Thirdson

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Posts by Thirdson

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  10

  A Different Kind Of Troof In England?

  by Englishman in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my mum's congregation get's involved in trips to see classical music, she goes dancing sometimes and even enjoys an official congregation organised picnic when the weather is good enough.

  the df'ing thing seems to be regarded as an optional choice for the would-be shunner.

  everyone there is very sociable and friendly with one another too.

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  Thirdson

  From what I recall about location deleted is the birth place of the industrial revolution) is that there were at least 4 congregations in *****. The amount of JWs locally meant they were covering the territory every week!
  

  Maybe JWs have become such a nuisance group that they have turned inwards. Or maybe after doing field service to death they have discovered a better way to live and minister and that is by doing good needs. Then again, maybe they have lost a lot of members and by improving the conditions they hope to retain the remaining ones. Or maybe the CO hasn't got wind of this and put his foot dwown.

  I guess we need some inside information.

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  3

  freefall sky diving

  by ball. in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  thinking of taking up sky diving or at least becoming a qualified sky diver in a week, this summer, in about 8 dives.

  i was looking to do a bungee jump, and then thought of this instead.

  it will cost only about 1200 plus the flights to spain and accomodation.. .

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  Thirdson

  Ball,

  20 years ago I took up sport parachuting for a while. I made 6 static-line jumps and 5 free fall. This was in England over the course of one summer. I had to do 5 static-line jumps with 2 being on the same day in order to qualify to do a free-fall jump. It was a blast. Sheer terror for a few seconds, a minute of gentle descent and finally the sudden rush of the ground approaching. England is the not the best country for a sport that requires clear skies and low wind speeds. It meant a lot of hanging around at the air field waiting for the weather to improve.

  In the end a "special needs" talk was given on the subject of dangerous sports so I quit. Instead I went on a winter vacation skiing in the Austrian Alps with a JW family. England is not really the best country to ski in either. That meant travelling to the hillier parts of Europe which of course is expensive. Now I live in a place with real winters I ski occasionally, in fact the family Thirdson spent a day skiing a couple of weeks ago.

  I'd say do it. Have you done any parachuting? If you haven't you should try one jump locally before spending a huge amount of money. I know nowadays that you can jump strapped to an instructor and free-fall jump on your very first try -- in relative safety.

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  48

  LEAST FAVORITE MEETING

  by new light in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  it's so hard to choose, but i would have to say the theocratic ministry school was my most hated meeting.

  the first few talks were a rephrasing of mind-numbing society doctrine.

  then it was time to listen to a ten-year old read nwt to us........... #3 talks, don't even get me started!

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  Thirdson

  Definitely the Watchtower Study. The Service Meeting was a close second but the variety of speakers at least added something. The Ministry school was bearable. Some student talks were painful, some exciting as you willed the speaker through it. Public talks were OK as long as it wasn't a local elder giving one of his pet talks for the umpteenth time.

  The Watchtower study was terrible. Read the paragraph, ask a question, re-read a section of the paragraph. At the end ask 3 of the same questions again and re-read the same answers from a paragraph somewhere. What was worse, nobody could ever keep on time. 70 minutes of utter drivel.

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  51

  Liberal Equals Ex-JW

  by patio34 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  something i've noticed on this board is that there seem to be many more liberal-left types than conservative-right types.

  what do you think of my following theories?

  in the 70s, many converts to jw-dom were influenced by the anti-establishment philosophy and anti-viet nam war.

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  Thirdson

  Maybe it's penance for being a judgemental JW. I am quite liberal. Religiously, (according to online tests) I should be a liberal Quaker.

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  20

  As a JW, did you ever date someone who was not?

  by cyberguy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i dated a number of witness girls, but none of those relationships went anyware.

  however, as a younger, active jw, i also went out with a few ?worldly?

  girls from school and work.

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  Thirdson

  Sort of. I did the fade and later got divorced. I started dating someone who was not a JW. Well I'm hardly going to date a JW if I'm not attending meetings. It did not go down well with my parents. My request to stay with them on a visit a few years ago with girlfriend was denied because she was not a JW and we were not married. (I didn't ask that we sleep together!) Well, we got married, a smallish event at a Cathedral, reception on a cruise boat with 70 guests. Parents did not accept invitation despite my readiness to furnish airline tickets.

  3 1/2 years later, happily married to a wonderful person. We are planning a visit to the UK this summer, (unfortunately, I don't think it will coincide with any apostofests) and we will not be staying with my parents. (But, we will see them.)

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  32

  Book Studies in Your Home

  by Xena in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm curious (was reading the other thread about book studies and got to pondering) who had a book study group in your home and what was it like.

  and did you go to any homes where they made you take your shoes and socks off and put on slippers or anything like that?.

  we had one in our home....got counciled about having the demonic disney movies out, but for the most part it was a pretty good experience.

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  Thirdson

  We had a book study at our house for many years during the 60's. Since it was in our house we (the young kids) got to go to bed instead. I was 6 years old before I was "allowed" to sit in and even then I wore PJs. We had the BS at our house again later when we lived in Australia. (There's a close connection there to Uncle Bruce).

  We had some characters at that time. Two members of the group claimed to be of the annointed. One was the mother of the Cong' Servant (later the PO). We had a hippy couple join us. Les had long hair and a beard. I think he enjoyed studying the Babylon Book and the Finished Mystery book. Years later he and his family ended up in my congregation again. He rarely ever went without a beard and during all that time was never promoted. He had a large unruly family and few, if any, of his kids became JWs. (The Book study was held at his house at some point in time, it always smelled of boiled cabbage!)

