Posts by rem

133

MAJOR UN/WTS/NGO NEWS - WTS IS GONE

by hawkaw in

as of 11:45 this morning (i had a telphone call this morning with the refernce department person named holly at 212-963-7234), i can tell you that the watchtower has disassociated itself from the united nations dpi!!!!!!.

the dpi is now taking them off the list.

the dpi requested the list removal to be done this morning!!!!!.

rem

Don't be afraid to share this information with Witnesses. Even when they deny there is any problem, it gets the wheels in their head turning. Here is an excerpt from a recent Yahoo! chat I had with my JW workmate after sharing the UK Guardian article with him:

JW: Boy, the writer in this article obviously got all of his information from an apostate.
JW: A former member.....
rem: does the source of the information really matter?
rem: (proverbs 17:18)
JW: Yes, because I don't believe what apostates say, period.
rem: you don't have to. anyone can look up facts for themselves. i'm not saying the article wasn't slanted (it definitely was), but definite facts were reported
JW: that's true

I think my JW friend is thinking hard about this. I told him about how the WT just dropped its association with the UN and he is now pondering it. I think every little bit helps.

rem

64

Our town just got hit by terrorists!!!!!!!!!!

by MrMoe in

jw
friends

my boss just called on a cell phone - he went to arby's for lunch and 3 people of arabic decent ran in an threw some sort of chemical on the floor and ran out.

us 41 was closed and he is being quarantined.

i am worried - hope he is ok. hopefully this is a fluke, but i just don't know.

rem

Gumby,

;)

rem

"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so."
..........Bertrand Russell

64

Our town just got hit by terrorists!!!!!!!!!!

by MrMoe in

jw
friends

my boss just called on a cell phone - he went to arby's for lunch and 3 people of arabic decent ran in an threw some sort of chemical on the floor and ran out.

us 41 was closed and he is being quarantined.

i am worried - hope he is ok. hopefully this is a fluke, but i just don't know.

rem

Mr. Moe,

The point is - it seems there can't be one stinking post with out somebody accusing another person of being a liar. Paranoid people are irritating and it puts this board in a bad light for lurkers.

Interesting that I don't have the same reaction to any of my posts, and the same can be said of most others on this board. Perhaps there is something different about your approach that tends to make people react in this manner?

Just a thought,

rem

"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so."
..........Bertrand Russell

19

WELL, HERE WE GO...

by Michael3000 in

jw
friends

the us launched an air strike on key cities in afghanistan around 12:45 est today.

president bush says that we are specifcally targeting taliban military installations, and terrorist training camps.

may god be with us all.. .

rem

Hypocritical counter attack? Logical, that's got to be one of the dumbest things you've ever said. There is nothing hypocritical about bombing military (not civillian) targets of a militia regime who is harboring international terrorists. Wake up, bro.

rem

"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so."
..........Bertrand Russell

501

UNITED NATIONS , NGO's and WTBS

by MacHislopp in

following the link given by kent,.

i have several observation to make:.

(from the link : http://www.un.org/moreinfo/ngolink/brochure.htm).

rem

Perhaps the Society should slightly change the purpose statement on the inside cover of the Awake! magazine? Here is a thought:

Why Awake! is published. Awake! is for the enlightenment of the entire family. It shows how to cope with today's problems. It reports the news, tells about people in many lands, examines religion and science. But it does more. It probes beneath the surface and points to the real meaning behind current events, yet it always stays politically neutral and does not exalt one race above another. Most important, this magazine builds confidence in the Creator's promise of a peaceful and secure new world that is about to replace the present wicked, lawless system of things. Awake! is also instrumental in dispensing information and promoting the charter of the United Nations. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, which publishes this journal, has aligned itself with the United Nations as an Non-Governmental Association associated with the Department of Public Information since 1991.

At least it would be a bit more honest. ;)

rem

"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so."
..........Bertrand Russell

15

Help! Pls post the 'purpose' of the Awake mag.

by LDH in

jw
friends

could someone please post the verbatim 'purpose' of the awake mag (inside front cover) and also the one that was in there for years before the 1995 generation change article.. i know there are two differenet 'purposes' just like the baptism questions were changed.. i'd really appreciate it.. lisa

rem

Perhaps they should add that the purpose of the Awake! magazine is to dispense information about the UN and promote it's charter. A footnote at the bottom could explain that the WBTS has aligned itself with the United Nations as an Non-Governmental Association associated with the Department of Public Information since 1991.

rem

"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so."
..........Bertrand Russell

21

How have appointed bros handled leaving the WTS

by Leander in

jw
friends

i'm debating on when to actually decide and step down as a ministerial servant.

my conscience will no longer allow me to give talks or speak to others in the door-to-door work.. i'm feeling really apprehensive about what i need to do, i know for a fact that my wife is going to be devestated.. .

whats the best way to step down from an appointed position?

rem

Leander,

I was in your position not too long ago. I got to the point where my conscience would not allow me to give certain talks, conduct certain studies, or place WT literature in field service. At one point I just stopped turning in my time hoping that the elders would remove me. For at least six months I didn't turn in a time sheet, but the brothers didn't ask me to step down!

