I think he can be reached through Commentary Press http://www.commentarypress.com/
(not actually sure if it is his site or if he is just affiliated with it)
-eduardo
Oroborus21
JoinedPosts by Oroborus21
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7
What happened to the victims of the Bethel inquisition?
by Bonnie_Clyde ini just cracked open my "crisis of conscience" book and reread the chapter, "point of decision.
" i wonder what ever happened to the people who were disfellowshiped and kicked out of bethel.
i know that ed dunlap went back to oklahoma and died not too long ago.
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What Christian religions do not believe in a burning hell?
by jwfacts ini am interested in finding out if christianity still teaches a burning hell.
it is my understanding that they are starting to drop this teaching as just a figurative place.
is that true?.
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Oroborus21
This isn't an answer regarding churches, but it seems to me that I don't know anyone except real fundies that actually believe in any kind of a place of torment (Hell) burning or otherwise or in the Devil for that matter.
It really does seem like in our modern times, these concepts seem quite quaint and it would not surprise me if most churches did not speak of either Hell or the Devil in terms implying or stating that these things were actual realities.
-Eduardo
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What Dub Habits have you kept?(On accident or on Purpose?)
by mama1119 in.
i think that when you are in a cult like the dubs, things stick with you whether you want them to or not.
i still pray before meals and bedtime...anybody else?
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Oroborus21
It isn't a habit per se, but I don't vote and probably never will.
Incidently, some of you answering this topic may be interested in performing my Singer Permanence Test on yourselves. i would be curious to see what answers you post. See the bottom of this page for an explanation http://www.jehovahs-witnesses.info/notacult2.html
-Eduardo
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Questions for those born or raised in the truth
by The wanderer inraised in the organization
"for those not born into the organization .
not having been born into the organization i believe.
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Oroborus21
Sorry I came late to this party but I just wanted to drop my two cents....
like most things, it is hard to generalize. Even though most born-in JWs do have some common experience, their individual situations and circumstances and their own reaction and development out of these are so unique that one JW's experience can differ significantly from another's.
The largest factor involved seems to obviously be the PARENT(s) and both their own manifestation of the JW life together with their own personal baggage (which is of course intertwined). If a JW child had strict JW parents, it is likely their experience sucked in many ways - though even then any deprivations like missing Christmas or getting birthday presents is not much different then children of other circumstances that also underwent such deprivations but for different reasons (e.g. Muslims, Jews, the impoverished, etc.)
On the other hand, if the JW parents were less strict or even liberal then the JW child's upbringing was probably closer to the norm.
The second largest factor is probably whether there were any JW peers or not. To the extent that the JW child had non-JW friends and peers either because there were few JW peers of the same age or because the parents allowed them to associate with non-JWs, then their experience was probably closer to the norm.
To answer your personal question personally, even though my parents were long-time Witnesses and my father was the presiding overseer and big elder while growing up, I was able to participate in sports, school activities, extracurriculars, prom, homecoming, etc. and had non-JW friends almost exclusively. I was also not pressured to participate in field service and in fact never went out (except as a small child with my mother a few times) as a child or a teen. We didn't celebrate any holidays, nor like some Witnesses, did we even skirt around "officially" celebrating anything, except for perhaps going to watch the local fireworks show on the Fourth of July -- so that part of growing up sucked I suppose. Leaving school early during the holiday celebrations, turning down Barbara Baker's birthday invitation, and not getting to do Boy Scouts with my best friend were also downers as a kid.
On the other hand, there are and were a lot of positives about growing up a Witness too. I won't go into them here so as not to draw the ire of the board.
Anyways my experience being a born-in I would rate as better than the average Witness and I am grateful to my parents for allowing me to make many of my own choices in life. (You may know that when the time came for it, my parents were uninvolved and didn't pressure me in any direction to attend or not to attend college and I applied and enrolled back in 1989 a few years before the softened stance towards higher education was implemented.)
As for the second question, I always had concerns and doubts about the Truth and the Organization growing up, so it wasn't a big surprise to finally conclude the fundamental fact of it all not being "The Truth." But it was surprising and interesting at the same time to learn all the little things and this continues to this day, each time something new is learned or something new develops in the Org.
-Eduardo
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What happened to the victims of the Bethel inquisition?
by Bonnie_Clyde ini just cracked open my "crisis of conscience" book and reread the chapter, "point of decision.
