DT

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Posts by DT

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  5

  NEW SONGS

  by tijkmo in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i have put up some new songs on myspace.

  so if anyone wishes to take a listen... you can put up 6 songs now...and open the player in a stand-alone window so you can do other stuff.

  cheers.

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  DT

  Cool music. I've bookmarked the page.
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  28

  Was mold a problem in your hall?

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it seems like almost every hall i went to had a mold problem.

  i couldn't even enter the last hall i attended without getting sick.

  i had to listen.

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  DT

  It seems like almost every hall I went to had a mold problem. I couldn't even enter the last hall I attended without getting sick. I had to listen
  in on the telephone. The hall was about the only place that made me sick. Most of the congregation seemed to think that there was something wrong with me
  spiritually and most avoided me. I didn't even know all the elders. I was pretty regular in the field circus, but I had to call ahead and wait outside for
  the group to let out, and then a lot of people I never met would just walk by me like I was an apostate. I felt like I was being shunned long before I disassociated
  myself. Well, it's a group that can't take criticism, even if the "criticism" is just getting sick from their shoddily built kingdom halls.

  I've thought about reporting some of these halls to the authorities as a health concern. My only concern is that this just might force them to remodel, thereby
  further enriching the society at the expense of the poor dubs. Any thoughts?
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  12

  Faith and marital fidelity go hand in hand (except for Jehovah's Witnesses)

  by Gilberto in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  so jehovah's witnesses can't claim the moral highground when it comes to being faithful to their marriage mates.. http://www.hfxnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=86808&sc=89.

  faith and marital fidelity go hand in hand: study .

  shannon proudfoot.

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  DT

  This is surprising when you consider that Jehovah's Witnesses routinely expel members who are guilty of infidelity. You would think that this selective pressure would reduce the rate after many decades, but it still remains high. It sounds like a JW lifestyle increases the chances of infidelity.
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  6

  Disassociation Questions

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i disassociated myself a few months ago.

  i requested confirmation that they have received the letters.

  (i sent multiple copies) i also asked for details about the announcement.

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  DT

  Thanks for the PM. It was helpful. I should have sent my DA letter as a certified letter that they have to sign for. I will do that with my next letter so I can at least prove that they received the letter if they choose not to respond. I'll also try to get written confirmation of my status from the headquarters. If they refuse, I'll announce to my family that they can apparently still communicate with me and ask them to write the society if they have questions about my status.
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  74

  WOULD WOMEN MAKE GOOD ELDERS?

  by Dansk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've come to love and cherish much of the wisdom that emanates from the dear ladies of this forum and believe watchtower boobed in making all women subservient to the men.

  so, do you think women would make good elders?.

  ian.

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  DT

  This discussion is going to give me nightmares. I believe that women can often do a better job on many of the things that elders do, especially with regard to emotional issues, but I would hate to see another gender be exposed to the pressures and opportunities of abuse that exist in the elder arrangement. The JW organisation warps the natural human tendencies of its members, so I fear that the women who would become elders would usually be the ones you don't want to see having extra power.

  This would also result in elder couples. Can you imagine the power that an elder couple would have? They could do all kinds of shepherding and intimidation without involving the rest of the elder body. The thought terrifies me.
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  3

  The Pedophile Defense Fund

  by DT in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i hate to see even one penny be donated to the pedophile defense fund (world wide work).

  however, it occurred to me that it might be worth donating a. penny for this, provided that the donation was made by check and was accompanied by a letter stating that the penny could only be used for that purpose.. if they cashed the check, it would be an admission that they have such a fund.

  if they didn't, it would be an admission that they use www funds for this.

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  DT

  I hate to see even one penny be donated to the Pedophile Defense fund (World Wide Work). However, It occurred to me that it might be worth donating a
  penny for this, provided that the donation was made by check and was accompanied by a letter stating that the penny could only be used for that purpose.
  If they cashed the check, it would be an admission that they have such a fund. If they didn't, it would be an admission that they use WWW funds for this
  purpose. If they sent a letter returning a check, they would be impoverished by the cost of postage. If they didn't return the check but didn't cash it,
  they would seem ungrateful and ethical. (I wonder if it would break any laws to receive earmarked contributions that they refuse to use, without notifying
  the sender.) I can't do this because I will have to have some other correspondence with the headquarters and I don't want my address to be flagged as a
  trouble maker yet, but I would certainly be interested in the results if anyone else wants to conduct the experiment.
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  6

  Disassociation Questions

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i disassociated myself a few months ago.

  i requested confirmation that they have received the letters.

