Posts by goatshapeddemon

i'm interested in knowing whether any other faders out there ever find themselves feeling a little paranoid about establishing contact with other faders or former jws, just in case the unthinkable happens and things turn sour.. personally, i'm now fairly comfortable with the idea that i will be disfellowshipped or disassociated within the next year or so.

i see it as inevitable, and an essential transition in order to do what i want to do with my life.

goatshapeddemon

Yeah. We're living that dream. Only we (husband and i) don't care if we get DF, but our hands are tied because of the impact to others in the family. Makes it extra hard because we'd like to shout our freedom from the rooftops.

12

Anyone know why Will Gorham was taken off the road?

by goatshapeddemon in

jw
friends

they were a great co couple (he wasn't much of a speaker but...).

heard awhile back they were removed from the circuit work.

curious why..

goatshapeddemon

They were a great CO couple (he wasn't much of a speaker but...). Heard awhile back they were removed from the Circuit Work. Curious why.

8

The dividing of the Rank & File Class

by raymond frantz in

last thursday the letter for the next annual meeting was read as an announcement at the meeting .as you all know this is the first time the gb makes such a big fuss about it as it will be broadcast in many countries at the same time as the one in new york ,or maybe recorded for the countries with many hours difference .it is the first time that they will include members of the rank & file in such any event ,an event which in yester years was strictly only for the top high ranking officials of the watchtower .. my questions are :.

is this a new way to approach their masses ?

stop the allienation between top and bottom ?is this the first time that they also try to visibly divide the rank & file to two classes ?

goatshapeddemon

Love the subject!

8

The Only True Doctor A Parable

by goatshapeddemon in

a friend of mine recently found out a few years back that she had an aggressive form of breast cancer.

she went to many doctors, but all of them told her she had to have a mastectomy and undergo radiation therapy.

that seemed really unappealing to her.

goatshapeddemon

A friend of mine recently found out a few years back that she had an aggressive form of breast cancer. She went to many doctors, but all of them told her she had to have a mastectomy and undergo radiation therapy. That seemed really unappealing to her. She finally was told about a “doctor of last resort” – the doctor people go to when nothing else seems to be working. She had settled on the mastectomy option, but decided first to go see this doctor, just in case.

“I’m here because I have an aggressive form of breast cancer,” she told him when they sat down together in his office. “Everyone else has told me I needed to have a mastectomy and get radiation. That just sounds awful to me but they’ve all said the same thing.”

He nodded gravely. “I’m glad you found me. I am the one true doctor.” He paused for effect. “If you stick to me, I can help you. I’ll even make sure you don’t need a mastectomy.”

She had heard about “false hope” before and found herself a bit skeptical. “The one true doctor? How do you know? Why doesn’t everyone know about you if you can do what you say?”

“Well, for one thing, I have all my patients call me Fred. It’s more personal, that way, see. And that way they can identify me from all the other false doctors out there. Do you know any other doctors who do that?”

“Well, no” she said, “but that doesn’t seem like enough to say you’re the ONE true doctor.”

“Maybe not, but I love my patients very much, and they love me. I even have them come over to my house for dinner – they’re welcome anytime. How many doctors do you know where you see that kind of love shown to complete strangers?”

She frowned. “Well, all of that sounds pretty good, but what about medicine? Where did you go to medical school?”

“That’s another reason I’m the one true doctor. I didn’t need to go to medical school. My textbook was handed down for generations and has the oldest wisdom. I rely on it completely. In fact, that’s where I get the treatment plans.”

“And you’ve been successful with that?” she asked.

“Oh yes. That’s another thing that makes me the only true doctor. Part of my treatment plan is that all of my patients are required to tell all of their coworkers and acquaintances about me. They get a discount if they do, and besides the physical activity helps them. Would you have heard about me from your friends if I wasn’t successful? Wouldn’t they all be dead or go find other doctors?”

She stopped to think for a minute. It seemed like a good argument. She started thinking about all these different reasons Fred showed her to prove that he was the only true doctor. She realized there weren’t any other doctors like him at all. “Is there anything else?” she asked.

“There’s one last thing that you’ll never see another doctor do, one final proof that I’m the one true doctor. All of my patients, you know the ones who have dinner with me every night and call me Fred, they leave their friends and family and they move in with me to get closer supervision over their treatment. And they make friends with the other patients. It’s like a family. You’ve never seen such close relationships. They help each other.”

My friend didn’t have a lot of other friends and she’d never been close with her family, so this all seemed like a good idea to her. And really, it was a lot of evidence – patients got to use his first name and really felt his love and attention. She’d never seen such a unique marketing campaign and his treatment plan, based on the wisdom of the ages and isolated from other kinds of treatment plans seemed like it was worth trying.

At the time I tried to tell her it seemed a little cultish, you know – maybe you should do some research before dedicating too much time and pinning too many hopes on Fred – there are a lot of other doctors out there. She told me I was a doubter and listed off all the reasons why he was the one true doctor.

Three years later, I ran into my friend at the grocery store. I hadn’t seen her in a long time – once she moved to Fred’s none of us saw much of her again. She looked terrible. She was in a wheelchair with an IV drip – one of her friends was pushing her. I asked her how she was doing and she said she was great – Fred said she’d be cured any day now. That was the last time I saw her. At her funeral, I overheard two of her fellow Fred patients talking to each other.

“Apparently she had one last conversation with Fred before she died. She asked Fred why it seemed like the cure was worse than the disease – maybe she should’ve just had that mastectomy. ““Cure” Fred said, “Who said anything about a cure? I told you that I could help you and that you wouldn’t have to have a mastectomy. If you thought I said anything else, you were mistaken.””

105

I'm a Neutral Jehovah's Witness

by Martini in

jw
friends

dear brothers and sisters,.

i martini, will confide in you that i have become a neutral jehovah's witness.

i wonder if i'm not coining a new phrase here!.

goatshapeddemon

Welcome - people might notice and respond more if you post on a new thread.

I would encourage you to stay awhile, even if some of it shocks you - you might be surprised by what you find.

GSD

260

Who Are Your Past Circuit Overseers? It's a small world..

by mentallyfree31 in

who were your past circuit overseers?

i'm sure a lot of us actually know mutual people, as the co's relocate all over the country.. here's a few from the southeast us: (let me know if you recognize any names and post yours too please...).

ellwood johnson (new york/philadelphia area for several years also).

goatshapeddemon

Bill Adams was the worst - a truly despicable man. His wife was just as bad. My moms bible study asked her not to bring her back again.

We had Gorham - his wife was wonderful. I hear they got kicked off the road...?

My brother had Craig Smith - he was a good man and was good to my brother.

My area was where COs came to retire, LOL. Lots came off the road and stayed.

535

AAWA is here!! (The Association of Anti-Watchtower Activists)

by cedars in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcic4g5tulw.

http://www.jwactivists.org.

facebook the association of anti-watchtower activists.

goatshapeddemon

I was posting to say thank you everyone for putting this together but looks like I walked into a shite-storm.