Posts by TallTexan

18

You Blood Sucking Leeches !!!!!!

by Poztate in

i hope you didn't take that personally,.

i was watching cnn and they had a segment about how useful leeches were in the treatment of patients who had unclean wounds.

if you applied leeches to the wound they would eat all the pus,blood,clots etc and aid in the healing process.. i seem to recall that a good jw could not use this kind of treatment because it would be wrong to allow a leach to feed on your blood.

TallTexan

Perhaps we need a chart of which insects can feed on us and which ones can't. Maybe we need a 'Zoology Liason Committee' to help us out w/ these types of questions.....

16

I don't know if this would be considered a "scandal" per se...

by CeriseRose in

for the first time in as many years as i can remember they moved the district convention from the large pacific national exhibition centre (pne), and divided the convention into 2 parts and all the jws in the area are assigned to go 4 hours north of here, get accommodations etc.. they came out with this back when i was *just* leaving the org.

i asked my jw friend and the comment back from her was that they hadn't been able to book the pne and so everyone was doing this.

i think that's a load of crap...they've moved the assembly weekend before when they've had the weekend they wanted booked, and to another weekend.

TallTexan

Yeah, this has happened in the Houston area as well. 'Back in the day' we used to get the Astrodome free of charge because once a year all the cong's would get together and clean all the seats (it was called 'seat-cleaning day) and then also once a year lay and remove two layers of plywood from the Astroturf for the annual oil convention. The capacity of the Dome was close to 70,000 or so and all circuits for several hundred miles would attend on the same weekend. When the Dome came under Reliant Energy as management, they put a stop to this, and so the District broke down into many smaller conventions instead of putting up the $$ to rent the Dome every year. They are in different places too, so at least it's a 'surprise' every summer....lol. This is probably more convenient for the local cong's, but convenience never matters until there's $$ involved and the Society's losing it.....

11

How The Watchtower Encourages Its Own Corruption

by metatron in

to the naive, an unpaid clergy may sound wonderfully idealistic.

someone may quote.

jesus words about a "hired man" who guards the sheep - instead of paul's counsel about.

TallTexan

RE: Why haven't more written about their experiences w/ the WT?

I guess I too have wondered this. The problem with the 'Thirty Years' book is that it is so vehemently anti-witness and uses little in the way of supporting documentation that it is easy to dismiss as just a pissed-off ex-JW blowing things out of proportion. Franz' book, however, is a masterpiece of documentation, naming dates, places, times, people present, and using GB meeting minutes and the like to back up his story. I was very impressed. I think part of the problem may be that most people in the organization don't keep meticulous notes like Franz did, and so many of the details may have escaped them. I know that I personally wish I had kept better notes or a 'diary' type document, because many of the details of certain things are a little fuzzy, although the general events are very vivid.

Additionally, Franz' book was 'publishable' because his case was well publicized and well-known in the 'worldly' community. This would not be so w/ the 'rank and file' JW, so there would be little interest in publishing it. There are, however, some GREAT personal accounts on a number of the ex-JW sites. Some of them would be pushing the limits of credibility if I hadn't personally witnessed these types of things happen over and over again during the time I was associated w/ the 'truth'. I've received email on my experience with things like "there's no way that happened". Unfortunately, the most bizzare things happen when dealing with the judicial process and the inner-workings of the society. Some of the things I've read I'm sure have some (especially those not really familiar w/ the truth) in disbelief, but I saw so many f'ed up things while I was in the truth that I have no trouble believing even the most 'outrageous' claims.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

7

What didn't you know?

by confusedjw in

i didn't have a clue to these issues below.

i was surprised after 20 years in the wtbts to find out that...... 587bce and not 607bce <--- not a clue about this.. 1874 was taught until 1929 as the date jesus took rule in heaven <------ actually i did read this once and surpressed it due to my great faith in the org.. that jesus is the mediator of all men (and women) .

that the great crowd of rev is in the temple (naos) <--- they are in heaven, scripturally speaking.

