rick the administrator of h20 posted a sad commentary yesterday, and i followed-up with a link to it here.
he and others have wondered why his board is a non-entity these days, yet he cannot see the trees for the forest.
well, that post of his has disappeared.
Yes, I was informed privately by Mod5 over there (whoever that may be) that my post wasn't deleted for content, that the lead post was moved so mine was moved along with it. I've got a note in asking where it was moved TO. We'll see what happens.
RCat, shaking head...
| http://www.aimoo.com/forum/postview.cfm?id=311102&categoryid=2967&threadid=18518.
farkel
Francoise, have you ever read Crisis of Conscience? Ray Franz gives a credible account of how the decisions are made. IMHO, they're given Divine inspiration by the BANK. You see, if it affects their coffers, they have divine inspiration to make changes.
RCat
i am a policitcal conservative, at least a fiscal conservative and sociel moderate.
i support the death penalty, but i agree that our judicial system needs to overhaul how wwe treat criminals to achieve better rehabilitation results.
and of course, withhold the death penalty in cases where there could be doubt.. in mcveigh's case, i believe that he deserves the death penalty.
But there's that ugly fact again....the fact that babies are clean slates and become what WE turn them into. Deal with it.
Julie, with all due respect, I disagree here with this statement. Human beings are a product of BOTH genetic make-up AND environment. I can look at my own children and see that. I don't even need higher studies to tell me that, although those studies have been conducted. Babies are definitely NOT clean slates. And the social problems surrounding child rearing are highly complex and not easily solvable.
Basically, I agree with what Amazing had to say on this subject, except I'm close enough to the Tim McVeigh case to be angry enough to want to make an exception and see him tortured before he "died peacefully".
I don't believe Amazing deserved to be told you would "talk slowly to him". That was disrespectful. I find Amazing to be an intelligent poster who doesn't deserve that treatment.
In most cases, I agree that there should be 100% proof positive that someone did it before the death penalty is used. Whether that means using DNA or a confession doesn't matter. The 100% proof rule should be adhered to.
RCat
repost.. about 1997 i was told (on the quiet) by an ex-district overseer with bethel contacts, that there had just been a meeting of district overseers at london bethel.
the theme of the meeting was post armageddon communications, no less.
if communications were knocked out, they would have to be quickly re-established or else the wts would lose control of the surviving skeleton population.
Kent, calm down and have a drink man.. that anger will eat ya up!
RCat
| http://www.aimoo.com/forum/postview.cfm?id=311102&categoryid=2967&threadid=18518.
farkel
Good points, Farkel. I don't remember what it was you said at the moment, to give me the impression you didn't believe in God himself, as opposed to the Jah of the WTBTS, but no matter, I stand corrected.
I tend to be one to believe there's a higher mental power/energy source out there somewhere, but if he has any interest in us personally, I can't see it. lol
You have some very good points about the H20 forum. The post I was referring to that I wanted you to read, was the one at H20 though, where I had my say to Rick. I have to say, that I still feel there should be a forum where we don't scare 'em off, but feed 'em babyfood for awhile, but not the moderated to hell and back forums like Witnesses online or Greatcrowd. You're right about those, they're for the ones who wish to remain clueless, too afraid to examine their own beliefs. Thanks for the comments.
RCat
since i have left the non-truth it seems like sometimes loneliness sets in regardless of what you do do prevent it.. i suppose the main reason it happens for me is that my family still is very involved in the non-truth and i tend to not to have nothing to do with any jws at all, even though my wife has bookstudy and field service at our home.. well i guess that goes with the territory when you make a firm conviction to take a stand against something you know not to be true.. here are some quotes on this subject for anyone who likes quotes.. .
shakespeare, leonardo da vinci, benjamin franklin, and lincoln never saw a movie, heard a radio, or looked at a tv they had loneliness and knew what to do with it.
they were not afraid of being lonely because they knew that was when the creative mood in them would mark.. .
OutnFree, I was in your shoes at one time. Only member in the family in the "untruth". And just my kids. Glad they came out with me! It was a lonely existance, never getting invited to any get-togethers, after they stopped the congregations from having ones for everybody.
Glad to be free!
RCat
| http://www.aimoo.com/forum/postview.cfm?id=311102&categoryid=2967&threadid=18518.
farkel
Farkel,
Go read my reply before it gets removed.
