Posts by Phaedra

108

Leaked Elder's Video: How to deal with a suicidal sister

by cappytan in

this video will be played at one of the clam meetings in march 2016.. the content is kind of old news because it is a recut version of a previous video produced for the elder's school.

however, it's still significant because it shows that the organization still has dissenting brothers in positions of leadership.. my thanks to the leaker.

feel free to claim credit here.

Phaedra

Interesting that they finally saw the need for this "training".

People living impossible lives will eventually crack.

About two years ago the elders were at my home for a JW family member in suicidal distress. One of the two elder's excused himself to take a phone call in private and I figured he was consulting with headquarters on direction. I watched with interest how they'd handle it. They pretty much ignored me, the inactive one.

They read a few scriptures and referred the family member to a local charity organization for a mental health check-up. To their credit, they did offer the family member emotional support and didn't leave until they were convinced they'd be ok.

The happiest people in the world. Riiiiiight.

It must be a pretty pervasive issue if they need to put out training videos.

Too bad they won't acknowledge their own fantasy world and empty promises as a huge part of the problem, especially to disappointed born-ins who bought into it all for decades of their lives.

10

Has anybody watched Making A Murderer on Netflix ?

by smiddy in

i watched this 10 part series the other day and i was appalled at the investigation conducted by the police , especially the way they conducted their investigation with brendan vassey , his interrogation and obvious manipulation by the police officers , i couldn`t believe he was convicted , and sentenced to a jail term.. to any intelligent person with any sense of compassion could see brendan vassey was intellectually disadvantaged , yet these police officers exploited that failing of this boy .he should never have been convicted , his case should have been thrown out of court , the fact that he has been in jail over 10 years is a gross miscarriage of justice .. the conviction of steven avery seemed to me to be a set up also from what was presented on netflix ,.

i am no fan of steven avery ,i think he is a bit of a hillbilly type , that has had no problem with cruelty to animals , which i abhor ,yet i do think he has been railroaded in this conviction ,while the real killer and rapist goes free .. what are your thoughts .

smiddy.

Phaedra

I watched and am following the reddit on this. Lots of info there:

https://www.reddit.com/r/makingamurderer

49

A philosophical question .... what does the word God mean to you personally ?

by Finkelstein in

to myself it means to seek knowledge and understanding of are selves and the world in which we live.. unfortunately history has shown whenever one tries to connect to god and of his knowledge through men who say they themselves are connected to god through spiritual wifi ie.

gb members of the jehovah's witnesses for example, one usually ends up finding a accumulation of only man's acquired knowledge.

over thousands of years of trying to connect to a god(s) for help and answers, mankind has eventually relinquished himself to seeking answers through scientific investigative acquired knowledge of the world in which we live in.

Phaedra

It's a pretty empty word. Sad because I spent so many years believing it was important.

31

What sort of EX JW Book do you like to read?

by punkofnice in

what sort of ex jw books do you folks like to read?.

i want to write another one.. i'm wondering what my next project should be...............

Phaedra

I really enjoy personal experiences and what makes people tick. After COC and other books covering doctrine, I'm good on all that. JWs are throwing darts at the wall and don't know anything... got it.

But stories from individuals.. their thoughts, feelings, insights, experiences, like that. Probably why xJW books are most appreciated by other xJWs.

I let a UU friend borrow CoC. A chapter or two into it she couldn't follow it and gave it back.

Some things you go through only others from the same war can understand.

150

Start A Butterfly Garden!

by Bonsai in

jw
friends

time to take a break from debating religion.

take in a breath of fresh air and be healed by the wonders of nature around you.. how many of you have a garden?

how many have a nice flower patch to go with your vegetable garden?

Phaedra

I love the idea of a butterfly garden. Flying flowers, those pretty things are!

57

Any ExJw Millenials here? If not which Gen do you fall under?

by Hidethevelociraptors in

jw
friends

if anyone had to guess, what do you think the average age of the community actually is?.

are more millennials actually waking up or is it pretty even amongst previous generations as well?

.

Phaedra

genx

49

"If I wasn't born a JW, I would never have become one."

by OneEyedJoe in

i've seen it mentioned by a few on the forum that at some point there was a realization that had they not been born a jw, they never would've converted no matter how many times the jws tried to study with them.

this was my experience too, and i'm wondering how universal it is for those that were born-in but eventually left.

i think i started having this thought (more specifically that if i were not born a jw, i would surely have become an atheist by now) in my late teens.

Phaedra

For those that were born-in, did you ever realize that you never would've joined if not for the circumstances of your birth? If you did, how long did you live with that knowledge before finally and fully waking up?

Before I left, I wondered about this in a worrisome sort of way. Like, "if I didn't come in as a 3-year-old, would I have been disposed to the truth as an adult if they came to my door?"

Turns out that BECAUSE of my early JW experience, that I know I'd never convert as an adult.

The irony and variable lies in the chance that I'd never been exposed to JWs or other high-control groups as a child, and would my agreeableness and longing to belong still exist if I were never a jw to begin with?

Conclusion: I'll never know.

43

when you went to an "assembly" did you wear a badge?

by greenhornet in

jw
friends

it embarrassed me.

when i was young my folks made me wear one and i opened it up and took the paper out making it look like it fell out.

after my folks ask what happen i said i dont know.

Phaedra

I wore mine, but only when I arrived. We never stopped on the way.

9

Flashback: Samuel Herd/Ashland Avenue Chicago

by Phaedra in

jw
friends

must have been mid to late 1970s.. it was when they still published the speakers' names on the light-blue circuit assembly programs.. i was a child sitting in the audience at ashland avenue's circuit assembly venue.

i loved that place with it's own basement cafeteria and baptism pool with a big jesus getting baptized mural behind it.. samuel herd was giving the talk.

my child self could only remember my father pointing him out on the program.

Phaedra

Must have been mid to late 1970s.

It was when they still published the speakers' names on the light-blue circuit assembly programs.

I was a child sitting in the audience at Ashland Avenue's circuit assembly venue. I loved that place with it's own basement cafeteria and baptism pool with a big Jesus getting baptized mural behind it.

Samuel Herd was giving the talk. My child self could only remember my father pointing him out on the program. And he sounded like a baptist preacher. Interesting modulation in the talk. I don't remember much, except that Herdwas one fine black speaker man who was telling us about the Truth and Jehovah and living forever. I believed every word.

It doesn't surprise me he is GB now. I wonder if he remembers those day?

4

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

by rebel8 in

anyone here watching this on netflix?.

it's funny, kind of silly at times, but somewhat relatable.. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ellie-kemper-kimmy-schmidt-character-798166.

Phaedra

Yes! I watched the series on Netflix. Fun.

She was great in the Office. Are there new episodes?