UK.
I don't want to write more than that on here, in case I get phone calls and visits from brothers trying to disfellowship me. An elder once told me he reads 'apostate' forums to be in know of what is going on (yes, I know that's ignoring the GB advice) so we don't know who could be on here reading what we write.
ekruks
JoinedPosts by ekruks
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Advice please - How dating works in world?
by ekruks inlooking for your advice.
i was born in 'the truth', homeschooled, washed windows for work, etc.. im rather ignorant of how the whole dating thing works.. .
i'm sure i'm not the only person on here who grew up 'in the truth' and is/was a virgin in their late 20s, never been to a nightclub, etc., while everyone around them has a family/kids.
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ekruks
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Advice please - How dating works in world?
by ekruks inlooking for your advice.
i was born in 'the truth', homeschooled, washed windows for work, etc.. im rather ignorant of how the whole dating thing works.. .
i'm sure i'm not the only person on here who grew up 'in the truth' and is/was a virgin in their late 20s, never been to a nightclub, etc., while everyone around them has a family/kids.
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ekruks
Looking for your advice. I was born in 'the Truth', homeschooled, washed windows for work, etc.. Im rather ignorant of how the whole dating thing works.
I'm sure I'm not the only person on here who grew up 'in the Truth' and is/was a virgin in their late 20s, never been to a nightclub, etc., while everyone around them has a family/kids. It's not great for confidence (any girl is going to think I'm weird?) I would appreciate if you could share your experience of this awkward situation.
I now work in an office, but the people I work with are older than me, have kids, don't go to nightclubs on weekend, etc.. I get the idea that this is the kind of place to meet people, but not the kind of place you go on your own? It's easy in 'the Truth'. You just ask some pretty sister to do some ministry with you. The idea of walking into a bar and talking to a girl I never met before - it can seem very creepy, and most girls have a boyfriend already.I get the impression online dating is big on here? Is this how all you guys meet people?
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"The Thinkingest People On The Planet"...
by cedars in...is the name of a video i will shortly be uploading to youtube.. but can you guess the identity of the person who coined this unusual phrase?!.
who will be the first jwn poster to guess his or her identity?!.
i can hardly cope with the suspense!!
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ekruks
stinkingest person!! lol
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JWs say it's my fault I didn't go to university ?!
by ekruks inlike many on here, as a jw trying hard to follow the direction of the gb, i listened to the advice to pioneer and trust in jehovah to provide (mat6.33) instead of going to university.
after struggling for ages in low-paid physically-demanding jobs, i decided to become a student (thanks for the encouragement on here guys!).
i tell a jw i wish i had been to university when i was a teenager, and put all that pioneer time into studying hard for a good grade, get a good job, and if i had wound up tired as i am now, at least i would have been paying into a mortgage on a home and pension.
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ekruks
AM3 - "Philosophy 1 and Philosophy 2"
Hey AM3, I hope I meet you one day, because I want to know what the hell Philosophy 1 is? How does it differ from Philosophy 2?
I'm not trying to be rude or arrogrant, but I seriously gave a better talk when I was in kindergarten! I used evidence, which is probably why I struggled with the elders so much as I grew up and learnt more.
Sorry for my independent/critical thinking, my scientific approach, murmuring, whatever, but goodness sake, this is some strong, logical, intelligent argument, firmly backed up by evidence, just as you would expect from the Almighty God's chosen channel! Was the holy spirit having an off day, a bit like when those Baal priest met Elijah and they couldn't get Baal to light the fire, and he asked if their god couldn't help because he was having a crap? Maybe he was, so when the holy spirit came to portray the message to AM3, it told him crap! Is this guy so brainwashed (feel sorry for him?) or arrogant (?) that he can't see how pathetic it is? (Though yes, we all believed it once!) -
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"The Thinkingest People On The Planet"...
by cedars in...is the name of a video i will shortly be uploading to youtube.. but can you guess the identity of the person who coined this unusual phrase?!.
who will be the first jwn poster to guess his or her identity?!.
i can hardly cope with the suspense!!
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ekruks
Sorry to be rude, but (thank you for the clips you uploaded Cedars), when I hear Anthony Morris III, he is talking absolute bull. He says one thing, while saying another - he says we can think for ourselves, while mocking independent thinking - some JWs are poorly educated (even Anthony) while others struggling with pressures of life so want a release, that we are/were so easily manipulated.
