Affectionately :Brother of the hawk. Crazy Guy is well named its his or her idea to call himself/ herself that. I know the feeling when you say "I will surrender my mind no more forever" Stay true to that and you'll be fine. I don't know who Simon is but you can't expect him/her to watch over this site and sequester free expression. That's what the watchtower does.
Any JWs on here that still believe?
by cognac 18 Replies latest jw friends
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Truth seeker 674
Very good post Congnac
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The Quiet One
Simon is the owner of this site.. You'd better be nice to him, I hear he breathes fire.. ;) http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/member/5866
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TotallyADD
Does this mean I can't call the WT a cult anymore? If it mean I can't and it will help others to get out I will do it. Or by calling the WT a cult even though that is a in your face statement does it not help others to think or is that to harsh for a new lurker who is lurking for the first time.? Totally ADD
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Simon
Keeping things on topic and on track is very challenging when there are some that seem to have made it their life's mission to disrupt and frustrate attempts at civil discussion.
If people are violating the posting guidelines I'd encourage you to let us know about it - we certainly don't condone and don't want to encourage aggresive or obnoxious behavior and encourage free discussion whenever possible.
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Goodstein
Calling the WTS a cult is calling a bum a bum. It's true - not polite, but true. Sometimes impolite but true language is warranted.
On the other hand, saying "Jahober" or whatever is stooping to gradeschool level mockery (to my ears, perhaps even mocking someone with an African-American accent who has an 'intrusive R'), and I don't really think it's appropriate. Especially as "Jehovah" is a (itself badly flawed, but meant sincerely) attempt to render the Divine Name into English. I don't believe in the Hindu deities, for example, but I don't make fun of them or their names, because it would be offensive to those who did believe.
At any rate, I still believe in God, and the Bible, although I do not consider it inerrant. (I take it "seriously, but not literally" in the words of one scholar Marcus Borg.)
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snare&racket
Cognat...
ask your husband to read the thread i wrote on the name Jehovah "their name will be their downfall"
people mock the name because they took the time to check the facts.....
ask your husband how long it was since he checked ANYTHING watchtower told him. Or was he raised a J.w making it never?....
DING this could be the issue.
welcome to the forum. Yes there are a lot of pained people here. What does that mean?
why not make two lists. In colum one, list all the traits and expected behaviour and personality of someone that knew a religion was true and from god and was out to prove it wrong just because they want to live their own way. Next write a list of all the emotions, behaviour, acts of a person who has realised that they were lied to their whole life, that they were sold a hope and fell for a con so obvious, they are ashamed to open their curtains...
Make that list then come back and see which side matches the people you see. People working for a SATAN do not get hurt or emotional or call their old deity funny names because its a reminder of how they were duped or to mock it because its kinder than and more mature than getting angry at it.
if I have to give one trait to a Jw that they don't even realise they have, something that makes them stand out like sore thumbs on this planet, its not love, its not honesty, its not dedication.... Its JUDGMENTAL. No other humans presume to judge the hearts, minds, motives and acts of their fellow humans like a JW. Maybe your husband need t think this over before coming back.
.....we are a group of mothers, fathers, children, students, hard workers, lawyers, ministers, writers, readers, doctors, managers, assistants, that enjoy knitting, fishing, gaming, riding motorbikes, walking, going on holiday, watching films, helping charities, going on holiday....again
We are just human beings and we, like you, are limited to and limitless according to the restrictions of a human. Ask yourself how you as a human could act in good conscience.... Don't dare to assume others don't feel the same.
i was a child JW that went door to door all my life too, I turned my nose away from the 'world' and pioneered. I went to bethel. I had bible studies. I gave talks. I was on district assemblies.....I discovered Wacthtower used the stock market, I discovered they owned a military company, I asked my presiding overseer why? I was told in a reply from bethel that it was gifted to them, without them knowing... But it was for years, but they had signed documents, but it was a company developed with Navy money, but the WT had assigned a spokesman for their shares... And hang on what is this? Watchtower have NGO's established in the UN as reported in the Guardian newspaper whilst I was in bethel? But the UN is evil.... Why would they agree to the rules of the UN NGO status like agreeing with the UN charter and promoting it in their literature... Oh THAT'S why that article appeared in the Awake on the work of the UN food program... Reply comes back from bethel..... "We just signed the forms without reading them." For nearly 15 years?......
thats when my PO asked me to stop attending meetings......
