Been totally out for four decades. Left way before 1975 and was so out of it all even then that I forgot about that lame date untill 1976. I didn't even know this and other EX JW sites even existed untill last October......is that far enough out for you Minimus? LOL I'm happy as a clam that I didn't lose any more years.
Giordano
JoinedPosts by Giordano
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48
Are YOU Totally Out Of The JW Mindset?
by minimus indo you no longer think and react like a jw?.
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136
Life after death
by truthseeker ineveryone has different views about life after death and whether or not it is a possibility.. as jehovah's witnesses, we were always taught that there is no life after death, that this is the only life we have now and that the wages of sin is death.. .
what are your views on life after death?.
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Giordano
Well for those, in general, who have a pressing need to believe, your view of the hereafter is certainly yours......... for which I can not be too thankfull.
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help appreciated...any success or failures at truly conscious efforts to make new friends after a life in jwland? As a very social person i still only seem to have ex-dubs as my new friends...
by oompa inas a jw...at least if you were social...you could walk into about any hall and find other social jw's you could become friends with...yes they are conditional...perhaps more so than other friends, but i did have some great friends there and i still miss them.
since my wake up....then departure....now df status....i realize that i have had only seven or so real friends and five were found here..... five are fairly local, one is far away, and one is an old high school friend i have reconnected with (lives a thousand miles away).....and i have met some nice people through these friends but they are more aquaintances than close friends.
the bar scene did not really get me anywhere with guys or girls...and i tried meetup.com but as of yet have not connected with anyone....so what worked for you?
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Giordano
We are social animals and we do need companionship. Over the years I discovered ways to develope relationships. I'll tailor them to someone who is not going to have a wife/husband by their side.
Instead of thinking in terms of friendships think in terms of commonality. If you have something in common it's easier to enjoy some level of companionship on a regular basis. For instance I play chess once a week at my local library and or the coffe shop. A number of people I play with have become friends. It's a slow and casual process but we had a common purpose (to improve our game and kick one anothers butts). Meeting once a week provides an opportunity to get to know one another. Bowling with a group accomplishes the same thing. Swimming laps doesn't.
I do volunteer work but it was only when I was asked to be on the board did I have the opportunity to really get to know the others. Shared work and shared responsibilites created opportunites for friendships to develop.
I noticed that my wife enjoyed lunch with her girlfriends, one day I kidded her that I was never invited. She counted that if I wanted lunch partners call some guys. I thought about it and did so. A friend accepted and we had lunch, the conversation was great and a few lunchs later I invited another friend from the chess group and that worked out well. We talk about books, movies a little bit of current events..... the conversation goes where it goes. When I discovered this site I told them about ex witnesses and what my experience was like. They were agast at what it's like to be a JW.
So look for something that you would like to do or be a part of that other people are interested in and where there are opportunites to meet together on a more or less regular basis. Or buy a Harley Davidson and you'll have instant friends LOL.
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Life after death
by truthseeker ineveryone has different views about life after death and whether or not it is a possibility.. as jehovah's witnesses, we were always taught that there is no life after death, that this is the only life we have now and that the wages of sin is death.. .
what are your views on life after death?.
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Giordano
Thank you Nickolas! Your always a breath of fresh air.
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Favourite books
by watersprout inwhat are your favourite books?.
do you have a book that inspired you?.
a book that you read over and over again?.
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Giordano
Many of these lists are head spinning....... talk about eclectic! Is that the key to leaving the JW's? Fascination and delight in a wide range of issues and subjects?
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How would you respond to this JW apologist II - THE SEQUEL
by Black Man inas you know, i'm embroiled in a family and internet debate/dialogue w/jws the last few days.
and you all have been helping get great points in.
the text that i'm about to post come from a jw apologist who has acknowledge some of my comments about jws being a cult and that no tolerance for questioning them is one of the signs of a cult.
