I had "cyber studies" with my cousin online and was told by the congregation secretary that these could be counted as time.
outnfree
outnfree
JoinedPosts by outnfree
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Cheeky Chatter
by Free2Bme ini was just kinda curious about something.... i've seen a few chatrooms hosted by jw's inviting interested persons to ask questions (as long as they are not too probing or you detect a distinct rise in blood pressure but thats another subject) and i just wondered if these hammer-wielding witnesses count their time and put it in their monthly report.. maybe they keep a record of curious guests and count each time they pop in for a chat as a return visit.. in these modern times is there a section on the report sheet for internet interest or cyberspace studies?.
could a e-mailing of an article count as a placement?.
oh when i think of those hours i spent pioneering in the cold and wet knocking on doors with housewives crouching behind the sofa with their hands over kids mouths.... can you imagine futuristic talks on the platform in the ministry school with instructions on effective arguments to use on pc-holders with a couple of zealous elderly sisters huddled over lap top computers with techno-terror on their faces?.
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District Convention Progam EXJW style
by LovesDubs inwhat we would like to see on the program hehehehe .
1. musical interlude (led zepplin, kiss, and selections from britney spears for the youf and barry manilows greatest hits).
2. kingdoom melodies selection (stand up adjust your shorts for the long haul, brothers...we hope you remembered the preparation h).
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outnfree
I'm grinnin' from ear to ear, LovesDubs!
XJWBill -- I think I'm gonna like you! Welcome!
outnfree
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I AM NEW HERE
by PurpleV inand would like to post...is this the right way to do it?
what do these icons mean?.
how do i post to a specific topic?.
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outnfree
Welcome, PurpleV!
Nice to meet you.Jst2 -- aren't you the emotional one this evening!!!
outnfree
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Brain Dead
by Free2Bme injust like to comment on the brain deadening effect of the jw way of life.
it's bizarre how completely oblivious they are to major issues such as doctrinal changes !
it's like they just calmly accept anything the org says without engaging their thought processes.. the 'generation' change was pretty amazing and would affect their door-to-door message in a big way yet it seemed to be met with a collective shrug.. i can remember triumphantly waving matt24:34 in many an impatient householders face as conclusive proof the end was nigh.. even more baffling is the fact that if i had been a bit of a swat and decided the society had got it wrong and the generation referred to the wicked generation rather than a generation of people alive in 1914 who would witness the end i would probably have been in big trouble and labelled 'apostate'.. it's as if the worldwide congregation is in a trance.
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outnfree
Yes, yes, we DID just calmly accept whatever the organization taught without engaging our thought processes. For the longest time. Until it happened once too often. Then the leaks sprang and the walled up doubts broke through and FINALLY flooded our consciousness. And we ran for our very lives!
May that happen to many of the people who have begun to nose around and have discovered this board.
A hearty welcome, Free2B!
outnfree
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Toronto - Aposto-Fest 2001
by Kismet ini am tentatively planning an event for all jw's/ex-jws who want to attend.. mid august, i would like to have a picnic either at wasaga beach (an hour north of toronto) or at toronto island.. a lot will depend on interest shown and where people are travelling from for it.. let me know who is interested and we can plan accordingly.
feel free to post this on other jw boards you may frequent.
"bad association" is guaranteed!
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outnfree
Kis,
I might want to go.
Used to live about 40 mins. north of Toronto. Wasaga Beach sounds vaguely familiar, but where is Toronto Island????outnfree
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How to Leave WT and Intact
by JT inone of the most painful things i continue to see here on this forum as well as all the others is that many who want to leave wt simply don't know how to leave and remain "intact" as it were.. i recall talking with jw who "formally disassociated themselves back in the 70s and it was not till the 90s and the net did they finally feel free.
or many who jump up and write a letter off to mo larry and curly (congregation service committee).
while i feel there is absolutely nothing wrong with writing a letter for many it is a matter of.
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outnfree
Thanks, James for a very good topic.
HadEnough wrote:
... for those who have family ... of still active JWs, then the quiet, non-confrontation fading is best.
The hard part of that?....is the need to keep quiet about what you have found out so the loyal JW family member doesn't think they'll be doing what's best for you by informing the elders that you need "help."
I experienced just that, only it was my dear friend who "turned me in." Fortunately, I had emotionally made the break months before, but I DID NOT want to LOSE this sister -- I wanted to be able to "do more good by staying alive" as Chester wrote. Once the elders called, I felt compelled to make the break. There was no way I would lie my way through an elders' meeting to stay IN.
Then, after many false starts at a long disassociation letter, I experienced the truthfulness of what JanG mentions:
The only time I suggest someone have a letter ready to disassociate is when they are being called to a committee meeting which is probably only a formality before disfellowshipping. Then they can hand it over when it is inevitable they will be df'd.
I hand-delivered a DA letter to the elders on a Monday after being called to arrange a committee meeting for Thursday. On Thursday, I was asked to withdraw the letter and give "the Truth" another month out of my life. I foolishly agreed. But by the time a second meeting was held after the next Sunday's meeting, I felt that the entire month's activities were likely just going to be "a formality before disfellowshipping." So that night, I called the P.O. and asked that my original DA letter be considered binding and that they let me go ASAP. I was out the next Thursday.
