I can only recall that it is "frowned on" (i.e. You won't hold any positions in the congregation, but you can't be DFed) because some of the program is religious based. Not denominational, but generic Bible/Christian based.
truth_b_known
JoinedPosts by truth_b_known
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23
Does the Watchtower have an official position on Alcoholics Anonymous?
by JeffT ini ask because i'm working in a 28 day residential addiction treatment center and one of my co-workers is studying with the jw's.
he does not know i'm an xjw.
i suspect that at some point they're going to tell him he can't go to aa meetings anymore.
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Three Simple Reasons Why an Assault-Weapons Ban Is Bad Policy
by freemindfade ini keep saying this is a bad place/policy to put all the time, energy and resources if you really do in fact care, or if you are just riding the agenda bandwagon: .
an assault-weapons ban is irrelevant to suicide deaths.
the large majority of gun deaths are suicides, and there is no credible argument that an assault-weapons ban will have the slightest effect on suicide.
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Thank You All - Dealing with my Dad
by truth_b_known init was 2010 when i first came to this website.
it was the day after the memorial.
i swore i would never attend another memorial, ever.. my father had called me a few day prior to that memorial and encouraged me to go.
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truth_b_known
It was 2010 when I first came to this website. It was the day after the Memorial. I swore I would never attend another Memorial, ever.
My father had called me a few day prior to that Memorial and encouraged me to go. I had been completely inactive for about 4 years at that point. My dad made it sound like the Memorial talk was going to be new, different, and of some great importance. It was none of those things.
Since then I believe I have only spoken to him over the phone a few times. Although he laid off the Witness talk, he was still ending our phone conversations with his weird conspiracy theories, which ultimately implied that "The End" was near. It was like Alex Jones on steroids. As a result, I stopped calling.
A month ago my grandmother died in her sleep. She would have turned 95 this coming September. I found out from my aunt and later my cousin via Facebook posts. I struggled with calling my dad. I wanted to console him and express my sympathies on the loss of his mother.
I tried calling my parents' house. No response. I called my brother who still lives near them. He is completely out of the organization and I figured it would be non-confrontational calling him, but he didn't answer. I called my sister finally. She is my only sibling that's PIMI. She answered and said that my parents were at the afternoon Sunday meeting. She said that they usually go out to dinner after the meeting and before going home. She was on vacation outside the area and had not spoken to our father.
I finally got a hold of my brother. We hadn't spoken but a handful of times since I moved to another state over 10 years ago. We had a good talk. He said our father wasn't really responding to the passing of his mother. I thought that was weird, but not for him.
Side note - my father did not become a Witness until his early thirties. He is the oldest child of a large family. He found out after high school when he enlisted in the military that his father was not really his father. His biological father abandon he and his mother after his birth. His mom re-married immediately as it was scandalous back in those days to be a single mom. Growing up my dad only rarely brought us around his family. He has one brother who became a Witness and he was the only one we regularly hung out with.
Finally, at about 8:00PM local time my dad called me. I told him I was calling to express my sympathy for the passing of his mother and to check up on he and my mother. I wasn't sure what to expect. My father always professed to be of the annointed since he became a Witness. I wasn't sure how all the changes in doctrine and practice would effect his outlook on the organization. I found out pretty quick.
My father immediately replied that his mother was old and it was expected. He made some comment about seeing her again after the resurrection. He made no indication that he was going to travel to her funeral. He made a comment that his family was only their when they wanted something.
I stopped him. I said "Dad, your mother has just died. No matter who you are or how old your are or hold old she is, she is your mother. That means something."
He paused and said "You're right." He then talked about how he had kept in contact with her recently. In fact he had spoken to her on the phone just the week before.
I realized I have rambled on long enough and I should get to my point -
The religion known as Jehovah's Witnesses has stolen a lot from me. It stole a normal childhood. It stole the first 10 years of my adulthood as I regret not enlisting in the military and regret not starting my law enforcement career when I was 21. It has also stolen my parents and my sister from me. However, it has not stolen all happiness from my life.
