Have not donated a penny in close to two years now. Last assembly there were 1200 present, cost as announced - $8500. Funds donated with 1 hour to finish, $850.
StarTrekAngel
JoinedPosts by StarTrekAngel
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92
So Proud of Pops
by brandnew inok so a car pulls up to the house and 3 eldurrs from my dads congo come up.
they come in and have thee nerve to ask me to step out so they can speak to pops!!!!
this is the good part.....pops says...and i quote " whatever needs to be said..can be said in front of my son".
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The Pope is more like Christ than the GB
by StarTrekAngel injust a quick line to share something i heard in the news yesterday.
while we may disagree with many of the doctrines of the catholic church, there was something interesting.. the subject was regarding the view by the church on abortion and contraceptives.
while the pope insisted in the absolute and immutable evil of terminating a pregnancy, he said that considering the risks presented by the zika virus, women in south america should consider contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancies that could end up in a child born with defects.
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StarTrekAngel
Just a quick line to share something I heard in the news yesterday. While we may disagree with many of the doctrines of the catholic church, there was something interesting.
The subject was regarding the view by the church on abortion and contraceptives. While the pope insisted in the absolute and immutable evil of terminating a pregnancy, he said that considering the risks presented by the zika virus, women in South America should consider contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancies that could end up in a child born with defects. He said that while the church is firm in their view of contraceptives, they would understand that just like Jesus, the lesser evil should apply and women should not feel that God would consider their action as a violation of the faith.
I don't know about you but it seems to me that the Pope considers "love trumps law" in at least this case.
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Another one bites the dust...
by StarTrekAngel inso despite glimpses of hope here and there, the wife is just not seeing this cult for what it is.. so who is the one the bit the dust?
i've not been feeling so well lately.
a bit of lightheadedness.
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StarTrekAngel
Thanks everyone for your kind words. I am going to retreat for a bit, try to get better. I am definitely done with meetings, at least for the time being. At the end I do know (after 17 years of marriage) that the thing that probably hurts her more is the fact that we are not going to be together at the meeting (keeping company). Depending on how I feel I may drop in every now and then but attitude (and attire) will be completely different. I also have to prepare to deal with the fallout with the rest of her family. I do not have any relatives in the US myself and my family are not JWs but most of hers is. -
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The fallacy of the faithful and discrete slave
by StarTrekAngel inas many of us that understand the parable to be just that, a parable, is there a way that a jw can actually question it, even if so is done under the idea that is actually a prophecy?.
we are all very familiar with deuteronomy 18:22 and the way to identify a true prophet.
is there a way you could possibly identify a bad prophet as soon as the prophecy is revealed?
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StarTrekAngel
As many of us that understand the parable to be just that, a parable, is there a way that a JW can actually question it, even if so is done under the idea that is actually a prophecy?
We are all very familiar with Deuteronomy 18:22 and the way to identify a true prophet. Is there a way you could possibly identify a bad prophet as soon as the prophecy is revealed? Not having to wail until the said fulfillment? Why would you want to do that?
Well simply put, we have come to experience that in the modern world, "prophets" have become pretty sneaky. They lay the prophecy in front of you, just one, may be two of them, and then they spent the rest of their time looking for a reason to kick the can down the road and claim the prophecy still valid. Overlapping generations is one of the first things that come to mind, but I am sure we can find more.
Deuteronomy 18:22 is one of the most regurgitated bible verses used to supposedly identify true prophets. Another paragraphs that we rarely use as JWs (it's an inconvenient one) is the one Deuteronomy 13:1. Let me paste it here for your convenience
If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.
Not to spend much time trying to make sense of what it really meant to be "tested" by the Lord (and then have you kill the poor peasant God used for the test) but we can take a few things away from Deut 13:1. One of them is that, contrary to what the WT wants us to believe, we do not have to believe the prophet when his prophecy does not make sense. Even when he has signs and miracles but he directs us to do something that is contrary to God's will, then we must question it.
So how does this apply to the "prophecy" of the FD&S? For starters, JWs did no pronounce the "prophecy", they merely interpreted as a prophecy. Except they made one mistake.
Even if you go as far as considering this a prophecy, it helps to wonder...if the bible is a letter that God wrote to his people in which he details his wishes and rules for a better life, what would he make it so that we could not understand it? I mean, sure the language was different but I would think that such powerful God would find a way to make sure the message remains intact.
