Mattieu

Joined

• started 42 topics
• posted 532 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Mattieu

• 
  54

  Introducing myself

  by Jeremy430 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm mostly here to meet new like minded friends.

  growing up in the religion has jaded my perspective.

  most of my believes the wts is bs, but there is that part in the back of my mind that fears they have the truth.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Mattieu

  Hi Jeremy,

  Welcome aboard!!
• 
  21

  R.I.P Daniel

  by Mattieu in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  every time i hear the following song by elton john, i have to pull over and shed a tear or two or twenty and think of all the other people like me who lost a brother whose name was daniel.... my brother daniel would have turned 40 today august 6 (southern hemisphere time).. i sadly lost daniel when i was 5 and he was 4 .... i still have vivid memories and photographs, yet sadly due to the religion that is called the jehovahs witnesses have not yet fully grieved or coped with my younger brothers death in a road accident.

  i have never spoken to anyone outside my family about daniels death as i was raised up with the view that as a young person i would witness any day now the resurrection of my dear little brother.

  not a week goes by when i do not visit his gravesite at fawkner cemetary looking for closure or the fact that i may never see him in the new system.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Mattieu

  Thanks Cant Leave, Blues Brothers (nice advice, and a shame about the tacticts they use...) & Golden Sky (will pm you when I get to Spain!)

  I feel for you too Heaven

  PSacramento, thanks for such comforting words.

  Mattieu..
• 
  21

  R.I.P Daniel

  by Mattieu in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  every time i hear the following song by elton john, i have to pull over and shed a tear or two or twenty and think of all the other people like me who lost a brother whose name was daniel.... my brother daniel would have turned 40 today august 6 (southern hemisphere time).. i sadly lost daniel when i was 5 and he was 4 .... i still have vivid memories and photographs, yet sadly due to the religion that is called the jehovahs witnesses have not yet fully grieved or coped with my younger brothers death in a road accident.

  i have never spoken to anyone outside my family about daniels death as i was raised up with the view that as a young person i would witness any day now the resurrection of my dear little brother.

  not a week goes by when i do not visit his gravesite at fawkner cemetary looking for closure or the fact that i may never see him in the new system.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Mattieu

  Yan, Daniel is a beautiful name, we are both fortunate to have a brother by that name... I hope things become less distant between you and your Daniel, for whatever the reason... Let me know how things work out..... Life really is precious, thank you for the reminder. Right back at you....

  Snowbird, I always appreciate your posts and comments though do not always get the time to express my appreciation. Your hug was felt down here.... Cheers, Matty...
• 
  21

  R.I.P Daniel

  by Mattieu in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  every time i hear the following song by elton john, i have to pull over and shed a tear or two or twenty and think of all the other people like me who lost a brother whose name was daniel.... my brother daniel would have turned 40 today august 6 (southern hemisphere time).. i sadly lost daniel when i was 5 and he was 4 .... i still have vivid memories and photographs, yet sadly due to the religion that is called the jehovahs witnesses have not yet fully grieved or coped with my younger brothers death in a road accident.

  i have never spoken to anyone outside my family about daniels death as i was raised up with the view that as a young person i would witness any day now the resurrection of my dear little brother.

  not a week goes by when i do not visit his gravesite at fawkner cemetary looking for closure or the fact that i may never see him in the new system.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Mattieu

  Thanks BP, will definitely catch up over a glass of chards on my next NSW sales trip!

  Flying High Now, I feel your loss too, I checked out your online memorial for Cory and will be sure to do the same over the next few days for Daniel. Much appreciated Will PM you once done.

  Nelly 136, I should really be in bed now (2:03am Firday morning), just had to let you know that my other younger brother and I are in a good place. His birthday is actually August 7, one day after my brother Daniel (though a couple of years apart). So his upbringing has probably been more difficult due to that close date of birth yet distant memories.....

  And yes, even croissant sounds sexier with a French accent..... adieu... Mattieu...

