JAVA

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Posts by JAVA

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  73

  It took them exactly 13 hours from the news broadcast ...

  by kwintestal in

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  .

  ... to ring at my door.. i didn't answer, why bother.

  i got a phone.. kwin

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  JAVA

  Kwin -- Good for you! Why play by their rules, when it's much more fun having them jump through your hoops. I'll take bets that if they know your witness is from the media, the meeting will stop before it starts. :)
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  58

  Question for agnostics and/or atheists

  by sonnyboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've just recently declared my agnosticism to myself and to one other person in my life.

  i don't necessarily consider myself an atheist because i believe there very well may be some higher power or non carbon based entities in existence with 'godlike' abilities.

  my question is, do you still find yourself secretly believing in god?

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  JAVA

  AllAlongTheWatchtower (that's a lot to type) -- WELCOME to the Forum! Enjoyed reading your post, too.
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  58

  Question for agnostics and/or atheists

  by sonnyboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've just recently declared my agnosticism to myself and to one other person in my life.

  i don't necessarily consider myself an atheist because i believe there very well may be some higher power or non carbon based entities in existence with 'godlike' abilities.

  my question is, do you still find yourself secretly believing in god?

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  JAVA

  if this is due to a fear of death.

  
  Fear is a powerful force, and can cause a person to act in ways they wouldn't normally act--or to have beliefs that are not normal. For example, "living forever" is a belief that's not normal outside the realm of sects like the Watchtower Society. True, many religions believe that when a person dies, they go off into never-never-land and sit around playing harps, but death is normal to most people and religions. It happens; every person who has ever lived has died, or will die. The Tower's total history has been one of lying about living forever without dying. The fact is, it's not true. All that believed that lie in the past are dead, and believing it today doesn't make it so.
  
  It's normal to fear death, which is a good reason to believe in life before death. :)
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  58

  Question for agnostics and/or atheists

  by sonnyboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've just recently declared my agnosticism to myself and to one other person in my life.

  i don't necessarily consider myself an atheist because i believe there very well may be some higher power or non carbon based entities in existence with 'godlike' abilities.

  my question is, do you still find yourself secretly believing in god?

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  JAVA

  God-belief has been so instilled within me that it seems impossible to let it go completely.

  
  I think it's fair to say that most JWs and former-JWs have had the "God-belief" idea as part of their life for many years. It doesn't go away overnight, but it becomes weaker as one looks at religion and their holy books with eyes wide open. As already pointed out, if one says there is a god, and this is his writings, it's up to the one suggesting it to prove it. Most offer guilt and condemnation, without getting to the point of proof. Their loving deity will kill anyone not in agreement, and if god doesn't, they'll do the job--praise God.
  
  You're right, the "God-belief" is there for most of us exiting the Tower. Years of thinking "the sky is falling" can make one reach for the religious-hard hat just in case, but the god-construction site is built on dreams.
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  5

  Just read account of atheistic Ayn Rand cult -- so many similarities to JWs

  by True North in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just happened across an article titled "the sociology of the ayn rand cult" that was written in 1972 by the libertarian economist murray rothbard.

  (ayn rand was the author of the novels the fountainhead and atlas shrugged.

  ) as i read the article, i noted so many similarities with jws, particularly as regards practices of thought and behavior control (including disfellowshipping, shunning, dividing families, banning forbidden books, discouraging free discussion, claims to being the one source of truth, and so forth).

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  JAVA

  DanTheMan -- Put any of Ayn Rand's books back into your MUST READ list--just don't start selling her books during the weekends, and attending required meetings! :))
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  16

  Rosenberg Assembly Hall

  by blindersoff in

  1. jw
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  who worked on this project?

  would love to renew friendships on this level.

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  JAVA

  Hello blinderoff -- I didn't work on the Rosenberg Assy. Hall; where is it?
  
  Years ago I worked on the London Assy. Hall in Ohio. I usually enjoyed working on projects like that because you got to know others on another level.
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  25

  Pass the Jesus I need a hit!

  by free2beme in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i hate to say this, as there may be some here that fit this description, but people deep into jesus with all that saved talk and accepting jesus talk, look the same as the person trying to get me to take a hit on the bong.

  these people seem stoned hard core and in la-la land of some fantasy and wonder why others don't want to ride the crazy train with them.

  personally, i find these people to be almost alien to me, in that they seem so into their religion of "save" and "accept" this, that there is no reasoning or even discussing a different subject with them.

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  JAVA

  I think religion is okay if one doesn't take it religiously. The minute a person believes others need to hear it in order to be saved, it's transformed into a harmful drug. Folks do weird things while on drugs. :)
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  12

  Stickers on magazines

  by Apostanator in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  whenever i would see a watchtower or awake at the laundromat, i used to just rip them up and throw them away.

  but now i carry labels on me that have been printed off my computer and stick them on the mags.

  i have several types that are printed with such sayings as ( " this is a cult " included with freeminds website ) and ( "jehovah's witnesses cover-up child rape and abuse " included with silent lambs website ) i feel this is more successful as the magazine cannot be picked up without having the sticker in your face.

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  JAVA

  WOW -- that's a great idea . . . and when the Witnesses come for a return visit to get rid of the mags--they'll get a "good witness!"
  
  I think you should turn your time in to the JW Forum--maybe someone will design a Report Slip we can use. Don't forget, you'll need to average at least 10-hours a month, otherwise Simon won't be happy. :)
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  27

  You Know You're Old Gertting Old When .......

  by xjw_b12 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  they start making remakes of remakes...... i watched the original king kong, not at the theatre but on tv.

  i watched the remake at the theatre and fell in love with jessica lange.

  now they are remaking that movie.. i watched the superman cartoon series and the the tv series.

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  JAVA

  When parents visit the college with their kids, and you remember the parents when they were students--you know you're getting old. It happened twice this school year!
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  4

  "THE CHRISTIAN RESPONDENT" Newsletter

  by JAVA in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from may 1984 to december 1986, ronald e. frye put out a monthly newsletter called, "the christian respondent.

  " it was a balanced newsletter that addressed jw issues, usually from a current "watchtower" or "awake!

  " from a christian point of view.

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  JAVA

  During the mid '80s when Ron was writting the monthly issues of TCR, we wrote back and forth several times, and it was a pleasure getting to know him. I met him at a BRCI conference in Chicago, 1986 or '87, which was my first contact with a large group of former JWs. While going through some papers the other day, I ran across the issues I listed in the first post, and wondered about him. Thanks for the above posts, and I'm sorry he has some health concerns that limits his activity.
  
  I no longer buy into much of the Christian concepts, but appreciate the work Ron did before the days of the Internet. He did far more good than harm, in my opion. I find that rare with many coming from a religious point of view.