hey!
ok, we all know of this uncanny word play about not saying, "you were lucky," and not saying "bless you" after someone sneezes.
but this is a bizarre one i heard.
Oh yeah! lol! I remember the classic one about the " friend of a friend " who bought a vacuum from someone who dabbled in spiritualism - and ----- wait for it --------------- strange happenings started to occur.
Guess what? These 'happenings' all stopped after Sister Upstanding removed the said object from her home!
Poor JWs missing out on all those bargains on Ebay!
FF
what was the very first thing that "stumbled" you?
mine was: i was about 5 or 6 years old and of course i used to find it really hard to find things in my bible at meetings (couldn't find the books quick enough before they moved onto the next paragraph and used to get frustrated).
i had the idea to make little tabs for the edges of the pages so i could tell where the books were - so i asked mum to help me neatly write out the book names on tiny slips of paper and tape them inside.
I used to notice quite a lot of things as a kid. One of the first things that stuck in my mind relates to the Tuesday night book study which was held in Brother X's home. A couple who attended had a son who was only a year younger than me, so we are talking about 6 years old at the time. If that poor kid even moved his mum would take him out of the room for the inevitable 'chastisement'.
Everyone could hear him being slapped and his crying and pleading. I never forgot the look of horror on that kid's face when he knew it was time for the trip 'out of the room' and most of the time he was in tears before the inevitable discipline. I found that very upsetting.
It was something that people at the KH talked about but nobody did anything about it - everyone was too 'nice' and didn't want to be seen to be criticising their fellow brothers and sisters - especially as this was an upstanding JW family.
What really killed it for me in the end was the complete bare faced hypocrisy. If a new brother appeared who had a good job, and was fairly well off materially, then they would be magically catapulted up the ranks. They were allowed to acquire all these material things but I was not supposed to want to go to university, but it was ok for Brother Newbie to show off his new Beamer.
I also knew that most of the teens at the hall were living double lives just like me. There was no incentive to remain faithful - in fact some of these teenage JWs were a far worse influence than anything I had met in the ' world '.
At the end of the day I had too many questions and not enough answers.
FF
the other day my mom and dad called (
my mom called a few minutes ago...
) and i have been thinking about sending them a letter in responce.
Hi Elsewhere
What a powerful and moving letter - I really hope it has the desired effect. This situation must be so painful for you, as many people have said previously, how can any so -called 'loving' organisation promote a policy of destroying families.
Let's be positive, this letter could be the start of something good! At the end of the day, at least your conscience is clear that you made the effort to bridge build.
from FF
(edit: i probably should have posted this in the "friends" section.
if there any mods out there who could do this, it would be much appreciated.
i've been lurking here for a little while now, and decided to make my presence known.. .
Hi there Marked!
Great first post - I lurked on here for a while also. This is a great place full of great people who can support and empathise with you as they've been through exactly the same as you. I have learned so much also even though I have been away from the borg for 17 years.
Feel free to PM me if an ' old hand ' can advise you on life post JW.
All the best
FF
does anyone else remember this booklet?
if you do remember studying it as a child, what were the affects of this study on your imaginations?
how did this booklet play your fears?
Well, it certainly scared the proverbial out of me as a kid. I was always petrified about going to sleep in the dark, imagining that there were all sorts of things lurking around.
Really frightened me - especially all the stuff about demons etc. Y'know I'd forgotten what that booklet was called - *shudders*.
FF
i'm sure that i would've, believing that jehovah god would be proud of me.
Hi Balsam (big hugs)
Thanks for taking the time to post - you have expressed exactly how I feel. If we were ever in this kind of situation I would fight my damnest to make sure my mum got any blood, etc. that she needed.
As you said, her misguided wishes shouldn't be instrumental to her death and I would do everything physically possible to prevent this.
I am so glad that I am a grown up and nothing happened to me as a child, although my dad has stated there was no way I would have been refused vital treatment if required.
I think an important point to remind everyone is that when people are in the grip of a cult they will do and think things that they would never previously contemplate. In their head it all makes perfect sense, as we all know that's symptomatic of brain washing, therefore extremes of behaviour appear rational. This means that compassion and understanding is required here - people are in enough pain over their decisions made as a JW without being harshly condemned.
FF
i'm sure that i would've, believing that jehovah god would be proud of me.
I know this is straying a bit from the original topic - my mum carries her ' no transfusion' card and I have often wondered what I would do if she needed blood in an emergency.
My dad - never been a JW - says that her wishes should be respected, but I couldn't stand back and let anything endanger her life. I don't know if I could legally over rule this -certainly if doctors etc asked me, I would say 'give her everything that's needed'.
I suppose my difficulty is that she is obviously an adult, I don't have any real power in this situation. Hopefully this will be something we won't face, and my heart goes out to Balsam. Makes a lot of our own problems seem really petty and minor compared to what you've been through.
Does anyone have any advice or thoughts regarding adults?
FF
.
inside the wt magazine, they say that the magazine has been contuiniously published since 1874 etc etc,are they claiming to be ctr spiritual heirs?
Yet more bull from the Warped Tower - Jeez.
after many many conversations with my family i've come to the conclusion that some people just want to be a witness.
they need that security of being told all the answers - of having their decisions made for them - and the tight social group they're involved in.. the truth is - it's much harder when you don't have all the answers and you have to think for yourself.
i guess some people just aren't ready to face that.
I suppose it's like being religiously institutionalised - nice and safe where everything makes sense and all the hard decisions are made for you.
FF
.
i love politics, and can spout off on the subject to a great degree, i'd love to share all with you, come on, lets have a good debate!!
those ruddy conservatives, what a ruddy bunch of half baked balmpots a half bubble short of plumb they be, labour welllllllllllll ........ a grinning celtic
Ok - I'll take this one - the shift in emphasis of personalities over policies has been detrimental to the UK system of government.
Real policy debate has given way to inane voting decisions based on candidates' appearance. Tony Blair was far more electable than William Hauge or Neil Kinnock IMO due to him being much more media friendly. This is used to distract the electorate from the fact that is the same old tired policies repackaged for the middle class market.
The Labour party in the UK has abandoned the ordinary punter and now pursues the interests of middle England as that's where the votes are. What is being put forward is a much more palatable and diluted form of socialism - far removed from it's roots.
Incidentally, the thought of another Conservative government also fills me with dread - don't get ill, lose your job or have the audacity to become old, as the state ain't gonna help ya! Is it any wonder there is such an apathy regarding politics these days?
Some points for you to chew over Celtic!
FF
