Posts by patio34

56

Scientology & Tom Cruise

by rebel8 in

the stuff on the news is fascinating me, so i just had to start a thread about it.. yesterday i saw online at the guardian that tom cruise had hired some sort of cult bodyguard (tongue in cheek) to accompany his new girlfriend (katie holmes, an actress) around to continue her inculcation into scientology.

they are allegedly saying they're best friends now, though they met very recently.. i'm now reading the 6/17 issue of entertainment weekly magazine.

it says:he had a scientology massage tent on the set of his newest movie (his retort is he had a capuccino tent too)he compares psychiatry to nazis and claims jung (famous psychiatrist) was editor for nazi papers (a claim a jungian group denies)he says methadone was named after hitler (also refuted by the magazine)he slams brooke shields for using anti-depressants

patio34

Thanks, Rebel8, for the description of Scientology. I saw his Inside Edition interview repeat last night. He seemed:

sincere, but uncomfortably and excessively intense
evasive about the group
had the persecution attitude about the cult
critical and judgmental (aren't all cults?)
implied having THE truth about things.

It's interesting that cults (or "high mind-control groups") have several main traits in common, just differing doctrines. Give me the average scientist (NOT Scientologist) anyday!

Pat

21

Ozzie's Weekend Poll #138 What encouragement?

by ozziepost in

jw
friends

another week's flown by and another weekend upon us already!

this past week we've been 'pleased' to meet up with some dubs on the board.

i hope they've felt welcome!

patio34

Great revenge LittleToe

Ozzie, my answers are:

2. They didn't!

4. They rang to ask for my report.

5. They told me I would have to qualify to clean the windows/do the count/hand out the mikes. No, I'm a female--no privileges.

6. Two of them dressed in suits and ties visited and wanted to know why I wasn't at the meeting. This was interesting--it was an elder and his wife and most of what they did was tell me about the CO's upcoming visit, the memorial, and the assembly. Now THAT was not encouraging. Not much about me or my health problems, if anything.

9. When I tripped over an elder's meeting bag, he didn't take away my privileges. What privileges? (again, am female)

10. Other (please detail) . . . well, . . . I guess # 2 (They didn't!) applies.

Pat

23

The Atheist's Book of Bible Stories - Ch. 2 - Raising Cain

by RunningMan in

at the time of this story, the bible tells us that adam and eve had two children, cain and abel.

now, dont forget that there are only four people on the planet.

so, apparently, cains only punishment was the requirement to move to another region.

patio34

Let us take the Bible position on the subject and not over-occupy ourselves with merely incidental matters to the extent of wasting time, thought and peace of heart and possibly stumbling ourselves into the camp of the godless evolutionists. ---Question from Readers

26

The Atheist's Book of Bible Stories - Ch. 3 - The Numbers of the Book

by RunningMan in

king solomon offered as a sacrifice twenty-two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep.

- 2 chronicles 7:4,5. .

lets look at it another way.

patio34

Mucho gracias, RunningMan! I've sent you a pm with a request. Thanks a million!

Scully said:

If 183,000 people really worked for seven years to build a 2,552 square foot temple, they must have worked at a snail’s pace. It appears that government workers haven't changed at all over the millennia.

I resemble that remark!

Pat

17

How many here would classify themselves as Recovering JW's?

by Big Dog in

medical

addiction

n. habitual psychological and physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one's voluntary control.

patio34

One author's opinion is that it's not good to identify with a negative or unhealthy time of your life continually, thereby zooming yourself back always like a bungee cord to that bad time. E.g., "I'm a recovering addict," etc.

In this vein, I refuse to have any lingering "slime," lol, stick to me from JWs, so I don't allow any part of them to be part of the way I identify myself. That was then, not now.

Pat

67

What do you feel when you see groups of Jehovah's Witnesses on the street?

by nicolaou in

regret, anger frustration?

how about sadness, sorrow, sympathy, understanding, even yearning!.

it can be quite confusing at times.

patio34

I feel, among other feelings at times, embarrassment: for them and for me when I did that.

It's similar to something like popular culture saying it's okay to do a certain type of activity and then years later finding out it is what it always intuitively appeared to be: stupid! The emperor's new clothes sort of thing.

Pat

43

Did you ever feel like you never fit in?

by Dragonlady76 in

jw
friends

when i was growing up in dubland, i always felt like i never "fit" in with the other kids in the cong or their families.

i always knew deep down that i didn't like being a jw and their had to be more to life than meetings and field service.

i just wanted to be normal, like the other kids and have sleepovers, birthday parties, after school activities and christmas etc..... my folks were and still are devout dubs and my dad in particular is the nicest man you will ever meet, he would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it, no questions asked.

patio34

Great question! One of the surprising effects of leaving JWs was that there were actually people who wanted to be my friends! I hadn't realized how friendless I had been for decades. It seems to me that most of the friendships amongst JWs I interacted with were superficial, shallow, and had a forced quality (I love you because I have to because the Bible commands it . . . ). And some others I knew would use the question "how's so-and-so doing spiritually?" in a thinly disguised quest for gossip and backbiting. And then, as brought out in one anti-cult book, deep friendships are implicitly forbidden, because you are always supposed to put God first, or the congregation. So, your friend was always conditional in case they strayed from the cult. My "best" friend for years hasn't spoken to me since I first expressed the tiniest departure from the party line.

Pat

26

DC IN Kansas City -120 years stressed

by stillajwexelder in

yet again because it was in the days text gen 6 vs 3 was discussed at the dc.

it -the talk -was started by stating that god puts a time limit on things and that in noahs day it was 120 years.

we are now 9w1 years into the time of the end since 1914. now 2034 was not directly mentioned but hell it was strongly implied and a gb member was present gerritt losch- so it looks as though statements like this have the wtbts approval.

patio34

Rod, in about 1998 it was announced that "generation" didn't mean that. It was some vague explanation I didn't understand well. It was something like the contemporary group of people living around an event, but wasn't limited to 1914. Such as contemporary people living around anything I guess. It didn't make sense then and still doesn't.

20

Read Barbara Anderson v. Watchtower Court Documents

by AndersonsInfo in

if you are interested in reading barbara and joe anderson's court documents just as they were filed, you can now access them on www.silentlambs.org soon bill bowen will be scanning in the defendants' motions and briefs for your 'reading pleasure.'.

to access the documents look towards the top of the silentlambs home page and a few lines down on the left you will see today's date.

after the date, reading from left to right across the page is a line of subjects.

patio34

Thanks Barb & Joe---I'm printing it out to understand it better. It's odd, but I still highlight stuff for understanding, lol. I admire your perseverance and energy to get justice!

Thanks Frankiespeakin for the summation and portions.

103

Presiding Overseer Says They Will Ask If You Still Want To Be A Jehovah's W

by minimus in

jw
friends

the local needs talk on thursday discussed a few different things, according to my mom.

but the one that stood out most was that he announced that based on the new book, the elders will be checking on those that have not been associating with the congregation for some time.

they will ask, "do you still want to be a jehovah's witness?

patio34

That is why there is caller ID and the time honored tradition of not opening your door to anyone but the police with a warrant. ----Blondie

Good one! For more than the @*#$#@ dubs, too.

What gets me on tv shows with cops/detectives asking if they can come in and people saying okay! Don't they know?!?

Pat