RCat
oh, man!
i just had to bring this one to everyones attention.. i pressume that this is rick going off.. .
bronze member .
Okay, I'm going to try to put myself in the place I was mentally/emotionally five years ago, and try to tell you how I saw H20 at that time. Back then, I was the good little witness, who makes mistakes and gets pounded on by the elders. (Especially because I was the only member of my family in the 'trooth') I was still thinking it was the true religion, was feeling like I wasn't good enough for it, and that I would soon be killed at ARmageddon. But the key words here are "I STILL THOUGHT IT WAS THE TRUTH".
Someone who is in that stage still has the programming to think that mixing with Apostates is akin to asking for certain death from God. So, this newbie to the internet comes online, types "Jehovah's Witnesses" into a search engine, and suddenly is faced with a smorgasboard of so called "apostate" sites. The JW seeing this has never seen anything like it before.. Totally naive to what is out there. I was, folks. Totally naive. I started reading H20. Back then it wasn't quite as vitriolic as it is today, but getting there. I wrote to Liberal Elder, truly asking for help to understand what I was seeing, and got NO response. None. Nada.
I read some more, day by day.. I checked out other sites, and printed the entire site of the Reform on Blood info. I took it home, read every word, and an entire new world started opening to my very eyes.
Now, Farkel,and others who no longer believe in God, please don't think I'm running you down here. I like you, I really do. I see things today, alot like you see them. But thinking back to who I was back then, had I seen your posts and been the object of your jibes about the Bible and God, it would totally have turned me off and sent me running back to the Organization, BECAUSE I STILL THOUGHT IT WAS THE "TROOTH". People in that position need BABY FOOD, not meat, just like we were taught to do when sucking people into the cult as JW's out in "field service". If the first thing they see when they get on the internet is the hearty meaty verbal dinners that most of the H20's former participants feed people, they are going to go shrieking back to the arms of the Kingdom Hall, certain they've just been tempted by Satan himself in Farkel's clothing, so to speak.
Unless they are Smelders, MS', DO's, or CO's, (who obviously can take the heat, as they are bound to know what the Tower has been up to all these years), the average JW isn't ready to hear all that at once. They do need spoonfeeding for a time until they face what we who have been around here for a few years had to face, that they've been duped. It's not easy to accept it, or to overcome the humiliation of knowing you threw half your life away to a mirage. It's not easy to wake up from the dream, and you have to do it gently, not with clanging symbols and beating drums.
Now, I am not saying that Rick isn't a controlling so and so, but I am saying that there needs to be a kinder/gentler forum where these "Early outies" need to be able to go, the way Simon's USED to be. Maybe H20 can fulfill that role now, and the heavyweights can continue posting here, where they feel welcome and comfortable. Simon is a great forum owner. He knows how to handle things, and he is very humble. We're all very lucky that he came along and cared to open this place. But there is room for H20 too, maybe just as a different type of forum than it used to be. Both can be useful, and both are needed, I think.
Hugs,
RCat
in the crowded corridors at the district convention, there was a purse snatcher.
i was in the right place at the right time to catch it all.. this guy grabbed this sister's purse and made off with it.
she screamed and several brothers were in purseuit.
Yes, it made me unwilling to contribute. I seem to remember that C Russell said something about knowing it was time to stop when the voluntary contributions stopped coming in.
Yep, Esther, I agree. It always made me feel bad that I couldn't contribute, being a single mom with three kids to support. Then I got mad, because it seemed to me they were acting no different than the TV evangelizers, always beating the drum for mo' money, mo' money. Greed was rampant. But I have their greedy behavior to thank for getting my eyes opened alot sooner!
RCat
since i have left the non-truth it seems like sometimes loneliness sets in regardless of what you do do prevent it.. i suppose the main reason it happens for me is that my family still is very involved in the non-truth and i tend to not to have nothing to do with any jws at all, even though my wife has bookstudy and field service at our home.. well i guess that goes with the territory when you make a firm conviction to take a stand against something you know not to be true.. here are some quotes on this subject for anyone who likes quotes.. .
shakespeare, leonardo da vinci, benjamin franklin, and lincoln never saw a movie, heard a radio, or looked at a tv they had loneliness and knew what to do with it.
they were not afraid of being lonely because they knew that was when the creative mood in them would mark.. .
Bringing this to the top, Big Jim. Sometimes other subjects push things down to the bottom that would otherwise get more response.
Good luck to ya,
RCat
