halcyon

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Posts by halcyon

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  11

  New magottzine on Mary

  by mkr32208 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  ok so i'm walking though my parents house (a rare event in itself) and i see a watchtower with a title called "what mary can teach us" or "what we can learn from mary" or some such shit.

  so i'm thinking what in the world can this be?

  has anyone opened it?

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  halcyon

  I think FLDS when I see FDS, as in that restrictive mormon cult that lives in its own little incestuous paradise world.
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  31

  Your View of Platonic Relationships with Men & Women- Change as EX-JW ?

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know my view certainly changed for the better i feel after leaving the witnesses 5 years ago.

  in part, thanks to my current wife as well ( who has platonic guy friends in her life she has known for years ) it helped me to see it is healthy, normal and natural which in my opinion helps both sexes add more insight into the thinking of men and women enabling a more balanced view of life.. most of us as ex-witnesses know of the tight control which was hammered into our brains about being " just friends " with the opposite sex.

  i mean, it was ridiculous.

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  halcyon

  I am definitely dealing with the consequences of my upbringing. I am actually weird around men who I'd like to be friends with, because I don't know how. So I talk to them, and then I withdraw, because I start worrying that they somehow think I'm coming on to them somehow, not that I've actually come on to them, but the act of talking to them MUST be a come-on, right? That's what I was raised to believe anyhow. So I get all weird and withdrawn and shy and then throw up defenses and, pretty soon, they probably think I actually DO have a crush on them, based on the way I'm acting.

  I HATE it. I wish I could just be simple friends with men without my weird defenses kicking in.
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  13

  Touchy-Feely Church Ritual

  by cameo-d in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  what do you all think of this?.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkg5kmnzzcm.

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  halcyon

  "your breast may be the receptacle of pure and virtuous principles."

  huh. Is that what they're calling it these days?
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  18

  Can a person be a Christian and a scientologist?

  by truthlover in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  looking at their web site, it seems they rely completely on mankind to solve problems, yet their message is so close to the scriptures, it makes me wonder ---if, once you have your life in order- the scientology way, mankind should resolve all their problems since they believe all are equal, etc.. they dont seem to believe in god or in satan, but that the world is in a mess because men dont work together to better themselves.. any comments??.

  theirs seem to be a perfect life, and have professionals in place to help relieve anyone of any baggage they carry from early life, ie -abuse, be it physical, emotional or religious..... .

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  halcyon

  They say you can, but when push comes to shove, they consider the Bible useless and something you need to grow beyond if you ever want to become "clear." Belief in Christianity prevents you from becoming "cause" and keeps you suppressed, which keeps you sick.
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  26

  Did YOU Really Care about "The Friends"?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  honestly, did you really care about everyone in your hall?.

  everyone gripes about how the majority of elders never cared but were you one who regularly showed how much you cared for the "brothers and sisters"?

  i'll bet we all share some guilt in this.

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  halcyon

  When I was younger I cared about everyone. I always wondered why everyone didn't care about me.

  It's still a problem, in that I care about almost everyone I meet, and wonder why they don't care about me. It's been a tough road to learn how to be cynical.
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  18

  That They Might be Kings

  by Farkel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dubs like to speculate.

  about almost everything: how life will be in the new world ordertm, how and when armageddon is going to happen, whether the latest newspaper headline really signals that armageddon is about to start, what the latest new lighttm is going to be, and on and on.. so heres something to also speculate about.

  suppose that jehovah paid a personal visit to the wts leaders and said, .

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  halcyon

  When I studied Communist China's revolution, I got the very real fear that this is what the world would be under WT "Theocracy".
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  9

  Jehovah inspires the writing of talk outlines.

  by tresdecu in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  although the wt claim they are not inspired.

  there is a crazy undercurrent, that i've always just took for granted, that many of the bros and sis's think they actually are inspired.

  we recently had a statement in a public talk that "jehovah saw fit to have the governing body put this <whatever it was> in this outline".

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  halcyon

  I wonder if they view their own MS talks in the same way ... they obviously know that when they sit down to write a talk, they are not any more inspired by God than when they sit down to write out a grocery list. However, they will probably say to each other, "Wasn't that talk by sister so-and-so good last Thursday! It was just what I needed to hear." Implying: "Jehovah gives us food at the proper time!"
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  3

  The only way to leave is to believe

  by halcyon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  that it's okay for there to be no "other place" to go to.

  once you realize that there doesn't have to be one right religion that one must be a part of, but that life is blessedly filled with imperfect ways and people who all have a little bit of truth, then you find that you can leave with peace of mind.

  (that doesn't make it any easier to be shunned and lose family, but at least inside yourself you're not filled with a gnawing fear of your own decision.

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  halcyon

  that it's OKAY for there to be no "other place" to go to.
  
  Once you realize that there doesn't have to be one right religion that one must be a part of, but that life is blessedly filled with imperfect ways and people who ALL have a little bit of truth, then you find that you can leave with peace of mind. (That doesn't make it any easier to be shunned and lose family, but at least inside yourself you're not filled with a gnawing fear of your own decision.)
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  35

  Interesting phenomena regarding Witnesses

  by JamesThomas in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  first, and most important: thanks to all those who read my introduction-post last saturday, and especial thanks to those who replied.

  like many who have been disfellowshipped (and especially those raised in the org) i've been dragged through icy waves of agonizing hurt and anger; often followed by times of peace and letting go; only to be hit by another turbulent and bitter bout of animosity and grief.

  the tides do run deep, don't they.

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  halcyon

  First of all, I think the statement "anything that works on reward/punishment breeds fear/greed" is absolutely profound! (for other areas of my life)
  
  
  This was great and I'm glad it's been found again and brought forward. I need to read it through again when I have more time. I do remember that when my big brother was disfellowshipped for a short time, my heart turned against him and hated him for making my mother cry. I never did repair that relationship fully. Looking back on it now, I grieve. He has never been super strong as a JW, but he hangs on just enough to now make ME a bad influence on him.
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  31

  How did you feel the 1st time you visited this or other "apostate" site?

  by Newborn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i thought jehobar would struck me dead with a lightning right on the spot.

  seriously, i was so scared.

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  halcyon

  I could have written the first half of undercover's post. Unlike him, though, I spent a little time over a few nights (maybe weeks), then couldn't handle the fear and left. At that time I wasn't on "your" side ... I wasn't exactly on "their" side either (meaning, I wasn't one of those who would come here to argue) ... I was mostly just looking for a religion that had the same basic doctrine as JW (no trinity, etc) but without the parts I felt were wrong, like disfellowshipping. Never found it. But I was hoping someone on a site like this might be able to point me to that religion.
  
  
  It was important to me to base my decision on FACTS, and to be able to tell my relatives, if they ever questioned me, that I had come to this conclusion on my own and was NOT influenced into it.
  
  
  When I returned, this past summer, I had gone through half a decade of figuring my own mind out, and coming to peace with myself. So when I came here again, and started reading what y'all were saying, it utterly shocked me that the conclusions I had come to on my own were not unique. All of you have uttered exactly what I have thought.
  
  So now, if I'm questioned, it may LOOK like I've been influenced by you, but I haven't.
  
  I still tilt the computer screen away from the window, and put a password lock on my browser, and try to avoid leaving the computer with a JWD window up, though. *Just In Case* my computer is seen.