darthfader

Joined

• started 123 topics
• posted 1,424 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by darthfader

• 
  12

  Am I still an Ex JW?

  by darthfader in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was thinking the other day about being an ex jehovahs witness... will i always be an ex jw?

  will i know when im no longer an ex jw?

  what can i do to become less of an ex jw and more of a normal person (whatever that is)... for me, being a jw was a little like a cross between the firm and hotel california where i feel like, at any point, one of the friends will spot me and either accost me or report me to the elders.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  darthfader

  Thanks lilbluekitty. Good luck on your quest.
• 
  12

  Am I still an Ex JW?

  by darthfader in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was thinking the other day about being an ex jehovahs witness... will i always be an ex jw?

  will i know when im no longer an ex jw?

  what can i do to become less of an ex jw and more of a normal person (whatever that is)... for me, being a jw was a little like a cross between the firm and hotel california where i feel like, at any point, one of the friends will spot me and either accost me or report me to the elders.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  darthfader

  Thanks Phizzy!... Here's to becoming a "XX"
• 
  12

  Am I still an Ex JW?

  by darthfader in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was thinking the other day about being an ex jehovahs witness... will i always be an ex jw?

  will i know when im no longer an ex jw?

  what can i do to become less of an ex jw and more of a normal person (whatever that is)... for me, being a jw was a little like a cross between the firm and hotel california where i feel like, at any point, one of the friends will spot me and either accost me or report me to the elders.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  darthfader

  I was thinking the other day about being an “Ex Jehovah’s Witness”… Will I always be an “Ex JW? Will I know when I’m no longer an Ex JW? What can I do to become less of an Ex JW and more of a “normal person” (whatever that is)… For me, being a JW was a little like a cross between “The Firm” and “Hotel California” where I feel like, at any point, one of the “friends” will spot me and either accost me or report me to the Elders. For me, I determined that being an Ex JW was defined as someone who is no longer attending meetings, the annual memorial, assemblies, and of course not participating in field service, yet, still effected daily by them. Some (me for instance) who still have family in “The Truth” have to watch what they say, mute any participation with “worldly events” (Holidays, social and sporting events) and generally keep as much to themselves as possible.
  
  So for moral support I joined this forum. Sought the experiences of those who traveled before me and suffered the slings and arrows of separation from family, friends and “all those wasted years”… Many people no longer post here, yet their contributions to the collective work of support, education and enlightenment will remain here to help those who come after.
  
  I sincerely hope that each one of us can, at some point in the future, no longer consider ourselves as “Ex Jehovah’s Witnesses” and join the ranks of normal people and enjoy the rest of our lives in peace.
  
  Cheers and Happy New Year to all of you!
• 
  44

  SPECIAL INTERVIEW with Jehovah!

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  you live; you die.

  r: but, why give us a bible.

  why send jesus to die for us if everything is "meaningless" for us?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  darthfader

  Terry, Great perspective :)

  thanks!
• 
  11

  He's the Reason for the Seasoning

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  out of respect to those that don't appreciate secular christmas or festivus or [logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence] but still keep the traditions of the religious holidays (any of them- christmas, hanukkah, any of them), i have not posted this until the religious part of those festivities have largely passed.

  in no offensive way whatsoever, i wish each one of you the best in whatever you celebrate: merry christmas, happy hanukkah, festive festivus, joyous kwanzaa, or (i suppose trying to put a similar muslim holiday in would be offensives so...) have a safe islamic pilgrimage.

  and of course, our asian friends who don't celebrate secular christmas are also wished well this season.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  darthfader

  O wise OTWO, thank you for sharing your insight on His blessings....

  May his noodly appendage touch you....
• 
  39

  Richard Dawkins gets interview with Revelation TV, a religious network!

  by dark angle in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this interview gets ridiculously hilarious as it nears at the end .

  .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  darthfader

  SBF.. I laughed at that as well..

  I'm at 45 minutes in and I dont know if I can take any more...

  The host does have a few JWisms in his speech...

  (edit 15 minutes later ).... Just finished it. I thought it was a pretty civilized debate. I really appreciated how RD held his tongue and didnt eat they host alive :)

  cheers
• 
  33

  I've been crunching the numbers, and the concept of Santa Claus doesn't add up

  by keyser soze in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  maybe i'm overly skeptical after years of having been lied to by the wt....but from a purely logistical standpoint, the idea that he could cover the amount of territory necessary in the amount of time allotted, just doesn't seem feasible.. now, granted, there are certain variables in the equation that are highly speculative, such as the speed he would be travelling at.

  it's quite possible that reindeer travel faster through the air than by land, maybe quite faster.

  but even if we assume he is travelling the speed of a lear jet, and you factor in all the differen't time zones, i still don't see how he has enough time to complete his task.. am i missing something, or is the story totally bogus?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  darthfader

  I love this Santa Tracker: http://www.noradsanta.org/en/
  
  The Santa "Probability Cloud" is pretty cool too...
• 
  87

  Regulate Marijuana Like Wine (interesting article)

  by sabastious in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://regulatemarijuanalikewine.com/legal-and-political-analysis-of-regulate-marijuana-like-wine/.

  i am ecstatic to hear that people are attempting something like this.

  i have always thought that using marijuana could be likened to using wine as a medicine.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  darthfader

  Lore, great rebuttals to the post/link I had... thanks!
• 
  87

  Regulate Marijuana Like Wine (interesting article)

  by sabastious in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://regulatemarijuanalikewine.com/legal-and-political-analysis-of-regulate-marijuana-like-wine/.

  i am ecstatic to hear that people are attempting something like this.

  i have always thought that using marijuana could be likened to using wine as a medicine.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  darthfader

  I'm not arguing for or against, but I wonder what the response to these statements would be:
  (clipped from: http://www.justice.gov/dea/demand/speakout/index.html )

  Summary of the Top Ten Facts on Legalization

  Fact 1: We have made significant progress in fighting drug use and drug trafficking in America. Now is not the time to abandon our efforts.

