patio34

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Posts by patio34

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  22

  Request for Opinions

  by patio34 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i requested that my sons (both jws) come to my home for a family meeting today.

  had nothing to do with religion.

  both of them know i don't go to meetings and that i have intellectual disagreement with wtbs.. son #2 said that before we begin the meeting, he would like to offer up prayer.

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  patio34

  Hi Kat,

  Thanks for the support. At first, I thought I was being stubborn. But then I realized I would have been kicking myself for days by caving in to 'jw-ism.' That's a good term!

  Pat
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  54

  Haven't you got anything better to do?

  by tedcobb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  obviously a lot of you are no longer jws, for whatever reason, but surely you can find something better to do with your time.

  you seem to spend a lot of your spare time slating the society or picking holes in your former beliefs.. if you've left and think what jws believe is a load of rubbish, thtat fine, you cn do what you want, but why you have to go on about it?

  if being a jw means so little to you, why not just leave it behind and get on with your life?

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  patio34

  AlanF,

  I'd like to add my thanks to Seven006's for all the excellent writing you have done.

  Pat
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  49

  Help! Help! My son wants to tell elders about me

  by LostMyReligion in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am floundering!.

  today my jw son told me that he had seen an email in our family account written to me from an exjw.

  it contained very little, but enough to let him know that i was in contact with outsiders about my doubts and feelings.

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  patio34

  LMR,

  My sympathies are with you! A lot of good advice is here. Please keep us posted on the next few happenings, ok?

  Only one thing I would add and that is what the Insight and WT have commented on (under 'lie,' I believe). The point is made that if someone is NOT ENTITLED to an answer then they are NOT ENTITLED to the full truth.

  The examples presented are, I believe, Jesus before Pilate, Abraham re Sarah being his sister, and several others.

  While you may view it as a loss of integrity, please read up on the rationale in the Insight book. It may help you come up with a compromise in your answers.

  I feel the advice to take the initiative to speak to an elder and gloss over what's going on excellent.

  I have a plan that if ever I feel they are going to brand me an apostate, that I'll pull out a pack of cigarettes and honestly say they're mine. Then they can at least df me.

  But I don't feel these self-appointed policemen are entitled to anything.

  Good luck and let us know, okay?

  Pat
• 
  54

  Haven't you got anything better to do?

  by tedcobb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  obviously a lot of you are no longer jws, for whatever reason, but surely you can find something better to do with your time.

  you seem to spend a lot of your spare time slating the society or picking holes in your former beliefs.. if you've left and think what jws believe is a load of rubbish, thtat fine, you cn do what you want, but why you have to go on about it?

  if being a jw means so little to you, why not just leave it behind and get on with your life?

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  patio34

  Seeker,

  Bravo! Kudos! Brilliant!

  Hoist with his own petard!

  Pat
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  22

  Request for Opinions

  by patio34 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i requested that my sons (both jws) come to my home for a family meeting today.

  had nothing to do with religion.

  both of them know i don't go to meetings and that i have intellectual disagreement with wtbs.. son #2 said that before we begin the meeting, he would like to offer up prayer.

  1. 
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• 

  patio34

  Prisca, Tina, and Hippikon, Thanks for your supportive opinions. It helps to see things from more than one point of view. And, of course, only us xjws have the entire perspective on things like these.

  Tina, thanks for the compliment. And I have always enjoyed yours--so often, i'll be thinking of posting to a thread and then read your comment and it'll be right on target with my thinking! Just happened yesterday, as a matter of fact, on the McVeigh thread i think.

  This board has been such a help to me and I think of y'all (as my sis Waiting might say) as friends.

  OH! Francoise, I guess my name is gender-vague, but it's from Patricia, so my son REALLY would have been out of line saying "Dad"! Thanks for the post. You picked up on the one thing I hadn't mentioned and that is the arrogance of my son. He is. He'll make a great 'company man' (Ray Franz's term for elders) some day! ):

  Bye,

  Pat
• 
  22

  Request for Opinions

  by patio34 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i requested that my sons (both jws) come to my home for a family meeting today.

  had nothing to do with religion.

  both of them know i don't go to meetings and that i have intellectual disagreement with wtbs.. son #2 said that before we begin the meeting, he would like to offer up prayer.

