DarleneGatus
JoinedPosts by DarleneGatus
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DarleneGatus
I think maybe she was a Great Queen to the English and the Scots, with whom she felt kinship, and less so to the colonies and the indigenous. I am still in shock over what has been revealed as happening within residential schools, and have a hard time reconciling that with the person who held the crown for our government, within that "Commonwealth."
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38
Replacing God?
by punkofnice inwe seem to be if a more secular society here in the west, these days.
i'm speaking from the uk.. with the lack of belief in god/s, i'm wondering if all the seeming (note: i said seeming!
), deification of people like greta thunberg, george floyd and celebs amongst others, if people who have no real belief system, are filling the gap left by god with people?.
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DarleneGatus
If you look at history, enoughisenough, there have been many cataclysms on our little planet, such as the Permian extinction and the event that took down the dinosaurs, but none of these "end times" has been followed by a paradisaic New World Order. Would be nice though, without dictators or people like the GB ordering people about. Maybe it would be better to hope for some kind of reincarnation?
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If not the WT/JW relgion where else are 'we' to go? Why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism?
by Disillusioned JW insometimes jws wonder if the wt/jw is not the truth, 'then where else are we to go?
' i say 'why not atheistic/scientific philosophical naturalism and why not a secular philosophy which teaches a way of life?
' what do you folks say?.
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DarleneGatus
When I was thinking about whether or not I still believed in a personal God I read a lot of books, including a couple on Biocentrism by Robert Lanza. I think it's possible to be spiritual and ethical but not need a personal God for wish fulfillment and to judge everyone. I have to admit that the first few years away from the religion I did not want to look at a Bible or hear scriptures quoted. So yes, DisillusionedJW, I think researching science and philosophy is a good idea when you are rebuilding your worldview after leaving JW.borg
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Replacing God?
by punkofnice inwe seem to be if a more secular society here in the west, these days.
i'm speaking from the uk.. with the lack of belief in god/s, i'm wondering if all the seeming (note: i said seeming!
), deification of people like greta thunberg, george floyd and celebs amongst others, if people who have no real belief system, are filling the gap left by god with people?.
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DarleneGatus
Social media has so much potential yet so often becomes yet another propaganda pyramid. Unless you ignore the hype and adapt it to your own purposes.
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DarleneGatus
Since this is the era of gender fluidity, we could save a lot of expense changing paper and engravings if only Charles would identify as the next Queen. -
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Tried to warn another mum
by DarleneGatus inthe thing that broke me was that i tried to warn another mum in the congregation about a brother who was inappropriate with my son, which upset me, and so i called her to talk about it since we both knew him and i had also seen him pin her daughter down on the sofa and slap the girl's bottom.
i called it inappropriate, but i never accused him of anything beyond that.. unfortunately, word got back to him and i had to go in front of 3 elders, including the brother who i felt had been inappropriate.
because they came down on me for trying to stop the behavior, and not on him for being the cause of upset, i felt very hurt and started questioning more things.
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DarleneGatus
It depends on how you DA'd and whether or not they thought they could or should talk you out of it.
If you are well known they have to announce it.
Whether they contact you before that announcement may depend on the relationship they think they have with you and your reputation and how many people are involved.
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Latest jw broadcast referring to allegations of protecting pedophiles
by jonahstourguide inhi folks.. i put this in abuse as i thought it relevant.. a physically in mentally out friend that considers our friendship greater than religion told me that on the latest broadcast steven lett alluded to satans voice being behind people that claim the organisation protects pedophiles.. my friend then went on to say they must be in damage control.. he added, but that is correct, they are hiding their internal records.
is not that construed as protecting the accused?.
if i get the inclination i may post a snippet of what was actually said.. sadly my friend is trying to protect his family relationships and so goes along with the charade.. his situation weighs on me but, as many of you here know, it can be a difficult road to travel.. jtg.
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DarleneGatus
Unfortunately, this makes it even harder for a mum in a congregation to speak out to protect her own or another mum's child or children against a creepy brother because she would be accused of being the voice of Satan. Now how do you protect kids...?
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Tried to warn another mum
by DarleneGatus inthe thing that broke me was that i tried to warn another mum in the congregation about a brother who was inappropriate with my son, which upset me, and so i called her to talk about it since we both knew him and i had also seen him pin her daughter down on the sofa and slap the girl's bottom.
i called it inappropriate, but i never accused him of anything beyond that.. unfortunately, word got back to him and i had to go in front of 3 elders, including the brother who i felt had been inappropriate.
because they came down on me for trying to stop the behavior, and not on him for being the cause of upset, i felt very hurt and started questioning more things.
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DarleneGatus
One more thing. The elder that bothered my son (nothing serious happened because I made such a stink about him not going near my son again) had a previous complainant in a congregation in South Africa that was more serious, and that mom left the organization to protect her child as well. So at least 2 witnesses, if you get my meaning. More moms need to talk...
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Tried to warn another mum
by DarleneGatus inthe thing that broke me was that i tried to warn another mum in the congregation about a brother who was inappropriate with my son, which upset me, and so i called her to talk about it since we both knew him and i had also seen him pin her daughter down on the sofa and slap the girl's bottom.
i called it inappropriate, but i never accused him of anything beyond that.. unfortunately, word got back to him and i had to go in front of 3 elders, including the brother who i felt had been inappropriate.
because they came down on me for trying to stop the behavior, and not on him for being the cause of upset, i felt very hurt and started questioning more things.
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DarleneGatus
Thank you everyone. I have since disassociated, divorced, changed my name, and have sole custody of my two sons, including the younger son that was complaining about the inappropriate adults in the hall.
We left when my sons were 10 and 14 years of age, and nearly 5 years later they barely remember the religion so not too scarred by it, thankfully.
My ex-husband the elder was removed from being an elder after we left. The other elders were quite mad that I disassociated rather than waiting to be disfellowshipped, saying something to him to the effect that "you should have kept your wife under better control." When they texted me about my disassociation letter, I texted back that I was busy eating lunch because I didn't want to take the call. I thought of those elders, stomachs probably grumbling after an elders meeting following a Sunday morning meeting and how they probably thought I was so selfishly eating lunch, but oh well, it's kinda funny.
Anyway, the thing about the "two witness rule" that really got me was that even if 2 or more people complain about molestation or child sex abuse in regards to a specific perpetrator, the elders keep records but won't respond if there aren't 2 witnesses to the same events at the same time. Which seems to be a ridiculous mis-extension of scripture to the point where even someone as gullible as myself can no longer go along with it.
I hope their harm to children and society is finally recognized so they lose their tax-free status. Hit their assets, because that's all they really care about, in my opinion.