dandingus

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Posts by dandingus

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  7

  KY STATE TROOPER

  by RR in

  1. social
  2. humour

  a kentucky state trooper was patrolling late at night off the main highway.

  he sees a couple in a car, with the interior light brightly glowing.

  he carefully approaches the car to get a closer look.

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  dandingus

  Nice.
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  55

  Does "God" Exist?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you believe in "god" at all?.

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  dandingus

  I cannot prove that "god" exists, and I cannot prove that he/she/it does not.

  I only know that everything good or bad that has ever happend to me (or anyone else I know or have ever heard of) has been the result of a choice made by a human or other physical being, or something that can be explained by science.

  How do you measure "god"? How can it be observed? God enters the realm of our imagination where anything is possible, but nothing is provable. To quote Star Trek yet again on this thread: Kiri-Kin-Tha's First Law of Metaphysics - "Nothing unreal exists".
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  36

  How Were YOU Treated In Your Hall?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  were you a fish out of water?.

  were you popular in your congregation?.

  were you a "marked" person?.

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  dandingus

  There were 2 classes of people---those without $$$ and those with. I would notice how those less fortunate would look down upon those with money.

  We had those same two classes in my congregation, but it was the other way around. IF you DIDN'T have money you were looked down upon because there were a lot of closely related families with old money that thought they were all better than everyone else.

  Were you a fish out of water?

  Were you popular in your congregation?

  Were you a "marked" person?

  I was generally well liked, but was still always kept at arms length by everyone. Sometimes it was because I didn't have enough money to fit in with the rich snobs. And sometimes it was even because I was "too goody goody" for some and they were affraid I'd rat them out to the elders!

  Either way I couldn't win no matter what I did as far as making friends. But I can't say I was ever "marked". I was very straight-laced. Too much so, really, in hindsight.
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  146

  What Stupid Things Were You Counseled For?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've always been told that i have a very good personality, that i'm humorous, etc.. one elder called me over and said that i was "smiling too much".

  the other elders talked to the elder who counseled me and he came back to say that i should be like i was .

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  dandingus

  Got counseled once for telling a sister (we were both about 19 at the time) that her dress looked nice.

  Apparently that "made her feel uncomfortable". And here I thought women liked to be complimented on their appearance if they put forth the effort to look especially attractive on a particular day. Obviously not this one.

  And of course, later I got talked to for holding my girlfriend's hand. We were both in our twenties and had been dating for months. We were just walking down the street holding hands and talking (not in field service or at a meeting) and an elder saw us. Got an earful about "innappropriate displays of affection for unmarried persons", yada, yada, yada...
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  41

  Breaking News: Police Arrest JW Elder for Creating Chaos at Hospital

  by Scott77 in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  a jehovah witness man, kwabena afum and his wife, margret afum aka abena oduma, have had a brush with the law after creating an unnecessary chaotic scene at new edubiase government hospital in a bid to prevent medical officers from giving blood to their son.. .

  kwabena afum was arrested last week tuesday and granted a police enquiry bail the next day for causing panic and chaos by allegedly mobilizing some members of his church to foment trouble at the hospital.. .

  he has since disowned five-year-old jepheth asamoah, who is currently in the custody of the social welfare department in the district, even after his release.. .

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  dandingus

  That poor child. He probably had no idea what was even going on.
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  36

  What Are You Going To Do For Mother's Day?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  anything?

  ?.

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  dandingus

  Took my mom out to a nice dinner the other night, and today we're going to my grandmother's house to visit.
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  41

  Was the Circuit Oversear treated like "a god" in your Congregation!!!

  by Witness 007 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  many ass kissers would put their name down so they could have him over for dinner......"okay now, they can't eat milk products,red meat, white meat, flour, sugar, salt, water...." .

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  dandingus

  I never personally treated them any differently just because they were Circuit or District Overseers. But I did talk to them and get to know them all since I was a regular Pioneer and Ministerial Servant for years and would invariably end up in their car group at some point during the week. In fact, I was so zealous that I found I had more in common with the average CO whenever he would come around than the elders in my hall who were mostly power hungry and materialistic.