It wasn't until March of 2010 that I finally cut all ties with the religion and saw it for what it really is. I give all credit to this website and all of you for that. I know I post things on here that people don't agree with or upset people, but I care for each and everyone of you just like family. Family member make each other mad from time to time, but in the end they always stick together.
Thank you all for helping me discover life before it really was too late.
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Massive hints against alcohol
by purrpurr inin the most recent assembly there were several heavy hints about not drinking alcohol at all.
saying that it doesn't give a good witness or would stumble others.. is this a new "unwritten directive?.
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truth_b_known
Good luck with that.
I do recall at a District Convention about 10 years ago a dramatization of a couple who moved into a congregation that needed help. The couple discussed how they got some raised eyebrows from brothers/sisters who came over for dinner when they saw the couple's wine rack. The couple decided to get rid of it because they didn't was to "stumble" anyone in their new congregation.
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Quick and vague Memorial invitations
by RULES & REGULATIONS inthis morning my doorbell rang.
i opened the door thinking it was a package delivery person or local politicians thanking my community for voting in yesterday's election.
there was a middle aged man standing by himself.
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truth_b_known
"Brothers, wasn't that an excellent witness given by Brother Hit-and-Run?" - Elder at Circuit Assembly
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JW's make the big time news
by eyeuse2badub inlifestyle.
ex-jehovah's witnesses break silence on shunning: 'my mother treats me like i'm dead'.
detroit free press 3 hours ago .
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truth_b_known
That's quite the article. Read the comments. A few apologetics who are either lying or ignorant of their own religion.
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Do You Care If A World Leader Had An Affair Before Taking Office?
by minimus ini don’t care about it unless someone runs on a record of being a model family man or woman.. does it bother you if a president or princess or top government official “cheats “??
?.
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truth_b_known
Please forgive my ignorance, but I believe having a side-woman/man in France is highly accepted. In the recent past a high ranking French official was very open about his mistress. No one batted an eye.
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Sincere question to those who no longer believe in God
by nowwhat? ini get it, not a fan of yahweh the desert god.
but what about jesus?
anything wrong with his teachings like the sermon on the mount and the example he set.
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truth_b_known
I am leaning toward the wacky conspiracy theory that Christianity was created by Paul aka Saul of Tarsus. If you were to take Jesus' spoken words from the 4 gospels and lay them out on their own or as a collective and compare them to all the letters to the Christian Congregations I believe there is a significant difference.
It is believed (whoa - Watchtower speak) that the first Gospel written was Mark and it was written around 70 C.E. That's nearly 4 decades after the events written about took place. Matthew and Luke are thought to have been written around 80 to 90 C.E. That's 50 to 60 years after the events written about took place.
However, Paul's writings were written between 52 and 67 C.E. Paul's circuit of visiting congregations was from 37 to 67 C.E. Paul's writings took place very close to the events they memorialize.
I am leaning toward the theory that Christianity was created as propaganda to pacify the non-Roman citizens of the Roman Empire.
Please, correct me if I am wrong, but I have found that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which are all closely related, are the only religions that teach -
- There is only on true god
- All non-believers are worthy of destruction
- Humans are imperfect
Those tenants are the root of so many problems in human society.
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Growing a beard
by Coded Logic ini've always been currious as to how i would look with a beard so i've finally committed to doing it.
over the next 30 days i'm going to grow out a full chin to ear beard.. .
ps: any suggestions or advice on how to grow a beard would be much appreciated!.
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truth_b_known
It will take longer than 30 days to get a great beard. I grew mine out. Mine is similar to Kurt Russell's in "The Thing". I also grew out a handlebar mustache.
Washing and moisturizing are key.
Now that I have it I could never go back to clean shaven ever again.
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truth_b_known
Even when I was a full believer I could never come to terms with the fact that Witnesses are obsessed with the making and interpretation of rules. Witnesses spend hours gleefully discussing organization rules and regulations. They try to "one-up" everyone as if they are more righteous than others because they have adopted a more stringent view of these rules. I also noticed that they would spend little to know time discussing how to imitate the love of Christ. Probably because they have none and never had it to begin with.
