Posts by Palimpsest

119

Jehovah's Witness Recovery is no more...

by TimeBandit in

jw
friends

i just tried to go to the site and there is a goodbye message.

i was a member there since 2010. i was really surprised.

i had just started posting there again after being away for a while.

Palimpsest

Hello, all,

First, 1) I sincerely hope that everyone is doing well, and 2) my apologies to Simon for dragging this apparently dormant thread back up.

I received an e-mail asking me to come here and answer some questions. I am not comfortable answering questions here, however, because I feel like it would be unfair to the JWN/JWD community to put too much focus on another site.

So I just want people to know that you can reach me at [email protected], and I will do my best to give you honest, fair answers about what happened. If there's a new board/Facebook/whatever *and people would not object to me being there*, I would also be fine with joining somewhere else and fielding questions in a thread for a week or so. Logistically, that would be easier than responding to individual e-mails, but if you have somewhere and don't want former JWR staff dropping by, even briefly, I want to respect that. So I'll leave that up to you; let me know how you want to do things.

Please reply via e-mail instead of in this thread if you can. And thanks, JWN/JWD, for indulging me with this post. Best of luck to you all with the recovery and advocacy work you're doing. Simon, thank you for providing this space; you're a good man.

16

If you are a vicim of child abuse by a JW molester, would you consider being interviewed?

by AndersonsInfo in

i'd like to talk to a jw victim of child abuse by a jw molester.

it doesn't matter if you have gone public or not, but would like to be interviewed.

if you want to remain anonymous, you will be accommodated.

Palimpsest

As a former professional journalist, I can tell you that there's no way whoever is doing this interview is abiding by any journalistic codes of ethics. Journalists must disclose who they're working for and what they plan to do with the interview. So I would urge anyone considering this to exercise caution. Even if they're not presenting themselves as journalists, the fact that Barbara's not even allowed to disclose who these people are -- not to mention that said people aren't posting here themselves -- should send up red flags for people. Never, ever give anyone an interview without knowing exactly who they are, who's backing them, and what they plan to do with your words.

71

Would you support "Open Carry" legislation in your state?

by Glander in

many states have such laws.

it is being considered in many others.

if legal, would you openly carry a firearm?.

Palimpsest

Nope. No interest in guns.

5

Map of WTS properties in Upstate New York

by Gayle in

jw
friends

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=brooklyn+ny&daddr=ramapo+ny+to:warwick+ny+to:tuxedo+ny+to:wallkill,+ny+to:patterson,+ny&hl=en&geocode=frbfbaid0jyx-ykjixyufktcitggeaaedfx2gg%3bfdbdcwidyueu-ymf7z6eln7citgt4uszfkhniq%3bfsogdqidvfur-ynfkk_cwcpditfdw4s92jrugw%3bfam8dqid6-gt-ykv-v-yatncitgfpesj5xj2mg%3bfrhaegidnaqu-ylhijk0u9lcithxeecwuobp7q%3b&abauth=9d432732:9h0dgvea7u0qtm39c6j1w9whmsg&aq=&vps=3&ei=9jsut5ifgplsowsbscs7ag&jsv=405c&sll=41.124884,-74.152222&sspn=2.01926,3.510132&vpsrc=6&mra=ls&num=10

Palimpsest

I will say this: The grounds there are gorgeous. I always enjoyed the view on trips out. Of course, that was the only thing I enjoyed.

61

I made it!! I'm just so freaking happy!!!

by Rocky_Girl in

jw
friends

as some of you know, i started college 5 years ago for the first time at age 27. i had been out of the "truth" for 9 years at that time, but had just broken free of the mentality.

well, on saturday i walked across the stage with the 130th graduating class at rocky mountain college!.

after 5 years of working several jobs, taking care of two little boys as a single mom, and trying to get the most out of my college experience, i earned my master of accountancy, bachelor of science in business management, and minors in writing and organizational leadership.

Palimpsest

Congratulations!

47

LDS (Mormon) wheelers and dealers coming over tonight at 7 PST. What would you ask them?

by sabastious in

jw
friends

hey jwn.

a couple of mormon missionaries came to my house last week and i invited them in.

what can i say, curiosity killed the cat.

