zophar

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Posts by zophar

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  61

  Suicides

  by new boy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been on the phone the last to two weeks calling people i've known over the last forty years most of who are still jehovah's witnesses.

  some of these people who didn't know i was "out" talked to me and some who knew i was "out" still talked to me.

  some of the those people are even elders.. by book new boy will be dedicated to all the people who have killed themselves because of being a jehovah's witness or knowing others who were jehovah's witnesses.

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  zophar

  I think I have read and enjoyed all of the excerpts from New Boy. I found them very informative and enlightening. This latest thread about Suicides has me puzzled.

  I don't think I am seeing everything clearly on this. I agree with Exelder AS REGARDS THIS THREAD. As I say I have read the other threads from New Boy and loved them. But why this turn? Naming names of those who killed themselves without knowing THEIR story? I don't see it. I think it could do great harm.

  New Boy's posts are generally about first hand accounts that he experienced. The Olson story for instance, is tragic and should be told, but I would be cautious about going into areas of people's lives that could do tremendous damage to people who are already emotionally fragile.
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  61

  Suicides

  by new boy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have been on the phone the last to two weeks calling people i've known over the last forty years most of who are still jehovah's witnesses.

  some of these people who didn't know i was "out" talked to me and some who knew i was "out" still talked to me.

  some of the those people are even elders.. by book new boy will be dedicated to all the people who have killed themselves because of being a jehovah's witness or knowing others who were jehovah's witnesses.

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  zophar

  How many suicide names might you add to your book once you expose someone who has talked to you and is mentally struggling right now?
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  24

  Another JW "friend" bites the dust

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just got word one of my favorite friends died a year ago!

  only now have i heard about it.

  he remained a devout jehovah's witness--so--he could not/would not speak to me.

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  zophar

  Terry,

  Sorry for you. I'm sure he loved you as well, thought control only goes so far in matters of the heart. He sounds like a brave soul and good friend.
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  50

  1969 Awake on Education - A Sore Spot for Me

  by NotBlind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my father would have started college 49 years ago this week.

  about three months earlier, the week he graduated high school, the awake!

  magazine came out with some very clear direction to teenagers.

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  zophar

  Well, you got my Friday morning started with a bang. Your dad and I are exactly the same age, Class of 1969!

  You pegged it well, point by point this information was proved wrong. Well, not exactly, they were right on one point, I was never able to:

  fulfill any career that this system offers
  

  Of course, that was NOT because I didn't have the time to do so.

  Now, when you see the video that was presented at a recent Regional Convention was SO very deceiving:

  https://tv.jw.org/#en/mediaitems/pub-jwbcov_201705_4_VIDEO

  Ironically, you can find this video by going to tv.jw.org and typing "1975" in the search box! And, yet, those who did exactly what the 1969 "Awake!" advised are now viewed as the weak ones. This is revisionist history. Steve Lett was a young man serving at Bethel about the time this article was published. He KNOWS what the attitude was about 1975 and now it's all forgotten.

  Thanks....I guess... for the memories!
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  12

  Aretha Franklin has Died - Long live the Queen of soul in Memory

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  aretha franklin has died after a long bout with pancreatic cancer.

  at age 76 .

  she's my wife's all time favorite female vocalist.

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  zophar

  Amen!
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  29

  The bridge

  by truthwillsetyoufree in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so my father, who is an active jehovah’s witness, told me yesterday of an experience currently doing its rounds amongst the witnesses in relation to cart witnessing.

  there is a bridge called ‘the bridge’ which is a well known place for people committing suicide.

  apparently the jws have been setting up there literature carts there for a while now and ever since they have there has been no more suicide attempts from the bridge.

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  zophar

  You certainly can walk all the way across or bike as well. It would be hard to commit suicide though, they have netting underneath the bridge that would catch you before you fell too far.

  Remembered an article I read about suicide on Golden Gate Bridge.

  https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/10/13/jumpers

  Especially memorable to me was the number who survived the leap and how some of them immediately regretted the decision to end their life once they jumped

  Haven't seen a Cart there though!
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  24

  Forgiveness

  by Freedom rocks in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if someone does the same things over and over again and says sorry and then does it again and you point out that their apologies don't mean anything anymore, then they accuse you of not being forgiving enough, who is in the wrong?

  (i mean as in constantly over a long period of time).

  im trying to work out whether it was just part of the persons mental/ emotional manipulation tactics or whether i have the wrong view and i'm not forgiving enough.

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  zophar

  Seems to me that the word for forgiveness often used in the Bible literally means to let go of or "let go off". As I take it, it is something that benefits you as much as it does the other person. You often hear victims say they forgive their offender in the sense of not letting the murderer or rapist or whatever have control over their lives. They "let go off" in the sense of moving past the terrible offense.

  If the person is interested in what the Bible requires, try this Scripture:

  "So each of you needs to be careful. If your brother sins [against you], confront him about it, and if he has a change of mind and heart, then forgive him. -Luke 17:3 Bible Gateway The Voice

  That seems to put the burden back where it belongs, on the offender.
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  40

  Why are JDubs scared to death of apostate websites?

  by Sour Grapes in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when i was an elder back in the 1970's i loved to debate and challenge ministers, preachers, and holy rollers.

  now you can be a loyal jdub fully indoctrinated for 30 years but just take a peek at an apostate website and you are doomed.

  yes, satan now has you by the gonads and all of the years of being at the meetings, all of the family worship nights, all of the conventions, and all of the personal study just go up in a cloud of smoke.

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  zophar

  .....the weakest faith on the face of the earth?

  I’ve told you a million times not to exaggerate!
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  13

  Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad

  by charonsdog in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  today, july 1, i wrote what has become my annual contact with my parents.

  it is their 51st wedding anniversary.

  i e-mail them from across the world where i now live to let them know that i haven't forgotten them, i still love them, and that i'm doing okay.

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  zophar

  Looks like the shunning is really working!

  You sound like you are ready to get back in there.

  One would think that your family would eventually see that you are determined to live your own authentic life apart from JW's.

  Sorry to hear of your plight.
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  14

  Do you still want to be identified as a Christian?

  by eyeuse2badub in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  most americans want some form of religious identity - even atheists are creating churches.

  by j. warner wallace | fox news.

  the number of self-proclaimed christians is shrinking in america.. i’ve been collecting data on this trend for over 10 years, and the surveys reveal an important truth: fewer people claim a christian affiliation than ever before, and those who claim no religious affiliation are the fastest growing group in america.. but while fewer people may belong to christian churches or communities, americans will likely retain some form of religious identity – especially if what’s happening in europe is an indicator of things to come.. a new pew forum survey conducted in western europe reveals that christianity is waning there even faster than it is in the united states.

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  zophar

  And why would I want to donate my soul's energy toward enslaving the whole human race?
  

  And aligning yourself with Satan wouldn't do that?