Duncan

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Posts by Duncan

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  55

  JW's are #1

  by BrotherFlanders in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we will stamp out all of you apostates and worldy people.

  i hate apostates and worldly people!

  jw's #1!!!!

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  Duncan

  Oki- Diddly - dokie, Ned!
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  31

  No You Know: Top Ten Theories

  by Duncan in

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  2. friends

  like lots of readers here, i take an entirely unhealthy interest in the doings of our resident prophet you know.

  i notice that he's not been around for a month or two and this is a time of year he loves, he's always prophesying something for october!

  so, why the silence?

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  Duncan

  Triumphant Return, YK!

  you even managed a " peering over the bottomless abyss" and a " real soon now" into the bargain. With an "apostate ridiculers" or two, we would have had a full house!

  Well Done!

  Duncan
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  31

  No You Know: Top Ten Theories

  by Duncan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  like lots of readers here, i take an entirely unhealthy interest in the doings of our resident prophet you know.

  i notice that he's not been around for a month or two and this is a time of year he loves, he's always prophesying something for october!

  so, why the silence?

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  Duncan

  Like lots of readers here, I take an entirely unhealthy interest in the doings of our resident prophet You Know.

  I notice that he's not been around for a month or two and this is a time of year he loves, he's ALWAYS prophesying something for October!

  So, why the silence?

  My theories, the Top Ten "Why You Know Doesn't Post" Explanations are:

  1. His local Elders have got all heavy, and he's no longer allowed to play here.
  2. Having convinced himself that the economic system is on the brink of a meltdown he threw all his gold and silver into the streets and now can't afford to pay his electricity bill, curtailing his online activities.
  3. He's been invited to Brooklyn to share his scriptural insight with the GB
  4. He's actually having a Crisis of Conscience and re-inventing himself and his beliefs. (We can but hope.)
  5. Can't think of a No 5
  6. His annual October Surprise is in the works and we'll be treated to it any day now.
  7. He went along to support the Silentlambs march, and is taking a few days off to sight-see New York.
  8. He's managed to convince himself that the reason that previous October Armageddons didn't work out was that he blabbed about them here, online, and queered the pitch for Jehovah. ( "D'oh! That *@*!** You Know! I was gonna zap 'em that time!" )
  9. ...er...
  10. ...That's it.

  Any other theories?

  Duncan.

  Edited by - Duncan on 3 October 2002 10:5:11

  Edited by - Duncan on 3 October 2002 10:54:50
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  19

  "Silent Witnesses" now available to w...

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've added the australian "silent witnesses" programme to the media files on the site.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/media.asp.

  this is a very powerful programme !.

  the sound is a bit low so i'll have another go at encoding it better.

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  Duncan

  Simon

  Thanks for putting this up. I watched it last night. It seems to me that these exposes are getting harder-hitting as we go along. (I mean the Dateline one was good, but Panaorama was better, and this was the strongest one so far, imho)

  The chap who used to be the legal guy in Australia was a VERY powerful and credible voice, I thought.

  Excellent program.

  Duncan

  ps who is "blind Freddie" anyway?
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  23

  So Is It Jst2 Cool Britannia?

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  no no, not "cool" as in "kewl", but cool as in chilly and cold, unfriendly almost, like we brits are rumoured to be throughout the world.

  this is just an observation about how we perceive different groups of people.

  a few weeks back, i was enjoying an uproarious evening in the pub.

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  Duncan

  Mike,

  I'm pretty sure that English people themselves have gradually changed. We are not as repressed and unemotional as we used to be.

  Do you remember how everyone went nuts when Pricess Di died?

  I happened to be driving along the M1 on the morning of her funeral, an hour or two before it was closed for her final journey to Althorp. There were thousands already lining the route, banners and flowers. "God bless, Di" "We'll miss you" etc.

  I must admit, it was even making an old hard-bitten cynic like me wipe away a tear at the time.

  Duncan.
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  61

  Are we wrong to attack the Elders?

  by MARTINLEYSHON in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i see a number of board members alluding to the elders as antagonists.

  this is amoral.

  there is an inference that these ones ( elders ) can think for themselves, they cannot.

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  Duncan

  Inquiry Man,

  Elders are not necessarily a homogenous group.
  Please do not lump all into one category.

  Of course, that's true. Like any other group of men, there's a broad spectrum of people who might make that population.

  But, consider: the members of that group are subject to a continual turnover process. New ones in, others resigning. Over time that kind of acts as a filter. We all know that the inhumane, unchristian policies of the Wt ensure that decent guys get burnt-out or disillusioned and they may end up resigning in disgust; whereas the wolf-like arseholes thrive on it all. In time, they'll dominate the population. And this process has been going on for 30-odd years, since the arrangement came in.

  That's why so many report about the dreadful treatment they receive at the hands of these "shepherds"

  Duncan.
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  5

  They Don't Want To Know

  by Duncan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was thinking about this expression the other day.

  it's a phrase current in colloquial english which carries the idea of a wholly inadequate response to given situation: .

  "in the second half, united really needed to attack the goal, but their forwards didn't want to know..." .

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  Duncan

  Amazing

  Those Elders that do want to know and deal with the issue are often eager-beavers who love trouble and will push their way into people's lives whether they want it or not

  You're right enough, there. It's surprising how often stupidity and self-righteousness go hand-in-hand. And, as you say, often, in the end, drive the good guys out.

  Duncan
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  5

  They Don't Want To Know

  by Duncan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was thinking about this expression the other day.

  it's a phrase current in colloquial english which carries the idea of a wholly inadequate response to given situation: .

