erbie

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Posts by erbie

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  31

  My first English Essay for college, I wrote about my experience as a JW.

  by JonathanH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so i am in my first semester of college, and i'm really enjoying it.

  i am already tired since i work full time in addition to going to school full time, but i will get over that hump eventually.

  anyway in my english 101 class our first essay due was to be a personal narrative, 4 pages(ish), in mla format using microsoft word.

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  erbie

  This is great stuff.

  Well done you. Keep at it!
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  65

  Higher Education and Disqualification for Privileges in the Congregation

  by 00DAD in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i was still serving as an elder in the late summer of 2006 in a congregation of jws in socal we received a letter from the "christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses" (read: the governing body) directing that anyone pursuing a higher education would be disqualified from privileges of service: elder, servant, pioneer, etc.

  i remember this quite distinctly because i had just received by ba in education in june a few months before this.

  in 2002, i had decided to pursue a degree under the society's then current "it's a personal decision" policy and was quite shocked at their drastic policy change.

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  erbie

  This thread is interesting if not surprising.

  In my old congregation our PO was encouraging all and sundry to go window cleaning and 'pioneer' while he was adamant that his two sons should attend college and enter the same profession as himself which they both did.

  Such duplicity!

  Just glad I never paid attention to the nonsense.
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  15

  Moulding our JW Children

  by angel.face in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  every year, at the beginning of the school year i prepare a letter for my daughter's teachers saying 'we are jws don't celebrate this....no anthem....here are some suggestions..blah blah".

  and here's our 'jws and education' brochure from 1969, a bit outdated but you know, it's spiritual food at the proper time.

  besides, its an easy placement.

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  erbie

  Thanks garyneal,

  it's a bit soft I know but true nevertheless. After what I've been through I have seen the very real damage this organization can and will continue to do and I feel very strongly about it. My wife on the other hand will never talk or comment on the subject. She will only say that her memory of the witnesses ashames her and makes her skin crawl. Strong emotions indeed!

  The lady who started this thread will have a fight on her hands and I would love to be able to reason with her husband but obviously that will not come about. I am not the destroyer of faiths and I honestly believe that the only way forward is to get people to be self reflective and analytical of WT teachings.

  Personally, I find this site a real inspiration and not full of mentally diseased individuals as some would have us believe. We're all trying to find our way and we all take different roads in order to get us there while some of us get lost along the way.

  Part of the joy is in the unknown.
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  49

  New here looking for some help

  by angel.face in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  long story short, i have been a jw for the pst 7 years.

  i am married with 2 kids.

  hubby is a die hard jw who is an ms and would like to be elder.

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  erbie

  You cannot be divorced on the grounds of being inactive and you do not have to be disfellowshiped either. I myself have never been disfellowshiped.

  Play them at their own game but become even more proficient at it than they are. If you run circles round them they will be aware of it but can do nothing.

  In essence, a person chooses to be disfellowshipped by making their actions and thoughts known. I know sisters who have left their husbands (who were tyrants, I might add) and are now living with another man but have not been disfellowshiped because they have nothing to do with the congregation despite the elders being aware of their actions.

  In short, I think you can get away with an awful lot these days as long as you know how to work their system to your own advantage, and that of your family of course.
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  8

  Import / Export (Watchtower)

  by TJ Curioso in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  and now, a finding that intrigued me.. .

  i always thought that the bulk of the publications come out of new york to other parts of the globe, if not produced in these last.

  true?.

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  erbie

  I smell a rat....I wonder what they're cooking up now?
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  26

  How do you know when the Governing Body speaks for itself, and when it is supposed to speak for Jehovah?

  by dgp in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in the catholic church, the pope is considered "infallible" when he speaks ex cathedra.

  that is to say, he is not infallible when he speaks about things that don't have to do with religion.

  for example, he may say whatever he pleases about economics, but no one will hold that catholic economists will have sinned against god if they consider that the pope is wrong.. the important point here is that the pope is thought to be infallible only when he speaks about matters strictly related to the church.. the wikipedia has this:.

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  erbie

  punkofnice posted:

  C. T. Russell founder of the WTS, called himself "God's mouthpiece" (WT 1906 July 15 p. 229); claimed that compared to reading his books Bible reading is "a waste of time" (WT 1910 September 15 p. 298), and that his books "harmonize...every statement in the Bible."
  (DIVINE PLAN OF THE AGES 1886 p. 348)

  Oh yes. I own a copy of Russel's book 'The Divine Plan of The Ages'.

