villagegirl

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Posts by villagegirl

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  39

  The Apostate Boogeyman

  by RayPublisher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  londo has written a great article (imo) about how apostates are a figment of the jw imagination, fomented and concocted by none other than the watchtower.

  not necessarily the dictionary definition of the word apostate, which simply means a person who leaves their religion, for by that definition everyone who leaves any religion to become a jw is an apostate.

  no, it is jw conception of the apostate, both as an individual and as a group that is imaginary.. .

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  villagegirl

  Great Thread - I don't like the word apostate -

  It sounds evil, we are not evil we are truth-seekers

  in the most sincere and positive way.

  Sure you see angry posts lashing out and trying

  to act all "I am a demon" with scary icons and

  and hateful posts, but its because some do not have

  the words to describe what they have experienced internally.

  The Jehovah's Wittnesess are the scary ones,

  they are anti-truth, they are not taught or geared

  to any kind of critical thinking, or analysis of themselves,

  their own history, or the true nature of the governing body

  and who they are actually serving. They create disconnect ,

  isolation and disconnect from experiencing our own lives,

  or what could have been, our own development and freedom,

  and I do not mean this in any immoral way.

  The idea that "freedom equals lack of self contro"

  or drug addiction or destructive behavior is part of the

  fear mongering. The WT promotes the idea

  we need to be "controlled" and watched and reported on,

  and criticsized, and given hoops to jump through,

  and to be frightened and most of all - shamed.

  Its a shame based system of thinking.

  That is why if you listen to John Bradshaw,

  on You Tube, you will feel like he is talking about you,

  even though he deals with addiction issues.
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  14

  I saw dead people

  by thecrushed in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it has been a year now since the big breakdown in which i lost my belief system and almost lost my marriage too.

  i now look back and realize how close i came to completely losing my mind.

  all the evidence proves to me beyond a shadow of any possible doubt that i have been raised in a cult and that every single decision or indecision has been directly influenced from this fanatical belief system.

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  villagegirl

  Tater check your Mail
• 
  18

  How do you think the Memorial should be celebrated? How are you going to spend it?

  by MsGrowingGirl20 in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  for the first time, i realize that many people have different views about this.. some people believe that all should partake, others don't believe that there should be a memorial.. some are going to the hall, others are having their own celebrations still others are just going to be doing normal activities.. how do you think the memorial should be celebrated?

  how are you going to spend it?.

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  villagegirl

  I think its called Mass in the Anglican and Catholic

  and Orthodox churches and they offer the bread and

  wine every Sunday. Saying the words from the Bible.

  In evangelical Churches I think its once a month.

  "This is my body, which is given for you.

  Do this to remember me." In the same way,

  he took the cup of wine after supper, saying,

  "This cup is the new covenant between God and his people

  —an agreement confirmed with my blood.

  Do this to remember me as often as you drink it."

  I believe its not just an "annual event",

  and should be shared with others who are believers.

  If some of you are lucky enough to be in the same town

  then you can get together.

  I would, if I knew some fellow ex jw here in Vancouver BC.

  I have taken part with various churches and it felt very natural to do so.
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  52

  Watchtower Dishonesty

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just re-discovered this gem:.

  "it is a matter of fact that the history of the watchtower society is riddled with failed date-setting and abandoned doctrine,1 and the society has gone to great lengths to hide this past from its members.

  older (incriminating) watchtower publications are virtually impossible to obtain through the society,2 while at the same time members are overwhelmed with "current" watchtower material.. the watchtower society has even gone as far as to publish disinformation about its own history in an attempt to convince readers that watchtower doctrine has remained consistent over the years, and that the society is not a false prophet.

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  villagegirl

  Many of us have the hardcopy books, written by Russell.

  Its pretty hard to read and filled with ridiculous stuff.

  What I found out was that all other religions actually keep

  their own early literature. Ellen G White ( 1827 -1915 )

  wrote 40 books and 5,000 periodical articles, she is the

  Seventh day Adventist 'Prophet' and they still read her

  books and have them on display. Other denominations

  also keep the writings of their early founders and writers.

  The Watchtower is unique in hiding its own literature and

  not being open about what they preached or old books

  they wrote that influenced so many lives in such destructive

  ways. But what really is outrageous is THEY NEVER ADMIT

  TO MAKING ANY MISTAKES and THEY NEVER SAY THEY ARE

  SORRY FOR THE DAMAGE THEY HAVE DONE, that is why the

  Candac Conti decision is so important.
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  2

  Isn`t GOD by whatever name you want to call " IT " guilty of the sin of Omission

  by smiddy in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  in gen 2:17 but as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it,for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.. their are a number of points to consider here .. 1.can we take the bible as the word of god ?

  human beings back then would have no concept of a day being anything longer than 24 hours , maybe only 12 hours .their is no scripture at that time to think otherwise .. 2.god stated adam would die on the day he ate from that tree ,obviously he didn`t ,so either god lied ,was mistaken, or didnt mean what he said.. 3.or god doesn`t mean what he says , or god doesnt say what he means .. 4.now to get to the point of "omission" of god.

  their is nowhere in scripyure any indication that humans would suffer anything other than death if they disobeyed gods warning.. 5.but what do the facts of history show?

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  villagegirl

  These are questions every religion and every philosophy, that includes a

  higher power, contemplates. God as an abstract. God as a creator

  but not intervening. Man as a thought, or a creation of his own thoughts.

