Yes. I thought of it as a jigsaw. each piece fitted well. Then I realised it's a man made jigsaw and whilst it's a nice picture, it's been machined to match the picture on the box..Such a shame.
westiebilly11
JoinedPosts by westiebilly11
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25
Did You Ever Find The Theolgy of JWs Reasonable?
by minimus inwhen i was a young man growing up in the religion, i would try to defend whatever the understanding of a doctrine was.
i won a lot of arguments based on the idea that i knew better than anyone i was talking to and defended myself admirably.
(lol)....eventually, i realized i was in a cult but for many years i was a believer and i had faith that the gb knew more that i could understand..
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westiebilly11
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Facing my own mortality!
by eyeuse2badub ini’m 71 years old now.
seven decades plus.
but, i put that in perspective owing to the fact that my older brother died in 1992 at the age of only 51. it was a very sobering time for me even though i was only 45 at the time.
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westiebilly11
Don't waste life dying. Many have died disillusioned with what the Org presented as a realizable hope..Death is just everlasting peace... without any bills!
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westiebilly11
..drowning man needs swimming instructions not a life belt....point taken....gee.
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The Perfect Storm in 2018?
by Wild_Thing ini have been sadly watching as the number of jws in other countries are decreasing (for the most part), while the numbers in the us are strangely increasing.
while i question the organization's self reporting numbers, i think 2018 may be the year for another mass us exodus.
leah remini's show will be focusing on jws in her show on a&e.
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westiebilly11
I suspect that having a constantly fluctuating/ inconsistent doctrine basis will contribute to a decline. So many doctrines and teachings have changed to mask the underlying dodgy leadership's fluid interpretation of 'God's Word' over the years. Generation theories and messed up dates etc have weakened the credibility many of us once attributed to the Gov Body. In recent years the scandals and inquiries relating to poorly handled abuse cases etc and now the Oxfam etc abuse issues must surely cast a shadow over all reg'd charities. Recent mags I've read seem flimsy in structure and content. What is the message these days? I haven't a clue!!
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Oxfam sex scandal - Remind you of anyone else?
by Esse quam videri intop of form.
bottom of form.
uk official warns oxfam to hand over all info on sexual misconduct scandal in haiti.
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westiebilly11
Charities need comprehensive review. Seems as if they have become the hiding places of dubious characters with hidden agendas. Rather like the JW abuse scandal etc , many other charities lack effective structures in place to protect and expose such individuals. It grates also, to realize that charities and religions enjoy privileged tax status, which means in effect, that all of us are subsidizing them. Why? Why should religions and humanitarian organizations receive financial benefits? Surely their supporters should be fully supporting them. A friend of mine told me recently that he was approached to subscrbe a 'small monthly amount' for charity, and when he explained that he wasn't a tax payer, he was told that they'd still get tax relief etc tax payer or not..How???
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Fear of Dying
by SplaneThisToMe indid anyone else develop a weird fear of dying and death after leaving jw?
i recently left and have realized for the first time in my life that i’m not going to live forever.
anyone else have these same feelings toward discovering your own mortality?
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westiebilly11
What is death, but everlasting peace?. In life, I am what I am within my body, why therefore, should death be any different?. When this fragile carcass decays, so will I with it.
My thoughts , feelings, hopes, regrets and loves will cease. I know nothing of life before I was born, why should I know anything of life after I die? Yes, I fear dying. I fear the pain of dying...but equally, it's seeming inevitability is something I have to 'live with'. To live forever as we were originally taught, but not shown, seems just a deceptive carrot..a ploy to exercise control by exploiting the natural fear of death and the equally understandable desire to keep alive.
All we can and should try and do, is to leave the world a better place than we found it.. to hope that others speak well of our stay here, and that our offspring live long and healthy lives.
As for JWs, there are many in JW world who are bitter and disillusioned at facing their own deaths ..alone, having lost husbands, wives , and children before them..
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The book burning has started
by pale.emperor indon't know if this is a global thing but i've just been told by a pimo member of my old congregation that a min servant has been given the task of destroying all old books/literature in the kh library prior to 1992.. could be the elders (or even one of them) on a mission to stamp out dissent as my ex-wife used the same reasoning to her elder dad that i used in my jc: rutherfords books containing failed predictions.. anyone else heared anything?.
the ms who's been given the task is a company man.
no hope of him keeping them or selling them on ebay.. they have some russell books in that library too.
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westiebilly11
Attempting to destroy footprints. To try and rewrite history is a mistake and will backfire.
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Has Watchtower taken the joy out of 'the good news of the kingdom'
by UnshackleTheChains ini ask this question for the following reason.
i was sitting at the kingdom hall thinking about all the rules, procedures, policies, teachings that each member must follow ......or else!.
at the watchtower study we are reminded of the paradise earth where we will all be the same and happy.
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westiebilly11
Very true Prefect. Years ago meetings were focussed on the positive, the upbuilding, the application and study of really quite deep things which , whether true or not in hindsight, did leave you well fed after. In those days I feel people at the hall really did want to understand and make sense of things. These days I see those who still attend meetings bearing miserable faces and disillusion. I know of two or three widowed sisters who are struggling to understand why the system is still here...when they at one time firmly believed that they would see the new system as a couple...so sad. Youngsters too, seem trapped in a family cult not of their choosing, with no way out without suffering isolation.
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Thanks For being helpful
by Jrjw into the person who reported me to the elders from here - thank you for making me be able to leave the organisation a whole lot easier and sooner than i'd planned.
you did me a huge favour 😊.
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westiebilly11
I have learned of several local elders who have access to this site. Aside from this being a no no site for JWs it shows their true nature...and their unsuitability to be elders.
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I've Disassociated. It's getting announced tomorrow.
by Heathen Dan inthis is my first post to this site, im pale.emperor's brother:).
first of all, i've left being a jw in june.
since then my family have tried to convince me it's "the truth" and force me to go back even though it's my own decision.
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westiebilly11
Wish you well and hope things work out for you.