  Rocketman, thanks buddy, I have been in so many countries and heard that song and I wonder if Elton wrote that song for my brother! In fact, everytime I am on a runway waiting to take off/landing, i think of that song and the verse of tailights of the plane.... Thanks again Rocketman for thinking of me and posting your thoughts. Matty.
• 
  21

  R.I.P Daniel

  by Mattieu in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  every time i hear the following song by elton john, i have to pull over and shed a tear or two or twenty and think of all the other people like me who lost a brother whose name was daniel.... my brother daniel would have turned 40 today august 6 (southern hemisphere time).. i sadly lost daniel when i was 5 and he was 4 .... i still have vivid memories and photographs, yet sadly due to the religion that is called the jehovahs witnesses have not yet fully grieved or coped with my younger brothers death in a road accident.

  i have never spoken to anyone outside my family about daniels death as i was raised up with the view that as a young person i would witness any day now the resurrection of my dear little brother.

  not a week goes by when i do not visit his gravesite at fawkner cemetary looking for closure or the fact that i may never see him in the new system.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Mattieu

  Every time I hear the following song by Elton John, I have to pull over and shed a tear or two or twenty and think of all the other people like me who lost a brother whose name was Daniel...

  My Brother Daniel would have turned 40 today August 6 (Southern Hemisphere time).

  I sadly lost Daniel when I was 5 and he was 4 .... I still have vivid memories and photographs, yet sadly due to the religion that is called the Jehovah’s Witnesses have not yet fully grieved or coped with my younger brother’s death in a road accident.

  I have never spoken to anyone outside my family about Daniel’s death as I was raised up with the view that as a young person I would witness any day now the resurrection of my dear little brother. Not a week goes by when I do not visit his gravesite at Fawkner Cemetary looking for closure or the fact that I may never see him in the “new system”. I remember when another younger brother of mine at the age of 13 decided to stop attending the meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I accused him of not loving Daniel, as staying in “the truth” was the only way he would see Daniel again..... How I regret my insensitive and spiteful words, I still can pitcure where I was saying them as a teenager...

  My Mum sadly is clinging to this religion despite all its flip flops and hypocritical actions for only one reason, to see her son again based on the ressurection hope of Daniel. She still says 36 years down the track "I would have not have coped with Daniels death if it wasnt for the truth".... A truth based on lies. So many people are still hanging on to this cult due to a fear factor or a "what if" factor...

  How we learn and grow in wisdom with years.... posting this will no doubt “out” me to the many lurkers here in Melbourne whom I know lurk on behalf of the Australian Bethel. I have already been shunned by my family for being inactive and it has cost me my marriage for not holding onto these truths, how ironic for a religion which boasts that it has fought it’s battle for freedom of speech all the way to the US Supreme Court on numerous occasions yet does not allow its followers the same freedom of speech.

  Sadly, my father who was never a JW, has never learned to grieve or cope with the loss of his son due to this religion...

  Anywho, i don’t want my deceased brother’s birthday to be hijacked by my rant on this cult. Sadly I don’t post on this board as much as I want, yet I always check on the site and read all the posts and appreciate and respect all comments as I realise all our opinions come from different angles, upbringings and circumstances which sadly mould our mental character.......

  Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane
  I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
  Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
  God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
  
  They say Spain is pretty though I've never been
  Well Daniel says it's the best place that he's ever seen
  Oh and he should know, he's been there enough
  Lord I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much
  
  Daniel my brother you are older than me
  Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal
  Your eyes have died but you see more than I
  Daniel you're a star in the face of the sky
  
  Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane
  I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
  Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
  God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
  Oh God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes

  Thanks for reading this far.

