I feel that American ex-JWs exaggerate quite a bit, or at least, that the reality of being a JW might be somewhat different in Europe... Never heard of pantyhose-requirements, smurf-hysteria, chaperone-hysteria, R-rated-film hysteria etc. before it was revealed to me in the online world... After all everything was not that controlled. You could choose what you wanted to eat for dinner :-)
InquiryMan
JoinedPosts by InquiryMan
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9
What did you miss out on most, because you were stuck in JW land ???
by run dont walk in.
could of been as a child, teenanger, adult,anytime in your life, did you feel that being a jw (or jw parents) prevented you from doing things you really wanted to do.
why does the watchtower find it necessary to "rob" people of being human and enjoy things in life ??
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Did you use the JW calendars?
by GermanXJW ineven in my hardcore active jw time i had no use for the jw calendar.
i ordered it each year and put it into a drawer.
most months were really ugly illustrated and it was completly useless without the holidays.
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InquiryMan
Most JWs I know do have "secular" calenders in addition to or even instead of the WT calendar.
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Ray Franz df'd , what did the society say ??????
by run dont walk ini remember vaguely, well all hell broke loose in the late 70's regarding, ray franz being df'd, and the witch hunt at bethel.
i was just a little kid at the time, and didn't pay much attention.. i know ray's point of view, from what i've read on this board, and also ordered myself his book "crisis of conscience"(should be a good read).
i think back now, i remember the event happening, and the speaker talking about it at our circuit assembly, but i don't recall the reasons (bs) he gave.
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InquiryMan
Perhaps, I mix things up, but was there an article in e.g. Newsweek, with another photo? and a title someting along this line: "Lost Heaven over a Dinner" (alluding to the technical proof of his DF, his sharing a meal with an "apostate".)
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What are the most "embarrassing" moments/events for the Watchtower ???
by run dont walk in.
boy, this thread could go on forever ........ i just found out recently, about the pyramid theory by russell and the building rutherford had built for abraham's return ..... i never remember my family talking about these while we were growing up/going to meetings.. i guess the society tries to hide the embarrassment as much as posssible.. so what would call some of the most embarrassing moments by the watchtower (1879-2003), i am hoping to copy alot of comments and pass them on to my jw family.
and hopefully other posters (lurkers) could find the info useful as well.. oh and please, if you can give more details on the two above i mentioned please do ........
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InquiryMan
In the "Proclaimers" book, the Beth Sarim is pictured on page 76 and the pyramidology stuff is commented on on page 201.
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Ray Franz df'd , what did the society say ??????
by run dont walk ini remember vaguely, well all hell broke loose in the late 70's regarding, ray franz being df'd, and the witch hunt at bethel.
i was just a little kid at the time, and didn't pay much attention.. i know ray's point of view, from what i've read on this board, and also ordered myself his book "crisis of conscience"(should be a good read).
i think back now, i remember the event happening, and the speaker talking about it at our circuit assembly, but i don't recall the reasons (bs) he gave.
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InquiryMan
I vividly remember our Circuit Overseer bringing the edition of "Time" magazine discussing the DF of Franz entitled: Lost Heaven over Dinner (or something along that line) to the Kingdom Hall. He was very agitated, and showed this article around... He was shocked that a GB member could have done this.
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Mulan could use some hugs.
by Princess ini don't think she has posted this yet.
mulan called me yesterday afternoon to tell me her dad had suffered a stroke.
i did talk to my dad last night and he seemed to think that grandpa was going to be ok. i had a birthday party with nine little girls all afternoon and was completely out of touch as a result.. i think she could use a hug, don't you?.
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InquiryMan
Hugs to you. Hopefully everything will turn out fine. Thinking about you and your family in this time of trouble.
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Should Jehovahs Witnesses be banned by our Governments?
by Brummie init worries me when i hear of governments discussing jws in their countries with the thoughts of banning them!
i disagree with banning them.
they are a determined people who will suffer greatly for their fanaticism, i think they should be closely monitored but not banned.
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InquiryMan
Please keep in mind that whereas the JW are often branded a "church" in the US media, it is mostly referred to as a sect, cult or even "dangerous" cult in most European countries. It is mostly lumped to gether with the Scientology Church, the Moonies etc. (accidentally the same groups that covered by the CESNUR site).
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InquiryMan
My guess would be a new "Listening to the Great Teacher" style-book (the last talk on Saturday, will feature a talk on children and parents). Last year it was told a revised Reasoning book should be published.
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InquiryMan
I support Minimus on this. (In fact we do have many similiarities in background) I, definitely, go here for facts. Of course, for a witness to come here in the first place, involves a certain amount of "independent thinking", "doubt" as far as the organization goes or just plain curiosity. The anger/emotional outburst might turn some off, although it is understandable that those who have experienced abuse or ill-treatment of other kinds need to vent. However, there are those though, that have had quite a happy, content life as a JW, that might want to investigate due to what is felt to be dishonesty/double standards or "secrecy" on the part of the Society. They need to feel that their newly found "gnosis" is epi-gnosis (accurate knowledge) and just not hearsay or half-truths. They might gather this information from various sources and thus makes a complete picture. Thus to me, newspaper articles exposing WTBS, or conflicting quotes from the literature itself (type Undisfellowshipped) etc are valuable. The more fluffy stuff (resembling "What is your favorite color/coke etc on witness sites, although with a more "daring content") is not of much interest, and even may turn some lurkers off. That also of course involved threads with profanity/etc). Some might even be put off from the very concept that various viewpoints are tolerated, having the JW mindset of "unity". One might respect one another, without agreeing on all points. Also people do have various experiences as being a JW, all not necessarly negative (at least all the time). Some witnesses sugarcoat every aspect of being a JW. I am not willing to go to the other extreme, putting a negative view on all aspects of JW life, although having lost all confidence in the WTBS. Also, some, whereas find it ok to question the WTBS, find it offensive to see downgrading remarks of God and/or Jesus, wanting to separate organizational discord and major tenets or core beliefs. However, for all this is a journey, and it involved different challenges along the way, both positive and some less positive.
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25
Tell me why I bother?????
by asleif_dufansdottir in(i used to be a truck driver.
trust me.
i have the vocabulary).
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InquiryMan
How do you evaluate my contribution at Beliefnet?