TallTexan

Interesting question. I was a JW for 35 years (from birth), so I really didn't know any different. I believed all the stuff in the publications and thought "well, I could look it up, but why would they lie? Isn't this stuff verifiable?" It wasn't until I started looking online that I realized how the WTS commits academic fraud over and over again by citing sources that are taken out of context or by saying stuff like "leading Biblical scholars" and not telling who they are. What really opened my eyes to how the WT spins everything was Ray Franz' book "Crisis of Conscience". It's amazing how the current publications take things from the past so far out of context that they are hardly recognizable. Here were some things I didn't know up until the last few months (after 35 years, with 25 begin VERY active in the 'truth').

That the WTS claims that Christ is only the mediator for the 144,000, not ALL men as the Bible clearly states.

The whole "Malawi vs. Mexico" incident that Franz discusses

That the 'society' taught for years that Christ had returned in 1874, that the end was coming FOR SURE in 1914 and then again in 1925. The recent (and I mean since the early 80's) publications have all made it seem like Russell knew that the significance of 1914 in advance and was the ONLY one to know that. Truth is, according to Franz, he took the idea from 2nd Day Adventists that had formulated the idea centuries earlier (thinking that 1799 had some significance).

How disfellowshipping matters were decided. What a CROCK! It's either Biblical or it's not, yet the WTS lets DF'ing matters be decided by the whim of whomever is on the GB at the time.

That the GB didn't always exist in some form or another. The current WTS would have you believe that the GB has always been functioning as the 'faithful and discreet slave class, when in reality, it was an individual - first Russell, then Rutherford, then Knorr.

That the concept of the Trinity WAS IN FACT a part of the early apostles' teachings and NOT invented in 325 at the council of Nicea as the JW's always lead one to believe.

I guess I could go on, but it's humbling and staggering how much I didn't know about my own religion, the one that I had defended so vigorously over the years. Boy do I feel stupid....lol.

19

Finally!!! Run in with JWs...

by Tashawaa in

i've lived here for about 1 1/2 years and haven't seen a single jw.

i read all the posts where there have been run-ins, people called on, elders talked to, etc.

and couldn't hardly wait for my turn.

TallTexan

Funny...I was thinking about this very thing while driving in to work this a.m.....I figure I'll at least throw a few 'conversation stoppers' at them and see how brushed up they are. I figure if I had to deal w/ it when I was in, then they should too....

Alternatively, I've thought about giving them that 'call to remember'....you know, say stuff like, "I was just praying for spiritual guidance" and let them come in and give me the whole nine yards....something to talk about at the 10:30 coffee break.

Eh, I'll probably be too hungover and just tell them 'no thanks' and shut the door.....

9

Wonderful. How many have felt this way?

by gladtobefree in

jw
friends

my mom's life has been full of suffering.

wasn't it wonderful how jehovah always provided.

everything will be wonderful someday.

TallTexan

Secret,

Don't come out and say 'the WT is crap' cuz that will put him on the defensive. Start asking questions. Steven Hassan's book is excellent in this regard, because he shows how, over time, you can sow enough doubt with relatively simple questions that they will start to see the illogical views of the 'cult' on their own. It will take time, unless they have already expressed doubts. He may never agree w/ you, but try to take it slow at first. If you overwhelm him with information he'll likely get lost and not even think about it. Start small and work your way up. Let the doubts build in his mind and then work on those. Good luck.

7

WTS and "Leaning"

by Farkel in

jt in one of his many classic posts pointed out that a common expression in bethel whenever a new publication would come out would be "which way is the society leaning in this article?

" this was also heard at the kingdom halls i attended.

i'm sure it is still heard today in dubland.. one has to wonder why the only true organization chosen by the king jesus christ himself would have to "lean" at all.

