I am from the U.S. and have lived in Brazil for over 5 years. I speak Portuguese. If anyone needs help with translations from this site, I am at your service.
Funchback
JoinedPosts by Funchback
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Brazilian XJW activists are successfully demonstrating against JW intolerance - See their impressive website
by AndersonsInfo ini was so impressed by what the brazilian xjw's are doing to inform the world about jw's unfair and harmful sanctions put upon those who leave the religion that i just had to share their efforts with you.
congratulations are in order for a work well done.
i asked sebastiao ramos ramos, a former jw to explain in english what abravipre is all about.
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Greetings and would like some advice about a potentially fun idea
by towerwatcher inhello fellow apostates!
my first post and a long time lurker here.
i would like to thank all of you for the existence of this board as this has been instrumental for me in leaving the place i once knew as "the truth".
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Funchback
OnTheWayOut-
If I had been drinking something when I saw your meme, I would have drowned my laptop.
Funny!!
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Greetings and would like some advice about a potentially fun idea
by towerwatcher inhello fellow apostates!
my first post and a long time lurker here.
i would like to thank all of you for the existence of this board as this has been instrumental for me in leaving the place i once knew as "the truth".
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Funchback
Village Idiot-
Who plagiarized who?
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Greetings and would like some advice about a potentially fun idea
by towerwatcher inhello fellow apostates!
my first post and a long time lurker here.
i would like to thank all of you for the existence of this board as this has been instrumental for me in leaving the place i once knew as "the truth".
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Funchback
Hey, scratchme1010...
I saw a photo in a WT publication (a magazine, I believe) of a young lady riding a horse.
Some time had passed, maybe a year or so, and I saw an ad in my local newspaper of the same photo being used for a condom ad. LOL!
At the time, I was incredulous because I thought the advertiser stole the WT's photo.
I sent a letter to Bethel telling them that someone was using the WT's photo. The Society wrote back explaining that they use companies who sell photos to various companies/organizations. It was my first mini-awakening experience as I thought they did all of their own photos and art. Silly, but true.
Anyway, oh how funny that it was used for a condom ad.
towerwatcher-
My advice to you is don't do it. Some goody two-shoes will report it to the Society. Their lawyers will come and get ya!
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Survey: Are you Agnostic or Atheist or Christian?
by Iamallcool ini am agnostic.
i will count how many agnostics, atheists and christians that are reading this forum regularly.
please answer my question.
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Funchback
I am without labels.
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The Story of My Sister - Lurkers: Is this logical?
by Funchback inmy sister got baptized at 17 or 18 years old in 1983. she was ripe for the jw picking as she was shy, quiet, naive and with low self-esteem even though she was tall and beautiful and she attended one of the best high schools in philadelphia.. she wasn't outgoing and she only went out on a couple of dates prior to her baptism.
she worked at a day care center.
she loved children and animals.
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Funchback
Thanks for the replies, everyone.
My sister is still happily married to the same man. Their daughter has recently graduated from college.
Almost 30 years later and she is as happy as can be despite the JW making claims that she returned to the vomit and the world has nothing to offer.
The other thing I want to respond to is about the relationship being irreparable. I'll never get those 17 years back. I never got to spend time with my niece. The stain of the Watchtower never goes away. Sure, it fades away little by little but never truly totally.
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The Story of My Sister - Lurkers: Is this logical?
by Funchback inmy sister got baptized at 17 or 18 years old in 1983. she was ripe for the jw picking as she was shy, quiet, naive and with low self-esteem even though she was tall and beautiful and she attended one of the best high schools in philadelphia.. she wasn't outgoing and she only went out on a couple of dates prior to her baptism.
she worked at a day care center.
she loved children and animals.
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Funchback
My sister got baptized at 17 or 18 years old in 1983. She was ripe for the JW picking as she was shy, quiet, naive and with low self-esteem even though she was tall and beautiful and she attended one of the best high schools in Philadelphia.
She wasn't outgoing and she only went out on a couple of dates prior to her baptism. She worked at a day care center. She loved children and animals.
About three years later, around 1986, a young man just a couple of years younger than her happened to walk past her job. He, the son of a pastor, tall, kind of dorky and every bit as shy as my sister. The two were literally made for each other. They fell in love pretty quick.
She simply found her happiness: true love. She didn't fade or worry about what would happen if she left the JWs. She literally just walked away. She soon got engaged to this man she had met.
All was normal in our relationship as a family. In 1987, I was 17 and began attending meetings again after 3 years of being inactive. My brother, 4 years older than me and one year younger than my sister, was becoming a hardcore JW, on the fast track of becoming a servant and then elder.
