Posts by OneEyedJoe

11

Please how can I create a website?

by COLLINS in

jw
friends

please i want someone to teach me how i create websites.thanks!.

OneEyedJoe

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+do+I+create+a+website

12

The "overly attached witness parents" problem

by scaredtospeak in

it's so good to finally be nineteen years old.

graduated from high school, taken more seriously as an adult.

i even have a job.

It's a tough situation to be sure. Perhaps talking frankly about your feelings toward the current situation (I would advise to stay away from the full list of why you feel that way, since obviously criticism of the cult will not be taken well) will be enough to win their support for you to move out. You are still quite young and would do well to remember that they're motivated by what they think are in your best interests. Even if their goal is to keep you in the cult, they may still have some practical wisdom that you could benefit from and I think if you approach it with that attitude it will go much easier for you.

In the end, you have to do what's best for you. That doesn't mean making rash, impulsive decisions, but take time and get some space and figure out what you want. It sounds like you've already done this, and that you truly want to leave. That being so, then you need to leave. You can only spend so much of your life living it for someone else, be that your parents, your friends, your spouse, whoever. You have to live life for yourself, or you'll look back with regret.

You describe your parents as having a crushing grasp, but then insist that they're not mean or oppressive. I don't know which is the truth, but it sounds as if you're conflicted on that point. Their behavior doesn't have to be overt and out of malice for it to be oppressive. At a certain point they need to recognize your rights as an adult and as a free individual with your own intelligence and emotions and if they refuse to do so then I would argue that is a form of oppression as well. Withholding their emotional support and pushing you to do what they want in opposition to your desires is, in my mind, mean and oppressive. I don't say that to make you think badly of your parents, but so that hopefully you'll recognize that you do deserve to be able to direct your own life. I don't think you need to learn to hate your parents in order to be able to leave, but I do think it's important to understand that you're the one that has to live with your decisions more so than anyone else, so it's only fair that you get to make them.

Anyway I'm not sure how helpful that is, but it's my $0.02. I think the easiest way to go is just to talk to them respectfully and honestly and with the spirit of getting their valuable support/advice/wisdom in accomplishing your goals and either they'll respect and support you or they won't. If they do, you'll be in a much better situation than just storming out. If they don't support you, perhaps you'll see that they're trying to control you and fit you into their box of what you should be and maybe that will make it easier for you to strike out on your own without regret. At least you'll be able to say you tried. It may take more than one conversation, so don't give up right away, remember this is likely difficult for them too. But at the same time, stay firm.

51

My first post

by thewalker in

jw
friends

hi, i just joined the board and wanted to present myself.. i'm active, in fact very active in congregation activities serving "where the need is great" in a foreign language congregation somewhere in western europe.

as a young brother, i'm seen as an example as i'm doing all a good witness should do.. i had doubts years ago but i decided just to ignore them and move to another congregation to preach more.

that worked for some years but i'm now at the exact same point.

OneEyedJoe

Welcome and thanks for sharing. Your words are very well organized for someone that's not using their mother tongue - in fact your post was easier to read than most written by native english speakers :)

You're definitely among people that can relate to your story. As you've seen yourself, the advice to basically throw yourself deeper into the organization when you have doubts is a temporary solution at best. I think most here would agree that probably the most beneficial thing for you would be to get some space to figure things out on your own. You shouldn't feel pressured to make up your mind or to make a commitment. Armageddon has been coming "soon" for over a hundred years, so I think it's safe to say that you can give yourself some time to think things through. Mostly though, remember that there's nothing wrong with you and that you're far from alone in this.

Good luck on your journey, wherever it leads you. I hope you find this forum to be as helpful and friendly to you as it has been for me.

11

Sexual reproduction as an argument against evolution

by Saintbertholdt in

about a day ago startrekangel mentioned that an idea was put forward by a jw that sexual reproduction was an argument against evolution.

here's startrekangel's quote: "is this some kind of talk being spread around in congregations?

the funny thing is that a while ago someone tried to make the same argument, saying they could disprove evolution because no one can explain how we evolved male and female at the same time.

