Gulf Coaster

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Posts by Gulf Coaster

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  20

  Jwtv: act of love = giving money

  by bohm in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i kid you not, giving money is an act of love according to jwtv (juli edition).

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  Gulf Coaster

  Things sure have changed since I left in 1980. Back then I remember the JWs smugly thinking themselves so much more superior than other religions because it didn't beg for money. It was all very voluntary, low-key, no pressure.

  It's been interesting coming online to learn about all the differences. My mother's the only one in and since I've learned to never talk about her cult if I want to have a bearable conversation with her, I'm not aware of the way things have degenerated. This is a new low. How much lower can they go?
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  13

  MY BEST FRIEND

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  he walked right past me, looking straight ahead.. years before, hal and i walked the same path, the best of pals.

  laughing and joking while endeavoring to maintain some level of decorum during our serious work of being a theatrical spectacle to men and angels.

  although we hadn't seen each other in years, hal must have gotten word .

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  Gulf Coaster

  You write beautifully. The last two paragraphs made me a bit teary, because I've been there. Especially that last paragraph. Boy, does that cut right through your heart when that happens. Just a simple action that, walking right by you, ignoring you ... it's a powerful weapon to wield at someone. I will never forget the first time that happened to me, in 1980.
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  28

  What a fader can say to a sleepy witness?

  by Darkknight757 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have a question.

  yesterday while the wife and i were hitting garage sales we seen a house selling tools.

  this house happened to be a witness couple getting rid of some old stuff.

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  Gulf Coaster

  ToesUp, same here. During the depressing phone conversations with my mother, I also get to hear how wonderful the brothers and sisters at her KH are. My husband is never as good as brother so-and-so, and I can never compare to sister whatsername. I can understand talking about your friends and what they've done, as part of the conversation, but it's more of a game of oneupmanship with her. JWs = Great. Us normal people = Lacking. She's never accepted that my life has been a success and that I'm happy, never told me she was proud of me or of my kids. But some random people and kids at her KH, well, they're just so wonderful since they're good little JWs. That's all that matters. It's hopeless. No wonder I don't call her often.

  
  
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  28

  What a fader can say to a sleepy witness?

  by Darkknight757 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have a question.

  yesterday while the wife and i were hitting garage sales we seen a house selling tools.

  this house happened to be a witness couple getting rid of some old stuff.

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  Gulf Coaster

  I'm with nonjwspouse. Just be happy, live a full life, share your positive experiences. Maybe something will click with them. Maybe not, but that's not your problem. The cult does tend to suck the joy out of life. My mother thrives on doom and gloom, so the cult is perfect for her. Conversations with her are tiresome and depressing, and have been since she decided to not shun me totally, about 1987. I've tried to cheer her up but it's very brief before she predictably drifts back into how terrible things are and how it just can't possibly continue .... Zzzzzzzzz.
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  75

  JWs anti gay video reaches over 1,000,000 views on youtube

  by alanv in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the anti gay video that watchtower recently produced has now had over 1,000,000 views.

  of those who selected to like or dislike the video, over 92% disliked it.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnk52bu92oe.

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  Gulf Coaster

  And after Orlando, it'll be viewed with even more disgust, if that's even possible.
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  23

  Guess who is getting announced as no longer being a JW

  by atacrossroads in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  not me surprisingly.

  i thought i would be the one to go first.

  this coming week my hubby is being announced as no longer being a jw.

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  Gulf Coaster

  Your husband rocks. You must have been practically swooning with admiration for him. Congrats on the upcoming addition to your newly free family.

  And what a lucky little girl she will be, to be raised with totally unconditional love, and with joy for life instead of that drab, dreary pointless existence in that doom and gloom cult. My two are 27 and 29 and to this day, I am so thankful that they got normal childhoods versus the misery I had to endure. My mother tried to interfere in that when they were young so be vigilant because they can't help themselves. They're compelled to inculcate the young and may be sneaky, like my mother was. All the best.
  
