scotsman

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Posts by scotsman

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  30

  Is it possible to go to university and still come out a dub?

  by Crumpet in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the reason i ask is that my best friend all the time i was growing up was a boy about 5 years older than i was.

  his parents were at lot less strict than mine and as he was super brainy after he finished public school and sixth form he went off to one of the country's finest universities.

  the only thing that bugs me now about this is that i know he was incredibly clever - how could he go to uni and still be a dub?

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  scotsman

  I didn't attend uni until I was already an elder and although it was 8 months into the course that I dropped out of being a dub, it wasn't because of anything I was learning at uni. Lots of people go through uni without being required to think, dubs included.

  I regret that my leaving the witnesses having started uni may have made it hard for any witnesses that wanted to follow me there. A friend from my congregation went to uni 2 years after me, with much disapproval and hey presto, she left the Witnesses too. I doubt anyone from the Muirhouse congregation will be allowed to go to uni now.
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  42

  Boycotting Israel

  by Crumpet in

  1. social
  2. current

  i see that quite a few are following the dreadful attacks in lebanon.

  today i went swimming to cool off with mr c and we were discussing what ways we could make our disapproval and anger at israels actions felt, besides being human shields.

  (mr c reckons i'm big enough to stop one missile, but would be pretty useless after that.

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  scotsman

  Don't you "shop local" anyway? The Israeli's may be killing the Lebanese but those airmiles will kill us all! (Tongue firmly in cheek).

  I went on the anti-war march here on Saturday and it's not an easy choice as I didn't agree with the banners that were pro Hizbollah nor the homophobia of most Arab States, but my disgust at the IDF trumps both of these.
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  32

  LAUGHTER IN THE CONGREGATION

  by badboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what things made congregation laugh?

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  scotsman

  David Carter has stopped making congregations and assemblies laugh, not because he was asked to stop, but because he died over a year ago. After his wife died he remarried a divorcee 30 years his junior and she seems to have worn him out pretty quickly.
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  113

  Goodbye and Swansongs

  by LittleToe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what's with the recent spate of folks saying goodbye, or giving swansongs?.

  this is a webboard.

  people come and people go.

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  scotsman

  Ooh Ross, I do like it when you talk tough! (btw call me sooner next time)
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  160

  Laughing laughing laughing

  by darcy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  wow.. so, you know i'm an active witness, very active.

  hah.

  and i'm not laughing at y'all, but wow, i can't believe how extensive this is.

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  scotsman

  
  Hello Darcy,

  You sound like a thoroughly post modern JW. Good for you!

  Everyone else,

  I know some other JWs like Darcy and would suggest this as evidence of a post Generation change in attitude (kids getting on with fairly normal lives) and the mainstreaming of the Witness faith. We should welcome it as it's a far more realistic outcome than the collapse of the WTBTS. There's more than one elder I know that admits there are "anomalies" within WTBTS teaching, which strikes me as similar to Catholic friends who sit comfortably with Catholicisim while disagreeing with the Vatican's stance on abortion, contraception etc. Darcy appears to take a similar attitude to her religion.
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  89

  What are you reading?

  by damselfly in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  now that i'm done with school for the summer i've got some spare time to read as much as i like.

  heaven!

  i just finished "sylvanus now" by donna morrisey.

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  scotsman

  I found the Power of Now to be ripe for the basis of a cult, and the fevered adoration of Eckhart's fan's on the net... cult-like.

  if you are not ripe your mind will think you've been had because it doesn't appear to have much substance to it.

  And it's this sort of patronising comment from his acolytes (plus the cost of his therapy) that confirms it.
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  21

  What's the JW take on the medical condition Gender Identity Disorder?

  by HappyAtheist in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  hi from the uk.

  here the national health service (nhs) says that gender identity disorder (gid) aka transexualism can be effectively treated by hormones and surgery so people can live as the gender they 'know' themselves to be.

  however, i'm told that despite the condition being medically recognised that jw believe it is a 'lifestyle choice' (presumably like 'choosing' to be straight or gay as we all do :-) ) and one worthy of disfellowshipping.

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  scotsman

  Hi happyathiest

  Can I suggest that you have a look at this website http://www.gaywitness.force9.co.uk/ which is an unofficial website for gay JWs but also contains info on transgendered individuals. While it's not endorsed by the Watchtower Organisation the info it contains about their stance on the issue is pretty accurate.

  Like the story from Hobart, I'm aware of a male to female transexual in London who became a JW and was told to revert to the gender they were born with to get baptised. It completely fucked with their mind. I'm assuming this info is just for the sake of discussion and that your sibling doesn't want to become a JW?
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  14

  Anyone Remember Dr. Jim Howard, Bethel Doctor in the 80s??

  by Seeker4 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jim howard was a psychiatrist who became a jw.

  he was from a congregation near mine here in vermont, and i knew him long before he was invited to become the physician at bethel.

  he had a lovely wife and a terrific young teenaged daughter at the time.

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  scotsman

  They left Ireland (not Scotland) and are back in Brooklyn and Sarah Kate's married and in Bethel too.
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  50

  Is J K Rowling a Witch?

  by Gill in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  is j. k. rowling a witch?

  the reason i ask is this, a 'nice' couple across the road are born again christian fundamentalists.

  their little boy was playing with a sword and his mum told me he had been watching 'narnia' (based on the lion the witch and the wardrobe).

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  scotsman

  JK attends St Columba's by the Castle on Johnston Terrace when she's in Edinburgh and has done since before she wrote HP. It's part of the Scottish Episcopal Church and while some may view them as from the Devil, they don't practice witchcraft.
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  11

  WT CD-ROM 2005

  by scotsman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  i've just put this on the hard drive for my mother and i notice that when you open it it pops up with the days text and what i'm presuming is the schedule for this weeks tms schedule.. why does this make me gag?

  !

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  scotsman

  I wish I had a copy of the 2005. But I have not been able to find one anywhere yet. I have lost all contacts with the witnesses now.

  I think you're a lot better off without it