Posts by Xander

13

Interview with the JW Geek

by Hmmm in

jw
friends

when i was a senior in high school, the principal called me in to her office to ask why i'd missed repeated deadlines to turn in my applications for colleges.

i went to a school for brainiacs, and was above average there--yes, i was a geek among geeks.

the principal asked me if it were a question of finances.

Xander

Hmmm...didn't take the SAT. (Didn't need to, ya know - not going to college)

I did take the ACT, though. Maxed that sucker out - highest score possible! I was pretty geeky.

Honestly, if the me from today ran into the me from then in high school, I probably would have picked on me, too. That's a funny thought, but...looking back...I HATE my younger self.

So self-righteous and confident. I mean, I was bearing the brunt of being ridiculed and picked on because I was of the TRUE RELIGION! Not because I ridiculed others religions. Not because I dressed in second hand, mismatched clothes, and insulted others (the popular kids) for their wordly trend following. Not because I knew better than everyone - Oh, we were created by God alright, evolution was poppycock, and I was smarter than the teachers on that (after all, reading Awake is the equivelant to a 4-year education, right?).

I was never a shy kid, which probably would have been better for me. Just stupid.

And, of course, that kind of behavior was quietly supported by parents and elders, and other pioneers. After all, having a bible-smart kid being persecuted at school was surely a sign the true god was with him and your family, right?

Yup, if I had to go to school with my younger self, I'd punch me right in the face a few times.

29

6/15 WT Re: Revealing Confidential Matters

by SumnerSloan in

jw
friends

p. 31 - a time to reveal a confidential matter - three little paragraphs about how the "appointed shepherds" sometimes choose not to reveal certain matters to the cong.

for a time ...).

??

Xander

"Jehovah will not do a thing unless he REVEALED HIS CONFIDENTIAL MATTERS to his servants..."

then...

"...the annointed shepherds in the Christian congregation find it beneficial to keep a certain matter undisclosed."

What? You mean, they find it benefial to reject the bible's instructions?

I didn't read anything in that verse about waiting "until a specific time" or keeping them secret "for a period of time". Read it again. It's not there.

What it DOES say is that god makes sure everything is revealed to his servants before taking any actions. "...will not DO A THING..."

I don't understand - the scripture reads like you should fully disclose everything before acting on it, and the WTBTS translates that to mean you must completely keep something secret until too late.

Huh?

7

PROFF THAT MANKIND IS VERY OLD!

by badboy in

jw
friends

in g2,(guardian part 2)page 14/15,a question of colour, we are informed that each individual differs by about 3 million nuceotides.. its says in an anti-evolution article that it is impossible to have more than 3 nucleotides changes per generation(it would be fatal!

)therefore if above is true, there must have been 1.5 million generations for everyone to be here.. meaning the wt idea of 4,000 bc must be bullshit!

Xander

Somebody's math is a little off.

If MORE than 3 nucleotide changes in a generation is fatal, then 3 is possible.

If differences of 3 million nucleotides is observed, that means, 1 million generations.

And, a generation could be what, as little as 15 years? That means that our genetic makeup is at least 15 million years old?

Well, hell, we knew THAT already...

33

Help! I have fallen in love with a Witness

by itsalingthing in

i recently started dating my neighbor.

a couple of nights into the late night talks, he told me the reason he hasn't dated in awhile is beacuse he is a witness.

i was surprised, but okay with it.

Xander

itsalingthing, I hate to say it, but...

You were right there with him and held the same beliefs. Something, or someone, gave you the courage to leave.

You are criminally trivializing the process. I think I could count on one hand the number of people here whose leaving was without a lot of pain, anger, frustration, and bitterness.

He sounds like a 'weak' JW. That might be good, or it might be bad. Why bad? Because THEY are the ones that go through 'guilt swings'. He may start smoking, dating wordly women, start 'slipping' - then comes convention time. Or, a CO visit. Suddenly, he is publisher #1, confesses all his sins, seems 'repentant' so is only reproved - dumps you, quits smoking, super-duper publisher.

For a week or two. Then, comes crawling back...until the NEXT CO visit.

Maybe you can live with that. I couldn't. Oh, and PRAY he never has a major life crisis or sees something in the news that confirms his brainwashing - that will send him WAY over the edge.

2

Where's the Koolaid?

by blondie in

jw
friends

http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/47522.htm .

while the four believe the show's impending broadcast has spurred the church's actions, church spokesman j.r. brown said that before tuesday, church headquarters had no idea that these people would be on the show.

he also said local congregations decided to charge them with various spiritual violations.. .

Xander

C'mon blondie - you know they maintain better deniable plausibility than that.

I'm sure if a half dozen DFing proceeding weren't ALREADY going on, they pushed a bunch through. 3 related DFing proceedings on their own would be suspicious. But, 3 among 2 dozen?

It is not, unfortunately, even hard to 'cover their tracks' here.

(I'm not saying the fight is worthless - it certainly isn't. However, this won't be won in one battle. Or, even a few. The org is pretty big, and, unlike the Catholic church, practices routinely brainwashing its members. It makes it a much tougher nut to crack.

