Posts by dubstepped

48

Anyone struggle to find meaning in life?

by Good JW in

just wondering if this is a common thing for you guys and girls?

when i left the jws it was hard to make a connection with people, much of the time i felt that whatever they wanted to talk about just didn't seem relevant/deep/meaningful.

i find myself filtering my mind to get to a level with others (small talk mostly).

dubstepped

Happiness is the ultimate currency.

That is a point I learned from a book called "Happier" by Tal Ben-Shahar long before leaving the cult. Most of what we do as human beings is in the pursuit of happiness. Sometimes we miss the mark, but that's what we're driven toward.

So what makes you happy? For me it's being with my wife, challenging myself, helping others to be happier, etc. So I do things to get me closer to those things that bring me happiness. Maybe there's no eternal mark I can leave on the world. Maybe there's no eternity for me. But I can try to be as happy as possible while I'm here, and I'm talking genuine happiness, not escaping. When I'm present and happy then what else could I ask for that's not a fairy tale?

44

Shoud individuals be held responsible for their INACTION?

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

if you see someone about to be struck by a car or otherwise step into harms way but choose not to call out a warning or act in some way to prevent disaster, are you responsible for any harm caused?.

what defence, if any, can be offered for choosing inaction?

.

dubstepped

Fisherman - If God exists, he must be greater than you morally. An inferior being is not God.

Thanks for proving that there is no god. That was simple, no? Or would you slaughter babies and let women be raped? If you wouldn't, congrats! my friend, you just woke up to the reality of a godless world. There is no god. Go be happy and stop serving something that doesn't exist. That usually gets one placed in a mental ward. Others just call it religion.

41

An Active JW Sister Modelling For Me

by pale.emperor in

since leaving the borg i jumped both feet first into classes i've always wanted to do but was never "allowed" to.

two of which are life drawing and photography.

i've been studying for almost two years now and have seen more nude men and women in our classes than i care to remember.. today in the photography studio i was working in with three others (two women, one man) we were told we had a new person modelling for us.

dubstepped

Pubsinger - Usual hypocrisy. When it suits them.

You mean when it birthday suits them. ;)

44

JW story - "husbands JW beliefs ruining the family" - on Dr. Phil today

by ShirleyW in

jw
friends

"my husbands religious beliefs are ruining our family" is the topic.

i"m not home when it airs on cbs in the afternoon so i watch a rerun on ch 55 here in nyc at 8pm.

i have my cable box all set to switch over at the appropriate time..

dubstepped

Whew, just watched that and the lady needs to quit being so defensive. I think she may be for a few reasons. First, she said something to those elders about her husband or they wouldn't have called CPS. She acts like she doesn't know what was said. Come on. There will be repercussions maritally though, so she's trying to plead ignorance. Second, she's lived a life that was unfair to her already as a JW. Third, she is the bad guy for leaving the JWs and went through that unfair process. So I get her anger, but like he said, she needs to be less combative.

Ultimately I thought it was a great anti-witness. There were numerous and legitimate shots at JWs. I thought Dr. Phil handled it all quite well. He even went so far as to have an ex-JW counselor from Free Minds offer help and an ex-JW person chime in at the very end. So he no doubt knows what a cult it is. I thought the husband looked pissed off after those two ex-dubs were brought in, lol.

All in all, a good show. I feel for the kids caught up in this mess.

44

JW story - "husbands JW beliefs ruining the family" - on Dr. Phil today

by ShirleyW in

jw
friends

"my husbands religious beliefs are ruining our family" is the topic.

i"m not home when it airs on cbs in the afternoon so i watch a rerun on ch 55 here in nyc at 8pm.

i have my cable box all set to switch over at the appropriate time..

dubstepped

@Londo - He'd fit in well here at times.

60

I am getting disfellowshipped

by CitizenofEarth in

maybe some of you remember me, maybe not.

for general information i am now 19 years old, and living by myself.

for the past 1 year (more like 1.5 years) i have been quietly fading out of the hypocrisy of this organization, but since i still live in the town i grew up in it has been hard, and filled with different challenges.

dubstepped

I guess I'll be that one person that tells you it's your life and go if you want. Don't feel compelled to go for sure, and don't think you're going to beat them in a rigged game. However, if it makes you feel good to go, if you find closure in it, if you just feel like it is how you want to go out for any reason, it's your life. If I listened to others I wouldn't have disassociated and that was one of the best decisions of my life. Do you. Listen to everyone here but make your own decision. You're not in a cult anymore.

86

Do You Know Any “Gay” Jehovah’s Witnesses?

by minimus in

jw
friends

of course the religion condemns homosexuality but did you know any gay witnesses?

i knew some bethelites that were very effeminate and i remember 4 women who were suspected of being lesbians by many in the congregation.

they eventually moved away and were very vocal against males, especially elders..

dubstepped

I certainly knew some to leave and then express their homosexuality. Good for them.

I knew men that were effeminate but that doesn't mean they were necessarily gay, and I knew women that were man haters but that doesn't mean they were gay either.

44

Shoud individuals be held responsible for their INACTION?

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

if you see someone about to be struck by a car or otherwise step into harms way but choose not to call out a warning or act in some way to prevent disaster, are you responsible for any harm caused?.

what defence, if any, can be offered for choosing inaction?

.

dubstepped

A human's natural response is to fight, flee, or freeze. These are natural reactions, not moral ones. It's judgy humans that tend to moralize the natural. Inaction like freezing may still be an action, freezing. Humans don't always get to choose how they react, like a victim of sexual crime may freeze in the moment. It's a natural response but some moralize it, resulting in further shame for the victim.

I think the error is in your original post when you use the word "choose". That is a moral judgment itself. At times we choose, at times we act in whatever way our natural overwhelmed reaction is. Ascribing choice makes it a question of morality, which may or may not be fair. We humans like to pretend we're in more control than we are. Likely a person may regret their inaction in the moment, but in the moment their natural systems took over their power of choice.

5

Catch up

by Jrjw in

jw
friends

facebook is great for finding old friends.

i found a friend who is an ex witness who i haven't seen for about 7 years coz she left the society and we lost touch and i got in contact with her the other day on facebook and she came for tea earlier and we had a great time talking about experiences of the wts and it's strange doctrines and remembering our school days.

we chatted for about 5 hours and are going to keep in touch.

dubstepped

Oh yeah, I've probably got a dozen or more friends now that left back in the day. They were all glad to see me leave too. I've met many of them in person and have 3 that I'm trying to arrange to meet soon. Good times.

14

no...No...NOOO...JW's are not a cult!

by FedUpJW in

just read this over on jw talk:.

will we be willing to leave unbelieving mates and unresponsive kids behind when given direction on what to do???

what about grandkids who fall under their parents who are not witnesses???

dubstepped

@Sliced - Take the most uneducated JWs, throw them in one place, add a touch of mental illness, a heaping helping of delusion, equal part unjustified arrogance, and you have the JW Talk forum.