amazing wrote:.
"i was able to get my wife and children out, and this led to my son-in-law and a close friend leaving at the same time.
so, i am among the more fortunate in that my immediate family, and non-jw friends and relatives were all there with me as i exited.
Excellent Post Perry:
Remember Amazing is an "engineer". They engineer things. They search for control. Sooner or later they find out that the ultimate illusion is "control" itself.
I feel anybody who still believes in a supreme being and engages in the imaginary act of talking to god - after leaving JW's - haven't become really free.
i have been talking to a few people in chat recently about retirement strategies for ex-dubs.
it doesnt take a rocket scientist to realize that many people who exit the borg are really in a very poor situation in terms of their retirement prospects.
if it wasnt bad enough that there was always the pressure to avoid higher education and the corresponding quality jobs afforded by such, many dubs were just plain conned out of their resources by the borg in thinking that the end was just around the corner and you should pioneer, even if it meant selling your assets, going into debt, or turning down good job opportunities.
Cardboard box with windows cut in it. Address will be 117 Adams St. Brooklyn Hts. NY
welcome to the pages of mind childs guide to online health and fine unscriptural dining.
anyone who has been hanging around simons world of apasta-fiesta knows that there are a lot of strange things growing in this large garden.
of all these interesting species the trolls deserve some attention as to how to best be used, avoided, or manipulated for your own pleasure.
Nice typology Mindchild. You stopped at 7. There must be at least 12.
harmageddon was supposed to occur in the fall of 1975, but nothing happened.
who should have taken the blame?
the gb?
A member of the governing body told a group of us at dinner one night that they were razzing Fred Franz in the Summer of 1975 - asking him if he still thought the end was going to come that year. Franz made it clear that they should wait until October.
This is why those who would like to say that the Watchtower wasn't squarely behind that date are simply ignorant of the facts.
two things need to be watched in the current relationship between.
the usa (king of the south) and russia (king of the north).
prior.
Two things need to be watched in the current relationship between
the USA (King of the South) and Russia (King of the North). Prior
to the North's attack on the South there is both 1. Pushing of the
North by the South & 2. A general feeling that there is peace and
security: Dan 8:25 "during a freedom from care he will bring many
to ruin" NWT - "When they feel secure, he will destroy many and
take his stand against the Prince of princes." NIV "and in their
security shall he destroy many: he shall also stand up against the
prince of princes" ASV
The following quotes illustrate these two currents churning:
U.S., Russia at odds over war on terrorism
By John Chalmers
MUNICH, Germany, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Russia laid bare its differences
with the United States over the war on terrorism on Sunday,
challenging President George W. Bush's attack on the "axis of evil"
and accusing the West of double standards.
The cracks emerged at a security conference in Munich over the
weekend as Washington, ratcheting up its rhetoric against Iraq and
Iran, signalled it could take pre-emptive action.
U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the meeting on
Saturday that countries tolerating terrorism would be held to
account and referred to the State of the Union address last week in
which Bush described Iraq, Iran and North Korea as an "axis of
evil" seeking weapons of mass destruction.
But Russia, which has better relations with all three, insists the
U.S.-led campaign against terrorism in Afghanistan must not be
expanded to other countries and has been increasingly irritated by
the American sabre-rattling.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov, in a blunt rebuff, told
Wolfowitz and the other delegates on Sunday there was no evidence
that Iran had connections with terrorist organisations.
And he said Russia had its own list of "rogue states," naming U.S.
ally Saudi Arabia, which Moscow says helps fund Chechen separatists
fighting its own troops: "Not many people in the West like the fact
that we have some commercial ties with the countries which you
describe as rogue states," Ivanov said.
"Well, we don't like...some of your allies like Saudi Arabia or
Gulf states who give finance to terrorist organisations."
He warned that disagreements over who was counted a terrorist could
undermine the U.S.-led coalition Russia has joined against the
Islamists that the United States blames for the September 11
attacks on New York and Washington.
Washington Post
February 3, 2002
Strategic Odd Couple
By Jim Hoagland
President Bush has scrapped the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, put
American troops into Central Asia along Russia's borders and
signaled that the United States will PUSH a vigorous new round of
NATO expansion in November -- all in four months and all without
provoking serious outcry from Moscow. Vladimir Putin's Russia is
the bear that did not growl.
In the sharpest paradox of current global politics, the personal
relationship between Putin and Bush seems stronger today than it
was before Sept. 11. On that infamous day, the Russian president
was the first foreign leader to reach Bush. He used Cold War
emergency communications links -- the hot line -- to notify the
White House that Russia was canceling military exercises
immediately.
