John Aquila

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Posts by John Aquila

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  9

  KH reinstatement letters filed

  by Olivia Wilde in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  does anyone know if you can request your original reinstatement letters back from the congregation.... mine contained too many specifics & personal information that i prefer for no one to know & have access to 2 elders of that committee are no longer there, i've been reinstated 4 yrs & had been df'd for 3 years & i had wrote 3 letters until finally was acepted by 3rd one,..... has anyone attempted to get them back?

  since ttat i don't feel comfortable for anyone to know deeply private things i wrote in those lettrrs...

  helpp!

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  John Aquila

  what happens to them?.

  When I was an elder, one copy goes to the WT Headquarters, one copy is kept by the secretary and filed. All elders have access to the letter and many times if you move to another kingdom Hall, some elders will tell the other elders the specifics of what you did to get disfellowshipped. It's true what Sir82 said, elders don't keep anything confidential. Many swap stories between congregations, others tell the families and friends what the person did, especially sexual acts, and if they get removed as elders or or step down, they are not bound to keep things confidential.They can tell whoever they want.
  

  They will not give you the letter or any copies, those are WT property.
  
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  My story of past time.

  by pureginseng0 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.jehovahswitnessrecovery.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=9&sid=b4046ac11a610a1fe940af598f64351a.

  if you visit above web site, you will find my posts of past time!!

  thanks.. from south korea.

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  John Aquila

  Welcome pureginseng0

  I knew a South Korean Sister who visited for about 6 months, her name was Ming-wa and she was good at playing the piano.

  Since the brothers have to go to prison for a few years, do they have a hard time getting work once they get out of prison? Why don't they marry the single sisters when they get out of prison?
  
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  42

  1975 all over again!!!

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wt study edition jan. 2015.

  here is the bait:.

  as the number of kingdom proclaimers increases and as we near the end of this system of things, there is an urgent need for more facilities.

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  John Aquila

  kaik
  

  My mom has surgery scheduled in October they told her not to go, because she may miss a chance to live in paradise, while she is recovering in hospital.

  
  WTF!!!!
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  10

  "Raymond Franz: You did not go to heaven"

  by opusdei1972 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  that was the title that i found in a blog.

  this blog belongs to a witness apologist.

  indeed, i was shocked on account of the arrogancy.

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  John Aquila

  DesirousOfChange

  If ANYONE has made it to heaven.........surely they would let us know it.

  
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  73

  Everybody loves Raymond

  by Saintbertholdt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  a while ago the user vinman started a forum thread called: "ray franz was an idiot".

  the reaction to it was quite negative but i have to admit that the title of that thread was intriguing to me.

  by nature i am an iconoclast.

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  John Aquila

  Saintbertholdt

  I'm going to be blunt here: I think Franz was making a power play for chief theologian in the late 70's after the 75 failure.

  I had to step out for a while but I did catch this post. What do you mean by Franz making a power play? What's higher than a GB member? Elaborate please.
  
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  73

  Everybody loves Raymond

  by Saintbertholdt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  a while ago the user vinman started a forum thread called: "ray franz was an idiot".

  the reaction to it was quite negative but i have to admit that the title of that thread was intriguing to me.

  by nature i am an iconoclast.

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  John Aquila

  What do you think about Franz being oblivious as to what was going to happen to him? He was way too intelligent not to pick up on what was going down.

  I don’t think Franz was oblivious. I’m sure Ray recognized the repercussions that were going to befall him for every word and thought he printed in his book. But I’m sure he used filters to lessen the consequences that he felt might result because of the expose.

  In other words, he threw out the dirty laundry, but not necessarily “ALL” the dirty soiled laundry. Human nature makes us risk averse, and I believe Ray was trying to exit peacefully.

  Once he was disfellowshipped he went for it, that is, he decided to use the material he kept to indict them but since it was his first experience in doing this, I’m sure he tempered it a little. He still had a conscience that guided him and he didn’t allow anger and hatred to control his writings.

  I always felt that Ray knew a lot more than he wrote, but he had to balance the way he wrote so that it would not come off as hateful rhetoric against a group of people that kicked him out.

  I think he thoughtfully considered carefully what subjects to cover and how much of those subjects he would discuss. Ray probably gave much thought as to how the subjects in the book would affect the over-all tone or attitude of his book.
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  42

  1975 all over again!!!

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wt study edition jan. 2015.

  here is the bait:.

  as the number of kingdom proclaimers increases and as we near the end of this system of things, there is an urgent need for more facilities.

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  John Aquila

  Diogenesister

  re: the Walkill folks I think what I mean is that belief may not even be an issue anymore. As is often pointed out its the social thing that attracts them.

  Yes, it is tough when you get old and you lose all your family and friends. And at that point, what’s the use if you can’t share your thoughts and feelings with someone? That’s when life starts to become meaningless and any social thing will do to get your through the day. I don't look forward to that day.
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  73

  Everybody loves Raymond

  by Saintbertholdt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  a while ago the user vinman started a forum thread called: "ray franz was an idiot".

  the reaction to it was quite negative but i have to admit that the title of that thread was intriguing to me.

  by nature i am an iconoclast.

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  John Aquila

  You know, it’s kind of hard to see what was going through Ray’s mind as he exposed the Watchtower Organization for what it really was. Did he feel that focusing on Greenlees would detract from the overall message of what he was trying to accomplish? I’m not sure.

  Now I can see the relevance of continuing on the subject in the book if the GB allowed Greenlees to continue serving as a GB, but since they dismissed him, it kind of ended the matter. They could not be accused of allowing him to serve after the fact of the matter when the majority became aware. They did do a good job of squelching the incident, but I doubt it if they could do it again. Too many camera phones all over the place.
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  73

  Everybody loves Raymond

  by Saintbertholdt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  a while ago the user vinman started a forum thread called: "ray franz was an idiot".

  the reaction to it was quite negative but i have to admit that the title of that thread was intriguing to me.

  by nature i am an iconoclast.

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  John Aquila

  Wasn't his silence complacency? Franz wrote about everything else, why not this particular subject? The Watchtower pedorist scandal already broke three years before the last revision of his first book (2001 and 2004 respectively), yet he still kept silent. Was it too uncomfortable for him or was he just protecting Greenlees and his own reputation?

  Maybe Franz only had second hand knowledge and wasn't totally sure if the accusations were true. It was a witch-hunt environment during that time and accusations were flying left and right. Wasn't Franz disfellowshipped for just having lunch with a disfellowshipped person? It was a crazy time to be a Jw and be in Bethel.
  
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  27

  For me the worst thing is not having a helper anymore

  by John Aquila in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  one of the things that gave me confidence in life was that i believed i had the almighty creator/god watching over me, directing me, guiding my every step, protecting me from harm, and answering my prayers.

  i now know that is not the case anymore.

  i finally stopped praying.

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  John Aquila

  WHATSGOINGON 11 minutes ago

  I look at creation and it is so complex, our feelings and emotions are something that could not have evolved (in my opinion) and the earth is so beautiful it seems crazy to think it all just happened.

  It's crazy isn't it. I sometimes wonder if someone is just experimenting with us like a bad kid tortures ants.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr39jPapmBU

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaM9Ct3g1Fw