I, too, felt it important like VSecret to let the friends know that I had rejected THEM and not vice versa. But in hindsight, I think the advice to fade gently into the night would have been better all around. Which is the course I would have chosen had I not become the focus of the elders. I think, VS, that you should heed the majority opinion here and quietly fade because you have family in the Org. However, if you decide to do otherwise, maybe putting the fact that you are disassociating yourself at the END of your letter would force the elder body, at least, to read the entire thing through (or at least part of it before they scan down to the bottom looking for the main point .)
Joel just posted some very good advice about getting on with your life and having actual outside busyness to which you may attribute your lack of meeting attendance when the elders DO call.
Yes, the hardest part about fading is learning how to SHUT UP with your still JW family and friends.
But that's why we're here!!! So you can share your regrets and frustrations and new discoveries with US!
outnfree
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IT'S A BIRD... IT'S A PLANE....NO! IT'S.......
by TR in....superrrrr elderrrrr!.
heeeere i am to save the daaaaayyyyyyyy!!!!
and maybeee ruin a few liiiiives!.
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outnfree
And isn't that the Mighty Mouse theme song???
LOL
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IT'S A BIRD... IT'S A PLANE....NO! IT'S.......
by TR in....superrrrr elderrrrr!.
heeeere i am to save the daaaaayyyyyyyy!!!!
and maybeee ruin a few liiiiives!.
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outnfree
TR,
I particularly liked the "DUM" in KingDUM Hall!
outnfree
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To Yeru -- Re: Romans 10:13
by outnfree inhi, yeru.. you made the point a while back to fredhall that romans 10:13 in the context of romans 10:9-13 proved that yahweh = jesus, because romans 10:13 quotes joel who is speaking about yahweh.
this rattled me -- being a monotheist all my life.
could it be true?
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outnfree
Hi, Yeru.
You made the point a while back to Fredhall that Romans 10:13 in the context of Romans 10:9-13 proved that Yahweh = Jesus, because Romans 10:13 quotes Joel who is speaking about Yahweh. This rattled me -- being a monotheist all my life. Could it be true? After some investigation, however, I think not. Here's why, and I'd appreciate feedback from you and anyone else who feels moved to comment:
Romans 10:9"If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead then you will be saved."
God (the Father) is still "superior" here, in power, at least -- he raises Jesus from the dead and is not dead Himself.
Verse 10"By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved."
No problem for me in believing or publicly confessing verse 9 to be true.
Verse 11"When scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame,"
The scripture quoted is Isaiah 28:16 which describes "the Lord Yahweh" as laying "in Zion a stone of witness, a precious cornerstone, a foundation stone: The believer shall not stumble" and means to me that Yahweh laid Jesus as the cornerstone (cf. Matthew
21:42; 1 Peter 2:4-7; Ephesians 2:20).So far, so good, as to my mind, Jesus and Yahweh are still separate entities here.
Verse 12"it [the aforementioned scripture] makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask his help."
When Isa. 28:16 makes the statement that Yahweh is laying a cornerstone/foundation over which the believer shall not stumble, it becomes clear at Romans 10:12 that, whether Jew or Gentile, however many ask Yahweh's help to believe in Jesus-the-cornerstone will belong to Yahweh. In other words, ALL those placing faith in Jesus, from any portion of humanity, will become Yahweh's chosen people (a group no longer limited to Jews only). -- See 1 Peter 2:4-10 this time.
Verse 13 "for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Quotes Joel 2:32 "All who call on the name of Yahweh will be saved, for on Mt. Zion there will be some who have escaped, as Yahweh has said, and in Jerusalem some survivors whom Yahweh will call." (cross-reference Obadiah 17 for the emphasized portion)
The application being that, among the Jews in Jesus' day, some would turn to Jesus and accept him as Messiah, escape from the works of Law and be called out into the new, better covenant.
But nonetheless, the "Lord" upon whom the people called in Romans 10:13 would have been the same "Lord" that Jesus himself worshipped:
Mark 12:29, 30 "Jesus replied, 'This is the first [commandment]: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.'"
Yes, Jesus himself calls Yahweh of Deut. 6:4-5 "THE one Lord" (emphasis mine).
(All quotations have been taken from The Jerusalem Bible.)
Imagine! ME siding with Fredhall!!!!
outnfree
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Re: Hello all! Looking for answers!
by ilusiondtenerte ini was raised jehovah witness.
i am not practicing at the moment!.
it's been over 15 years, that i don't attend the kingdom hall.. i have been married with a man that is a practicing seventh day adventist, and as everyone knows the conflicts in our beliefs are tremendous.. i don't agree with his beliefs and visa versa!.
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outnfree
Hi, Gigi!
Prisca covered the JW viewpoint pretty thoroughly, but I just wanted to add my welcome to hers.
Question -- if you are not an active Witness, what were your reasons for leaving? And, if it's not too personal, why do your religious beliefs conflict so much with your husband's? In other words, did your religious beliefs change so you left the Witnesses? Or did you just "tire out"?
Looking forward to hearing more from you, Ilu.
outnfree