Plus, as I mentioned in another thread, this gives them the opportunity to self-fulfill another of their prophecies that herald the end of the world - drawing the rank & file even closer in.)

3

New Mandatory Reporting - Illinois Law !

by Amazing in

jw
friends

the illinois senate judiciary committee overwhelmingly passed a plan to require the clergy to report any abuse of children (sexual and other types) to the authorities.

(lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc.

already have to report these.

Xander

LOL! It's a good shot, but the WTBTS will dodge it with their on-again/off-again 'clergy' - the elders.

You all remember, I'm sure, how they define the elder arrangement variously as clergy (when conventient) or just fellow brothers (when inconvenient).

To my knowledge no one has legally challenged the WTBTS to get a fixed answer on exactly WHAT the elders are.

such that 'confession' is still protected, but if a child or parent complains to a clergy-person, then all bets are off and it must be reported

This is particularly humorous. I bet, shortly after such laws become vogue, the watchtower will come out with an article detailing how ALL communication between members and elders are protected as 'confessions'.

{thinks a bit}

No, don't want that policy to be public knowledge - too many questions. KM, maybe? Perhaps BOE letter? Or just an updated 'Shepherding...' book?

14

Have your moral values changed drastically?

by voltaire in

jw
friends

i'm currently separated from my wife.

i told the elders that it ain't the truth and they told me to shape up or ship out (that's the very short version) my wife's loyal to the org.

and i don't want to be an apostate in my own home.

Xander

If you need to be emotionally detached from your current wife, get a divorce.

You're probably still hung up on the JW teaching of 'divorce without fornication = sin'.

It doesn't - sometimes marriages don't work out, and you just have to more on.

Talk about it with your wife - make it clear that in short order she'd be scripturally free to remarry , and that you have no intention of coming back to the org, and if she refuses to get a divorce you'll oppose her religion/whatever.

In most states, if both parties agree to a divorce, and the conditions of the divorce, there are just some forms to fill out and the whole thing is over (IE., no lawyer needs to get involved or anything, nice and cheap).

You could always try and file for divorce on various grounds to force the issue - but I don't get the feeling you want to do that.

12

door to door tongue in cheek

by recoveringexjw in

id like to form a group of ex jw's to go door to door and tell perspective victims of the society why they shouldnt have a free home bible study.i magine the amount of ppl that wil really be saved.

only one thing i hated going door to door.i only went for the luncheon afterward.this kind of service work i would really enjoy.we could pass out anti- watchtower literature.i love it more and more as i write it as im making it up as i go along.what do yall think.

Xander

"All I asked for was sharks with frikkin lasers on their heads..."

4

butalbee ; this could be what your looking for

by SoulJah in

http://www.jwmatch.com/welcome.php.

one day we'll all be together,until then i'm ready for whatever.

---tupac shakur

Xander

Hey, I didn't see a section on that site where you could arrange for a chaperone.

And those clothes don't look very modest...

And, it's on the internet....

OH NO, DEEMINZ!! DEEMINZ!!!!

39

Is it possible to love 2 people at same time?

by butalbee in

jane doe once upon a time had a dream life, she had the perfect man, who would've done anything for her, and did everything just for her, loved her wholeheartedly, dedicating the rest of his life to make her happy.

well, one day joe blow comes along, and sweeps jane off her feet, w/ his delightful smile and his vivacious personality--and jane starts to get confused: she has deeps feeling for john doe, but she just can't resist this joe blow.

somehow, in the middle of ruining her dream life--the nice house, loving, caring person to share it with, she finds herself totally smittened by joe blow, and starts thinking about him more than she thinks about her john doe dude.

Xander

Now John tells her that he still loves her, always will, but he just can't ever trust her again...Life sucks, doesn't it?

Well, this is a positive.

I'd say it depends on how trustworthy 'Jane' has been before and since. Has she screwed up 'John's trust more than once, even over minor things? If not, if she's generally been the perfect pair for 'John', and if she can REALLY swallow her pride, admit she was wrong, and beg for forgiveness....well, it might work - it will depend on 'John'.

The key thing is for her to admit SHE was wrong - not try to find extenuating circumstances - 'Oh, this is why I did it', etc. If she was wrong and wants to try and salvage the relationship, she needs to tell him that.

And, again, it still depends on him. It's the only shot, though, so...

And from spaz and mango:
love is such a broad word...
Bitter Mango summed up well how i feel about it too...

Yes, it's possible to "love" 2 people at once,
I love lotsa people, and find it easy to do so.
As for being IN LOVE...that's a much more
potent feeling.

I agree. Sure, you can love more than 1. Not even difficult. Being IN LOVE with 2 or more? Nope. I know a lot of people who THINK they can be, but everyone else who knows them and can see their lives objectively realizes they are kidding themselves.

A good litmus test is: Could you go on living without the relationship you have with one of them? If the answer is 'yes' - then you aren't really in love with them.

In general, it never works out, either.

(And, this is a strange crowd here - in all cases I knew personally, it was MEN who thought they could be in love with 2 women - no women I know have ever sought more than a monogamous relationship?)