Same problem here. Major trust issues. It's hard to trust much of anyone when your "mother" the WTS turned out to be a liar. I think the WTS taught us that we could always trust them, so we did. Then we learned they were full of crap. At least for me that has caused me to be very cynical. I pretty much think that everyone is full of crap. That of course makes it difficult to get close to much of anyone. Solution: Unfortunately I don't have the answer. And if someone gave me the answer I probably wouldn't listen to them anyway, after all, I can't trust them.
zugzwang
JoinedPosts by zugzwang
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The effects of exiting a cult
by Sirona ini consider jehovahs witnesses to be a cult, or at least a high control group (cult-like).. i recognise within myself some side effects of having been a jw.
here is an interesting article dealing with cults (it does list some extreme cult tactics).
i'm going to quote just part of the article regarding the effects on someone who has left a cult.
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What's the purpose of restrictions after reinstatement?
by truthseeker inthe parable of the prodigal son.
i will set out and go back to my father and say to him: father, i have sinned against heaven and against you.
" "my son," the father said, "you are always with me, and everything i have is yours.
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zugzwang
It's all psychology. People want what they can't have. So if you tell a person, "you can't comment, or pray for a group, or read the Watchtower in front of the congo or give talks," suddenly on some level those things become "privileges" that a person wants. For instance, take a small child, 1 or 2 years old. What does that child want to play with? Her own toys, or other things that she isn't supposed to play with? With my niece it's always other things and she just ignors her own toys. So how do I get her to play with her toys rather than with things that might hurt her? I set her toys in front of her and then tell her she can't play with them. Then I take them away. Almost every time I do this suddenly those toys are something that she wants even though moments ago she couldn't have cared less about those toys. The same psychology is being used by the WTS. They are conditioning the person to believe that these "privileges" are something to be sought after. It's not so evil when an uncle is using this tactic to get his niece to play with her toys, it seems a little more sinister when the bOrg does it.
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I have been reading COC
by fairy inwell, i have read the first few chapters of the latest edition and am surprised at what i read.. the bickering behind the society - how some decisions were not based on scriptural reference - the 607 date - and where the gentile times 1914 thing came about - the malawi/mexico business - ray franz has a very interesting story about the society/governing body amongst other things.. it seems that ever since he was there, he constantly came across things he didnt agree with.. the voting system that was set up to see what articles went in the magazines.. there was one bit in there about being "scriptually free to marry".
one sister caught her husband and an animal together....well..you know......and she divorced him.
she remarried but then told she wasnt free to scriptually marry and they disfellowshipped/dissassociated her.......how ridiculous is that.. and so the story goes........... i thought i would just put my bit in on the first section i have read...will write more when i have read more..
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zugzwang
Yes indeed, an excellent read.
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Question for those who used to be "anointed"
by zugzwang ini was a pretty zealous witness back in my day.
i went out after every privilege i could get my hands on.
however i never once thought that i was of the "anointed.
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zugzwang
Do you mean JW or Biblical definition of annointed?
I mean the JW definition. Obviously the JW definition is flawed, but for a JW to believe he fits this flawed definition he has to either be insincere (such as the guy Mastodon just mentioned) or sincerely believe it. Granted there are many who were insincere and then many who were mentally unstable. (Many that I knew who professed fit that catagory.) But there has to be some who were sincerely convinced that they fit that special class of people who weren't "off their rocker." And surely some of them have since then left the borg. I was hoping to hear from someone in that situation. That is kind of a personal question so maybe no one is comfortable addressing the subject. I've just always been curious.
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Something our Circuit Overseer said.
by PaNiCAtTaCk inhe said that if we take time to argue or disagree with someone at the door then our guardian angel is already waiting at the next door with out us.
basically what this does is train us to flee from anything that may conflict with what we are trying to teach or anything that we may believe.
to stay at the door and .
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zugzwang
But when they start talking false prophets, date setting and 607 I am silenced. I still feel that we have some things right but their are other major things wrong.
