erbie

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Posts by erbie

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  6

  How many?...

  by tenyearsafter in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i couldn't find if this has been discussed in the past, but do we have any idea how many former posters/apostates from this forum have actually returned to the jw's?

  i am not talking about those that were reinstated for family reasons, but rather, those that actually had a change of heart and "repented" to become active jw's again?

  i can't imagine it is many, but would be curious if anyone knows individuals that have gone back because they truly believed again?

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  erbie

  I haven't been for a long time but as time goes by I am more and more convinced that many so called 'apostates' do really believe it but rage against it because it has hurt them in some way. Catharsis I suppose.

  And remember, there is a very fine line between love and hate. Many of us left because of individuals, not because we hated the teachings.

  It's a very complex issue and I never take it, or people, for granted. In my experience you can never say that someone will NEVER go back because people change their mind for an infinite number of reasons.

  I've seen people spitting fire at it one moment and then you hear that they have gone back and seem very happy and have continued for many years. This is why I am always careful what I say to people who have fallen away.

  Nothing is cut and dried. Many people on this forum will return. Not today perhaps but certainly in the years to come.

  Sorry if this isn't what you want to read but really, I've seen so many go back to the meetings. If it's what they want then who am I to stop them.

  erbie
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  85

  Hello--new to the witnesses...and you

  by LKM in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just wanted to introduce myself.

  i went to the kh for the first time 2 weeks ago...and will go again tomorrow.

  i don't believe anything witnessy...(i was raised in the assembly of god church and now the closest thing i "do" with religion is yoga or sometimes the buddhist temple).... but the man i'm in love with is a df'd jw (we've been together for 6 years).... and he wants to get reinstated just to talk to his family again (i can assure you he does not believe it).... and he wants his family to accept me because we are about to get married... so, i'm going to meetings...its very interesting, but only because it shows me more about how he was raised.

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  erbie

  Where has Teary gone?

  I was enjoying his comments.

  I have to say that a lot of what he says is right. I don't want to fall in to the trap of tearing down all the time. I'm far too self reflective for that.

  Everybody should have their say right? That's why we are here.
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  28

  Governing Body... meet WORLD... world... meet Governing Body! The JW Survey website has been launched!!

  by cedars in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well, things have moved very quickly with the survey, and it now has it's very own website at www.jwsurvey.org!!.

  if you are new to this forum and would like to have your say on what the governing body is teaching and practicing, then please visit this new site and register your views.. for those of you that have followed the development of the survey over the past month or so, feel free to visit and take a look around.. the website gives those who participate in the annual survey the opportunity to review the results of the survey at the same time as they register their responses.

  that way they can get a feel for how the rest of the world is voting once they have submitted their own answers.. you can also check out the progress of the survey by logging on from time to time (anonymously, of course) and checking out the latest results.. there will also be a number of "mini surveys" run regularly, which i feel represent a completely unique experience for those who enjoy visiting jw-related forums.

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  erbie

  If attempting to destroy the WT gives your life a purpose then who is to stop you.

  Whether or not it will bring anyone happiness or enable them to better serve their fellow man is, I believe, questionable.

  We all need to be careful that we do not become the monsters that we believe we have escaped from.

  He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.

  And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.

  Friedrich Nietzsche

  Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism 146

  German Philosopher (1844-1900)

  As Yoda would say: 'I sense much anger in you'
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  26

  printing of g increased

  by factfinder in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't know if anyone has noticed this yet but the jan. 2012 g is now up on jw.org.

  the average printing per issue is now.

  41.042,000 which is an increase per issue of 1,129,000 more compared with last year.

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  erbie

  They're all misprints, surely.
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  134

  Christians Please Explain

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  since leaving all organized religion, all superstition, all acceptance of deity, i have a terrible time truly understanding 'religious' thought.. i really do.. how is it possible for thinking people to just accept, without proof, all they accept?

  this morning i overheard a conversation between two christians in a coffee shop.

  they say to me 'dad, what's wrong with just being a nice, good person?

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  erbie

  Hell, I'm doomed! ;(
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  83

  World War 1 and 1914

  by Schizm in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  how did it just so happen that a world war took place in the very year that russell had attached so much importance to?

  i realize that he expected 1914 to see the end of the world's governments, and of course that didn't happen, but it still seems to be quite remarkable that this war happened that very year ... a war that would later be construed to be the fulfillment of jesus' prediction in matthew 24:7.. the explanation given on the e-watchman site is that satan deliberately caused the war to happen so as to mislead jehovah's witnesses into thinking they had actually seen the fulfillment of bible prophecy, in order to make them think that jesus had returned invisably.. any ideas?.

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  erbie

  Fact: Many people predicted that there would be a war around 1914 or so because Germany was building up a huge military and naval force and many people were concerned. We all know about the Ferdinand shooting but nevertheless, facts are facts.

  It's just what the history books say.
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  10

  This is one of the best corners of the internet

  by sabastious in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just feeling good about this place right now.

  give yourselves a pat on the back!.

  -sab.

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  erbie

  Well, we keep coming back don't we.

  And nobody forces us to!
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  16

  If you watch this you will definitely believe in God

  by mankkeli in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yum__dm_dwg&feature=related.

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  erbie

  I decree and declare that this child is a precocious little shit!
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  12

  You are W.A.W.

  by designs in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the latest moniker to describe us is making the rounds at a circuit assembly near you: w.a.w.

  wicked apostate worldlings.. sat through a saturday circuit assembly, haven't been to one in years, stunningly it was a mix of deja vu and cloistered brainwashing.

  deja vu in that the talks could have come from 1966, nothing has changed about the end being near, and harsher with respect to family who are not jws.

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  erbie

  Hmmm. It's probably best to stay away from them although it can be useful to remind yourself of why you left.

  I did the same thing a couple of years ago with a visit to a circuit assembly. Ouch!!!

  I was definately right to leave.
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  8

  Who's Cult is it Anyway...???

  by Bells in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  firstly - i am not, and never have been a witness.

  my bf's family are all witnesses and i have been looking into the religion lately to try to get a better understanding of where they're coming from.

  (btw, my bf is not a witness - he was thankfully never baptised and he just walked away from it about 13 years ago).

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  erbie

  I have thought long and hard on this subject and the conclusion that I have come up with is that people believe what they want to believe to the point that if you really want to believe something badly enough then you will.

  In short, I think that the GB want to believe in their own teachings so much that they really do believe it or they have conditioned their own minds to unquestioningly accept it as truth.

  If you think about it, it's not rocket science, if you accept something and do not allow yourself to question it or look at it objectively then your mind has no choice but to believe it as truth or whatever the mind perceives truth to be.

  In any case, I think that the idea that people believe what they want to is the only exlanation for how humans can accept nonsense as truth.

  Worryingly, this leads me to question myself thus: Did the WT brainwash me or did I brainwash myself because of the desire to beleive in a wonderful new paradise earth.

  Come on guys, ignore the WT connection, who wouldn't want to live in a place like that. I know I would.