  (i sent multiple copies) i also asked for details about the announcement.

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  DT

  I disassociated myself a few months ago. I requested confirmation that they have received the letters
  (I sent multiple copies) I also asked for details about the announcement. I know I'm being
  shunned, but I never heard anything from the elders. I would have
  thought that they would at least try to confirm that I was the person who sent the letter. Imagine
  the amount of mischief that could be caused by people sending in DA letters on behalf of others if the elders don't check up on this.
  It would be kind of fun to return to the meetings and ask the elders why nobody will talk to me, sue them for
  slander when they say they announced I wasn't a JW and DA again after it is settled. I think it
  could work if I didn't send out so many personal letters at the same time.

  Well, I'll send another letter asking for details, but I wanted to know a little more about their
  procedures first. I want to have some sort of written response from them as evidence in the event
  of future litigation. (I know it's hard to sue for enforced shunning now, but I hope the legal climate will
  change in the future.) I intend to do the same with the headquarters in Brooklyn.

  Another question. Will the elders ever try to contact me to see if I want to return or to tell me
  the procedure for returning? I know they do this kind of thing with DF persons, but I don't know if
  DA is different. I have no interest in ever returning, but I think it's outrageous that they would
  allow a longtime member leave without even telling them how they can return.

  I've already made a couple of posts, but never properly introduced myself. I'll do that when I have more time. I'm thinking of doing something musical.
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  5

  The Watchtower official website and Google

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it's nice to see that an internet search will bring up many more sites.

  that are interested in exposing the truth about jehovah's witnesses.

  than spreading their propaganda.

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  DT

  I just did another Google search for Jehovah's Witnesses and discovered that their official website now comes up second after this one http://www.carm.org/witnesses.htm I guess this partially answers my questions. It gives me hope. I plan on starting some blogs and I hope that I can help other sites outrank the WTS site by linking to them.
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  5

  The Watchtower official website and Google

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it's nice to see that an internet search will bring up many more sites.

  that are interested in exposing the truth about jehovah's witnesses.

  than spreading their propaganda.

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  DT

  It's nice to see that an Internet search will bring up many more sites
  that are interested in exposing the truth about Jehovah's Witnesses
  than spreading their propaganda. However, the official WTS site comes
  up first in Google and other search engines. I only know a little bit
  about search engine optimization, but I'm wondering if it would be
  possible to bump them from that position. I know they have vast
  resources to help insure good search results, but since they
  discourage their members from using the Internet they probably can't
  count on many incoming links from members. We may be able to outdo
  them in this regard. Perhaps people that are more knowledgeable than
  I am can comment on whether this is a battle worth fighting or if it's
  hopeless. Their Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of
  Jehovah's Witnesses comes up fifth. I'm sure we can get some more
  objective sites to get listed ahead of it if we pay more attention to
  linking practices
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  20

  The legality of shunning

  by DT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello, i'm new to the group.

  i disassociated myself a couple of months.

  ago.

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  DT

  Hello, I'm new to the group. I disassociated myself a couple of months
  ago. I have a question. I have been thinking about the legality of
  shunning in the United States. I know it's a difficult situation
  because the courts are very reluctant to interfere with the
  religious rights of the organisation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Of
  course, the individual members have a right to shun anyone they want
  to.

  Still, it seems that there may be some weaknesses in their defence.
  Sometimes, disfellowshipping is defended on the basis that there
  exists a kind of agreement between a religious organisation and it's members and that either party can terminate this
  association at any time. If a religion can expel members for any
  reason without suffering consequences, shouldn't the members have the
  same right to leave without facing retaliation? I don't have a big
  problem with individuals deciding to shun someone if they choose to do
  so. The wts, however, requires its members to shun and uses
  intimidation (threat of disfellowshipping) to enforce its policy. This
  is for the purpose of punishing someone who is no longer in their
  religion. It seems to me that a person should have the unquestioned
  right to practice a religion or resign from a religion without fear of
  retaliation or persecution. Shouldn't the rights of an individual
  outweigh the rights of an organisation? Is it even correct to talk
  about the religious rights of an organisation or does this just apply
  to individuals? You have probably already discussed this general
  topic, but I would appreciate your thoughts.