Posts by the bandersnatch esq.

4

discussions with householders

by kj in

i'm expecting a return visit from 2 nice jw ladies and i'm going to try counterwitnessing to them.

i've been warned about possibly wasting my time, which i know is a possibility.

i'm not afraid of them sucking me in- i know way too much now.

Hmmm... it's a bit involved, but you could try my idea (I've been wanting to test on a JW for a while now!):

Firstly, ask them if they believe in a soul. Obviously they'll answer "no".

Then, ask them if they believe in resurrection. They'll obviously say yes.

Then ask them that if a body has decomposed (as millions of worshippers of God through the years surely have), then how can a person be resurrected if they don't have a soul. Surely just recreating a person wouldn't actually BE that person, merely a copy, and the is not in fact resurrection.
And if they say God could use the exact molecules and atoms in recreating a person, then tell them that in fact the atoms of dead people have become parts of the Earth's soil, air and water in the meantime, and then have found themselves into NEW people - such as you and me!

In short, the resurrection myth (because that's what it really is, a myth at best, a lie at worst), cannot logically make sense without resorting to the idea of a soul or spirit seperate from the body.

Try this and see if their heads explode! Make sure you let us know how it goes...

4

Karate

by the bandersnatch esq. in

i started doing karate a few months ago.

today, an old memory came flooding back - i remember my mother telling me when i was a child and asked how people could punch through piles of wood, and breeze-blocks and suchlike, she told me it was because they were helped by the demons.

for years i thought karate was a satanistic activity (no, really!)...

the bandersnatch esq.

Just watched Kill Bill Vol. 1 last night, hoping to go see Vol 2 this week. Unrealistic, but a good laugh! My JW ex-friends heads would probably implode if they watched that... but then again many of them probably already have seen it, and much worse besides...

31

staying out of school assembly!

by happehanna in

does anyone else remember how awful school was because of the dreaded school assembly.. my whole school life was blighted because i couldn't go in.

my young son can goes in and it is the best part of his day, he loves the hymns.

how glad am i that i came to my senses before my son suffered like i did as a child.

the bandersnatch esq.

I remember at Primary School, there was an organisation close to the village called the Closed Brethren (we used to call them the Happy Clappers!). Anyone remember them? In any case, me and the 3 of them used to sit out of the assemblies, but they never used to really associate with me much - I was an unbeliever!

Personally I used to quite enjoy getting out of the Assemblies as I could always read books, and in later years at Secondary School I used to finish off homework I hadn't done.

All in all, the getting out of assemblies part was the only decent thing about the whole arrangement. Oh, except one year when an elderly assistant got my to decorate the Christmas tree for her when I was sitting outside of an assembly. I was about 6 so didn't know what was wrong with it, except my mam went apesh**t! I still find it funny to this day...

4

Karate

by the bandersnatch esq. in

i started doing karate a few months ago.

today, an old memory came flooding back - i remember my mother telling me when i was a child and asked how people could punch through piles of wood, and breeze-blocks and suchlike, she told me it was because they were helped by the demons.

for years i thought karate was a satanistic activity (no, really!)...

the bandersnatch esq.

I started doing karate a few months ago. Today, an old memory came flooding back - I remember my mother telling me when I was a child and asked how people could punch through piles of wood, and breeze-blocks and suchlike, she told me it was because they were helped by the demons.

For years I thought karate was a satanistic activity (no, really!)... now that I've started doing it I realise it's all scientific. The bones in the hand can be built up over time buy applying certain stresses to them, such as punching a wall repeatedly over time, to allow the bones to become hardened, meaning long-term students can punch things without fear of breaking the bones of their hand.

I told my girlfriend this today (she does karate too), she just laughed, she couldn't believe my parents would come out with such obvious bulls**t, she thinks they're all sweetness and politeness.

Wait till I tell her about how apparently UFO's are put there by Satan to fool us... :-)

Oh, the humanity!

34

Another newbie

by myauntfanny in

i just wanted to introduce myself before launching myself at the various threads.

i left when i was 14 and that was 30 years ago, i thought i was well over it but when i read some of the postings on here they really got to me.

there are definitely long term effects.

the bandersnatch esq.