  One CO in particular we had sort of "took my under his wing" and would assign me to his own group EVERY DAY while he was there, the whole time going on about Bethel or Ministerial Training School. He was also my instructor for Pioneer School. And he went out of his way to get me on the Circuit Assembly program a couple of times, getting me to retell experiences that I shared with him in field service to the whole circuit.

  But I never kissed his ass. I just happened to like the guy and he seemed to like me as well. It was clear to some others that I was sort of his favorite and a few were quite openly jealous of that because they were "trying to get noticed" so they could be appointed as well.

  The ironic part was that I was the one who ended up getting that attention but I NEVER did any of it for show or to "get noticed" myself. I treated every assignment that came along like it had come from God himself and in my mind they were just men like me.

  I didn't suck up at all, and neither did I put them on a pedestal. In retrospect I wonder if that is why many of them liked me? Because I WASN'T an ass-kiss? Hhmmm.... ??? Never thought about that before. Interesting...
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  64

  Did leaving the WT build greater appreciation for or kill your reading of the Bible?

  by lepermessiah in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am really on the fence on this issue right now and would love some opinions.. i find that i dont sit down and read the bible for long periods since becoming inactive, but on the other hand, individual scriptures mean much more to me now.. i will sit down and look up some favorite passages from time to time and feel like its the first time i really "got it" - without the jw goggles on.

  i love matthew chapter 23, since i think it describes to a tee the situation in jw congregations.

  i think if jesus returned today, he would blast the elders and "leaders" of the borg in a similar fashion (along with most religious leaders) .matthew 24 is actually more interesting to me now, simply because my whole life was waiting for the 1914 generation to end sometime during the reagan era!

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  dandingus

  For me, leaving the Watchtower was the conclusion to the slow death of my faith in man and God. It didn't kill my reading of the bible altogether though, as I still do on occasion. But it is definitely with new eyes, as my perceptions have been altered dramatically. I read it now as a skeptic and cynic.

  To me, religion in general just seems to always be human beings inventing things in a pitiful attempt to explain things larger than themselves that they cannot understand. Or as a way to assuage their fear of death, they create fantasies in an irrational and desperate attempt to perpetuate their existance, refusing to even consider the concept that their lives are finite.

  There is wisdom in the bible though (as in many religious or philosophical works) and that wisdom can be useful. But is it God's wisdom or man's own common sense showing through beneath the veil of the myths he creates? I am not arguing for one case or the other. I'm still undecided.

  So while leaving religion did not "kill" my studies of spiritual things in general and the bible specifically, neither did it enhance my appreciation for them.

  Good question! I enjoyed reading many of the responses, especially Terry's story about the angels and Gladiator's analysis.

  For what it's worth, even though I'm coming from the opposite point of view on religion and christianity, I agree with tec about the fig tree story. I believe it was always intended as an illustrative instrument and was not simply a petulant Jesus throwing a tantrum at a poor, defenseless tree. Still sucked to be the tree though. Not its fault it was barren.
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  138

  What year Did you Stop Attending Meetings - How Long were you a JW ?

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm trying to compare some statistics and figures on this to share later in the thread to see if more long-time witnesses are exiting- or are newer witnesses exiting after a shorter period of time.

  and - are more people exiting in the last 10 to 15 years than before.

  so your answers would be helpful in looking into this .

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  dandingus

  Born in. Baptized in early 1997 at 16. Last meeting was December 2004. So, 8 years baptized, but 24 total.
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  150

  Which poster would you like to have a beer (or Pepsi for the sober peeps) with? Why?

  by serenitynow! in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've lurking for months, and have enjoyed the various personalities on the board.

  i'm pretty sure that i've seen this topic done on an old thread, but i don't want to get my buddy asilentone all riled up by performing a resurrection.

  minimus- cause he is funny.

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  dandingus

  SD-7 and Minimus, because I think we have some things in common and similar ways of thinking, so the conversation should be enjoyable.

  Or maybe I should switch that to a Jack and Coke, Min?

  And I'd certainly take Snowbird up on her RC-Cola! She's a sweetheart.

  I would crack one with any of you. All of you.

  I agree!