Posts by OneEyedJoe

16

Confronting the elders with doubts

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

i have already posted how i outed to an elder.... the only results were that another elder mentioned to me: "i heard you have doubts about the truth will you meet with us and clear it up... i also had doubts... i fixed them i can help.

" laughing inwardly i said sure.. oh i'm going to slaughter this moron.

when he asks my doubts i will show him the chromosome #2 video with ken miller.

OneEyedJoe

It might be worthwhile to spend some time considering what you hope to gain from talking to the elders.

If this is about trying to wake them up, I would suggest a one-on-one conversation, because when they have the support of other elders (or even just their watchful eye upon them) they'll never concede anything to you. They won't allow themselves. You'll be far more likely (though still a slim chance) to achieve results by splitting them up and keeping things casual and non-adversarial. I would also pick different topics that have a greater emotional appeal. Instead of science (which will easily be dismissed by the indoctrinated mind) go with things that 1. they know first-hand and 2. have undeniable implications. I think the best example of this is the ever changing blood policy. Asking if the organization should be considered blood-guilty for banning fractions at one time but now allowing them as a conscience matter is tough to argue with. It is impossible for any reasonable person to rule out the possibility that at least one person who's conscience would have allowed them to accept life-saving fractions died before this change simply because they were threatened with disfellowshipping for something that is no longer considered a DFing offense.

If you're just after some validation, consequences be damned, then go for it. The JW cult spends so much time tearing down our self-confidence so I can see the appeal of bringing your doubts to the elders to watch them fail miserably at addressing them. It could definitely help silence that quiet but persistent voice inside that keeps asking "what if I'm wrong about this?" I would just suggest that you make sure that quieting this voice is worth the risk of getting yourself DFed for apostasy. It seems that's a pretty likely outcome if you don't compromise yourself and recant.

Best of luck to you!

23

So can you pray for others that are not JW's ? Or only JW's

by tor1500 in

jw
friends

i'm a witness, so i need to know...can we pray for someone that isn't a jw.

reason i ask, once a friend of mine was going for an operation.

i asked an elder could he pray with her before she goes into the hospital.

OneEyedJoe

If your belief system leaves you questioning whether you're "allowed" to do something kind for someone - ANYONE - then I think you need to step back and reevaluate how you got there.

1

Reference point

by Lostandfound in

for decades i had a library of bound volumes to refer to.

is present method of publishing reference proof?

not easy to check some point by use of index, although video material has no half life is it easier for wt to change tracks?

OneEyedJoe

Yeah, I think that's one thing they're really loving about the switch to everything being electronic. They can (and frequently do) change articles without providing any notice that a change was made. If you read much news online, you'll often note that at the top or bottom of the article it mentions some change that was made after its initial release, often something as minor as a single word altered. In the cult, they never do this even when completely removing sections or changing the meaning significantly. It's completely dishonest to omit noting when changes to the articles have been made.

43

Waking People Up With Well Thought Out Comments

by JW_Rogue in

is it possible to have an effect from the inside?

with well thought comments that reveal more of the history of the organization?

the next book we study will be "god's kingdom rules!

OneEyedJoe

It didn't take me long to give up on waking anyone else up. It wasn't worth the effort for me, and it's not my responsibility to force anyone to open their eyes. What I did do while I was still in, though, was try to give comments and talks that would get the JWs nodding in agreement, unknowingly condemning themselves.

Make mention of how we would want to avoid association with ANY organization that knowingly hides pedophiles to save face in the public eye, like the catholic church.
Talk about how religious organizations often join the UN (the scarlet colored beast from revelation!) and how we would want to avoid association with any organization that has (or ever had) a membership in the UN.
Tell the story of Harold Camping (or similar - there's lots to choose from) predicting armageddon then changing the date when it didn't happen on his schedule and liken him to a false prophet that in the days of isreal would've been given the death sentence.
When stories about isreal come up in which the people die because the king is misleading them or because he made some mistake, remind them that god holds us personally accountable for who we put our allegiance in. In the case of the isrealites they put their allegiance in what was "god's organization" at the time, but when men lead it astray they were punished for continuing to follow it - we must continue to examine what we put our allegiance in to ensure that we are not putting faith in men who are not following god.