By 1989, my zealous brother and I (I wasn't zealous at all...I was just trying to make it through Armageddon) were active JWs. My sister hadn't been to a meeting in about 3 years. She was just living a happy life. She was getting married that year and my brother and I asked the elders if it would be wrong to attend her wedding in a church.
Let that sink in: We had to ask another person how we should think and what we should do.
It was for a wedding. A wedding. A wedding for two people in love. One of the participants was my flesh and blood. Even though she no longer was an active JW and had never uttered a negative word about the organization, my brother and I had to ask someone to be our consciences, all because she was baptized.
The elder told us we could attend the reception but not the actual service because it was in a church, even though the reception, too, was in the church.
Now, here's the twist: Very soon after her wedding vowels, we were attending a Thursday night meeting (Theocratic Ministry School back then). Right before the closing prayer, they made an announcement: Leslie XXXXXXX has been disassociated....
No warning. No heads up. Just a cold announcement of disassociation.
I asked an elder, 'Why? Did she disassociate herself?'. He told me, "She was disassociated by her actions".
Is that love? Eternal shunning because someone made a decision at 17 and simply changed her mind? Her crime: Not for marrying a worldy man. Her crime was getting married in a church. Had she married at the Justice of Peace, no announcement would have been made.
It ruined my relationship with my sister beyond repair. I eventually woke up 17 years later and we have a good relationship now, but I lost 17 years of bonding with my sister because a school bus driver and a factory worker (the professions of two of the elders) decided that my sister should be punished in the worst possible means with a label second only to apostacy.
Is this love?
Meanwhile, accused child rapists are free to prey on our children. I guess getting married in a church as an inactive JW is way worse than abusing kids.
Oh, wait. I guess at least two people witnessed my sister's wedding so they had to take action, all in the name of keeping the organization's name pure. Unfortunately, predators don't often allow for two witnesses.
Please, lurkers and those with doubts, ask yourself if this religion is one of love, or is it one of keeping up appearances?
Brian
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Did you ever think about being persecuted?
by Funchback ini was introduced to the jw religion at the age of 7. i can't recall when i was taught about having to suffer persecution in the so-called last days, but i do remember thinking that i would crumble under pressure.. as i entered my young adult years, i imagined how governments would persecute us.
i had thoughts of being tortured for information and then how i would say anything to the torturer just to stop the pain and then be labeled a modern-day judas, missing out on everlasting life.. the jw way of life and expectations are both scary and unrealistic.. i am glad i have canceled armageddon.
also, if i should ever be tortured for some belief or principle, i shall remain strong until the end.
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Funchback
I was introduced to the JW religion at the age of 7. I can't recall when I was taught about having to suffer persecution in the so-called last days, but I do remember thinking that I would crumble under pressure.
As I entered my young adult years, I imagined how governments would persecute us. I had thoughts of being tortured for information and then how I would say anything to the torturer just to stop the pain and then be labeled a modern-day Judas, missing out on everlasting life.
The JW way of life and expectations are both scary and unrealistic.
I am glad I have canceled Armageddon. Also, if I should ever be tortured for some belief or principle, I shall remain strong until the end. My love for my family is real and, for them, nothing will make me crumble.
I realize nowadays that I never fully believed in the tenets of the JWs. I never really felt true love from most of my ex-spiritual family. And those who I felt really loved me have, fortunately, quit the religion.
Good day to all!
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Lunch today with.. JW step father....
by raven init has been a while since i've posted, i think its because i have finally gotten some peace and quiet as far as harassment from the jw elders.. my step father, the one who reported me to the elder police for a sinful act invited me to lunch today.. it has been almost a year since the incident, we have talked here and there, it has been just casual though.
he says he is in town for work and asked if i would like to meet up for lunch, i couldn't think of any excuses so i agreed.. i hope it goes well, hope that we don't go into the jw nonsense.
hope he doesn't bring elders with him, am i paranoid or what?
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Funchback
I remember when I was newly inactive. My brother wanted to get together for lunch. I set up the expectations beforehand that this was merely a lunch between to flesh-and-blood brothers. I made it clear that JW stuff was off the table.
The lunch was totally normal: eating, talking about regular stuff. Then, as we were closing out the bill, he hit me with JW questions: Do you plan on coming back? I cut him off and told him we had a deal.
Anyway, raven, there's almost always an angle with JWs and it ultimately will lead to something like, "Do you still believe it's God's organization?"
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Living with Your Parents Well Into Adulthood the Norm?
by Sorry ini don't want to seem like a jerk.
i know full well economic times are not the greatest.
there's no shame in struggling and staying with your family until you're back on your feet.
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Funchback
It was a cultural shock for me coming to live in Brazil from the U.S. The general rule of thumb here is to live at home until you are married. Some decide to move out but the norm here is to live together as a family until you start your own family. It's not mooching either. The adult kids have good jobs.