This is called cognitive dissonance. Out of one side of your mouth you say "we are right" out of the other you say "we are wrong." No matter what the WTS changes in the future they can never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never erase the false prophecies, doctrinal flip flops, double standards, cover ups etc. To say, "I still feel that we have some things right. . . " is missing the point. It's a mind that can't accept the fact that what it believes to be true, simply isn't. So cognitive dissonance protects you from seeing what is right in front of you. But, once you get past that self defense mechanism then it becomes obvious that the WTS is a fraudulent, worthless organization that has survived by constantly lying and changing it's teachings.
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Bethel: Pathway to Apostasy
by Black Man inat the 'big house' you go either one of two ways, company man or apostate.
i think for many that went, it demystified the whole organization and you saw firsthand that there wasn't holy spirit influencing anything - only the muses of sheltered, out-of-touch old men and political bureaucrats.
i work in the corporate world and i saw just as much if not more politics in bethel.
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zugzwang
Black Man wrote: "The whole g-jobbing thing was a trip, because at the time that I was there, Bethelites only got $90-95 a month."
That's what we received when I was there as well. '98 and '99. Perhaps we were there at the same time. I actually was one of those brothers in the electrical maintenance department who did the g-jobbing thing. I didn't do it a lot and I didn't start doing it until I knew I was going to leave. Then the morning worship dropped off and the Monday night Watchtower study was replaced with TV and pizza and beer. (Who knew there were shows on TV on Monday night.) As far as the music thing was concerned I never had any trouble with anything I listen to. And I listened to it all. Not only that, but I lived on the 5th floor of 124 Columbia Hts just 3 doors down from George Couch, who was a huge Bethel heavy and if I'm not mistaken he was also the Home Overseer. But especially on the weekends we would play our music loud and have lots of people over but we never got any static over the music. That's rather surprising but true. As far as racism at Bethel is concerned it was about the same as the rest of JW-dom. It wasn't as outright obvious as it is in most of daily living in this world, but that same general unstated assumption that blacks and hispanics were less capable than their white counterparts existed. On a lighter note, it was awesome living in NYC. I loved rollerblading across the Brooklyn bridge in to Manhattan. What an incredible city. I sometimes almost wish I could go back there for a month or so (like on the temp. construction) just to hang out in the city again without having to pay a bunch of money for lodging. It's funny, I go to Bethel, but the thing I end up missing the most is the city that I was supposed to take delight in watching God destroy at Armageddon. How ironic!
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Advantages to being a JW
by MGonzales ini'd say that the biggest advantage of being a jw is that you learn the bible.
growing up a jw (never baptized), i had many friends (mostly catholic) who didn't even know where most books of the bible were even located.
jws really do learn and study the bible and this knowledge becomes very helpful once you start looking at the bible more objectively and not with wts binders.
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zugzwang
Growing up a witness taught me how to judgemental.... aka a republican. Thank God I figured out that true loving people are democrats and helped change my thinking!!!!
Because I grew up a witness it is easy to see religious fraud in other people and organizations. . . such as the Republican Party.
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Favorite TV show
by Pwned inseinfeld, simpsons, sopranos and the wire (i cant wait for season 3 on dvd)
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zugzwang
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WTS Letter to Elders
by doinmypart inactually the letter is from the christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses.
it was sent to elders in february 2002, after our last km school.. i scanned and posted this letter back in 2002, but with the influx of new posters this is a good time to bring this letter back to light.. it discusses field service, inactive publishers, shepherding, marital problems, child abuse, and other topics.
some of the topics in the letter have been updated in more recent correspondence, but overall this is an interesting read.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/tmp/boe20020318.pdf.
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zugzwang
Actually AlmostAtheist, the letter does say: "This would serve as a protection for the elders, as well as for the sister, because it is possible for an elder to develop improper feelings for a sister he is comforting or counseling." The GB definitely want to remind the brothers that they are morally weak and unable to control themselves around women.
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3 pioneers die in crash in O.C.
by Dogpatch infrom the los angeles times .
orange county .
crash kills 3 after wedding .
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zugzwang
I remember speeding around with my JW pals when I was their age. I look back and realize this story could easily have been about me and my friends.
Same here, I should have died at age 18 when I was driving a friends car at speeds over 130mph. When you're that young you think you are invincible. Tragic.