OneEyedJoe

I find this creationist argument completely astonishing. I see sexual reproduction and human genitalia as an argument against intelligent design and thus in favour of evolution.

Three engineers were discussing the nature of god. The first says "When you examine the human skeletal structure, it's clear that god is a mechanical engineer." The second says "No! Our brains and nervous system is what makes us what we are. God is clearly an electrical engineer." The third says "You're both wrong! Only a civil engineer would run a waste disposal pipeline right through the middle of a recreation area."

68

My Explanation of God.

by LAWHFol in

i am a theist & this is my version of god.. instead of using the term god, i'll use "unseen presence".. this unseen presence, is perfect in every way.

this presence is so perfect it can seem a bit boring.this perfection can be seen in the laws of science, for example gravity.. it does not sometimes work, depending on the mood of some one in the sky, it always works, perfectly.

gravity does not get angry and decide to stop working, and cause the death of innumerable living beings, it just works, through thick or thin, it is reliable.. what allows this unseen presence to remain perfect, is the fact that it does not act based on emotion, or strategy or regret.. it acts based on law, mathematical law.. this unseen presence is not partial to jews or muslims or jw's it is completely impartial at all times, to everything that exists.

OneEyedJoe

The point being made about hitler, and psychopaths in general, is that we can literally see inside their brains. It's called an MRI. There are structures that are missing in psychopaths that cause them to be unable to feel guilt or remorse.

68

My Explanation of God.

by LAWHFol in

i am a theist & this is my version of god.. instead of using the term god, i'll use "unseen presence".. this unseen presence, is perfect in every way.

this presence is so perfect it can seem a bit boring.this perfection can be seen in the laws of science, for example gravity.. it does not sometimes work, depending on the mood of some one in the sky, it always works, perfectly.

gravity does not get angry and decide to stop working, and cause the death of innumerable living beings, it just works, through thick or thin, it is reliable.. what allows this unseen presence to remain perfect, is the fact that it does not act based on emotion, or strategy or regret.. it acts based on law, mathematical law.. this unseen presence is not partial to jews or muslims or jw's it is completely impartial at all times, to everything that exists.

OneEyedJoe

I don't Believe in God, because I fear being punished for not Believing. I believe in "God" because I do not see the rational in Order coming from Disorder.
i'm more concerned with discovering solutions, to Unite this community, and get past the "My camp" Vs. "Your Camp" mentality.

Look around. on a universal level, there is no order coming from disorder. That's what the second law of thermodynamics is all about. People often assert that abiogenesis violates this law, but forget that the sun is constantly supplying the entropy needed to temporarily offset the increased order that is found on earth.

There are laws of physics, but no evidence for any consciousness tied to them. What's the point in calling something a god if it's nothing more than an invisible rule of nature? I wonder if maybe you're in denial of your atheism because you're scared of becoming a nihilist.

68

My Explanation of God.

by LAWHFol in

i am a theist & this is my version of god.. instead of using the term god, i'll use "unseen presence".. this unseen presence, is perfect in every way.

this presence is so perfect it can seem a bit boring.this perfection can be seen in the laws of science, for example gravity.. it does not sometimes work, depending on the mood of some one in the sky, it always works, perfectly.

gravity does not get angry and decide to stop working, and cause the death of innumerable living beings, it just works, through thick or thin, it is reliable.. what allows this unseen presence to remain perfect, is the fact that it does not act based on emotion, or strategy or regret.. it acts based on law, mathematical law.. this unseen presence is not partial to jews or muslims or jw's it is completely impartial at all times, to everything that exists.

OneEyedJoe

It seems like you realize that there's no point in believing in god, but are trying really hard not to be an atheist.

