Posts by OneEyedJoe

24

I just had fun giving a talk!

by OneEyedJoe in

so, unfortunately, i'm still on the tms and had a talk tonight (in front of a co, no less) and the talk was on the subject of adultery.

in the source material there's reference to "spiritual adultery" i.e.

idolotry or when israel had alliances with pagan nations.

So, unfortunately, I'm still on the TMS and had a talk tonight (in front of a CO, no less) and the talk was on the subject of adultery. In the source material there's reference to "spiritual adultery" I.e. idolotry or when Israel had alliances with pagan nations. I took the opportunity to throw in a comment about how some religious organizations today even have close ties to the scarlet colored wild beast from revelation - the UN - and we would want to make sure that we are not sinning against god by being involved with such an organization.

I'm under no illusion that I might have affected anyone present, but it was really fun to stand up there condemning 60 people while they all sat there nodding their heads in agreement.

16

the Wt Study last Weekend

by thedog1 in

jw
friends

i wasn't at the study at the weekend, the reason was family health problems, but even if that had not been the case i wouldn't have been there.

has anybody else who was there or read the article noticed the unbelievable begging bowl being produced for the pioneers and cos and bethelites, etc?

maybe this has been commented on already but in effect witnesses are being asked to financially support, not only pioneers, but circuit overseers if they need medical help, and to fill in with dealing with aged parents if missionaries are abroad.

OneEyedJoe

I started a thread about it about 2 weeks ago, it definitely hit both points that the cult loves to make when it comes to none:

1. Donate to support the work of those who are more dedicated than you (conveniently this is always going on somewhere else)

2. When your family members or those in your congregation have given everything they have to give to us, they're your responsibility, not ours.

9

Headquarters representatives visit to UK 2015

by Saltheart Foamfollower in

a letter is to be read out at service meetings this week in the uk saying that sam herd & john larson are visiting next april.

on sat 25th there will be a 3 hour programme streamed to all congs.

the postscript (not to be read out) instructs congs that haven't already done so, to order the necessary equipment.

OneEyedJoe

Aww, no AMIII? So sad that you don't get to sit through the tight pants rant.

70

DINOSAURS - What do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe?

by Bloody Hotdogs! in

as part of my deconversion catharsis, i have been building a(nother) website to highlight some of the more ridiculous jw beliefs.

im a looong way from done, but i wanted some early feedback on one article: dinosaurs.

http://www.jwbeliefs.com/dinosaurs/.

OneEyedJoe

I just skimmed your page, but I think you may have a little "old light" in there. The JWs have essentially stopped pushing the 7000 year "days" of creation and gone to a more traditional old-earth creationist teaching wherein each day could be any number of years and merely represents a time period in which god's activity was focused on a certain thing.

Not long ago there was a CO that talked about the fact that the universe was 13.8 Billion years old. I think most of the CO talks are pretty rigid, now, and the 13.8 billion years old bit was a fair portion of the point of the talk, so I think this is being officially acknowledged.

Another fun teaching that I don't think they've ever officially backed away from (though it hasn't been mentioned in a very long time) is that the obviously carnivorous dinosaurs that have been found had large teeth, not for chewing meat, but for ripping the tough bark off of trees. Because we all know how much nutrition there is in bark, it seems perfectly feasible that a t-rex could've sustained itself by eating bark when it seems to have been perfectly suited to eating other dinosaurs.

15

A Religious Quest

by ReligiousQuest in

jw
friends

my name is louie and i'm seeking some help regarding a paper i need to write for a class.

it is meant to be an individual study project regarding a faith that is different from your own and intrigues you.

what i am asking is for someone who is willing to answer 10-15 questions regarding their faith.

OneEyedJoe

In regards to it being "villainized," many people I grew up argued that your faith ruined marriages and families among other things.

404 unjust criticism not found. They do indeed break up families, ruin marriages and even murder (some might prefer the word "sacrafice") their children due to the non-biblical blood ban.

I'm no longer a believer in the JW faith, but I'd be happy to put my JW hat back on to explain their beliefs if you'd like. I would also be happy to answer questions regarding criticism of the religion as well.

As it so happens, you've come upon a forum that consists mostly of ex-JWs, so while you're likely to recieve much information on the group here, it won't necessarily all reflect the oppinions/thoughts that you'd get from a JW that's still firmly in the religion.

10

My views.

by ivanatahan in

jw
friends

this is more of an introductory post discussing my views and background than anything else, really.. i was, unfortunately, born into this religion.

my mom was, and still is, a pioneer (or as some call it: "piousneer"), and my father is an elder.

admittedly, up until a few months up to a year back, i was indeed a zealous "servant of jehovah".

OneEyedJoe

Welcome aboard! Your post echoes many of my own feelings on the org.

If you're interested in the topic ( which it seems that you are) you should do some more research on cosmology, astrophysics, and evolution. You'll find that not only is the improbability of something insufficient to prove it didn't/couldn't happen, but the universe's existence in its present state is not nearly as unlikely as the creationists would have you believe.

As for your bulleted points, there is definitely some level of monetary scam to the org, and the GB and others definitely benefit from the many scams that they're running. They benefit materially, they get to travel the world and have their healthcare provided for them. They have absolutely no concern for their future as they will have their every need taken care of until the day that they die. This is a level of security and stability that the rest of us could only dream of, and is certainly undeserved by these men who create nothing of value for society - indeed they do little more than destroy lives.

Is the money the reason the cult came into existence? Probably not. Pastor Russell did fall into temptation pretty early on selling his miracle wheat and other scams - so there was definitely a monetary motivation for him. Rutherford continued this and lived quite extravagantly, he seems to me to have known exactly what he was doing. After Rutherford, the WTS had so much momentum and was run by men who themselves were indoctrinated into the cult so at this point it exists merely to continue its existence.

100% agree - the Bible is not from any supreme being.

As for your assertion that anyone who believes 100% is mentally deficient - I would suggest that you educate yourself on cult mind control and undue influence. Very smart people can become indoctrinated into a cult very easy when they're vulnerable. There are many here who are quite intelligent but were, at one time, 100% believers.

I hope you stick around, you'll likely find lots of useful information and great folks to help you in your journey. There are a few nutjobs here too, so take opinions with a gain of salt. I suspect you'll do fine. Best of luck to you in your journey!

19

JW's hit with another lawsuit alleging child sexual abuse

by yalbmert99 in

http://www.christianpost.com/news/jehovahs-witnesses-hit-with-another-lawsuit-alleging-child-sexual-abuse-organization-has-paid-over-13-million-in-damages-130490/.

OneEyedJoe

Nice, and it's Zalkin leading the charge, again. I wonder if they'll stick with the strategy of trying to depose Loesch.

12

Wasn't a letter about the NGO situation read at the Hall?

by Apognophos in

okay, so i've been seeing the occasional comment here and there on the forum that some jws, even elders, do not seem to have heard about the society ever being an ngo.

am i not remembering accurately?

back when this scandal happened (2001?

OneEyedJoe

They might've (I don't recall ever hearing it) but even if they did I wouldn't expect anyone to know about it. Of the 60% of JWs that would have been at the meeting where the announcment was read, only 20% at best would be paying good enough attention by the half way mark for it to affect them, and half of those wouldn't think twice about it. So by my math, you wind up with about 6% of JWs that might actually have remembered it the day after the announcement, and surely many of those have forgotten it by now.

This doesn't help you much, though - I have no idea if an announcement was even made. I suspect, if it was, it was only made in the UK or areas where the gaurdian was widely circulated.

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?.

.

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.