Posts by apostrate

To the "religiously ignorant", the average JW appears to be wise beyond years! And, let's face it, there is still a huge pool of religiously ignorant ones out there.

In my mind, at least for the last 15 years or so, I have likened the way JW's operate to how a pimp operates. Pimps know their business, they know how to recruit! They often case the bus stations, looking for that runaway girl with no home to go to, often running away from something more than they are running to something. The pimp represents safety, security, he offers kind words and the appearance of love.

JW's, likewise, case their territory looking for the religiously destitute. The JW offers them something with kind words that represent safety, security, and love.

Neither the pimp nor the JW offers real love. The authoritarian pimp keeps his girls working the streets to take in as much money as possible, to make a better life for themselves. The WT keeps its members out working the streets for the same reasons!

The hooker and the JW both know that if they disobey they will be beaten (the hooker physically, the JW mentally), both with the ultimate threat of death.

24

Jehovah's Witnesses Are Believers But Know Not What They Teach

by minimus in

jw
friends

they simply belong to a religion.

they cannot explain why they follow all the dictates of the organization.

they live in blind faith.

apostrate

When I was a young teenager and "in the truth", I was talking to an elder and his wife and they offered me some hot tea. I declined and told them that I like ice tea but I do not care for hot tea. The elder told me that when I get older and find a "sister" that I fall in love with, if she likes hot tea, then I will like hot tea as well.

How little did I realize that it at the time, but he just spoke volumes about life itself, the Watchtower Org, and religion in general.

If a young man really has no interest in religion but he meets a woman of a particular faith that he falls head over heels in love with, he will fall in love with her religion as well, if for no other reason than to "get the girl".

And I have known many JW's who fall into this category including the elder who gave me the "hot tea" analogy. In fact, I truly believe that had his wife been a Mormon, then he would have become a Mormon. JW's, like many other cults and religions, are simply a bunch of lemmings.

Become a JW and you can go far! Get you a beautiful wife, often times you can marry into a good job, you can become a part of a social group. Knowing the real history of the organization is not a requirement. Just do what you are told!

25

Leave truth - catch AIDS???

by JEMIMAH in

jw
friends

we had a laugh last weekend at our s.a.dthe visiting speaker was from the london bethel (bcm)during the last talk he was trying to encourage the bros not to read non society lit.

the example he uses was of a m/s bro who used to really study his wtwell for a sunday, however he occasionally used secular sources to back up his research.. our bethel speaker in order to prove how wrong this was explained very quickly that because of this secular research, "this brother fell away and caught aids".

the brothers and sisters in the audience where very shocked at the folly of our ex-brother.

apostrate

Viviane,

Praise Jah indeed! Some families misfortune becomes a JW's blessing!

Following that same line of thought, here's one (and it is not an urban legend nor does it involve JW's). I had to make a delivery to a roofing company. The woman who owned the company was a member of the Church of the Nazarene, or something like that. She never kept her religious affiliation a secret.

The Dallas/Ft. worth area had seen a very nasty springtime with lots of tornados that year. Lots of people losing the roofs on their houses. When I made my delivery and was making some idle chit-chat with her, she commented, "Business has been very good lately, we certainly do praise the Lord for blessing our roofing company!"

One man's ceiling is another man's floor!

25

Leave truth - catch AIDS???

by JEMIMAH in

jw
friends

we had a laugh last weekend at our s.a.dthe visiting speaker was from the london bethel (bcm)during the last talk he was trying to encourage the bros not to read non society lit.

the example he uses was of a m/s bro who used to really study his wtwell for a sunday, however he occasionally used secular sources to back up his research.. our bethel speaker in order to prove how wrong this was explained very quickly that because of this secular research, "this brother fell away and caught aids".

the brothers and sisters in the audience where very shocked at the folly of our ex-brother.

apostrate

jhine,

Don't worry about the spelling of my name, it's not important.

Okay, first off, I have it backwards regarding woman at the door and the two angels (it's been a long, long time since I've heard this one related).

It was two sisters going door-to-door. They offered a householder (a man) the literature and he respectfully declined. Later on, the police came to the man's door and arrested him. He had killed somebody else who had come to his door and had the dismembered body in his basement. Somehow the police knew about the JW's who had come to his door and asked him why he didn't kill them also. "Are you kidding? There were two huge men standing behind them! I wasn't going to mess with them!" (For JW's, proof of the angels being with them in Field Service).

I heard that one told for years, back in the 70's. I had already come to the conclusion that it was a bunch of twaddle and malarky when an elder publicly denounced it as nonsense at a meeting one night.

The two Sister Paynes! I loved that one! My friends wife (a JW) told it as though she was at the Hall when it happened.

There were two women at the Hall each named Payne. Once at a Watchtower study, the only people to raise their hands to answer a question were each of these sisters. So the elder conducting the study pointed to the back and called on "Sister Payne in the rear!" (Payne=pain, get it?)