  The Legalization Lobby claims that the fight against drugs cannot be won. However, overall drug use is down by more than a third in the last twenty years, while cocaine use has dropped by an astounding 70 percent. Ninety-five percent of Americans do not use drugs. This is success by any standards.

  Fact 2: A balanced approach of prevention, enforcement, and treatment is the key in the fight against drugs.

  A successful drug policy must apply a balanced approach of prevention, enforcement and treatment. All three aspects are crucial. For those who end up hooked on drugs, there are innovative programs, like Drug Treatment Courts, that offer non-violent users the option of seeking treatment. Drug Treatment Courts provide court supervision, unlike voluntary treatment centers.

  Fact 3: Illegal drugs are illegal because they are harmful.

  There is a growing misconception that some illegal drugs can be taken safely. For example, savvy drug dealers have learned how to market drugs like Ecstasy to youth. Some in the Legalization Lobby even claim such drugs have medical value, despite the lack of conclusive scientific evidence.

  Fact 4: Smoked marijuana is not scientifically approved medicine. Marinol, the legal version of medical marijuana, is approved by science.

  According to the Institute of Medicine, there is no future in smoked marijuana as medicine. However, the prescription drug Marinol—a legal and safe version of medical marijuana which isolates the active ingredient of THC—has been studied and approved by the Food & Drug Administration as safe medicine. The difference is that you have to get a prescription for Marinol from a licensed physician. You can’t buy it on a street corner, and you don’t smoke it.

  Fact 5: Drug control spending is a minor portion of the U.S. budget. Compared to the social costs of drug abuse and addiction, government spending on drug control is minimal.

  The Legalization Lobby claims that the United States has wasted billions of dollars in its anti-drug efforts. But for those kids saved from drug addiction, this is hardly wasted dollars. Moreover, our fight against drug abuse and addiction is an ongoing struggle that should be treated like any other social problem. Would we give up on education or poverty simply because we haven’t eliminated all problems? Compared to the social costs of drug abuse and addiction—whether in taxpayer dollars or in pain and suffering—government spending on drug control is minimal.

  Fact 6: Legalization of drugs will lead to increased use and increased levels of addiction. Legalization has been tried before, and failed miserably.

  Legalization has been tried before—and failed miserably. Alaska’s experiment with Legalization in the 1970s led to the state’s teens using marijuana at more than twice the rate of other youths nationally. This led Alaska’s residents to vote to re-criminalize marijuana in 1990.

  Fact 7: Crime, violence, and drug use go hand-in-hand.

  Crime, violence and drug use go hand in hand. Six times as many homicides are committed by people under the influence of drugs, as by those who are looking for money to buy drugs. Most drug crimes aren’t committed by people trying to pay for drugs; they’re committed by people on drugs.

  Fact 8: Alcohol has caused significant health, social, and crime problems in this country, and legalized drugs would only make the situation worse.

  The Legalization Lobby claims drugs are no more dangerous than alcohol. But drunk driving is one of the primary killers of Americans. Do we want our bus drivers, nurses, and airline pilots to be able to take drugs one evening, and operate freely at work the next day? Do we want to add to the destruction by making drugged driving another primary killer?

  Fact 9: Europe’s more liberal drug policies are not the right model for America.

  The Legalization Lobby claims that the “European Model” of the drug problem is successful. However, since legalization of marijuana in Holland, heroin addiction levels have tripled. And Needle Park seems like a poor model for America.

  Fact 10: Most non-violent drug users get treatment, not jail time.

  The Legalization Lobby claims that America’s prisons are filling up with users. Truth is, only about 5 percent of inmates in federal prison are there because of simple possession. Most drug criminals are in jail—even on possession charges—because they have plea-bargained down from major trafficking offences or more violent drug crimes.
• 
  35

  The Real Purpose of Shunning Holidays

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the watchtower endlessly prates on about pagan traditions in popular holidays - while the bible itself is loaded with subtle pagan religious ideas - such as wicked spirits being cast "into tartarus" (a pagan greek place in which the rebels against zeus got imprisoned) or "sacred secret" - a term the apostle paul likes that was adopted from pagan 'mystery' religions.. then we can throw in the reference to being divinely 'called christians' in acts - which uses a pagan term that refers to demonic oracles of the day.. of course, the watchtower has no objection to accumulating millions of pieces of paper that feature occult symbols (any dollar bill!).

  in recent years, for good measure, they have added birthdays and thanksgiving to the official banned list, despite the sketchiest justification for doing so.

  if birthdays are wrong simply because they figure in two negative accounts, then it makes much more sense to ban dogs as pets because of all the negativity in the bible about them!.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  darthfader

  I was about 6 years old when my parents got the Truth®. So I saw first hand how we used to get together with our extended family before and how afterwards even casual contact was limited.

  Isolation is the key (I agree with Outlaw). Also I beleive that anything that makes the witnesses stand out is also used like: not blood, no celebrations, no flag salute.

  what a waste..