you are invited to attend a conference of former jws october 21-24 at 1835 n. western in wenatchee wa 98801. this is an annual event organized by richard rawe and his associates.
richard is the exjw who's story was portrayed in the "good faith" off broadway play.
if you are like me the word conference conjures feeling associated the word convention.
Is there a website with more information about this?
Sorry RR. None. I will suggest that for the next conference.
Dave,
What is the purpose of this meeting and is it slanted as a pro Christian event?
Yes, but unlike typical Christian events these people love debates.
15 minutes for audience to pick the speakers argument apart? Now that sounds like fun, but only 15 minutes? I spend that amount of time just rolling my eyes in preparation.
I don't see how I could sit and listen to most of it without being gagged.
my name is nigel.i am 50,married with five kids,early teens to late 20,s.i live in the bush in australia.i have cruised this site for a couple of months & feel comfortable enough to talk now.those of you who were long term jw,s will understand that.only my direct family know what i am about to tell.i have never told anyone else as they would not understand.i was born a jw in the u.k. and some of my first memories are of going door to door.i was scalded when i was 4 & i remember some brothers coming to see me.my parents emigrated when i was 13 as my dad didn,t get on with the inlaws.my dad drank a bit at home at home & was violent.it was never spoken about outside of the family and at 15 i left home.i was the eldest of four.i continued to go to meetings,lived on my own & learnt a trade.at 20 i married a good jw girl as was expected & became a regular pioneer.i was a good public speaker & as far as the congregation was concerned had a bright future.i believed in what i was doing as it was what i had been taught.when i was 22 we had a baby & was witnessing one sunday morning & was involved in a head on car accident in a 60mph zone.my wife & son were minor injured but i was lucky to survive.i had many bone fractures & head injuries & i did not know who i was,what had happened,nor recognize my wife or child for 3 months.i was in hospital for 6 months.i was unable to do anything for a year.by this time i was in financial difficulty & due to this & my mental state grabbed what i could get in court,which was not much.during this time no one helped...no one.i continued to go to the meetings but my heart was gone & the downhill slide had started.over the next 7 to 8 years i worked a normal job but started to drink & by mid 80s was not attending meetings.my wife was a good jw & did not understand my feelings.although i had much respect for her & still do,by this stage we had 3 kids,& there was a chasm between us.i knew that i was affecting my wife but she would never divorce me.so i figured the best way was to give them all the reason not to want me around.i was called to the meeting & i told the elders how i felt & that even i did not know why.disfellowshiped.fair enough.we divorced late 80s.she married an elder.i married a so say worldly person.about 3 or 4 years later my new wife & i had 2 kids & were getting along fine.i had started talking to dad but i did not want to go back to meetings.my dad was disfellowshiped for smoking & could not give it up.he became ill & very depressed.he overdosed on anti depressants.my mum knew what he had done & left him on the floor for 24 hours before calling an ambo.she rang me when he was dead.i don,t talk to her any more.she remains a jw.no comment.my sisters are jw,s.
nobody talks anymore but.three weeks after dad died my brother had a lot of problems,financial,legal & grief.he was only 29.he shot himself.i buried two in three weeks.and so began a new chapter in my life...violence.and baby wasn,t i good at it.i king hit everyone within arms length for a year.didn,t lose a fight,the anger was immense.did the maximum weekend detention,lost my job,my second wife took the kids & went.
understandable.i held a gun in my mouth so hard i bled for two days.but i couldn,t do it.i love my present wife & kids & i believed that jehovah would understand & forgive me when i die.i did my best with what i was given.from that day i never looked back.i fixed it up with my wife & we get on great.my three oldest kids to my 1st wife are jw,s but i see a bit of them.my wife now hasn,t much time for religion.understandable.she is a nurse.i don,t work any more.i still look outside & appreciate what god has done for us but i don,t need other people to feel that.too much damage done.i don,t slag the witnesses nor the wts.their business what they do.i just don,t agree with the procedure of df,s and the climate of fear & guilt.i have seen much & will contribute where i can.you seem like a decent bunch.good luck to you all.nigel
You have been to the bottom and survived. Great to have you here and have your story posted. You said:
I don,t slag the witnesses nor the WTS.Their business what they do.I just don,t agree with the procedure of DF,s and the climate of fear & guilt.
