Posts by OneEyedJoe

12

Taking the Bible "too" literally

by Coded Logic in

i once heard it said that the only people who care about what the bible says are the village priest and the village atheist.

it seems to me most believers only care about "god's word" in very general terms and think it's all up to interpitation (religion a la carte ).. it the watchtower especially good at making agnostics and atheists because of their fundamentalism or is this true of many ex-religious groups?.

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OneEyedJoe

I think it was the pew survey that showed that JWs are most likely to produce atheists (about half that leave remain christian and the other half atheist/agnostic). I also beleive I've read that, of those that leave their religion, where they end up is pretty much a random distribution based on what they're exposed to in their geographic area with the exception that atheism is about twice as likely to be their destination than any religion.

As for why JWs produce so many atheists - i'd say it has something to do with the constant bashing of all other belief systems in meetings. They try so hard to make sure members have no answer to the "where else would I go" question that when they finally do leave they indeed go nowhere. There's also the fact that the JWs train you to spot inconsistencies in other religions, but once you start using that skill on your own beliefs, it's difficult to stop.

14

Double-life, sounds like a prison sentence....or maybe not?

by sparrowdown in

jw
friends

question: do you think the "double-lifers" have the best of both worlds?.

just asking, because i have wondered, if i had an outlet to express my utter.

disgust and general dissatisfaction with wt teachings and cong-life while i. was still in, ie on forums etc, maybe i would never have left.. just a thought, anyone else have any?.

OneEyedJoe

"The best of both worlds" only applies when there is good to be had in both "worlds."

Giving voice to my frustrations may let me manage in the mean time, but it also solidifies in my mind that this destructive cult deserves no support from me, including the impression on others that I support it by my mere presence at meetings. I get nothing whatsoever from this cult, once I've managed to play my cards such that I won't lose my wife in my exit, I'll never return.

9

11/30/2014 WT Study - take care of those who are all used up.

by OneEyedJoe in

was bored during today's indoctrination lesson, and you guys weren't generating enough content to keep me entertained, so i looked agreed at next week's a bit.

basically the point of the hour lesson is that once the society has completely used someone up, they're to be dumped on next of kin (or anyone who'll take 'em) to take care of 'em.

obviously the wts can't dip into any of the millions/billions that they're sitting on to pay for the support of ailing missionaries - they've got that money earmarked for new cult compounds and paying off victims of the pedophiles that they've protected over the years.. just another in a recent string of articles paying lip service to taking care of those that have given their life to the cult while they do absolutely nothing from their ivory towers.

OneEyedJoe

Bumping for today's indoctrination session.

Even before getting to the but where they pass on the used up pioneers to their children or congregation, they jump right in by basically saying that if you're not traveling all over to preach, you need to pay for the one that do. Of course most of the money is in the developed countries, while most of the missionaries go elsewhere. His can we support them then? The only logical conclusion is to donate to the WWW slush fund.

Also, this article clearly debunks their"no paid clergy" claims. Sure, they're poorly paid until they get to the to of the pyramid, but paid nonetheless.

33

Higher Education... Some ideas for those that think it is too late

by adjusted knowledge in

jw
friends

so many witnesses lost the opportunity to pursue higher education in their youths.

perhaps it took decades for many here to leave and now feel it is too late.

degree you will also earn multiple certifications from other agencies:.

OneEyedJoe

I firmly believe that you're never too old for an education. My mother (I guess she's more practical than dedicated to the cult) got a masters on her late 40s.

Even if you're 60 - get that degree in a field you're interested in. It'll expand who you are and help you meet new people. Never to late to expand your horizons and grow as a person.

37

How did you feel when you got baptised? Seriously....

by stuckinarut2 in

so recently, several over-righteous ones in the cong were discussing "how amazing it felt when they got baptised".

statements like "how awesome did it feel as you got raised back out of the water?!".

or the classic "i felt so close to jehovah as i came out of the pool"!.

OneEyedJoe

I think on some level I knew it was the wrong thing to do... The guy who gave the talk didn't say Amen at the end of his prayer so I was immediately joking that it was invalid.

Those sorts of leading questions are a pretty powerful way for the cult to reinforce the indoctrination - humans have been designed by evolution to succumb to social pressure, so when a leading question is asked moist will say what is expected of them, especially if others have just answered the same question "correctly" for themselves. After a while we convince ourselves that the lies we tell to fit in are really true.

