Lucky bastard! Way to go! So happy to see couples beating this cult intact!
OneEyedJoe
JoinedPosts by OneEyedJoe
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70
Wife fully awake.
by cappytan ini learned this past week that my wife is now awake.
i just shared the pbs newshour segment with her with no comment other than something along the lines of, "jw story on pbs.".
she is furious at the arrogance of these men.. thats what happens when you get a momma angry!.
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OneEyedJoe
For some reason I've had that happen to be several times over the past few months, but it's always Spanish for me. Guess someone should've sprung for a little satanic higher education. Or maybe it's based on the most popular language choice in the area - I don't there's any growth in the English-speaking sector of Scotland. Do you have a large Arabic community? All the (barely worth mentioning) growth here is in foreign-language groups, the biggest being Spanish. -
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How many of you actually "contributed"?
by Garrett inguys,.
don't tell the elders, buuuuut, i sorta kinda maybe never contributed money....ever..... i always thought - hey, i give a lot of my time and energy to the org, so that's how i contribute.
i was also pretty stinkin poor for most of my life and didn't really have the money to give.. anyone else like me?.
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OneEyedJoe
I used to only contribute at conventions/assemblies (but I definitely contributed WAAAAY too much there) and maybe like once a year I'd drop a $20 in the box at the hall. The congregation I was in was always well off and constantly giving money to the branch so I didn't feel like they needed it. I'm ashamed to say I was sucked in by the perpetual deficit at the assemblies though.
About 4-5 years ago, though, they simultaneously did a huge (unnecessary) reno of the assembly hall and rolled out the credit card machines. Either one of those individually would've been enough to make me stop contributing. Never gave a dime since. I figured if they're just blowing the money on useless crap, I might as well blow it on useless crap for me!
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1st time in 30 years no one Baptized at our Assembly
by James Jack inat our assembly in alabama, no one got baptized, even though we added 3 congregations to our side in the circuit.
just looked at my wife and said wow.. yet ironically, the regular pioneer ranks have increased 45% in the last 5 years!.
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OneEyedJoe
They must be nearing the completion of the preaching work if they've contacted nearly all the right-hearted ones! Armageddon is closer now than ever before! -
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POLL: Will You Be Attending The Memorial & If You Are---Why?
by minimus ini was just invited.
i thanked my old elder friend and he left.
(i'm not going).
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OneEyedJoe
Jesus wont be there, why should I?
You'll both be invisibly present!
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64
POLL: Will You Be Attending The Memorial & If You Are---Why?
by minimus ini was just invited.
i thanked my old elder friend and he left.
(i'm not going).
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OneEyedJoe
I'll be there barring any (un)fortunate circumstances that prevent it. Stuck in for the missus. I'll probably stand in the back to allow for more sitting room for others and read an e-book. -
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Inactive ones are not JWs
by gone for good inyears ago, the insinuation was often presented, that those who were inactive were actually not witnesses at all.
the point being made was that ''...winesses is a verb, not a noun...''.
i know there were published assertions to this end in the older books and magazines, with possibly even quotes from the likes of rutherford or knorr ,.
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OneEyedJoe
In such a case, they would make a record of the person's questionable conduct for the congregation file. When the individual again shows interest in returning to the congregation, they can clarify these matters
You just gotta love that. Even from the perspective of a believing JW this has to seem a little insane - wait until they demonstrate repentance (by coming back to the congregation) and then punish them!
I also love the assumption that they make that the person will eventually want to return!
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rumor out that governing body is going to adjust the loveing disfellowshiping arangment df yes shunning no.
by poopie incan anyone confirm they seem to be having disagreement writing dept and service dept some feel that df ok as long as you do not add wholesale across the board shunning regardless of the sin ..
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OneEyedJoe
They talk out of both sides of their mouth. They'll do an article about loyalty to the cult and go on and on about how your DF'd relatives are similar to those who have been killed by jehovah and you need to show your firm resolve not to associate with them, then the next day they'll do an article about helping weak ones and they'll tell you to show love to DF'd people.
I would guess it's more about having something to point to to show outsiders that they don't shun, while still enforcing the shunning policy internally. They love to use loaded language and dog whistles to get their message across to the R/F while not setting off alarm bells when outsiders see it.
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Inactive ones are not JWs
by gone for good inyears ago, the insinuation was often presented, that those who were inactive were actually not witnesses at all.
the point being made was that ''...winesses is a verb, not a noun...''.
i know there were published assertions to this end in the older books and magazines, with possibly even quotes from the likes of rutherford or knorr ,.
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OneEyedJoe
gone for good...the WTS plays both sides. I found the quote above when an elder said I wasn't one of jws....and I'll try and look for one of those "not one of Jehovah's witnesses" is what I'm going to search the CD by.
As to labeling jws inactive and treating them like df'd officially, I don't see that happening soon. Every jw has a member of their family that would qualify
Yep, they play both sides - if they're trying to guilt people into not pressuring inactive ones back in then inactive folks are still part of the fold and need encouragement. If they're trying to guilt people into staying in and doing more, then inactive ones are as good as dead.
As far as them changing the policy, I can see it happening for precisely the reason you gave. Forcing a little bit more of a commitment from everyone (since they're probably already slightly shunning their inactive relatives) is a great tool to get them to show increased loyalty. The more they sacrifice for the cult, the more loyal they'll be.
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Drugs and Alcohol Ruin Your Life
by campaign of hate inthis point was raised in another thread vaguely, and wanted to try and expand on it.. the wt has said (and rightly so in my opinion) "that excessive use of drugs and alcohol can ruin your life".
in my eyes this is a fact.. this is where it starts to get a little suspicious, as they also say (or subtly hint at) "that if you leave the wt you will becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol and will ruin your life".. its almost like a self fulfilling prophecy.
as there are a lot who leave the borg and they do start drinking heavy or smoking, or taking drugs...or whatever.. the wt capitalizes on the fact that people want more freedom, and they subtly ingrain the thought that.
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OneEyedJoe
To use an illustration that I've heard about a thousand times in KHs on the topic of raising a child:
Think of it like holding a spring between your fingers, if you hold it tightly then release it all at once, it's going to fly off and you'll never find it. If you release it slowly, you'll be able to hang on to it.
The application is to slowly give your kids more freedom so that they don't fly off the handle when they turn 18 and leave the house. It applies just as well (if not better) to the WT's system of control - keep people so completely repressed and make sure to fill their lives with lies so that if/when they can't stand the control or become aware of the lies they're going to throw away all the good things they've learned and fly completely off the handle.
Add in the constant indoctrination that you can't trust yourself, and that you're not good enough no matter how much you're doing and it's a recipe for someone to wind up completely lost, depressed, and without direction - which can often lead to substance abuse if someone doesn't have proper coping mechanisms. Of course JWs are also prevented from developing coping mechanisms because the answer to every problem is "the new system" or "wait on Jehovah" or similar.
The result is someone with a deep longing to control their life, but doesn't trust themselves to do it. They feel like everything in the cult was a lie, so they throw the good out with the bad. This leaves them with no direction, and no trust in themselves to provide their own direction, and no coping mechanisms for the stress this causes (not to mention the stress of losing their family and support system). If you put someone in a place like that, it's no surprise if they end up turning to drugs to cope.