Posts by Divergent

31

Disgusted By Today's WT Study 12/6/15

by JW_Rogue in

no, not because of the message of deluding yourself into seeing the hand of god working in mundane wt activities.

that is to be expected from this org.

what really bothered me was the quote in paragraph one.

Divergent

I was disgusted with the study too. The article was literally forcing everyone to acknowledge that they see "God's hand" in their lives. If we don't see "God's hand", then it's our fault & something is wrong with us!

Here's what paragraph 15 says:

15 What are some reasons why we may not clearly see God’s hand in our affairs? Life’s challenges can overwhelm us. When this happens, we may forget to keep focused on how Jehovah has already helped us.

Let me suggest a few other possibilities. How about there is no such thing as "God's hand" at all & things that are credited to "God's hand" can simply be attributed to pure coincidence? That we believe in God's hand because we want to believe in it, finding ways to affirm God's hand when it is all just cognitive bias? Or how about God's hand really exists, and it led many of us to discover TTATT & leave???

67

Scriptures that will never be the YEAR TEXT

by ttdtt in

so what scriptures do you think will never make the cut?i will start off with one to warm you all up.. 1 corinthians 4:6 - do not go beyond the things that are written,.

Divergent

Matthew 7:1 - Stop judging that you may not be judged

5

So my best friend was reinstated last night

by LexIsFree in

jw
friends

so my brother-in-law, who is also my best friend, was reinstated last night.

i had an idea that he was trying to make his way back to the cult because i had been texting and calling him for about 3 months now and no answer from him.

when he text me this morning to tell me the news i wasn't shocked, but i was saddened.

Divergent

Wait... he texted you, so he is not shunning you, is he? Or was that a 'goodbye, please return to Jehovah' text? Did he tell you his reasons for going back? Are they genuine as in he still believes it's "the truth" or do other reasons apply (family, friends, putting an end to shunning etc.?) I'm sure you must have shared TTATT with him previously... what was his reaction to that? Sorry to bombard you with questions, but your post was vague

31

Sometimes I think Jehovah's Witnesses overuse the word "historic"

by slimboyfat in

at the beginning of the may broadcast stephen lett said this was a historic broadcast.

he explained that every member of the governing body had hosted a show and they were starting over again.

that was all the explanation he gave.

Divergent

How about "a historic sex abuse lawsuit" or "a historic sex abuse settlement"?

38

I never understood field service...

by Joliette in

jw
friends

it was always boring, and i was afraid that i was gonna get attacked by a dog.

i actually almost got attacked by a rottweiler once.

i didnt get paid for it, nobody listened to us, i actually had guys make passes at me while i was out doing street corner, i was always afraid i would get grouped and raped.

Divergent

Heaven:
In the 25+ years my Dad went door-to-door he never once convinced someone to join. Those are some really crappy results.

I had the misfortune of being a born-in & was dragged out in service since young. Finally had enough & quit in my 20's. That's 20+ years also. Guess how many people I brought into the truth?

Zero. Thankfully!

PS: I guess I was a lousy publisher

77

Feeling rejected

by Esmeralda001 in

just a little disclaimer: english isn't my first language (i'm from france) thus the poor writing skills.here is the situation: i'm not a jw.

however, i'm in the process of becoming one.

in fact, i'm studying with the jw's, and i'll proceed to become an unbaptized publisher as soon as i finish the first book.to make a long story short i was introduced to the truth when i was 18een.

Divergent

Just to add a bit to my previous post...

As a person with interest in medicine & life-saving techniques, have you given a thought to the fact that JW's go beyond the Bible by requiring ALL their members to reject blood transfusions, EVEN if it means that they would die as a result?

This is scriptually wrong & it is very obvious. It goes against the Biblical principles of love + mercy & defies all common sense & logic! Countless thousands of innocent people have lost their lives due to the "No Blood" JW policy! There are many well-written arguements against this barbaric, inhumane, nonsensical, & unloving man-made JW policy. Here is a well-written article about it: http://thejehovahswitnesses.org/abstain-from-blood.php

Please read it with an open mind & allow your conscience to guide you in determining right & wrong. Also, please visit http://www.ajwrb.org. Thank you!

