Posts by ivanatahan

19

JW going to prestigious university

by ivanatahan in

jw
friends

i've been debating this, and my mother (the spiritual head of my family, she even controls my father spiritually, who is an elder) doesn't seem to be starkly against me going to a prestigious university.

in fact, i've been going over my chances, and i'd say i have a pretty decent chance of going to my dream university, oxford university, to study philosophy, politics, and economics.

naturally i wouldn't tell my mother about me wanting to take the three most hated subjects of jws at a university that would bring me into bad relations with "spiritually sound jws".. do you guys know any ex-jw or knowledgeable jw who knows ttatt that went to a randall group or ivy league school?

ivanatahan

I've already missed a lot of opportunities (compared to other students my age). Hopefully I'll be able to do more in school and outside to be able to look more appealing to the admission tutors at Oxford. My mom now seems only concerned about the distance between my parents and me, money, and "where I can go out in service". Unfortunately my parents are more cautious considering my sister, though still a JW technically, doesn't go out in service or meetings after going to college and getting an internship at a major accounting firm. We'll see, but hopefull the forces of the Universe can help me fulfill my dreams to go to Oxford.

On the topic of why PPE, I've looked at many courses and since I'm not exactly sure what I want to be (a politician would be great, but a lot more other careers also look appealing, so I'm confused about what I want to do), PPE covers a whole range of careers under my range of interest, so it looks great for me.

Also, the Watchtower does have its own "university" - Gilead and other theocratic schools. No way in hell am I ever even going to think of going there.

19

JW going to prestigious university

by ivanatahan in

jw
friends

i've been debating this, and my mother (the spiritual head of my family, she even controls my father spiritually, who is an elder) doesn't seem to be starkly against me going to a prestigious university.

in fact, i've been going over my chances, and i'd say i have a pretty decent chance of going to my dream university, oxford university, to study philosophy, politics, and economics.

naturally i wouldn't tell my mother about me wanting to take the three most hated subjects of jws at a university that would bring me into bad relations with "spiritually sound jws".. do you guys know any ex-jw or knowledgeable jw who knows ttatt that went to a randall group or ivy league school?

ivanatahan

"Are you Ivan or Ivana? Anyway, If at all possible, do not miss out on studying at Oxford University! It will give you the confidence to excel at what you do best. It will also give a greatly enlarged income potential. You will find friends there and good company who will stay with you throughout your life.

My other half studied philosophy at Oxford before going into law and a few years back she was invited to Buckingham Palace with the likes of David Attenborough as one of four hundred people who are the leading lights in their professions in Britain.

I live not far away from the glorious city of Oxford and have taken degree courses there as a mature student. I found studying there a total delight. Whatever happens in my own life, I feel that having escaped JW indoctrination and having had a good taste of the discipline and benefits of serious study, it has given me a solid platform on which to assess information. To see how the world really works is something denied to JWs who are destined to rely on magic thinking. I think of JWs as people stumbling in a hall of mirrors in a fog, sustained only by a fruitless hope... It’s a tragedy for them. You though, have a great opportunity ahead of you and I truly wish you the very best in it."

Thank you for your generous reply! I really found it comforting and it touched my heart! I'm glad you and your mate were able to experience the benefits of Oxford, it must be quite the change from the fake life JWs live and hope to live. There's nothing in the world that could cease my dream of going to Oxford. Trust me, I've looked.

Also, the name's Ivan.

19

JW going to prestigious university

by ivanatahan in

jw
friends

i've been debating this, and my mother (the spiritual head of my family, she even controls my father spiritually, who is an elder) doesn't seem to be starkly against me going to a prestigious university.

in fact, i've been going over my chances, and i'd say i have a pretty decent chance of going to my dream university, oxford university, to study philosophy, politics, and economics.

naturally i wouldn't tell my mother about me wanting to take the three most hated subjects of jws at a university that would bring me into bad relations with "spiritually sound jws".. do you guys know any ex-jw or knowledgeable jw who knows ttatt that went to a randall group or ivy league school?

ivanatahan

"You mean a Russell Group Uni? I did. I was made an elder and started at Edinburgh Uni in the same month, 8 months later I'd resigned as an elder and quit meetings.

I'd highly recommend it."

Yes, I meant Russell Group. For some reason I wrote Randall, didn't even notice it.

35

Before knowing TTATT did you really believe in things as...

by roberto avon in

jw
friends

did you really believe in things as ;- the earth is only 6000 years old- the 144.000- 1914, based upon the destructiono of jerusalem- harmagheddon or the end of the world coming soon???

?i married a jw when i was an interested person and studying with the jw's ( not the way they wanted) but i told my wife before marrying her that " most probably " i would never have been a jw.she accepted me as i was and married me.

after that i had interrupted the study for one year, i started all over again with an elder of my wife's cong.

ivanatahan

I never fully believed that I was going to survive Armageddon, as I've starting to do some very "bad" things according to JWs, like not reading a boring/bland book before I sleep for the day. Instead, I fell into a different habit...

