THE GLADIATOR

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Posts by THE GLADIATOR

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  67

  What was the weirdest thing ever said to you as a JW?

  by falseprophet in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was about 8-10 years old and twice i had people tell me that i should not pioneer but to go to bethel because i "was governing body material".. one was a co and another a do.. i didn't even believe in god, never have so that makes it weird!.

  what wierd things were told?.

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  THE GLADIATOR

  I always asked too many questions and continued to ask the Elders questions about certain anomalies. They advised me that I was developing a ‘spirit of independence.’ I expected everything to add up and make sense, after all this was ‘the truth’ – wasn’t it?

  One senior brother of fifty years standing explained that the most important thing in the organization and in each congregation was unity. It did not matter whether what we believed was accurate, so long as we all believed the same.

  This was only one of the many weird things said to me. If they were all recorded, the whole world could not contain them.
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  33

  why jesus never tempted with sex?

  by criticalwitness in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i mean really whats the number one reason a dub gets kicked out the org?

  one of stongest natural desires and he was supposed to be a full fledged human all desires and everything i mean satan tempted him with food but no sexual pleasure?

  and was he attracted to women?

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  THE GLADIATOR

  It's true that Jesus may well have married as was the Jewish tradition.

  On the other hand, if all things really did come into existence by Jesus and through him, he would would have been the creator of woman. Knowing the anatomy of women inside out, too much information may have caused their sex appeal to lose its flavour on the bedpost over night.
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  36

  I miss Outlaw.

  by Chariklo in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  someone mentioned outlaw to me the other day.. i do miss him.

  i thought he was coming back after a break.. does anyone have an update?.

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  THE GLADIATOR

  Outlaw is fun. Often people that turn everything into a joke, do so to mask a certain sadness.

  I hope this is not the case with outlaw. I miss him too.
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  12

  What is the most ridiculous thing you've ever fought about - verbal sparring included?

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  THE GLADIATOR

  I entered the word ‘alumina’ as a solution in a crossword I was doing. My wife claimed I was making up words. I protested my innocence but she got very worked up, so I looked up alumina in the dictionary and it confirmed that alumina was, ‘synthetically produced aluminium oxide.’

  She said the dictionary was wrong. Such is life!
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  34

  How the Shrinking of the Awake! has Affected Many!

  by God_Delusion in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the watchtower society never thinks things through.

  the halving of the awake!

  magazine has had an adverse affect on many.. http://www.jehovahswitnessblog.com/awake-bloopers/awake-magazine-cut-to-16-pages/.

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  THE GLADIATOR

  Many years ago I said that Awake! should be incorporated into Watchtower magazine. Should be printed monthly, contain each months study articles, the kingdom ministry and topical articles that would have appeared in Awake!

  It should called Watchtower - The official magazine of Jehovah's Witnesses . It should only be available to the membership. Special leaflets could be printed worded to appeal to the public.

  But what does an illiterate gladiator know?
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  90

  What it takes to become an atheist.

  by dontplaceliterature in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was pondering this today during lunch, and to me it seems that it comes down to whether or not you can accept that you will one day be permanantly gone and anyone you have lost in death will never be alive again.

  once a person becomes comfortable with these two ideas, there isn't really any incentive to believe.

  maybe it's an over simplification, but it seems to me that this is the heart of the matter.

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  THE GLADIATOR

  "Just take away faith, hope and love."

  La speranza è l'ultima a morire

  Hope is last to die.
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  9

  Have you seen these three Italian teenaged tenors? IL Volo? Amazing.

  by FlyingHighNow in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  right now, at least in grand rapids, they are playing il volo's concert filmed at the detroit opera house.

  i am amazed.

  these teenagers are julian's age.

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  THE GLADIATOR

  Unbelievable talent. I’m trying to work out which is my favourite and I think the one with glasses is ahead. I hope I’m not on the turn! Thanks for posting FHN.
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  90

  What it takes to become an atheist.

  by dontplaceliterature in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was pondering this today during lunch, and to me it seems that it comes down to whether or not you can accept that you will one day be permanantly gone and anyone you have lost in death will never be alive again.

  once a person becomes comfortable with these two ideas, there isn't really any incentive to believe.

  maybe it's an over simplification, but it seems to me that this is the heart of the matter.

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  THE GLADIATOR

  There are hundreds of gods, though a few successful ones have the monopoly at present. Christians reject all other gods and only believe in their god. From this point of view they are only one god away from being atheists.

  First I stopped believing in the Hebrew desert god called Jehovah. I then spent some years examining Christian sects and visiting Churches. I failed to find evidence of a personal god. Next I examined the teachings of Joseph Smith; Mormonism. I then started looking into eastern religion. This made more sense and seemed less dogmatic. I still have some sympathy with the philosophy of Buddhism and Taoism. Much of modern western psychology is based on eastern wisdom. The often misunderstood Epicurean philosophy has much appeal, and is probably where I am right now.

  I don’t like to be identified or labelled as an atheist or anything else. I am simply a seeker of truth. At present it seems the truth is that death is the end for us as individuals. I have accepted this and made peace with myself.

  If Jesus wants to email me, write, phone, text, or visit me in the night, I shall be most cordial and listen to his sales pitch.
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  52

  How many here smoke?

  by cantleave in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't and am very unlikely to after seeing my father dying of a smoking related lung disease (even though i would like to try a high quality cigar).. but i am curious to see how many people take up smoking after leaving the org.. .

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  THE GLADIATOR

  I once wanted to be a smoker and tried a few cigarettes but didn’t like the taste. I had to accept that I would never be a smoker and would have to die of something else. Many years later I tried a cigar which I loved. I now have 3 or 4 a year in the hot weather on special occasions.

  Such a small amount is not life threatening. I am more likely to die in the Roman arena.
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  31

  My email to my mother - sorry a bit long

  by darthweef in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello - i am new here .. just joined a couple of days ago, and have enjoyed the bit of lurking that i have done.

  a breif history, i was raised as a jw, was active until i was 36, and was a regular pioneer for 7 years and a ministerial servant for 5 years, and was one when i left.

  my reasons for leaving are not important at this point, but i have spent the last year or so researching the flood and more extensively the theory of evolution.. i have finally decided to broach the topic with my mother since after all this time, the last of my jw friends and my brother and sister have all decided that they should shun me now, and i want to make a last ditch effort to convey to my mother that i didn't leave the organization so i could do lines of coke off a cheap hooker, but because i actually believe that this is not the truth.. i'd love some feedback on the email and what you think the possibility of it actually breaking through the "permafrost" created by the society.

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  THE GLADIATOR

  darthweef Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear you are being shunned by your family. This is a painful punishment as it is intended to be. Shunning is not to be underestimated. It can cause the victim to lose his or her self esteem and sense of worth.

  Hope things work out for you. There are many people here, including myself who have, and continue to cope with shunning. You will get good advice and empathy.