If we can not understand the letter without the FD&S, why is there so much room left to identify said slave? If Moises was the only one who could communicate with God and get his word, what would happened if in a flash of "new light" the Israelites would have concluded that Moises wasn't the one sent forth after all? In other words, how can ever know who the true F&DS is if his identity is within the letter that we can not understand without the FD&S? Furthermore, if the identity of the slave is open to change, what is to be said about the "truths" he fed us in the past? How can we be at the edge of the great tribulation without having firmly identified the one who is supposed to provide the guide from God? Should have not he been identified first and then began to serve spiritual food?
You see, this idea of the slave providing food at the proper time, even though the identity of the slave could change is not compatible with God tradition of giving accurate forewarning and information. Unless I am missing something, God would have not driven the Israelites to the edge of the Red Sea and then say... here is your leader, listen to him... oh wait no, is that other guy over there... oh may be it is both of them as a "class". You get the picture, just do whatever they say but hurry because the Egyptians are on your heels... bye!
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Another one bites the dust...
by StarTrekAngel inso despite glimpses of hope here and there, the wife is just not seeing this cult for what it is.. so who is the one the bit the dust?
i've not been feeling so well lately.
a bit of lightheadedness.
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StarTrekAngel
I told her that at some point blondie. All I got was silence. -
22
Another one bites the dust...
by StarTrekAngel inso despite glimpses of hope here and there, the wife is just not seeing this cult for what it is.. so who is the one the bit the dust?
i've not been feeling so well lately.
a bit of lightheadedness.
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StarTrekAngel
So despite glimpses of hope here and there, the wife is just not seeing this cult for what it is.
So who is the one the bit the dust? ... ME
I've not been feeling so well lately. A bit of lightheadedness. A sensation in my chest similar to what you get when you are watching a thriller film. I can not define it as chest pain, but sure had me concerned. Last Saturday, the feeling would not go away so I headed to the ER. Blood pressure 175/118. I got to admit that the anxiety took the better of me that day so that reading was probably part of it. However, checking my blood at home has shown that I am almost always above 130/85. I was given some blood pressure medication but the sensation on my chest kept coming back after a few hours. I felt really depressed, specially in the evenings, the sensation that something bad is about to happen and my children will be left without a father.
My wife understands that I am under a great deal of stress and she finally broke the conversation Monday night. She sounded really accommodating and to a degree, she sounded almost like if she was willing to put our relationship ahead of the cult (although I was not so naive to think this was it) and she admitted that chances were that my health problem was strictly related to our religious differences. We conversed for a little while. I was feeling really good about it because usually our confrontations happen at bed time and end really late and she usually falls asleep in the middle of it, which pisses me off. That night was different, she was willing to continue for as long as necessary. Since the tone was so calm it did not have to last very long. She confessed to a couple of things: that she is hoping to see her dad (deceased) again and, indirectly, also confessed that she feels that if we did not go to meetings anymore, then God would be completely out of our lives. I said that did not need to happen. She said if we don't study the bible now that we are here, what would happen if we stop? She also admitted that she could not bring herself to the idea that she could let her children die because of blood, which gives me some peace of mind.
So there you have it, the most evident sign of dependency created by a cult mindset.
I have discussed our situation with her sister. A baptized publisher who's been away from it for over 10 years. I can tell the damage is still going in her as well. She feels bad for being away from the cult. She read some stuff in jwfacts.org and said she felt guilty but quite disturbed by what she read. Yet, she talked to my wife and told her that I need to respect her choices.
My wife has brought up divorce as an option, specially lately. Not that she really wants to go away but rather feels that is the only way I will recover health wise. Not only I don't think that is an option (divorce on religious grounds is a shame) but also because of the children. I also told her, and this is the truth, that divorce on this situation would only make my anxiety worst.
While I really tried to have her see the light, I considered meeting her half-way by accepting her decision, yet, she always put forth something that made me backtrack. Last time that I told her I would accept, she started crying afterwords, saying that she never thought she'll belong to the group of women who show up to meetings alone. But I am supposed to be free to leave the religion anytime. I do not call this freedom.
Right now I am in a low dose of blood pressure meds and Xanax just in case. I already had to take it twice, not so much because of our arguments but because that sensation in my chest wasn't going away.
