teel

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Posts by teel

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  18

  It was sad looking at all of my congregation members yesterday!

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i went to the meeting yesterday and found it to be a sad experience.

  (i've been fading over the years and down to 2 meetings per month).

  i looked around and found that there are no new members.just family members and friends.

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  teel

  MidwichCuckoo: I wonder if they keep up the practical assistance after the disabled's baptism...
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  26

  The reporting of field service time

  by lepermessiah in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  were any of you really bothered/still bothered by the practice of field service reporting?.

  there was an old post on here that got me thinking how the practice got started.. instead of simply being a tool to monitor the progress of the faith, or to see if the work was done "throughout the earth", it appears to me that it was just a tool used to keep the presses rolling and to see how much literature to produce - along with controlling the rank and file.

  the average jw gives it no thought, its just another "blessing" from the organization when you hear the monthly reports, etc.. the organization is so statistics-driven that they make jesus out to be a ceo with people who need to meet their sales quotas.i'm sure he really wouldnt care if peter and andrew got 20 hours one month and john got 25. wait, maybe thats why john was "beloved" .

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  teel

  The elders plainly told me that they considered me as MS, and I had all the qualities except my hours were low. I remember the congregation loved when I gave talk on the TMS - the reason behind that is not so much my eloquent speech style, as rather the fact that I barely used any of the source material, and I just used the Bible, common sense, and a bit of research outside the org. I felt silly to repeat material already covered in the magazines, and I wanted to give something new to the audience. The elders also liked my speeches, I was young, etc. But I didn't padded my numbers enough, so I was rejected for appointment.
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  7

  Secretly recording judicial meeting on apostacy, or your exit.....

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  has anyone done this?

  i would think many would have with technology now, and there would be websites with tons of clips, and showing how the defenses, scriptures, etc brought up and responses by elders.

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  teel

  It's so bad that thinkgeek.com doesn't deliver in my country, I would definitely buy these spy glasses: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/c3eb

  

  If I had one of these, I'd reconsider actually showing up for my JC that will sonner or later catch up with me.
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  48

  If someone ask you personally "Are you an apostate?", How would you answer them?

  by asilentone in

  1. jw
  2. friends

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  teel

  I would have it easier, because in my language the word used for "apostate" is literally "faith leaver". So I would say: "No, I have never left my faith in God. What makes you think that?"

  Then again if scrutinized JW's have one faith that is explicitly theirs: that the GB is God's channel, mediator between Jesus and men, and source of all that is True™. I am not ashamed not to have that sort of faith any more.
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  5

  End of the World obsession, WHY?

  by ldrnomo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it seems strange to me that there are so many people who seemed to be obsessed with the thought of the world ending.

  i'm not suggesting that the end of the world is not possible.

  there are numerous ways in which life could end for all creatures in one fell swoop.

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  teel

  Wait a second, that astroid thing has already been covered in a movie, Independence day?

  It was Armageddon. Independence Day was about aliens trying to invade Earth.

  For movies end of the world scenarios are very attractive. It can have everything a high-yielding Hollywood film has: love, bravery, stunning CG scenes, drama, nationalism (applicable for US only), controversy, religion, guns, explosions, sex, you name it, the end of the world has it.

  On that note, if the JW EoW would be so interresting instead of the boring "all wicked will die", I would go to KH more often
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  21

  Finally Erased them OUT of my phone!

  by babygirl30 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  it's been about going on 2yrs that i've been df'd and not even 1yr that i stopped going to the khall at all...but...i'm proud to say that as of last night i was going through my phone and decided that i needed to just cut out all those people that didn't matter anymore!

  you know, the old jw 'friends' (use that term loosely) whose numbers i've held onto all this time and don't need anymore.

  i mean, never going to bother with these people again.

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  teel

  Great news babygirl, you DFd the dissenting phone numbers. Now the other numbers can peacefully congregate and praise the Great Signal.
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  24

  So.....do you or don't you want them to come after you?

  by Quillsky in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've noticed an interesting dichotomy in these discussions.

  as a starting point, i understand that we are all different --- there is no "we" here except that we have all been, or been involved with, jw's.

  but this is interesting..... some people complain about being "hounded" by elders and shepherding calls and previous "friends" and so on.

