JAVA

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Posts by JAVA

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  26

  What does the term 'Borg" mean?

  by south african beef in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i can understand some of the shorthand terms used on this site but could anyone elighten me on the above?

  also please list any terms that pertain to this site with their explanation so that i can understand everybody's threads a bit more easily.

  thanks in advance for your help.

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  JAVA

  Alan,

  Didn't Jey come up with that term? We used to use it a lot in the old Philia list, too.
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  8

  Repairing The Soul After A Cult

  by Lady Lee in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  repairing the soul after a cult

  the previous year i returned to the united states after having spent almost four years in exile abroad, where i lived the most serene life on an island in the mediterranean off the coast of spain.

  if someone had told me that within a year i would be deeply involved and committed to a cult, i would have laughed derisively.

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  JAVA

  I think “spiritual rape” is an excellent description.
  In 1988, fifty-two shunned JWs responded to a research project I was doing at a university that examined the effects shunning had on them. It addressed self esteem and religious attitudes among other things before and after shunning. “Spiritual rape” wasn’t a term used in my literature review or by the group at that time. However, if I summed up the findings in two words, “spiritual rape” could describe how most felt about their experience.

  T hanks for posting this info, Lady Lee.
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  8

  Repairing The Soul After A Cult

  by Lady Lee in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  repairing the soul after a cult

  the previous year i returned to the united states after having spent almost four years in exile abroad, where i lived the most serene life on an island in the mediterranean off the coast of spain.

  if someone had told me that within a year i would be deeply involved and committed to a cult, i would have laughed derisively.

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  JAVA

  When you discover one day that your guru is a fraud . . . you are faced with what many have called a "spiritual rape.”

  Spiritual rape -- that's an interesting way of putting it.
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  19

  Do Satan and Jesus exist?

  by Amazing1914 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  since some seem perfectly at ease to depersonalize the holy spirit, and claim that any mention of the holy spirit as talking, or as "he, him, or his" are mere personifications, then this rule can be applied anywhere.. satan is not a real person.

  the bible only makes him sound like one because the bible writers all use personification whenever they talk about satan.

  why, because according to the arguments of some, wisdom is personified in proverbs, or the mountains cry out, or the trees laugh, that satan is not a person either.. but, but, but ... what about when jesus was tempted by satan in the wilderness?

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  JAVA

  Do Satan and Jesus exist?

  You bet--in the minds of beholders.

  Another question that comes to mind is, "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" The answer(s) might take us back to the topic question again . . .
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  23

  Deluded, Misguided and Uninformed

  by Lady Lee in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as a jw i was taught that no matter what we were doing "in the world" our actions should always be above reproach.

  we were always to be giving a "fine witness" many jws, myself included, believed that when people saw our fine behavior and recognized our clean morals they would attribute it to our religion.

  and some would be so impressed they would want to learn more.. now that i am out i have had a fascinating time finding out what people really think about jws.

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  JAVA

  On television, if ever there is a JW mentioned, it's usually a very funny bit, making fun of them. That always used to bother me, but now I get it.

  I still remember hearing a JW joke while in the Tower many years ago. It went something like this:

  A policeman walks up to a man standing on the corner and says, "Are you a Jehovah Witness?" The man said, "No officer, I didn't even see the accident."

  When Witnesses are mentioned in the media, it's typically like the above. About the only time it's different is during some of the larger assemblies, but only in the local news. Even then they seem like followers without a life--which is no joke.
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  44

  MEMO TO TED JARACZ: My rewarding apostate field activity this weekend

  by sf in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i shared in dannys torture thread about this, yet wanted a thread by itself so that headquarters see's it clearly.

  i also 'chopped' it a bit.... i spent this weekend copying.

  cutting.

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  JAVA

  Welcome to the forum, Rad_Rachel. It's always nice having new ones join in on a topic, and I appreciate your thoughts. You're right, many if not most JWs and elders would not try to hide child abuse. I think many of us have learned how the Society has encouraged Witnesses and elders to keep things under wraps so it doesn't reflect badly on the religion. A lot of us have a problem with that.

