Personally, I enjoyed reading the letter. However, putting on my JW hat, I see who it's from, the critical intent of the letter and then proceed to ignore the entire content. Within that capacity, I can't see anything beyond sour grapes from someone who used to work at the Writing Dept. I can't help but be honest about the fact that since she is a well-known JW critic (appearing on Dateline would automatically bump you up into the top ten), it's not going to have much of its intended effect other than gossip within the Writing Dept and GB that "Barbara has sent us a nasty letter!" As some had pointed out before, the therapeutic value to people who want to read it is enormous. Unfortunately, the people to whom she addressed it don't wish to hear any bit of it and will make sure it doesn't circulate further. It would be like one of Whitney Houston's former backup singers sending an open letter to her family that Whitney was a drug addict.
Sic Semper Tyrannis
JoinedPosts by Sic Semper Tyrannis
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71
Letter to the Writing Department from Barbara Anderson
by Dogpatch ini thought i knew you.
an open letter from barbara anderson to watch towers writing department.
in 1517, martin luther wrote in a letter to archbishop albert of mainz: you must graciously forgive that i, that scum of the earth, am so bold as to dare to address a letter to you.. yes, i know, you think of me as scum, just like mainz believed of luther, wondering how i dare write you a letter, someone jehovahs witnesses disfellowshipped back in 2002. i was accused of being an unrepentant sinner and condemned for causing divisions, then labeled apostate because i spoke out publicly on nbcs dateline tv program aboutthe child sexual abuse policies that protected pedophiles policies that you helped formulate.
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Only in America?
by cedars inabout 10 years ago i visited the three new york bethels - patterson, brooklyn and wallkill.
at the time, i was still very much mentally infatuated with the organization, so the trip was filled with wonder and nostalgia.
i can remember being told by a tour guide at wallkill that they were now so familiar with things constantly changing and being improved that the information they give on tours can quickly become out-of-date.
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Sic Semper Tyrannis
Actually, the first packet switching network dates back to ARPANET in the 1960's, which was created by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - notice the American spelling of 'Defense') which was under the US Department of Defense. The involvement of the DOD in its creation was a type of answer for keeping the government functioning after a nuclear attack, which in turn grew out of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway initiative. The British equivalent known as Mark I, was conceived in 1970, while the French packet switching network, CYCLADES, was a couple years later. While there is no individual responsible for the internet, it also cannot be said to have been solely the responsibility of one organization, since all subsequent "internets" have largely borrowed on and improved from ideas their predecessors formulated. Still, if you were looking for the first actual packet switching network, look no further than ARPANET. Alan Turing, a British subject, was the father of the modern computer which might be what you were thinking of.
Yes, a movement like the WT, not to mention the Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists, along with the umbrella evangelical movement have distinctly American attributes. Freedom of religion is enshrined in the US Constitution, and goes back even further than that to the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts (Anglican Puritans), Lord Baltimore's Maryland British Catholic haven, and William Penn's Quaker colony of Pennsylvania. From US grade school lessons onwards, it is burned into our consciousness about how the US was a beacon for persecuted religious sects. Thus, forming a sect is not as frowned upon as it might have been elsewhere. Regardless of who formed it and what the ideology contained, it was always their 'right' to do so. CT Russell would have been dismissed as an eccentric in Europe. Rutherford would have been thrown in jail for a lengthy sentence for agitation and libel. FW Franz would have been quickly labelled as a provincially minded zealot hack. In America, these men actually found followers which coalesced around their fanciful writings. CT Russell built upon the already existent Second Adventist movement in the late 19th Century. J.F. Rutherford tapped into American isolationism and populism by attacking the Church, clergy, League of Nations, and the business and medical establishment. F.W. Franz took advantage of the 1950's puritanical style morality which was the culture of the time. The Witnesses as we know them today are largely the creation of these three doctrinaire men who all had either dysfunctional (Russell and Rutherford) or non-existent (Franz) relationships with the opposite sex. These men, were products of their times and the prevailing culture of the time. With that said, I doubt a CT Russell could found anything other than an isolated rural church group nowadays in America. There was a closing window at the turn of the 20th century and Russell found his way in. With the notable exception of quasi-religious Scientology, there have been no significant religious movements founded in America in the 20th Century. The times have changed.
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Letter to the Writing Department from Barbara Anderson
by Dogpatch ini thought i knew you.
an open letter from barbara anderson to watch towers writing department.
in 1517, martin luther wrote in a letter to archbishop albert of mainz: you must graciously forgive that i, that scum of the earth, am so bold as to dare to address a letter to you.. yes, i know, you think of me as scum, just like mainz believed of luther, wondering how i dare write you a letter, someone jehovahs witnesses disfellowshipped back in 2002. i was accused of being an unrepentant sinner and condemned for causing divisions, then labeled apostate because i spoke out publicly on nbcs dateline tv program aboutthe child sexual abuse policies that protected pedophiles policies that you helped formulate.
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Sic Semper Tyrannis
I think she lost them at "Martin Luther". It's headed straight into her Bethel personnel file. It could have been addressed to David Splane, Freddy Franz, "Judge" Rutherford, or C.T. Russell. No one is going to read it other than the folks here.
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"9/11 was in fact....an Attack on Jehovah's Organization!!"
by RagingBull ingood day,.
this week is the super special week of activity with one of our favorite jw celebrities...the circuit overseer!!!.
in last night's talk, he gave sooooo much encouragement...just hearing him made me want to fall to my knees and worship him!
