once again people were either to tired or to ummm preoccupied to post after the gathering today.. it was a great event for me since i saw an old friend from 7 years ago..another former bethelite who left the org before me.
we were good friends at bethel and it was great to re-aquaint ourselves as free persons!!!.
got a chance to get to know others much better.
What's this about a red stain on expat's pants?? Just what DO you people get up to at these apostofests anyway???
Glad my tickets are confirmed!!
Dana
"I undid his head collar and took him outside for a drink, and felt, if not exactly a communion with him, at least an awareness of being a fellow creature on a lonely planet."
Dick Francis in "To The Hilt"
hello everyone,.
i am bill's wife.he just called me from washington and told me to let you all know that erica won her case today!.
that sick child molesting bastard is in jail now as we speak.. his sentencing is set for september 24th i think.. one down many more to go.. thanks to all who have supported this cause.. sheila
(((((((Andi,Tina))))))))),
As usual, I admire your courage in speaking up so honestly and concisely. Hats off to both of you ladies.
Wendy,
I thought after our conversation yesterday that we had reached an understanding. I appreciated your point that you were not comparing me to a pedophile. But your comments today blow my mind
When I mentioned a mistake, I was not referring to pedophiles, but trying to get one on one with Safe. No I was not referring to her being a pedophile, just bringing it closer to home for her. People do things that are purely selfish that hurt others
What on earth gives you the idea that repeatedly bringing up something recent in my personal life that has caused much pain and anguish for me as well as other people has anything whatsoever to do with the horrors of being sexually abused?! And you want to bring pedophilia 'closer to home' for me??! There is no way in hell that you could! Other people have taken care of that already Wendy, thanks anyway. You keep saying you don't want to compare the two and yet you still bring them up together. LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR: I do not need a lesson from you in morality, selfishness, the 'right' perspective to take on pedophiles...or anything else that comes to mind. You have interesting standards of forgiveness. I'm done. This is the last post I make on this thread.
Dana
"I undid his head collar and took him outside for a drink, and felt, if not exactly a communion with him, at least an awareness of being a fellow creature on a lonely planet."
Dick Francis in "To The Hilt"
hello everyone,.
i am bill's wife.he just called me from washington and told me to let you all know that erica won her case today!.
that sick child molesting bastard is in jail now as we speak.. his sentencing is set for september 24th i think.. one down many more to go.. thanks to all who have supported this cause.. sheila
Wendy,
If have ever made a mistake in your life, perhaps putting your own selfish feelings before anothers, and want forgiveness for this. Maybe you can understand what I am talking about. It is part of being human, sick as it may seem to others, but most on this planet live and learn
I confess to being a bit confused...are you seriously comparing me to a pedophile? Someone who deliberately preys on innocent children? And did you not read my response regarding the lack of effective rehabilitation of pedophiles?
Well...whatever. You're certainly entitled to your opinion.
Dana
"I undid his head collar and took him outside for a drink, and felt, if not exactly a communion with him, at least an awareness of being a fellow creature on a lonely planet."
Dick Francis in "To The Hilt"
the problem is not the disfellowshipping itself but the shunning most of us don't accept.
i'm not so much against the disfellowshipping but shunning because it doesn't help anybody to repent some possible gross sin.
the situation is still more worse if you disagree with one or more of the wts teachings.
NYT,
LOLOL...I didn't say I was a good member of AA!!!
Actually, at this point in my life, I don't get heavily involved with ANY organization...AA has its own 'nazis' and I avoid them like the plague. My point in the post was that tough love can be practiced without shunning...so any argument for that is out the window.
But I appreciate the info...I rebel against any form of mind control, be it from an organization or an individual
Dana
"I undid his head collar and took him outside for a drink, and felt, if not exactly a communion with him, at least an awareness of being a fellow creature on a lonely planet."
Dick Francis in "To The Hilt"
hello everyone,.
i am bill's wife.he just called me from washington and told me to let you all know that erica won her case today!.
that sick child molesting bastard is in jail now as we speak.. his sentencing is set for september 24th i think.. one down many more to go.. thanks to all who have supported this cause.. sheila
I just wanted to add that I am unaware of the facts of this case. But I'm wondering if the guy showed any evidence of repentance? For example, did he come forward willingly and admit to what he'd done; did he make every effort to try to repair as much of the harm done as possible? Or, as is customary, did he deny, threaten, and generally try to hide behind various excuses?
I apologize for my ignorance of the facts...if this information is available somewhere and I've just missed it...
Dana
"I undid his head collar and took him outside for a drink, and felt, if not exactly a communion with him, at least an awareness of being a fellow creature on a lonely planet."
Dick Francis in "To The Hilt"
hello everyone,.
i am bill's wife.he just called me from washington and told me to let you all know that erica won her case today!.
that sick child molesting bastard is in jail now as we speak.. his sentencing is set for september 24th i think.. one down many more to go.. thanks to all who have supported this cause.. sheila
Sheila,
Thanks for the info and for all of the hard work that you and Bill do on behalf of victims. Having been a victim myself, I know how validating this victory must be for Erica.