What kind of word is 'thinkingest'?? It isn't!! If this guy is one of the incredible anointed, under such an influence from the holy spirit, which put words onto the tongue of Moses, wouldn't he speak English well? It's pathetic to hear this guy berate university!
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College On The Cheap! Have You Thought Of Attending College? You Can Very Cheaply!
by ÁrbolesdeArabia inlots of friends and jws are dealing with depression, some are sad they never went to college and wonder what it's like to get a degree.
the watchtower guilted her members by telling them they were worldy if they wanted a higher education.
college in community schools were free when i took ap classes in high school.
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ekruks
I know a lot of JWs are not aware of this, and it's not really discussed in JW-land, but in the UK, university is in reality FREE, even if you are not a teenager - people any age can go, and about a third of students didn't start at 18, because many go on gap years or travel a little first, and some were inmature when they were young, so study when they finally realise life is tough without a piece of paper. You don't have to be rich to be a student!!
Lots of JWs moan about the wealthy, with some jealousy - it annoyed me hearing it in assembly talks, etc., the bitching when we had to call on wealthy areas on the ministry, people demanding to go to poor humble areas, when they envied seeing nice cars and homes. Some maybe were upset they sold their homes to pioneer, some perhaps didn't realise how things work in the world, but some were just downright lazy person who would moan instead of try hard! In Britain, you don't need to come from a rich family - you just need to work hard, and be determined - it is even possible for kids living in council estates (US: trailer parks) to get into Oxbridge (US: Harvard) for FREE if their grades are good enough. You have to be willing to make some sacrifices for the prize of the good job - basically party less, study HARD - it's tough now, easier later!
Sure, there is a university fee and tuition costs, but in Britain, the government pays it, you don't need to pay one penny to actually get into the University or to study. However, when you finish you will in effect pay more tax for about 30 years, which perhaps is the rest of your working life, but what the hell if your job is paying more, and that extra tax is not actually much extra, but a LOW percentage of your wage. Study now, worry about the bills later!! In fact, young JWs in Scotland, you will never have to pay a single penny back to the government, because uni is completely funded by the Scottish government!
If you don't have a rich daddy paying your living costs, you may not have a car, or a nice flat, while studying, but you can still go to Uni - you just must be humble and poor, but only for 3 or 4 years! If you are on a low income (most students qualify as such! and so do most ex and current JWs!), you will receive about £8k living allowance in a combination of grants and loans, and the loans element (which will be most the living allowance) you pay back with the university fees deducted from future wages. You just apply to be a univeristy student and click that you want student finance - that's it!!
It is possible to survive on this if you get a cheap room (shared kitchen/toilet) in a rough area of town (this is how many JWs without Uni education live!! some pioneers live like this!), eat supermarkets own food, have a bike instead of a car, etc. (live like some pioneers have to but this time it's short-term, not for life, and with the prospect of a good job after a few years!) You could get a part-time job stacking shelves in the supermarket, working in the call centre, or delivery pizzas, etc. a day, few evenings week, to help pay your way, and perhaps share a cheap flat with a friend, but this could affect your grades. The uni will help you get a part-time job in your holidays.
DON'T GIVE UP! My manager felt I could do better that my role - he is very keen on science, has a degree in it, and thinks the Bible is followed by the ignorant, so was very supportive of my desire to become more educated - while brothers were trying to have hours reduced to pioneer, me the former pioneer had my work hours reduced (pay too, though better pay than pizza delivery), and my office job is easier than stacking shelves, allowing me energy to concentrate on studies - my colleagues are all generally positive about my studies.
Uni is actually only 20hours a week, which is about pioneer hours, so it's like holding down a job while pioneering - tough but possible. Unis strongly discourage anyone doing more than 21hours work a week, but you can survive on less - the same hours many pioneers do secular work!! 20+21=41hours/week, which sounds like a full-time job, and it's tough, because remember there is homework, just like pioneers also have to go to prepare for Bible studies, sit in field service meetings, prepare for the Theocratic Ministry School, go to meetings, do chores, more if they are an elder/servant. If you choose a Uni subject you like and know already something about, homework will be easier, but you need some time to relax, to get the stresses out, or your body will burnout/ grades be low.
