Pathofthorns

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Posts by Pathofthorns

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  33

  What's the deal with not needing Bethelites?

  by blacksheep in

  1. social
  2. current

  as a disclaimer, i am an ex-jw (da'd) for about 15+ years, so i really haven't kept up on what's going on in bethel (come to think of it i wasn't really interested in it when i was a jw!

  recently, however, one of my relatives (current jw) commented that, although my nephew had applied to bethel (oh what a privilege!

  ), he was basically told he wasn't needed at this time because they aren't "mailing out the publications" there like they used to.

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  Pathofthorns

  This cutback thing has been going on for a while now. I can't figure out why they still are promoting Bethel service as a goal when they know full-well that they aren't accepting people... Talk about playing mind games...lol

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  29

  Select a world leader

  by JanH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  let's say you are challenged to appoint a man who will become the supreme leader of the world.

  however, you have only these 3 candidates available: .

  candidate 1) he is known to cooperate with corrupt politicians, consults astrologers, has two mistresses, is a chain smoker and drinks around 10 glasses of martini a day.

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  Pathofthorns

  If those are the only 3, then I'd have to go with #1.

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  24

  I'm busted!!!!!

  by terafera in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  oh man....check this out.. my brother, an active jw, whom i am very close too, called me sometime last year to tell me about the un issue.

  i never cared to talk about religion .... most of my family is in and i'm not.

  so i boringly reply,'oh yeah'..not really listening.

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  Pathofthorns

  I think getting busted by JWs who claim to have "stumbled" on this site is a more realistic possibility than any reprisals from the rumoured monitors authorized by the Society.

  If you don't want to be exposed as having participated here, I would just change your picture and "deny deny deny"...lol "It must be someone else from Alaska"...lol There's not much they could do then.

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  13

  We need help

  by Lee Elder in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is a request to get some assistance in preparing an estimate of how many jehovah's witness children leave the religion during or after adolescence.

  i know the figure is substantial based on my own observations, but we need some way to document it.

  please put on your thinking cap and publish your ideas here.

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  Pathofthorns

  Your biggest problem that I see with the online survey is that you will not get an accurate assessment of the real situation regarding young people.

  Most young people who "leave" are merely leading "double lives" and have not generally left the religion based on an informed decision. They still generally believe it is the truth, but have either rationalized things to justify what they do or plan on "straightening out" at a future date. As far as the subject of blood goes, I believe nearly all persons in these categories, including disfellowshipped ones would continue to refuse blood due to the indoctrination of the WT that "blood is bad medicine".

  Those that post here or that would reply to a survey are generally not going to be returning to this cult because they understand it for what it is. Regarding blood, most of these people would now accept it in emergency situations, mostly due to your efforts in disseminating accurate information. But I believe these numbers represent a tiny fraction of the larger picture of JW youth who leave.

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  (apologies in advance for me making all sorts of generalizations in this post..lol)
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  7

  population post 2

  by ballistic in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've posted several threads on population, a subject i find interesting.

  i find it very thought provoking.

  why would god choose to destroy wicked mankind just after a population explosion?

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  Pathofthorns

  I can't wait until the resurrection when there is 20 BILLION persons on the earth! [8>]

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  13

  We need help

  by Lee Elder in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is a request to get some assistance in preparing an estimate of how many jehovah's witness children leave the religion during or after adolescence.

  i know the figure is substantial based on my own observations, but we need some way to document it.

  please put on your thinking cap and publish your ideas here.

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  Pathofthorns

  I think this will be difficult to determine without records from the Society. I would say the majority leave, but of those a substancial number return to the "truth" later on.

  I believe most people who leave still "believe it's the truth" and intend to return at a future date... say sometime before "Armageddon"..lol

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  62

  Do you ignore certain posters?

  by LDH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok before we get off on the wrong foot this is not a flame war.

  i read a comment by belbab on hillary's post this morning...he remarked that he had asked a question after the 09/11 attack, that no one answered.

  well, i didn't even remember reading it, so i did a simple search.

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  Pathofthorns

  I will generally check out a post if the subject line interests me and that is usually irregardless of who has posted the thread.

  I tend to avoid fundamental Christian posters, anyone who "hears voices" (lol) or is trying to "witness" to us. I don't care to read anything by the Yardiff, You KNow, NYT (as Mike Musto he is cool) and I'm tired of Bible discussions/chronology so I tend to skip these now.

