Posts by SAHS

8

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 10-05-2014 WT Study (WOMEN)

by blondie in

jw
friends

SAHS

I made my public comment during this Watchtower study on paragraph 17, regarding the “miraculous event” at Pentecost 33 C.E. I mentioned how God’s holy spirit was poured out in a “special way” on all those present, including women. I said how that the apostle Paul mentioned several women in Luke 8:2, 3: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susannain; as well as at Romans chapter 16, verses one, six, and 12: Phoebe, Mary, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, and Persis, who were ‘working hard in the Lord’ and ‘ministering.’ I then said that this shows women had definite responsibilities in the congregation as ministers and servants. (I.e., “ministerial servants”!) I then said how this was in stark contrast to the misogynist, chauvinistic view of women promulgated by the religious leaders: the Scribes and Pharisees, who looked down on women and sought to assign women “their place.”

My hope was that some people in the audience would somehow make the connection between the Jewish religious leaders and the GB of the WTS – both of whom known for constantly trying to assert their manmade “authority” over women and assign women “their place” – as they see it. (Although, sadly, I might as well have been whispering into a microphone which was not turned on as far as anybody making any such strategic and insightful connections inside their thick noggins. All well. It was either comment or keep sleeping.)

45

The Art of Hypocrisy - How Jehovah's Witnesses worship a symbol

by BluePill2 in

jw
friends

it has been a while since i've seen a witness, either in person or virtually.

searching for someone on facebook took me to the profile of a ministerial servant that i know.

i scrolled through his wall to see who is still around and found this gem:.

SAHS

And to think of all the poor little school kids who were teased, bullied, and persecuted for not pledging allegiance to the flag! If you walked into a Kingdom Hall with any other kind of symbol or icon pinned onto your lapel, such as your country’s flag, or a symbol of something like Free Masons, Orangemen, Teamsters Union, etc., you would get pulled into that backroom yesterday and given a scolding. I’ve even heard of JWs saying that it’s wrong to have a poster of your favorite baseball player in your own room. And, of course, not to mention a certain “political party card” in Malawi back in the 1970s. (That was a real no, no!) And what does the WT say about religious “statues and icons”? (I.e., the now-outdated Reasoning book.)

But this . . . . this stupid little blue corporate Internet marketing thing, . . . well, that’s a must-have! (When will people wake up?)

207

Is the AGM today?

by hamsterbait in

jw
friends

anybody going or who can give us the noolite hot from the gb a$$?.

.

SAHS

“hildebrando”: “On January 2015 a new part of the service meeting entitled "How do you knew the truth" will replace local needs, . . .”

I hate to be a Nitpicky Neddy but I believe that meeting part title would have to be something like either “How do you know the truth” or “How did you come to know the truth.” I think the writing and publishing departments would proofread it a little more thoroughly.

207

Is the AGM today?

by hamsterbait in

jw
friends

anybody going or who can give us the noolite hot from the gb a$$?.

.

SAHS

I suppose the WTS would consider this new Internet TV broadcasting stuff to be “[making] friends for [them]selves by means of the unrighteous riches.” (Luke 16:9, RNWT) They will gladly use anything – or anyone – to their advantage as much as they can.

19

JW.org: " One Hundred Years Ago1914"

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

http://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/2014-yearbook/one-hundred-years-ago-1914/.

all links and content are posted here for critical review in compliance with copyright laws.

the be thou faithful unto death countdown card was used by some in their resolve to remain faithful to the end.

SAHS

I’m surprised that they didn’t come out with a modern, up-to-date death countdown card for October 2014 – an online version, that is, on JW.org!

41

How Much Drinking Is Too Much?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i have seen that some say if a man has 3 beers per day or a woman has 2 glasses of wine per day, that they may have .

.

SAHS

I’ve heard it said by folks at a certain “12 step” program that it’s not quite so much the amount of alcohol that they drank but what it did to them. (I probably shouldn’t mention the name of the particular “12 step” program because apparently they like to remain anonymous.)

I would agree that anything over three 12-ounce bottles/cans of beer daily, every single day, would be considered a bit “too much” for an average-sized man. And I would agree that around four or five standard drinks would usually be at the beginning of being “drunk” for the average-sized man.

Most here said that they have less alcohol tolerance as they get older, but in my case I find that my tolerance has definitely been increasing. I’m currently 48 years old, and my tolerance has pretty well doubled over the past 20 or so years.

I myself am definitely a “binge drinker” and a “chance drinker.” I could go several months without any drinking, but then when I got the opportunity when my folks were away for a week or two, or when I was alone doing some house/dog sitting for a week, then I would sort of be off to the races and usually have between six and eight 20-ounce pints of beer from the taps in one session at a bar, and I would do this twice a week during those times when I would be alone for a week or two. My record is actually 14 of those 20-ounce pints of beer in one day, and I didn’t seem to really feel much undue effect from it.

I’ve been on and off that friggin’ wagon quite a few times in my life, with a nice long slew of relapses to boot. They say that resentment is a large part of alcoholism, and I find that there’s nothing like living in a strongly JW family since birth to foster that. I just have to keep exploring some general scientific knowledge about psychology and anthropology and try to maintain some level of emotional well-being and balance.

