Wouldn't it be nice if some neighbors just happened to come by caroling that evening? After the last chorus of "Silent Night", you could invite them in to meet your mother and share some eggnog or spiced cider.
GLTirebiter
JoinedPosts by GLTirebiter
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51
help me please
by recovering inmy mom just called (she is an active jehovah's witness) she basically has very little to do with me.
however she want's to come and visit me and my wife on christmas day .
she lives in another state and wants spend the night.
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35
How are you faders doing?
by pat1060 injust wondering how all you slow faders are doing.i know this subject is discussed many times,but personally i wish it was more.we should post every once in a while just to say how we are doing,we need to encourage each other.as for me,it is still going very slow.right now i'm looking into the history that is being covered up.i have learned so much just by reading the older threads.it is very painful for me because this was the truth.and to be finding out so much crap that 99% of jw don't even know,it just is unbelievable.i have cut my field service down,and miss more meetings then i ever did.i'm hoping the sister that is in my face all the time,trying to help me,will forget about me soon......so how are you doing?.
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GLTirebiter
Give the nice neighbor lady an anonymous copy of CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE and list a few websites on a sheet of paper (freeminds.org and jwfacts.com come to mind)
.Both good choices! Also consider this article from the Institute for Religious Research, and this oldie-but-goody from the Knights of Columbus. There are many well-researched critiques of the Watchtower available.
GLT
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Think the GB Knows much about WT's Financial Holdings? Think Again
by flipper ini missed this point the first time i read ray franz's book " crisis of conscience " 3 years ago.
but it leaped off the page at me the second time around reading it this time.
on page 28 in discussing how secretive the gb meetings are and only rarely will an outsider be let in to gb meetings to give a report- then were sent away out of the room so the gb could continue meeting in secret.. franz in discussing financial issues states on pg.
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GLTirebiter
Looking at the WT organization as the corporation that it is, the GB can land in very hot water if they don't know about the financial dealings. They are the ones who sign the documents, and they must answer to the IRS etc. if the organization does something a not-for-profit religous corporation isn't allowed to do. Even though their attorneys prepare the deals, the directors (GB) are ultimately responsible for them.
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You are Still Special After Exiting the Witnesses-You Have a Purpose in Life
by flipper ini wanted to post this as we have so many new ones on the board here - i thought they might benefit from some uplifting words from steve hassan's book " releasing the bonds " .
many newly exiting the jw 's feel lost , like they don't know what to do , or where to turn, what causes that ?
notice these quotes from steve hassan .. on pg.
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GLTirebiter
Great post, Flipper!
First and most important, you must learn to believe in yourself. After years of being told that your "independent thinking" will lead to your doom, that the best you can hope for is to be among the "other sheep" living out an eternal consolation prize, that all you're good for is blind obedience to the comands of the "annointed ones", "Yes you can!" is a hard lesson to learn--and a very important one. Like an emotionally abusive spouse or parent, the WT organization convinces you that you're worthless without them. Don't believe that!
"Know then thyself..." Take the time to discover yourself, the real self beneath the organization's veneer. It's the first step on the journey to your real life, in the real world. Take your time, take it slow, and do it right this time. Paraphrasing Jonathan Dough, rebounding to the opposite extreme can lead you to a place just as regrettable as the one you fled from.
You will have your ups, you will have your downs. Don't be discouraged, things improve with time and effort.
GLT
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my first real birthday party
by SnakesInTheTower inwell, today is my birthday and i will be getting a real cake with a real candle - my dear bride-to-be promised not to put 43 candles on the cake.
it is just going to be me, her, and her 8 year old (and soon to be my step) son.
nothing fancy.
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GLTirebiter
Happy birthday, Snakes! Here's a toast to you, that many more may come!
