OneEyedJoe

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Posts by OneEyedJoe

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  15

  Vacation Time: You want me to use my personal vacation to attend the D.C.? Something i feel is a load of B.S.and waste of my precious time

  by goingthruthemotions in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so you all know that my wife is still blinded....i am well awake and so are our son's.

  so she is expecting me to use my vacation time from work to attend the d.c. waste 3 days of dribble from the cult.

  what of waste of time....yet i will do it to keep the peace.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Ugh that's miserable. Bring a flask.
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  29

  Mentally Diseased - is it partly our fault that we got this label?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was thinking about this the other day.. a common way for apostates to "fade" is to pretend to have depression or anxiety problems.. is it possible, that when apostates become known, the elders report to the society that said person was undergoing mental health problems?

  i can see a scenario where the society then took those statistics that were reported and just decided, "well, it looks like the only ones leaving are those with mental diseases.".

  oh, and not to mention the subliminal messages conspiracy theorists.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Even if we apostates have done something to earn the title, it's still the cult's fault in most cases since they're the ones that screwed us up to the point that we might be a little off. That said, it should be obvious that people leaving are no more mentally diseased than the average JW. I've never seen another group of people with such a high incidence of depression, hypochondria, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc, etc. as JWs have.
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  16

  Another "damned if they do/don't" Thread & the Perpetual Motion Machine

  by DarioKehl in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  a few days ago, a jw apologist posted a thread with a similar title.

  although he was defending their behavior, i've observed this cycle as well.

  i have a different spin on it, though.. how often do you see posts from people who are upset that "no one even bothers to check in on me," only to read as many threads about "they keep calling & texting--why won't they leave me alone?

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  OneEyedJoe

  I think what the OP misses is that there's more than 2 choices. When someone stops going to the cult meetings, the options aren't limited to either hounding/manipulation tactics or complete shunning. There's the "normal" option of just interacting with a person like they're a damn human being and not trying to manipulate them in any way. The reason they're "damned if they do, damned if they don't" is because (in most cases) whatever they do all falls into the same category - manipulation. The hounding by elders, the "we miss you" comments from people you never talked to, the love bombing if you happen to show up for an odd meeting, etc is all just as bad as the complete shunning and dropping you when you leave because it's manipulative behavior that shows that your only value to them is in your tacit endorsement of the cult by your presence.

  So in my opinion the simultaneous complains about being ignored and being hounded is not hypocrisy at all. It's all a valid complaint about the manipulative behavior of JWs that you probably once thought were real friends. It's painful coming to the realization that (for a born-in) everyone that you've ever had a relationship with only valued you because you were a fellow cultist. It makes your entire life feel like it's all been fake and a lie and manipulation and I think it's completely justifiable to complain about the continued manipulation, whatever form it takes.
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  10

  I Went Into "Cult Mode" The Other Day..

  by humblepotato in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if you recall, i'm just coming to grips with ttatt and atheism after a few years of doubts.

  made a long post around here, a while ago, talking about the very subject.

  but, anyways.... so the other day, my wife was telling me how she was just exhausted and "peopled out.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Can't say that I've ever done anything quite like that - though I do know a large part of my thinking is still influenced by the cult indoctrination.

  I have the same issues dealing with my wife's guilt. The best thing to do is probably distraction with something she really enjoys. If you miss a meeting and you're just moping around the house instead, it actually serves to strengthen some of the indoctrination - she'll associate being miserable with missing meetings. You need to distract with something especially good and break that association.

  The meetings and recruiting can definitely make a JW feel happier, but it's only serving to ease a problem that the cult itself created. You definitely shouldn't feel guilty like you're making your wife miserable by helping her to miss cult meetings - it might make her miserable short term, but the cult is what's responsible for that, not you.
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  19

  Ideas how to answer a jw friend

  by Daniel1555 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i faded completely (no kh visits or field service).. just recently a close friend from the kh wrote:.

  "dear daniel.

  it's a pity that we don't see you anymore at the kingdom hall.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Depends on the type of relationship you have, but I would probably say something about how happy you've been lately and if you actually value them as a friend, invite them to meet up in a non-cult setting.
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  47

  "Make a list of people you want to meet in the New System!" (New September Watchtower)

  by FusionTheism in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  watchtower september 2015 study edition, "stand firm in the faith," paragraphs 16 and 17:.

  following jesus example, we must read the bible daily, study it, and meditate on what we learn.

  along with general bible study, dig into topics about which you may have questions.. you can imitate jesus by meditating on the wonderful promises jehovah has made to you.

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  OneEyedJoe

  One more trick cults use to bypass critical thinking skills - telling you to imagine something. Imagination operates completely independent from logical thought and critical thinking (which is part of what makes it so useful to is) but it still can create the same emotion as a real event.
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  9

  Do you impose your views on others?

  by wifibandit in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the irony!

  when i first saw this picture i thought they were holding the bible teach book!

  ha!

