Posts by dandingus

i'm reading crisis of conscience right now and even raymond franz mentioned in his book that ted jaracz didnt vote during governing body sessions based off of 'a gut feeling' like dan sydlik and lyman swingle did, but voted based off of having 'a mean spirit (dont quote me on that) but bascially got an overall vibe that ted jaracz was not a very nice man.

and whats this about the child abuse policy that he enforced?

what did he do that made every ex-jw's in america hate him?

dandingus

I can't speak to how "evil" he was. But I actually did meet him in person at Bethel. I was assigned to his table for breakfast for a little while. On the surface he was actually quite nice, but I always got the vibe that he was extremelly serious and there was something about him I couldn't place. And people definitely gave him preferential treatment in lots of little ways. At the time, I guess I was guilty of that myself. I considered it an honor to get to be so close to one of them. I just assumed it was a bit of "hero worship" because he was a member of the Governing Body and therefore people were going out of their way to please him. But now having heard the stories I wonder how much of that was due to his personality as much as his position? Maybe they were just going out of their way to stay on the man's "good side"? But that was the thing about my experience with Jaracz. There was always a smile on the surface, even if there was something else underneath. He seemed kind of Passive-Aggressive to me, with the potential to switch to full on agressive if you rubbed him the wrong way.

24

Did your Kingdom Hall have kitchen?

by asilentone in

someone told me there are few kingdom halls with kitchens, i was surprised about it.

.

dandingus

Ours had two microwaves, a sink, and a mini fridge in the conference room. Not really a full kitchen, but it was enough for the pioneers to chill or heat up their lunch.

8

A Treatise on 1914, by sd-7

by sd-7 in

jw
friends

"1914 repaired".

no year has more profoundly been pointed to for jehovahs witnesses than 1914. it is such a pivotal part of their theological superstructure that the following quote can be found in the book benefitting from theocratic ministry school education on page 279:.

this good news of the kingdom.

dandingus

Awesome SD-7! Definitely bookmarked.

28

I found myself defending Jw's against this unscrupulous Christian!!

by AK - Jeff in

i detest the religion of jehovah's witnesses.

deeply.

anyone who has followed my posting here for the past 6 years can attest to that!.

dandingus

I'm with cyberjesus on this one Jeff. I wouldn't say that you were "defending" the witnesses as much as you were defending the "truth" about the witnesses. In this case, the facts were being distorted by this author for his own interests, as almost any active or former witness could tell instantly. I would have "defended" the actual, factual truth just as you did. What is, is. And no amount of lies will change that, no matter whose lies they are.

26

Did You Ever Really Listen At The Meetings?

by minimus in

jw
friends

toward the end of my meeting attendance, i started to pay attention (as best as i could) to what was being said and that was truly the final nail in the coffin.. when you actually decipher the "reasoning" of the "truth", you can't help but see things clearly..

dandingus

When I was young, no I did not often pay very good attention. But for a while before I was baptized, and ever since then I did pay attention most of the time.

The exception would have been that when I had a part on the meeting (which was fairly often) I found it difficult to focus on the other talks before mine because I was mentally reviewing the material. Of course, everyone has days when you just can't seem to concentrate.

I also thought it was harder to pay attention at the assemblies than the meetings at the local hall. This is probably just due to the length of the meeting (all day versus a few hours). The afternoon parts were always the killer. ...

So, yeah, I usually did pay attention pretty well for the most part.

72

Head Count request, are you male or female? Lets count!

by asilentone in

at her recent thread, changeling was asking us if there are more men than women leaving the org.

lets find out.. .

i am a male.

dandingus

Male

44

Did you ever go through a period of obsession with all things WT related upon your awakening?

by miseryloveselders in

jw
friends

when i was a firm believer that the wts was god's chosen organization, i didn't really research too much.

never gave much thought to other opinions.

if the insight book said so, than it was factual.

dandingus

miseryloveselders - I'm still preoccupied by it quite often. Just the other night on my way home from work I was doing exactly what you were doing: talking to myself. In this case it was about Faith vs Doubt as it applies to witness thinking. I was making an argument that the concept that "someone who has doubts is dangerous" is unfounded.

undercover -You said:

I think that "born-ins" who really accepted it and believed it well into their adulthood probably have a harder time letting it all go as opposed to someone who came in later in life and then figured out they had made a bad decision.

As a "born-in", I can say that I firmly agree with this statement. My mother was not "born-in" and she is having a much easier time coping.

33

Music that represents our :"Waking Up"

by Scarred for life in

jw
friends

we sometimes have had threads where people post songs that have a lot of meaning to them after leaving the jw cult.

one song that is frequently mentioned is hotel california.

there is another song that is mentioned frequently that is from the last 5 years or so.

dandingus

I always liked:

Linkin Park - Numb

I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)

[Chorus]
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you

Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
And every second I waste is more than I can take

And I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you

Metallica - Holier Than Thou

No more!
The craps rolls out your mouth again
Haven't changed, your brain is still gelatin
Little whispers circle around your head
Why don't you worry about yourself instead

Who are you? where ya been? where ya from?
Gossip is burning on the tip of your tongue
You lie so much you believe yourself
Judge not lest ye be judged yourself

[Chorus]

Holier than thou
You are
Holier than thou
You are

You know not

Before you judge me take a look at you
Can't you find somethig better to do
Point the finger, slow to understand
Arrogance and ignorance go hand in hand

It's not who you are it's who you know
Others lives are the basis of your own
Burn your bridges build them back with wealth
Judge not lest ye be judged yourself

Holier than thou
You are
Holier than thou
You are

You know not

Metallica - The Unforgiven

New blood joins this earth
And quikly he's subdued
Through constant pained disgrace
The young boy learns their rules

With time the child draws in
This whipping boy done wrong
Deprived of all his thoughts
The young man struggles on and on he's known
A vow unto his own
That never from this day
His will they'll take away

[Chorus]

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never be
Never see
Won't see what might have been

What I've felt
What I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven

They dedicate their lives
To running all of his
He tries to please them all
This bitter man he is
Throughout his life the same
He's battled constantly
This fight he cannot win
A tired man they see no longer cares
The old man then prepares
To die regretfully
That old man here is me

You labeled me
I'll label you
So I dub the unforgiven

Metallica - The God That Failed

Pride you took
Pride you feel
Pride that you felt when you'd kneel

Not the word
Not the love
Not what you thought from above

It feeds
It grows
It clouds all that you will know
Deceit
Deceive
Decide just what you believe

[Chorus]

I see faith in your eyes
Never your hear the discouraging lies
I hear faith in your cries
Broken is the promise, betrayal
The healing hand held back by the deepened nail

Follow the god that failed

Find your peace
Find your say
Find the smooth road in your way

Trust you gave
A child to save
Left you cold and him in grave

It feeds
It grows
It clouds all that you will know
Deceit
Deceive
Decide just what you believe [Chorus again, verse variations, more chorus, etc.]

Follow the god that failed

And yeah, Leper Messaiah is great too. I guess, pretty much lots of Metallica. But then, I'm a metal head, personally.