Despite the lack of sleep of the past two nights, I am feeling better today.
I just had to come here and vent since my therapist is not available until March 1st.
Thanks
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10
Who is the oldest GB member?
by StarTrekAngel induring the talk delivered by stephen lett in our last assembly, he talked about brothers who serve despite their frail health.
he said "one of the gb members, whom i work with every day, is 80 years old and has been a diabetic for the last 30".. give a peak into how well they are tended to and how someone that age would not dare to let go of the power that keeps him alive..
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StarTrekAngel
During the talk delivered by Stephen Lett in our last assembly, he talked about brothers who serve despite their frail health. He said "One of the GB members, whom I work with every day, is 80 years old and has been a diabetic for the last 30".
Give a peak into how well they are tended to and how someone that age would not dare to let go of the power that keeps him alive.
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The 19th Wife
by StarTrekAngel ini just started reading this book.
wife and i were at the local library a few weeks ago and she pulled it out of a shelf, almost by chance it was this book about mormons.
she did not read it much but said that it looks like a good read.
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StarTrekAngel
I just started reading this book. Wife and I were at the local library a few weeks ago and she pulled it out of a shelf, almost by chance it was this book about Mormons. She did not read it much but said that it looks like a good read. I read the summary and it picked my interest. Talked about a son going back to the religion he once left in order to attempt to rescue her mother from the dead penalty.
When we got back home she was researching the book so I went ahead and bought it online. I am reading it and I could almost replace every character with a JW instead of a Mormon and, if it wasn't for the polygamy part, the book would continue to make sense.
Another piece that could help her wake up. Steven Hassan has said that the best way to wake up a loved one is to compare cults. This could do the trick.
Wish me luck
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Stats for assembly in La Feria TX - Saturday 2/6/16
by StarTrekAngel inattendance was 1200 in the morning, 1146 in the afternoon.
5 baptisms, mostly young girls (18-20 range) and one that look older (over 20).
cost of the assembly $8500.
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StarTrekAngel
Attendance was 1200 in the morning, 1146 in the afternoon. 5 baptisms, mostly young girls (18-20 range) and one that look older (over 20)
Cost of the assembly $8500. Total collected by 2:30 pm - $850
No videos were played and the screen were off during the entire program. The only screens on were in the hallways and areas outside the main auditorium
I am not aware that GB member Lett ever came out to the main auditorium. I also left during lunch so I don't know if he did so then.
Here are links to transcripts of his talks in another thread
I just noticed the the transcript for Talk #2 is missing a piece. I guess my wife got tired of typing. Is not a big piece but it was interesting how he started casting differences between "winners" and "losers". The typical appeal to "you don't want to be the loser". Thought that was pretty petty of him. There is so many more subtle ways to brainwash people.
I am going to try and see if someone actually recorded the talk.
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Stephen Lett at our assembly today
by StarTrekAngel inhe delivered the most cultic piece of propaganda i've ever seen in an assembly.
wife typed up the whole thing.
i will be posting when i get a chance.
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StarTrekAngel
I stepped out for lunch so I don't know if he came out to the crowds. Attendance was 1200 and at least during the general sessions he did not come out from the back stage.
Lets get one thing clear. Wether he is a simpleton or can be compared to the speech impediment of Moises, you need to understand that God never picked people with weaknesses just for the heck of it or just because he had pity on people. That is an old WT propaganda technique to make you feel good if you are uneducated or you feel like you are not up to the task on field service or in the ministry school.
God picked uneducated people or people with speech impediments so he could show his power. So people would know for sure and had proof that he sent them. So that his contenders would not think much of them and feel like they were no threat. When the threat materialized, then people could say beyond reasonable doubt that this man or prophet definitely had God's spirit.
If Lett had gotten of the stage and had been unable to speak coherently or even be able to recite a bible verse without the bible, then I would have concluded that his ability to deliver the talk definitely came from a higher power. But, as you may conclude, that did not happen, therefore his is a buffoon.
The CO gave the preceding talk before him. When Lett got on stage for the first talk he wanted to thank the CO and his wife for their hard work but he did not remember their names. The translator had to remind him. Despite the fact that the presenter had just thanked "brother Con" for this speech. The man is incapable of even faking that he cares.