59

At This Point In Time Would You Ever Subject Yourself To A Judicial Committee?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i certainly wouldn't.

and if the elders wanted to have a meeting with me, i would respectfully decline.

if the elders wanted to deal with you, would you talk with them?.

OneEyedJoe

I'm at the point where I really don't care if I got DF'd, so if it comes to the point where I get asked to come to a JC, I'd discuss it with my wife and do whatever we decide together. If I go, I'm recording it.

39

What Made You Finally Wake Up?

by Tenacious in

hello to all.

i've been on this site for a couple of weeks now posting here and there but have not had the opportunity to read about many of the regular members and what led up to their leaving the wt.. i understand that some of you (i'm part of this club) may not be able to disclose many details and i can appreciate that.. i'd love to hear what was it that finally made you renounce what is and hopefully soon to be "was" the wt.. i truly look forward to having good discussions.. thank you to all for your kind participation.. .

OneEyedJoe

The latest generation change led to some serious doubts for me, which led me to do some internet searches for jw stuff, which led me to jw facts. I read a little on there but wasn't fully swayed until I saw the misquotes in the creation book. Once I had definitive evidence that I'd been systematically led to for my entire life - it was like a switch flipped in my brain.

16

"The governing body at that time..."

by OneEyedJoe in

so i'm listening to the regional manager give his mid week talk and he's going over acts 15 where they're dealing with the issues that arrose from the jewish christians wanting the gentile christians to adhear too the mosaic law, so some of the apostles gathered to hash it out.

it struck me, though, that he kept using the phrase "the governing body at that time" to describe the apostles and older men who decided on the matter.

once he even slipped up and said apostles, then corrected it to the gb.. i'm thinking that they've actually gone so far as to put it in his outline to make sure its beaten into the r/f that the gb's power is somehow based in scripture.

OneEyedJoe

Oh here's another doozy - he just related the story of his mother who was a smoker trying to quit when the elders gave the 6-month smoking ultimatum. She was still smoking 3 packs a day when the deadline was 2 weeks out, but she finally got serious because she realized "I'm going to lose my relationship with Jehovah if I don't quit."

ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME? So she's been smoking her entire life and presumably believed herself to have a personal relationship with the big J all that time, but suddenly she's in danger of losing that for failing to quit on some MAN'S schedule?

16

"The governing body at that time..."

by OneEyedJoe in

so i'm listening to the regional manager give his mid week talk and he's going over acts 15 where they're dealing with the issues that arrose from the jewish christians wanting the gentile christians to adhear too the mosaic law, so some of the apostles gathered to hash it out.

it struck me, though, that he kept using the phrase "the governing body at that time" to describe the apostles and older men who decided on the matter.

once he even slipped up and said apostles, then corrected it to the gb.. i'm thinking that they've actually gone so far as to put it in his outline to make sure its beaten into the r/f that the gb's power is somehow based in scripture.

OneEyedJoe

So I'm listening to the regional manager give his mid week talk and he's going over acts 15 where they're dealing with the issues that arrose from the Jewish Christians wanting the gentile Christians to adhear too the mosaic law, so some of the apostles gathered to hash it out. It struck me, though, that he kept using the phrase "the governing body at that time" to describe the apostles and older men who decided on the matter. Once he even slipped up and said apostles, then corrected it to the GB.

I'm thinking that they've actually gone so far as to put it in his outline to make sure its beaten into the r/f that the GB's power is somehow based in scripture. It's clear that this cult thinks of its literature as equal to the bible since the GB is supposed to be the continuation of the folks who set doctrine in the first century.

20

Two pet peeves of mine

by Sour Grapes in

jw
friends

there are two things that just drive me crazy.

one is that the art work in the watchtower is treated like they are actual still photo's taken thousands of years ago.

your will hear comments about look at the smiles on their faces or the sadnees or happiness in their eyes, or notice the reaction of the crowd, etc.

OneEyedJoe

THANK YOU! I hate how people at the WT study act as if something being illustrated makes it fact. Like when they do a comic strip style sequence depicting what will happen if you do what the cult wants you to do vs what a normal person would do. Some idiot invariably makes a comment like "if you look at the picture on page 13 you can see that when you follow the WT's guidance on this things turn out much better than when you follow the 'wisdom of the world'"

The first time I noticed this happening I was shocked at how superficially it was - when did simply drawing a picture of something and asserting it as fact replace a well-reasoned argument?