Posts by boa

20

1993 Circuit Assembly Demonstration that Involved "The Firm" (1993)

by FirstInLine in

i remember in 1993 at one of the circuit conventions that they did a drama in which a young adult woman living with her parents was going to go see "the firm" (1993) with some other young adult jws.

when she told her parents of her plans they expressed their concerns and she pleaded that sometimes a really good movie is ok to go see if it is rated r. she heard from reliable sources that there wasnt anything really bad with it like gratuitous sex, drugs or demonic themes.

in the end her parents convinced her that jehovah would still not approve because it was rated r. she was reminded that even worldly people recognize it is a bad movie because they are the ones that gave it the r rating.

boa

I don't recall this specific movie being mentioned, however, i do remember as a teen hearing in talks at the hall how bad the songs 'bridge over troubled water' and 'my way' were. The first apparently is about drugs (thanks for telling me, now that I know I need to smoke something) and the last because of an independent attitude (definitely a big sin, cuz, doncha know you might think for yourself and use your God-given brain and leave this ridiculous meeting).

The other thing I remember, and its kinda funny now that I'm in hardcore fade I've been remembering little snippets of 'the light getting brighter and brighter' for myself when I was really a 'good jw' ( is there such a thing?). Anyway, the other thing was a pt discussing things associated with spiritism and a huge long list was read out with stuff like horoscopes etc and black holes were mentioned???? My little science-interested mind went screeeeeech, WHAT, did I hear that right? What hokey, but wait a minute, maybe there's something to it, oooohhhh, fear, fear, I better be careful, the bros must know something I don't. The list sure seemed like it was part of the outline, and since I have most of them, I should look for it and see if its been 'updated' or still the old way. I'm sure they got rid of it now since black holes have been commonly mentioned in Awake for years.

I think the Police were on the 'bad' list because Sting related having some song ideas or lyrics come from his dreams, and don't forget the one album title 'Ghost in the Machine' - baaaad, baaaaaad.

boa

36

My Bio - and official hi to everyone.

by Freddy Krueger in

jw
friends

well, i've posted a few topics already and responded to a few.

and spoke with some of you.

well i just wanted to give you a little background on me.

boa

hello freddy,

i appreciated yer story as it touches a chord with mine and maybe just about everyone who 'sees the light about ever increasing light' and the wts

i'm still in but mentally, emotionally, and physically move my family and self farther away.

been there and done that with talks, witnessing, bethel, assemblies etc etc etc like you and am still in shock over the bubble bursting of my life long religion

i've got major family numbers all in the borg and can only hope a few can be 'saved' - just a few would make breaking free forever much easier

look forward to more of your story

boa

ps the pic of the 'master chief' of the halo character i use: the body armour is my present defensive outer shell to survive the inner pain of a life born into the org. the weapon may be figuratively used on insulting ignorance of uniform thinking

22

Spankings In The KH Bathroom

by Hunyadi in

.

oh, how many times have we heard the loud hard spankings of toddlers' and preschool aged children by their parents for making noise at the meetings echo from inside of the kingdom hall restrooms?

until now it was a memory i had forgotten, but it really bugs me now.. hunyadi

boa

great thread Hunyadi

i've got a very active 4 yr old boy and he gets on my nerves understandably but i'm definitely opposed to spanking. not saying never ever ever but so far haven't had to yet.

my view is that spanking generally is an ignorant and easy way out to release the parents frustration more than anything it will actually accomplish in teaching. ESPECIALLY a two year old. Any basic foray into modern knowledge on child development will quickly show infants and young children cannot be 'bad' and to tell them they are bad when discipling regardless of method is also wrong imo.

anytime i lose control and yell even at something my boy does is my own lack in understanding and self-control. to me spanking in general is violence and teaches that message whether subtly or overtly to children and later as they become adults.

i'm not saying i wouldn't give a smack on the clothed backside to 'snap him out of it if his life was in danger although i so far have been able to use forsight of such situations and/or removing him from teh danger before needing to spank

my step-f woulda gone to jail for the things he did in our family years ago imo - but no matter, even if it was today we were so controlled by him (kinda a hand-in-hand with being a jw fam) that we probly wouldn'ta squeeled to anyone. we were VERY clearly told by him that in no uncertain terms were family matters to go outside to anyone else.

thanks for letting me rant a little and all this is imoo

boa

'spank a kid a day and you'll keep the love away'

61

My life ... and how JWD came to be - Part 2

by Simon in

previous: my life ... and how jwd came to be - part 1. .