Wendy, as a comment on your post, many, if not most, pedophiles are considered to not be good candidates for rehabilitation by the mental health community. While I agree with you that we need to give up our judgemental WTS attitudes, and lean towards being forgiving wherever possible, I also think that a person who is likely to prey on innocent children needs to be locked up. And I'm afraid, perhaps due to my own childhood experiences, that I have no sympathy for a person who has hurt a child in this manner. I echo my sister...I hope in prison he learns what it feels like to be powerless and forced to participate in sexual acts that he would not otherwise choose to be a part of.
Roaring a bit myself today,
Dana (showing a bit of her not-so-nice side)
"I undid his head collar and took him outside for a drink, and felt, if not exactly a communion with him, at least an awareness of being a fellow creature on a lonely planet."
Dick Francis in "To The Hilt"
the problem is not the disfellowshipping itself but the shunning most of us don't accept.
i'm not so much against the disfellowshipping but shunning because it doesn't help anybody to repent some possible gross sin.
the situation is still more worse if you disagree with one or more of the wts teachings.
Hi all,
"Tough love" is generally reserved in a more secular setting for incorrigible reprobates. Such as family members who are alcoholics and drug abusers who repeatedly disrupt the family with lying, cheating and stealing to maintain their habituations. The idea being that until someone in these scenarios has reached the absolute bottom with nobody to turn to, recovery, if possible at all is, not likely.
I am a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for 5 years now. I have been a member of AA for all of those 5 years and we practice tough love but I gotta tell you, it's much more loving than the witness policy of shunning. In AA, if a person continues to drink despite all attempts to help him/her, we still welcome them with love and compassion. Does that mean that we allow them to take advantage of us or enable their drinking/drug use? Nope, not in the least. Tough love is shown in the honesty we employ in telling them exactly, bluntly what their problem is, and what they need to do about it. We don't pull any punches but we also do not make the person feel that they are unloved. Every effort the person makes to help themselves is encouraged; every time they 'slip', they are helped to look at what caused it and what could have been done differently. I've known
parents and spouses who have had to make painful and 'tough' decisions about addicted loved ones to save the families from suffering more abuse at the hands of the addicted member but NEVER did I see any type of shunning. A healthy stand for a family does NOT need to include shunning. Calling a person on their unhealthy, harmful behaviors does NOT have to mean a withdrawal of love for that individual. Funny how a 'worldly' organization can show more love and compassion than god's 'own true organization'.
Dana
"I undid his head collar and took him outside for a drink, and felt, if not exactly a communion with him, at least an awareness of being a fellow creature on a lonely planet."
Dick Francis in "To The Hilt"
oh ... sitting there ... waiting for the interminable end of the dreary and elongated rambling of someone with no public speaking skills at all ... please end ... anything to break this monotony is welcome ... even singing about 'christian youths' would be more welcome ... music pllllllease ... ahah 'now brothers, we will move into the service meeting with song number 47' ... and out blares ... guns'n'roses 'black leather' .... what cd would you like to sneak in there huh ?
COMF,
I LOVE Loreena McKennitt, especially "All Souls Night"...that would be something to hear over the sound system, eh??
How about Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You"? Very beautiful song and it makes me think about the friends I've lost but still remember....
Dana
"I undid his head collar and took him outside for a drink, and felt, if not exactly a communion with him, at least an awareness of being a fellow creature on a lonely planet."
Dick Francis in "To The Hilt"
well, just got back from a big talk with my parents.
i finally let them in on the fact that i question the society.
(dad is an elder and mother has been in it for 67 years since birth.
Hi MrMoe,
I just wanted to add my support for you along with the others that you have received. I agree that the elders have no control over you and that you have absolutely NO obligation to meet with them until and unless YOU choose to do so.
I understand your fear and anxiety about what will happen and unfortunately there isn't much you can do about what your father and/or the elders do but again, you do have control over whether you meet and speak with them. I am truly impressed that you came to such decisions in such a short time...it took me MONTHS and much heartache to arrive at my decision about leaving. And it took me quite a long while after to get over my fears about coming face to face with any of the elders. So...hang in there and please let us know how you are doing.
Dana
"I undid his head collar and took him outside for a drink, and felt, if not exactly a communion with him, at least an awareness of being a fellow creature on a lonely planet."
Dick Francis in "To The Hilt"
well, it happened.. just this morning i was talking to my aunt, a life-long book sales rep for the wbts.
she asked me, "lisa, do you ever think you'll come back?".
i replied, "come back to what?
Lisa,
"Well You'll be sorry one day soon because your children are going to pay for you not being JW."
My mom pulled that one on me altho hers wasn't only about coming back to the KH...but that's another story. Anyway, I know how angry I got hearing that their 'loving' god was gonna kill my kids just because he didn't like me much,,,and that was one of the things that made me determined not to ever go back. Like someone else has mentioned in this thread, it is waaaaay cool that your children, like mine, will not be raised in such a sick, controlling environment. I know that it's difficult going through what you are at the moment and I just want you to know that I wish you the best.
Dana
"I undid his head collar and took him outside for a drink, and felt, if not exactly a communion with him, at least an awareness of being a fellow creature on a lonely planet."
Dick Francis in "To The Hilt"