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Giordano
These are remarkably thoughtful responses to Black Man's question.
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Giordano
Welcome to the forum. By the way good design and simple graphics are an effective way to advance a point of view. If you wanted more detail you would have put in more detail. You showed your chops on the bottom portrait.
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Should the GB be charged with crimes against humanity?
by punkofnice ini get really angry when i think of how the gb have callously allowed lives to be ruined.
protected child molesters.
caused deaths because of a weird blood doctrine.
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Giordano
There is too much religious freedom (freedom from property taxes for instance) and not enough freedom from religion.
But on a number of occasions the Federal Gov. has put it's foot down.
On an issue like Polgamy the Us Gov. was ready to march against the Mormons, the mormons changed their tune in a hurry. The Civil rights act 'encouraged' churchs to welcome everyone. The Government also prosecutes child abuse, be it religiously motivated/justified. There is no freedom to abuse your child even if your religion tells you it's the right thing to do.
However when it comes to witness minors dying for want of blood they don't prosecute the WTBTS. A body count should be made of witness minors who died and adults who were coerced into rejecting blood.
Perhaps a new law needs to be forged...... Religously inspired Crimes against Humanity.
We just executed OSAMA because his religious beliefs allowed him to plan and order the death of thousands and the US Gov said BS to that.
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Is Armageddon a REAL EVENT to the GB like 9/11 is to the rest of us?
by Terry inall of us are aware of the startling and terrifying events of 2001, or 9/11 as it is commonly termed.. airplanes were hijacked and flown into the world trade center killing over a thousand innocent people.. this experience is vivid enough in our memory and consciousness so that it can serve as a significant illustration of what follows.. .
now i want you to imagine that you and a group of your friends received ironclad evidence ahead of the 9/11 event.
the evidence is from.
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Giordano
No they don't believe it, it's a marketing ploy. Follow the money. They produce a product, publications, that are profitable because of free labor and with those profits and donations they invest in all kinds of real estate (and on Wall Street). Mortgages for Kingdom Halls provide a stable return. Assembly buildings are very very profitable. Rental property, office buildings etc. They keep them untill they generate a real return then sell them. The WT makes money hand over fist.
On the other hand they don't invest more then a token amount in getting the message out there. The world is ending ? Billions will die? Let's buy this valuable real estate in Brooklyn and hold on to it for a decade or so.
They embrace the new technology that allows them to print more stuff more efficiently and build better permanent buildings but when it comes to getting out the word they do not embrace modern technology but a method that is 2,000 years old and free. Plodding house to house.
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Out of the cult? You ARE Lucky!
by mentallyfree31 injust wanted to share an experience i had yesterday, that made me realize just how lucky i am to be out of this cult.
brief background: when i graduated high school in 1995, i started doing janitorial worker (shocker!!
) while pioneering.
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Giordano
My wife and I walked out in the late 1960's. We were serving where the the need was great as pioneers and I was also the assistant presiding minister (1960's terms), ministry school conductor, gave 30 one hour talks (big boy talks) in a 2 year period and other various jobs including taking care of the publishers cards (or whatever they were called back then). It took us two years to fade and it was all unknown territory as there was no organized opposition or books one could draw on for encouragement. They had just focused on 1975 as the probable end of this old world and of course vietnam was ragging and sucking up age appropriate young men in the draft. Hell of a time to leave the JW world.
So after an intense year of private study and conversations we deprogramed ourselves said 'screw this, they've made it all up' and we left. Nothing like moving out of the area. Before we left however I pulled our publishers cards! They can have them back if they give us back our four years of service, missed education etc.
Out of the Cult? Yes indeed we were lucky. I was 23, my wife was 20, we had our whole lives ahead of us and............. my how good it's been!
P.S. A beautiful son came along and that was it for Vietnam though it was a close one for a while. 1975? By then I had totally forgotten about it the way you totally forget about stepping in dog crap. You scrape it off and move on.