  For about 4 years I conducted a study group. I used to take my shoes off and conduct the study in "stocking" feet. I wouldn't bother with a jacket either in the summer. I know being shoe and jacketless used to annoy a fellow elder but he never tried to tell me what to do at "my group." He was the same elder who made my Bro-in-law wear his paint stained slippers when BiL forgot to bring his with him and was the only brother in attendance capable of reading the paragraphs.

  When I was a teenager we used to dash off after the BS to a local sports center for a game or two, which usually ended with a few pints in the bar. One of my best friends tended to be regular only at that meeting since we usually planned some event immediately afterwards.

  The book study was the best meeting of the week. It was a relaxed atmosphere, short, and had time for socializing and treats. It had everything that was missing from the Kingdom Hall.

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  23

  How are you financialy?

  by ball. in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  how are you financialy?.

  i don't know if i am am a typical brit, but i guess i am a fairly typical rags to riches storey.

  i have just managed to finish paying off my house at age 32 after growing up a pioneer penny-less until 22, meaning now i can save for the future and buy stuff i want, but until now it's been a strugle.

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  Thirdson

  I read an article today comparing salaries in the US to other countries. The US is way ahead and the main reason so many US jobs are being exported to other countries. That said, US personal debt is extremely high and a large number of people are not making adequate savings for retirement. It's almost like the reason a boss, I once had, used for not paying more. He said, "If I paid you more you'd only spend it and still complain how bad off you are." For "everything else there is MasterCard" sums up the US attitude. However, I read the UK is just as bad.

  Like many JWs I didn't save toward retirement either. Now playing catch-up.

  My dad accused me of being materialistic after I moved to the US. I explained to him that I live within my means, in a modest home (at least for my neighborhood) have no credit card debt, own my car, my furniture, my appliances and only pay interest on my mortgage. I do recognize that being counted among middleclass America, that on the global scale, I am among the very rich.

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  41

  Constitutional Amendment : Slippery Slope

  by patio34 in

  1. social
  2. current

  this was too good to leave on the bush/gay marriage thread so i'm starting a new topic on it: .

  the following was sent to me recently: .

  as certain politicians work diligently to prevent marriage between two people of the same sex, others of us have been busy drafting a constitutional amendment codifying all marriages entirely on biblical principles.. after all, god wouldn't want us to "pick and choose" which of the scriptures we elevate to civil law and which we choose to ignore:.

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  Thirdson

  Patio makes some good points if you use the Bible to make law.

  I thought about this subject today, waiting in the bank and reading a recent Time magazine article on the subject of transsexuals. A surprisingly large number of people are transsexual, many unaware. What made me think about constitutional amendments to make marriage to be between and 'man and a woman only' is what actually constitutes gender?

  For transsexuals this is ambiguous. Gender (in humans) is normally determined by the 23rd pair of chromosomes, XX being female and XY male. Some people have both cells that are XX and cells that are XY. What gender are they? Is gender based on early conditioning and dress? How about physical attributes? Does lacking ovaries make someone male? One person interviewed was raised as a girl. Only well in to adulthood did she see her medical records. As a child she had surgery to remove her 'twisted ovaries' -- actually testes. Although genetically XY the embryo failed to develop as a boy, some condition caused the testes not to develop properly and without testosterone never developed male genitalia. She was raised as a girl and was told she will never be able to have children. Now an adult, she is in a relationship with a woman.

  Although the subject of marriage was not considered in the article it made me think. What about people like the aforementioned person, a woman who is genetically male, in a relationship with another woman? Will a constitutional amendment take them in consideration? What about all the other varying degrees of transsexual physiology? Will ambiguous men be allowed to marry? What about girls who develop male characteristics at puberty? Will they need to become legally male in order to marry a woman? Isn't a constitutional amendment defining marriage so loosely opening up a whole can of worms particularly when it comes to equality for all?
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  Where's everybody from?

  by dustyb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there was a lot of threads that i've seen recently asking where everyone is at.

  so i thought i could just make a reference thread for everyone to reference to when they're wondering.

  share if you want to!.

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  Thirdson

  Warwickshire, England.

  Now living in exile.

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  16

  Ozzie's Weekend Poll #85

  by ozziepost in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  g?day all,.

  so how?s this weekend going for you?

  strange things have been happening downunder.

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  Thirdson

  A+. Being related to the elders.
  After that the rules apply differently
  
  If not related to an elder follow:

  Getting my hours in.

  1. Dress and grooming (Dress either left or right and if you can't you'll never, ever, ever, ever amount to anything)
  2. Being at all the meetings. (Be visible)
  3. Making comments at every meeting. (Be heard, down side #2.)
  4. Getting my hours in. (Or lying on your time card)
  5. Volunteering to help the elders. (Special activities good especially if it means skipping #4)
  6. Volunteering to be an attendant. (Requires #2 and #8.)
  7. Volunteering for microphone duty. (Be seen, helps #2. Extra point for commenting and having Bro. Mic #2 hold mic for you)
  8. Being at all the meetings early. (Only necessary if #6 applies)
  9. Inviting the elders round for a meal. (Don't poison them and serve plenty of wine)
  10. Volunteering to clean the KH toilets. (Not elder material, too humble)
  11. Reading my Bible daily. (What?)
  12. Writing the Society with suggestions for improvement. (Kiss of death)
  13. Other (please detail)

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