36

Elders, apostasy and disfellowshipping issue's - thoughts please

by FeelingFree in

jw
friends

ok so... when i was talking to my mil about why i no longer wanted to be a witness she kept trying to convience me that i needed to speak to the elders.

i said from the word go i didn't feel the need to as my mind was already made up and no one could change it.

i also said if the elders new all my reasons for leaving they would view me as an apostate and i would get disfellowshipped.

SAHS

There is never a “one-size-fits-all” answer to such a situation. It all really depends on you – how much you would care if you were actually to be disfellowshipped versus how important it is to you to take your stand against the WTS and let them know that they aren’t your boss anymore. Different strokes for different folks, really. As long as you consider the long-term consequences of your decision – which it looks like you already have – then all should be well, as it’s ultimately your decision and your life.

I say, All the power to you whatever route you wish to take. Just get out one way or another, and whatever happens make sure you keep your dignity! Take care.

10

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 09-28-2014 WT Study (JESUS WIT)

by blondie in

jw
friends

comments you will not hear at the 09-28-2014 wt study (july 15, 2014, pages (28-32) new testament jesuswitnesses.

review comments will be headed outside the boxes.

wt material from today's wt will be in quote boxes.

SAHS

I made a comment in paragraph 11, which begins by saying, “As earth’s new King, Jesus Christ soon began to deliver his anointed followers from captivity to ‘Babylon the Great.’” I mentioned that they didn’t completely separate themselves from Babylon the Great because for quite a time after 1919 they were still celebrating Christmas at the Bethel and the Watch Tower magazine had a logo of a cross and crown on the cover at the top-left. I was hoping that some in the audience would either think that Jesus’ cleansing of his earthly temple must of really taken a long time or that perhaps the WTS wasn’t really his choice after all. I always try to plant some kind of a little seed in people’s head.

25

2015 special talk outline-A PROMISE OF PERFECT FAMILY HAPPINESS

by suavojr in

jw
friends

jw's are such a happy group .

let's see how this talk addresses the internal issues that we find within the jw's such as:.

courtesy of jwfacts.com.

SAHS

“PERFECT FAMILY HAPPINESS”

Just think for a second what that word, “perfect,” really means. Just hear me out: There have apparently been around 20 billion people who have ever lived up until now (not including our evolutionary ancestors – that statistic, I believe, is assuming 6,000 years of human existence, as in Christianity). Now – definitely playing Devil’s advocate here, folks – let’s say that a good number of the over seven million Jehovah’s Witnesses currently alive today make it through Armageddon into the “new system” Paradise. Then, let’s say that a fairly significant number of that 20 billion or so people who have ever lived and come back to life during the “resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous” end up being faithful under Paradise and pass the “final test” at the end of the thousand-year reign of Jesus. However many people there would likely be left remaining by that time, including whatever offspring would be born during that thousand-year reign and beyond, that would be, for lack of a better expression, a lot of people.

Now, to my point: What would you say are the mathematical, statistical, logistical odds of all those people (however many that would likely be) having, not just ho-hum, not just pretty good, not just fairly awesome, but perfect family happiness – supposedly for all eternity? (Assuming that the sun won’t be doing its red giant/white dwarf thing.) Now, I don’t know about you, but I would say that the idea of many billions of people worldwide throughout all eternity having perfect family happiness, or perfect anything else, for that matter, is just a tad, well, f^@#ing retarded! (And, yes, I believe that the sun will eventually get real nasty nasty, putting the damper on perfect anything, indeed.)

35

JW's and depression

by FeelingFree in

jw
friends

i was wondering how many of you suffered badly with depression when you were in "the truth" and if you feel your depression was related to being part of the organisation?

are you better now you have left or still have issue's?

whatever your experience's i would be very intrested to know (if you feel you can talk about it.).

SAHS

“hoser”: “It is hard on the mental health if it is repeatedly implied that you are not good enough.”

“Apognophos”: “I felt like life had pretty much no point and I did nothing to plan for my future because I thought I was going to be destroyed at Armageddon.”

“FeelingFree”: “. . . the whole doom and gloom dieing at armageddon, not ever being able to do enough and what you are doing isn't good enough blah blah is extremely negative and can't be good for anyones mental well being!”

Those above points illustrate a common theme experienced by JWs, especially born-ins (as I am, born 1966): People, especially around the age of puberty, often begin to feel that they are simply “not good enough” and subsequently are in line to be “destroyed at Armageddon.” This fosters insecurity and anxiety, which manifests in various ways – some of which we aren’t even aware of, as in the case of general “free-floating” anxiety.

I myself couldn’t say exactly what I would be like if I had never been a JW, because that is all I have ever know (there was no “before” being in a JW family for me). My long-time and well-known elder dad used to scare me about sinning against the holy spirit since I was a young child, and I had a reoccurring dream about a dark, tornado-laden storm slowly but steadily approaching from the distance. Around the age of puberty, I more prominently began having some unnatural fantasies (of the naughty kind), and this certainly exacerbated the situation. Around the time I started community college (right after high school), I developed a rather severe form of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), which is very much an anxiety-related condition. It was then that I also accelerated by alcoholism. Now, I have professional help, as I am under the care of a psychiatrist, and I am also recovering in AA (with a lot of relapses).

So, yes, the teachings and policies of the WTS have a lot of negative and harmful aspects to it, which does do tangible harm to families, especially children. But now that we know the real truth about the “truth” (TTATT), the challenge is to explore and learn new ways to rise above it and try to be able to just walk with our heads held high and get on with the rest of our lives with some degree of serenity and contentment. We just need some practical healing.