Antioch

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Posts by Antioch

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  14

  5 Reasons Jehovah's Witnesses are NOT happy in their Marriages jw.org

  by Watchtower-Free in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  found this on youtube.

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  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wknttmfvhfi.

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  Antioch

  This is a sharp chica.
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  49

  The List, by "Prominent Bethelite"

  by morloc in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i occasionally pop through here to catch up on the latest, but this time i'm going to pop my own post on here.. some of you internet oldsters may even remember this.

  my first experience on the internet regarding discussions about jehovah's witnesses and the watchtower took place on a now-obscure usenet group, before i eventually stumbled across hourglass2.. during those days, there was a poster who went by the name "prominent bethelite," an otherwise anonymous individual whom i remember most for an extensive, exhaustive compilation of date-oriented remarks, predictions, and expectations by the watchtower organization down through the decades of its history.. it became known as "the list" and it's definitely lengthy... but a fascination look at the abundance of errant statements made through the watchtower's history.. if you're curious, it's been available for a long time on hourglass2's site, and can be seen using the link provided below.. the list, compiled by prominent bethelite (1999).

  that's about it for this stop through here.

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  Antioch

  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

  14 post in 14 years, I admire you dedication to lurkdom!

  Look forward to next years post.

  Haha! I laughed out loud.
  
  Regarding the OP, thanks for link. I worry sometimes that all that amazing research and oustanding discussions, from the early days when the apostates and JWs discovered each other on the internet, will disappear. I'm glad someone is curating it.
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  56

  Anyone recall asemblies actually being fun?

  by tim hooper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i was a wee lad, there was a carnival atmosphere at assemblies as this old footage will show:.

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  http://www.britishpathe.com/video/witnesses-baptised/query/jehovahs+witnesses.

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  Antioch

  Very much fun. As a child growing up in the religion from the late 70s onward, I have great memories of camping every District Convention. Potato Creek! KOA campgrounds! The massive energy of the thousands of people, the served lunches and trying to nab extra pudding or fish-sticks and that cheap cheap cola. So good. For a kid, wandering the halls of the Notre Dame Edmund Joyce stadium was just awesome. Not to mention how exciting the Dramas were to a child.
  
  During the circuit assemblies in Southbend, IN, my parents would often spend the weekdays prior doing work or cleaning prepping the Hall. My Dad was all manly in the shop in the back, welding, fixing, etc. We'd wander the kitchen, the stage, and find secret rooms. Wacky confession: I discovered masturbation at the Circuit Hall during one of those trips. No details, but man that day is hilarious in retrospect.
  
  As I grew up, I remember cruising those same Assembly Hall corridors for girls. Us teens would create an awesome posse and it was electrifying thinking of who you might meet next. It was just tons of adventure.
  
  Regarding the religious stuff, I remember a day when the JWs were much more focused on the qualities of Christian living. Integrity, honesty, kindness, truth seeking, etc. I miss the massive dose of encouragement to be a good person. I was of course, oblivious to the sinister side and the fact that I was being exposed to BITE mind control techniques. To me, everyone was my friend and it was a grand social family.

  That. I miss. But I would not give up the facts of life, reason and integrity for all the bliss that ignorance brings ever again. I'm much more happy being authentic and informed. I can handle the facts, no matter how terrible, just give me the dignity of making my way in the real world. Ya know?
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  13

  How has you life changed since leaving the Witnesses?

  by cantleave in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  other than not wasting hours at meetings, assemblies and doing pointless activity.. for me the biggest difference has been my choice of employment, i could have never undertaken the job i do now when i was dub..

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  Antioch

  My resources are now mine.
  
  I'm building a good life that is contributing to humanity instead of being drained and used for someone else's vain dreams of salvation.
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  48

  Why are some of you guys calling this new arrangement tithing?

  by neverendingjourney in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  at the risk of being shouted down, i thought i'd point out that "tithing" means giving 10 percent of your income to a church.

  it comes from the old english word teogotha meaning tenth.

  i've seen nothing that establishes tithing in the watchtower.. while i'm all in favor of pointing out the watchtower's lies, hypocrisies and faults, the language we use matters.

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  Antioch

  Also interesting: Wikipedia's "tithe" section, under subsection "Christianity" it mentions:

  Many Christians support their churches and pastors with monetary contributions of one sort or another. Frequently these monetary contributions are called tithes whether or not they actually represent ten percent of anything.

  I guess my question is, what specifically did the WT condemn about "tithing"? I am not read up on that. Did they specifically condemn the 10% part? Or the arrangement of consistent expected amounts? I dunno.
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  48

  Why are some of you guys calling this new arrangement tithing?

  by neverendingjourney in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  at the risk of being shouted down, i thought i'd point out that "tithing" means giving 10 percent of your income to a church.

  it comes from the old english word teogotha meaning tenth.

  i've seen nothing that establishes tithing in the watchtower.. while i'm all in favor of pointing out the watchtower's lies, hypocrisies and faults, the language we use matters.

