Posts by drewcoul

78

May 22, 1969 Awake! promises "you will never grow old" - Creative Writing

by Mad Sweeney in

jw
friends

the year is 1969. faithful followers of the watchtower society are gearing up for the imminent end of the system of things just as they had been for the previous ninety years.

a young witness named andrew is trying to decide what to do with his life.

andrew is a smart kid and he has an entire lifetime ahead of him.

drewcoul

Mad Sweeney,

In one word: Excellent!

I a bunch of words: This really nails it. We all know people who are like Andrew. I remember a friend of mine who was an elder and who would be in this age group as he graduated in 1969. He married a sister from the hall and they both wanted children. Of course, it was very unpopular to have children since the end was so close, so they never did. Although he has made a nice career working for his father-in-law, he told me that he and his wife both regret not having children. I'm sure there are thousands and perhaps millions of people with similar stories or can relate.

Of course, to point this out to a JW that they were wrong in saying "You will never fulfill a career" they will just say that they are wrong sometimes. Howver, it has been detrimental to so many witnesses and their families.

42

The JW funeral talk outline - poor taste or REALLY poor taste?

by Mr. Falcon in

so i attended a funeral for a jw who passed away (non-"annointed) and i would have to state that although i have heard the standard funeral talk outline for dozens of funerals i've attended, i never really took the time to listen.

and my god, i was cringing.

the outline is essentially broken down like this:.

drewcoul

NVR2L8-

I remember that song very well......But I have NEVER heard it played at a funeral......I'm not saying it never happens, but I have never heard it. Perhaps there was music playing in the background, but no one has ever sang at a Witness funeral that I've ever attended. I have heard more songs sang at "worldly" funerals. Usually, just a single person singing, or the deceased favorite song played on CD, or a song they requested to be played at their funeral.

You said: The main objective of any funeral talk is the good witnessing resulting from a tragic event......

I agree that this is true, however I have attended 12 funerals of family members since Dec of '06. 3 were witnesses. By far the most "preachy" was the non witness funerals. My cousin passed away a week and a half ago, and last week, I attended her funeral. She was studying with the witnesses, but her step father is a minister at a church and he arranged to have one of his colleagues give the funeral service. He almost turned it into a revival. He was getting loud and obnoxious and talking about asking Jesus into your life and how he came to find Jesus etc.....It was far more distasteful than any Witness funeral I've attended.

There were two that I attended last year on my wife's side of the family that were "worldly" and they were very good and dignified.

I'm just saying that overall, my experience has been that witness funerals are more tasteful than non witness funerals. I'm sure there are exceptions.

In light of the above post, only one Witness funeral I have attended recently was in the KH. The others were in funeral homes.

42

The JW funeral talk outline - poor taste or REALLY poor taste?

by Mr. Falcon in

so i attended a funeral for a jw who passed away (non-"annointed) and i would have to state that although i have heard the standard funeral talk outline for dozens of funerals i've attended, i never really took the time to listen.

and my god, i was cringing.

the outline is essentially broken down like this:.

drewcoul

I have never heard a song sang at a Witness funeral EVER and I've been to probably a dozen, including my Dad's. I have never been to a Witness funeral that was anything but respectful. The Elder who gave the talk at my Dad's did a great job and when he brought anything out about the Bible, he would preface it with..."This is what Jim believed......" or "Jim was encouraged by this scripture....."

It couldn't have been more tasteful or respectful.

29

Did This Religion "Screw" You Up & If So--- HOW?

by minimus in

jw
friends

.

drewcoul

WOW!!

FF and Gutted really nailed it.

I got married at 19.......we all know how those turn out.....We have one child who is 17 now. My ex was df'd and got remarried to an elder a couple of years ago.....I have since been df'd and my ex's husband got removed as an elder last week!!!! I must admit, though it was kind of bogus reasons for removing him....