  I usually check out posts by LDH.. lol

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  40

  Ozzie's Weekend Poll #7

  by ozziepost in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm sorry that due to "technical difficulties', last weekend's poll did not appear, but thanks to all those who enquired about why it was not posted.

  glad you're enjoying them!

  so, time to put your feet up, so to speak, and have some fun with this weekend's poll.

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  Pathofthorns

  I think at the time the true implication of this change didn't sink in for many. About the same time there was the change in the separating of the "sheep and goats" doctrine being yet future.

  It was these two changes where it hit me that I was going to grow old and die. I realized the "this generation will not pass away" teaching had been pretty much what I had been teaching people and the "sheep and the goats" understanding was what was driving the "sense of urgency" among JWs.

  The Society had made liars out of all of us due to what we had told people at the doors. Every stinking moment in the ministry up until that point was wasted because the entire foundation of our message was now wrong. Later in 1995 (i think) they came out with the ridiculous QFR article explaining how the new understandings did not mean the preaching work was any less urgent and that the end was not any farther away than we had originally thought. Of course we all knew exactly what had happened.

  Whether this sunk in at the time or not, the effects of this change became apparent in the years following as most JWs shifted their "putting KIngdom Interests first" to playing "catch-up" financially and preparing to possibly retire in this system and many older ones resigned themselves to the realistic possibilities of dying.

  With a single article the WT society basically hung it's members out to dry and dashed everything they had been hoping for and had built their lives upon. I realized if they could abandon the membership and their own doctrines with the stroke of a pen, I could no longer put any weight to what they had to say.

  Path (sorry for going on about this one... alot of younger Witnesses strangely don't even have a clue about this and this wasn't very long ago)
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  205

  Sometimes I Am Ashamed

  by Dutchie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does every issue of morality have to be compared with the thinking and teaching of jehovahs witnesses?

  simply because you are no longer jehovahs witnesses does that mean that you flaunt all moral authority and engaged in any perverted pleasure that you have a mind to?

  because your morality is no longer legislated by a pseudo religious organization does that give you license to engage in all acts of "immorality" and refer to it "as just having fun.

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  Pathofthorns

  As far as the thread you might be referring to goes, every now and again things come together in an unplanned way that is almost priceless and brilliant in a funny sort of way. Sort of like a party that breaks out unexpectedly.

  But I do think some things should be reserved for private conversations among friends. Talking about some things publicly among people who don't know you can leave an impression that you might not be intending.

  I can do without the flame wars, the pointless profanity and the obscenity. But damn, that boob thread from how it started out to where it ended up was sheer unplanned and unexpected brilliance.

  As far as what "new ones" might think, I used to be concerned, but I feel that you are either ready to leave or you are not ready to leave. When you are searching you know what you are looking for and you are not paying attention to the side issues. *Those are my thoughts anyway*

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  67

  NEW JW POLICY POSTED!!!

  by amac in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i don't know if anyone has posted on this already but there is a new press release at http://www.jw-media.org/releases/default.htm?content=bg_molestation.htm that defines the current jw policy and i believe it has taken a step in the right direction!.

  although they have not literally changed it to require reporting to the authorities in all states, they have finally put into print the following: "additionally, the victim may wish to report the matter to the authorities, and it is his or her absolute right to do so.".

  i am glad to see, straight from the wt, acknowledgement that the adults involved have every right to go to the police.

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  Pathofthorns

  Hmmm..

  I have to hand it to you for an excellent post. I generalized where I shouldn't have and made assumptions where it was wrong of me to do so. I also overlooked the most simple and obvious conclusion:
  

  IMHO, if most here have a goal at all, it is a personal goal of recovery and fellowship with others who will understand.

  I do think that most of us when we see something harmful such as the WT, we hope it will either stop hurting people by changing or by going out of existance. The issues highlighted by the child abuse subject and the expectations regarding the Dateline program brought many of these issues into the open.

  Most of the commentary that led up to the Dateline episode airing though went beyond just "personal recovery and fellowship". It pushed for change even though it seems no change will ever be accepted and trusted by this community. I don't believe these reactions or motives exhibited by us are "sinister" and I don't think they are unusual given what most of us have been through. But I do think the never-have-been-JW public will judge this reaction to their now publicly stated policy as being harsh and unfair and since this subject is in the media where the public are the judge, I think we have to take that into consideration.

  Anyway, I have to thank you for your bringing this to my attention and whether I am right or wrong in my assumptions it is certainly wrong of me to have made them in the way I did. I do enjoy your posts as well and hope you let me know where I am out of line in the future. I think I need to take a break from this stuff for a while and check out the "fluff" threads..LOL Thanks

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