buffalosrfree, you said it!
"....in your seat ready to stand and moan...."
I remember a time when one of the things that the JW's / WT talked about regularly was all of the "meaningless" rites and rituals of the catholic church and how the congregation just "went thru the motions."
The funny thing is that I have attended several catholic services, because my daughter is catholic by her own choice and will, and found them to be anything but "empty" rites and rituals. Those people really are "into it" and they feel it brings them closer to their god. Sheesh, what more could one ask?
But then, you never heard a word about the JW rites and rituals, because they don't think they have any...... what a joke. Every part of the service is "static"....... I think, if I am not mistaken, that is the very meaning of "ritual," no?
Posts by MikeA
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34Special Needs talk at our Hall tonite...
by CaptainSchmideo intalk was about appreciating jehovah's provisions, something like that.... the po gave the talk.
apparently, after the last co visit, our congo got a letter from headquarters, informing us that our numbers are wayyyy down.
several inactive publishers, several more irregular, poor meeting attendance, and our hourly average is less than the national average (8.3 compared to 9.9).
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MikeA
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Do you have more and/or better friends now?
by sweet pea inbecause of the season i have been writing a list of friends/'worldy' relatives to send cards to.
i can't believe how many are on it!
i am so excited and hopeful for the future.
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MikeA
You all said it! For me, there were no real friends, just acquaintances. It was only after getting the boot, that I found out what a real friend was. Family, too, for that matter! I am reminded of an old saying that seems to apply from time to time, "When a pickpocket meets a saint, all he sees are his pockets!" All they see in "us" is converts to their scheme, not friends, not family. Just converts.
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Special Needs talk at our Hall tonite...
by CaptainSchmideo intalk was about appreciating jehovah's provisions, something like that.... the po gave the talk.
apparently, after the last co visit, our congo got a letter from headquarters, informing us that our numbers are wayyyy down.
several inactive publishers, several more irregular, poor meeting attendance, and our hourly average is less than the national average (8.3 compared to 9.9).
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MikeA
And by god... it is ALL your fault! It cannot possibly be that the message reeks, right? Oh no, ALL your fault. Can I hear a "Cult! Amen!"
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As a teenager what was your 1st car
by XOCO ini got my car from an elderly sis from my congo and it only had 52000mi and its a subaru gl-10 wagon '88 it looks just like this.
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MikeA
Harley Sportster! It was great for field service, let me tell ya :)
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MikeA
The first time I read about this cockeyed belief, I REALLY had to belly laugh. So...... this is where God was supposed to reside, eh? Interesting thought except for one minor detail...... When the dinosaurs looked up, they weren't there!
That group of stars are about 100 million years old. FAR younger than our own planet. Moreover, the very proof, other than where they "are" in the nuclear fusion sequence, is in the very nebulosity that still surrounds them. God is a pretty young fella if this is his home :)
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Watchtower website
by cooler inmy dad was looking and the official watchtower website and he said it has such a truthfull and genine look about it and how i should'nt read the forums because people's opinions on there are misguided and they dont know what their talking about.
has anyone said anything similar to you?
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MikeA
Now THAT was funny! I have to agree, the comic-book style that applies to most of what is published by the WT, including that website, is just pedantic. I remember similar things coming out of the fundamentalist churches back in the 60's. Not impressive then, even less today. I have to say that reading about Bethel and all on Randy's site was MOST informative and incredibly funny when it came to the folks working the floor. Now I see what those poor folks were up against. WOW..... you mean we ACTUALLY will be able to print with four (4) whole colors? ROFL! The website looks like they just discovered that they can go beyond 8 bit color, although that may be debatable. Sorry Randy, that stuff about the printing presses (if you read this) was utterly hilarious. I loved everything you posted on your site.
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"Where's your jacket brother"
by jambon1 ini remember an elder walking in the hall and it was the 1st thing he said to me as he saw me dealing with the sound dept.
"where is your jacket"!!!!
nice greeting!!
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MikeA
The wits to which I refer are the ones that would cause us to immediately reply, "In the closet, brother/sister, why?"
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Not dead, since 1975!
by MikeA inhow about you folks?
any of you die in the great armageddon of 1975?
i was an apostate 4 years prior to this marvelous date...... wonder why someone saw fit to keep me alive til today?
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MikeA
Thanks Alpha! Hey, maybe you are right. I mean, if we can have an invisible return of Jesus, then why not an invisible armageddon....... it happened when we weren't looking, see? LOL! Actually, one of the very first things that got me to thinking about the "rightness" of this religion was that 1914 (or WWI) was NOT a world war. Not really. It was tragic, as are all wars (trust me, I know what I am talking about on that issue..... I'll elaborate later), but it was nowhere near the earth-shattering impact of WWII. It was like night and day. So I began to wonder about this and why it was that 1914 was so important. Of course, I was still thinking, if you want to call it that, like a witness, but as I said in another post, my mom made a deadly mistake a long time before I got out..... but it stuck with me for the whole time (and still does)...... she said, "THINK!" Uh, oh..... now you went and did it! :) I love ya mom! More than you could ever know!
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Not dead, since 1975!
by MikeA inhow about you folks?
any of you die in the great armageddon of 1975?
i was an apostate 4 years prior to this marvelous date...... wonder why someone saw fit to keep me alive til today?
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MikeA
How about you folks? Any of you die in the great armageddon of 1975? I was an apostate 4 years prior to this marvelous date...... wonder why someone saw fit to keep me alive til today?
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JWs just not important in this world no matter what they/we want to believe
by restrangled infor most of us raised in the "truth" and i hate to use that term, we were brought up/and or taught to believe we were very important in this world.
the message being preached, god's chosen people, yadda yadda.. so as we leave this religion, the things we can point to as being news worthy, those breaking the law in the ranks, coverups etc....its really small potatoes in the world at large, although to this group it is huge.. i believe that part of the letting go of the witness mentality is recognizing that in the end its all just a small cult that captured your soul, or you were born in and had no choice.
it sucks bigtime, its larger than life for most of us, but in the bigger picture of life its a very small blip.. there is no question this religion has ruined/destroyed many lives, but to the world at large it isn't big enough to make a differnece to those not involved.. in reality, to use a horrible analolgy.....the jw's are just a pimple on the butt of the world.. .
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MikeA
You are so right and yet the impact on those who are members is way out of proportion to their relative unimportance. It is sickening. Here I am, a disfellowshipped apostate of long standing, the only person in my entire family making a decent living. All of the rest do menial tasks for menial wages all because these "doofus' in charge" tell them they shouldn't get an education. These people won't say boo to me for years (and I do mean for over 30 years they haven't said squat to me), then when our dad becomes seriously ill, you would think my brothers/sisters and I were "old buddies" because they need the one thing they don't have....... money to help our dad out. It is despicable! Help my dad? YOU BET! Do I have the spare cash to do so, yes indeed. Do I do it for "them?" Not a chance! You see, I received a little love note from my sister back in 1981 or so stating that they could not associate with me because I was in the military and disfellowshipped! Well, that hurt me pretty badly. In fact, it sunk deep in my soul. Not the disfellowshipping part.... who cares about that. It was the family part that hurt. This was on top of the fact that they hadn't said anything to me in years (probably due to the fact that I had been disfellowshipped alot earlier and never knew about it). Anyway, I had a very successful career and continued my education while I was actually in the service (25 years, the retired). Due to that education, I was able to take on a well-paid second career with the largest IT outfit in the world. So, yes, I will help with dad...... gladly....... but to the rest of you I say..... well, the folks here don't want to hear that part. It isn't pretty!