would someone seriously consider arranging for an apostafest up in scotland next year?
i know i'm asking this early but i feel it would be good to put the feelers out now.. obviously, it would have to be a location easy to get to - so that means stornoway is out!
sorry, ross & xena.
Staying for the weekend sounds good to me too.
Last time we had an apostafest in Edinburgh we had a problem because we were spread out all over the city staying in different places. How about we pick a place we can all stay at? Rather than a specific hotel/b&b, an area of town with a lot of places to stay so we're at least within a few streets of each other? It makes it much easier to get back after a night out........
Paul
besty and i are of the opinion that if more people da'd and said they didn't believe in the whole thing, it would send a serious message to jws.
you wouldn't need to actually criticize the organisation, avoiding the 'apostate' label.
we know that for many, fading is the only option right now, because of the pain involved in losing friends and family but, surely, if enough people went down this route, then more would have the courage to do the same?
What IS the best way to help JWs to really think?
I think the main thing is not to expect things to happen fast. It takes 6 months of studying gradually doing more and more before someone is considered for baptism, so I think its logical to think it would take the same to deprogramme them.
Use the same techniques as the witnesses. Start with little questions to make them think. When I was a witness I used to notice odd things that I thought wasn't right. Over years I noticed more and more and decided to look into it. Once this started I seemed to hit a critical mass and decided I couldn't be a jw anymore. The actual thing that tipped for me was the use of influence in recruitment and retention of members, but it could have been anything. Different people give different reasons for leaving, the UN, child molestation, etc, but I know for me as a witness none of these individually would have been an unsurmountable issue if was not for the thinking I had done in the years leading up to it.
I think the hard thing would be to keep people aware as to whats going on to allow them to see whats going on, but without pushing too hard/passing judgement on it. If the persons not ready to leave and you push too hard you'll set off a trigger, be labelled apostate, and after that it doesn't matter what you've said.
Paul
besty and i are of the opinion that if more people da'd and said they didn't believe in the whole thing, it would send a serious message to jws.
you wouldn't need to actually criticize the organisation, avoiding the 'apostate' label.
we know that for many, fading is the only option right now, because of the pain involved in losing friends and family but, surely, if enough people went down this route, then more would have the courage to do the same?
When someone used to DA it always used to make me think about why they'd done it, but do you not think thats part of the reason they changed the way the announcements are made to simply stating that xxxx is no longer one of jehovahs witnesses? Now when the rumour mill gets going all sorts of things will be mentioned, and because people like to justify their own position jw's will be much more likely to believe the stories that externalise the problem (that the person was weak and committed fornication) rather than internalise it (that there is a problem with the organisation and the person made a conscious decision to no longer be a part of it).
One way to get round this would be to send a copy of your DA letter to everyone you know, but with this you run the risk of triggering phobias that all ex-jws are apostates trying to snare people from jehovah. Once this happens no matter how much sense your arguement makes they won't listen to it, or any subsequent intervention you plan in the future.
See you both tommorow night!
Paul
if everyone who is signed up for the sectret santa can post a few ideas of the sort of thing you like in here, when people receive their names they can come in here and look you up so get some ideas .
.
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I've just remembered I need to post some ideas on here!
I'm a 30 yr old biker with little man syndrome.....In my spare time I study psychology and tend my allotment. I'm always after more psychology texts (My wife worries about me having an entire shelf devoted to mind control....), but it would be difficult to choose a book I haven't already got. How about a comedy book, or I'm currently collecting books by Robert Ludlum (I haven't got any of his covert-one series yet). How about something from your local area? Any of your local rock bands cd's that may not be available where I am (melodic rock not thrashy), or is your area famous for a particular type of vegetable or fruit you could send seeds for me to grow in the allotment? They'd have to be suitable for a northern UK climate though.
I hope this has given you some ideas.
Paul
i have recently volunteered to make a wedding cake!
i have not made one since i was about 15.....hence, a long time ago!
but i remember being particularly good at the icing bit.
Claire again
I don't think it so much matters as far as the cake is concerned as to when you ice, but more as to when you have put the marzipan on the cake. You can use slightly warmed apricot jam as a "glue" on the surface of the cake to make the marzipan adhere. You probably want to let the cake settle for a couple of weeks (wrapped well in greaseproof paper) before the marzipan. The marzipan then needs to be well dried out before you ice (again here the marzipan covered cake should be well wrapped), otherwise the oils will seep out of the marzipan into the icing and discolour it. Hope I am not teaching my granny to suck eggs here!!
