The Scotsman

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Posts by The Scotsman

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  65

  Making the leap - lurker to member - Hello!

  by Hadit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ive been lurking here for the past couple of months since i started researching the organization.

  i dont have many people to talk to and its been a saving grace to read your posts.. i dont really know where to start so here i go.

  its been a long journey getting here and it looks as if i still have a long ways to go to get somewhere healthy, stable and strong.

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  The Scotsman

  Welcome hadit.

  Your right - its a long journey which can be painful at times.

  But we are all living proof that their is indeed life after Watchtower.

  It will be worth it in the end.

  The Scotsman
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  26

  I thought fading was going to be easy.

  by EmptyInside in

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  2. friends
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  The Scotsman

  I can relate.

  I went through the exact same process - it was terrible.

  My original plan was to back off from meetings gradually but keep some contact for my wifes sake - but that plan went out the window - once my mind had been opened the dros coming from the platform just made me angry and agitated.

  Fortunately my wife opened her mind as well so we both stopped attending - moving house helped a lot!

  But for those months I was attending the meetings - goodness gracious it was murder!
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  42

  Do you still pray? Why?

  by gubberningbody in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk6ilzaaami.

  .

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uazdcs-rmf4.

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  The Scotsman

  I pray every day.

  Why? Well despite the WTBTS experience I still believe in God and I think he would want us to talk to him.

  The Scotsman
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  14

  Hmm this could be tricky - I am going to a JW wedding.

  by The Scotsman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes a close family member of mine is getting married next weekend and me and mrs scotsman have been invited.. to set the scene - i have not been to a meeting in 2 years, 2 months and for mrs scotsman it is just under 2 years - so we have not seen any of our ex jw associates since then - but they will all be at the wedding!!!!.

  we are not dad or dfd so they will be able to talk to us if they feel the urge.. the good thing is we are not the only ex jws/non jws going, so this will help.. the worry i have is what some of these jws might try.

  for many of them, the last time they seen me i was an elder flying the wt flag - now i am out the truth dead at armageddon!.

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  The Scotsman

  Let them see how much your life has changed for the better.

  For us this is the key I think.

  Rather than getting into doctrinal/belief discussions - just showing that we left and survived, in fact are happier now is the most powerful message we can send I think.

  I am fairly certain that a "doctrinal" conversation would end up in bigger problems for us.

  Some of the Elders/MSs going are total "company men" and would walk over their own mothers for the WTBTS - so I need to be careful.
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  14

  Hmm this could be tricky - I am going to a JW wedding.

  by The Scotsman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes a close family member of mine is getting married next weekend and me and mrs scotsman have been invited.. to set the scene - i have not been to a meeting in 2 years, 2 months and for mrs scotsman it is just under 2 years - so we have not seen any of our ex jw associates since then - but they will all be at the wedding!!!!.

  we are not dad or dfd so they will be able to talk to us if they feel the urge.. the good thing is we are not the only ex jws/non jws going, so this will help.. the worry i have is what some of these jws might try.

  for many of them, the last time they seen me i was an elder flying the wt flag - now i am out the truth dead at armageddon!.

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  The Scotsman

  with almost tears in there eyes they say "I miss you"

  I have thought of this and I was going to say if they missed me so much why did they not call! - To direct perhaps???
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  14

  Hmm this could be tricky - I am going to a JW wedding.

  by The Scotsman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yes a close family member of mine is getting married next weekend and me and mrs scotsman have been invited.. to set the scene - i have not been to a meeting in 2 years, 2 months and for mrs scotsman it is just under 2 years - so we have not seen any of our ex jw associates since then - but they will all be at the wedding!!!!.

  we are not dad or dfd so they will be able to talk to us if they feel the urge.. the good thing is we are not the only ex jws/non jws going, so this will help.. the worry i have is what some of these jws might try.

  for many of them, the last time they seen me i was an elder flying the wt flag - now i am out the truth dead at armageddon!.

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  The Scotsman

  Yes a close family member of mine is getting married next weekend and me and Mrs Scotsman have been invited.

  To set the scene - I have not been to a meeting in 2 years, 2 months and for Mrs Scotsman it is just under 2 years - so we have not seen any of our ex JW associates since then - but they will all be at the wedding!!!!

  We are not DAd or DFd so they will be able to talk to us if they feel the urge.

  The good thing is we are not the only Ex JWs/Non JWs going, so this will help.

