Posts by rocketman

15

i got a not so unexpected call today

by free will in

jw
friends

well, about a month ago, i had to have a talk with the elders.

primarily due to my lack of meeting attendance.

i decided to make an effort and attend, after about two sunday meetings, i found out about the un and haven't been back since.

rocketman

Free Will, I doubt that they will settle for you calling them, once a certain amount of time elapses without them hearing from you. You did the right thing though by putting the ball in your court and trying to control the situation.

They've been calling on me a lot lately too. I now have a sign above my doorbell asking them not to call. But, I still attend periodically; I just don't want them bothering me at home any more.

Maybe a little note or sign on your door might work, but then again, they may see it as an overt way of trying to avoid them, and they may even try implying some kind of guilt.

34

Questions Directed Towards: YOU (ex-JW)

by RAYZORBLADE in

jw
friends

i thought i'd give this a go, lighten up the forum a little.

just curious, about a few things regarding all of us who participate on here.

i have some questions, of which i will answer also.

rocketman

flower: "in the meantime, go f yourselves".....good one....I am right now picturing the GB, dildos in hand....oh god, that's an awful visual.

9

Unbaptized Children Allowed to Say Prayer at the Table?

by GermanXJW in

recently a jw friend of mine was counseled by an elder because he let his children pray at the table.. i remember a co telling that an unbaptized child cannot pray at the table for the whole family.

he stated that after such a prayer a baptized family member has to say another, a valid prayer.. does anyone remember that the wts published anything in writing about that matter?.

not that i care, just wondering...

rocketman

Scully, I enjoyed your post!

82

did wt shut doors 9/11?

by topanga in

jw
friends

is it true because all of those tunnels dinning rooms factories and supermarkets could be of great help to the community in a time of attack.

rocketman

"The left hand doesn't know what the right hand does" ? Who is trying to kid? They are usually all too happy to print accounts of their acts of kindness in their magazines. Article after article exist on how jws did this and did that.

11

One Reason Jws Can Be Duped Easily

by rocketman in

jw
friends

what i am about to state here has been said many times before in various ways, but i am offering some observations that i made as a bookstudy conductor over a period of 12 years, 9 of those as an elder, and before that as an ms filling in.. i was the type of conductor who would attempt to 'probe beneath the surface' as it were, when i conducted.

i was often amazed and sometimes a bit frustrated (though i tried never to be impatient with the people there) by the lack of comments at the bookstudy that would offer anything more than just a re-read of what the paragraph said.

i realize that many folks have busy lives and of course have little time for extra thought or research.

rocketman

What I am about to state here has been said many times before in various ways, but I am offering some observations that I made as a Bookstudy conductor over a period of 12 years, 9 of those as an elder, and before that as an MS filling in.

I was the type of conductor who would attempt to 'probe beneath the surface' as it were, when I conducted. I was often amazed and sometimes a bit frustrated (though I tried never to be impatient with the people there) by the lack of comments at the bookstudy that would offer anything more than just a re-read of what the paragraph said.

I realize that many folks have busy lives and of course have little time for extra thought or research. I also realize that people get tired at the end of a day, and often, they just want to get the meeting over with.

But, the demands on jws actually, as we all know, keep them from really making a deep study of what they are learning. They simply have no time for anything more than just a cursory look at the material. Also, many of them just don't want to go any further than just reciting what is in the paragraph.

As a result, these folks can be told just about anything, and they'd believe it. I know that's been said here many times, and again, I am just offering my own observation which substantiates that.

One time, a brother had to be assigned out of my bookstudy to another one. He approached me several weeks after that and said "I feel like I just went from college to high school". The reason he felt that way was that the elder conducting that bookstudy was also one of those who gave little thought to anything more than just covering material. I'm not relating that story to make myself look good, but rather just to show that elders also often times just take what is being presented for granted. Of course, on the other hand, they dare not question it.

The result of all this is obvious: a group of people that by and large are very gullible from a learning standpoint. And thus, a group of people that can be duped very easily.

