I am guessing that is why there is an elder shortage right now.
Few who would be remotely qualified would be interested in the position. In my most recent congregation there is only one elder out of the 5 or 6 that isn't a complete doofus.
Mad Sweeney
JoinedPosts by Mad Sweeney
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78
Brand New: Currently Totally Devastated
by daringhart13 ini'm brand new to the board.
long time, "big shot" elder, ....taught at km school, conventions, etc.
yeah, i know it means nothing....but it gives you an idea of how deep i've been a jw.. i don't even really know what to write at this point.
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Open Letter to Jehovah's Witnesses re Memorial 2010
by donuthole indear friend,.
imagine that you personally have been invited by a great man to come to his dinner party.
he tells you, come and enjoy the good things i will give you to eat and drink.
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Mad Sweeney
Question for the Christians: does it really matter when one partakes of the bread and wine? What if, say, I did it next weekend instead of tonight?
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HOW do you know what you KNOW you know?
by Terry inremember how certain you were as a jehovah's witness?.
you just knew what you knew was right 100%.
you staked your life on it, didn't you?.
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Mad Sweeney
Haven't read the thread yet, just the subject line. Wanted to give my first response unbiased by anyone else's reasonings.
Q: How do I know what I know?
A: I don't.
There is nothing I believe to be true that was not obtained via my senses and filtered through the lens of my previous experiences. We say things like, "the sky is blue." But is it? Blue isn't an inherent characteristic of sky. Blue is the label for our perception of the particular frequency of light that reflects off of the sky molecules. From another perspective one could say the sky is every color EXCEPT FOR blue, since the blue frequency of light is what bounces off of it and enters our pupils.
Or is it? Do I KNOW any of the above?
No.
The best we can do is weigh the clear and logical evidence we are presented with and believe things with a percentage of certainty and act accordingly. The worst thing we can do is believe anything with 100% certainty.
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~~ from the "other JWN" : You Are Defective
by chickpea inthe tripe factory is in full production.
http://jehovahs-witness-news.blogspot.com/2010/03/manufactures-alert.html.
the maker of all human beings (jehovah god) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart.
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Mad Sweeney
"It makes no sense."
Which makes it all seem perfectly logical in Dub-land.
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Paedophile used religion to keep abuse secret
by behemot inpaedophile used religion to keep abuse secrettuesday, march 30, 2010, 06:30a paedophile raped and sexually assaulted women and girls over a period of 40 years by using their religion to keep the abuse secret.. despite one revealing it to the jehovah's witness elders, no help was given, a court heard.. now george arthur cockerill, 78, has been jailed indefinitely after he admitted 19 rapes, four counts of sexual activity with a child, six counts of indecency with a child, one sex assault and two counts of indecency with a child.. judge roger thorn qc, sitting at hull crown court, said: "you have pleaded guilty to 32 serious counts that reflect your sexual depravity.. "the reality is that, from beginning to end, it is extended over 40 years.
you have wasted your life and caused untold misery.. "as one victim said, you have stolen her childhood.. "you have been the most terrible hypocrite, passing yourself off as a law-abiding member of the community and using religion as a tool of subjection to control your victims.. "that is why i'm satisfied this remained a secret for so long.".
cockerill was sentenced to imprisonment for public protection for a minimum of six years.. he will not be released until the parole board believe he is no longer a danger.. cockerill, of hull, was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.. he allegedly had five victims, three of whom were subject to the convictions he pleaded guilty to and two more have made allegations against him.. police believe there could be more.. in a statement read to the court, one victim said: "he took my childhood away.".
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Mad Sweeney
Wasn't there a flyby apologist in here last week trying to tell us that this sort of thing happens far less in Dub-land than in "the world"? If it happens ONCE there's a problem. God the borg sucks.
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Did you enjoy being patronised at the memorial?
by highdose ini'm thinking of the last time i attended, must have been about 2 years ago.
i went to a congo that i had moved out of about 5 months before.
hardly anyone in it had bothered to keep up with me and had mostly assumed that i had fallen away, cue shunning in the supermarket.
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Mad Sweeney
A good time to slip out is after the eating/drinking, while the speaker gives the sales pitch for next Sunday's meeting and the upcoming "special" talk.
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The Beard Starts TODAY
by Mad Sweeney init was only this past weekend that i finally stated (both aloud and in print) that i would never attend another meeting again.
like many brothers before me, i have decided to symbolize this new dedication to freedom for myself and my family with a beard..
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Mad Sweeney
A public statement is still allowing others to exercise authority over you. If you are free, you have no need of statements.
I guess in a Dub-like twist of logic you could be correct but I can't think in Dub-ese anymore.
They have an unwritten no beard rule. I and my wife have always wanted me to wear a beard. Now I am doing it, ignoring their claim to authority. That isn't allowing others to exercise authority over me; it is me doing what I want despite their delusion of authority. Sure, the statement thing is a fun little bonus of very little practical worth, a mere nose-thumbing, but what it symbolizes is that I am doing what I want to do. Minimize it if you like; some people get off putting others down in such a way. But I'm going to enjoy it.
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Did you enjoy being patronised at the memorial?
by highdose ini'm thinking of the last time i attended, must have been about 2 years ago.
i went to a congo that i had moved out of about 5 months before.
hardly anyone in it had bothered to keep up with me and had mostly assumed that i had fallen away, cue shunning in the supermarket.
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Mad Sweeney
Might be a fun gag to return after a time with stories of secret missionary work in Afghanistan or western China or something...
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a BIG shoutout to jwfacts
by poopsiecakes inim sure this has been mentioned many times on this site but i wanted to express my personal feelings of gratitude to paul at jwfacts.com.
paul, your site changed my life.
even though i discovered it when i was already disfellowshipped and really didnt have the intention of going back, i was still a fierce jw apologist.
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Mad Sweeney
Good call. THANK YOU JWFACTS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK!
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78
Brand New: Currently Totally Devastated
by daringhart13 ini'm brand new to the board.
long time, "big shot" elder, ....taught at km school, conventions, etc.
yeah, i know it means nothing....but it gives you an idea of how deep i've been a jw.. i don't even really know what to write at this point.
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Mad Sweeney
I look forward to reading your story.
I haven't posted mine yet because I'm still "fading" but I'm pretty sure we've been found out and there will be an announcement soon.