Posts by dubstepped

146

Why I remain one of Jehovah's Witnesses

by Brother Jeramy in

allow me to begin with a clarification: when i say i am one of jehovah's witnesses, i don't mean that i am an advocate of the watchtower society or a devotee of some of its more controversial false teachings.

i mean that i am a christian, a disciple of jesus christ dedicated to jehovah god, and who remains in union with my brothers and sisters who make up the family of faith that globally refers to itself as jehovah's witnesses.

some totally understand the distinction between the family of brothers and sisters and the corporate organization known as the watchtower society (wts).

dubstepped

The OP lost me as soon as I saw that he couldn't spell "Jeremy".

Honestly though, I have no major issues with his post. Many in the organization want to label it 100% truth, and many out of it want to label it 100% false, so at least he seemed to realize that there are issues. I'm fading happily and although I see a lot of things that make me mad, I can see some teachings that I do respect and lessons that were good in my life. I also want to scream if I attend a meeting and listen to people spout off the latest buzzwords of the organization and repeat falsehoods and hyperbole, so I can't go. It is the yin and the yang, the good and bad, and the organization seems more and more to be going down the path of ridiculous group dynamics whereby the people get sucked in more and the leaders gain more influence. It happens all of the time in human groups. I just can't be there while it goes down. If the emperor has no clothes and people don't want to see it, I can't live in that kind of denial while others may be able to. At this point in life the organization only takes from me. I get nothing out of the meetings or anything else. You can only treat people like objects instead of human beings for so long before they decide not to take it any longer. I know that for others, their mileage varies greatly. A lot has to do with the congregational attitude in your locale, the mental and emotional makeup of the individual, etc.

41

How Do You Feel About All The Time You Wasted Being. A Jehovah's Witness?

by minimus in

jw
friends

all that i can say is....what a shame!

dubstepped

No regrets here. Few things are all good or all bad. There were positives in with the negatives, though at this point the negatives win out. It isn't like if I had been doing something else life would have been sunshine and rainbows and unicorn farts. Everybody has good and bad in their lives no matter what they do. I don't really believe that things would have been all that different in the ratio of good to bad. Sure, I missed out on some time with people that I could have had better relationships with, but thosr also could have been destructive relationships that I avoided. I was both denied experiences and protected from experiences that could have been devastating.

2

Icons, venerated symbols, and organizations

by CloseTheDoor in

a recently published article called "a feast to jehovah" at http://meletivivlon.com/2015/05/12/a-feast-to-jehovah/ discusses the use of icons, venerated symbols and organizations, the jw.org logo, and more being used in the org.some of you might find it interesting as some of the comments on the site (and in other article) which are often from current (but thinking) jws.

dubstepped

Thanks for the links. I stumbled upon that site once and never bookmarked it and certainly couldn't remember the name or url. I've got it now and really enjoy the site. Started poking around there last night. I like the commentary without the harsh attitude that some have.

59

On the subject of Child Baptism - Video

by cappytan in

so, the latest "kids" kingdom melody video is out.. here are some screenshots:.

.

yep, that's right, they showed a kid with a teddy bear getting baptized.. here's the video in full for documentation, if you can stomach it.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ellrtyj_maq.

dubstepped

Hey, I see no reason that a person that can grasp the depths of productions like Disney movies (without magic, of course) can't devote the rest of their lives to an organization at that same age. Sure, some kids make pacts to be "best friends forever" (which we know always lasts) around the same time as their baptism, and some of them are afraid of the dark, some haven't a clue as to what the anatomy of the opposite sex might look like, but these kids are ready for big decisions. They'd eat cake and ice cream for dinner if their parents weren't around (okay maybe nothing wrong with that), and they may not be able to hold a job yet, but they can feed at Jehovah's table and work for his organization through a lifelong dedication. And if they don't live up to the hype, we'll just cast them aside and find another. No biggie. Their loss, not ours.

59

On the subject of Child Baptism - Video

by cappytan in

so, the latest "kids" kingdom melody video is out.. here are some screenshots:.

.

yep, that's right, they showed a kid with a teddy bear getting baptized.. here's the video in full for documentation, if you can stomach it.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ellrtyj_maq.

dubstepped

Wait, the video suggests it's wrong to build a snowman??? Still can't stomach it so you will have to tell me

At 1:15 you see two kids building a snowman while a kid holds his dad's hand out in service. He looks longingly or shocked at them building it (not sure which) and then smiles because he knows he's doing the better and right thing by being out with his dad in the ministry. Maybe the message isn't that snowmen are bad. Maybe just having fun is, or just having fun when you could be in the ministry, or maybe it is the snowman, but regardless that little kid knows he's better than those other kids who aren't doing what he is.

