DanTheMan

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Posts by DanTheMan

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  3

  Apostates or apologists?

  by DanTheMan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  years ago, there was an article in the wt that talked about the characteristics of "apostate literature".

  they listed 3 or 4 of these characteristics, but i can only remember 2 - prideful intelligence and lack of love.. i don't see how cofc or any other of the "apostate" books out there display these characteristics.

  however, i have noticed that there are a few posters on this board that reflect this haughtiness and lack of love.

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  DanTheMan

  Years ago, there was an article in the WT that talked about the characteristics of "apostate literature". They listed 3 or 4 of these characteristics, but I can only remember 2 - prideful intelligence and lack of love.

  I don't see how CofC or any other of the "apostate" books out there display these characteristics. However, I have noticed that there are a few posters on this board that reflect this haughtiness and lack of love. These posters are the WT apologists. They use confusing wordplay and loaded, propagandistic language to defend Watchtowerist doctrine, and belittle and insult those who disagree. They gleefully go on about our being in the "last days", with the implication, of course, being that if these really are the "last days", then boy are the Watchtowerists right and boy are we "apostates" gonna get it at the big A.

  The WT apologists are the prideful, unloving ones. While I certainly don't wish to "take them on", as I am no debater, their spirit is enough to convince me who is right.
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  11

  What now, withno PURPOSE?

  by HomebutHiding in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it's a difficult thing, once having been a member of the elite, the chosen few, hand-picked by the almighty never to die, to wake up, suddenly or otherwise to the realization that all was a lie.

  of course, when we were jws, we had a purpose in life, and that purpose, along with life itself was a forever kind of thing.

  we were to live forever, and our existance was well-defined for us.

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  DanTheMan

  Just having disassociated a few months ago, I relate to what you're going through big time. It is so disillusioning to have ALL the answers, only to discover that it is all a big FARCE, and that real life is HARD AS HELL, and seems, at times, UTTERLY POINTLESS.

  I personally don't recommend "The True Believer" to anyone struggling with feelings of life being purposeless. It is a chillingly accurate sociological treatise, and for me, it only served to reinforce the pessimistic views of humanity that I had/have that made me such a great candidate for the borg. Same with Orwells book, a little too dark.

  There are no easy answers.
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  30

  You Apostates Are Right!

  by comforter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dear ex-jw.com.

  many of you have asked me why i am in this place.

  you think i am being disobedient to the faithful and discreet slave or being hypocritical when i frequent this site.

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  DanTheMan

  thank you for your posts, comforter - they reminded me of what a bunch of pious frauds Watchtowerists are

  Edited by - dantheman on 19 June 2002 19:15:19
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  19

  what has most influence on JW's?

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what or who , do you believe has the most influence on how jw's lead their lives?.

  is it the watchtower mags, meetings, circuit overseers , governing body,peers,or something else?.

  i was trying to think about what most influenced me and i think it is the group pressure we recieve in the org that pushes us most to do things.

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  DanTheMan

  good point joeshmoe (I have an autistic brother who will just about kill you if you call him that)

  People resemble the God they worship. The Jehovah concept continually promulgated by the WT is an unpleasable, legalistic monster. The leadership reflects these qualities in spades.

  The GB are a bunch of relics from a different age and have spent decades living in an ivory tower where they have no meaningful contact with the outside world. The spirit of the borg reflects their backwards, misogynist attitudes.
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  47

  Were you ashamed of being a witness?

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  were you ashamed of being a witness?.

  how did you feel about identifing yourself as a jehovahs witness to others?.

  i often used to hide it because of the stigma attacthed to it.. was anyone actually proud to be one?

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  DanTheMan

  Somtimes I was embarrassed, sometimes not. I agonized for YEARS whether or not I was really in the so-called "right" religion. It was a never-ending internal battle. The not eventually won.

  When somebody at work would sneeze and I wouldn't say "Bless You" - yes, that was awkward, as was toasting and Birthdays. I agreed with the Christmas thing, I wasn't at all embarrassed about not celebrating Christmas. I don't know how I'm gonna deal with that now that I'm out. I still think the whole Christmas thing is pretty wacked.

  I had a certain way of holding my wallet when I was getting stuff out of it so that my hand obscured the blood card. That whole issue always seemed like such nonsense to me. I stopped carrying my blood card about a year before I left.

  More than anything else, the cornball magazines embarrassed me. This might explain the fact that in my entire 10 years as a Watchtowerist, I probably placed less than 30 sets of magazines. I generally hoped people weren't at home when I knocked - and most of the time, my hopes were realized. What a waste of time.

  I was embarrassed to leave my apartment wearing a suit all the time. Americans just don't dress in suits any more. The Watchtower uniform is antiquated, but it is a definite part of the cloning, like Hitler's brownshirted followers.
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  32

  Dinosaurs~tell me more

  by sOOner in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  dinosaurs have always fasinated me.when i was a member of jw's they could never explain anything about there existence to me.i have never seen mention of them in the bible.history and fossil remains prove that they did exist.what destroyed them really?was it the flood?