" i wonder what ever happened to the people who were disfellowshiped and kicked out of bethel.
i know that ed dunlap went back to oklahoma and died not too long ago.
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Oroborus21
Good Question, if a web search doesn't shed light on it, why don't you write an email to Ray Franz at his website and ask him? Perhaps he has kept in touch with the principal players. Also Randy Watters may have some info you could email him.
I believe that Chris may have given a testimony that is on the MM ministeries website.
Incidently, if you do email Ray let us know how he is doing. He is getting up in years now and i hope his health is doing ok.
-Eduardo
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Oroborus21
I guess that sign was too funny for the Brits and their dry humour.
really though, I would have made the police press the issue. I wonder what law they had on their side? it is sad when british soldiers are dying in the desert thousands of miles away for a false sense of freedom, whilst back at home true freedom gets treated like it's a matter of convenience for the sensitive minority.
-Eduardo
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New Age....religion? cult?
by lisavegas420 inis anyone familiar with new age religion?
my boss called me this morning and said his 19year old cousin has taken off.
she only left a note saying she is joining a new age religion.
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Oroborus21
You might visit Rick Ross's website to browse up on the subject. The situation sounds like a number of well known groups but it could also be a small group that is under the radar. It would be very useful if your boss could find out the name of the group. then a web search might reveal all sorts of useful info. I would also check with law enforcement to see if they have any info on the group, group's members/leaders.
while being over 18 does limit some of the potential actions your boss can take it doesn't completely preclude everything. your boss could involve law enforcement if there is reason to question how willingly she has gone with the group or whether she might be subject to duress, intimidation, force, threats, etc. finding out her location and some info about the group, might at least enable your boss to arrange for a welfare check by the local authorities on her (which he could probably accompany them if he arranged it).
As an alternative, it may be possible to file in court to get a court order of examination to determine whether she is mentally competent. There are lots of hoops to jump through to get the order but if successful, that might at least lead again to an interview and examination by a professional - giving again an opportunity to intervene.
Should he manage to meet with her, in no way, should your Boss try to kidnap her or keep her some place against her will, etc. the way the old deprogrammers used to do as that would lead to bigger problems for him including possibly being criminal.
best of luck. let us know how this situation turned out...
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Disgusting comment regarding the baptism at the DC
by under_believer inat the service meeting the other day the "friends" were given an opportunity to discuss the district convention (portland, or, june 30-july 2).
) people baptized at that convention.
a bigger number than i remember for at least a decade.
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Oroborus21
If there is a trend of allowing younger Witnesses to get baptized, I believe such a policy will back fire big time for the Organization.
It is possible that the powers that be could be encouraging a policy of baptizing younger members in an effort to stem the tide that they are losing to higher education and elsewhere but if so, this is likely to produced the exact opposite consequence.
The future of the Org is in the hands of the young and if many more are baptized too early, they may face an increased probability of being disfellowshipped, reproved, etc. as they get into their troublesome teenage and late teen years. When a person does find themselves in that situation several things happen such as they often take the opportunity to check out alternatives and alternative viewpoints, us the opportunity to experience previously forbidden things and also, of course, see first-hand the conditionality of their relationship to other Witnesses. If this occurs with a great deal of young JWs, the Org may find itself hemorraging more members than ever before.
-Eduardo
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Are JW's under Hypnosis?
by ButtLight incheck this out!.
wow!.
http://www.energeticsolutions.com.au/great_watchtower_deception.html.
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Oroborus21
stupid, ridiculous and hilarious.....
I loved the part about the eyes swinging back and forth at the meetings from the speaker at the podium to the WT reader.....and how this supposedly mimics the movements a hynotist uses....how cliche
No hypnotist I have ever seen actually uses a swinging pendulum or watch, that's only for TV!
anyway..i will stop laughing now. and for the record, Freud used hypnotism early on because it was just about the only technique of the psychological practice around...he gave it up very shortly and developed his own revolutionary methods such as free association and dream analysis...
and finally, advertisers do not waste money on subliminal messenging that doesn't work in the first place, they put their money into beating the consumer over the head with their message and there is nothing subliminal, not too mention subtle about it...
-Eduardo
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Oroborus21
unlikely --- but any success at all will be highly touted and blown out of perspective by the WT promotion machine. -Eduardo