TallTexan

I agree...truth is absolute - it doesn't change. When I bring this up to JW's they say "Well, man thought the earth was flat for many years, and yet science proved them wrong eventually". My point to them is that we're not talking about 'man' philosophies - we're talking about what is supposed to be the ONE TRUE CHANNEL for God to his people here on earth. Why wouldn't he have made the Bible clear from the beginning of Russel's writings and never waivered one bit? Why would he want to confuse the issue w/ continually changing 'new light'? If there were such a doctrine as 'new light', it would be building upon 'old light' and clarifying that, not completely changing views. I view the new light concept like math. You start with addition and subtraction, build on that with 'new light' that progresses towards algebra and calculus, etc. But the fundamentals of math never change - they are absolute. With the JW's, the fundamentals of the beliefs change in many cases. Just my thoughts.

38

So, What Do They Dump Next?

by metatron in

jw
friends

well, they dumped food service at assemblies, us subscriptions to the watchtower, reduced hard bound book.

distribution and downsized about a thousand bethelites ( over time).

supposedly, dumping subscriptions brought.

TallTexan

RE: concession stands and parking fees

When I was attending assemblies at the Astrodome in the 80's, we had to pay parking every day ($4.00). If these venues started requiring concession sales etc then you know the WTS would yank the assemblies 'cuz that's less money for the contribution boxes. Plus, you can't bring your own food when concession stands are open (usually).

Do y'all remember when we used to get off early on Thursday to go out in service in the local area?? What a joke. We always kicked it by the pool or went to Astroworld that afternoon and tried to hook up w/ some chicks from the assembly.

23

If you had the choice ,when you became a jw,,,,,,,

by kls in

would you have been better off being born in to it or have been better off being recruited as an adult .

.

what are the pros and cons of both.

TallTexan

I would have NEVER been recruited as an adult. If I hadn't been born into it, I would have never bought into their BS. Not that I'm smarter than anyone else, but I've always been so cynical as adult that I wouldn't have even given them the chance to indoctrinate me.

77

Is Virginity All It's Crack'd Up To Be?

by Englishman in

jw
friends

seems to me that in the jw religion, virginity is considered to be an essential requirement for the born-into-its, right up until the time that they get married.

seems to me also, that the jw religion, while condemning fornication generally, sets greater store on females remaining intacto, as opposed to males, what with references to "old towels that any man can wipe his hands on" and the like.

very patriarchal.

TallTexan

In a nutshell, NO! I was one of those 'wait til I was married' JW's and I fell into the same situation that many of my peers were/are in. I married way too young b/c I wanted to have sex. Now, in all fairness, it was good, but I NEVER got over that 'what would it be like' w/ other people feeling. I think that's simply human nature. Most of the JW girls/women I knew who waited until they were married ended up divorced for infidelity b/c either a) they were NOT satisfied in bed or b) the curiosity of 'what it's like w/ others' got the best of them. The JW policy of not dating until you're married and of bashing your brains in if you 'fornicate' results in so many unhappy and disillusioned marriages because people don't learn how to handle relationships on a gradual basis. It's like, one day you're not dating, then you can only date in a group, then you're married. You have no idea how to interact one-on-one until the wedding night. That's stupid! And, with the mandate that you can't divorce unless there's infidelity, you're taking a REAL chance on being stuck in a sexually frustrating relationship. It's usually women that suffer the most, because they find that their partner cannot or will not satisfy them sexually, so they go looking elsewhere and suddenly they're dissed b/c they're married to a lousy lay.

And Blondie, I disagree (most politely) with your statement about women being compared to 'a purchase'. It goes both ways - women can test drive men too. Why does that have to be a sexist statement? I've known plenty of women who wish they had test driven their man first...lol. I simply think it's a good analogy that if you really like the car, can afford the car, and intend on buying it, you should be able to see if it's going to meet ALL your needs.

One of my best friends has been married to two JW virgins and vowed he would never again marry a virgin, because they really don't know what they're doing....(well, the fact that he's dissed may have something to do w/ him not marrying another one...lol). They've both ended up committing adultery out of curiosity (or maybe he was a lousy lay).

Just my 2c....I'm sure I've pissed SOMEONE off by now.....but then I wouldn't be me, I guess.