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  13

  WT acually truthful in today's text!

  by Sanchy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ...hope to enjoy everlasting life and witness the resurrection, things unseen by the world.

  like the philosophers of paul’s day who called him an ignorant “chatterer,” most people today think that the hope we preach is sheer nonsense.

  (acts 17:18) .

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  Gulf Coaster

  Actually, most people today KNOW that the hope they preach is sheer nonsense. Whenever I mention what the JWs believe (everlasting life after we're all slaughtered by their god), they laugh and think how pathetic and stupid.
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  13

  Each and every member of this board reaches more people than they ever did going from D2D , with more effect.

  by smiddy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was just reflecting about this site and it`s influence on me and what i have got out of it and it came to me that whatever subject i bring up , or others bring up , the obvious thing is we engage in discussion .that`s what it`s all about .. however , the feedback we get or the input we give , far outweighs anything we ever achieved going from d2d for the wtb&ts./ wt real estate agency /publishing house .. how many times did you have a meaningful discussion with a person at a door ?, as a jw ?

  not many i would think.. the majority of times , they were not home or not opening the door to you , so even if you did meet people they were too busy to talk to you or they just were not interested.. whereas , here on this board you engage with many people from all over the world , and we can discuss a subject as long as we want.until it runs it`s course.. i think anybody who posts here has had far more satisfaction in their interaction with other people on this board than they ever experienced in the d2d work as a jw.. and i hope that people who just lurk here can see the benefits of open discussion in a forum like this without judgement and recriminations that occur in the jw religion for speaking your mind.. smiddy.

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  Gulf Coaster

  Had this board been around when I left, it certainly would have made my escape easier and less stressful. I left before the days of the internet so I did it alone, without any support. That was a lonely, terrifying place, believe me!

  If it had been the internet age, with boards like this, I know I would have loved the interaction and support of others. It would have been wonderful to have my concerns about that cult confirmed, instead of thinking it was just me.
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  29

  What should I do?

  by Tameria2001 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello everyone, it's been quite a while since i was last on this forum.

  originally i was under a different user name, but lost all that information when i moved to a different state.

  anyways, i had left the jws back in 2001, after being raised up in it most of my childhood life.

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  Gulf Coaster

  I'm sure it burned your sister's butt that, by you ignoring her, it denied her the opportunity to do the ugly JW shun thing they so self-righteously love to do. Good for you! And bravo for not leaving early.

  But I disagree with you just letting the whole thing go, like water under the bridge, without saying anything to the relative who sent you that text. I would have told them, in the nicest way possible, that it was a hurtful request. Perhaps write them a Thank-You card with a separate note inside?

  Explain to them that you understand the uncomfortable position your JW relatives' intolerance placed them in, and that you understand she was only trying to accommodate everyone. Tell her that by you leaving early, it would have made you and your family look and feel like pariahs who had something to feel ashamed for or bad about. And that you would have missed out on enjoying the lovely time you all had, when you decided to stand your ground and stay.

  I dunno, that's just the way I felt when I read your story. I wouldn't have just let it slide as if it were no big deal. It made me angry.
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  63

  New Spiritually Weak Label: Not Using Tablet/iPhone

  by Doubtfully Yours in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  with last night's meeting it became official: here in the states is a must to keep up with 'jehovah's org' that one fully jumps on board with this tablet/iphone crap.. so, now, all of us that up to this point have refused to follow the wtbts in their electronic/wireless revolution will deal with the browbeating from the 'spiritual' ones.. already receiving lots of grief from hubby and rest of the family/close friends when seen at the meetings with paper publications.

  damn it!!!

  am i alone in this resistance???!!!.

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  Gulf Coaster

  They probably don't care if the oldies are disenchanted by the use of technology in the bOrg now. Many of them probably don't like or agree with the changes in doctrine over the years, i.e., overlapping generation, etc. I'm sure they hate how the organization isn't like the one they joined or were born into, decades ago. But they've been JWs for so long very few would leave now. Too hard to leave the only thing they've known all their lives, and the only community they have. Like a prisoner who's been released from jail in their 70's or older - can't imagine how they function on the outside, especially with no outside support. They're stuck, waiting to die or for their precious paradise to finally arrive.