Posts by Pathofthorns

10

Brooklyn WTS responds to my request...

by happysunshine in

september 25, 2002 .

mailing address: .

canada .

Pathofthorns

I can't see this individual sujecting himself to a public debate. He might make a public presentation and respond to pre-authorized questions on the subject of the Society's current position on blood, but not on the past.

If you do meet with him, it would probably be a good idea to get permission to record the interview with him.

The individual will likely state that it has always been a matter of "personal choice" for individuals when it comes to medical treatments.

I would focus on what "personal choice" means for Witnesses in deciding whether or not to have a blood transfusion or what it meant in the matter of transplants. Would a Witness in good standing have accepted a transplant when it was viewed as cannibalism? Would a good Witness be more inclined to accept a transplant today? What would have happened before 1981 to a JW guilty of "cannibalism"?

You will have to learn these subjects well if you are to meet with him and be familiar with their ways of sidestepping issues. They have a way of appearing so open minded and free, when a JW faced with these issues is anything but.

Path

18

have we got it wrong ? - lets review this year

by Jim Dee in

jw
friends

lets review this year.

un debacle, silent lambs roared, panorama, cnn, dateline, march on brooklyn - all unheard of 12 months ago.. where has it got us, wtbs is still there - un moved and unphased.. have we done any damage - or did we get it wrong?.

i'm no lover of the society - but will anything move these guys?.

Pathofthorns

Few leave the WT overnight. Few became JW's overnight and years of 5 meetings every week are not easily left behind.

I doubt few will leave the WT in a year or less even with serious doubts. Things heard and read along these lines are always going to haunt an active JW in the back of their minds. The WT is being hit from all sides and Sept. 11 was like a gift from God to them. It is inevitable that the problems will be reflected in their statistics sometime soon.

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20

Why Was YOUR Meeting Cancelled?

by Funchback in

do you have any odd or unusual reasons why the elder's decided to cancel one of your meetings?.

i don't know if this is necessarily unusual but our hall lost power one cold day.

the meeting was cancelled.

Pathofthorns

There were days when the snow came down in rush hour and while you hated the drive home, you were hopeful the meeting would be cancelled. I think everyone wanted the meetings cancelled and there are usually a couple days or more when they are every year.

But it was funny to see JW's end up at the movie theatres on half-price tuesdays or at the liquor store so they could hole up with their bottle of booze. Yeah, we could go out if we really wanted to.

It is also funny that JW's couldn't think with their own heads and decide FOR THEMSELVES that it was too dangerous but they had to wait for some elder to make the call.

And what about those JW's in some African country that had to cross aligator infested swamps with their clothes and bibles on top of their heads and walk 5 miles to get to their meetings?

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5

Tampa newspaper (Very Patriotic)

by Beans in

after hearing that the state of florida changed its opinion and let a muslim.

woman have her picture on her driver's license with her face covered, i. believe this is even more appropriate.

read on, please!

Pathofthorns

I think the person that wrote that is an asshole. Especially to lump Canadian culture with American culture together shows just how ignorant the individual is. There is no surge in Canadian patriotism after Sept. 11 but probably a surge in criticisms of America.

This person's thinking leads to intollerance and certainly does not encourage peaceful relations between persons of different races and cultures.

I don't believe any major Canadian paper would ever publish such an article. The backlash would be just too great.

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57

Discussion With My Dad...Ended Badly.

by Valis in

jw
friends

some of you may know that my parents were expected for "dinner" on thanksgiving day.

well i really don't think its going to happen now.

i called my dad last night becuase my mother, now visiting my kids in south texas and bringing them here to see me, said they had "stuff to do on thursday".

Pathofthorns

Sorry to hear things went the way they did, but I found it interesting what you had to say. I don't see my parents ever leaving either and the soft approach just doesn't cut it when it seems hopeless.

At this point, I am glad my parents have nothing to do with me because the other way is just too stressful. I am truly embarrassed for their ability to lie to themselves. Exactly how do they go through life knowing they shun their children because they believe something different than them? How can they possibly feel good about that?

I would laugh too at the thought of them thinking they are going to "live forever". At what point does this belief become sheer stupidity? And only 5 hours a week to be a JW? That is a laugh too. It takes nearly 20 to be a reasonable publisher not counting the stress times just knowing there is a meeting later on that evening.