Finally, my father shared a letter of questions I wrote about the Society to my elders and they had an informal meeting with me. We all agreed that it would be best if I no longer served as an MS and my deletion was announced at the next service meeting. It was exactly what I wanted. Soon after that I stopped attending meetings. My wife and I are doing the slow fade out right now.

My wife and I had discussed these issues way before all this happened, though. Even so, it still put a bit of a strain on our marriage, but we are doing much better now. I would suggest talking to your wife about your feelings before stepping down so that she can understand where you are coming from. I tried not to attack the WT, but simply explained that my conscience would not allow me to do certain things because of what I had learned (I couldn't teach about 1914 was a big one for me). Certain things just didn't seem right to me. After sharing these things with my wife, and after some time she felt the same way.

I'm not sure what the standard announcement is anymore, but our P.O. just announced that I was no longer serving as an MS. The word "deleted" was not used. I was surprised.

rem

"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so."
..........Bertrand Russell

62

What R U Reading lately?

by Tina in

jw
friends

i'm interested in finding out what everyone is reading these days.. or what books have had an impact on your worldview since leaving the org.. what have you found helpful in re-constructing and broadening the way you think and feel?.

what have you found to be particularly enlightening on 'your journey?'.

thanks in advance,luv to all.tina.

rem

Peace,

I am addicted as well! I simply must own all of the books I read. I love looking at them on my shelf after I've read them. There is something so satisfying about it. Maybe I'm building a library for my future kids?

I'm currently reading "Borderlands of Science" by Shermer. I've recently finished reading:

Six Easy Pieces by Richard Feynman
God, A Biography by Jack Miles
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
Did Adam and Eve Have Navels by Martin Gardner
The Dream of Reason by Anthony Gottlieb
The Jesus Mysteries by Timothy Freke
What is Atheism? by Douglas E. Krueger
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

I also really enjoyed "Age of Reason" by Thomas Paine, "Some Mistakes of Moses" by Robert Ingersoll, and "Why I'm Not a Christian" by Bertrand Russel. Also, anything by Richard Dawkins and Carl Sagan is good. There are so many other books that I've enjoyed since leaving the org. I find it is fun to keep a list of the books I've read and rating them on Amazon.com.

I've got Orwell's "1984" waiting for me on my shelf to read next. Then it's time to order some more books from Amazon! :)

rem

"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so."
..........Bertrand Russell

27

"GET THE WBTS OUT OF THE UN" Pickets

by MadApostate in

since it has been several years since i attended an assembly/convention, i don't know if some of you folks are still picketing such, .

the upcoming special assembly this sunday would seem to be a great opportunity to spread this un issue to the jw r&f.. can't you just hear the "buzz" in the hallways:.

"why are the apostates holding signs saying, 'get the wbts out of the un'"?.

rem

I have to say that this is one thing that really annoys me with this board. Too many people FEED THE TROLLS. A perfectly good topic gets derailed as everyone decides to jump on the bandwagon and give the troll the attention he wants.

I would be pissed if this was a thread that I started and it just went to hell because of a troll.

rem

"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so."
..........Bertrand Russell

41

Is evolution a fact or theory?

by sleepy in

jw
friends

is evolution a fact or a theory?.

i suppose it depends on what you mean.. evolution in the sense of change from one generation to the next seams to be fact.. is well observed that offspring from a given creature will differ from the parent in different ways and thus after many generation can come to be quite different.. also that the genes of a creature can be affected by radiation from the sun and be alter in a novel way producing new and unique features in its offspring ( as long as the mutation is in the sperm or the egg).. that we came about via changes in the genes that eventually created a very different creature than that existed many generations ago , is that a fact?.

this requires that not only that there are changes between generation but also that these changes could be directed by different environments to such a degree that only certain specialised features could survive and reproduce offspring whilst other creatures have died out and only remain in fossilised form.. what evidence is there that such environments can and have existed?

rem

Warren,

Not sure I understood what you meant on that last post. I'm also not sure why you mentioned Abiogenesis when we've been discussing Evolution all this time. Evolution and Abiogenesis are completely separate theories. One does not rely upon the other.

I do know there is some interesting research going on in the field of Abiogenesis, but it is pretty much irrelevant to this discussion. I would expect we will find a naturalistic explanation for Abiogenesis someday, but maybe we wont. Maybe it's too difficult a problem to solve? (I doubt it) Maybe some god really did start everything off and left life to evolve via natural selection? (I doubt it) Maybe Invisible Pink Unicorns started it all? (I doubt it) The point is, why should we postulate supernatural causes when there is no evidence of supernatural agents?

So far everything that we've examined with the scientific method has shown to NOT be caused by supernatural agents. Even things that we "just knew" were supernatural phenomenon in unenlightened times.

rem

"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so."
..........Bertrand Russell