I told her that sometimes I have the feeling that I am married to the Watchtower Society itself
I know the feeling, Intel! There's a lot of truth in your statement. Marriage is supposed to be a two-way partnership; three is a crowd.
GLTirebiter
JoinedPosts by GLTirebiter
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55
I talked the first time in 20 years to a non-JW and need a divorce...
by Intel inthis is very difficult to write (forgive me for any spelling mistake, i am not a native english speaker).. i cannot tell my complete story on this board - i eventually will, once i have broken the last "link in the chain" that has kept me captive to the borg.
i can't tell my story, because.....basically i will be known.....as a more or less "famous" jw..... i have been lurking this site for many years, wrote here under another name - this eventually was found out and i had to do "damage containment".
i had to "go back" and tow the party line....all my family (extended and close) are witnesses, all my "friends" and even work & business relationships are jw.
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GLTirebiter
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GLTirebiter
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.Amen
(attributed to St. Francis of Assisi)
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GLTirebiter
ixthis,
I, for one, I appreciate the iconography in your posts. Eastern churches are masters of these visual prayers. Thank you for sharing them!
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I fell & Guess What???
by mouthy ini moved on sat...fell & fractured my wrist..... it is in a caste,thank god it is the ,left one.... i am all settles in with the help of my daughter ,sonin law,grandkids.. i was at the hospital for hours....was able to talk to doc,nurse,why.
they must not shut the door on the jw's as they have been doing.. they were very interesting took my card to give the ones they have.
been listening to.....so i feel good came out of bad....
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GLTirebiter
What Mary said: save the beer for after the moving! Take care of yourself, Grace, and have a speedy recovery.
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WATCHTOWER WRONGFULL DEATH LAWSUIT - UPDATE
by Lawrence Hughes indear friends,.
i would like to thank those who have helped me.
as a result, important legal precedents have been made and a lot of media coverage has been made which has exposed the watchtower society.
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GLTirebiter
Lawrence, thank you for having the fortitude to keep up the fight after losing so much! May your efforts save many others from suffering and death at the hands of Watchtower quackery.
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False Stories
by Maze inthis was mainly referring to religious mythology.
satan is the author and orchestrator of false religion.
pauls warning about false stories is part of his first letter to timothy, a christian overseer who was charged with preserving the purity of the congregation and helping fellow believers to remain faithful.
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GLTirebiter
Embarrassment? Only the father has anything to be embarrassed about. He's the source of the family’s dilemma.
That's false dichotomy, reducing the situation to black vs. white caricatures: "He must be wrong, because the organization is always right." There is no room in this view for ever doubting the organization, that he should "make certain of all things", that he should consider other religions if, upon concientious examination, he finds the organzation's teachings to be unfounded or heretical. That is what the Watchtower tells members of all other faiths to do--why should their own members do anything less?
The "family's dilemma" would not exist if the Watchtower organization did not call for a hostile response to doubters, apostates, and unbelievers who do not progress in joining them. When they discuss "unevenly yoked" spouses, they impute all the blame to one party--they never allow that in a marital partnership, both persons must work together, compromise, and sacrifice for the good of the family. To them, only one side matters. To them, only the other person could ever be wrong. To them, compromise and working together means "Our way or the highway!" To them, it's about sacrificing for the good of the Watchtower Society, and those who don't agree are expendable.
Shunning? No one did anything they can be shunned for.
Of course not: such treatment is rarely justified, if ever. Nor is it man's place to make such a judgement (Matthew 7).
Other forms of harassment? Like what?
Being "marked" as a bad association?
Children left out of activities with other children because someone in their family is "spiritually weak"?
Being embarrassed because their father/spouse "lost privileges"--an unspoken indication that he has committed some horrible sin?
A spouse treated as "spiritually weak" because they could not keep their partner "in the truth"?
Perhaps the most insidious harassment, the malicious gossip that spreads throughout the congregation when any "Theocratic discipline" comes to light?
"If anyone says, 'I love God,' but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." [1 John 4:20]
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Hi :-)
by GiveMeAnAspirin inhi, i am a catholic.
i've never been a jw nor ever tried to become one but i know a number of former jws and one or two current/active jws.. i've been wondering why active jws are so anti-catholic; is it part of the teaching they receive in the watchtower?.
cheers.
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GLTirebiter
The study book used with new converts first attempts to establish that the bible is God's instruction book to mankind
...which makes Christian churches that existed for about a century before there was such a thing as the New Testament (Catholic and Orthodox) a bit problematic for their theology.
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GLTirebiter
Well CC, I guess you had quite a tale to tell them at the reunion! Take care!
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I talked the first time in 20 years to a non-JW and need a divorce...
by Intel inthis is very difficult to write (forgive me for any spelling mistake, i am not a native english speaker).. i cannot tell my complete story on this board - i eventually will, once i have broken the last "link in the chain" that has kept me captive to the borg.
i can't tell my story, because.....basically i will be known.....as a more or less "famous" jw..... i have been lurking this site for many years, wrote here under another name - this eventually was found out and i had to do "damage containment".
i had to "go back" and tow the party line....all my family (extended and close) are witnesses, all my "friends" and even work & business relationships are jw.
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GLTirebiter
Welcome, Intel!
When I was first trying to figure out what the Watchtower meant to my family and marriage, google led me to the marriage articles at freeminds.org. Please see these, if you haven't already.
It's a difficult choice you face. Consider what is better for your daughter: trying to stick it out (growing up with conflict and tension in the family), or leaving your wife (with all the issues of divorce and a young child). I can't say which is better.
In my case, I stuck it out as long as I could--meaning until I was served with the divorce papers. I don't know if that was the best choice, but it was the best I could do at the time. And that's what should guide you, too: do what you think is best for your daughter, whatever that may be. She's the innocent one, the defenseless one, and that's why she comes first.
I'll add that counseling is a good idea, especially if your wife will go too. This means an impartial, professional counseler of course--not the untrained elders who, however well-meaning they may be, sympathise with a Witness more than an "Apostate".
So do the best you can, and know you are not alone.
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GLTirebiter
Bathroom repairs (replaced a faucet, recaulking, etc.)
Mowing
Replacing a decrepit back fence--tore down the old today, neighbors and I will work on the new one tomorrow and probably on Monday, too.
Dropped off donations at the thrift store
Grilled a cheesburger for dinner
Miller time!