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  Antioch

  Language is a funny thing. My understanding is that strictly, it means a "tenth."
  
  But there is also allowance in common vernacular AND within the official dictionary definition for it to simply mean a small part. See: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tithe

  1.Sometimes, tithes. the tenth part of agricultural produce orpersonal income set apart as an offering to God or for works ofmercy, or the same amount regarded as an obligation or tax forthe support of the church, priesthood, or the like. 2. any tax, levy, or the like, especially of one-tenth.

  So one can practice "tithing" as a reference to a systematic portion given to "God" without it necessarily being exactly 1/10th of a given whole. To me, to "tithe" refers more to the arrangement of it all since the amount is all relative anyway.
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  43

  DF'ed and Confused...

  by Stumbeline in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so i think the title pretty much says it all.

  i have a tendancy to be long winded about things, so i'll just give a general introduction and maybe tell things as i go along.

  i don't even really know what i want from this site (ironically i remember jehovahs-witness.net mentioned from the platform as a site not to go to).

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  Antioch

  A big hug to you. You're definitely not alone in all those feelings. The JW religion is like a powerful mulching machine and it's traumatic and painful when you find yourself chewed up by something so powerful and spit out the other side in a heap. It's like you don't know what hit you but you know you got knocked down by something big and mean.
  
  Fortunately, you're so much stronger than you may think. You are in a prime position to re-create your world. I left at 29. Lost everything. Had to start from scratch. Seven years later, I have a career, an education, health, and I'm working on the rest. They have grossly underestimated the heart that people have.
  
  Use that education. Find new passions. Go in a new unknown direction. The hole left by your mother, lover, and friends won't disappear, but you can and will grow in a new full way. I guess what I'm saying is that it's OK that you don't know what's going on or where to go. Accepting that is step one to figuring out where you WILL go. Collect information, resources, and grow!

  Oh, and don't waste too much time disproving JWs. That's a foregone fact. Just focus on growing good things in your life.

  Message me if you want to talk one on one and I'll listen.
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  34

  WOW gotta check out this Charles Sinutko talk "Is It Proper to have doubts?"

  by BU2B in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so manipulaitve.

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  http://www.printcentralandsigns.com/jwtalks/covisits/sinutko%20charles%20-%20is%20it%20proper%20to%20have%20doubts.mp3.

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  Antioch

  What a deplorable speech. Throughout the whole thing he smears all the ones who are trying to base their beliefs on the closest ascertainable "truth" as immoral, prideful, boastful, "brilliant," as if it is impossible to be an honest truth seeker and come to different conclusions.

  The fact that they have no category for an honest, good intentioned, truth seeking person who just plain disagrees, is effing ridiculous. THAT'S what always bothered me growing up JW. The arrogant idea that there must be some hidden bad about a person if they did not see it the JW way even after examining all known facts. Their "heart" must be "bad" somehow.
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  138

  A farce elder here

  by His Excellency in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  just to share a little about me:.

  i was recently appointed an elder, about 6 months ago now, and that is exactly two years after my awakenning, but funny that the appointment came also about 2 years after i had completely lost all faith in god and had been leading a full time anti-jw life .

  makes you wonder the role of the holy spirit in the entire nomination or appointment process.. .

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  Antioch

  If this is a real person, he has all the markings of a true sociopath. I'm not talking to be insulting, I'm talking objectively. The cold calculation, nihilistic world view, and dispassionate focus on self-interest is loud and clear.

  I worked with a sociopath once and it alerted me to the danger so I read up on the issue. There is a vast amount of literature about sociopaths who live, work and build lives among us. It is a common business and professional problem.
  
  Is it good to have a sociopath in the JW organization in order to take things to their natural end and force issues by showing how broke the system is? I doubt it. There is probably no net value at all and most likely more harm is done in the name of showing the JWs are harmful. You can't wreck the ship unless you're driving it. And an elder is not driving this ship. Furthermore, joining a Congolese murder squad to prove that murder squads are bad is just delusional. We don't need extreme elders to prove that the JWs are screwing up lives. That is folly.
  
  His Excellency,
  
  I call on you to stop hiding behind your self-delusional reasoning that you are somehow doing something that contributes to eradicating suffering. You're not Tyler Durden. Admit you're doing it for your self-interest. Start taking measures to become independent. Then find ways to reduce suffering in this world that doesn't include some strange plot to catalyze people's lives through allegedly anti-dote type suffering.
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  77

  Did You Go To The Memorial?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i didn't and i don't care about it..

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  Antioch

  The memorial was last night? Hahah, wow. I have REALLY done well in digging up my former JW self. I was at work last night and didn't even think of it.