And Bush's subsequent decision to withdraw from the ABM Treaty to
pursue unconstrained missile defense tests did not inflict the
severe damage to U.S.-Russian relations foreseen by many in Europe
and here.
Putin's restrained reaction vindicates the Bush team's hard-nosed
judgment that they could build a new relationship with Russia that
was not centered on arms control. "Bush has understood that Putin
is committed to stabilizing Russia and has accepted him as a
genuine partner," German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said on a
visit to Washington, in which he did not voice earlier criticisms
of U.S. missile defense plans.
Putin now faces grumbling over his conciliatory approach on missile
defense, Central Asia and NATO from Russia's military and foreign
affairs community. He has taken political arrows to the chest on
strategic issues that boost Bush with his conservative base here.
But there are now signs that the White House sees the huge
political deficit Putin has been willing to run as ultimately
unsustainable.
Unlike Boris Yeltsin, Putin does not cloak his actions in
sentimentality or the passions of the moment. The former KGB
lieutenant colonel is a cold, calculating customer willing to make
a virtue of Russia's weakness for the time being.
Bush is instinctive while Putin is cerebral. But each strikes the
other as decisive, frank and stubborn in his politics. These are
not bad qualities for a strategic Odd Couple who should now move
rapidly and forcefully to cut and reshape nuclear arsenals that can
still obliterate human destiny within a few minutes."
END OF QUOTES
Dan 8:25 "And according to his insight he will also certainly
cause deception to succeed in his hand." Putin seems to be a little deceptive.
i have never missed a memorial in 20 years of being a jw, but this year will be the first one i miss because i refuse to set foot in any kingdom hall.
i was wondering how many that post here will attend the memorial and if so why?.
do you feel pressured into going by family or friends?.
Text for Memorial Day Thursday Mar 28
Jesus, having loved his own that were in the world, loved them to the end. John 13:1
maybe it is because i am left handed, first born and received contrarian ideas during my education, but i see some things differently than many here.. 1. jws a cult: i don't think they are a cult.
i think they are a high control sect.. 2. brain washing: i don't believe that jws are brain washed.
i think they are indoctrinated if they came in as adults, and i think they were enculcated and enculturated, if they were raised in it.. 3. disfellowshipping: everyone says how terrible and awful it is.
Larc you are not contrarian just old and educated.
I would go a step further with the "cult" issue. Who can say that a "cult" is necessarily bad? It has been suggested by some sociolgists that "cults" are a way of incubating new structures and methods for an evolving society.
In nature species form when a population is isolated from the whole. In the isolated state they take on unique attributes. When they eventally re-join the general population they sometimes come equipped with a repertoire of behaviors that enbable them to exploit certain niches. With a slight survival advantage the formerly isolated population replaces the original population.
what a bunch of wall paper.
99% of the people on this forum are hopelessly believers in one sided non-sense.
i am tired of the abusive language that has been dumped on me by otherwise respectable participants.
I have been accused of being unfeeling because I suggest a rational approach to healing the wounds of abuse. I am not expressing idiosyncratic ideas. They are not Pop psychology. No one can get a degree in social work or psychological counseling without being exposed to Albert Ellis' work.
I don't have to defend him.
Chances are - if you go in for professional counseling you will be getting a heavy dose of Rational Emotive & Cognitive Therapy.
what a bunch of wall paper.
99% of the people on this forum are hopelessly believers in one sided non-sense.
i am tired of the abusive language that has been dumped on me by otherwise respectable participants.
Yerusaliyim:
There are a lot of things that have to be determined before you turn a "brother" over to the police.
If a JW wants to go to the police they can do so. If they get disfellowshipped for this THEN they ought to deal with that as a separate issue.
While congregation Elders are sometimes incompetent in their actions the same can be said about police and social workers.
A lot involves the context of the situation.
DNA evidence. Sperm Samples. Physical examination. This is hard evidence. A 25 year old woman recalling something that happened to her when she was 10 is soft evidence.
what a bunch of wall paper.
99% of the people on this forum are hopelessly believers in one sided non-sense.
i am tired of the abusive language that has been dumped on me by otherwise respectable participants.
Waiting:
You're right. Ellis would not say "you shouldn't use should". He would say "you had better avoid using should".
Ellis does a better job of explaining the philosophy I am talking about. It isn't just quibbling over words.
Rational thinking isn't easy. But its not impossible.
