144001

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Posts by 144001

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  68

  A proud brother writes. letter to Bill Bowen.

  by avengers in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  "so william bowen, what did you get disfellowshipped for?

  i can't believe.

  the false information you are giving about jehovah's witnessess.

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  144001

  I think we see from the same side, Annie, we just have differing perspectives attributable to our different backgrounds. In the case of the national charity I alluded to, very low level management people were driving Mercedes Benz cars that were paid for by the charity, salaries of management were very extravagant, etc.. It disgusted me; hence my doubts with respect to any charity that doesn't disclose audited financial statements to the public (WT doesn't disclose its audited financial statements either, probably because the "great crowd" of pigeons would likely fly away if they really knew the whole picture).

  An excerpt from the Silentlambs website follows:

  "All work is voluntary and no salary is taken for personal benefit. When you support silentlambs your donation goes 100% to abuse survivors and programs to protect children."

  This claim is very difficult for me to believe. When I see that audited financial statements corroborate this claim, I'll get out my checkbook.
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  68

  A proud brother writes. letter to Bill Bowen.

  by avengers in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  "so william bowen, what did you get disfellowshipped for?

  i can't believe.

  the false information you are giving about jehovah's witnessess.

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  144001

  Dear Sunspot,

  Maybe you don't realize the extent of his heart and dedication to helping those who previously had NO place to go as WTS pedophile survivors. Call it a bandwagon mentality if you will, I don't see it that way.

  No, I don't realize it, and I'm not naive enough to take his word for it, especially in light of the grandstanding I've personally seen him engage in. There's plenty of reason to ask questions, despite the apparent message of the messenger.

  Oddly enough, I have *never* thought to question "where the money goes" in connection with Silentlambs! Not once. With the nature of his work, and what he has sacrificed from the onset of "getting the hell out of Dodge", I don't understand why you find it important to know how the money is spent.

  Apparently, your emotion has overcome your judgment. I've got personal experience with certain very well known national charities and I've seen the extravagant expenditures on behalf of their officers. If I'm giving money to SilentLambs or any other charity, I want to know it's actually going to help the stated cause, as well as the percentage of donations that are spent on administrative expenses such as officer's salaries and perks. If SilentLamb's claims with respect to the use of the donations are accurate, then why can't they disclose audited financial statements to interested donors? We all must make spending decisions, sunspot, and I choose to make well-informed ones.
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  68

  A proud brother writes. letter to Bill Bowen.

  by avengers in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  "so william bowen, what did you get disfellowshipped for?

  i can't believe.

  the false information you are giving about jehovah's witnessess.

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  144001

  Sorry, but I don't buy into the SilentLambs bandwagon. I'd like to see their financial statements, which, similar to the Watchtower financial statements, are not available to those interested in contributing money to this cause. I learned, as a child slave of the Watchtower, to question authority and not to trust even those who appear to have good intentions. I'd like to see Silentlambs provide audited financial statements, disclosing in detail the revenues and expenses of that organization. Somehow I doubt that will happen.
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  5

  New Blood Cards

  by unique1 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my father called me and asked me to be his power of attorney on his blood card.

  (yes i will respect my father's wishes, even if he won't respect mine.

  ) confused, i told him i thought the power of attorney was a second document you could obtain upon request.

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  144001

  My parents carry those damn cards too. I hope I am never in the position of having to choose between enforcing compliance with their wishes or saving them from the illogical and despicable policies of the Watchtower.
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  49

  MJ Prediction thread..all prophets apply...

  by Brummie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  mr michael jacksons trial starts in a couple of weeks.

  predict the outcome here and i'll check back after the trial is over to see who amongst us really has the gift of prophecy.... guilty/not guilty...?

  you decide.

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  144001

  Our legal system isn't perfect; none in the world are. But I think it's the best in the civilized world, and those who constantly bash on it ought to visit a country with a totalitarian government to see the differences. In the USA, the burden is on the prosecution to prove a criminal defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Those who cite the OJ case as an example of the failure of our legal system need to recognize that the prosecution was incompetent and failed miserably in almost every respect. Although OJ's money helped him considerably, it was the attorneys who prosecuted the case who were responsible for its outcome.