  The worry I have is what some of these JWs might try. For many of them, the last time they seen me I was an elder flying the WT flag - now I am out the truth dead at Armageddon!

  We are both trying to get ourselves mentally prepared for the wedding day. We are determined to show that we are both happy without JW-ism and that life goes on - there is a life after WT!

  I know for a fact some Elder/MS types will be up at me asking what happened - why have I stopped attending etc.

  To be honest - we are both looking forward to the day - though it will be fairly awkward to begin with.

  So what should we expect - to be ignored or to be grilled?

  Any tips/experiences appreciated.

  Mr & Mrs Scotsman....
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  17

  All Aircraft grounded in the UK, France, Holland and Denmark

  by llbh in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  because of a large plume of dust being blown to the uk by a volcanic eruption in iceland all aircraft in the uk and beyond have been grounded, no airplanes are flying at all, they will not be flying till tommorow at the earliest , and then maybe not.

  apparently the dust can cause engines to stall, which has happened before.. heathrow is the busiest international airport in the world, and second busiest overall, the dislocation of passengers all over the world is massive.. .

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/default.stm.

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  The Scotsman

  Debate was good actually - better than I expected.

  Nick Clegg did come across better, I was disappointed in David Cameron, Gordon brown was not much better.

  Its got hung parliament written all over it.

  The flights being grounded is unprecedented. I live nearish to glasgow airport - I would usually hear planes overhead every few minutes - total silent now.

  Is it the beginning of Armageddon.

  Are these the signs in Sun and moon and stars?
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  18

  How Did You Find New Friends?

  by daringhart13 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm painfully curious on this subject.. when you have devoted your entire life, your entire social circle, everything you know......to this religion....when you fade away, how did you make new friends?

  how did you replace all those people you thought were your friends?.

  on top of fading away....... i lost a 'relationship' with a 'sister' due to not wanting to continue as a jw.

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  The Scotsman

  I mostly gained new friends from my work.

  When I was an active JW I kept work mates at arms length - did not want to get to close. Whenever they were going out for a drink I would always decline.

  But when I stopped attending meetings I saw these people in a whole new light and allowed myself to get closer. Turns out they are decent people, some religious, some not. To be honest they are better friends than I ever had in the org.

  JW friendships are very conditional as you have already realised.

  So workmates, neighbours etc - just allow yourself to get a bit closer.

  It will take time but many 1000s have already been there and survived - perhaps ended up even better then before.
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  26

  Theocratic sleeping: have you seen anyone asleep at the KH? Or done it yourself?

  by highdose in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i must admit have done the whole nodding thing and even once at an assembly fell asleep on a brothers shoulder... shame he wasn't cute!.

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  The Scotsman

  I nodded off quite a few times

  But the hardest for me was District Conventions, those long sessions pushed me to the limit.

  Once I remember the Bro's and Sis's coming on to the field (Perth, Scotland) for the drama with all the costumes etc. The next thing I heard was the applause and they were walking off - I had just dropped into a deep sleep for the entire drama - I felt quite refreshed.

  I eventually started to volunteer as an attendent so I could get out my seat and wander about a bit and stretch my legs.

  I really miss those days!!!!
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  15

  What charitable works does the WTBS do in the UK?

  by highdose in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in the uk they are registered as a charity.

  its made clear from the platform that this is for tax reasons, they get a nice tax break from the goverment.

  but what charitable works do they actualy do?.

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  The Scotsman

  Their have been some recent developments regarding this.

  Qoute from charity commission as follows -

  Section 2 of the Act (which came into force in April 2008) lays down the requirement that in order to qualify as a charity an organisation’s purposes must be for the public benefit (in addition to being charitable). As a result all charities registered in England and Wales must now annually demonstrate to the CharityCommission that that they satisfy this requirement.

  Charities can no longer relax safe in the knowledge that their intentions will be presumed to be for the public benefit. Prior to the introduction of the Act, there was a presumption that charities dedicated to the advancement of education, the advancement of religion and the prevention or relief of poverty were automatically for the benefit of the public.

  So from now on, saying they promote the "advancement of religion" or the "advancement of education" will not be enough.

  I saw a TV debate about 6 months ago that was discussing this and someone "from the charity commission" said that - it could be argued that not all religions are for the benefit of the public, and that an in depth analysis will be conducted over the next couple of years to ensure all registered charities actually do meet the requirements of the charter.

  I hope the WTBTS (is it IBSA in uk??) get found out and lose the tax breaks they currently benefit from.

  The Scotsman