  Spiritual intervention but not physical intervention.

  Then there is the explanation of Satan as having some control

  but not all control. There is the idea of the ongoing struggle

  between right and wrong, good and bad.

  Then there is the the idea of dimensions, as scientific,

  modern physics describes, namely, that we exist in several dimensions

  at once, and that all time past and present actually exist simultaneously.

  These are all existing theories, mathimatical explanations,

  and they exist in biblical explanations, and they exist alongside

  our own perceptions of reality, in this material universe as we percieve it.

  Our perceptions can be mostly beautiful, filled with light, or filled with darkness.

  Hope and love appear in unexplainable ways in unlikely circumstances and

  rescues take different forms. To live without hope, or without a sense

  of something beyond our understanding existing here, internally,

  and in the natural world, is too bleak an existance to be worthy

  of what we know to be true in spite of suffering. Joy in unlikely places.

  We experience demonstrations, in our conscieous and unconscious minds.

  Faith is the evident demonstration of realities, though not beheld.

  Faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
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  8

  You can win the lottery in 6 states anonymously. Here is the list

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  kansas.

  maryland.

  delaware.

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  villagegirl

  But when you go to pick up your winnings, don't they the ask for ID ?

  Are lotteries only for residents of the Country they are in ? or State?

  I am ignorant on the subject. But I longer think buying a ticket is evil.

  just improbable that I would win, but you never know, If I win I am so

  outta here.

  Ecclesiastes 10:19 A feast is made for laughter,

  wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything.

  .... and money is the answer for everything. says so right in the Bible
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  16

  NOT on JW.ORG: Who currently owns the Judges' Beth Sarim 4440 Braeburn Rd San Diego ca 92116?

  by Balaamsass in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  the other thread on the judge rutherfords death lead me to google beth sarim at 4440 braeburn rd., in san diego ca.

  nice digs on google earth.

  the home next door is over $800,000 on zillow and trulia.

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  villagegirl

  http://orthocath.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/pilgrimage-to-beth-sarim/

  (paste this above link into the address at the top of your screen to get there )

  This is not a "middle class" house it is a mansion. There are photos of it TODAY

  And historical photos on the above link.

  There is a photo of Rutherford in a top hat standing, in 1930,

  in front of his 16 cylinder Cadillac convertible in front of the

  huge three or four story mansion, in 1930 when people were literally

  starving to death all over the world after the stock market crash,

  it was the depths of the Great Depression, they built this mansion,

  instead of opening soup lines and helping people in real need.

  Many died of starvation in the USA

  because it was before welfare existed.

  Please go to this link and see what the leaders of the WT

  were doing with their money donated by people they had

  told absurd chronology and prohesies to and

  who donated to the WT and bought the books and magazines.

  They make the Pope look like a humble philanthropist .
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  84

  How do I as a future "Therapist" help ex-jws that won't move on from the WT?

  by booker-t in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i am halfway through my master's program in psychology/sociology and plan on being a therapist/sounselor.

  i left jw's in 1988 and i have never looked back.

  i enjoy my life so much after getting my aa degree, then my ba degree, and now i will soon get my ma degree.

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  villagegirl

  The answer to the above is :"When the student is ready, the teacher appears."

  Love this quote. What I find odd is people here who were never JW's

  If you want to help your clients untangle from the WT, make sure they

  read Crisis of Conscience by Ray Franz , he wrote many WT publications

  including Aide to Bible Understanding, and he speaks the language of the WT

  and unwinds the doctrines one by one, gently and effectively

  and his books have freed I am sure probably millions.

  Fear is what holds people to the WT, you show them something

  and they say, alright but... yes I know but.....

  Its a mental lockdown. It took me a good ten years after

  I left to lose the sense of isolation, the feeling I was "different"

  the feeling I "knew something special"

  it is as is decribed in the famous Psychology Book,

  The Drama of Gifted Child, by Alice Miller the child who is falsely

  empowered, alienated, internally isolated, living out the expectations

  of others. If you have not studied this basic psychology book I suggest you do.
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  52

  For those claiming to be Christ: you are not! I am

  by AndDontCallMeShirley in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those claiming to be the biblical christ-messiah, you are wrong.

  i am the christ!

  and, i can prove it.. ----.

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  villagegirl

  I think these " I am Jesus posts" are coming from the WT society

  to sabotage any good that might come of this forum.

  I request the forum monitors to limit lengthy raves, please

  Actually the "christs" write very much like Russell who calculated

  how many steps it was to various places in NY as proof of prophecy.
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  4

  "Perfect" JWs

  by Ding in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  as we know, jws are constantly under pressure to conform more and more to wt expectations.. i was just thinking about a sister i used to know who always came across as the perfect jw portrayed in the literature: she never missed a meeting.

  she pioneered.

  she always had a look of contentment.

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  villagegirl

  Yes and most of them are ex-Catholics.

  A lot of ex-Catholics become JW's , especially women.

  They are pre-brainwashed so to speak and

  understand lock-step thinking and ritualized behavior.

  The sense of being "perfect" is comforting even if it is an illusion.

  These are people you do not want to question, if you do they get

  glassy eyed and start repeating things, because they are

  laser focused on obedience to the Governing-Body-Pope.

  They see themselves as sort of nuns.