Posts by CoonDawg

15

Flat Stanley

by searcher in

jw
friends

flat stanley is spending christmas with me here in lincolnshire, after which he will do a whirlwind tour of the area collecting local information and pictures to be sent off.

he arrived without luggage, preliminary checking seems to indicate that it was sent to cleveland

stanley will resume his travels in the new year as soon as we receive details of his next stop.

Flat Stanley visited me about 3 years ago. He came on Thanksgiving week and stayed til Jan 2. In that time, since I drive a truck, he visited 26 different states here in the US. In the first week, he went with me from here in Tennessee to Boston, MA. I called my daughter's teacher and asked how soon she needed him back in Chicago...and she said Stanley could stay until after the first of the year. I made up a photo album of our travels in the big rig...snows in Idaho and Washington, blizzards in Colorado, sunny mesas in Arizona....White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico...I enjoyed every minute with Flat Stanley and am thankful that my daughter's teacher sent back my photo album and Stanley's Diary to me so I can cherish the memories. The next spring, I saw Flat Stanley on TV riding at 185 mph in a NASCAR Race with Greg Biffle in the #16 Ford.

Tell Flat Stanley he can visit anytime.

Ern

20

Do you become empty inside after leaveing the witness's?

by PinTail in

jw
friends

i find myself feeling empty inside sense drifting away after my being shuned, and my divorce from my wife who was a witness, and after my daughter had been molested by a stupid brother in the hall that my ex-wife started living with after my becoming disabled.

i am newly married now to a good women who is not a witness, but she is honest and kind to me and understands what i have been through, but still i feel a empty somewhere in side of me.

of note during this time of pain, i fell hit my head and lost a major portion of my brain which left me disabled, and very emotional at times feeling like all is lost, i just can't throw it.

CoonDawg

Shane, it's good that you have a loving wife. I've found that my wife is my biggest pillar of support...what we have together is far and away better than anything that I could get at the hall. I too, know how it is to have a child sexually abused and to have it blown off by elders. I've been there. I have found that immersing myself in things that I want to do has helped...and meeting new people. I took lots of time to really feel like meeting new people and making friends...but it's definitely been worth it. I have been involved in a local car club and have made some great friends. The people I care most about who are still JW's (my wife and my mother) still care for me even though they may not LIKE the choices I've made, but they do have a sense of understanding WHY I've made the choices I have. They won't turn their backs on me...and that makes all the difference.

Get involved. Take up hobbies that include other people...and treasure the time you spend with your wife and try to hang in there for your daughter.

Ern

8

Using Movies to stimulate witnesses independent thinking

by Prins Vaillant in

jw
friends

today i have seen the movie ?pleasantville?.

two young people get absorbed into a 50?s tv-soap.

all is black and white.

CoonDawg

Granted, it's more geared to be a jab at catholicism, I love Kevin Smith's movie "Dogma" because it helps illustrate how people get so caught up in jumping through manmade hoops that they forget the reason why religion is supposed to be appealing. My JW wife even loves this movie. One of our favorite lines is that many "mourn their faith rather than celebrate it." Sure, it's irreverent and funny, but it's also thought provoking on a certain level. Of course not "good" JW's would go to see this R rated movie.

I too, loved pleasantville. Thinking outside the box and stepping out of normalcy is what makes life colorful...not simply satisfying others expectations. The best scene is when the man comes home and says "And WHERE's my DINNER?"

Ern

7

Michael Moore where are you!

by mkr32208 in

jw
friends

not that i like him but he does know how to sway the masses!

anybody know how we could get him to do a documentry about the wbts?

CoonDawg

I think in part that why Michael Moore's movies have such a broad appeal is because they encompass the widest range of emotions. How many "documentaries" (and I use the word loosely) actually contain humor (unless it's about a comedian)? That's part of the appeal...the way he shows the ridiculousness of those he's centered on. To be truthfull, documentaries are SUPPOSED to be impartial...but there's always a person behind the camera and someone in the cutting room doing the editing.

I've thought of contacting Moore to see if he'd be interested in a WBTS movie...but I doubt it's "sexy" enough to appeal to someone whos priorities seem to be more in the socio-political vein.

Ern

13

Why do end-of-time beliefs endure? Good article!

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

the end of the world .

a brief history.

dec 16th 2004 .

CoonDawg

In an effort to understand this mindset, I actually have started reading the "Left Behind" series by Tim LaHaye and his co-writer Jerry Jenkins. The first thing that struck me was the remedial and juvenille way that the books are written, as if to appeal to the less educated. Every time I really think about it, I find it amazing that so many can take these prophecies so literally. I for one, think that these are just good allegorical stories to teach a lesson...but try telling that to a rabid evangellical christian. These books have sold tens of millions, so I guess there's lots out there that buy into this whole thing.