I certainly wouldn't feel bad about unloading on your parents. When our thinking is so far gone we need a good ass-kicking every now and again. Sometimes it is a bad call to do so, but sometimes you just have to tell it like it is. Have a good thanksgiving.

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10

I've given my last talk

by DIAMOND in

jw
friends

as you know or don't know..i'm in the process of doing that slow fade thing.

i still go to the meetings (sunday only) just so i can still talk to family and friends.

well this sunday i went up to the theocratic school overseer and ask him to please take me off the school.

Pathofthorns

It will not be long before you realize that you cannot sustain even this minimal level of involvement. You are right about attracting the attention of the elders at this point.

Generally you can expect them to start out kind and genuinely concerned. It is at this point many of us start opening our mouths and saying more than we should.

You will be offered "help" and whether you accept this or not determines their view of you and kindness turns to anger pretty quick.

My advice to you if you want to do the fade is to KEEP SILENT. Try to resist the urge to talk things out to even good friends that are JW's. Refuse to meet with elders, especially elders that are not alone. You don't owe any explanations to anyone.

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22

WHAT'S THE BEST POST EVER ??

by BATHORY in

jw
friends

g'day cobbers.. i realise that there is no 1 bestest post, it is relative and subjective, but i ask for your personal all time favourite.. one that made you exited about being involved with this forum, look forward to getting back online and furthering it etc.. i remember the ol' days of h2o where all the heavyweights were, that ros came out with the gb post, remember that.

wow was that exciting.

personally my all time fav post,undisputedly, was hillary's "ferryman".. that was as close to perfection as i have read or could imagine.

Pathofthorns

HS, "Who Pays the Ferryman"
Teejay's post on the "bowl of marbles"
Expatbrit's post with advice on exiting the cult.
Frenchy's original stories that made me re-think "God"

There are several posts that have left a mark on me although I never saved them. I wish there would be a way to find them more easily in some sort of archive.

I also like the many posts everyday that make me laugh and smile. There are many with a great sense of humour here and sometimes in the morning I just find myself laughing at the dumbest things at my computer.

And while I share little about my personal life in such public places, it is always interesting to read the life stories of those who do share and put faces to the names of those that post their pictures.

Amid the personal attacks and tiresome arguments, there is much that is special that still makes this place worthwhile.

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24

The Story of Beans (Finally)

by Beans in

my short journey out and now reunited with friends!

in the beginning, my father was a pioneer in the province of quebec and in south western ontario and i always asked why these places and he said it was because the need was great in these regions, im sure it still is!

my mother was in toronto pioneering and was sent here from germany to spread the word and was on her way back when she met dad the super pioneer.

Pathofthorns

Enjoyed that story beans. I have to say you and Quotes really crack me up and you're a great promoter for Quote's website.

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70

Lust For Glory Alienating The Majority?

by Englishman in

if i had ever been a victim of abuse, and the offence had been perpetrated by a member of the jw religion, then silent lambs would be the best thing ever to appear, both on tv and in person.. if i had a close friend or relative who had gone through the same trauma, then i would feel almost the same emotion.. now i do not know, obviously, what percentage of persons on this site have been victims of abuse by jw's, but my guess is that this percentage is relatively small.

so whilst most of us feel very empathetic to abuse victims, not that great a proportion of us have experienced it personally.. however, i do know that many of us have suffered trauma because of other forms of abuse by this organisation, including disfellowshipping which has caused many to be rejected by their loved ones.

whilst it is not possible to measure this form of abuse against that of child abuse, it is nonetheless a type of abuse that most of us are familiar with on a personal level, it's also a type of abuse that is still going on for many who post here.

Pathofthorns

I think everyone is trying to balance appreciation for the work of a good man with that same person's failure to have resolved a bad situation that he created.

Further comment on the subject is pointless, yet continued silence from the Silentlambs group allows this roadblock to remain.

How long will the silence continue?

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10

Brooklyn WTS responds to my request...

by happysunshine in

september 25, 2002 .

mailing address: .

canada .

Pathofthorns

I believe this person intends to meet with you to encourage you to present the merits of their present stand on blood while at the same time discouraging you from focussing on past beliefs on vacinations and transplants etc.

I would highly doubt you will receive all the information you requested, but more likely the information they would like you to have to base your research on.

It is all about control imo. I'd refuse to meet with him and just ask for the copies you requested.

Path