+1 to the original poster
Indian Larry
JoinedPosts by Indian Larry
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84
One thing about this site that bothers me
by keyser soze inthe constant references to 'window washers' as something derogatory.. i understand the context of it-that most jws are uneducated, and unqualified to do much more.
but sometimes the references seem snobbish, almost mean-spirited.
one poster, on another thread, essentially referred to window washers as 'losers'.
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LEOLAIA -does anybody know if she is okay?
by hamsterbait innot a squeak from our dear leo - she has put up so many excellent threads but she never posts now.
some of these should be archived for reference.. hope she's okay...... hb.
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Indian Larry
I miss her posts as well. Not a bunch of hate and name calling just good research and effective valid arguments.
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64
First Post - Emotionally Torn
by scaredtospeak ini haven't been on here long but i found this site a couple days ago and quickly realised it had a lot of posts by people going through similar experiences as me.
i read some of the answers and it helped relieve some inner anguish i've been carrying since everything i came clean to my parents about everything i've been reading about.. .
i just have been going through a rough patch right now; that might be an under or overstatement depending on your own personal experiences with this kind of stuff.
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Indian Larry
You are just on the first step of a very painful journey. I too made the same journey. I too found JWFacts and like you, I double checked everything. Then I read Crisis on Conscience and In Search of Christian Freedom by Raymond Franz. At that point I was so mad at the WT it was crazy. I also looked at the facts that show there was no global flood, and that caused problems. I just about lost all faith completely.
However as time has passed I have regained some of my faith. I do not believe the WT is the truth. I do not believe any other religion is the truth either. However after listening to people like Proffessor John Lennox of Oxford, William Lane Craig and often listening to both sides of the evolution/creation debate on the "Unbelievable" podcast, I have come to the point where I do believe there is a God. That for me was the first step. I truly believe that whether you choose athiesm or intellegent design there is a certain amount of faith required to believe either viewpoint.
I have listened to Dawkins several time, and I have listened with an open mind to the athiests, and anti-theists on the Unbelievable Podcast. I read quite a bit as well of all types of books with a wide variety of viewpoints. To me I just can not believe that the universe, the earth and all the life on it was an accident.
That being said I still am 100% sure the society is wrong about so many things. I can tell you this for sure though, it is very very very very hard to change the mind of a witness. You can not get them to see the truth about the organization even if you prove the org wrong using the bible and/or the orgs own literature. They truly are brainwashed to a certain extent and trying to go against that is like beating your head against a wall.
Still, I love my wife and daughter with all my heart. I don't want to lose them. So, I quietly faded. I used some mistakes the elders made as an excuse to stop going to the hall, but I have kept all my friends and family. For me that was the way to go. Others prefer to go out with a bang and burn bridges on the way. I came very close to doing that but now I am so glad that I did not.
Anyway as you go on your journey always look for the truth. That does not mean a religion, it means go for what you believe is true and right. Be true to yourself. However to know the truth you have to look at all sides of an issue. So please don't give up on God just because of the Watchtower. Just because they are deceptive and wrong does not mean God is. So many witnesses have a problem seperating the organization from God, and when they find out the organization is false they figure God is too.
To give both sides a fair listen try looking on itunes for John Lennox or William Lane Craig. Listen so some of their debates. Listen to the Veritas forum. Also, while I don't agree with everything he has to say I found Ravi Zacharias to be very interesting to listen to.
Either way, for me personally I stress how much I love my parents, and family and I don't rub their faces in what I believe (because it just doesn't work) instead I just try to live my life the best I can under the circumstances.
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Angry Health Care Rant
by ctrwtf infor those of you who live in truly first world countries (uk, australia, canada, etc etc) you can skip this.
for those of us stuck in the usa, not a first world country at all, please feel free to read on.. i've done my best to be fiscally responsible my whole life.
i bought my first house at age 25. and because of having a little loot to protect and not wanting to end up in some overcrowded emergency room waiting hours to be seen by doogie howser, i purchased health insurance.
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Indian Larry
I am in early 50's
I have had health insurance for my whole life until 4 years ago. At the time I was paying $1300 for a family of 3. I had to let it go for a year for economic reasons. When I tried to get insurance again they would not allow me to get insurance due to a health problem I have. It is a problem that is genetic and has never required treatment. It is a very very very slow moving problem that in all likelyhood will never affect my health. I never maid a claim on that issue ever.
Still they denied me coverage. So I (self employed) have to risk everything going without coverage. Along comes Obamacare. Now I can get coverage again, my deductable is high ($5500) but at least I do have coverage and because my income is under $70,000 it only cost about $380 per month.