  Such wisdom contained therein!

  How did mankind survive without it?

  Preferably, it should be read every morning and night so as to glean every available nugget of truth from its pages.
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  15

  Moulding our JW Children

  by angel.face in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  every year, at the beginning of the school year i prepare a letter for my daughter's teachers saying 'we are jws don't celebrate this....no anthem....here are some suggestions..blah blah".

  and here's our 'jws and education' brochure from 1969, a bit outdated but you know, it's spiritual food at the proper time.

  besides, its an easy placement.

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  erbie

  Hi Angel.face.

  Sorry, I am a father of two lovely children not a mother but have been through just the same as you.

  I was the first to express doubts and as a result I became irregular and subsequently left altogether. My wife carried on for about five years on her own and it was a real heart wrench for me to see them trundle off to the meetings without me. I felt that I had let them down and was not providing them with the leadership that they needed. My wife gave me a really hard time for a while and the guilt trip etc.

  Nevertheless, I stuck to what I knew was right and in the end my wife just stopped going litterally over night and has never looked back despite being a regular pioneer and having parents in the 'truth'.

  I'm not going to lie to you, it was tough, in fact I write this with a tear in my eye (of joy I suppose), but I watch my two children grow up, play for the local football team and live a normal life. They thank me for the freedom I have given them frequently.

  Of course, my wife threatened to leave me and I was bullied by her parents but I stuck fast and in the end I won. I beat them against all odds and my family is intact. Now I see my mother in law breaking up with alcohol abuse and so on because she cannot make sense of the world through the WT eyes.

  My kids are doing well at school and my wife has retrained as a lecturer. I think we've made it!

  If there is anyway that I can be of assistance or encouragement then please do not hesitate to ask. It makes all I have been through worthwhile if I can assist someone like you.

  I have to go and collect the kids from school now but will check this thread later.

  With very best wishes.
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  15

  Moulding our JW Children

  by angel.face in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  every year, at the beginning of the school year i prepare a letter for my daughter's teachers saying 'we are jws don't celebrate this....no anthem....here are some suggestions..blah blah".

  and here's our 'jws and education' brochure from 1969, a bit outdated but you know, it's spiritual food at the proper time.

  besides, its an easy placement.

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  erbie

  I managed to get my kids out and they are a lot happier for it. As with you, I do want them to get a good education and attend university etc.

  There never is a 'good' time to leave. If it's what you really want then sooner is better than later. Why will it get easier to leave?

  I do feel for persons such as yourself who are struggling with it.

  Personally, I found it tough but it was worth it in the end.

  I sacrificed a lot for my childrens freedom, future and mental health!
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  63

  Walkill Bethel Recreational Facility

  by dontplaceliterature in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife and i just visited some friends over the weekend from another congregation.

  these two are both full time pioneers, and also participate in various construction projects around the country.

  the husband just got back from a 3 week trip to walkill, new york to help with construction on a new residence building at 'the farm' (does anyone call it that anymore?)..

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  erbie

  This is all staggering! I had no idea of this stuff.

  Surely they have to keep thinking of things to spend their surplus cash on, right?

  Don't the poor and needy want it? Or are they just scum?

  I have a word to describe the Watchtower which I will keep to myself.
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  24

  "Satan's Star" Re-examined

  by JWStruggle in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i put on my blog recently an article reviewing the evidence regarding whether the star of bethlehem was guided by god or satan.

  as we are well aware, this is a "pet point" of the witnesses and assists the wt viewpoint with regard to christmas and all things "pagan".. .

  http://www.jwstruggle.com/2011/09/satans-star-re-examined/.

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  erbie

  I personally do not believe it was guided by Satan. Otherwise, why were the Magi received with hospitality and allowed to offer gifts to Jesus.

  I think it contains an important message to be tollerant of other beliefs as the Magi were astrologers and would be treated with disdain by The Watchtower brotherhood.

  I see it as the crossover from old testement bigotry to new testement tolerence (if indeed there can be such a thing).

  Furthermore, I love Christmas. Oh, and picnics, I love picnics. But not at Christmas time.