38

I never understood field service...

by Joliette in

jw
friends

it was always boring, and i was afraid that i was gonna get attacked by a dog.

i actually almost got attacked by a rottweiler once.

i didnt get paid for it, nobody listened to us, i actually had guys make passes at me while i was out doing street corner, i was always afraid i would get grouped and raped.

Divergent

Here's a thread that I started on field service a couple of days back -

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4833799246446592/hey-this-me-im-guy-on-left

Anyway, I remember my last day out in service very well. Halfway through, my partner had to leave me to attend to something. I went to the next house & realized that I couldn't bring myself to knock on the door without someone with me! I just stood there in front of the house like a dumbass - my inner feelings got the better of me & I couldn't knock on the door at all! That was the moment when I realized that I was DONE - I just couldn't do it anymore!

77

Feeling rejected

by Esmeralda001 in

just a little disclaimer: english isn't my first language (i'm from france) thus the poor writing skills.here is the situation: i'm not a jw.

however, i'm in the process of becoming one.

in fact, i'm studying with the jw's, and i'll proceed to become an unbaptized publisher as soon as i finish the first book.to make a long story short i was introduced to the truth when i was 18een.

Divergent

Hi Esmeralda,

Many of us here have been through similar situations as you have & know what it feels like! I would advise you to please do more research about JW's instead of learning about them by only studying their publications. Please go to google & find out everything you can about JW's before you proceed any further. It would only take a few minutes of your time but it would change your life forever!

38

I never understood field service...

by Joliette in

jw
friends

it was always boring, and i was afraid that i was gonna get attacked by a dog.

i actually almost got attacked by a rottweiler once.

i didnt get paid for it, nobody listened to us, i actually had guys make passes at me while i was out doing street corner, i was always afraid i would get grouped and raped.

Divergent

Field service was the first thing I quit when I started to fade. I thought about the reasons why people were rejecting us. They are NOT rejecting us because we represent God & his kingdom. They are NOT rejecting us because they are evil people who deserve to die. Rather, people are rejecting us because our message is NOT convincing!

I reasoned that if preaching the "good news" was so important to God, why on earth would he give us an unconvincing message to preach??? Why couldn't he make "the truth" more convincing??? We literally have NOTHING to back up what we say! Referring to the Bible is USELESS when speaking to people who don't believe in the Bible & those who do usually belong to another denomination & accuse us of having our own Bible & a wrong interpretation of scripture!

We can't perform signs or miracles to back up what we preach. We can't heal the sick & infirm, raise the dead, etc. If we are able to perform miraculous works, wouldn't people be captivated instantly & listen to what we say? Wouldn't it prove beyond doubt that there is truth in what we say? Wouldn't we be able to make more disciples? Absolutely!!! Because that would make our message convincing! But since we can't do shit, what's the point???

Furthermore, I realized that the MORE I go out in service, the MORE bloodguilty I would be! If I were to miss talking to someone & that person gets destroyed at Armageddon, I would be bloodguilty! If I wasn't good in my presentation & couldn't convince people & they get destroyed, I would be bloodguilty! If I didn't make return visits & call back on people & they get destroyed, I would be bloodguilty! Fuck this shit, I'm not doing it anymore!

I reasoned that if there was really a loving & caring God, he would NOT destroy 99.99% of the world's population simply because they are not convinced of his message. The reasoning that God is love, BUT he would destroy all non-JW's at Armageddon made no sense at all! (Oh wait, he WILL also destroy spiritually weak JW's & JW's who did not do more, meaning that probably 90% of JW's would be destroyed as well!) I also realized that the main reason why I went out in service was NOT because of love of God. Rather, it was due to fear, obligation, and guilt!

This is how I feel now: I no longer believe in the depressing & unreasonable JW teaching that 99.99% of the world's population would be destroyed at Armageddon. If there really is such a thing as Armageddon, a perfect & loving God would find a reason to save me, not to destroy me!

30

If I've been testy lately, here's why.

by cappytan in

jw
friends

my parents are visiting for not-thanksgiving.

dad started bringing up spiritual stuff and i almost screwed up my fade.. it's so hard to have a genuine discussion about the issues in the organization when you have become an atheist.

it feels icky and disgusting to have to pretend and nod your head at such platitudes as "you just need to have faith"..."trust in jehovah"..."jehovah will correct it"..."remember ray franz?

Divergent

Happy not-Thanksgiving, Cappy! Hope you have a great unspiritual weekend (if possible)