I had told that one to many people, non-JW's as well as JW's. Then, one night about 30 years ago I started to tell it to an older sister and she interrupted me. "This isn't the one about "Sister Pain in the rear, is it? That's soooooo old!!"

There is a bunch of others too, but I guess I should start a whole new post!

25

Leave truth - catch AIDS???

by JEMIMAH in

jw
friends

we had a laugh last weekend at our s.a.dthe visiting speaker was from the london bethel (bcm)during the last talk he was trying to encourage the bros not to read non society lit.

the example he uses was of a m/s bro who used to really study his wtwell for a sunday, however he occasionally used secular sources to back up his research.. our bethel speaker in order to prove how wrong this was explained very quickly that because of this secular research, "this brother fell away and caught aids".

the brothers and sisters in the audience where very shocked at the folly of our ex-brother.

apostrate

DesirousOfChange,

It's an urban legend. And not just in JW circles. I first heard it back in the 80's from a co-worker and it had nothing to do with JW's.

Just like the infamous urban legend about the woman at the door who saw two angels behind the men claiming to be JW's, they were supposedly killers. Even the Catholics have their own variation of that one!

There once was a time when I would spread these stories around because I believed them all. But my favorite was the one about the two "Sister Paynes". I'm sure you've heard that one!

6

Stop Lying About JWs, Herbert Armstrong's "Plain Truth" Carts were not before JW Carts!

by JWCartPusher in

i had a man walk by the cart and say "hey, you guys are now catching up the herbert armstrong's literature carts from the 1970s!

he wanted to know if our organization move's at the pace of "evolution" when it comes to adapting to social norms, what madness is he speaking about?

did herbert armstrong's crew have "the plain truth carts" in front of stores before jws had literature carts?

apostrate

Press 5. for our current position on whether a woman should scream if she'e being raped.

Press 6. for info on when Armageddon will be here.

Press 7. for what sexual deviancies are allowed between man and wife.

Press 8. for our updated current position on whether a woman should scream if she's being raped.

Press 9. for whether popular music is appropriate in the Kingdom Hall.

Press 10. for a list of all things pagan.

Press 11. for a list of all things considered "old light".

Press 12. for an even more current updated position on whether a woman should scream if she's being raped.

Press 13. if you are an apostate.

26

The Organization is destined to fade away

by suavojr in

jw
friends

the borg might not fall and disappear, but it's sure heading into the oblivion.

they predicted their future in last week's study.. last week during the cong book study they mentioned the following:.

15. to illustrate: a supertanker or a freight train might be awesome in terms of size and power.

apostrate

" Because of pride, men often refuse to adapt to changing needs and circumstances."

But the WT is changing to their own personal needs and circumstances!! They are NOT changing to the needs or circumstances of their followers nor of society, but their own personal, selfish needs and wants. Whatever it takes to stay in business!

That's why they are not going out of business nor fading away. That's why so many, many people are on this site telling about how this is not the same organization that they grew up in!

Today it is definitely not the same organization that it was when CT Russell was ruling it over 100 years ago. My personal prediction is that in another 100 years it will still be around in some form and will bear no resemblance to what it is today!

24

would it have been different if we knew why?

by sowhatnow in

i always took issue with the idea of no one knowing why a person got df.. i know im not alone.. i complained to my mother about this when i was younger, explaining that how do we know what it is that gets a person df if no one knows what they did?

my moms answer was , .

'if people knew a persons personal faults and what they did , others would not be so forgiving when they were reinstated, because we'd always view them with that view, so in other words, if when so n so, committed fornication, and the whole cong would know it, if they announced from the platform then his/her reputation would be permanently stained' .

apostrate

As I was reading this post I thought that I should mention the GOSSIP mill, but I see that a couple of others have brought that up already.

When I was young I did something that could have easily got me DF'd, but I really was sorry about it and I was merely "publicly reproved". Not long after I moved away for a couple of years. When I moved back, it was painfully clear that everybody in the Hall knew exactly what I had done.

I already had my "privileges" re-instated and been forgiven but the individuals felt that they knew better, I guess.

23

Is there anything about the JW's you still like?

by donny in

some jw's on various postingshave asked me was there anything about the jw's i still agree with.

of course there are some things i agree with and some i partially do.

1. political involvement - while i do not agree with totally avoiding anything associated with politics, i agree that many of todays churches are way too involved in trying to sway their constituents beliefs.

apostrate

First off, I was raised in the "Truth" from the time I was 11 years old. I found the meetings to be boring. Didn't like going out in service, so I didn't go very often.

What I did like was that before and after the meetings I had a social club where a couple of times a week I could meet up and socialize with my friends. However, I am sure there are plenty of ISIS members who feel the same way about their organization. "Hey, I really don't care for the killing people part, but this is where my friends are! Whaddya gonna do?"