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  OneEyedJoe

  JW's don't impose their view on others. They impose the GB's view on others!
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  8

  Hierarchy of Needs Revelation

  by freemindfade in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in my quest to always understand why jws get so f%$@ed up (yes oubliette, lets review lol) i discovered something today.

  in speaking with one of my fellow heathen friends from this site i was talking about maslov's hierarchy of needs in an unrelated subject but i had an epiphany.

  witnesses are held at the third level and never make it to the oh so critical top two sections.

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  OneEyedJoe

  Yep...I suspect this is a large part of how cults control people - keep them from getting comfortable enough that they feel like they can reach out to satisfy their needs on a higher level. For me, it wasn't until my life had settled down significantly and my other needs were met that my discomfort with the cult was a big enough problem that I felt like I needed to do something about it (and at the same time, I felt safe enough to do something about it).
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  14

  A checklist for Lurking JW's.

  by cappytan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  dear lurking jw's:.

  if you were in a cult, how would you know?

  cults don't call themselves cults.

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  OneEyedJoe

  One problem is that there is scriptural support* for most of the super-culty stuff that they do. It can take a while before you can get to the point where you can really trust your own interpretation of things. They systematically destroy your self-confidence with their constant talk of not leaning upon your own understanding and not putting your trust in the son of earthling man (which includes the GB).

  To that point, for a lurking JW, I would point out two things:

  First, it's important to remember that we are all individually accountable before god. If something doesn't make sense to you but you go along with it anyway, god isn't going to stand for the "I was just following what I thought was your organization" excuse. Hundreds of thousands of isrealites died following corrupt kings that ostensibly represented Jehovah's organization on earth, what makes you think you'd fare better? This fact alone should be enough to convince any JW (or any christian, for that matter) to investigate any doubts they might have.

  Second, I would focus on the ban on seeking outside information. Is this really a scriptural stance, especially if there is any doubt about the correctness of the JW organization? First of all, there are numerous scriptures that encourage one to test things before trusting them, and making the point that truth need not hide from lies (1 John 4:1; Acts 17:11; 1 Thes 5:21; Job 12:11; John 1:5) so, again, is it really scriptural that you should simply trust what you're told by the GB? Is it also scriptural to avoid ALL information from a source outside the JW organization? Why is it not acceptable to examine multiple opinions and settle on the view that you yourself can live with? Going back to the earlier point - we're all individually accountable to god, so it is very important that you're completely comfortable with your beliefs and actions. If something is true, it will defeat any attacks made by it. If something is false, then it will crumble under scrutiny. If the JW organization is true, then there is nothing to fear (your faith will only be strengthened) by examining it's doctrine, if not then you will be personally accountable to god for not examining it.

  Applying this latter point to the topic of "apostate" information. For a long time I avoided apostates because it was not worth the time to examine the ravings of a bunch of bitter, angry, vengeful people. The problem is that there's two possible scenarios here - either apostates are bitter and angry and led by satan as is claimed by JWs, or they are justifiably upset and angry at the organization that lied to them and misled them and in many cases took lives and families away from them. How can you tell the difference? The only way to know is by examining both sides of things and examining the organization itself to see if they have indeed lied to you, too. Again, if it's all true, just imagine how your faith will be strengthened once it passes this test. The bible states that tests help you to endure, and that can be applied to your faith as well.

  *I mean scriptural support in the sense that scripture is taken out of context and misapplied, but in the minds of a JW (even myself at one time) this is enough to justify the behavior/doctrine of the cult.
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  10

  Type and Anti-Type, the killing of the Faithful and Discreet Slave. Whats thier angle and how do they spin out of this one?

  by Crazyguy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it would seam that the changing of the type anti-type teaching kills their claim as the faithful and discreet slave class as it is only a parable according to peter at luke 12:41. obviously i don't think they will ever come out and actually say that the f&ds is just a parable, so when one asks what will the answer be, to spin out of this obvious problem?.

  also what do you think is the reason for the change in this teaching?

  is it more to do with getting rid of doctrine that can be criticized or could it be that they are trying to make it as though they are really not in control of the congregations so as to say we aren't responsible when the prosecution comes knocking over future pedophile case?

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  OneEyedJoe

  Sometimes I think they just change stuff to keep people interested. The meetings are so dull and the conventions are worse, so they have to throw in a little new light every now and again to spice things up a bit. They don't really care if the new light undermines a core doctrine that they still hold (as is the case with the abandonment of the types/antitypes as it relates to the FDS and 1914) because the R/F are, for the most part, willing to accept things as they're told. The few that do leave because of changes are easily demonized and provide an enemy to rally against and it pulls those who remain closer together. It has nothing to do with doctrine, it's just about looking busy.