  ?a meteor??

  ?how long ago?how old are they?.

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  DanTheMan

  Flipping channels a few weeks ago I came across a fundy dude using a verse from Job to prove his point that early man co-existed with dinosaurs.

  "Sure the writer must have been speaking of dinosaurs" he said, in a hauntingly Watchtower-esque tone.

  The WT are far from being the only religious looney-tuneys out there.
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  10

  a Barbara G. Harrison story

  by Nathan Natas in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  besides "visions of glory," among barbara grizzuti harrison's published books is "an accidental autobiography.

  " on pages 92 through 95 she relates a little story of her mother.. - - - begin quote - - -.

  her religion had delivered her from the fate she feared: she was no longer a cipher.

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  DanTheMan

  I had to look up cipher:

  one that has no weight, worth, or influence : NONENTITY

  Interesting word choice. This lady was a hell of a writer! Those quacks at Crooklyn only wish they could write so well. I'm anxious to read Visions of Glory.

  I can relate to her mother's 'beauty, fervor, and haze of martyrdom' driving men mad. I almost lost my marbles completely over a very beautiful and devout sister who was 20 years my senior. She was a man-killer if ever there was.

  Edited by - dantheman on 16 June 2002 19:8:32
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  26

  Why the watchtower will fall.

  by sleepy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  because every thing made by jehovahs witnesses is so shoddily made its bound to collapse.

  our kingdom hall was falling apart all the time.

  thats what happens when you use the untrained witness slaves to build everything in order to save money.they build a pile of crap.edited by - sleepy on 16 june 2002 7:7:51.

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  DanTheMan

  People have been anticipating the WT's demise for years, decades even. I don't think there ever will be a mass exodus and breakup.

  Western lands will continue to decline or hold steady. Increase will continue in Third World countries, Africa, Eastern Europe, and the former USSR.

  Just as Bill "Slick Willie" Clinton survived his detractors, so will the Witchtower Babble & Trash Shit-ciety.

  As long as there are lonely, scared souls in need of a totalitarian mother to take over their life, the Watchtower will survive and prosper.
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  23

  JW's Are People Just Like You and Me

  by Sentinel in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  hello all my new friends here,.

  when i disassociated myself back in 1981, there were only just a couple instances afterwards, where the jdubs came to my door in the service of their ministry.

  during those times, i would never ever answer the door.

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  DanTheMan

  Karen:

  Enjoyed your post.

  Yesterday a car pulled up at my next door neighbor's house. It was a four door sedan. I only had a partial view, but a man in a suit and a lady in a dress got out. I thought to myself "here they come!" My heart raced. So...I shut my front door and closed my blinds in order to give an appearance of not being at home. I know it sounds somewhat cowardly, but I only have been out 3 months, and dealing w/Watchtowerists is way too emotional for me right now. I know what you mean about it being hard to separate feelings for the rank and file Watchtowerists with feelings toward the Crooklyn borg. Turns out they weren't Watchtowerists, it was my neighbor's son and his wife visiting for father's day.

  I hope the lady you wrote of comes back. She sounds like she might have some doubts. I'm surprised that she said the things she did. She's probably experiencing what many middle aged Watchtowerist women go through: seeing her own kids or her long-time friend's kids getting DF'd or fading away, marital problems, questioning whether or not the years she has spent as a JW have been truly worthwhile, depression, etc.

  I also can relate to your experience with the lady who told you you'd remember her. I remember being a newbie Watchtowerist going door-to-door in an affluent neighborhood. We came to one door, a very beautiful middle-aged woman answered. But there was something more to her that just prettiness. She seemed to have a complete peace about her. She said that she admired our "zest", but that she believed that you are saved by grace. I never forgot her.
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  129

  SUICIDE IN KH PARKING LOT

  by Sabine in

  1. social
  2. current

  last saturday, a former ministerial servant and pioneer committed suicide in the woodinville washington kingdom hall parking lot.

  he was disfellowshipped several years ago, and according to the old sister that related the story to me today, he was depressed because no one would talk to him.

  i don't know how i kept calm when she explained to me that "we couldn't talk to him...he was disfellowshipped.".

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  DanTheMan

  Sad story. I can relate to the feelings of despair that this young man felt.

  I've been reading a book on cults. One thing it brought out is that many who leave cults do so, not because they come to disagree with the leadership or doctrines, but because they feel like they are losing their mind. It is only later that they realize they were in a cult. This was true in my case. I was getting some pretty powerful suicidal urges my last couple of years in the org, and I decided to take a few weeks off. Then I started surfing and found out the truth about the truth.

  Sometimes I still feel like ending it all would be nice. However, I don't want to give my former dub associates the satisfaction, i.e. "See what happens when you leave?" and all that. Plus, ultimately suicide is a very selfish act, because it is so devastating to the loved ones of the one who commits the act.

  Edited by - dantheman on 15 June 2002 20:28:1