how many times have people said ?if i knew then what i know now??

what a difference that would have made to my life.

boa

thanks simon for your heartfelt testimony,

i can only hope and work towards surviving my own ordeal of growing up in the org and am glad to have my wife united with me in our present course on the way out - (but still fading)

looking forward to the rest of the story

boa

25

I was DA'd without my consent. Whadda buncha hypocrites!!!!!!!!!!

by Love_Truth in

jw
friends

i was raised a jw, seriously studied the bible, consumed it, and in my decades, found very few jws or non-jws who knew it as well as i. i love god's word, the bible.

i left the jws as a teen/young man, df'd for fornication, with no witnesses, and i never showed for the judicial commitee.

when i came back in (in my 20s) and was re-instated, i was "super jw", very zealous, and very vocal and knowlegeable of the bible.

boa

hi love_truth

your story touches a chord to my own which involved several years of ftservice including bethel etc etc but didn't quite make it to elder. close but no cigar (hehheh - which i've secretly enjoyed a coupla times in the last coulpla years). thanks for relating it.

i'm still technically 'in' but fear the course i'm on (with my immediate family) will eventually be like yours. some busybody interfering sob is gonna squeal when i slip on my presently careful steps. MAN I hate going through this!!! I'm still way too programmed to be sure of anything.

but this is your thread and i just wanted to comment that we have some similarities in our story.

bty your pic is very kewl - l love star trek and think tng was overall the best - any who wish to stone for this 'apostate' comment on tng versus the original or any of the latest incarnations will have to get in line behind the 'gunners' in the cong who no doubt are keeping their eye on me!

boa

the wts is kinda like st in belief in the unreal and seemingly impossible...oh yah and the series changes and just goes on and on (jeece i almost typed that without conscious thought - i'm weirded out)

52

Which One Lie Hurt You The Most About Jehovahs Witnesses?

by shamus in

jw
friends

which one teaching really hurt you when you found out that it was not true?

my number one thing is finding out that the name "jehovah" was not in the bible like it was in the new world translation (tm).

christians did not call god "jehover" "jehovah" or by his first name, no more than you would call your father by his first name when you were a child.

boa

my big problem right now is the seemingly trustworthy evidence that the fellows at the top of the org are just men, not so spirit directed, and full of politics which i REALLY REALLY HATE. Not telling truth so as to tickle the ears of the masses of jws or worry over what they will do REALLY REALLY ticks me off.

I say give me the cold hard truth like : we REALLY REALLY screwed up here and i'll respect you far more in the morning. Or, we REALLY REALLY don't know so we won't say anything right now would be fine by me too.

You may be able to tell i'm in the middle of COC but had my suspicions some time before about this stuff.

boa

'still in the org but not sure for how long'

27

Animals in the New System

by Bulldog in

has there been previous discussions on the nature of animals in the new system?

most people seem to think that the animals will suddenly become completely different than they are today.

lions and tigers will eat hay, not meat, etc, but if you think about animal natures and the perfect system that exists in the animal food chain, it doesn't make sense.. what would a horse be if it had no fear of predators?

boa

welcome bulldog

on this question, i guess i shouldn't be surprised how many in the org either haven't thought about this or have dismissed in their minds the implications. i remember growing up in jw home and having vague explanations for the way the cycle of life is, with its viciousness at times, as somehow related to the Fall, which brings more q's like: did Satan have something to do with changing the animal kingdom? Did Jehovah redesign the nature of all animals at that time? Did he actually design animals with all of their predator/prey components, but the predators really only need 'grass' to live on? The things even a child can wonder about and those wonderings go unanswered all one's life.

Until now. I certainly don't know this for sure, but, it seems to me that if we apply the '2 books from God' illustration used by jws, ie: The Bible and the book of Creation, it would seem to me that the animal kingdom is either an evolutionary behaviour and development, OR, it indeed is a lesson in the Creator about several different facets of his personality. For example, the beauty of many animals with their cute cuddly offspring versus the cold hard reality of life in this universe (as we so far know it), namely, eat or be eaten and for many species, have fun doing (killing) it, do it for the hell of it, or take one's time doing it so the prey suffers for a long time.

I for one don't know the actual truth about this situation but if its as it seems in the above paragraph and that ends up being the facts, then thats what i want to believe.

