Posts by Sara Annie

Honestly, Sword. I'm not sure it would help toward increasing your credibility, but it might just decrease the number of people who think you're a complete moron. It's difficult to take someone who repeatedly makes the same error-even after they've been corrected-seriously.

A quick look in the mirror might reveal who the real parrot is around here. Conventional wisdom states that we should "beware of the man who has read only one book". I would be willing to entertain your ideas if you would just step outside of your programming long enough to explore information from a source other than the very one that constantly reminds you that all other information is evil. If you can do that with a semblance of an open mind, and are then still of the opinion that everything you are parrotting is true, you might gain an audience.

*leaves 2 pennies on the table and walks out*

16

Money and happiness?

by eyeslice in

jw
friends

everyone in the truth, knows it is the "love of money", not money itself that is wrong.

i am well aware that money in itself does not bring happiness.. what i detect though amongst the witnesses is almost an antipathy to money and wealth.

one sister i was speaking to the other day complained about all the spending that goes on at xmas.

Sara Annie

I had an economics professor who, when talking about winning the lottery posed the question: "Given that statistics indicate that people who win the lottery more often than not experience family discordance due to demands for cash from relatives, mismanage the funds either themselves or through trusting incompetant financial advisors, and generally spend every penny and end up worse off than they were prior to the windfall, would you really want to put yourself through that kind of misery?"

The answer, of course, is "Yes, I'd like to give it a shot."

As for JWs being anti-money, I'd have to say that I've found just the opposite to be true. My closest JW acquaintances are some of the most materialistic people I've ever met. These particular people are obsessed by having more than anyone else, going so far as to list the prices of the clothing, jewelry, plane tickets (you name it!) they have just purchased. And then they turn around and start tossing scripture at them about various other vices. They are the least self-aware people that I've ever known. I love to listen to them expound about how "wordly" others are and then watch them get into their $75,000 SUV...

Of course, I have figured out how to become rich myself, but I can't find anyone willing to give me a dime every time I hear about someone in their congregation that is on medication for one psychological problem or another...

Edited by - Sara Annie on 3 January 2003 18:28:59

23

More Grammar Stuff

by ISP in

jw
friends

its fun trying to explain it all to the kids.....just try these 'plurals'...... box.

city.

calf.

Sara Annie

Actually, most dictionaries will list both Dwarfs and Dwarves as options for the plural of Dwarf. (And we totally ignored the VERB dwarf in this discussion...)

As for pet-peeves, if I see one more person type the word "definately", I'm going to take a hostage. Definitely!

I know it is probably a vile form of prejudice, but it's very difficult to take anyone with a poor grasp of their primary language seriously. Even the most well thought-out idea can be diminished by poor spelling and grammatical errors.

-Sara the Spelling Nazi

68

Quit smoking crack...the USA is not a bully!

by dolphman in

jw
friends

what are hippies smoking these days?

let me explain a few things to everyone:

let's chew on this first: what if america wasn't the world's only superpower?

Sara Annie

Robyn, your edits and responses got me giggling...a good end reaction to a thread about such an inflammatory and sensitive subject.

Sara

(My Husband calls me a "Spelling Nazi")

68

Quit smoking crack...the USA is not a bully!

by dolphman in

jw
friends

what are hippies smoking these days?

let me explain a few things to everyone:

let's chew on this first: what if america wasn't the world's only superpower?

Sara Annie

Not all that relevant, I know, but I feel like I should point out that the use of the word "Desert" was completely correct in the original post.

"Dessert" is an after dinner treat.

We're none of us perfect, but if you're going to attack someone's spelling as a counterpoint, it'd probably be a good idea to make sure you're correct.

35

Interesting phenomena regarding Witnesses

by JamesThomas in

jw
friends

first, and most important: thanks to all those who read my introduction-post last saturday, and especial thanks to those who replied.

like many who have been disfellowshipped (and especially those raised in the org) i've been dragged through icy waves of agonizing hurt and anger; often followed by times of peace and letting go; only to be hit by another turbulent and bitter bout of animosity and grief.

the tides do run deep, don't they.

Sara Annie

Compelling, well thought out, and clearly stated. Good post, put into print something that I think a great number of people think but haven't been able to articulate. Thank you.

And for the record, it's "Stockholm Syndrome" that is characterized by a captive who identifies with and defends their captor.

11

More Inaccurate WT info

by Yerusalyim in

i realize this won't shake or suprise many, but it's again an example of dishonest writing by the wtbts.

in the sep 15, 2002 wt, the very first article is "the modern appeal of 'saints" on page 3 as a footnote, the wt says;.

"*canonization officially recognizes a deceased roman catholic as worthy of universal and obligatory veneration.".