I'm under no illusions that any of this would wake someone up (maybe if they're already really on the fence...) but it sure was fun to do stuff like this and get the clueless JWs unknowingly condemning themselves. I guess it was a bit of revenge for forcing me to give my tacit approval to the cult by forming a system that makes free speech and objection impossible.

64

Were you beaten as a child?

by purrpurr in

i've been confronting my mother with her dubious parenting skills (abuse) of me as a child.

particularly the beatings i would get with the wooden spoon.

not a light smack but hitting me as hard as she could for as long as she could.

OneEyedJoe

My mother used a wooden spoon as well. Never broke it on me, but she did break it on my brother once when he tried to block the hit and the spoon connected with one of his knuckles. Spoon was normally on the butt. Sometimes she'd slap us across the face and leave a hand print.

Father's tool of choice was a 2" wide heavy leather belt. He'd whip us one hit per word while explaining what it was that we'd done wrong.

I'm not sure I hold it against them. They'd been indoctrinated to believe this was the best thing for us, and society at the time was pretty much in agreement. So while it's not something that I think is right to do, I can let it go. I'm hesitant to try to connect it to any lasting effect into adulthood too. Maybe it has had an effect on me, but I suspect that the effect is much smaller than having been raised in a cult overall. That's something I do sort of resent my parents for on some level.

12

Science disproves JW claims

by elbib in

according to quantum theory and non-locality, two particles, can act in unity.

for example, take a and b (photons or electrons for example).

pair them, then separate them, and put them on either side of the planet.

OneEyedJoe

You don't have to run all the way to quantum non-locality to disprove the JWs (and indeed most of the bible's claims). Geology, biology, archaeology and astronomy all do that pretty handily and are much more easily understandable by the lay-person than quantum entanglement is. Also i'm really not sure how quantum entanglement actually disproves JW claims from your post.

Hell, as far as JWs are concerned, basic arithmetic disproves them. 1 (generation) != 2 (generations).

4

Interesting observation: As time goes on......it seems the jehovah witness will be shortened to JW

by goingthruthemotions in

maybe it's just me, but i do believe that the jehovah witness brand as we know it will be solely jw or jw .

org eventually.. the reason being is because if you do a search on google or youtube for jehovah witness.

so much bad publicity.

OneEyedJoe

I suspect they'll maintain the Jehovah's Witnesses moniker internally, but it's definitely par for the course for cults to use false names or multiple different names for the purposes of recruiting. JWs have always done this - I can't imagine they'd get as many members in the ministry if they'd gone door to door claiming to represent the watchtower bible and tract society. Instead, they hide their affiliation with the corporation until the new recruit is thoroughly indoctrinated. With the JW short-hand name they're just doing more of the same.

6

All lies are untruth. But not all untruths are lies.

by aintenoughwiskey in

if you speak an untruth that you believe to be true, is it a lie?

does it become a lie when you discover and then fail to admit, or obscure the untruth?

i would like to be a fly on the wall when the gb makes new doctrine.

OneEyedJoe

What if you speak a truth that you believe to be false? Is that a lie?

23

Today's Text - Jehovah Is SPEEDING Up The Work!

by Divergent in

jw
friends

today's text:.

saturday, april 30. the little one will become a thousand and the small one a mighty nation.

i myself, jehovah, will speed it up in its own time.—isa.

OneEyedJoe

Trust us, there's remarkable growth! There's definitely no need to go plotting a graph or comparing current and past growth rates!

6

Why are the Scientologists Getting All of the Attention?

by Wild_Thing in

jw
friends

there are more jws than scientologists.

jws shun their ex-members, too, and have beliefs just as weird.

we also have had our celebrities .... michael jackson, prince.

OneEyedJoe

I think a big part of it is that JWs appear to be Christian on the surface and, especially in the US, being seen as attacking a Christian group is a big risk to take. Because of the large Christian population, Scientologists are seen as being obviously wrong in their beliefs. In essence, the Scientologists' bible was written recently and that makes it less mysterious and people are less inclined to see it as divine.

They also have more (and less insane) celebrities, and celebrities that are leaving and speaking out. It's a smaller group, which also makes criticising it less risky, but they have just as much public awareness as JWs so doing a piece on them is still worthwhile from a viewership standpoint.