Find people via Meetup, take some credit-free adult ed/continuing education classes, join a book discussion group (hey, you already have experience being part of one! ;)), take up volunteer work (I suggest starting with volunteermatch.org if you're in the U.S.), see what programs your local Parks & Rec department offers...there are lots of opportunities out there, but you have to seek them out and do the hard work of getting started with it. Also, it goes without saying that discussing your JW past ad nauseum is *not* the way to make "worldly" friends. That seems to be the biggest mistake ex-JWs make when trying to make friends outside. Discover who you really are and what your real interests are, and then focus on those when making friends. Don't automatically paint yourself as "the weird one" right out of the gate.
Palimpsest
JoinedPosts by Palimpsest
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Need help making NON JW Friends. LOL!!
by lil.lady.03 inso its been a whomping 5 months since i stopped going to the meetings!!
yay!!!.
and its amazing how quickly i have let go of everything!!.
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*Seriously* Considering A Billboard Ad?
by laverite ina full billboard ad in my area along a busy heavily travelled highway would cost about $500.
would probably get lots of attention and maybe even a news article, who knows.
$500 is cheap and easily affordable.
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Palimpsest
These billboards are meant to inform the public about a human rights injustice, not to help Witnesses out of the cult.
Should no thought be paid to the consequences of those actions on others, though? Is there not a way to raise awareness that does not simultaneously risk pushing others deeper in? I feel there are plenty of creative, thoughtful people around here who ought to be able to come up with something more effective than a billboard -- they're cheap advertising because they're bad advertising -- and less polarizing.
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JWs and Education
by Liberty93 inso this isn't one of the normal zomg teh witnesses h8 educashun!!!
!1 threads, because we all know that -.
rather, i'd just like to note that i was reading about paul today, and remembered that not only did he have an extremely good education for his time and speak, write, and read multiple languages, he was also aware of, and educated about, all of those horrible, worldly, ungodly philosophies that the jws are so scared of.. of course, when they're harping on the "you don't need college" bs, they never note that or take the more plausible line that education would help people defend their faith rationally (because it's not about beliefs anymore) because they know that taking an introductory logic course and two semesters of world history would sink any and all belief in what they say.... just a few thoughts..
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Palimpsest
Nothing more dangerous for a JW than a social science course. Once you get a basic understanding of social control and its influence on human behavior, the whole racket becomes painfully obvious.
In any case, all that time Paul spent on learning other languages would be dismissed by today's elders as a waste of time that could be spent on spiritual things -- unless he, of course, learned those other languages while serving in a foreign language congregation. And rather than writing all those letters to his spiritual brothers, he should have been doing mail witnessing! Tsk, tsk. Slacker.
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WT articles that make you go, "WTF?"
by undercover inmarch 1, 2011 wt kool aid edition.... the article: does the bible condemn gambling.
notice the highlighted boxes.... first the indication that the catholic church does not consider gambling itself a sin... and then challenges that because no scriptural passages are given in proof of their assertion.. the very next column though, the wts admits that the bible does not directly mention gambling.
so, um, how do you expect the catholics to come up with scriptures if there are none?.
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Palimpsest
Besides, "worldy" kids wore ripped jeans, slogan T-shirts, and extra piercings, therefore, JW kids should look the opposite.
And don't forget that atheists always have beards!
Personally, I get a lot more mileage out of idiotic Awake! articles. Their theology might be crazy, but the level of crazy demonstated by their "understanding" of culture and human behavior is breathtaking.
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Do all religions think there's is the only true one?
by Snoozy inis there any religions out there that actually think that any religion is good as long as you worship?.
or do they all think the other religions are under the control of satan/the devil.. funny, i knew that the jw's felt that way but never really thought about the other religions.. is there any humble enough to admit they don't have all the truth and aren't any better than any other religion?.
that's the one i want to join... snoozy.
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Palimpsest
Another that I'm surprised to have forgotten to mention, being a New Englander: Congregational/UCC churches. You basically make up your own beliefs/approach, and everyone's input is welcome and validated.
In my experience, former JWs are much more comfortable with the Congregationalists' spare, laid-back approach than with the ritual-rich Anglican Communion, but everyone's different, and certainly there are people who seek out the Episcopalian "Catholicy" approach, as I believe someone above put it. :) Though, of course, it depends on your branch...some of those breakaway fundamentalist U.S. Anglican groups are scary.
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Do all religions think there's is the only true one?
by Snoozy inis there any religions out there that actually think that any religion is good as long as you worship?.
or do they all think the other religions are under the control of satan/the devil.. funny, i knew that the jw's felt that way but never really thought about the other religions.. is there any humble enough to admit they don't have all the truth and aren't any better than any other religion?.
that's the one i want to join... snoozy.
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Palimpsest
Off the top of my head: Unitarian Universalists, Society of Friends (Quakers), most Buddhists, and the Bahai Faith. All explicitly encourage you to seek the wisdom of other paths. Some religions (particularly the first three listed here) are also quite welcoming of atheists and agnostics, on the grounds that questioning is a healthy experience and that you can believe in the concept of a uniting universal "force" or some kind without automatically having to believe in a deity.
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WT Article on Gambling completely dishonost
by Lore inhttp://download.jw.org/files/media_magazines/wp_e_20110301.pdf.
in fact, the new catholic encyclopedia.
says that gambling is not considered sinful.
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Palimpsest
Surely investing in stocks ans shares is a form of gamnling. You put money into them in the hope that you will get a lot more back.
I tried to argue that one so many times, and they always just brushed me off. It's a "business investment," so it doesn't count in their view.
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Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes
by scotsman ini'm hardly the biggest fan but i thought this was genuinely funny.
he held a mirror up to the overpaid botoxed schmucks and some of them found it funny.
but i'm hearing there's a bit of a criticism.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvhxzp2spla.
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Palimpsest
In a matter of fact his performance might have spoiled his career, at least in the States.
The only people flipping out over it are some media critics trying to stir up criticism. The feedback on message boards and from celebrities themselves has been overwhelmingly positive. The comparatively few viewers who are being critical aren't in his target audience anyway. And the ratings were way up over last year (which he also hosted), indicating people like him and want to see more of him. It's a manufactured scandal.
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picture of JW child baptism ... link to news paper
by Aussie Oz ini won't post the picture as it may breach some copyright or something.
here is the link.
http://www.caller.com/photos/galleries/2010/aug/21/jehovahs-witnesses-baptism/.
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Palimpsest
Children who are deemed not old enough to smoke or have sex (for obvious reasons) yet they're allowed to make a life-changing decision.
Reminds me of the teenagers being sent off to die before they can have a beer for their troubles. They're sacrificed before they ever have a chance to have experienced all that's out there.
Obviously, I'm not seriously comparing the sacrifices made by the two. I just often think of that comparison in regards to child baptism, for some reason.
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Overheard JW Phone Conversation
by new light ini was sitting down to lunch yesterday when i heard the man at the table behind me say into his phone "yeah, it's going to be hard since they want us to pioneer in april.".
of course, i was all ears at this point.
next thing i could pick up over the din of a crowded restaurant was "he has to go to the meetings for a year before he can come back.
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Palimpsest
Interesting that he said, "...they want us to pioneer in April..." rather than, "...I would like to pioneer in April..."
Also interesting that he explicitly addressed separation/isolation between classes in the congregation by saying "they." The elders are always "others," never part of the larger group. That social divide gets clearer and clearer over time.