Sara Annie

The use of prayer through the saints in an intercessory capacity is more or less like the whole "little flock" 144,000 doctrine (according to my understanding of it).

And to say that Mary is "worshipped" more than God is ludicrous. Again, educate yourself to the doctrine before you attack it if you'd like to keep any semblance of an itelligent air about yourself.

17

WSJ Says: Blood transfusions now Ok for JW's!

by Sara Annie in

wall street journal, december 9, 2002. marketplace section in an article about mormons.... "the mormon church, of course, isn't the only religion to shun or cast out dissenting members, scholars say.

the vatican has excommunicated catholics for disobeying papal edicts.

many orthodox jews disown family members for marrying outside the faith.

Sara Annie

Hawk--

Sorry about the delay in responding, I wasn't online....

doinmypart's information was correct. I can't find an online posting of the article in full, and the paper already made it to the recycling plant. The line I quoted in the post that started the thread is the total of JW mention.

Sara

25

Is Warning re Possible Lawsuit Required?

by Scully in

jw
friends

this is just a general question for anyone who might have some legal background on the matter.. if (and i expect there will be) an announcement is made to our former congregation that we are "disassociated", can i just go ahead and sue them (individual elders in the congregation) for slander and defamation of character?

the decision to make the announcement is one that has to go through the body of elders, right??.

is it necessary, when the elders come calling, to say "i will sue the shirt off your back and the bloomers off your @$$ if you make any announcement that slanders my name or defames my character to anyone"??

Sara Annie

Ok, you're going to have to forgive me here, because I don't quite understand what the issue is. I will be the first to admit that my association with the WTBTS has been peripheral. Nearly 20 years ago, my beloved Aunt began studying with the witnesses. Her involvement led to herself, her husband, and her four children eventually being baptized into the organization. As my extended family was always a close one, I attended many JW meetings and social functions with their family as a child. My own nuclear family, for a short time, allowed my Aunt and Uncle to conduct a few "bible studies" in our home. Fortunately, my parents were wise enough to see the organization for what it was: a corporate cult masquerading as the sole path to salvation. While their presence at holidays was missed, my family was, unlike so many of those that I've read about, able to maintain a relationship despite the disparity in our relgious lives. I continued the long summer visits with my cousins in their small town, the only difference was that instead of going to church on Sunday, we went with them to their various meetings and activities. I remember absorbing much of the information I heard, and vividly remember one horrible New Year's eve in the 80's that I watched the clock for two hours before midnight, absolutely petrified, because my Aunt and cousins had told me that the "present system of things" would end before that year was over...

For most of that time, I could believe that the JWs were a harmless sect (though misguided) and took all of the information my extended family gave me about the religion at face value. My parents, however, had a harder time. It wasn't until the last few years, while I watched my Aunt die from a condition that could have been greatly alleviated, if not eliminated, by blood tranfusions and/or an organ transplant she felt her "bible-trained conscience" could not support, that I began to really wonder exactly what my family members had gotten themselves into. My mother, heartbroken at the loss of her baby sister, was treated as a stranger at her funeral service, WT pamphlets thrust at her in her grief. She was my mothers sister long before she was "their" sister, and I couldn't fathom the cold reception. It was soon after that I began to research for myself exactly what it was that JW doctrine was comprised of. I read the WT literature. I read the opposition literature. It didn't take a great leap of logic to weigh the two and determine where common sense and truth lay. It was only with age, and an informed perspective, that I began to see how easily they drew my Aunt into their clutches, and how destructive the WT organization had been in my family.

Since my Aunt's death, two of her children have disassociated themselves from the org, while two remain heavily active (one a former bethelite and the other a regular pioneer). The two who have left the organization have faced shunning by their former "brothers and sisters". It has been quite hurtful to them. It's been wonderful, however, to have them participating in family holiday events again. In speaking to both of them, they have said that they were fully aware that their inactivity in the organization would most likely lead to their disassocation. They knew the price they would pay for leaving (one "faded" while the other sent a letter disassociating themselves), and while it was painful it was not something they fought. To do so would have been futile.

My sincere question is what grounds would anyone have for fighting an involuntary disassocation on the grounds of inactivity in the organization's activities? The WT works like your average corporation. You enter into an agreement with a corporation to be in their employ, faithfully report your hours and do the work you've been assigned to do, accept 'promotions' to greater responsibility within the organization, and are an active member of the corporate structure. If one day, you decide that you no longer wish to show up and do what is expected of you and you continue to do nothing in the organization, and they fire you, can you say "How dare they fire me? Now they're going to tell everyone else that I'm not a good employee and that I'm no longer part of the company, I won't be able to use the company facilities, and everyone will treat me like I quit!" Essentially, isn't that what's happened?