  Again--welcome!
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  26

  At what age did you start to notice that you were getting/looking "Old"?

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  we all get older every day, that's not my question, but at what age did you notice that you weren't able to do as much as when you were younger, or at what age did you start to see a different person in the mirror..and it didn't please you.

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  JAVA

  I started to notice that my hands started to look like my dad's hands when I was 45 or so. As you can see from my picture, 14 years later--the rest of me is looking a lot older!
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  44

  MEMO TO TED JARACZ: My rewarding apostate field activity this weekend

  by sf in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i shared in dannys torture thread about this, yet wanted a thread by itself so that headquarters see's it clearly.

  i also 'chopped' it a bit.... i spent this weekend copying.

  cutting.

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  JAVA

  Great job, sKally !!!

  I hope you're keeping track of your time and placements. I'll bet you already have in 10 hours this month. If you keep going you could Pioneer.
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  44

  Comments from "30 Years a Watchtower Slave" that surprised me.....

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i had begun to read schnell's book when we first left - but in the 'fresh out of the borg' mental state, i had found it too caustic.

  now i am reading it and find it quite interesting due to the time frame - in judge rutherford's era.. one of the premises that he states repeatedly in the book, took me by surprise.

  i would be curious if any could confirm/deny the reality of his accusations here.

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  JAVA

  This is from the back cover of the book:
  “Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1905 . . . taken by his parents on a trip to their homeland, Germany, and there stranded by the outbreak of World War I . . . from Lutheran parentage, was converted in that church at an early age . . . in gratitude for God’s protection during WWI resolved to spend his life in God’s service . . . associated with the Bible Students, and with them fell under the sway of the Watch Tower Society under the direction of the ambitious new president, Judge Rutherford . . . employed in the headquarters of the German branch of the Watch Tower Society at Magdeburg . . . as Service Director helped subjugate the German Bible Students to the Society’s dictatorial rule . . . helped organize the work in Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia . . . disgusted with the procedure and inner workings of the Society, he emigrated to the United States in 1927 . . . re-entered the Society’s employ as Pioneer in 1933 . . . became Company Servant then Unit Servant in Manhattan . . . placed in charge of the Pioneer desk in the Service Department at the Society’s New York headquarters . . . became Exactor (or Zone Servant) of Zone 1 (Northeastern Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania). . . helped foment riots in Hubbard, Ohio, and elsewhere, and fought in more than five hundred court battles, some even to the United States Supreme Court . . . was ordained a “minister” by Watch Tower Society, baptized 463 new converts, and organized about eighty-four congregations . . . came to a growing realization of the error of the Watch Tower Society as he returned to personal prayer and study of God’s Word . . . in 1954 returned to a life of freedom in Christ through an agonized night of soul struggle and prayer.”
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  44

  Comments from "30 Years a Watchtower Slave" that surprised me.....

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i had begun to read schnell's book when we first left - but in the 'fresh out of the borg' mental state, i had found it too caustic.

  now i am reading it and find it quite interesting due to the time frame - in judge rutherford's era.. one of the premises that he states repeatedly in the book, took me by surprise.

  i would be curious if any could confirm/deny the reality of his accusations here.

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  JAVA

  This has been such an interesting and insightful thread—thanks to all who have contributed!
  I found a copy of Schnell’s book at a used bookstore a few years ago. I didn’t care for his preachy tone in the book, but I think Schnell was honest in his observations of the early work and how Rutherford used the rank-n-file to set up legal issues that landed in court. Back in the mid 60’s I remember some of the older JWs fondly talking about taking toothbrushes with them when caravanning into some areas of Ohio and Indiana.
  BTW, “Visions of Glory” (1978) by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison is an excellent read from a woman’s point of view. She died September 14, 2002. She didn’t have the inside information that Schnell had, but it’s very well written and worth the read if you can find a copy.