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• 

  patio34

  Thanks so much for your opinions. I had thought maybe I was being petty and stubborn. So it's good to bounce this off reasonable people.

  Introspection, I did tell him he could say a private prayer. And, to his credit, he didn't sulk.

  Waiting, I'm glad you liked the beer aspect. I thought it would be a good substitute for preparing dinner for everyone!

  Seeker, thanks. If anyone was rude or out-of-place, it was him.

  I feel better about it now and am glad I didn't 'compromise.' JWs use too many words to excess and now it's hard to say them myself. Words like compromise, integrity, comment, experience, ENCOURAGE, truth, etc.

  Pat
• 
  22

  Request for Opinions

  by patio34 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i requested that my sons (both jws) come to my home for a family meeting today.

  had nothing to do with religion.

  both of them know i don't go to meetings and that i have intellectual disagreement with wtbs.. son #2 said that before we begin the meeting, he would like to offer up prayer.

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  2. 
  3. 
• 

  patio34

  I requested that my sons (both JWs) come to my home for a family meeting today. Had nothing to do with religion. Both of them know I don't go to meetings and that I have intellectual disagreement with WTBS.

  Son #2 said that before we begin the meeting, he would like to offer up prayer. I said "no, don't do that." A little disagreeing back and forth. Son #1 (very reasonable) said "just let it go.'

  My reaction sprang from the rationale that it is my home, I'm the parent(!), and that I called the meeting. I took offense at my son trying to take it over and making it 'theocratic' and injecting something into it I no longer believed.

  It would have been different in their home(s).

  So, he recovered his composure and I got a beer for everyone and the meeting proceeded.
  Any dissenting viewpoints? Any agreement?

  Thanks!

  Pat
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  61

  Is this Completely Apostate

  by redline in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just happened on this place a few days ago, and thought i would stop in to see what it was all about.

  it claims to be a jehovah's witness forum, which it is not.. dont want to come here and point fingers, as i am sure there are some good people in here, just seems the bad have followed the good.

  i guess in reality thats always the case, but hey, what else would these people do if they couldn't wage their little war on the truth.

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  patio34

  Redline,

  Interesting post. I'm a JW, have been for 28 years, raised 4 children as JWs, etc. I do not agree with the WTBS anymore, but reject the slanderous label 'apostate.' And, as has been pointed out, it's not the Biblical definition.

  The point about pedophiles and the NBC Dateline program is not that there ARE some, but they have been shielded by the WTBS from the law. This is what the WTBS has frequently criticized and condemned the Catholics for.

  HadEnough, That is such a good expression that you were 'snug and smug' as a JW. Sums it up!

  Pat
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  25

  Where is Reinhard Lengtat?

  by jst2laws in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  sorry for the posting error below.. my wife is reading crisis of conscience now.

  this is good news because i know i will have someone to talk to when im caught and dfd.

  but in her reading she is recognizing most of the names ( we were there at bethel during the 70s as a married couple) and asked what happened to reinhard lengtat?

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  patio34

  Hi Jst2Laws,

  It's good to see a post from you. I've always enjoyed your opinions.

  Pat
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  10

  JW's & The Clergy

  by Outaservice in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  after i left the organization one of the things that surprised me most was the clergy of christendom's view of jehovah's witnesses.

  i thought we were the 'center' of their attention, and they not only hated us, but were afraid of all the things we published about them.. nothing could have been farther from the truth!

  most ministers hardly knew anything about witnesses.

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  patio34

  Amazing, that is so true about the JWs thinking they're the center of the universe! One surprise I had when leaving is when I went to a Christian book store and tried to find refutations about JWs. NOT ONE! It's as if they never heard of JWs.

  Pat