joelbear

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Posts by joelbear

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  12

  who would you trust

  by joelbear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  taking the watchtower society out of the equation.. who would you trust more based on your history with them, the witnesses you have known throughout your life or the people you have interacted with here on this board?.

  i wish people nothing but peace, but i certainly hope people have another source of peace and support in their life than this group of people offers.

  joel

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  joelbear

  HUGS Venice,

  Exactly the type of response I wanted to get. We in so many cases are ALL people have to turn to.

  So much more that we should think carefully about how we use this public forum that is soooo unique and sooooo needed.

  How many others like you have come here tearfully hoping for new association and a safe place to just BE for a while and see Asshole Wars or name calling or public bickering and just left despondently.

  Whenever I read an angry post with racial slurs or just mean language, I think, okay, picture someone who desperately needs someone to trust. Are they us?

  hugs

  Joel
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  12

  who would you trust

  by joelbear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  taking the watchtower society out of the equation.. who would you trust more based on your history with them, the witnesses you have known throughout your life or the people you have interacted with here on this board?.

  i wish people nothing but peace, but i certainly hope people have another source of peace and support in their life than this group of people offers.

  joel

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  joelbear

  I wish you peace natred. My apologies that my web site disturbed you.
  Some of it is provocative and I do realize that it offends some.

  peace to you and all

  Joel
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  10

  Do You Think WTS Reacts to Internet Info?

  by Had Enough in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  while i was an active jw, i remember so often that whenever we had a question that couldn't be answered, we would hear: "just wait a little bit and you can be sure it will be brought out in an article soon.

  " and sure enough, it happened just like that, time and time again.. my topic title question has been rolling around in my head ever since hearing the talks and the drama dialogue as i posted earlier on the topic "dc subtle propaganda".. the wts obviously knows many of its members are lurking here and other sites, and their lies are getting more exposure than ever before, and i feel as though the org is keeping tabs on these sites.

  many here have been telling their experiences and life stories revealing many skeletons from the wts closet, openly criticizing the attitudes and harsh actions of the org.. these are just a few of the phrases hammered at repeatedly as reminders at the dc this past weekend:.

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  joelbear

  If anything, this board supports their position about what life is like outside the organization.
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  12

  who would you trust

  by joelbear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  taking the watchtower society out of the equation.. who would you trust more based on your history with them, the witnesses you have known throughout your life or the people you have interacted with here on this board?.

  i wish people nothing but peace, but i certainly hope people have another source of peace and support in their life than this group of people offers.

  joel

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  joelbear

  Taking the Watchtower Society out of the equation.

  Who would you trust more based on your history with them, the witnesses you have known throughout your life or the people you have interacted with here on this board?

  I wish people nothing but peace, but I certainly hope people have another source of peace and support in their life than this group of people offers.

  Joel
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  20

  Why DO they stay?

  by BugEye in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there is much discussion of the "dumbness" of those still in and the reason that they stay.. some of the reasons that i have seen are:.

  they want everything in black and white.. they prefer to leave thinking to others.. they are scared to be shunned.. they are just ignorant souls who are on the "opium of the people".

  they dont want others to think bad of them.. while i agree that there is no one single reason and that everyone is different, i feel that the real reason is a much deeper one.

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  joelbear

  My parents have nowhere else to go. They have given their life to the org and are now just waiting to die. They haven't lived and they know it. They are so ingrained that the Kingdom Hall is their existence. What is odd is that they have no witness friends. They seldom socialize. They actually don't really like most of the witnesses in their community.

  Most of my old Valdosta friends are in the same boat. They don't have any alternatives to the org, so it doesn't really come up as a decision making process. They live more than my parents do, but are really content with their very simple lives.