Remember that being a pioneer is tiring and people burn out over a few years, lots of JWs with stress/fatigue issues more akin to investment banking due to for some the similar hours and pressure (yes, I know some pioneers fake hours etc. but it's hard to fake Uni and get a good degree) - if you leave school at 18 and throw yourself into HARD work for few years, you'll be ok, but if you're a mature student, and tired from JW-life, be careful - a breakdown won't help your studies. If you want your studies to actually be of use in employment (earn more than now), and not just an excuse to party, or to study some interesting subject, you really want to get at least a 2:1 grade, so take do overwork, and eat well, sleep, do lots of exercise as it gives energy.
You may find lots of JWs coming round discouraging you from Uni, saying they are worried for you - oh yes, it's so bad to prepare for the future, to find a way to pay bills, because hell, who needs money when the world is ending tomorrow, maybe today, but never does!! Find the best uni you can get into, and go to it - go to one where in a different city, have a fresh break from JW land.
If you don't think you have good enough college grades, apply for a Foundation degree. If your grades are too bad for that, or you didn't go to college, DON'T GIVE UP!! You can do an Access for Learning course at the college (but make sure it's one that will get you into Uni!) or even do some A-Levels (better than BTEC for getting into Uni) - you may be able to get government funding for it, but even if you can't, Access for Learning courses are not expensive at some colleges. At this stage, worry more about getting a high grade than what college you can get into, then that high grade will get you into a good uni for FREE, and your employer will notice the more recent Uni graduation than the earlier college place.
If you want a degree, you can get it!!
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College On The Cheap! Have You Thought Of Attending College? You Can Very Cheaply!
by ÁrbolesdeArabia inlots of friends and jws are dealing with depression, some are sad they never went to college and wonder what it's like to get a degree.
the watchtower guilted her members by telling them they were worldy if they wanted a higher education.
college in community schools were free when i took ap classes in high school.
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ekruks
I don't find the concept of a spirit realm to be scientifically sound. Accounts of demon attacks and spiritual powers can often be explained.
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Bethel perfection bubble burst
by redvip2000 injust got back from florida where i spent the holidays with family.
about half are jdubs.. this year the prevalent atmosphere of superiority from the jw side of the family was totally toned down.
one of my cousins, a bethelite in upstate ny bethel along with his wife, found out that the wife was having an affair with a young bethelite "brother".
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ekruks
the IT Dept monitors all the computers for downloads and visits to improper and apostate websites
It would be straight-forward for Bethel to monitor who visits their sight, but all they will have is the IP address. This is not as revealing as it sounds. More than one computer can be using the same IP address. Even if they somehow knew from which computer their site was accessed, this doesn't mean they know who was using it. All they will have is a rough idea where in the world the visitors access the Internet from, what spec their computer is, etc.. They cannot take your internet service provider to court to obtain your name and address. Neither do I expect they have the expertise to hack computers or collect credit card details to find out people's names.
As for the monitoring of apostate sites, are you sure your relative is not embarrased not to have a real job and trying to sound cleverer than he is, or protect people by trying to frighten people away from 'dangerous' apostate websites?
The apostate websites are not on the Watchtower servers (the JW.org website actually runs on a secure army databank - very strange!), unless this JW.net site etc. are a weird tactic to grow the organisation, or track apostates. Basically, you can only monitor visits to your own website/servers. Bethel won't have a clue who is visiting apostate sites. They are not using visitor details to send round elders. Even if this site was a trap run by Bethel to catch the IP addresses of apostates, they won't really be able to do much with the information.
They only recently managed to tidy up their website, and implement latest technology - it previously looked very dated. There is no Watchtower Library app, most publications are still used in paper form (probably because most JWs have no uni-educated, low-paid jobs, can't afford a tablet) - I don't think they the Bethel programming team can be large or highly-skilled.
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Manchester First Meet Up Group :UPDATE
by raymond frantz injust to say thank you guys ,this website proves a valuable tool when trying to set up a meet up group .we have already 9 new members .spread the word and don't forget the first meetup is first sunday of january ,if you have not join in yet contact me on : [email protected] or pm me .
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ekruks
I like this idea a lot, the support of meeting others, but concerned it could be stressful. Well done !!
Some of us 'fade' so that we are not officially disassociated or disfellowshipped, but just inactive, and then can still talk to family. What worries me about these meetings is say if one 'fader' turns up, then gets stronger spiritually, feels need to warn elders, and next thing you are disfellowshipped, no family contact.