nugget

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Posts by nugget

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  35

  At what age can a JW be baptised in the UK?

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i just received an email from an unbaptised publisher that made the following comment;.

  in the uk the age of consent by law for a child is 16 and only then can they be baptized of their own free will.

  is anyone aware of jws that have been baptised younger than 16 in the uk?.

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  nugget

  Churches and religious organisations are a law unto themselves. Under UK law it is unlikely that being baptised is regarded any differently to any other form of religious confirmation.

  What is different is what the religious institution does with the commitment in the future. If a Catholic no longer wishes to attend church they simply walk away. The same is true for CofE and many of the other mainstream faiths. However for a witness child the baptism is not a mere statement of faith it is a set of rules they become bound to for the rest of their lives. If they chose to walk away from the faith they also lose family, friends and support.

  In the UK there have been talks that encourage parents to persuade their children to be baptised at an early age as this will supposedly act as a protection for them. Watchtower articles have historically carried the same message. It is a cruel and heartless attempt to entrap children before they have really understood what they are letting themselves in for. The sad truth is that there is no legal protection for minors who chose to be baptised before the age of 16 and certainly no restriction in law.
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  5

  Latest WT kids' video

  by agonus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ...features a young girl who is preparing to go out in service.

  this video was featured on youtube until it was "removed by the user".. .

  to me this is another indication that, in spite of surface efforts to appear to be "mainlining", the wt really, really does not want anyone other than already-dedicated dubs to be party to this material.. .

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  nugget

  You would think that if they truly believed their message was benign then they would be happy to give it the widest exposure possible. The fact that the videos are removed shows that they know that the message is unpalatable to the mainstream viewer and even to a JW if it is not accompanied by the positioning statements that the watchtower gives.

  Because these unauthorised postings show the videos for what they are they have to be removed because the message is not being controlled and the viewers are not being told what to think before they see it. If you remember back to the Sparlock video even witnesses thought it was a spoof video because seeing the message without the wrap around of doctrine and thought control simply made it look ridiculous.
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  103

  Do some x witnesses shock you despite being one?

  by Seraphim23 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  [if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml /> <o:allowpng /> </o:officedocumentsettings> </xml><![endif].

  [if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:trackmoves /> <w:trackformatting /> <w:punctuationkerning /> <w:validateagainstschemas /> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:saveifxmlinvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:ignoremixedcontent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext> <w:donotpromoteqf /> <w:lidthemeother>en-gb</w:lidthemeother> <w:lidthemeasian>x-none</w:lidthemeasian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>x-none</w:lidthemecomplexscript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> <w:dontgrowautofit /> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark /> <w:enableopentypekerning /> <w:dontflipmirrorindents /> <w:overridetablestylehps /> </w:compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont m:val="cambria math" /> <m:brkbin m:val="before" /> <m:brkbinsub m:val="&#45;-" /> <m:smallfrac m:val="off" /> <m:dispdef /> <m:lmargin m:val="0" /> <m:rmargin m:val="0" /> <m:defjc m:val="centergroup" /> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440" /> <m:intlim m:val="subsup" /> <m:narylim m:val="undovr" /> </m:mathpr></w:worddocument> </xml><!

  [endif][if gte mso 10]> <style> /* style definitions */ table.msonormaltable {mso-style-name:"table normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-language:en-us;} </style> <![endif].

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  nugget

  I have learnt not to be judgemental. If someone has lost their belief system and their friends and family then it is likely they will manifest symptoms similar to bereavement. Anger is unsurprising and a hostile reaction to religion is not unexpected. To assume that these are not valid responses to the pain and rejection they are suffering and to suggest that everyone has to be well mannered and respectful is a little unrealistic. As has been said we do not know all that has happened to another individual.

  Everyone has the right to reach their own conclusions about God and to make their own choices. I do not find it offensive when people offer alternative points of view. Rather I find the debate stimulating and refreshing. Conformity is not condusive to robust challenges and after all isn't it better to revisit ideas and beliefs and find out how they stand up to scrutiny rather than blindly follow without question.