The thing is all the years I did have coverage I paid in well over $200,000 in premiums and never had a hospital stay at all. I did however have kidney stones once. I was in the emergency room in severe pain. The hospital was taking other (who I am pretty sure were not insured) and left me out there for 2 hours. I finally left and did without.
The thing is that I was still paying for those without insurance to have healthcare. The reason my premiums were so high was because the hospital has to charge $12 per asprin for the people who have insurance to cover the ones that don't.
I know I am rambling but bottom line is this. I do not have a problem at all with Obamacare. The high deductables will keep people from running to the doctor to get antibiotics every time they get the sniffles and the insurance companies will still make money, you can be sure of that. As far as the republicans whining about it . . . get over it. It kind of reminds me of all these guys with the rebel flags in their windows. You lost move on. This country is a democracy, the majority of our elected representatives passed the affordable health care act, that is the way it is. Get over it.
The act never would have passed if the health care system wasnt so royally screwed up in the first place with insurance companies and hospitals battleing to see who could screw you over the most.
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23
Comstock Sign Systems!
by Atlantis incomstock sign systems .
http://www.comstocksigns.com/files/kingdom-hall-signs.pdf .
.. petra.
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Indian Larry
Very interesting. I have intimate knowledge of the sign business and I can tell you these prices are no deal. The 6"x24" Coroplast signs they are selling for $12.00 EACH are available online at www.signs365.com at a price of 32 signs for $50 INCLUDING DELIVERY. That means a "worldly company" is charging an average of $1.56 for 6" x 24" coro sign riders and the "witness" company is sticking it to the congregations for $12.00 each plus shipping.
That is almost 800% mark up over what the "worldy" company will do it for. Plus you have to keep in mind that the Signs365.com is making a fair profit at $1.56 each. Kind of makes you wonder if anyone is getting a kick back. Any RBC buyers that use this company either don't care how the publishers funds are spent or are not qualified to make purchases. Either way the publisher gets the short end of it.
Note: In full disclosure. The way Signs365 works is they print a full 4x8 sheet so you have to order 32 signs at a time. They do not all have to say the same thing. You can get 15 of one 5 of another and so on, but you do need to order 32 signs. Their price is $40 to print a 4x8 sheet of coroplast (full color is free) and $10 shipping. Any sign shop would be happy to stock these signs and sell them for $6 a pop all day long.
That is just ONE example in that catalog there are dozens.
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What Are The Best Threads Here On JWN?
by minimus inare there any type of threads that you especially enjoy?
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are there any specific threads or posters that you look out for?.
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Indian Larry
+1 on Leolia's posts.
I like factual threads without a lot of hate and snarky comments.
I also like the insider info.
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The WT and GB compared to Catholics before the reformation.
by EndofMysteries ini just read this article about luther and i'll quote a paragraph.
it's interesting how you can substitute a few words and see it identical to the wt.
now let me substitute pope and catholic church for governing body and watchtower...... .
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Indian Larry
Marking
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Ray Franz Emails: Part 2
by brotherdan inhere is a second email from ray sent just a few months before he passed away:.
dear daniel,.
i can sympathize with you in the feeling of a measure of uncertainty that you experience.
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Indian Larry
Thanks for bumping this back to the top. Excellent point.
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Watchtower Inc. 100 Henry Street Links to MANY other Suspect Companies
by objectivetruth inthere have been a few posts in the past about watchtower inc. at 100 henry street, but i do not see the answer i'm hoping for.. can anyone confirm or provide details linking watchtower inc. to the wbts?
they are across the street, and one can easily assume that they are connected, but i don't see any definite links.. the closest i have come is this link: http://www.insideview.com/directory/watchtower-inc which lists watchtower.org as the website.
this could have been posted like this in error however.. according to 2014 sec filings watchtower inc. has a ceo named sholom drizin ( a man worth possibly 2 billion.).
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Indian Larry
@JustVisiting. comments like charging the WTBS with human trafficking make us all sound like a bunch of conspiricy nuts. They do enough wrong that we can prove without that kind of stuff
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What TV Show(s) Do You Just Love?
by minimus ini regularly watch family feud.. homeland is a great show i watch every week, when it's in season.. metv has so many great programs---from taxi to the twilight zone.. what do you like watching?
?.
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Indian Larry
New show on FX called Fargo is pretty good.
True Detective with Woody Harrlson and Matthew McConahay
Vikings