Good assesment of the areas of the WT that I dislike most. As you are around more you will probably learn a few more things about the WT that you did not know. Besides this site you might like some linked in the banners above. For a great perception of the inside of the WT you may enjoy Ray Franz's books at www.commentarypress.com
You have probably noticed there are some here in the stag of anger. Please do not take offense if they display the need to do a little 'slagging'. I love your attitude despite what you have been through.
The sunset was last night looking toward the storm out in the gulf. The one with the wood bench showing is downstairs a couple of hours ago. The others are from upstairs just a few minutes ago. Notice that from the camera's position, about 25 foot above sea level, the waves almost top out at the horizon. What does that mean?
We are still in the house. They issued a mandatory evacuation for us yesterday but they are not knocking on doors yet. The storm appears it will make landfall in Mobile Bay which is about 100 miles west of us. The huricane strength winds will only reach out 75 miles each side from it's center so we are not worried about winds unless the eye drifts east a few miles of the projection.
The problem is storm surge. The water is already about 7 feet higher than normal and the waves south of us are at 26 feet because of the counter clock wise rotation of the huricane. If it goes into Mobile Bay everything east of there gets the worst of the surge.
For those familiar with our place the water is already coming past the volley ball posts and up to our picket fence. Does not look good for the next 24 hours.
We are not in danger. At worst we will be shovelling sand out of our house again, unless this thing turns east. Then we will be hanging horizontally from light poles. It is those in Pensacola, Navare Beach and Fort Walton area that are facing the worst of this.
We will try to keep you updated.
Xenawarrior
and where is the boy with the surfboard?
He is sleeping on the couch, heavily medicated. He crashed his motorcyle a few days ago and broke his leg. He was supposed to have surgery today to put a plate on it but that is cancelled.
you are invited to attend a conference of former jws october 21-24 at 1835 n. western in wenatchee wa 98801. this is an annual event organized by richard rawe and his associates.
richard is the exjw who's story was portrayed in the "good faith" off broadway play.
if you are like me the word conference conjures feeling associated the word convention.
Below is the entire program. If you are not interested in so many debates and discussions you may pick and choose. The presentations are 30 minutes with a 15 minute rebuttal period by the audience pick the speakers arguments apart. Each is followed by a 15 minute break.
Even the debates are moderated and the audience is allowed to refute or support either debater's points.
While it is a Christian conference you can see a variety of issues will be covered, some of which will be challenging traditional Christian concepts.
Conference Schedule
Thursday - Sunday - October 21-24 2004
1835 No Western
Ph: 509-662-3865
Pastor Kirby Davis - 509-663-1025
Thursday
Chairman - Kirby Davis
Welcome and Announcements
9:00 - 12:00 M. James Penton & Jim Whitney - Should Christians Participate in War?
Moderator -John Whitcombe
12:00 - 1:00 LUNCH
Chairman - Don Smith
1:00 - 2:00 Jerry Henderson - The Value of the Early Orthodox Fathers
2:00 - 5:00 Chris Christensen & Bill Williams - Does the Church Exist Today as in the 1st Century?
Moderator - Steve Imhof
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday
Chairman - Curtis Christensen
Welcome and announcements
9:00 - 10:00 Steve Imhof - Faith & the Thing Heard
10:00 - 11:00 Bruce Baker - How the Bible Came to us - The Old Testament
11:00 - 12:00 Jim Penton - The Meaning of Theos (God) in the Early Church
12:00 - 1:00 LUNCH
Chairperson - Joy Imhof
1:00 - 2:00 Barbara Anderson - Legally Defending and Establishing the Truth
2:00 - 5:00 Mohammed Said,MD and Ralph Johnson-The Perception that Islam is a Violent Religion
Moderator - Jerry Henderson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday
Chairman - Joe Anderson
Welcome and Announcements
8:30 - 10:30 Anthony Buzzard & Greg Stafford - Did Jesus Have a Prehuman-Existence?