Dont assume anything about us. We have lost much and it has cost us plenty to be in this forum, free to spell Jehoo-hah however we like. With the greatest respect, you can assume its because we can't say his name because it pains us so deeply to remember our loving father... Or you can get off ya buts and do some research.,. Its about time.... (It is for every JW)
DONT BELIEVE A WORD ANYONE TELLS YOU, go and read the primary evidence and look at the actual facts yourself. If you both do that, you can't help but end up out the religion and somewhere like this.... Only to be judges after 8 years of research, as just being in pain and apostate. Its just a cheap trick to stop you opening up a history book and looking up 607bce.... And it worked this long didnt it....
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DJS
Wow,
SnareandRacket that was an amazing but factual rant. Are you a lawyer because if not you missed your calling. Somewhere between Cognac and SnareandRacket lies, hopefully, a middle ground. Everything Snare said is true and it explains the anger and some of the less than kind words used. But I exited the WT two decades ago and briefly participated in an on-line forum about 15 years ago comprised of ex-JWs. (xjw hint). As much as I hated everything about the WT as described by Snare, it still pained me to see individuals use disparaging words. We can do both on this forum. It will benefit the newbies, the lurkers and those who still have a Christian based belief system. Perhaps most importatnly, it will beneifit us individually.
As part of my post-JW studies I learned that everything in life starts with language. If has been the most powerful tool for thousands of years to motivate and control. And using degoratory or pejorative adjectives about anything, whether it is a race, a political party, an individual or a religion, is the first slippery slope step to other bad things. The JW leadership knows this all too well. Their words brand, stigmatize, demoralize and needlessly judge. I hate them for that more than anything; but I try not to emulate them.
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flipper
COGNAC- I agree that the plays on names like " Jehoober " etc. can have a negative effect on lurking JW's here on this site. But in most cases I believe a lurking JW will be on this site because they are already having doubts about the WT organization in the first place. Your statement, " I'm sure many people are on here because THEY ARE ENCOURAGED TO TEST OUT THEIR FAITH . " The part I capitalized is not true really at all. The WT Society does NOT encourage JW's to test out their faith outside the confines of the WT Society sanctioned publications. They are only allowed to have ONE view of things- the WT Society view. If they do not have that view they will be categorized as " weak ", " apostate-leaning ", " apostate", " sinful ", Influenced by Satan " , " independent thinking " - or any other number of catch phrases created by the WT Society. There is no freedom in the WT organization to " test one's faith out ".
I wish the best for your husband , and he'll get all kinds of support here on this JWN information/support board - but as someone said it's not for the weak of heart. The REAL truth about the truth will be stated with no punches pulled or no illusions or mind games being played by many of us. Many here are trying to recover from being deceived by a manipulative, lying organization designed to instill uneeded fear and guilt inside of us and control us needlessly keeping us locked up inside as prisoners of the WT wars. Does your husband have doubts about the WT organization ? Then this is a good place to come. If he is happy and satisfied as a Witness already believing the WT Society rhetoric- then perhaps this is not a good place for him to come as it indeed as you stated may shock him. If you want him to be shocked and if HE wants it- then all is well. But how would shocking him with information be any good if he is not ready or doesn't want to hear it be of any assistance to him ? Just a thought.
BROTHER of the HAWK- Your statement, " I for one am disliking this board more and more. I have actually had more intelligent conversations with small local church groups than with this board. " Does that include the time you and I had a really uplifting 2 to 3 hour conversation after you first joined this board on the telephone and I called to give you my support ? I hope I'm not being categorized as promoting " unintelligent conversation " ? God forbid. Just being real here. There are a lot of fanastic people on this board who may disagree with religious views and are atheists or agnostics . Does that make them " unintelligent " if they no longer believe in God or don't go to church ? Just curious.
We had our freedom of speech clipped and captivated by WT leaders, elders, C.O's, D.O's and the general Jehovah's Witness outlook inside the JW cult- and as you state " I will surrender my mind no more forever " . Indeed, yes, I agree with that view as well ! But different people's minds have different world views and it doesn't have to reveal their intelligence or lack thereof- just how they've been programmed or mind controlled, or even raised to believe without access to other information to broaden their world views. Just my 2 cents