Posts by Reborn2002

27

How long did it take you to leave the org?

by sandy in

i was wondering how long it took for all of you to leave the org.

how active were you and for how long while knowing the "truth" was not the truth.

i ran into an old friend last week.

Reborn2002

I was born into the Jehovah's Witnesses a 3rd generation member. I was baptized a week after my 12th birthday in September of 1992 because it was all I had been taught was right. That is what usually happens when that belief is all one is subjected to and you have a biased environment. At age 15 I began to express serious doubts over doctrine (it was the year 1995 and the definition of generation was changed by the Watchtower Society at this time), coupled with irrational logic given to me by the elders (do not have long sideburns or facial hair because we say so! not because of Biblical reasoning) etc.

I began to fade at this time and left at age 18. I was gone for a period of two years but returned for a few months and went through the motions to attempt to get my family back. Even as a teenager I knew it was a false religion and a crock of BS but I lost association with my family via shunning. When I went back, a few horrible things happened and I decided I could not support a false religion and live a lie, even if it meant losing my family. Not to mention I wanted nothing more to do with fanatical people whose entire lives are based on trivial issues and lies. I DA'ed myself in fall of 2001 at age 20 because I wanted to make it apparent I had publicly rejected them, and have never looked back. In the last two years I have had a serious awakening to cults and have immersed myself in religious, philosophical, ethical, and scientific study to better educate myself on other's beliefs.

After studying Christianity (including Catholicism, Protestants, Lutherans, Baptists sects and doctrines) Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and primitive cultural beliefs like those of the ancient Incas and the very current Aborigines, I have an entirely different opinion of religion as a whole.

I am now an atheist.

7

Pic of Brother,and dogs, as promised inother thread.

by Yerusalyim in

jw
friends

my brother jeffery, he's just too cool.

mentally handicapped, he taught himself to read and write with the tv and a tv guide.

jeff like wrestling and bon jovi...and missy, his girlfriend.

Reborn2002

Cool pics Yeru. Thank you very much for sharing them and giving us more insight into your family.

My Brother Jeffery, he's just too cool. Mentally handicapped, he taught himself to read and write with the TV and a TV guide. Jeff like Wrestling and Bon Jovi...and Missy, his girlfriend. Jeff is 34, he was 31 in this pic.

That is SOOO awesome! I am sure you are proud of him for teaching himself how to read. That is quite an accomplishment and I admire his courage for undertaking such a daunting task. He likes wrestling also? He has good taste.

20

Netscrape is dead !

by Simon in

... and it's long overdue imho.

aol have agreed to license ie for the forseeable future (at least 7 years) and have also signed up for media player 9 which must represent a major blow to real player and apple.

the two companies have also agreed to cooperate on im which should be good news for all of us (i guess yahoo won't have any option but to cooperate also or be left out).

Reborn2002

R.I.P. Netscrape.

I fantasize for the day to see when AO-Hell is eradicated from existence.

Regarding Media Player 9 being a blow to Real Player and Apple, I don't know, Quicktime is better than both IMHO.

3

chocolate jesus

by Rainmakerone in

chocolate jesus .

well it's got to be a chocolate jesus.

got to be a chocolate jesus.

Reborn2002

Chocolate and cheese in the same dish?

That just goes to show you can take two beautiful things which alone are magnificent, and when you combine them, it can create a disaster.

117

Polytheism - Jehovah has same status as other gods

by Sirona in

who here is polytheistic?

is jehovah just another god?

is he on a par with osiris / pan / cernunnos / whoever?.

Reborn2002

Happy Birthday Funky!

19

Mormon Malaise?

by NeonMadman in

jw
friends

well, i was supposed to have a visit from some mormon "elders" tonight, but they called about 5 minutes after they were supposed to be here and said they couldn't make it and could we reschedule?

i was a bit irritated, since i had changed my plans for the evening to accommodate them, but i didn't express my irritation.. i wonder if they are being affected by the same sort of malaise that seems to be afflicting the jw's.

i could just as easily have told them to go fly a kite, and then i'd have been damned forever, all because they couldn't keep an appointment!.

Reborn2002

Their stated reason is to be able to trace dead ancestors on whose behalf they can be baptised.

I forgot about that baptism & the deceased crap! LOL

Thanks for the laugh Stephanus.

19

Mormon Malaise?

by NeonMadman in

jw
friends

well, i was supposed to have a visit from some mormon "elders" tonight, but they called about 5 minutes after they were supposed to be here and said they couldn't make it and could we reschedule?

i was a bit irritated, since i had changed my plans for the evening to accommodate them, but i didn't express my irritation.. i wonder if they are being affected by the same sort of malaise that seems to be afflicting the jw's.

i could just as easily have told them to go fly a kite, and then i'd have been damned forever, all because they couldn't keep an appointment!.

Reborn2002

Noted, but equally note that the nowscape.com website you reference with 'bizarre' quotes from morman yesteryear 'prophets', those quotes were not uncommon for the ignorance of the general public at that time...and that's my point, you can find those quotes by almost any contemporary white christian leader.....

So you admit they did say that. Thanks.