Moderator - Jerry Bergman
10:30 - 12:30 Charles Coats & Bill Williams - Do Miraculous Gifts Exist Today?
Moderator - Alan Feuerbacher
12;30 - 1:30 LUNCH
Chairperson - Barbara Anderson
1:30 - 2:30 Joe Anderson - Reading: The Orthodox God by Richard Rawe
2:30 - 5:30 Greg & Charles Coats - Is the Trinity Scriptural?
Moderator - Jim Penton~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday
Chairman - Kirby Davis
10:00 - 11:00 Acts Chapter 1 - verse by verse study
11:00 - 11:30 Music
11:30 - 12:00 Talk by Anthony Buzzard
12:00 - 2:00 LUNCH
Chairman -
2:00 - 5:00 Alan Feuerbacher & Jerry Bergman - Evolution vs. Creation
Moderator - Chris Christensen
For further information:
Richard Rawe
98851
Ph: 509-246-1559
Fax: 509-246-1970
you are invited to attend a conference of former jws october 21-24 at 1835 n. western in wenatchee wa 98801. this is an annual event organized by richard rawe and his associates.
richard is the exjw who's story was portrayed in the "good faith" off broadway play.
if you are like me the word conference conjures feeling associated the word convention.
Stafford and Dr. Said. For those not familiar James Penton is the author of several exjw books and has just published a new one which will be available soon. Alan Feuerbache we know as AlanF and Jerry Bergman is an exjw Psychologist and author. Barbara was a key figure in the Dateline expose of the WT pedophile problem.
you are invited to attend a conference of former jws october 21-24 at 1835 n. western in wenatchee wa 98801. this is an annual event organized by richard rawe and his associates.
richard is the exjw who's story was portrayed in the "good faith" off broadway play.
if you are like me the word conference conjures feeling associated the word convention.
You are invited to attend a conference of former JWs October 21-24 at 1835 N. Western in Wenatchee WA 98801. This is an annual event organized by Richard Rawe and his associates. Richard is the exjw who's story was portrayed in the "Good Faith" off Broadway play.
If you are like me the word Conference conjures feeling associated the word Convention. Admittedly this may not be for most here at JWD. However, if you want to meet and listen to presentations by many prominent enemies of the Watchtower this is a place to start.
James Penton will debate Jim Whitney over the question of "War and Peace"
Barbara and Joe Anderson will be there and each give presentations.
Greg Stafford will be involved in several debates.
Alan Feuerbacher and Jerry Bergman will debate "Evolution vs Creation"
Dr. Mohammed Said and Ralph Johnson will debate "Is Islam a violent Religion?"
(the Arab TV network, Al Jazeere, plans to broadcast this debate)
In addition to the debates there will be thirty minute presentations with 15 minute audience rebuttals. Others offering presentations are Chris Christensen, Bill Williams, Bruce Baker, myself and Anthony Buzzard.
If you are close by, or if you are interested enough to make a long distance trip you are welcome to attend.
Jst2laws
Terry,
Well, this seems to be one of your favorite subjects.
Until a person who is swallowed up by religion realizes that the Boogeyman in the closet is just an old hat and raincoat--they won't stop smothering themselves under the blankets of religious "protectionism".
I love it.
You are absolutely right, about some but not all religion. Since you are here in the US, especially Texas, I understand your position. The noisy religions here in the South are fundamentalist and DO rely on and promote Fear. (That is what our famous Chistian, Texan President is doing) However, I know for a fact that many religious people seek love and connection through religion and despise the fear hounds. These folks deserve a little credit.
Jst2laws
Some interesting thoughts. For the most part I agree with you, especially your comments about rationalism. However, the original post by Narkissos was graciously acknowledging at least a "gullible rationalism" in religion, which I recognize as well. The issue is their rationalism is contained within the bounds of many 'presuppositons' which most (except Little Toe) will not challenge rationally.
As to your assessment of religion in general I agree. Yet, many people really NEED religion in their lives. One can not deal with their need by exposing the flaws in their "way of knowing" or by debunking their beliefs by blowing away their persuppositons with facts. You have to help them reduce their NEED.
