Posts by apostrate

45

Hold Me, Thrill Me

by Hold Me-Thrill Me in

jw
friends

i'm going to be honest and from the heart when i say that for 40 years in the jw religion i was very happy in my ignorance!

man, what a trip it was.

i loved every minute of it but then i was absent the bad in my religion.

Perhaps I am wrong, but it just seems to me that the vast majority of people who post on this site leave the WT, not for doctrinal reasons, but because they realized (myself included) that the WT is just a big scam. Who really cares if God's name is Jehovah or Jesus or Fred or Biff??? (Even the WT admits that it doesn't pronounce his name correctly).

The WT is just like a pimp who scares its people into going into the street work, peddling books and magazines at their own expense. And they are threatened with death if they don't! The WT scam is no different than the Nigerian Prince scam. They steal your money and your life.

Anyone who leaves the WT over doctrinal differences can simply go out and join a different religion that is more in line with their views. And it is as simple as that. No need for bitterness, no need for counseling.

There are still many people who inside disagree with WT doctrine, and those who see through it for the scam that it is, but who continue with the organization for various reasons. Some because of family, some who just feel comfortable with it, like an old worn shirt.

Personally, I am over the bitterness part, at least as much as possible. Now I just look at it in an analytical way.

45

Being in a cult - what good did it do?

by Garrett in

jw
friends

so, here's a bit of a different point of view.

while most of us will agree that our time within the jw cult was rather terrible, however, i'd like to look at another aspect.

did anything good come out of being in a cult and then waking up from it?.

apostrate

Some people will find absolutely no good in having been in a cult while others will have a better outlook on life as a result of the bad experience. If I spend the rest of my life being bitter, then the WT will have won. I will not let them define my life. I don't even particularly like being referred to as an EX-JW, it has a negative connotation.

I now work in a retail store where I see many, many pathetic people who probably were never raised in a cult. They appear to be sad, directionless, hopeless, poor. I don't consider myself to be better than any of them necessarily, but I realize that one doesn't have to be raised in a cult in order to become poor, bitter or an indigent.

16

Jehovah cult kicked me out - but not the man who raped me,' victim claims

by defender of truth in

positions of trusta jehovahs witness spokesman said: we have tried to educate families to try and educate and protect their children, so that children can protect themselves if they find themselves in a situation.if jehovahs were found to have abused someone if they are in a position of trust they would no longer have a position of trust.asked why about the claims sewell had not been kicked out of the jehovahs the spokesman insisted we cant comment on specific situations.we dont give out personal information, he said.http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/jehovah-cult-kicked-out---8891636

apostrate

Back in the 70's it was common practice in the Kingdom Halls (at least where I attended) that, when a person was being reproved or disfellowshipped, the specifics of his sin were not made known or announced from the platform. However, at the time the announcement was made, there would be a short talk given about the evils of their specific sin (either just before the announcement or directly after).

So all anyone in the audience had to do was put 2 + 2 together to figure out what the perpetrator had done. The talk itself might not go into specifics either, if a brother was guilty of fornication, the accompanying talk might be about loose conduct or sexual immorality.

So, basically, if a young brother admitted to the elders that he pleasured himself, everyone in the Hall could figure it out and know what he did (plus, there's the benefit of the gossip mill). If a parent gave their child a birthday present, everyone in the congregation usually knew what they did.

BUT, if a brother had sex, in any way with a child, all he had to do would be admit to it and promise that he wouldn't do it again, and nobody in the Hall would be the wiser!!

That's messed up!

52

Why do I suddenly want to start reading JW literature and going to Kingdom Halls?

by yogosans14 in

jw
friends

is good calling me back or am i just letting my emotions get the best of me?also i really want to be closer to my jw family.

btw i was never baptized and i consider myself a born again christian i go to a baptist church and wath televangelist and i have expirenced gods presence like never before but sometimes i get fearful and think "what if jws are right and i'm wrong" than i'm screwed!but if there wrong and i'm right it doesn't look to good for them.. i would prefer if nobody posted "god isn't real" type comments.

i truly believe he is real but i respect why some are atheists..

apostrate

snare&racket,

Amen Brother! I did the very same thing! The difference between sitting thru a JW meeting before and after learning TTATT is the difference between night and day!

I could never be a spy attending JW meetings. Too much of my life was thrown away at their meetings when I was young!! I intend to spend my senior years trying to savor what I can out of real life.

Life's too short to be a Jehovahs Witness!!!

52

Why do I suddenly want to start reading JW literature and going to Kingdom Halls?

by yogosans14 in

jw
friends

is good calling me back or am i just letting my emotions get the best of me?also i really want to be closer to my jw family.

btw i was never baptized and i consider myself a born again christian i go to a baptist church and wath televangelist and i have expirenced gods presence like never before but sometimes i get fearful and think "what if jws are right and i'm wrong" than i'm screwed!but if there wrong and i'm right it doesn't look to good for them.. i would prefer if nobody posted "god isn't real" type comments.

i truly believe he is real but i respect why some are atheists..

apostrate

Well, what if the Mormons are right?

What if the Muslims are right?

What if the Seventh Day Adventists are right?

Actually, I believe that you have already answered your own questions in your first two sentences. A) Yes, you are letting your emotions get the best of you, and B) You are wanting to be closer to your JW family.

You have to ask yourself, even though it is for the sake of your family, can you sit through the meetings again, listening to what they are indoctrinating people with? You know it is not the truth.

Once people find out there is no Santa Claus, do they ever revert back to believing in him for the sake of the children?

32

CO kept mispronouncing "debt"

by Red Piller in

so, this happened a while ago - but i never posted on it.

during a co visit, he gave a talk relating to jesus ransom (i think) and the "debt" that was owed by sin, etc.... he kept saying "debt" and he kept pronouncing the "b".

so it sounded like "deb-t".

apostrate

I was told by a friend that at a congregation in Costa Rica a black brother giving a talk continually pronounced the word Niger as, well, you can probably guess how he mispronounced it (yes, the "N" word). One of the elders pulled him to the side and told him the proper pronunciation. Ouch!

The brother who studied with me, years ago, and he was only a few years older than me, corrected me when I said the word Habakkuk. He told me that the correct pronunciation was "Hab-back-a-nock". I was so timid at that age that, since he was the elder, I just said okay (I knew that it wasn't really pronounced that way).

Now, as if it wasn't bad enough that he should correct me whenever it was he that was in error, he raised his hand at the KH when the subject of Habakkuk came up and informed the whole congregation that the correct pronunciation was "Hab-back-a-nock".

I don't know if anyone corrected him after the meeting that night, but if you should ever run into a JW who pronounces Habakkuk as Hab-back-a-nock, tell him I said "hello".

76

WT loses appeal in UK!!!!!!!

by Viva la Vida in

the wt lost its appeals regarding the charity commission inquiry.

here is the ruling:.

http://www.charity.tribunals.gov.uk/documents/decisions/watch-tower-ruling-03mar15.pdf.

apostrate

WT lost its appeal to me over thirty years ago.

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

Excellent Steve2!

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!