Not uncommon for the ignorance of the general public at that time? I agree, but that does not excuse it. You say you can find those quotes by almost any contemporary white Christian leader? I also agree, but that goes to show the folly and fallacies of religion. The Mormons idolize Joseph Smith as an Apostle and Prophet, he stated those things about blacks.. nuff said.

Again, your statement - "viewed as subhuman animals that were beyond any form of redemption" just is not true.

Note what John Taylor, 3rd Prophet and President of the Mormon Church said about blacks:

(1877 - 1887) JOHN TAYLOR 3rd Prophet and President
"...after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham's wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation a upon a the earth as well as God;.. "

or how about this lovely quote?

(1901 - 1918) JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH 10th Prophet and President
"I would not want you to believe that we bear any animosity toward the Negro. "Darkies" are wonderful people, and they have their place in our church."
"Not only was Cain called upon to suffer, but because of his wickedness he became the father of an inferior race.
"... and they have been 'despised among all people.' This doctrine did not originate with President Brigham Young but was taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith ..."

or this one:

BRUCE R. McCONKIE of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles
The negroes are not equal with other races when the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concerned..."
...As a result of his rebellion, Cain was cursed with a dark skin; he became the father of the negroes"
"Cain Ham, and the whole negro race have _ cursed with a black skin, the mark of Cain, so they can be identified as a caste apart, a people with whom the other descendants of Adam should not intermarry."

That does not equate to subhuman and and cursed beyond redemption? Get real.

I think you are biased in your viewpoint because you have Mormon friends now.

After all, you said:

I've been around Mormans all my life, have several morman friends, attended their church meetings, been in numerous discussions about their beliefs and visited many, many websites, both pro and anti-morman. What you have just said - "sheer hatred and contempt" and "viewed as subhuman animals that were beyond any form of redemption" is just NOT true and only perpetuates false information.

You are entitled to believe whatever you wish. However you are not going to change my mind, and apparently I am not going to change yours. I never said that all current Mormons are racist. I was merely referencing quotation of the founder of the Mormon Church and Presidents to follow him.

The Mormons are very similar to JW's in mindset and doctrine. To excuse their former teachings is to be an apologist for them.

50

in the U.S., be careful what you read

by teejay in

jw
friends

checking what you check out .

librarians unite against government's new ability to peek at what you read .

by michele orecklin .

Reborn2002

1984 is crucial reading

I agree. For the general public as a whole, but especially for Jehovah's Witnesses and members of other high-control group cults.

While I acknowledge that the US government does have many similarities to Big Brother in 1984, to be fair, in some aspects it does not deserve that comparison.

The United States government has tried to deceive the general public, let there be no doubt of that. The first instance that comes to mind is the Watergate scandal with Richard Nixon. However the government has not to date confiscated libraries and history books in an attempt to rewrite the past to make it as though the United States is guilty of no wrongdoing. The United States does not demand absolute devotion (life for The Party as Orwell put it) and execute opposers (like Hussein and Iraq's Baath party in real life) More importantly, currently, and that is the key word, the United States government does allow dissent and critics to openly voice their views in public forums. (do you see that in Tehran or Pyongang?) Big Brother in 1984 did not, tyrannical dictatorships such as Iraq and North Korea do not, just as the Jehovah's Witnesses do not among their own membership.

Believe me, I do not personally accept or condone many of the actions recently taken by the Bush Administration. While I find them despicable and a future threat to a citizen's civil liberties and freedoms, I do not feel as though it is nearly severe enough to label them Orwellian or JW-like in nature at this time.

What has taken place concerns me, and as Yeru said, citizens voicing their complaints should be encouraged for the health of the nation.

I love America, and as a citizen of this nation, I support it. I will fight for my freedoms, and the freedoms of others around me. I also try to remain balanced and unbiased in my views.

Just my $1 minus 98 cents.

21

Bad News For Vivamus!!!

by ISP in

jw
friends

smoking to be banned in amsterdam coffee shops

smoking is to be banned in amsterdam's famous coffee shops where cannabis is sold without fear of prosecution.. .

under a new public smoking ban, coffee shops will still be able to sell joints but customers may have to go outside to smoke them.. holland's new national health guidelines, due to take effect from the start of next year, were aimed at second-hand smoke from tobacco, not marijuana.. but they are also threatening the liberal dutch drugs policy which attracts tourists from all over the world.. "the whole point of going to a coffee shop is to smoke," complained arjan roskam, chairman of the union for cannabis retailers.. the head of the dutch anti-smoking lobby, clean air now, conceded that banning smoking in coffee shops was not the goal.. but willem van den oetelaar still backed the move.

Reborn2002

LOL poor thing. I thought she logged online from home?

50

in the U.S., be careful what you read

by teejay in

jw
friends

checking what you check out .

librarians unite against government's new ability to peek at what you read .

by michele orecklin .

Reborn2002

Question for all those using the "Big Brother" reference...how many of you have actually read "1984"?

I have read 1984.

George Orwell (although actually that was not his birth name) is one of my favorite authors next to J.R.R. Tolkien and a select few others.

In some instances the US government does fit the analogy of Big Brother. Alas, if you actually read 1984 (Why does the Ministry of Truth come to mind when considering that novel?) IMHO, the Jehovah's Witness organization matches the paradigm much more precisely.