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Intellects do not believe in God
by garyneal inon our trip back home from the thanksgiving holiday spent at our home town my wife labeled me an intellect.
normally, i would've been flattered with the title but when she called me that she was referencing the bible verse matthew 11:25. this offended me to say the least.. she said that it was hard for people like me to have faith in something because i will always investigate it and make sure of it.
for example, if someone told me that the grass was green, she said i would not believe them and research grass and the color green to ensure that it really was.. i told her that this was absurd and that i see no reason to research whether or not the grass was green when i can see with my own eyes what color it is.
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GLTirebiter
"You don't just accept it and have faith in God, you want to look into it with the intent of disproving it in some way."
It's not just WT teachings, I will examine any "facts" that way before I accept them, and will re-examine them when doubts arise. Religion, politics, economics, whatever. My Dad told me to "Believe nothing that you hear, and only half of what you see."
Studying math and science taught me to be skeptical not only about what is new to me, but especially about those things that I think I know. If you think you have a simple answer, it's more likely that you don't appreciate the entire problem. When things don't make sense, re-evaluate the assumptions that came before them. The hardest problems to solve are the ones where we think we know the answer, but don't. As the comedy group I lifted my screen name from said, "Everything you know--is wrong!
GLT
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GLTirebiter
Or just you mndless ridiculers?
Another ad hominem attack: thank you for verifying something we already knew!
MJW, the Witnesses have given me much to think about. I have been thinking about how no matter how tolerant I tried to be to my JW Ex, she became increasingly intolerant of me and my beliefs. I have been thinking how the Watchtower publications say I am "of Satan" and deserve to be "truly hated" by my own kids. I have been thinking about what I ever did to deserve this, and it all comes back to not being a JW.
I have been thinking about how the WT Society berates all other religions, but will not tolerate any criticism of their own. I have been thinking of the Governing Body, their insistence on having total control of all other witnesses, of the thousands who have died for their "No Blood" loyalty test. I have tried to think of any organization more deserving than the GB to bear Saint Paul's rebuke to Elymas, but cannot find one. So in his eloquent words:
"You utter fraud, you imposter, you son of the devil, you enemy of all uprightness, will you not stop twisting the straightforward ways of the Lord?" (Acts 13:10; New Jerusalem Translation)
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Best Guitar Riff Ever?
by cantleave inlegendary guitarist jimi hendrix's 'voodoo child (slight return)' has been voted as the best guitar riff ever by the users of musicians' website musicradar.com.. what do you guys and gals think?.
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GLTirebiter
Chuck Berry gets my nomination: "Johnny B. Goode"
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If You Leave The Organization Where Else Must You Go?
by minimus init seems the watchtower leaders believe that if you were to think about leaving the organization (and listen to "apostates") that you must have a place to go in return.
they feel you must have something, if you were to not accept the organization.
you need hope and belief in something.
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GLTirebiter
Much to the Ex's consternation, I didn't need to go anywhere at all. I Can go wherever I choose to, whenever I choose to, and that never was and never will be to a Kingdom Hall. If and when I choose to "go somewhere" it will be because I feel it is the right place for me to be, not because somebody in Brooklyn said everybody has to go somewhere. "Not all who wander are lost."
GLT
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What's Your View on Tipping?
by minimus intypically, i give at least 20% on my total bill.
if the service or the waitress is especially charming, maybe more.. i wonder, when you sit at a bar/restaurant and have a meal and drinks and then order a take out ( i do this for my mother quite often) are you supposed to tip on everything, including the takeout??.
when i stay in a hotel, i typically leave 2 or 3 dollars per day for the maid.
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GLTirebiter
Of course then I would expect the Marriott to fairly pay the waitress for her 5 hours work,
But they don't. The "hospitality industry" makes sure they keep their exception in the minimum wage law, that lets them pay less than the legal minimum to employess who receive tips. Most of these workers literally live on their tips, with most of their meager wages going to the taxes due on their tip income. So even when there's no waiter involved, like picking up a take-out pizza, I make sure to add in something for the cooks.
GLT