If you want to make your own marzipan, here is a recipe (again for a 16" cake):
1 lb icing sugar
8oz ground almonds
8oz granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon almond essence
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Method: mix almonds and both sugars together. Beat egg yolks with almond essence and lemon juice. Stir and mix to a firm paste - if you use your hands it will warm the almonds bringing out the oils and help to bind the mixture - it's really good for your hands too!
Best wishes
Claire, x
i have recently volunteered to make a wedding cake!
i have not made one since i was about 15.....hence, a long time ago!
but i remember being particularly good at the icing bit.
Hi there, this is Gadget's wife posting (username Faolan). The following is the recipe used by my gran and mum and also by me now, and is for a 16" cake (but you can adjust the amount to the size of your cake):
1 lb icing sugar
1 1/2 egg whites
1 dessert spoon glycerine
3 dessert spoons water mixed with 1/2 teaspoon rose essence (or 3 dessertspoons of rosewater)
3 dessertspoons lemon juice
The method is basically just to mix the ingredients together and beat well. The glycerine should stop the icing from cracking when it dries but I don't think you absolutely have to use it - I think it gives the icing a nice texture though.
Hope this helps, and enjoy your cake!
Best wishes
Claire, x
anonymously, i sent out about 100 emails this morning, about the nbc-news story.
all to jw's from my contact list.
i have not written any of these people for at least two years.
If you have someone on your email list you would like an anonymous letter sent to, you can contact me through my email address [email protected] or just pm me.
What things do you put in the anonymous letter?
a woman was working in a post office in california.. .
one day she licked the envelopes and postage stamps instead of using a. .
sponge.
Theres an urban legend in prisons about an inmate who always handed in his post late, after the sealing sponge had been put away. After checking to make sure it was suitable for posting, the officer would lick it to seal it instead of getting the sponge back out. Apparently the inmate took great satifaction from watching the officer licking the envelope that had been in close proximity to a certain part of his anatomy! I don't know whether it was true or not, but when I used to process the mail it was enough to make me make sure I always used the sponge to seal them!
dear all (especially those in the uk),.
following on from danny's excellent post here: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/16/128626/1.ashx i have just sent an e-mail to the charities commission.
some time ago i wrote to you about the dangers of jehovah's witnesses and how they don't deserve charity status because far from helping mankind they are a real danger to it.
Nelly, I've been reading through the main section that deals with if a permit is required, and most of it does not apply to jw's because;
Subsection (1)(a) does not apply to a charitable appeal which—
(a) is made in the course of a public meeting; or
(b) is made—
(i) on land within a churchyard or burial ground contiguous or adjacent to a place of public worship, or
(ii) on other land occupied for the purposes of a place of public worship and contiguous or adjacent to it,
This would apply to talks from the platform asking for donations, etc. The only point I can see is in subsection 1b;
“charitable appeal” means an appeal to members of the public to give money or other property (whether for consideration or otherwise) which is made in association with a representation that the whole or any part of its proceeds is to be applied for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes.
The question would be is if mentioning to householders that donations for the worldwide work are accepted is the same as asking for donations. I would say it is just a difference of compliance and obedience, but you would have to ask the body responsible for upholding the law for how they define it.
just saw the news here this evening in the uk.
mr porter who was in the news a few weeks ago who was convicted of crimes against children in his care, now living in london but formally from the bristol area has had his case looked at again and is on his way to jail for an 18 month sentence.. sorry guys dont know how to do the link thingy but it will be on the bbc webpage as it was the bbc i was watching.. now that's what i call "good news".
He will not have a good time in prison. If he chooses to be segregated from the main prison population as a sex offender (and he'd be mad not to) then the other offenders will give him a hard time as a "witness". It's quite possible that he'll have to serve the whole time sentanced as he will be involved in trouble designed to keep him in from the other inmates.
He won't have a choice about being segregated, he'll be automatically classified as a 'rule 43' to avoid disruption in the ordinarys. The other vp's will have done at lot worse than what he has, so he won't stand out because of that, and jw's are not uncommon in prisons so that won't be an issue either. If the sentance was 18 months he'll probably have an automatic release date of 9months, or even 7-8 months if he's eligible for tagging.
Paul
