JeffT

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Posts by JeffT

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  36

  It's Finally Over!!

  by DIM in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife and i attended our last meeting last night.

  it wasn't so bad, since it was bookstudy and they threw a little party for us afterwards - we are moving to wa from pa next week.

  we will never set foot in a kingdom hall again - feels great.

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  JeffT

  OK, we need to organize a Pacific NW apostofest! There are a bunch of us around here.

  Dim, email me when you get here.
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  59

  NEW LIGHT! Earthquakes-3-22-02 Awake!

  by messenger in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well we now have another ray of new light that has flashed forth.

  it is a new teaching regarding earthquakes.

  for close to eighty-five years now the core believe of jehovahs witnesses has been the last days teaching that earthquakes have increased in intensity and frequency since 1914. no longer, now it seems it has gone the way of the generation that would not die who were alive in 1914. now we have the great new discovery that there were not more or stronger earthquakes since 1914, almost 40 years after experts and many good men were disfellowshipped for saying otherwise.

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  JeffT

  There is a translation of the New Testatment called "The message." It is more like a paraphrase than an exact translation, the translator points out that is intention was to convey the conversational style used in the original manuscripts.

  His take on these verses is not that this are all to be taken as a sign, but as the exact opposite. Jesus statement turns into, "you will see all sorts of things happening, but don't get frightened, it is just history working itself out." (Not the exact quote, but close). This parallels the many verses that refer to the Lord coming like a thief in the night, nobody knows the day and hour, etc. In other words trying to figure this out is futile speculation.

  Live your life the way you think it ought to be lived because its the right thing to do, not because you think the world might end.
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  9

  Part 13: The Apostate Trial of My Friend

  by Amazing in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  part 13: the apostate trial of my friend: .

  i was enjoying meeting with the christians at work.

  this is true religion!

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  JeffT

  Amazing and terafera please email me at [email protected] I'd love to talk to both of you.

  Amazing, I didn't get put through the BS from the elders et al that you did, but the personal part of my exit seems very much like yours.

  Thanks for putting this out there.
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  10

  Part 12: October Surprise II - The Sequel!

  by Amazing in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  part 12: october surprise ii the sequel!

  october 1 a new day: looking back on the first parts to this series, one who is an ex-jw can perhaps appreciate these events as no other person.

  what may be a little different is how an exit can, for some, such as in my own situation, drag on and on with new difficulties, bizarre twists, and unexpected players on the field.

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  JeffT

  Really great story. Thank you.

  In the summer of 1988 after my wife and I went to what proved to be our last district convention, we went camping for a week. While gone I grew my beard as an outward expression of my freedom. When we got back we bumped into a couple of elders at a grocery store. I got some VERY strange looks from them while we visited for a few minutes.

  One of the biggest discoveries upon breaking out of the Watchtower was the realization that most Christians don't care who goes to what church. We are all part of the same family.
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  25

  Part 6 a/b: Last Pub Talk - Memorial Saga

  by Amazing in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  part 6(a): last public talk the memorial saga .

  [note: now things really get interesting.

  this is a longer post, but it needs to be said because the events get more and more bizarre!

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  JeffT

  Very interesting story. I can't imagine spending that much time trying to figure out how to pass a plate of crackers and a cup of wine around a room! An excellent example of what legalism does to a church.

  Have you considered writing a book? Among other things I find your dealings with your family fascinating. The dam broke for us in the spring of 1988 when Mrs. T and I found out we'd both been secretly reading C. of C. Less than a year later we were free.

  I wonder how many others are out there doing what they do out of fear.
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  32

  My Committment to JWD

  by Amazing in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i debated the wisdom of making this post.

  i have made every effort to make it as neutral as possible to avoid personally offending anyone.

  i may be losing my marbles here, but i feel that this needs to be said.

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  JeffT

  The first two of Jeff's rules for life:

  1) In the normal course of things you will piss some people off. Therefor there is no point in going out of your way to piss off a few more.

  2) The opposite is also true, life is too short to spend it being pissed off about what somebody else said or did.

  I try to apply my own advice in talking on the internet. I wish a few others would do likewise.

  Amazing, I've always read and appreciated your posts. You have some valuable insight, I hope you keep sharing it.
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  43

  Happy JW Marriages the Impossible Dream?

  by IslandWoman in

  1. social
  2. family

  while it is not impossible to have a happy marriage in the jw religion for many it is hard, for some it is very hard to maintain happiness in their marriage.

  the watchtower raises the bar so very high in every aspect of life, marriage included.

  the watchtower literature encourages a jw married couple to be practically perfect, or at least that is the goal set before them.

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  JeffT

  We've been married 27 years. We never did totally get into the JW ideal marriage thing, so I think we may have had less to try to overcome.

  The last couple of years have been really great. As the kids have grown up and moved on or become more independent we have been able to focus on each other.
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  23

  Do Apostate demos at conventions work?

  by home_and_dry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  firstly, hello from a newbie .

  i was reading a thread a few days ago which got me thinking.

  it was about everyones views on apostates before leaving the dubs.

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  JeffT

  For years here in the Seattle area there was a guy who protested outside the conventions with very large signs with just a phone number (244-FREE). He was not an ex-dub and said so. He just wanted to help people. My wife wrote down the number at the last convention we went to, and we called him a couple of months later.

  He's the pastor of a church here and ran a support group for witnesses or the family of witnesses. His group was very helpful in our exit from the Borg.

  When first out I protested a couple of times, but I no longer think it is effective. They are trained to avoid the wicked apostates.
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  21

  Karate

  by Ranchette in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this year i have learned so much and what i keep being taught repeatedly through experience this time instead of what someone tells me, is that much of what the society taught us about the world and many of the things in it is pure nonsence!.

  i'm just giving one example for now even though there are many.. my son who is in elementary school has over a period of time expressed a desire to do something extracurricular.. oh the shame!!!.

  now out of all the different things out there we chose karate.. jws frown on this because its a form of self defence, a competitive sport and they have labeled it and all martial arts in fact as demonized.. he is learning shotokan karate.he loves it and not one demon or demonized thing has happened so far and never will.. in fact i like what they are teaching my son.. this saying is on the wall of the school or dojo,.

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  JeffT

  My son took Taekwondo for a number of years. He got to purple belt, but has mostly given it up to concentrate on his music. (Martial arts AND heavy metal music, oh dear what will the elders say?)

  Both have been very good for him. They instill focus and confidence and self-reliance. Oh I forgot, those are bad qualities, must rely on the Borg.
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  23

  Your favorite pic from the Kingdom pubs.

  by LDH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this one is for jt, who is interested in body modification (lol).

  i will be the first to admit a rabid fascination with a certain picture....... back when i was about 7, i stumbled across the most fascinating picture in all of dubdom....... are you holding your breath?!?!?.

  it was in the evolution or creation book....the picture of the black, african tribal woman with that huge freakin plate in her lip!.

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  JeffT

  Some time back there was a picture of a woman throwing some mail in the trash, captioned with a message about not reading anything you get from apostates. The expression on the woman's face looks like she opened her mail and found a dog turd in in it.