3

Mummy's (Mommy's) Boys - Old school Elders are mummy's boys.

by freddo in

jw
friends

in the congregations i have been in there are many long time dyed in the wool elders who were the sons of women of a certain age.

let me explain - must you?

yes.. mom "finds the truth" (often because a loved one died in the war, or died when she was young and she bought into the nice ladies calling to offer the resurrection hope) sometime between ww2 and vietnam.

OneEyedJoe

My father (and mother) both came into the cult that way, though a little later - my parents were in their late teens when they were baptized (and married shortly thereafter) in the run-up to 1975. Both were dragged into the cult by their mothers, with both their fathers being opposed (one left, the other eventually joined the cult too after about 30 years of being gradually worn down). Now they're both as 'in' as can be. My father is sacrificing his health because of all the stress and obligation he has because of his duties in the cult.

46

Correlation decline JW numbers and JW broadcasting?

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

i read some impressive figures here about the decline of the jw numbers in 2015.. could there be a correlation between this decline and the start of jw broadcasting?.

hence, that there would be an negative impact because the gb is standing so nearby, you can experience the idiot reasoning of their doctrines sitting in your own living room?.

the lett effect?

OneEyedJoe

The problem with jw.org is that all the craziness, underperformance and lack of education comes to light, and the presentation doesn't fit with the rank-and-file view of the organization. The "sphere" were the average JW is psychically in, doesn't match with wat they see on Broadcasting

I think a lot of JWs see the problems locally and have convinced themselves that this is not because of the organization but because of "imperfect men" or because people aren't applying the watchtower's rules in the way they're meant or something like that. When they're faced with the reality - that the problems at a local level would probably be worse if they ran things in the true spirit of how the GB means them - it's certainly going to be a test of their faith.

They want to think that they don't understand the explanation of the overlapping generation, that it must make sense but they just aren't clever enough to work it out. Then they see splane's little chart and it makes it clear as day that it just doesn't make sense.

They want to believe that begging for money or passing out slips for people to fill in how much they can afford to give is a local problem or perhaps just their congregation is low on funds until they see Lett spend an hour begging for money.

They want to believe that child abuse issues are few and far between. That they're due to a few bad elders that didn't understand the rules, and then Morris gets up there and talks about how proud they are about their record on child abuse and goes on to blame the problem on homosexuals, completely missing the true issue.

They want to believe that inane rules about dress, grooming, pilgrimage to bethel, etc are just being pushed by local hard-core elders that have had a little too much power given to them to express their own views, then Morris gets up there and does his tight pants rant, and tells people that they should go to bethel before they go to another theme park.

I've seen it a number of times - you point to something messed up in some literature and they'll explain it away as being more moderate than it really is. I think a lot will have trouble as the illusions they've made to feel ok with their cult are destroyed by the role that the GB is now taking.

8

Another child abuse cover up by JW"s

by LevelThePlayingField in

source: http://www.centralkynews.com/theinteriorjournal/news/local/stanford/trial-date-set-in-jehovah-s-witness-rape-case/article_1bf73cae-8e00-11e5-8272-cf2fbe492a1a.html.

stanford the trial of a jehovahs witness accused of raping a 15-year-old girl nearly two decades ago is expected to begin in april.. donovan moore, 53, of 2059 st. michael drive in lexington, was indicted in september on four counts of third-degree rape and four counts of third-degree sodomy for allegedly engaging in sexual intercourse with a juvenile in 1997 and 1998. moore was 35 at the time of the alleged crimes.. lincoln circuit judge jeffrey burdette has scheduled a two-day trial for moore to begin april 27.. .

moore has been lodged at the lincoln county regional jail since his arrest sept. 30 on a $75,000 full-cash bond.. .

OneEyedJoe

To be fair, it sounds like this went exactly according to the bible - he raped a virgin so he married her. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that she was pressured into marrying him by the elders due to the rape.

Absolutely disgusting. I hate that I was ever connected to this cult more because of this sort of thing than because of what it's done to my life.