Palimpsest

I might get tarred for this, but I've always found LDS missionaries to be really pleasant. I have several returned missionaries as students and colleagues, and they're all pretty personable and good-natured. They're just kids and they spend all day either getting doors slammed on them or being called idiots. So...maybe just be nice to them? For the most part, they want to be on their missions about as much as any of us ever wanted to be in service. Even worse, most of them go to two years with only talking to their families a couple of times. They're lonely, far from home, physically exhausted, and complete outsiders.

So extend some kindness and don't mock them or their beliefs. You can be a lot more effective in planting seeds of doubt through casual conversation than through interrogation and pigeon-holing.

Oh, and as far as caffeine goes: It is not official church doctrine that they can't consume caffeine (I think their own FAQ addresses that, actually), but most Mormons interpret D&C 89's reference to "strong drinks" to refer to caffeine, so they do avoid it. Caffeine in chocolate, medications, and other sources than coffee and tea isn't seen as taboo at all, and many younger or more lax Mormons will have the occasional soda.

5

Church sues ex-member for online criticism

by CaptainSchmideo in

jw
friends

http://www.katu.com/news/local/beaveton-grace-bible-church-lawsuit-charles-oneal-julie-anne-smith-151227055.html?m=y&smobile=y.

Palimpsest

Bring it, WTBTS.

And yes, this is a great candidate for a frivolous filing penalty. I'm glad to see more judges employing that tactic these days to keep dumb lawsuits out of the system.

73

The world ends on May 27, 2012....

by pseudoxristos in

jw
friends

or so says ronald weinland;.

may 27, 2012april 29, 2012. as readers of this site know, may 27, 2012, is the time that i have stated as being the date jesus christ will return as king of kings over all government on this earth.

for such an event to come to pass, the trumpets of revelation must all sound, the united states and dollar collapse, the ten nations of europe arise to fulfill the final revival of the holy roman empire, and russia with china must unite against europe in wwiii.. .... http://www.ronaldweinland.com/.

Palimpsest

There are a thousand "Church of God" branches and off-shoots. At this point, it's almost like the default name that autofills for anyone applying for a religious building permit.

In any case, at least all of my television shows will have wrapped up for the season by then, so I'll still get to see how "House" ends. Works for me.

8

Yahoo CEO Just Got Fired, His Degree Was Fake! Who Said College Degrees Don't Matter?

by Bubblegum Apotheosis in

jw
friends

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/13/cmkc1ohf1b.dtl.

yahoo fired its second ceo in less than a year sunday amid concerns about an exaggerated resume, throwing the company into turmoil just months into its latest turnaround effort.. the board ousted scott thompson, 54, who took yahoo's top job in january, after a dissident shareholder questioned the biography he had submitted to the company before becoming ceo.

ross levinsohn, 48, executive vice president of the americas for yahoo, was named interim ceo.

Palimpsest

His degree wasn't fake; his listed double-major was. Here's the relevant portion from the article you linked:

Thompson's troubles began May 3, when Third Point notified reporters that the CEO's resume said he "holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and computer science" from Stonehill College, when in fact his degree is in accounting only.

So he does indeed have the B.A., but it's only in accounting. If I've been following the story correctly, I think part of what got him in trouble is that he did study computer science -- as in, he took some coursework in it -- but he exaggerated it to make it sound like he'd actually double-majored. It's one of those "grain of truth" situations.

12

Jehovah's Witnesses and The Worldwide Church of God

by JWStruggle in

i recently posted an article on my blog that tapped into a comment made to me by an awake witness about the worldwide church of god.

it discussed some questions that have been on a lot minds among the awake jws and ex-jws lately.

questions adressed are:.

Palimpsest

Both the Witnesses and the Church of God are Adventists, so of course there's going to be doctrinal overlap. As much as Witnesses deny it, there's nothing all that special about their teachings.

Same goes for Witnesses and Seventh-Day Adventists. They both formed out of a schism from the original Millerite Adventists, so there's far more in common between the two than different. That's why the SDAs so aggressively recruit JWs, because it's a relatively easy transition to make and they know it.

Nothing bothers the WTBTS more than reminding them that they're just run-of-the-mill half-Protestant throwbacks and just as much a part of "Christendom" than anyone else. There's nothing original about their roots. They're downright boring theologically.