I have found that it still "hangs" with me.....the inferiority complex, and the outcast feeling. My wife doesn't understand why I read this site, or why I post here. It is comforting to read posts from all of you who are made of the same cloth as I am.

33

How can they claim that every prophecy in the bible has a greater fulfilment today???

by highdose in

seems that the gb take every story they can in the bible and claim that although it happened then, it will also happen now.

although this time it will be the gb who is jehosophat, david, paul, jermiah... etc etc take your pick.

what scriptual basis do they have for this belief??

drewcoul

Highdose:

I have wondered this many times. Things that happened in the OT aren't prophecies. They are stories. There is nothing in the Bible to indicate that anything in the OT would have two fulfillments. The only thing that has a future fulfillment are prophecies. I can understand using OT stories as examples, and showing the moral of a story, but to say that everything in the OT is a prophecy just because it happened once is ludicrous.

80

What Doctrines or JW Views Did You Not Find Too Believable?

by minimus in

jw
friends

the thought that a loving creator would violently destroy anyone not belonging to the jehovah's witness religion including billions of babies seemed just not right.. the fact that you could recieve some "acceptable" blood components but could not donate those same lifesaving yourself seemed strange.

you could recieve a blood fraction but you couldn't give it.. any others you can think of?

?.

drewcoul

The idea that we were engaged in a life saving work since anyone who dies before armageddon without being a witness gets resurrected anyway. If they are a witness and fall away before armageddon, and don't come back they will not be resurrected. If you used Pascal's wager theory, you are better off not being a witness than being a witness. It is completely inconceivable that anyone who has been a witness and died is better off than anyone who was never a witness and died. Even the Witnesses own theology proves this to be the case.

27

Email from mom: First Prophecy in at least 20 years fulfilled in the last two weeks ...

by Soldier77 in

if you get a chance, read the latest daniel publication (about 11 years old ...) on page 59-60. whats happening in the middle east and north africa is a fulfillment of that prophecy.. love,.

mom.

so i dust off the ole cdrom and look it up and this is what it says:.

drewcoul

According to what I remember, the final world power in this prophecy was the Anglo-American world power. It had absolutely nothing to do with ANYTHING going on in the middle east.

76

What world events would cause you to run back to the JW,s

by jam in

jw
friends

a year or two after leaving the borg.

i was on shaky ground.. any major catastrophe in the world that took place, i thought.

today i can not think of one single event.

drewcoul

When the WTBS can make ONE prediction that comes true. OR if the UN actually turns on religion like they have said was going to happen (remember the wild beast turning on the harlot?). Then, I must admit, as most of us born in's probably would, I would have to at least consider it.

67

About the Adam and Eve time gap....

by Lozhasleft in

jw
friends

what's got me a bit befuddled is this.... when eve was created she was physically perfect right?

and apparently god blessed them which counted as a marriage.

so....that means that satan's deception of eve must have been almost immediate?....because being perfect she would have conceived virtually straight away, surely?

drewcoul

Do you know what the first thing Adam said to Eve when he saw her?

-"Stand back....I'm not sure how big this thing gets!"

98

Discussion involving my Dad & other long timers - Mood is definately different

by Doubting Bro in

jw
friends

i've seen several posts relating to the mood among longtime jws here recently.

i thought i would add to that collection and recount a discussion i recently had with my dad and a small group of folks about his age.

quick background on the group:.

drewcoul

as I try to explain to people who don't understand JW's... it's not something you ever just "get over."

It's truly a difficult thing to explain. I don't even just mean the pain, I mean the pure craziness and complexity of it all.

Right on! That's why I enjoy this forum. You can't just talk to someone at work or a "worldly" friend about the things we were taught all of our lives. They don't understand. My wife doesn't even understand how even though when someone leaves, they still love the people they knew who they spent hours and hours with in Field service and at conventions, and the fact that these other witnesses were our entire social world. Only we know what it's like, and to me this site is therapeutic for that reason.