34

Should SARS be getting more attention?

by Simon in

.

sars, the new deadly virus that seems to be spreading quickly round the world, is very worrying but is not getting much attention i think because of the war.. scientists have been saying for some times that we are overdue for a pandemic of spanish flu proportions and this could be it !.

in just a few days / weeks it seems to have reached most major countries, infected thousands and killed more people than the iraqi's have.. should we be concerned?

rocketman

I am concerned, though the facts that xander presents make me feel a bit better. Also, we certainly have better resources at our disposal medically now than we did in 1918, though as of yet no cure or totally effective treatment is available. It also seems as though proper quarantine actions are being taken when possible.

39

Did they really live that old?

by JH in

jw
friends

adam lived 930 years.

(genesis 5:5) .

seth lived 912 years.

rocketman

funkyderek, just read your response to donniedarko's comment, and I must agree. There is no evidence for any of the hypotheses in darko's post. In fairness to you donnie, though, you did not appear to be making a strong assertion, just putting an idea out there for consideration.

39

Did they really live that old?

by JH in

jw
friends

adam lived 930 years.

(genesis 5:5) .

seth lived 912 years.

rocketman

Onacruse, the source you quoted was very interesting, and provides some good food for thought with respect to Chronology of the ancient old dudes. Good thread overall, too.

43

What should we reply when invited to memorial?

by bluesapphire in

jw
friends

when my mil invites my husband to the memorial he plans on saying, "well i've already been to the memorial before.

if you've been there once, there's no need to go again since the talk is the same mumbo-jumbo year after year and i'm not anointed anyway.".

what do you plan on saying or have you said?

rocketman

Joanna, that pagan orgy sounds like fun!

34

Questions Directed Towards: YOU (ex-JW)

by RAYZORBLADE in

jw
friends

i thought i'd give this a go, lighten up the forum a little.

just curious, about a few things regarding all of us who participate on here.

i have some questions, of which i will answer also.

rocketman

How long were you a Jehovah's Witness? Still am, 30 years

2. Were you raised in it or become a JW later on in life? Raised

3. Were you contacted via the door-to-door ministry? N/A

4. Initially, what intrigued or drew you to the Jehovah's Witnesses then? Their seemingly good Bible knowledge

5. When were you baptized? Or if you weren't, mention that if you wish. 1973

6. When did you start having doubts? Mainly after the Generation thing of 1995; my doubts actually increased as I served as an elder, because I saw a side of things I had not seen before

7. What else perhaps contributed to your leaving? I am still "in", but in heart and mind I am just about out. Seeing the lack of real love, the obvious shaft with regard to the Generation teaching, and several other things.

8. When were you disfellowshipped/disassociated? N/A

9. Have you ever been reinstated? N/A

10. Did you attempt to contact or have spoken with other active-JWs when you were DF/DA'd? N/A

11. Have you ever protested/picketted a JW assembly/convention? No....I don't attend them any more either

12. Do you miss being a Jehovah's Witness? I don't miss the full involvement I had; it took over my entire life for all intents and purposes

13. Do you still have family that are active JWs? Yes

14. Do you believe in god/God etc.? To some degree, but I am open to evolutionary thinking as well

15. Are you politically active or have voted? I am registered as non-affiliated; I just did so and I have not voted yet

16. Would you say you have become more tolerant or open-minded generally speaking since you left? Yes, for sure. I no longerbase my view of people on how they perform religously. It's nice just seeing people for what they are - humans with strengths and weaknesses just like me.

17. Do you think that the WTBTS will crumble? I doubt it, though given the passage of enough time, and I would think that holding some of their doctrines together will be tough. But, they have been able to do that thus far, even though over 100 years have passed since they've been predicting 'the end'

18. If you could say anything to the WTBTS and be listened to, what would you like to say? Drop the shunning. Drop the DFings that have no scriptural basis. Apologize, for God's sake! Drop the blood issue as Bible law and let jws make a REAL choice, not one coerced by threat of automatic DAing. Be nicer, for God's sake! Put emphasis on helping the needy. Cut the friggin meeting schedule down to once a week so people have a chance to live a normal life and breathe a little. Stop requiring counting time in field service....geez, the list goes on, and I didn't even start with the child abuse issue....

19. What has helped you to cope, post-JW? This board, making new friends at work, keeping friendships intact with a jw friend who sees stuff in a manner simialr to myself.

20. Anything else you'd like to say/add? Great thread, very revealing. If there are jw spies out there: yeah, read this thread and see what you've done - see what fruitage your religion has borne.