Ern

25

Who are these idiots? Re: Scott Peterson Trial

by IronGland in

jw
friends

these arent family members according to the caption, they're just people waiting outside the courtroom when the sentence was announced.

their faces show they have some major emotional investment in this trial.

the man even appears to be praying.

CoonDawg

I'm amazed that more people don't see that all this is is a distraction from the really important things that are going on in the US. I'm amazed when this is presented in the national news as if people in other countries give a rat's a$$ about some spoiled punk who offed his wife and kids to get a clean start with some chic he was boinking. God forbid they'd actually have to give a thought to issues like 40 million plus without healthcare, kids who are unwanted, a war in another country against people who never had anything to do with a terrorist attack on us, or the criminal organization of radical christian fundamentalists who have hijacked our country...nope, we have to keep watching some pretty boy on trial so that we can't concentrate and maybe really get pissed at our being screwed over.

Ern

(who other than incidental content in the headlines wasted ZERO time on this a-hole's trial)

21

What did you pray for when you were a JW?

by JH in

jw
friends

.

did you pray for health, even if you knew that only in the new system your health would get better.... did you pray for a bible study?.

did you pray not to be tempted by the debil?

CoonDawg

In my more emotional periods, I prayed to be forgiven for not living up to the impssible standards. Only a few of my prayers were heartfelt and those were to be counted worthy of being around god's real servants. I pretty much always felt inadequate and really had esteem issues.

Finally, my prayers were ritualistic and very routine. They got to where they meant nothing to me...and that was way before I stopped going to the hall. My public prayers sounded good, but were also repetative. Most recently, my prayers were for my wife's benifit over a meal...but only out of respect for her. Once she realized this, she hasn't asked me to pray aloud since. Kind of a relief actually.

Ern

16

Court tomorrow.... wise advice is appreciated.

by formerout in

jw
friends

just a quick run-down for those who haven't followed my court case so far: .

my ex and i have joint custody but primary residence is with her.

she has broken a bunch of the orders that the judge made.

CoonDawg

I can sympathize. I've been in a protracted custody dispute from long distance. My ex moved our daughter with her to Illinois and I live in Tennessee. She, for the past 3 years, has been guilty of denying my visits, moving without my permission or that of the court and is now trying to attain sole legal and physical custody. It's been going on for a long time and she has really not even gotten a slap on the wrists for her infractions. I don't really have any advice for you other than to remain calm and respectful. Appearing reasonable is a great ally. I don't know how your state is, but in Illinois you have to have a child advocate lawyer who is supposed to represent the best interests of the child. It's never a bad thing to appear reasonable and open to some compromise to them. There are no guarantees, so be prepared for a letdown, but hope for a victory and that it really is the best for your child.

I'll be rooting for you.

Ern

14

The Christianity Of Dubya

by Englishman in

jw
friends

.

george w bush is a god fearing christian, he says.. george w believes in pre-emptive strikes.. so why didn't god make a pre-emptive strike against satan before he got his claws into adam & eve and save us all of this hassle?.

englishman..

CoonDawg

When I hear of dubya and christianity in the same thought, I can't help but see the irony of it all. I mean, here's a dude who preaches being a follower of Christ, the "turn the other cheek" guy...the "as you treat the least of these my brothers" guy....you have a man who is arrogant rather than humble, a man who is vengeful rather than forgiving, a man who sees rich people and big business as being far and away more important than regular citizens, a man who looks on learned people with disdain, a man who, like Absalom of old, seems to revel in surrounding himself with yes-men (and women) rather than people who may give a straight answer and opinion that may differ with his.

Dubya doesn't even belong to any kind of church though he seems to expect the rest of us to. He ran on "values" and "moral issues" yet he discards those he doesn't want to acknowledge as moral issues. He is a man that I despise and I am ashamed to the rest of the world to have this devious hypocritical petulent-child-like man as our "leader". Down with the A-hole blowmonkey memeber of the Cheney Death-cult.

Ern

35

Do you and your significant other share religious beliefs?

by MelbaToast in

jw
friends

sometimes, i think my husband is much more church oriented than i am.

i still get upset when i attend church, but lately he has been putting the push on me for us to go back to his church where he grew up in.

he would like to start taking our daughter so she has a somewhat structured religious belief.

CoonDawg

My wife is a "liberal" JW and I am one who just doesn't "do" church anymore. She loves many of the illicit things that I do like getting freaky and talking nasty. She says I'm her "favorite Heathen", so I guess I'm alright. We don't talk alot about beliefs, but when we do, She wonders how "someone like you can be so smart and not belive in the bible" and I wonder at her "how can someone so smart still be a JW?"

I told her that though I love her very very much, I will not go to meetings. It would piss me off and thereby ruin the experience for her and I'm not setting out to "deconvert" her. I have gone to ONE assembly with her the year before last. This year I dodged it by making a trip out of it to visit my parents. She went to the assembly with my JW mom and enjoyed herself...I went to the beach and to Hooters with my ex-JW dad and also had a great time. Hey, everybody left happy.

Ern