational books written by scholars who had no need of mentioning a minority sect which goes by the name of Jehovah's Witnesses. It took me several months to do it, but I ended up with an incomparably greater understanding of the context in which certain biblical books were written and what the authors actually intended to convey.
You seem to be approaching things from the "other" angle, by finding out just what those who claim to be God's only channel of communication to the world have been getting up to. Nothing wrong in that, of course. But I mention it because you say you are not 100% certain that what you are doing is right. That's only to be expected; years and years of being indoctrinated with the idea that anything that casts the Watchtower Society in a bad light will potentially lead to your thinking being warped, your faith lost, and your existence destroyed at the hands of our loving saviour, Jesus, and his 144,000 (or at least most of them, I forget the current teaching) "co-rulers" at Armageddon is bound to make you think twice.
Well here's my advice. If you want to find out what's been going on in the organisation concerned over the last 130 years or so, then carry on finding out. But I think you may find it very helpful to also evaluate its claim that its teachings are bible-based in light of some real bible study, as basic knowledge of history and literature which is related to you by experts in their field, backed up by real references, can really ease the mind-squashing effects of partially believing that the Watchtower Society is the only route through which biblical truth is taught.
You don't have to spend months and months on it like I did if you don't want to, and to get a brilliant overview by reading one book I recommend How to Read the Bible: History, Prophecy, Literature - Why Modern Readers Need to Know the Difference, and What It Means for Faith Today (Oxford University Press). The chapters can be read in any order (though I recommend the introduction first), and I think all who have been affected by the Watchtower Society will particularly appreciate chapters one, two and four (see the contents page in the Amazon search inside feature). It's light bulb moment stuff, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
Also useful is the site apocalypse!
About your wife and family/families: if, when you have come to a conclusion about this religion, you find you want to help them free themselves of the influence, do not be too abrupt and tread very, very lightly. Unfortunately, trying to convey what you've found and how you feel could more than likely cause trigger responses and send those mental barriers right up. I made that mistake. I just wanted to be honest, and let my family know what I felt. Now I wish I'd taken the long term approach.
Helping others in the same situation requires allowing them to think for themselves. This could be done by asking them for help on a particular point, though you know full well there won't be a satisfactory answer. But getting them to consider one question at a time in order to "help" you can only help them. You would probably find asking them questions relating to the bible, which you'll find in the book I mentioned, with an apparent view to finding a solution less confrontational, and thus less damaging to your cause, than bringing up issues directly related to the Watchtower Society's less-than-holy behaviour.
Finally, know that whatever happens, no one - absolutely no one - can take away from you who you are. Remember to show your wife you love her at all times, and don't rush her.
Thinking of ya. -
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Ian (Dansk) in hospital with CMV
by Alleymom inhi, everyone ---.
claire asked me to let the board know that ian is back in the hospital and expected to be there for about a week.. those of you who have been following the weekly vigil thread know that his cmv has returned.
the virus is not responding adequately to the tablets, so ian needs to be medicated intravenously.. please keep ian and claire in your prayers.. marjorie.
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Eyes Open
Thinking of you Ian and family.
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Confronting my JW teachings and beliefs. Just read Crisis of Conscience.
by digderidoo ini have just finished reading crisis of conscience by raymond franz.
i only stumbled across this book on wednesday in the town library while waiting for a public computer.
the last couple of days in the uk has seen miserable weather which has effected my work so i have had plenty of spare time to read this book.
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Eyes Open
I've just ordered Crisis and hope to read it over the next few months.
apocalypse!
Good night all. Will see you tomorrow, unless Armageddon comes in the meantime. -
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Yesterday my father informed me that he will shun me...
by nvrgnbk inbut only if a judicial committee tells him to.. if they say i'm inactive and let me be, he can still talk to me.. it's meaningless, because i would never meet with a jc, but he let me know where he stands.. he's dead to me.. i'm not hurting.. lost tons of respect for the man.. i told him he was brainwashed and left him without saying goodbye.. to no longer live for his approval was liberating, but this is even better.. i told him that i couldn't do that to my son.. his response?.
unconditional love is a lie.. you only get unconditional love from a dog.. sick, brainwashed, emotionally bankrupt man.. p.s.- not looking for cyber hugs.
just sharing the experience for others going through similar things and for lurkers to see what this cult does to people.. regards,.
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Eyes Open
Nate,
...what to say. Sorry.
Obviously I don't know the specifics, but I've been thinking about this type of situation. It hasn't happened to me, and I'm hoping it won't. I guess the only way of truely defeating this type of ignorance is to show love to those who threaten to/do shun. They've been horribly misled, and are trapped. Easy enough to say, of course - just where my thinking's led me.
Whatever happens, and whatever you decide on doing, all the best.