It is heart breaking.
Heart breaking, indeed! She is a courageous woman, bringing her horrible experience to the public's attention.
GLTirebiter
JoinedPosts by GLTirebiter
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13
WOW...Watching 20/20 about Independent Baptist Cult...
by jamiebowers inreferred to on this thread:.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/208507/1/a-religious-sub-culture-that-many-americans-have-never-heard-of-yet-which-has-thousands-of-churches-across-the-country-churches-that-critics-claim-can-foster-physical-and-sexual-abuse-on-abc-news-20-20.
i wonder how many jws are watching this show and see the many similarities to the watchtower..
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GLTirebiter
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Hey, Everyone! Guess What!
by FollowedMyHeart ini am officially a 34-year-old college freshman!
woo hoo!!!!!.
due to my current situation, i am taking on-line classes for the summer semester.. i am finally getting this college thing going!
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GLTirebiter
Good for you! An education is yours forever, don't pass it up.
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I've been "a proverbial saying and a taunt" for awhile now...
by sd-7 in...amongst both jws and ex-jws, i'm sure.
i'm planning to get back into therapy to deal with my self-esteem issues, and to stay the heck away from emotionally abusive women.
which, given my apparent magnetism to them, logically means all women by extension, as i can't seem to see the train until it's two feet in front of me.
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GLTirebiter
Since I'm obviously ill-equipped for normal life, it's clear I'll be heading back to therapy soon. If you've got any good advice, however, I will actually try to listen for once. I'm taking it one day at a time and trying to avoid any irrational decisions (ie. women, suicide, alcoholism, etc.).
Christopher, add my voice to the chorus: talk to a counselor. You've been through a lot the last few years. Don't put all the blame, or even most of the blame on yourself. It's a partnership, where both parties should work for its success. But remember what you said last summer in your "Avatar" thread:
She made it clear that this was all conditional love on her part, she was expecting a JW husband, though she acquired said husband via breaking JW rules and sweeping it under the rug, then selling said husband up the river to save her own skin. I loved her as a person, beyond the religion, beyond anything else. I find it tragic that that love is a one-way street because of this cult.
That is an important piece of the story. Of course you didn't do things perfectly, but perfection is found only in hindsight. You did the best you could at the time when you were in a no-win situation, and you were honest with her and yourself even when the truth was painful, so please forgive yourself for not being perfect. You've been trying to hold things together for a long time with little cooperation. Allow me to paraphrase your own words from that thread, because they apply equally well both ways:
SheYoudeserves better than a life of sorrow with meher. IShefailed heryou, dishonored heryou, betrayed heryou.
You've shown strength and character through this trial. Don't sell yourself short, and don't give up on yourself.
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suicide and wts funeral rules
by diamondiiz ini just found out that a husband of an old friend committed a suicide and i was wondering if there are any letters to elders or any wts rules concerning funerals for those who committed suicide.
i've looked in the elders book and letters to boe index and didn't find anything.
some posts here say they can have the funeral at the kh and some here said they couldn't hold it there because suicide was involved.
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GLTirebiter
Whereas he cannot preach the suicide into heaven or even hold forth Scriptural promises that the suicide will have an opportunity for life in the new world, and although he does not condone the suicide, yet he appreciates that the holding of a funeral service affords a marvelous opportunity to give a witness to God's kingdom and the blessings that it will bring to mankind, including the resurrection of the dead.
So, they don't offer any hope for the deceased or consolation for the survivors, but they'll use the funeral as an opportunity to give a sales pitch.
The Roman Catholic church, for example, has a clearly condemnatory viewpoint on suicide and I understand priests would not bless the deceased.
You are correct about the first part, but misunderstood the second. The Catholic Church condemns the sin of suicide, not the sinner. Catholic teachings regarding suicide are in articles 2280-2283 of the Catechism. Article 2280 through the first part of 2282 explain the gravity of the sin; the second part of 2282 and article 2283 teach that the person is to be regarded in a spirit of charity, not judgement:
"[2282] ... Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.
[2283] We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives."
The contrast between the WT and Catholic policies speaks for itself.
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I don't belong here anymore
by sizemik inthese are some things i have been thinking about .
.. when i first found this site i registered immediately ... never was a "lurker" ... and i've been here about six months.. everyone was very warm welcoming and i felt at home very quickly ... very pleasant at the time, but as time has progressed i look back and feel a bit "love-bombed" ... much like a religion i used to belong to.. i have found that this site is a bit "cliquey" ... groups of posters frequent at similar times and enjoy their familiarity with each other and that's great ... but they also sometimes exhibit a coolness toward those outside their clique ... almost as if your 'post count' is the first thing by which you are "judged" ... much like a religion i used to belong to.
some posters develop a personal dislike for others and not only jump on their threads but even deliver the odd "slap" on unrelated threads to increase the discomfort for the object of their dislike ... not unlike a religion i once belonged to.. some posters even follow others around the board looking to counter or use snide or clever put downs at every opportunity ... a kind of intellectual "rivalry" that was common to those in that religion i used to belong to.. many posters like to use 'in-house' jargon and labels eg; "newbies" for those recently joined.
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GLTirebiter
Murray, if the board isn't a good fit for you then I wish you well and hope life will be good to you.
But I do encourage you to stay. We aren't all alike here, and we don't have to be alike. That's what freedom means, after all...not a fantasy of utopia, but living a real world with real people, who don't have to (pretend to) think alike, who are free to agree or disagree--sometimes politely, sometimes not--and to associate (or not associate) with any consenting person, not just those who have been declared "approved associations" (or branded "bad associations").
Still, it's your choice. If you leave, I wish the best to you. If you ever want to come back, the door is open.
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Does God speak to you? HOW?
by Quentin inan answer to this question is subjective to the individual an a posteriori experiene.
however, can there be an a priori experence, one that is objective, outside the bounds of personel experiene, or does it remain subjective?
god speaks to me, through many venus, except audible.
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GLTirebiter
In many ways...
when I see the wonder and mischief in a child's eyes... (Syl said that first)
when I look up in the clear winter sky and see uncountable stars...
when the first leaves of spring break free of the buds of trees and the dry brown grass turns back to green...
in the kindness of a stranger...
by dropping preconceptions of how and about what God speaks, you will realize that God can speak without using words.
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Welcome back YKNOT!
by VampireDCLXV ini must be said that a whole bunch of us were wondering and worrying, thinking that evrything from bears to elders to cia agents got you, yknot.
we're glad you're back; even me, the dark one, who was a bit nasty at times and stung you.
welcome back!.
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GLTirebiter
Good to see you here again, YKnot!
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Does being a JW make you narcissistic
by wyorobert ini am one of the few people on earth who never had a jehovah's witness knock on my door.
my wife was the first witness i ever met.
i did notice certain personality traits after being around some of the people who left the religion.
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GLTirebiter
I've noticed that JWs and narcissism seem to go together, but I'm not sure it is a cause and effect relationship. I think it's just as possible that the Watchtower's teachings attract narcissists who want to be part of "the chosen ones" as turning people into narcissists. But either way, it's filling the empty void where a balanced self-image would normally be.
Oh, and welcome to the forum!
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Well it's time for me to say goodbye!
by sabastious inmy priorities in my life have recently changed fundamentally.
i have always, deep down, felt a yearning for the circus.
my teachers growing up would always catch me doodling picutres of the circus with me in them being a jolly circus laborer.
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GLTirebiter
So judging by your avatar, I suppose you're running off to the Ringling Bros. Clown college?