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  teel

  Let me tell you my bit of story. I specifically told the elders not to come visit me. After a few calls and commands that I have to meet them for my own well being I said: fine, if you truly want to help me out of love, I am willing to meet one single elder to have a friendly chat. I figured I'd tell my problems with the organization, hear his oppinion about the matter, and so on (all the while free from the pressure of two-man interrogation). You know, like simple friends - not to mention brothers.

  You know what happened? They can't accept that. Is that truly a brotherly love? The thing is elders don't come to visit because of love, they come because they have to. There is a very clear organizational policy they must follow. If it's not in the "rule book" they won't do it. It's completely lacking any kind of love.

  They only follow the parable Jesus told at Matthew 18:12,13 :

  12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for an other shepherd for both of them to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if they find it and the sheep is running away scared because there are two men after him, I tell you the truth, the shepherd will be happy to leave that one sheep to die, saying: "I have done everything I could".

  (note: the above is sarcasm, before someone accuses me of changing the Bible)
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  53

  Danish film, "Worlds Apart," (about JW girl) reviewed by XJW author

  by AndersonsInfo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  once again i'm posting information about the new danish film.

  this time, the xjw, who saw the movie, updated his original e-mail to me containing additional facts.

  "to verdener" / "worlds apart.".

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  teel

  Ziddina, a few clarifications, because I think you misunderstood some points. Or at least this is what I understood from the movie.

  [SPOILERS coming]

  Sara's mother was a conscious JW, she was only in to be able to see her children, and maybe to help them get out. That's why Sara confided in her. It was not the mother who rattled her out, she protected Sara's secret, she even said to Sara's sister that Sara is indeed living with her (although it was obvious she was not).

  For the same reason was Jonas returning. In every scene he's portraying a truly lost boy, who just can't go on alone like that. His decision to return came before Sara completely cutting off all ties.

  After their first intercourse Sara never went in nun mode. She slept with Teis, she just kept her stuff in the basement and said "in case someone asks, I sleep here". When the elders came to visit, Teis rushed to bring all her stuff down from their common bedroom. It was pretty clear to me they continued having sex. Sara wanted to avoid the shunning, that's why she tried to keep all the appearences.

  I do agree with her having a great support system. However I do admire her (the real girl, if she did something similar) because of her moral standards that is way higher above the average JW's. She realized it's not fair for leech off of well-meaning people in her road to recovery, and that her love for Teis was stained by the emotional damage the WT did. That's why she said "I have tried to replace all that I lost with you". Her love might not have been true because of the circumstances, and wouldn't have been fair to Teis to keep it up in hopes that it will get better in time.

  True, she was sending mixed messages, and the whole thing was just bizarre, but that's the price you pay for getting involved in a high-control cult.
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  10

  Where did they come up with COLPORTEUR and why don’t they call themselves that today?

  by LUKEWARM in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  w07 8/1 pp.

  12-13 serving jehovahan honor and a privilege beyond compare***.

  eventually, on july 22, 1924, i was baptized in symbol of my dedication to jehovah.

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  teel

  From the Meriam-Webster dictionary:

  Main Entry: col·por·teur Pronunciation: \ ' käl- ? p o? r-t?r, ? käl-p o? r- ' t?r\ Function: noun Etymology: French, alteration of Middle French comporteur, from comporter to bear, peddle Date: 1796

  : a peddler of religious books

  I think this answers both questions. They dropped it because of the negative connotation one may think of who knows the etymology of the word. It's a pretty accurate description though.
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  42

  Do YOU donate blood?

  by Quillsky in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  if you do, what are your motivations?.

  if you don't, why not?.

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  teel

  I mentioned in my earlier post that my reason for not donating so far is fear of the unknown. Part of that fear may indeed be because of the WTS indoctrination. Which is why I will probably go and donate blood, to consciously fight against the indoctrination.

  For the same reason I went to the elections a couple of months ago. Not because I actually liked any of the candidates (or in fact know much about them), but to prove to myself that their hold over my mind is thankfully withering.