passwordprotected

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Posts by passwordprotected

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  59

  Surprise Elder's Visit-FAIL

  by iclone in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  [if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng /> </o:officedocumentsettings> </xml><!

  [endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:trackmoves /> <w:trackformatting /> <w:punctuationkerning /> <w:validateagainstschemas /> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:saveifxmlinvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:ignoremixedcontent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext> <w:donotpromoteqf /> <w:lidthemeother>en-ca</w:lidthemeother> <w:lidthemeasian>x-none</w:lidthemeasian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>x-none</w:lidthemecomplexscript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> <w:dontgrowautofit /> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark /> <w:enableopentypekerning /> <w:dontflipmirrorindents /> <w:overridetablestylehps /> </w:compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont m:val="cambria math" /> <m:brkbin m:val="before" /> <m:brkbinsub m:val="&#45;-" /> <m:smallfrac m:val="off" /> <m:dispdef /> <m:lmargin m:val="0" /> <m:rmargin m:val="0" /> <m:defjc m:val="centergroup" /> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440" /> <m:intlim m:val="subsup" /> <m:narylim m:val="undovr" /> </m:mathpr></w:worddocument> </xml><!

  [endif][if gte mso 10]> <style> /* style definitions */ table.msonormaltable {mso-style-name:"table normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"times new roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:en-us;} </style> <![endif].

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  passwordprotected

  Brilliant job!
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  1

  Protecting Pedophiles - the Watchtower's Policies Catch Up With It

  by passwordprotected in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i've written a lengthy examination of the candace conti breakthrough legal case, including a look at the watch tower society's obsession with morals, promoting fear of plastic toys while at the same time protecting the privacy of sex offenders.. it can be read here..

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  passwordprotected

  I've written a lengthy examination of the Candace Conti breakthrough legal case, including a look at the Watch Tower Society's obsession with morals, promoting fear of plastic toys while at the same time protecting the privacy of sex offenders.

  It can be read here.
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  49

  Bill Bowen Just Posted This on Facebook Moments Ago

  by jamiebowers in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  jane doe vs the watch tower in the oakland, ca case was awarded $20 million in punitive damages..

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  passwordprotected

  Links, please, to case notes, case details etc so that we can start blogging about this and have evidence to provide the naysayers. Thanks.
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  10

  "I Was a Good Mormon Wife...Until My Husband Stopped Believing in God"

  by dontplaceliterature in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you with spouses still in, this may strike a chord.

  i found the article on reddit/r/atheism.

  i couldnt believe that.

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  passwordprotected

  Great story.
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  26

  Got to Make an Elder Squirm the Other Day

  by xelder in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i heard from a very reliable first hand source that an elder in a nearby congregation was talking about my views of the organization.

  so, i called him.................................................................................................. me: hello m. this is xelder, i heard that you had a conversation with h. the other day.

  any idea why i might be calling you concerned about what was said?.

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  passwordprotected

  Listen to this audio recording of a JW challenging an elder for slandering him.

  http://deathorobedience.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/podcast-8-showdown-at-kingdom-hall.html

  Within a few months the JW had been disfellowshipped.

  Yeah, the elders tend to come after you...
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  41

  Clueless Attempt at Information Control In New Brochure

  by LostGeneration in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  on page 28 of the "who are doing the watchtower's will today" brochure they outline their website, and how great and grand it is.

  then down in the lower right corner they print this:.

  a note of caution:.

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  passwordprotected

  I remember as a JW having the sort of naivety that permitted me such arrogance; you really believed that people should listen to you and do what you said because you had "the truth".
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  81

  David Splane in Pictures

  by VM44 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

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  passwordprotected

  What a fanny.
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  10

  Christians Expect Too Much of God Compared To Witnesses?

  by passwordprotected in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my wife and i were chatting about this last night.

  having left the jws, we quickly became heavily involved in a born-again christian church, and the culture associated with it.. i've completely jettisoned any faith in supernatural god beings, and we were chatting about how intense christians are about god and how much they expect their version of the sun god to do in their lives.. however, as witnesses, you always had a fairly low expectation of jehovah, right?

  you never really expected him to "show up" and help you, did you?.

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  passwordprotected

  My wife and I were chatting about this last night. Having left the JWs, we quickly became heavily involved in a born-again Christian church, and the culture associated with it.

  I've completely jettisoned any faith in supernatural god beings, and we were chatting about how intense Christians are about god and how much they expect their version of the sun god to do in their lives.

