Posts by Skeptic

11

JW's and "free" literature...

by Andyman in

jw
friends

i have a discussion going on another board about the so called "free" literature from the society.

i have tried to explain that is not free but the jw's insist i am lying.. all the jw's keep saying it's "free" no charge.

i would love any comments on this topic so i can link it to the jw's over there.

Skeptic

TheOldHippie,

Skeptic is right, apart from the fact that CD-Roms can also be ordered readily.

I did not make myself clear. I agree, CD-Roms can be ordered freely, as long as they will not ultimately be given to a non-JW (Bible studies will probably be allowed to get them).

I have never had trouble getting a CD-Rom for personal use when I was an active Witness. Nor was I ever asked for money for it.

The only time I was not allowed to order a CD-Rom was when I ordered it for the cong's library. This is the personal decision of the elder in charge of the library. I do not think there is a rule about this.

The only time I ever had trouble getting a CD-Rom is when I ask a JW to get me one. A sister sold me an old one, but then later asked for it back as "I found out they are for Jehovah's Witnesses only."

Although I am still officially a Witness, I do not present myself as such because my lifestyle and beliefs are not those of a JW.

Richard

26

love and sex.....do they go hand and hand?

by gilwarrior in

as some of you know, i few days ago i lost my virginity.

since then me and my lady friend have had sex two more times.

however, i have no romantic feelings twords her.

Skeptic

There is nothing wrong with sex with someone you are not in love with, as long as you both are honest about it. Both of you have been honest, so if you enjoy it, continue.

If you want sex and love, pursue it as well. Eventually you will find it. But in the meantime, don't run away from any sex. Sex is a very beautiful and natural thing.

If you are honest with your partner, and grant your partner the same freedoms you want, you can continue to have sex and date other people until you find love.

Many of my friends have an arrangement where when one is horny and needs sex, they phone up a friend and ask them over for sex. The friend complies. Later, when the friend needs some sex, he will ask for the favor to be returned.

Makes sense to me.

Richard

23

Do I convert for him????

by butalbee in

i am going totally crazy without him in my life.

i miss talking to him for hours on the phone, i miss spending time with him, i miss being a part of his life.

it was my decision to end things, and i know he still wants to be with me, but i am still torn to pieces.

Skeptic

I am looking forward to your email. I will try to answer most of the questions you raised here in my reply. Part of my reason for answering you in private is I want to tell you something very personal about my children.

His family should be ashamed of themselves for manipulating your emotions in order to convert you. JWs criticize the Catholic Church for past forced conversions; this is no difference.

So, please write me and let's keep in touch for a while till you are through this.

Richard

11

JW's and "free" literature...

by Andyman in

jw
friends

i have a discussion going on another board about the so called "free" literature from the society.

i have tried to explain that is not free but the jw's insist i am lying.. all the jw's keep saying it's "free" no charge.

i would love any comments on this topic so i can link it to the jw's over there.

Skeptic

sunscapes,

I think we both know the answers to your questions. I agree that CDs are cheap and eco-friendly, etc.

The real reason, of course, is profit: $40 charged to the cong for a CD is almost pure profit. Plus, they keep printing more mags so that they can make more profit. Downloading mags from the Internet is the cheapest form of distribution, but there is no profit in it. The "preaching work" is actually a cost-free (to the Society) distribution and sales system. Has been from the days of Russell. The profits on magazine sales were 500% in 1979, think of what the profit margin must be now!

Then at the end of each year, another very profitable CD is produced.

God, I wish I had the lack of conscience to do it...

Richard

23

Do I convert for him????

by butalbee in

i am going totally crazy without him in my life.

i miss talking to him for hours on the phone, i miss spending time with him, i miss being a part of his life.

it was my decision to end things, and i know he still wants to be with me, but i am still torn to pieces.

Skeptic

butalbee,

Please email me at [email protected]

I once had to walk away from a wonderful relationship because it was best for her. Maybe I can encourage you, or at least help relieve some of your despair.

Richard

10

Telling the Future by having Sex!

by ISP in

well i think she could predict certain things would happen...... fortune teller can predict future through sex .

a woman in japan is claiming to be able to tell a man's fortune by having sex with him.. the woman known only as kaho is based in a brothel in nagoya.

she claims to be able to tell a man his future by performing sexual services.. japan already has a soothsayer who divines the future by breast-reading and another who give predictions based on mobile phones.. kaho claims to have read the fortunes of about 1,000 men in the past year by performing oral sex, reports shukan taishu news magazine.. she says she has foreseen life events for many men - helping one to win a vast amount of money at a racecourse, and advised a doubting groom to marry his bride.. kaho says he is still a regular visitor, though.. isp

Skeptic

Clever gimmick...men can go to a brothel and tell their wives it was to have their fortunes told. That it really wasn't for sex, honey!