  "in the second half, united really needed to attack the goal, but their forwards didn't want to know..." .

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  Duncan

  "They didn't want to know."

  I was thinking about this expression the other day. It's a phrase current in colloquial English which carries the idea of a wholly inadequate response to given situation:

  "In the second half, United really needed to attack the goal, but their forwards didn't want to know..."

  "I was hoping for a full refund on this faulty toaster, but the shop manager didn't want to know..."

  and even:

  "So, I reported the abuse to the Elders, but they really didn't want to know.."

  ...as I said, it coveys the idea of a totally inadequate and feeble response. But what started me thinking was, in fact, the literal meaning of those words. It really is the case that this whole paedophile problem among the congregations stems directly from the fact that elders generally and literally DO NOT WANT TO KNOW about it.

  By way of illustration there is a famous story told about Queen Victoria. Back in the 1860's the laws against homosexuality in England were being framed and drafted, and being put through parliament. Those laws (replacing the previous barbaric sanctions that held homosexuality to be a capital offence) stood for over a hundred years until swept away by the reforms and legalisation of 1967.

  What struck many people over the years about that 1861 enactment was that, despite its prohibition on male homosexual activity, there is absolutely no mention made anywhere about females. By this omission, lesbianism was perfectly legal the whole time. It has struck many people as odd.

  The answer lies in the personality of Queen Victoria herself. Constitutionally, her Royal Assent was necessary for the measure to pass into English law, and she absolutely could not conceive that "such wickedness" - lesbianism - could exist in the world. She would not countenance such a notion, and the statesmen of the day - her timid ministers - drafted the legislation in such a way as to not offend her Royal Sensibilities. She literally did not want to know about such a thing, and the upshot was the curiously asymmetrical 1861 law. Thats the power of not wanting to know.

  ****

  And so, today, you might have a situation in one of the congregations, where a basically decent but utterly loyal Elder gets approached by a troubled young child with a story of sexual abuse involving a brother who is apparently a fine upstanding Witness. The Elder might already know from the childs parents that s/he is " rebellious" or "worldly" or some such - so, he's already inclined to one particular point of view. Added to that is his incredulity at the things the child is alleging. He can't believe it and this is my point - he doesn't want to believe it.

  The accused Brother, of course, denies the whole thing, and convincingly as far as the Elder is concerned.

  How much easier to believe, how much more "fitting" it is, to dismiss the story as so much mischief, as being all malicious lies. No need to go outside his personal comfort zone, no need to address the existence of such wickedness within his very own congregation. Why, its probably all Satan-inspired opposition to Jehovah! A wicked and malicious attack designed to bring the good name of the brother - the congregation - indeed, Jehovah Himself! - into reproach.

  You can see how this would work. The Elder has a huge emotional investment in believing the Brother's story, and not the childs.

  And all this because the Elder quite literally doesnt want to know the truth.

  So, you get such a farcical, ridiculous situation as happened at the Beliz/Garza trial last year in the U.S. Absolutely hordes of JWs streaming into court to give "character testimonials" on behalf of an already-convicted child molester. To the outside world its bizarre, surreal and unfathomable why seemingly decent people should act like that. And that man Beliz, in prison, remaining a Witness in Good Standing in his congregation!

  But it's that good ole Witness mindset at work again, rationalising away anything that might undermine their fragile, carefully-held-together belief system.

  They dont want to know.

  Duncan

  Edited by - Duncan on 1 October 2002 8:52:38
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  16

  "Jehovah will sort it out"

  by Duncan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "wait on jehovah.

  "jehovah will sort it out.

  how often have you heard that?

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  Duncan

  "Wait on Jehovah. "

  "Jehovah will sort it out."

  How often have you heard that? An awful lot recently, thats for sure. With all the exposure going on over the The Great Big Watchtower Paedophile Cover-up, weve been hearing it both from reporters who quote the Societies/elders justification for their failing to act properly as shepherds; and also - if you're like me with some faithful family members still in - as a kind of head-in-the-sand mantra from the poor old confused and demoralised rank and file.

  Heard anything like this?

  " I don't know about those cases they quoted on Panaorama/Dateline/etc. They certainly seem to have been mishandled, if any of it's true. Perhaps the brothers there made some mistakes. I don't know - BUT! Jehovah will sort it all out. In His due time. Of that Im sure. "

  The defences go up, and they hide away from the awful truth.

  But what intrigues me, and what I find significant, is that among witnesses of my acquaintance, how readily they will accept the idea, once suggested to them that...

  "...perhaps this IS Jehovah sorting it all out, in his due time "

  It is significant, because usually there is simply a vast uncrossable chasm between seeing things as a faithful dub, and entertaining any of the ideas put forward by opposers and apostates

  But this idea does genuinely seem to be getting under their guard.

  " perhaps this IS Jehovah sorting it all out"

  Apparently Brooklyn are becoming more and more worried by this issue. They have good reason. This is an extremely powerful idea, and if its time has come, and it gains currency among the faithful, well, thats the end of the Watchtower as we know it.

  Duncan.

  Edited by - Duncan on 23 September 2002 13:5:30

  Edited by - Duncan on 23 September 2002 13:6:47
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  26

  Man, I've been Crook!

  by Stephanus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  (that's sick, in australian slang) .

  on the night of the second i decided to go to bed without the heater for the first time (it's the tail end of winter here).

  at midnight i woke up, shivering of extreme cold, even though i had a reasonable pile of blankets on.

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  Duncan

  Stephanus

  I hope you feel better soon, matey-boy.

  Duncan.