  Personally, I feel sorry for MJ. His childhood was pure hell, and in many ways worse than what most of us who were raised in the lie that is falsely represented as the "Truth" experienced. In fact, I read one of his speeches in which he told the audience how much he enjoyed wearing a disguise and going out in field service, as it was his only chance to see kids living a normal life. HIs childhood was stolen by show biz, much like many of our childhoods were stolen as the result of a cult's coercive influence on our parents. Nevertheless, if a jury convicts him of the crimes he is charged with, he should pay the price like any other convicted felon.

  Rarther than engage in uninformed speculation regarding the outcome of his trial, I'll sit back and wait to hear what the jury says.
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  25

  JWs Found Guilty

  by Kenneson in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  an interesting story comes out of aspen, colorado.

  it is entitled "men admit wrongdoing after menorah vandalism.

  " guess what religion they belonged to?

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  144001

  I actually believe they were sincere. I've known JWs that were even stupider than these guys!
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  11

  How many believe in a literal, firey hell that God will damn people to?

  by AlmostAtheist in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you truly believe that there is a place/state/condition that god will forever banish some people to, along the lines of the hell concept?

  only the "really bad", the "bad", or even the "not as good as they should be"?.

  (this came to mind when i saw the "jews in hell" thread.

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  144001

  I believe hell is a place on earth, known as the "new system of things," an eternity on an earth inhabited solely by Jehovah's Witnesses. That's the "truth!"
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  76

  The John Denver Issue, vote now.

  by londoner in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is for those of you who sent me a private message saying you dont believe me, your letting your old jw traits come out, you know, not believing things when the facts stare you in the face unless it comes from the org.

  maybee you should go back and re join them.. to confirm what happened .

  i was at a john denver concert in the uk many years ago, he asked all catholics to stand up, after he got them seated he did the same with church of england, then the same with a couple of other religions, after he asked all jw's to stand up he announced that the concert would not go on untill they had all left and he then left the stage.

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  144001

  kaykay_mp: I love you too
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  27

  Did you notice that they were a lot of "rich Witnesses" in the organization

  by inquirer in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i remember this guy once, after the book study (the one where you go to someone's house to study a book) boasting on this house he wanted to buy!

  it made me feel sick!

  he was showing off so much!

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  144001

  I lived in an upper middle class area, but taken as a whole, the congregation I attended was definitely much poorer than the surrounding community. I met very few JWs who were educated; no doctors, 1 lawyer, and 1 accountant. Most who have education are not foolish enough to succumb to the cult of the Watchtower, which is probably why education was so emphatically discouraged in my time.
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  76

  The John Denver Issue, vote now.

  by londoner in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is for those of you who sent me a private message saying you dont believe me, your letting your old jw traits come out, you know, not believing things when the facts stare you in the face unless it comes from the org.

  maybee you should go back and re join them.. to confirm what happened .

  i was at a john denver concert in the uk many years ago, he asked all catholics to stand up, after he got them seated he did the same with church of england, then the same with a couple of other religions, after he asked all jw's to stand up he announced that the concert would not go on untill they had all left and he then left the stage.

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  144001

  The Sex Pistols and John Denver. An interesting matchup.

  A bit off point here, but I first learned about the Sex Pistols at a special meeting called in the late 70s by the elders for all JW youths in our congregation. The topic of the meeting was the horrible new phenomenon known as "punk rock." Film strips were shown and it was alleged that Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious habitually puked, spit, and urinated on the audience members. I became an intstant fan, bought the "Never Mind the Bullocks, Here's the Sex Pistol's" album, and ultimately went to see them in the mid 90s at the "Filthy Lucre" tour. I credit the Sex Pistols music, among other things, for helping me as a young teenager escape the misery that was the Watchtower.

  Rather than booing a rendition of "God Save The Queen," I'd give them a standing ovation!