If Jehovah changed anything with the animal kingdom at the Fall IMO, it was turning ON a natural fear of man so as to provide some protection to the animal kingdom for the upcoming bumpy ride of imperfect mankind.

nice post bulldog ;)

boa

'For all those who THINK they know, beware of arrogance'

31

I've arrived here seemingly by providence...heh heh.

by boa in

its my first post and i don't really know where to start, there been so much on my mind.

i've been reading threads on this site like crazy and obtained a copy of coc from the library yesterday.

i stayed up until 4am reading it, and i'm impressed with the way it was written - its just like reading a w only the subject matter is a little different hehe.. i'll break myself in gently with this site over time but basically a few things about me are: born in a jw family, baptized as a young teen, 1 yr aux pio, several yrs as reg pio, 1 year as 'special' full time pio at bethel.

boa

thanx everyone for the welcome and encouragement. i hope i'm heading down the right road. you who have been in similar shoes know the second-guessing about whether this is right or not in view of the powerful 'apostate' message will know what i'm saying. There is just no room for anything other than status quo in this org.

Englishman, how can i stop that from happening. Its not that i am two people but rather more than one using this computer.

8

JWs are "wise" and everyone else is "dumb" - no wonder they're arrogant...

by somebodylovesme in

i'm bored, so i thought i'd post.

i just remembered a part of a talk from a meeting i went to a couple months ago (to appease the family).

i can't remember what verse, but it was talking about how christians were the "wise" ones.

boa

somebodylovesme,

I've often thought about how it seems the exclusiveness of the jw group leads to everyone getting a degree in the -we now KNOW 101 course. But why do you know bro'? Because I believe and know, and so on and so on. To be fair though, when you are trained by the org to question as much as you want but only WITHIN the confines of the society's teachings, and especially if you are raised a jw (like I was), it seems to practically be a miracle to even realize what questions can be asked about the 'knowledge' you are raised with never mind the possibility that there could be something more than minor wrong with jw beliefs. You know the idea that this close to the end, we practically have all the new light.

shotgun

i agree. the jw faith is full of many many mysteries. but that is for another post.

boa

'To those who think they KNOW, beware of arrogance'

31

I've arrived here seemingly by providence...heh heh.

by boa in

its my first post and i don't really know where to start, there been so much on my mind.

i've been reading threads on this site like crazy and obtained a copy of coc from the library yesterday.

i stayed up until 4am reading it, and i'm impressed with the way it was written - its just like reading a w only the subject matter is a little different hehe.. i'll break myself in gently with this site over time but basically a few things about me are: born in a jw family, baptized as a young teen, 1 yr aux pio, several yrs as reg pio, 1 year as 'special' full time pio at bethel.

boa

Hello everyone,

Its my first post and I don't really know where to start, there been so much on my mind. I've been reading threads on this site like crazy and obtained a copy of COC from the library yesterday. I stayed up until 4am reading it, and I'm impressed with the way it was written - its just like reading a W only the subject matter is a little different hehe.

I'll break myself in gently with this site over time but basically a few things about me are: born in a jw family, baptized as a young teen, 1 yr aux pio, several yrs as reg pio, 1 year as 'special' full time pio at bethel. Not df'd or da'd yet but no doubt have a few eyes watching me - kinda like sauron - the eye is moving around watching everywhere!

Its hard for me to really pinpoint but I think, the real turning point in my life was the year at bethel and specifically the requirement to read the bible cover to cover in your first year. I hadn't done that up to that point and doing so got me thinking more and more about several matters of 'faith' and consience. Oh yah, my favourite book is Ecclesiastes without a doubt!

I've never before associated with 'apostates' and only very very briefly checked out a website once several years ago (actually while at b). The only thing I remember about it was some claims about impropriety to do with Nazi flags or something at some assembly in Germany. I actually was able to read the society's account in the old yearbook at the b library and amazingly enough shortly after I read about this, the society actually put out that article addressing this issue. I'm not sure who is telling the truth about it all but it doesn't really matter right now to me anyway. The point of this paragraph is that I got to this stage in my spiritual life and the jw org pretty much on my own with my own meditation and thinking. Of course I love thinking that I've applied the bstudy principle of the 'ring of truth' to my own journey away from the org, although that never was my purpose - to get away from the org, but rather to seek 'truth' and accuracy of belief.

I've felt so alone (other than wife who is similar to my thinking - actually, she was there first but didn't push me ever) in my journey the last several years and to affirm that I'm not alone by the discussions many of you have on this site is pretty moving to me.

Enough of me now, I'll definitely be around for awhile to hopefully contribute in some meaningful way and appreciate any support great or small that comes my way. Just reading your stories is pretty much support enough. Thank you all! (and you too Simon!)

boa

'To all those who think they KNOW, beware of arrogance'

boa