  Most of my old Jacksonville friends stay for social connections. Most of the people I knew there hadn't really changed their lifestyle much to be witnesses, unlike my Valdosta friends who shunned college and careers, my friends in Jacksonville were all educated and lived in upper middle class to upper class houses and subdivisions. Other than not celebrating holidays, they resemble their "worldly" counterparts. But they have lots of witness friends and so its easier for them to stay as witnesses.
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  4

  Totally off topic.....but funny as hell!!!

  by closer2fine in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  london (reuters) - a british woman has published photographs of her boyfriend wearing skimpy panties and a bra on the internet to avenge his cheating ways.. the 22-year-old, who identified herself only as "the pimptress," said boyfriend "tom" had asked her never to show the snaps of him in various poses wearing her shiny red underwear.. "guess he shouldn't have cheated with my best m8," she wrote, using for the word "mate" the abbreviated text message language popular for communicating by mobile phone.. the picture gallery of 20 snaps includes shots of "tom" trying to squeeze on a pair of girl's cowboy boots and putting on makeup.. http://www.uboot.com/u/pimptress

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  joelbear

  Guys, if you just go ahead and post these pics yourself, you can stop worrying and open up yourself to a whole new dating experience at the same time.

  snorts

  Joel
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  51

  When did you think Armageddon would come?

  by comment in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was just thinking about this.

  having been raised "in the truth" post-1975, i didn't grow up with any specific year in mind.

  yes, there was the notion of "this generation will by no means pass away," but by the time i was old enough to think about that concept, the people who were born in 1914 (to stretch it out as far as possible, as the society ultimately did) were still only in their 60's.

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  joelbear

  I remember that when I was a little kid, I would count up in my head how old I would be when Armageddon came and I would have to endure torture for being a witness. I was 17 in 1975.

  But, I stopped believing that when I was about 15. All the things that needed to occur were no where near happening. I forget the order specifically now, but it was something like.

  1. Nations declare peace and security.
  2. Religion is destroyed.
  3. Great tribulation starts (JWs are hunted down simultaneously)
  4. Armageddon comes where Jehovah destroys the nations attacking his people.

  None of these of course happened in the 70s. Neither does Religion look like it is going anywhere now. It would certainly take a major event to turn billions away from religion in a short period of time. Thing is, most people get more religious during bad times.

  I don't see it happening sociologically. People mistrust their governments far more than they mistrust their religions. If anything, I could see religion destroying government before the vice versa occurred. Look at the Muslim countries where religion is the state. Can you see Iran and Saudi Arabia outlawing Islam?

  But, I continue to spectate and see what happens.

  hugs

  Joel
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  8

  The Astrodome Was Half Empty or Half Full?

  by Big Jim in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the district assembly in houston tx last weekend was a trip!.

  first of all i was obliged to go because my daughter was babtised.. it was the longest day that i have had in some years now.

  i guess the longest day i have had since i quit the non-truth 5 years ago.. there was about 15,000 plus in attendance,for anyone who knows how big the astrodome is you would understand what a small group it appeared to be in that big dome.i attended a international assembly there back in 1975 i believe it was,and the dome was packed.. i have also been to many district assemblys there and there was always at least 20,000 plus in attendance.. i made good use of my waisted time and made some observations that i thought i would share with you.. here they are:.

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  joelbear

  The keep moving signs had nothing to do with crowds, they were designed to keep people from socializing during the program.

  yawnful hugs

  Joel
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  11

  Free literature?

  by Andyman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i haven't been over here for a long time, looks pretty busy.. i am in a discussion on another board about the "donation" arrangement.

  the jw's claim "all" literature is free, and nobody id pressured into "donating" for what they take from the hall.. now in my old congregation that wasn't so.

  we were reminded all the time about "donations" and making sure we asked for donations in the field service.

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  joelbear

  I remember somewhere, maybe it was pagan writing or something that said,

  you received free, give free
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  80

  Funny story about VeniceIT

  by Mulan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  by popular demand, i am yielding to pressure, to tell a story about our very own veniceit.. in march, venice and her parents were visiting us here in washington state, and we all had dinner at our daughter's home one evening.

  (my daughter posts here as princess) princess's son, 4 years old, was quite taken with venice and was showing her around the house.

  he was going up the stairs ahead of her, and turned around, face first at her rather, ummm, er, ample?

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  joelbear

  Well,

  Yall know already how I feel about breasts.

  shudder

  leoj