Just when I told I have seen it all in marketing...

Richard

27

requiem for Frank,my husband

by Tina in

jw
friends

edited

Skeptic

Tina, I am so sorry about your loss. I wish I could give you a hug to comfort you.

Please do not leave this forum. Take a break if you need to, but please don't leave permanently. There are many good people here, and most here care about you.

Richard

11

JW's and "free" literature...

by Andyman in

jw
friends

i have a discussion going on another board about the so called "free" literature from the society.

i have tried to explain that is not free but the jw's insist i am lying.. all the jw's keep saying it's "free" no charge.

i would love any comments on this topic so i can link it to the jw's over there.

Skeptic

you couldn't just take your magazines without paying for them first.

I guess it depends on what cong you are in. In the two different congs I was in, I was never, not once, asked for money. Nor was the need hinted for. The only hint was the donation box next to the literature counter.

Since the donation arrangement came in, I was never pressured to pay for any literature, nor am I aware that others were. There was a little pressure to get donations from householders but almost everyone ignored that. We were all too shy to ask for money.

This may have been because I was very vocal about the donation arrangement. Plus, we had a few well-off brothers who generously donated to the KH, so funds were probably not normally an issue.

What I did notice was weird donations to the Society. One accounts report said said we were donating had $1200 in our bank account and were donating $900 to the Society. That left $300. Since we had a $600 heating bill, the cong was asked to provide the additonal $300 needed. I wondered, but was too shy to ask, why we didn't pay the $600 heating bill first and then donate $600 to the Society, instead of the original $900 donation. After all, the Society has $billions and won't miss $300. Now, I know, the "donation" was a "payment" for literature.

Another weird thing: I was the cong's librarian. I was allowed to order literature for the cong library as I pleased, but I was not allowed to get the latest WT CD-ROMs. I had to get brothers to donate old WT CD-ROMs. I was told it was to save the Society money. Now I suspect it was to avoid the $40 charge to the cong.

Richard

28

Praying before meals

by teejay in

jw
friends

my jw wife is teaching my nearly-3yr old to pray before meals.

i'm cool with that... doesn't bother me at all.

the problem is, i'd like to accept my role as father but i don't know how to lead in this area.

Skeptic

Even when I was deeply religious, saying grace before meals made no sense to me...the following is something I wrote on my web site.

Saying Grace Before Meals
Don't get me wrong. I say Grace when asked to. I do it out of politeness and respect for others beliefs. I'll pray to God or Jehovah and thank him for providing the food, etc. It is inconsistent with my beliefs, but it is relatively harmless. We have to live with the social customs of our time.

I always thought the "Thank you Lord for providing this meal" - commonly known as "Saying Grace" - prayer didn't make sense.

People grew the food. People prepared the food. Thank the people. They did the work, not God.

Also, what about countries where there is a famine? Should the prayer there be "Thank you Lord for providing this meal. We know leaves are the best you can do. Too bad my baby and my husband died of starvation - we understand that your powers are unlimited and that you are a cruel bastard. So thank you for taking a few moments to indulge us with these leaves. Some rain would be nice so we could grow crops, but we understand you are busy saving some Watchtower magazines from the East German police. Amen."

63

HELP! Real UFO experience. No Joke. Very Serious

by proplog2 in

jw
friends

i want to report the most significant thing that ever happened to.

it is an event that i haven't been able to integrate into my.

life.

Skeptic

proplog2,

I knew the helicopter theory would not fly (pun intended). :)

have now crossed over into the absurd. My main intentions in bringing this subject up is that this is one more area that religion doesn't handle very well. Religion assumes that humans are next to God. If there are aliens who can come and go as they please we can't be very important in the whole scheme of things.

Actually, religion handles UFOs very well. There are many UFO cults out there, and many combine the Bible and UFOlogy.

As a JW, I thought that aliens were just additional creations of God. Maybe they visited us to see how the sovergnity issue was coming along. I figured if there were ET, then the earth was made first and ETs later. Earth was too important, so I figured Adam and Eve were the first intelligent creation (you know what I mean) and that is why everything in the Universe hung on the sovergnty issue on Earth. Once resolved on Earth, God could just destroy any wicked ETs out there, without trial...

The Bible did not need to comment on ETs because the Bible was for earth-dwellers and ETs were not a big issue.

JW-centric thinking, I know.

Just my two cents,
Richard