  Cheers, Matty, (Though the French version Mattieu sounds much sexier....)
• 
  40

  Older man marries younger woman, yes; younger man marries older woman?

  by dgp in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i understand that marriages between an older man and a much younger woman are a fact of jw life.

  the reasons i have seen include the lack of an available prospect, of the fact that the older man has some power in the congregation and therefore marrying him is something like an advantage.

  i wonder what the advantage can be, and i would appreciate any light on this (new or old).. but, how often does a younger man marry an older woman?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Mattieu

  In our area, an MTS elder sent to the congregation who is 39 years old just married a 19 year old sister. the same sister he was giving counsel and encouragement to since she was 17..... When this elder first came to the hall, he made a lot of single young sisters feel very uncomfortable around him. Weird bloke..... but if they are happy, good luck to them (I give it 6 years)

  Mattieu.
• 
  8

  How much time do you have to put in?

  by dgp in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  will anyone please tell me how many hours you have to put in if you are.

  - a publisher.

  - a pioneer (all the different kinds of 'em).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Mattieu

  Hi DGP,

  To the best of my knowledge:

  a publisher - At least the national average, here in OZ, they like at least 10 hours.

  - a pioneer (all the different kinds of 'em) - Auxillary - 50, regular - 70, special - 100 I think.

  - an elder - Defiinitely double figures, though 95% of that time is spent directing the groups and masturbating. They also get to count the time of giving public talks.

  - a ministerial servant - As above, though during the "reaching out" stage, it helps to get 50% more hours than the serving body of elders/ms's. Then they appoint you an MS to slow you down and stop showing them up!

  - a CO, PO, or what-have-you. - CO - same as regular pioneer, though he can pretty much even count his dreams as door to door service. Their hours are not subject to scrutiiny.

  - a traveling overseer - (C/O as above). D/O same as C/O

  and, above all, an unbaptized member. - Ooooh, if you really want to show your love and appreciation and your desire to be baptised, you should be doing more than the rest, as if making up for lost time not spent in Gods love..... Once baptised, revert to average publisher hours,

  Do they let you off if you can't walk well, for example? - Heck no, they just put you down with a loaded double barrell......
• 
  4

  Welcome Ronniegirl

  by Think About It in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  noticed ronniegirl was a new poster and didn't want to sidetrack the topic, so here is a new thread to welcome her.. welcome to the board.

  .

  .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Mattieu

  Welcome RG.

  Cheers, Mattieu...
• 
  1

  Australian Taxation office investigating religions as charities/tax status

  by Mattieu in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there has been a lot of rumblings in the media here lately as to the worthiness of some religions enjoying a tax free benefit due to charity/not for profit status.. the latest media reports are on the hillsong church:.

  http://www.news.com.au/money/money-matters/tax-office-push-for-charity-monitoring/story-e6frfmd9-1225896551630.

  i actually spoke to the reporter of this article a month ago on an unrelated matter, so will call him with a suggestion on a follow up article to this on the jw's.. we have an election looming, so will not hold my breath as to the government setting up an inquiry so as not to lose favour with voters, though based on the readers comments on the news.com.au website, they should.. cheers, mattieu (go webber at hockenheim......).

  1. 
• 

  Mattieu

  There has been a lot of rumblings in the media here lately as to the worthiness of some religions enjoying a tax free benefit due to charity/not for profit status.

  The latest media reports are on the hIllsong church:

  http://www.news.com.au/money/money-matters/tax-office-push-for-charity-monitoring/story-e6frfmd9-1225896551630

  I actually spoke to the reporter of this article a month ago on an unrelated matter, so will call him with a suggestion on a follow up article to this on the JW's.

  We have an election looming, so will not hold my breath as to the Government setting up an inquiry so as not to lose favour with voters, though based on the readers comments on the news.com.au website, they should.

  Cheers, Mattieu (go Webber at Hockenheim......)
• 
  49

  Hello - I´m new here

  by Starfish in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  just wanted to introduce myself.... .

  i am a secret fader but since reading this forum i feel i am alot more confident about telling my family/friends that i don t go to the meetings and inactive.. my hubby is also a fader with me...we kind of drifted after my first baby was born.

  she is now 11.. it all started with my mom who started studying with my cousin when i was about 15. while she was studying i also started studying (i was about 16).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Mattieu

  Hi Starfish, a warm welcome...

  Cheers, Mattieu