I just want to say kudos to Poppers for getting the reference! Made my day!

14

Where did they get their brainwashing tecniques?

by cyber-sista in

what is really the most disturbing thing to me is that i really do feel that i was brainwashed in those 20 + years in the org--i mean seriously brainwashed.

i am not an idiot, but there were times that i look back on now where i was a radical jw, though this is not really my personality to be such.

i remember after assemblies (while greatly relieved it was over with aching back and all) i would feel different--sometimes i would start donating more money to the wt and at one point i seriously thought of puttingthe wt in my will.

the bandersnatch esq.

Have you ever read 1984 by George Orwell? There are so many fundamental mind control techniques in that book that match up so closely to the Society's way of doing things. It was one of the books that helped me open my eyes to the life I was leading at the time.
Definitely recommended reading for ex-JW's (and even more so for current JW's).

34

Another newbie

by myauntfanny in

i just wanted to introduce myself before launching myself at the various threads.

i left when i was 14 and that was 30 years ago, i thought i was well over it but when i read some of the postings on here they really got to me.

there are definitely long term effects.

the bandersnatch esq.

Thought I'd pop a note in to say hi to everyone too. I'm new to the boards, but not to the sentiment!

23

Can you believe this?

by staceman in

even i am pretty shocked at this one... .

my daughter who is 20 years old and df'd for about 2 years now is attending meetings again.

but yesterday she tells me that she didn't feel like going to the meeting and that her mom probably wouldn't even know that she wasn't there.

the bandersnatch esq.

Staceman, I think that altough it would be wrong for you to try and force your daughter (and probably wouldn't work either) not to go back, you may like to open her eyes to some universal truths.

Get her to consider some of the arguments here:
http://www.dynopower.freeserve.co.uk/homepages/creation.htm (that one is done in quite a funny manner)
or there's the more serious but also more convincingly argued one at:
http://vuletic.com/hume/cefec/index.html

Doubtless many of the people on these boards have already been to these pages, but they're definitely worth a try for anyone who has an open mind but is still unsure of some of the finder points in the evolution vs creation argument.

If logical arguments don't help - and often they don't with JW's (they never used to work on me... or so I thought :P) then just tell her that doing what's right is more important than being liked, but either way you'll love her. This could go either way but in the end, she's an adult now and it's her decision.

I just hope she makes the right one, for both your sakes.

Peace, love and all that bollocks :)

tbe

6

The Future

by the bandersnatch esq. in

since leaving the borg just over two years ago, as a young man in his early-mid twenties, i realise now for the first time in my life i'm not worried about the future... .

while in the organisation i constantly worried about my life, it's direction, and the coming apocalypse (and how i would fare).

would i have enough time to get the things done i wanted to do?

the bandersnatch esq.

Dawn, you hit the nail right on the head! All those things and more now seem open... life does not seem any longer to be a short fearful stay in "this system of things" but full of opportunity, whether you make plans for it or not.

This only struck me recently, when I was pondering why I hadn't felt down for a while. There's still lots of reasons to feel down, but they don't seem as important any more. I hope others have felt the way I now do.

6

The Future

by the bandersnatch esq. in

since leaving the borg just over two years ago, as a young man in his early-mid twenties, i realise now for the first time in my life i'm not worried about the future... .

while in the organisation i constantly worried about my life, it's direction, and the coming apocalypse (and how i would fare).

would i have enough time to get the things done i wanted to do?

the bandersnatch esq.

Since leaving the borg just over two years ago, as a young man in his early-mid twenties, I realise now for the first time in my life I'm not worried about the future...

While in the organisation I constantly worried about my life, it's direction, and the coming apocalypse (and how I would fare). Would I have enough time to get the things done I wanted to do? Would I make it? What would I do if it doesnt happen soon?

These and mnay other questions plagued me, kept me on a constant state of tension. Now however, I feel much more relaxed in my life. I have no plan set out for the future - and instead of scaring me as it used to, I actually feel good about it. The future is open... and it feels great!

Anyone else have a similar weight lifted from their shoulders too?