  We are individuals we choose how we behave, sometimes we react instinctively but we share the pain of being tainted by an organisation that cares more for itself than for the people it claims to serve. I have been inspired by many of the examples of ex witnesses here and elsewhere and the only shock I feel is that the organisation is still able to do damage to so mahy lives and there are still people out there who blindly follow it.
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  70

  WT August 15, 2013 QFR - Sitting next to a disfellowshipped child at meetings

  by Designer Stubble in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  page 8 of the latest wt (insider version) has a whole page dedicated to the question whether it is appropriate to sit next to a disfellowshipped child at meetings.. not sure how to paste this in, but check jw.org.

  perhaps someone can do this for me.. horrible, no words really on how pharisee like their cult grip and control has become!.

  first of all, without any shame they are talking about disfellowshipped minors.

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  nugget

  Truly despicable. Any religion that goes into this level of detail about whether you can sit with your children has lost the plot. How can a parent not see the cruelty in this. I feel for all those minor children, forced to get baptised at an early age who now are caught up in this hell.
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  31

  What Do You Typically Read For News On The Internet or On TV?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i rarely watch fox news.

  but i do read the drudge report every day.

  on drudge, there are tons of newspaper links which i typically read from..

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  nugget

  radio
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  42

  Leaving...

  by LouBelle in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just broke down in such an ugly cry at work.

  walked outside and just sobbed my guts out.

  i am so very unhappy here.

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  nugget

  LouBelle, you have a plan to change your job try this plan first. This is what your rationale self was saying to you. Sleep and see how you are in the morning.
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  42

  Leaving...

  by LouBelle in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just broke down in such an ugly cry at work.

  walked outside and just sobbed my guts out.

  i am so very unhappy here.

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  nugget

  I was once in a job where my passive aggressive boss made me feel so bad I knew I had to leave. I knew I was good at what I did but went home constantly feeling whatever I did was not good enough. Sometimes you are so deep in a situation you think there is no solution and you start losing your self esteeem. If you are feeling so low where you are then you need to leave before the job drives you insane. Other people will appreciate you and value you. So long as you have a strategy and a plan to move things forward and can cope in the short term between jobs you will be better off in the long term.
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  17

  Good Info for people that might get cancer

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://tv.greenmedinfo.com/every-doctor-knows-chemotherapy-causes-cancer-says-surgeon/.

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  nugget

  Cancer is not one disease it is many and chances of surviving are based on a wide range of factors. It is very dangerous to suggest that because one person survived by eating nuts and drinking organic soya milk that this is the cure for everyone. If it was really that easy then thousands of people who follow strict diets would all survive and doctors would be using it as a treatment. Charities who are dedicated to fighting cancer and finding cures would insist on it. The truth is people still die whatever they eat although some very lucky people survive, they would also have survived if they followed conventional treatment. People survive following conventional treatments although for some it is not enough and they would still have died if they ate an organic diet.

  A persons treatment plan is as individual as the cancer they are fighting and I would trust my life to those with years of experience treating it rather than some random person who was also extremely lucky.
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  11

  Elder left a calling card - what's with that?

  by Julia Orwell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  he called me a week or two ago offering 'assistance' and told me he'd pop by some time with 'a packet of biscuits' and i told him to ring before he came so as not to show up unannounced.

  we went out yesterday, and this morning i find a little business card-sized calling card obviously printed up on ms word and cut with scissors.

  on it is printed, "sorry i missed you," and has his name and number, and the scripture from romans saying something about an interchange of encouragement.. pretty inoccuous right?

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  nugget

  It is stressful because it shows a complete disrespect for your thoughts, feelings and expressed wishes. It means that they can and will visit unannounced and that they are in control of when they turn up at your house and not you. It is basically an effort to reassert their authority however clumsy.

  However that being said your home is your home and if they turn up announced then state that further visits are unwelcome unless they are expressly invited since they have not respected your wishes. You are aware of their concern and know where they are so will contact them if you have need of their assistance and encouragement. Then say goodbye and shut the door. How polite you choose to be will depend on you and your circumstances. They only have the power over them we choose to give them.
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  35

  What to say if JW tells you the big A is coming very soon, Jehovah's day will come here like a thief? etc..

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i like terry's topic about noah's day not being armageddon enough.

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  nugget

  Didn't you hear it's been here since 1975, I'm sorry you didn't make the cut.