  However, as Witnesses, you always had a fairly low expectation of Jehovah, right? You never really expected him to "show up" and help you, did you?

  Is that because the Christian faith experience is based on direct contact with their god figure, whereas Witnesses have this wonderfully human, error-prone and egotistical priest class that mediates for them?
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  251

  Evidence for God...

  by tec in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  life come from the living, and this is a universe of life.

  his teachings are truth.

  which is why i weight it against the truth of the teachings (and one other thing that i will get to).

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  passwordprotected

  I'm not going to read all 12 pages of comments on Tec's OP.

  However, I would like to chime in.

  I was raised JW by JW parents, of which my mother was raised by JW parents. I served the organisation faithfully for 36 years before waking up in 2008, and swiftly exiting.

  Upon exit from the Watchtower, I "found" Christianity. It was comforting. It "made sense". My wife and I quickly found ourselves attending a church and being as intensley involved in it as we'd been with the Watchtower society.

  However, 3 years after that, I now identify myself as an atheist.

  You see, Tec's reasonable list of subjective evidence "for God" is just that; subjective. And as a result, not evidence for anything other than Tec's belief that there is a god.

  OnTheWayOut is right; any evidence posited to "prove" that there is a god is merely confirmation bias.

  Tec - like I once did - wants to believe there was this all powerful, sovereign being who created the universe and has a "plan and a purpose" for his/her life, and that this God was best represented in a man, his son, Jesus Christ.

  Now that I don't believe in any god or supreme beings, I realise that the evidence I used to convince myself of a god's existence was subjective and was merely confirmation bias.

  • the Bible doesn't prove there's a god
  • the content of the Bible doesn't prove there's a god
  • the world we live in doesn't prove there's a god
  • the awesome wonder of the universe doesn't prove there's a god
  • our emotional/physical/psychological/spiritual/souful/mental experiences aren't proof that there's a god
  • Christianity doesn't prove there's a god
  • the story of Jesus doesn't prove there's a god
  • the story of the resurrection of Jesus doesn't prove there's a god

  Add anything you want to that list and I guarantee you - having once been an ardent believer - it won't prove there's a god.

  However, anyone can choose to believe in God, and use whatever evidence they so choose to shore up that belief and faith. But that evidence will always be subjective and will always be biased towards confirming that belief.

  On a personal note, since jettisoning belief in gods, I have never been more calm, at peace, contented, happy and at ease before in my life. I highly recommend it.
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  5

  T-shirts and shorts don’t imply a lack of dignity any more than suits and ties imply dignity

  by passwordprotected in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  we have to love the thinking of the governing body.. someone t-shirts and shorts imply that their wearer is undignified.

  would you agree?

  [blog article on this subject].

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  passwordprotected

  We have to love the thinking of the Governing Body.

  Someone t-shirts and shorts imply that their wearer is undignified.

  Would you agree? [blog article on this subject]

  T-shirts and shorts don’t imply a lack of dignity any more than suits and ties imply the presence of it. Think it through. The bankers who are accused of raping the world’s economy wear suits and ties every day. How much dignity do we suspect they possess? Conversely, life guards wear a uniform of t-shirts and shorts. Are we to believe that their uniform implies a lack of dignity? Sorry, but the Governing Body’s reasoning doesn’t add up. - read the full article here.

  Ultimately, here’s what’s going on.

  The Governing Body has sold Jehovah’s Witnesses on the idea that how you dress and act is more important than what you believe.

  Or, perhaps more specifically, what you believe about how you dress and act is more important than what the Governing Body teaches about “truth”.

  You see, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has, for example, convinced around 7 million people that the word “generation” evidently means something different from what it actually means, thereby rendering language useless.

  So, in order to make up for this massive pink elephant pooping all over the room, the Witnesses have to be distracted.

  Distracted by being reminded, continually, that the “worldly onlookers” will be convinced that the Witnesses “have the truth” because of how they dress and act when staying in a chain hotel 3 days a year.

  Forget how illogical the teaching on “the generation” actually is. Forget how ridiculous “Judge” Rutherford’s claims about 1925 were. Forget what the Governing Body actually said about 1975. Forget the ever-changing policies on blood fractions. Forget the lives that have been squandered or lost through blindly obeying the men from Brooklyn.

  Look at how we dress…

  In reality, if you really have – and represent – absolute religious and spiritual truth, if Godtruly is using you to spread his saving message throughout humanity, you should be able to dress in sackcloth and it won’t matter; the quality and trustworthiness of your message will always – always – shine through.