59

On the subject of Child Baptism - Video

by cappytan in

so, the latest "kids" kingdom melody video is out.. here are some screenshots:.

.

yep, that's right, they showed a kid with a teddy bear getting baptized.. here's the video in full for documentation, if you can stomach it.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ellrtyj_maq.

dubstepped

Beyond my snowman remark, as I find their judgementalism to be ridiculous, I have a major issue with young people getting baptized. I remember articles back when I was younger deriding child baptisms, and how young people would just get baptized in their parent's religion and how they never really made decisions as it was a default for them to follow in their family's footsteps. What the eff do you think that Witness kids do? They have to follow in their parent's footsteps. If you aren't baptized by the time you're a young adult (let's say 16) people start asking about you. Assumptions are made as to your character. Some dads have elder's roles to fulfill, and part of that is having good young women and men that are baptized (nobody really cares about the whole dedication thing, it's all about the outward symbol, because as we all know it is how you appear that matters most). I hate the way kids are pushed into getting baptized. I knew that I needed to, and I did genuinely want to, but only because I wanted to do what was right, not because I had any relationship with God. I was just a smart kid that could answer questions. Heck, a trained monkey could answer many questions. I'll never forget one particular elder that went over my questions with me. I would phrase the answers in my own words because I knew that was the best way to show sincerity, as the WT magazines told me so, so I would give well thought out answers. The elder would sit across from me and kind of tell me that what I had was a night thought, but that the answer was "insert word for word answer here from a publication". He was too dumb to get what I was saying because as a kid I could talk over his head. I thought I had "failed", but they managed to put me through. Either he understood more than he let on or the other two elders knew that he was a knucklehead. Regardless, these kids can't get married, or often drive a car, or make decisions at to what time to go to bed, but they can engage in a lifelong dedication to a God that is the only one they've ever known or really even heard of, dedicated to an organization that is the only one they've ever known and that is controlling their feelings and thoughts from a young age. That is utter and complete crap.

If you only have one choice in a matter, did you really make a decision?

59

On the subject of Child Baptism - Video

by cappytan in

so, the latest "kids" kingdom melody video is out.. here are some screenshots:.

.

yep, that's right, they showed a kid with a teddy bear getting baptized.. here's the video in full for documentation, if you can stomach it.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ellrtyj_maq.

dubstepped

What's wrong with building a snowman?

53

Ties at the Kingdom Hall

by CloseTheDoor in

couple of weeks ago an elder took a young man aside and crawled all over him after the tms for wearing a "skinny" tie.

it was one of those 2 inch wide ties.

nothing bright or scandalous about.

dubstepped

From my experience, not all about me:

Hair too long

Suit too gold, wrong color, style issue

Buttons/broaches too shiny

Hair wrong color

Didn't shave before meeting

Must wear suit jacket even in 100 degree weather out in service

16

Informant-I consent for my relevant medical records to be shared with HLC!

by Atlantis in

from an informant who contacted atlantis:.

.. i consent to my relevant medical records and the details of my condition being shared with.

the emergency contact below and/or with member(s) of the hospital liaison committee.

dubstepped

Pardon my ignorance, but is this a new card? Or is this what most have now? I had one that looked different and haven't ever seen this one. Then again, my card was many years ago and I faded and never really kept up with things. That seems quite invasive.

11

OK....IM TOTALLY CONFUSED ! !

by brandnew in

jw
friends

ok, so....does everyone who has ever been born, and lived on this planet called earth....get ressurected?.

doesnt that sound like pissin in the wind?.

destroy everyone......just to bring em back......to destroy them again....... seems like a neverending cycle..

dubstepped

Ha, I've thought about this. When someone dies, from Leonard Nimoy to their cousin twice removed named Bert, they always look forward to seeing them in paradise. I even saw a post on a JW forum the other day where a person quoted the scripture that Jehovah will satisfy the desire of every living thing and they wanted to see cousin Bert, so therefore they were sure of them being resurrected. I remember making fun of worldly people and how they thought everyone went to heaven at any funeral. JWs think everyone will be resurrected, so what's the difference?

I do still believe in such hopes, but I no longer stand by any side of things. I'll let Jehovah sort it out. Not my circus to manage.