Funny how the Elders™ just hate it when you shun them and tell them to mind their own business.
Turnabout is fair play, as they say...
I'd go with the Necessary Family Business™ loophole (and none of theirs).
Posts by Scully
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49Dont Give Them More Power Than They Deserve
by Tech49 ina new montra that was recently adopted by the wife and i is this:.
dont give them more power than they deserve.. here's why i say that, and i point this to those of you still in the congregation, still trying to decide what you want to do.. recently, our family had a little family reunion gathering of sorts, and we were in the company of some extended family that were either df or da, to varying degrees.
we made it very clear, to any and all in attendance, that we wanted to be respectful and kind, despite any previous perceptions about our "status".... and that our feelings on a lot of things had "softened", and "changed" over the last 2 years.. i am being purposefully slightly vague, but i think you get the point.
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113
I just found out that my youngest brother committed suicide
by SnakesInTheTower inmy middle brother called me a couple of hours ago.
our youngest brother, josh, who was 38, was found by his friends in his apartment.
he hung himself.
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Scully
So sorry to hear this news, Rich.
I wish I knew what else to say. ***hugs***
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19
Can a baptism be annulled?
by angel.face ini joined this site about 4 years ago and life was very different to say the least.
i was a jw and started the process of 'waking up' after experiencing life threatening blood loss due to complications of a pregnancy.
i was married with two kids (husband was an ms) and was a stay-at-home mom.
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Scully
In legal defense cases, they always fall back on the excuse that shunning is a decision that individuals make of their own volition, nobody forces them to shun.
Also, there is the concept of 'ratification', which in essence means that a person who, upon reaching the age of majority, abides by the terms of a 'contract' that they entered as a minor, the terms of the contract are upheld. This too has been used to weasel out of legal wrangling related to the baptism of minor children.
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39
Are You Easily Offended? 😠
by minimus ini'm sick and tired of everyone claiming to be "offended".
if you are not politically correct, you will need to apologize for some perceived slight.. when i was an elder, i purposely avoided as much as i could, anybody that got easily offended.
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Scully
"Being offended" is a way to control people to behave in the way you want them to behave.
Personally, I think "being offended" in today's politically correct environment is a way for people to cop out of having to hear or own up to the truth about themselves.
For example: ME: "You're a maple-sucking moose-humper!"
MSMH: "Eh! I'm offended by that!"
ME: "Sorry... I won't say that again." (even though it's true)
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17
Acronyms
by Distracted inreading through a lot of the forum posts and wondered what tatt stands for (?).
any more acronyms that are special to this site?
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Scully
TTATT = The Truth About The Truth™. -
17
I have 5 Audible credits I need to use up. Recommendations?
by nicolaou insomething to make me think or laugh.
i've done the hitchens, dawkins, harris thing and as much as i rate them i'd like to move off at a tangent .
always enjoy philosophy or even something with a theological bent.. i'm coming to the end of heretic by ayaan hirsi ali and can thoroughly recommend it.. c'mon guys, don't let me down .
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17
I have 5 Audible credits I need to use up. Recommendations?
by nicolaou insomething to make me think or laugh.
i've done the hitchens, dawkins, harris thing and as much as i rate them i'd like to move off at a tangent .
always enjoy philosophy or even something with a theological bent.. i'm coming to the end of heretic by ayaan hirsi ali and can thoroughly recommend it.. c'mon guys, don't let me down .
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17
I have 5 Audible credits I need to use up. Recommendations?
by nicolaou insomething to make me think or laugh.
i've done the hitchens, dawkins, harris thing and as much as i rate them i'd like to move off at a tangent .
always enjoy philosophy or even something with a theological bent.. i'm coming to the end of heretic by ayaan hirsi ali and can thoroughly recommend it.. c'mon guys, don't let me down .
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Scully
Nic, if you want a preview of Darrel Ray's book, The Thinking Atheist podcast has had him as a guest a couple of times.
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The Effects of Sexual Abstinence Before Marriage
by cofty invery interesting article on the psychology of sexual abstinence and the effects it can have on sex life after marriage.
it focusses on an evangelical group for single men called "the river" but the attitudes will be familiar to born-in jws.. ___________________________.
..respondents had been told, since they were young, that women were nonsexual.
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Scully
If a belief system can compel you to supress natural sexual drives, it can control every aspect of your life.
The problem with creating an artificial boundary "sex is reserved for people married to one another only" is that unmarried people - virgins - have this expectation that sex will be plentiful with a spouse, because it was completely absent prior to marriage. As well, it places pressure on people to marry too soon - not wanting to fall prey to sexual desire - and the couple might well be miserable because they really weren't that good of a match after all.
It also allows for false value to be attributed to the virginal state, comparing it to a new, never used "something" (car, house, etc.). The first sexual experience can be scary and traumatic and disappointing - it gets better with experience, of course - but good sexual experience should be compared to a diamond or precious metal that doesn't lose its value over time, rather than being something worthless and shameful.
My 2¢, YMMV.
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17
I have 5 Audible credits I need to use up. Recommendations?
by nicolaou insomething to make me think or laugh.
i've done the hitchens, dawkins, harris thing and as much as i rate them i'd like to move off at a tangent .
always enjoy philosophy or even something with a theological bent.. i'm coming to the end of heretic by ayaan hirsi ali and can thoroughly recommend it.. c'mon guys, don't let me down .
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Scully
I really enjoyed
"A Manual for Creating Atheists" by Peter Boghossian
"The God Virus" by Darrel Ray
"Zealot" by Reza Aslan
"The Better Angels of Our Nature" and "The Blank Slate" by Steven Pinker
"Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
"The End of Faith" by Sam Harris