InquiryMan

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Posts by InquiryMan

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  14

  LEAST RELIGIOUS COUNTRIES

  by sspo in

  1. social
  2. current

  least religious countriesposted aug 23rd 2007 12:15pm by iva skoch.

  when you travel to europe, don't be surprised to find that many europeans don't believe in god.

  i have even witnessed some alcohol-infused conversations between americans and europeans that almost ended in fistfights over his/her existence.

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  InquiryMan

  Why is the Scandinavian countries branded as over liberal??? as if that is a bad thing... Interestingly, on statistics showing "happiness/contentment" rate, the Scandinavian countries are always on the top ten list.
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  34

  JWs and Chaperones

  by keyser soze in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  so here's the story.

  my brother invited me over to his place, just to hang out, watch movies, etc.

  he was supposed to work until 4, so i should come by anytime after that.

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  InquiryMan

  This reminds of an old spinser-sister who lived at Bethel in a Scandinavian country. She was never married, and had been serving at the HQs for decades... She even became a centenarian, her picture in the local newspaper. She was rather strict about the rules. So even when she was approaching a 100 years old, she was adament that brothers who visited her room left the door open ;-) The story was told by a bethelite with affection and humour.
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  31

  Bethel Tour-long sorry

  by samiam2b in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm new as a member but have watched the site for a while.

  one of my kids, who lives in another part of the country, came for a summer visit from another state and asked to go on a bethel tour.

  she lives with her jw mother and is surrounded by jws and they even baptized her recently.

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  InquiryMan

  I´ve been to HQs, Bethel in Selters (Germany), and besides that the Bethel homes in United Kingdom, Sweden. Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria, Barbados and Greece. As a witness, I always thought it was interesting, and enjoyed it. Tidsbits: Bethel NY: thought the furniture etc was rather old fashioned. Germany: modern, efficient, the most impressive Bethel I´ve toured. The Bethelites got weekly visits from a psychiatrist in addition to dentist and doctor. Quite strict when walking around... (A very loyal German friend of mine, told me that the German Bethel is pretty strict). France: old Bethel at Boulogne-Billancourt. Small and relaxed, not very orderly, but very friendly. Italy: toured it in shorts. Very nice and friendly staff. the Netherlands: nice, but a bit stiff. Denmark, cordial and nice Sweden: nice, and full of marble Norway: small and nice Austria: visited both the new and the old one... In the new one, the curtains used in the old reception, was re-used in a storage room.... I just remembered it because a door was opened and they were so 70ish. Greece: old one Kifisias. Very nice staff, the boys played volleyball in the garden, relaxed amosphere. Barbados: very small Bethel, more like a home. Very friendly brother... Sorry, I was unable to trash anything.... ;-) Still: decined being a Bethelite when invited - to narrow and strict. Even for a very loyal JW at the time...
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  35

  KM 09/07

  by Philippus79 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  does anyone know or have a scan of the km 09/07.

  in the german edition the question is raised and answered if the "faithful and discreet slaves" encourages biblestudy groups who study "deeper" topics.

  obviously the answer is "no" don't do that the slaves feeds you more than enough.. i could do with an english copy.

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  InquiryMan

  I do speak German, but do not have time presently to translate the text. However, I can confirm that the advice given is strict and leaves virtually no room for individual research outside the WT sanctioned framework.
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  20

  Why I was a lurker for so long: because english is not my mother tongue

  by Madame in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i often write on the swedish board for ex-jw: http://www.network54.com/forum/349340/.

  it's so much easier for me to write in swedish.

  it takes a lot of effort to find the right words in english.. i understand most of what i read here, but it means more hard work to try to express my thoughts in english.. anyway, i finally wanted you all to know that i appreciate this board.