I believed in everything else, considering I was a born-in. The doubts came later after I started actually considering JW beliefs from a non-believer's viewpoint, something I've made a habit of for every issue I'm presented with.

19

JW going to prestigious university

by ivanatahan in

jw
friends

i've been debating this, and my mother (the spiritual head of my family, she even controls my father spiritually, who is an elder) doesn't seem to be starkly against me going to a prestigious university.

in fact, i've been going over my chances, and i'd say i have a pretty decent chance of going to my dream university, oxford university, to study philosophy, politics, and economics.

naturally i wouldn't tell my mother about me wanting to take the three most hated subjects of jws at a university that would bring me into bad relations with "spiritually sound jws".. do you guys know any ex-jw or knowledgeable jw who knows ttatt that went to a randall group or ivy league school?

ivanatahan

I've been debating this, and my mother (the spiritual head of my family, she even controls my father spiritually, who is an elder) doesn't seem to be starkly against me going to a prestigious university. In fact, I've been going over my chances, and I'd say I have a pretty decent chance of going to my dream university, Oxford University, to study Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Naturally I wouldn't tell my mother about me wanting to take the three most hated subjects of JWs at a university that would bring me into bad relations with "spiritually sound JWs".

Do you guys know any ex-JW or knowledgeable JW who knows TTATT that went to a Randall Group or Ivy League school? It's interesting to know.

20

Opinions of GB members

by campaign of hate in

jw
friends

i would like to give my opinion of each gb member.

i would probably split them into 3 groups.. group 1 - the hardliners.

tony the 3rd: he knows exactly what hes's doing and saying.

ivanatahan

Löesh - Looks nearly exactly like my grandfather (who many have claimed I look like), so my opinion of him isn't that harsh. I like him, to be honest. He seems the most lenient of the seven, and his talks and way of speaking suggests he probably doesn't care too much about what he's saying, and possibly just saying things to keep up with the others.

Everyone else but Tight-Pants Tony - Kill them with fire!

Tight-Pants Tony - I would go into details of how I would torture and eventually get rid of him, but I feel it wouldn't be polite.

13

New Forum Layout

by Awake at last in

i suffer from depression and have also been diagnosed with asperger's syndrome, so it is not surprising that about 20 minutes ago i was feeling very depressed about the new look of my favourite ex jw forum, that is, this one.

i have been living under a rock obviously because i had no idea any change was about to happen.. now i am beginning to understand how it works, everything is ok or soon will be.

i like the like button and have already used it once.. now you understand why i left the borg.

ivanatahan

I agree on the quote button.

I was also used to seeing the post number and join date under the gravatar of members when they post. It was nice seeing how long someone's been on this site.

Otherwise, this improvement is great!

Thanks, Sam!

15

An email from a Jw "friend" to me (accusing me of apostasy) a few months back.

by objectivetruth in

jw
friends

i was going through old email and i came across the below email from a former acquaintance of mine who is a jw.

when we were both jw's, we were both pretty liberal in our beliefs.

its quite interesting how cognitive dissonance kicks in, for many & not too much for others.

ivanatahan

People who are brainwashed generally don't know they're brainwashed. This person has no idea what's going on, and his grammar definitely helps his point.

8

Jesus' Ransom

by ivanatahan in

i never really understood this.

at least, after i started thinking about it recently.. if jesus died for our sins, wouldn't everyone be saved?

what's the point of saying that his death gave all humans the chance to die if, appearantly, only 8 million people out of 7 billion will live?.

ivanatahan

The problem goes deeper than that. Why would we need a 'ransom'? because of the talking snake?.The twirling swords?

-Prologos

It goes even deeper. Why did God even create "Satan" if he could see into the future and see that he "rebelled"?

8

Jesus' Ransom

by ivanatahan in

i never really understood this.

at least, after i started thinking about it recently.. if jesus died for our sins, wouldn't everyone be saved?

what's the point of saying that his death gave all humans the chance to die if, appearantly, only 8 million people out of 7 billion will live?.

ivanatahan

I never really understood this. At least, after I started thinking about it recently.

If Jesus died for our sins, wouldn't everyone be saved? What's the point of saying that his death gave all humans the chance to die if, appearantly, only 8 million people out of 7 BILLION will live?

I could see that his death would mean non-Jews could be saved, but that didn't seem to go in effect until Peter preached to the non-Jew Cornelius.

This, in turn, leads me to question: WHO will actually be saved and what should people do? The Bible seems to give contradictory/different ways to be saved. At one point it says you should confess your sins to God. At another it says to call on The Lord's name. The Bible also gives other ways to be saved. One could say you'd have to do all of those things, but since they're not mentioned in a single sermon, then that would make it hard for pre-Gospel followers to keep track of the requirements.

I still find it sad that many people in the Jecultah's Blindness religion haven't been awakened simply by reading the Bible and actually, JW propoganda-free, independently reflecting on what it says and teaches.

What are your thoughts?