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Sic Semper Tyrannis
I'm sure Mohammed Atta, Osama bin Laden, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed all had the WT in mind when they planned their attack on the WTC. They had to know that the Governing Body members of a religion they probably never even heard of before were on their way to the top. Circuit Overseers say the stupidest things sometimes. I remember one saying at a DC back in the 80's that if Jehovah didn't do something about Armageddon soon, then he'd have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. How exactly Jehovah is going to do that to people long burnt up and buried remains a mystery (perhaps He'd just resurrect them to quickly apologize, and then wipe them out all over again once He's through). Conventional wisdom suggests that residents of those infamous cities are still piles of ash and salt at the bottom of the Dead Sea and an official apology from the Almighty has yet to come.
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Sic Semper Tyrannis
I've found Jesus. He's that Spanish guy who works at the Jiffy Lube. Doesn't speak much English though.
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"Get out of the bleachers and into the game"... Memorial 2012 demonstration.
by koolaid-man innow is a good time to start making preparations for the memorial night demonstration at your kingdom hall thursday, april 5, 2012, after sundown.. close to 20 million people will attend this annual global witness event including active witnesses, relatives and friends of witnesses, bible studies,return visits and still attached former witnesses.
the evils of the watchtower org.have to be exposed and this is an ideal time to do it.. many around the world have been adversely affected by their association with jehovah's witnesses and you can be an instrumental force by standing tall and courageously exposing the watchtower organization.. there is no better way to let the watchtower know your revulsion than to broadcast and present your view by standing fearlessly, demonstrating in front of a kingdom hall.. i am fully aware that a handful of the internet therapists who post on this forum will not agree with this method of unmasking the watchtower.. those intolerant, contemptuous critics who will comment on this thread making harsh judgements and finding fault with those who protest are perhaps deep-down wishing they had the backbone to stop hiding in cyber-space, step away from their computer and "get out of the bleachers and into the game" .
lets make this a global event!......
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Sic Semper Tyrannis
I understand your motivations and all, but for a lot of people on this forum, this kind of confrontation and combative behavior is completely foreign to how we were raised and brought up. I may have left the Witnesses, but it gives me no joy to confront my former associates about it. Knowing quite well how isolated and insular Witnesses tend to be, I feel that this method makes them more afraid and suspicious of the outside world rather than drawn to it. The Kingdom Hall becomes a safe haven rather than an oppressive regime.
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Did you like the Society's calendars?
by JimmyPage ini always thought they were the most boring things i'd ever seen.
a picture of someone preaching in a different land every month.. i always ended up hanging something far more entertaining, like an nfl calendar..
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Sic Semper Tyrannis
I agree. Though I perfectly understand why they didn't include holidays, with kids in public school, you needed to know when the federal holidays were because there was no school. I also didn't like the schedule laid out for you as far as Bible reading and daily text went. It was just a very transparent attempt to control every aspect of your life.
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Pink Floyd
by Mickey mouse ini was just listening to some pink floyd and.... .
another brick in the wall.
start of lyrics we don't need no education .
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Sic Semper Tyrannis
I always hummed "Welcome to the Machine" as we all started to get ready for the meetings. The machine sounds illustrated perfectly what I was feeling at the time. Roger Waters nailed so many of those songs perfectly, and he wrote both the music and lyrics for "Welcome" while the others just wanted to work on old material.
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OWWWWIE!!!! Plantar's wart.....
by palmtree67 inkk, i've had a small plantar's wart on the bottom of my big toe for a looooooong time.. recently, it started getting bigger and more painful.
i googled, and found a home remedy consisting of placing apple cider vinegar soaked cotton balls on the wart and covering it in duct tape.. can i just say......this f**cking hurts!!!!!.
it's been almost a week, and it's turned black which means (i think.....i hope) that it's working.. extremely painful.....can barely walk....it throbs constantly....i have to get up in the night and deal with it.. anyone?.
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Sic Semper Tyrannis
I've had two for years. I let them go for too long, and as I picked at them, the roots grew deeper. I went into the doctor and had them do laser surgery, but it only succeeded in shrinking the wart after several tries. Finally the doctor offered to inject it with a type of chemotherapy which would poison the wart. After two treatments, they died off. The only way I got them removed by by having the doctor poison them. It hurt as hell and made me a bit ill but I was glad to have finally gotten rid of them. Ask for the chemo.
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Any one watch Season Six of DEXTER on Showtime.. The doomsday killers...
by Tater-T in.. and all revelations stuff... it reminde me of the society ... when travis said to dr. gellar.." look at all the people they're all dead!
yikrs to familliar... so it did make me look to one of the only wts books around here..it's a red one... any way look up two witness in it .. cuz these two serial killers think they are... two paragraphs i new it was bs!!!.
back to dexter.. any way would love too talk, no one i know has showtime... face book page has two many people, although i did make a friend in aus, downunder..during season 2.. and i had some killer comments that got masive likes .. on requested takes... murder scenes from revelations.. where the killers were going to bring about the end .. by sacrifices.. murders.... so any one love a serial killer named dexter like me... i liken myself to him, it was how he has a dark passenger.... will talk any season, if you're behind on dvd.. the gal from aus, was behind tooo... l8r t8r.
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Sic Semper Tyrannis
I love Showtime and HBO series! I especially like True Blood, Californication, Dexter, and Nurse Jackie. I used to like Weeds, but the show is losing a lot of its focus and the situations they get into are more and more cartoonish and slapstick.
I'm thankful that I no longer have the restriction of being a JW and not being able to watch these things. I don't have Showtime or HBO, so I just download torrent files and burn them to RW DVDs. Works for me!