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  InquiryMan

  Welcome to the Board, from another fellow Scandinavian ;-) I´ve been a lurker on the Swedish "hjalpkallan" message board for years and an active participant of this forum for years. I´ve appreciated your comments and am looking forward to reading your posts here as well. Ønsker deg en flott sommer ;-)
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  7

  What kind of MS / Elder / Co / Do were you?

  by Gill in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  there are many on the board who formerly, and some who still do, hold positions of power in the borg.. would you describe yourself as having been a 'good' elder, or a 'bad' elder?.

  did you leave because you 'couldn't live up to jehovah's standards' or did you leave 'because you woke up and smelt the bull shit?'.

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  InquiryMan

  I was the one that was asked when inquiring about organizational, historic, grammatical and sometimes theocratic matters. I guess my good memory earned me that capacity. I knew e.g. the 607 was in error since I was a youth, but stayed "loyal"... I was an elder who did not believe in the global deluge either... I never, however, talked about, just refrained from answering, giving talks etc on "dubious" topics. I only took part in one Judicial hearing during my decade as an elder, never liked the DF policy either, or rather, the shunning policy.. I was never the first to be asked when people had personal problems, having a large elder body, I guess I was never consideres as one of the strict, heavy ones... I was always correct though... Glad I am out
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  7

  Interesting What the Gay ex-JWs think of "Knocking"

  by ApostasyDuJour in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  worth a read: http://www.gayxjw.org/knock.html

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  InquiryMan

  I do have the impression that american JWs in general are more prudish than their European counterparts. In some ways, the prudishness of the Watchtower, is somewhat enforced on the European mindset.
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  7

  Interesting What the Gay ex-JWs think of "Knocking"

  by ApostasyDuJour in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  worth a read: http://www.gayxjw.org/knock.html

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  InquiryMan

  I remember on that once a tv-programme that had the intent of showing that JWs are pretty normal people had a funny angle. The family had even some humour. They ate spaghetti and drank coke and made jokes about that. The daughter was an avid fan of Elton John and likes his songs, although he is openly gay. In another programme, on swedish tv, the young teenage brother even showed his underwear on tv...
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  33

  Do You Miss Not Being With Your JW Family & Friends?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  personally, i keep very little contact with any of my witness family except my mom.

  i don't miss the conditional friends or family, really.

  but i do know that many here are devastated by their being abandoned.

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  InquiryMan

  I do miss them. Cause my mother and father and grand mother lives not far from me. And we used see each other pretty often when we were witnesses, even belonging to the same congregation. I am shun now by both my parents, my grandmother and my sisters and their families. It is sad, and I cry at times over it, but I am a survivor, so I´ll make it anyhow.... It is their loss. I miss sharing the everyday things, and being hospitable and generous to them. I do not miss my former friends, they were all nice people and we had many nice times together, but I knew this was going to happen. Howeverl I hoped my family was kind of different, but they were not. It is a strong cult. But I was a shunner myself once... It is sad, but part of life. They haven not even seen their grandchildren for more than half a year and live ten minutes drive away from my. That is not understandable to me.... I have my pride though, so I do not use the children as a means to see them. The kids do not ask about them, and they do not inquire about their grandchildren either. But it is prophesied in 2. Timothy 3:1-6, if memory serves me right, that there should be lack of love or natural affection in the last days... So here we go.
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  11

  WTS uses church vocabulary to hide its purpose

  by ozziepost in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so often the wts uses 'respectable' language to obscure their true intent.. a recent news release sees them using the word "outreach".

  03.19.07international outreach for millions more to attend.

  this surely is not in their usual vocabulary, in fact if you were to ask the average dub i suggest they would find it difficult to give a clear description of its meaning.. yet in describing the distribution of the "special invitation" to the memorial, the wts describes that as 'outreach'.. interesting, i wonder what will be next?

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  InquiryMan

  I think the same term has been implemented worldwide. In scandinavian langues, the term "excommunicate" - being more politically correct - has also been implemented in Watchtower usage. Also another term for judiciary committee has been used, making it sound slightly softer.