ozbrad

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Posts by ozbrad

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  33

  Today I Da'd -Twenty-five years ago. Regrets -some.

  by Xanthippe in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  yes twenty-five years ago today we sent in our da letter.

  some regrets, not about leaving the cult obviously, but sometimes when i read about people slowly fading and keeping in touch with family and friends i wonder if we should have done that.

  of course it was before the internet in 1989 so we didn't know about people fading.. one day we were driving along and we had been talking about moving congregations because we knew something was wrong but of course we thought it was local.

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  ozbrad

  Yes it reminded me it's my 30 year anniversary of leaving in a month. I left on my 21st birthday.

  Thats a lot of Sunday morning sleep ins.
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  44

  22 questions from creationists to evolutionists, taken from the Nye/Ham debate

  by adamah in

  1. social
  2. current

  here's 22 questions asked by creationists of evolutionists, on the night of the nye/ham debate: we've got alot of people who can help these creationists out, right here on jwn, so it seems the neighborly thing to do, right?.

  http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/messages-from-creationists-to-people-who-believe-in-evolutio.

  i'll take the easy one..... #22: if we come from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?".

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  ozbrad

  If man came from dirt why is there still dirt?
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  31

  Gay for J.

  by SuperBoy in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so, i eventually decided that this place wasn't the apostate hot bed i was led to believe ;-), (or maybe i am now an apostate!

  but i don't feel like one.)..

  i was brought up in "the truth".. i loved it.

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  ozbrad

  Welcome there's a lot of us gays around here just like the general population and shock horror were just like real people.
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  9

  are there any Dubstep producers out there?

  by WillowTrees in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm trying to find someone that specifically makes dubstep with ableton 9. i have few questions if i could just ask them i'll be out of your hair but i'm really interested and hoping someone is out there that is willing to answer them.. .

  me.

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  ozbrad

  Youtube is fantastic for tutorials.I use Fruity Loops for making songs and I Dj as well.
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  4

  Interview with an Apostate: Ozbrad

  by ozbrad in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  ive been a forum member for a long time but i'm more a reader than a poster anyway here's my story.. tell us a little about yourself and your family.. 50 years old australian.

  i'm gay and have been with my partner for 10 years now.

  also owner of a cat and a dog i love dearly.. were you a born in or a convert?.

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  ozbrad

  Ive been a forum member for a long time but I'm more a reader than a poster anyway here's my story.

  Tell us a little about yourself and your family.

  50 years old Australian. I'm gay and have been with my partner for 10 years now. Also owner of a cat and a dog I love dearly.

  Were you a born in or a convert?

  Born in. My parents were converted in the first year of their marriage.

  Are your parents / family JWs?

  Parents and brother still in sister disfellowshipped.

  How many generations have been JWs?

  Is that overlapping generations? 2nd then.

  Did you hold any position in the WTS? (MS, Elder etc...)

  Nothing nil nadda.

  Did you *really* believe in the bible, in spirits (angels, demons)?

  No

  Did you get baptised? When and why?

  No managed to avoid that bullet till I left on my 21st birthday.

  What was the initial trigger that made you start questioning things?

  I had a conversation with another kid once and I remember saying 'If god didnt create it then who did? and he said 'Who created god?'

  Where did you find information? Internet sites? Books?

  There was little info around when I left in 1984

  How difficult or painful was the process of leaving?

  I always wanted out just needed an excuse.

  Was it a big dramatic exit or a careful quiet fade?

  I had just turned 21 and bought myself a birthday gift of a hifi video player. I was in my bedroom playing a video and my father kicked down the door and started screaming about the evil rock and roll that was playing on the tv.
  They had previously burned most of my record collection (500 albums 3,000 singles) after a convention on records having backward masking. Better safe than sorry they said.
  I said that's it I'm leaving and I'm leaving the witnesses as well.
  That was it I was out of there. Luckily I had a job and could support myself.

  Did you convince anyone else to leave with you?

  No

  How were your family relations affected by your decision?

  Strangely enough they let me go. No elders even talked to me.
  My mother helped me find a flat.
  I wasnt out at this stage with my sexuality. It would be another 5 years before I lost my virginity.

  Were you or are you still being shunned by those who didn't leave?

  My mother still talks to me but shuns my sister who was baptised.
  Our relationship is however strained because of my gayness.Although she acknowledged my partner the other day via email which shocked me.

  How long have you now been out?

  Of the closet years darling. The JWs 29 years now.

  Was there anything you looked forward to doing when you left?

  Gay sex.

  What are you most proud of achieving since you left?

  Gay sex.

  Is there anything you miss about life in the congregation?

  Nothing. I used to find spending 30 mins in the toilet staring at the wall more interesting than the talks.

  Red pill or blue pill? Do you regret waking up to reality at all?

  I regret nothing.

  Did you become an atheist or transfer your faith elsewhere?

  I think I was always an athiest.

  How do you now feel about religion in general?

  Why hasn't it gone away yet? Talking snakes arent real.You can't lose your superpowers getting a haircut.

  Do you feel any guilt celebrating xmas or birthdays or doing any other JW "no-no"s?

