So she's playing politics and thinks you're an ally. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" sort of deal, eh? What a world Dub-land is. No one can speak up for him or herself.
Mad Sweeney
JoinedPosts by Mad Sweeney
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15
Just got a Phone Call
by cantleave init is the congregation's co visit this week.
it is first one since i stepped down and i have not attended any of the programme.
i just received a phone call from a sister, i answered thinking it was someone else.
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5
Evil triplets: shunning, no contact with worldlies, and conditional love.
by dgp inas a non-jw, i am only beginning to grasp the real force of what i deem to be evil triplets, shunning, no contact with worldlies, and conditional love.
if you leave, you won't have any outside contacts and you will lose your family and friends; but, in the meantime, you are damned certain that you can't be sure they won't be taken away from you at any moment.. i think that the fact that true love and friendship can really develop among witnesses is a triumph of the human spirit.
how sad that anyone needs to bear all this..
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Mad Sweeney
It is all part of the control mechanism. They need to isolate the members from non-members as part of milieu control.
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Tao te Ching translations
by daniel-p inwhat is up with the ridiculous number of tao te ching translations?
i picked up about 20 versions at the book store and everyone of them had a completely different meaning.
if there's that much variation, what's the point?.
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Mad Sweeney
The LeGuin one is probably excellent. She's never produced anything bad or worthless to my knowledge.
Interesting info about Mitchell's version. I didn't know any of that. Thanks for posting it. I wonder what it means that I prefer his version. . . I'll have to find that literal transliteration and see how that strikes me. Maybe my American mind is only ready to grasp the Tao with a western slant?
Cool thread here. I hope others with more experience will comment, too.
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Door to Door Message? A DIVERSION! Where does the MONEY go??
by Terry inthe door to door work is a sham.. the central activity of the watchtower bible and tract society is not spreading their so-called "message" about the kingdom of jehovah established in the heavens in 1914.. that's a load of propaganda.. the door to door activity is feckless in producing converts.
in fact, it is an immense failure of mammoth proportions!.
but, it is a diversion.
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Mad Sweeney
I think JWs are probably one of the few religions that don't have a single wealthy local congregation anywhere but who's leadership is filthy stinking rich. Not the only, but one of the few.
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9
Tao te Ching translations
by daniel-p inwhat is up with the ridiculous number of tao te ching translations?
i picked up about 20 versions at the book store and everyone of them had a completely different meaning.
if there's that much variation, what's the point?.
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Mad Sweeney
I've only read two: Stephen Mitchell's and the one at www.taoteching.org (Peter Merel's version). So I really have too small a sample to base an educated opinion on. I like Mitchell's version out of the two, but I still need to read more.
I'd like to see a completely literal transliteration and interpret it myself. Any recommendations on a version like that?
I don't consider it a religion that one can convert to. The Way is, whether we know it or not. One can aspire to be a sage or a master, or one can go through life knowing nothing about it at all; both people may live lives of fulfillment.
Does anyone know if the variations we see in English versions also exist in the original Chinese? Or is there just ONE Chinese version and the ones we see are all different Western takes on the book.
By the way, I have come to believe that the Jesus of the Bible (or those who wrote about him) had either read or spoken in depth to a Taoist at some point before his ministry.
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20
Are mentally ill people possessed by demons? Watchtower view.
by ThomasCovenant inwatchtower 15th march 1953 page 191.. ''there is no reason to think that they [demons] cannot possess persons today.. this is not to say that all those mentally sick are so possessed, for they are not.. mentally sick persons, however, in their weakened state, may present more vulnerable targets for their assaults and invasions.. some show evidence of demon possession, whereas others show evidences of merely mental sickness or nervous breakdown.
'' (emphasis mine).
i for one would not want to work with people with mental illness or depression just in case they were possessed by some of those pesky spirits.. .
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Mad Sweeney
I believed in them until coming to this site even though I already knew the WT was full of crap. I have since come to mostly disbelieve, but I have a family member who swears by his/her past demonic experiences who is mentally stable and does not lie. So I have to think he/she was either given some hallucinogen, or there were some sort of psychosomatic manifestations, or there are truly beings who either exist in a part of the em spectrum that we can't see or are able to hide themselves.
I'm actually leaning toward the idea that he/she was given drugs as a kid when the 'demonic' stuff happened, but I can't discount the experience out of hand.
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meet-up this Saturday in Charlotte
by AwSnap ini would've mentioned it sooner, but i kinda forgot.
my husband's the one who found out and knows how to get there.
its at 1:30p on saturday in charlotte.
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Mad Sweeney
What goes on at meetups? Being a relatively new fader, I've never been to one.
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21
Oooh, this "article" has left itself WIDE open to some juicy comments.....
by Quillsky init's so full of slimy lies.. the argument that jehovah's witnesses are not cult members .
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Mad Sweeney
It might be funny to we who know better but it's actually kind of dangerous false information to have on the internet.
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62
What religion would you recommend for those who want to leave the WTS?
by RULES & REGULATIONS inafter i decide to leave the jehovah's witnesses one day,i will not look for a new religion.
the damage that the wts has caused me leads me to mistrust all men and religion.. i trusted these men from the wts .
i gave up 35 years of my life to find out that the wts is just a printing and real estate corporation disguised as a religion.
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Mad Sweeney
I have come to believe that religion is beyond unnecessary; it is a detriment to fulfillment.
You can follow Christ without having a religion. You can live the Tao. You can be kind and loving. Whatever Creator God exists, the key to pure worship of him is to simply be the kind of person the Father of All would be proud to call a son or daughter. Everything beyond that is a tradition of men.
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JWN only for ex-JWs?!
by Caedes inyizman,.
from what i remember, you have never been a jw.. so, then, why don't you just leave.. judge dread .
since when is this site only for ex-jws?
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Mad Sweeney
Caedes, the 'threatening to leave but never leaving thing' is a case example based on the person mentioned in your initial post.
JWs, non-JWs, ex-JWs, it doesn't matter. What can get one ostracized quickly here seems to be (and I've only been here a few months so someone will correct me if I'm wrong):
1. Soliciting money
2. Spamming your book or website in a tacky way (which is a subset of point 1.)
3. Proudly and unrepentantly admitting (or showing video of) a cruel act against another person
And that seems to be pretty much it. This is a fairly tolerant group. Yeah, there are those who are judgmental, which probably made them great Dubs, but for the most part you should feel welcome unless you commit one of the three 'sins' listed above.