  Birthdays dont mean much to me still and we dont bother with xmas not being a xtian an all.

  Have you attended any face-to-face meetups of ex-JWs?

  A ex bethellite is in my social group other than that nadda.

  Describe your circle of friends - mostly other ex-JWs or regular people?

  I know a lot of gay folk strangely enough but have many friends.

  Do you tell people about your JW past?

  Only as horror stories on halloween.

  Do you feel animosity or pity toward current JWs?

  Pity

  How do you respond to witnesses when they call at your door?

  I had an hour long discussion with a couple of JW girls on the history of the gospels and they left hurriedly when we got onto discussing the flood story.
  Waste of breath really. Last lot I saw I was washing the car outside and they just said 'Hi' and kept walking. Jehovah must have steered them away.

  Storm the barricades or tend to the wounded? (do you favor activism or support)

  You got yourself into this mess.

  What do you think is the most effective approach to reaching people still in?

  Read a book beside the bible.Having said that just reading the bible should make you an athiest.

  Do you think the WTS can or should be destroyed, will continue on as-is or grow / change?

  I thnk they're like Scientologists and lie about their numbers. Other than that its slow death by internet.Imformation is a powerful tool.

  How has your life been impacted by your JW past?

  My leaving school after year 10 at age 15 hasnt helped.

  Are there things in your life you blame the WTS for?

  See above answer.

  JW upbringing - a protection or a curse?

  My angry violent father certainly wasnt a protection.

  How do you fill your time now it's not filled with meetings and field service?

  Gay sex.
  Actually I'm a professional photographer http://www.flickr.com/photos/bardlee/
  and I Dj http://tinyurl.com/a6j687f

  Do you still have an interest in JW beliefs and doctrines?

  no

  How much of your time is still spent on JW related matters?

  Besides this forum not much.

  What do you think of the ex-JW community?

  Varied like most things in life.

  Do you see yourself still being associated with the ex-JW community in 5 or 10 years time?

  Once an exjw...

  Do you fear the future?

  Beside global warming and extremists getting the bomb no.

  What advice would you give to anyone starting the journey of leaving the WTS?

  Sunday morning sleepins rock.

  What would you change in your life if you could go back and talk to yourself?

  Don't believe your parents know everything.

  Do you have any regrets about life since you left?

  I wish I'd stayed in school longer.
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  15

  The true meaning on how light and darkness/day and night are created BEFORE the sun and moon....

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i could get real deep into this topic because every phase of the creation days go much further than how they appear when read in a literal sense.

  i am only going to stick to the question and explanation in the title of the thread.

  many say the bible and creation days make no sense at all, how is day and night, and morning/evening, all done before the sun and moon which we use for day and night and morning and evening created?

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  ozbrad

  Dear mankind this is your God speaking. Please ,please wash your hands after taking a crap it will save millions of lives. Said no god ever.
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  22

  Do You Often See JWs Out In The Ministry?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i used to always see them preaching.

  now, it seems as though they rarely are around.

  the only witnesses i see, every once in a while, are the hispanic ones..

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  ozbrad

  Had a group of ten do our street of 20 houses this week and it took them an hour they were so busy chatting to each other.
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  80

  Is the WTS backing away from "Bible Tall Tales" ?

  by Simon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i was a kid, it seemed like not a meeting went by when you didn't hear about jonah or sampson and other tall tales from the bible.. now though, they seem to have been sidelined.

  i guess the rest of the world caught on to the fact that these stories couldn't possibly be true and were so far fetched (yeah, even by bible standards) that they are just treated as 'stories' like aesop's fables.

  saying that you believe in them as genuine accounts just makes you look like a crazy zealot.. but the wts is different.

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  ozbrad

  You'd think and all powerful god would tell his people to wash their hands after having a crap so it would save millions of lives but could'nt be bothered.
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  754

  Theists, why does God allow suffering..

  by The Quiet One in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  ..specifically, the suffering of animals.

  you can talk about free will/sin/people choosing to not listen to god etc to explain human suffering being allowed.. but how can you love a god that allows animals, that haven't sinned or chosen to not have anything to do with god, to have their short lives ended in often long, drawn out, painful ways.

  i could list stories i've read that would probably make you feel ill, but i'm not looking to shock anyone or start an emotional debate.

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  ozbrad

  
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  41

  Has The Society, or Any Bro or Sis, Ever Screwed You Out Of Your Money?

  by LoisLane looking for Superman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this thread was inspired because of 3rdgn, and her asking, on behalf of her destitute elderly widowed mom,.

  for the return of her mother's "conditional loan" to the society of $20,000.00.. (this was stated today, under my thread of, "what was the effect on you of knowing hypocritical jw's?").

  the society more or less yes, no, it is now our money, and you can't have it back.

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  ozbrad

  40,000 to a sister who was associated with a law firm. She knew my parents got an inheritance when my grandmother died so asked if she could borrow it for a very short time with a large interest payment in return. Lost it all including her parents money who refinanced their home in a business that went belly up. I think she lost 200,000 all up that was 30 years ago. She repaid them 40 dollars a fortnight till she eventually payed it all back but balked paying any interest.