Posts by mamochan13

66

Did you Exit the Witnesses Gradually - Or Exit Suddenly - Your Reasons ?

by flipper in

jw
friends

i thought it would be good to discuss it to understand what caused some of us to exit suddenly, or some to exit gradually .. myself , i had been in 44 years , had mentally had doubts for years before exiting - but injustices by the elders and my doubts about the " generation " doctrine led me to exit suddenly one night before a meeting.

the elders pissed me off , i went to my seat, picked my books up and walked out - never going back.

so what is your story and reasons ?

mamochan13

both for me. I was DF'd (unfairly I believed and I fought it to no avail). Looking back, it was a wake-up call. For a long while I still clung to the beliefs, thinking that even though I no longer wanted to be part of it, it still was the Truth. There was some apostates that used to put ads in the community newspaper. I was offended because I still believed that JWs were good people, if deluded.

Now, of course, I realize the people placing the ads were obviously trying to expiate their own pain and trying to recover.

So one day I just decided I would stop entirely. The big step was not attending the memorial. That was the turning point for me and my family because my brother and his wife decided they should force my children back into the religion and launched an attack on us. Not attending the memorial that year was traumatic for me for a number of reasons. I still felt extreme guilt and was terrified on some level that I was doing the wrong thing. But after the memorial passed I realized that I was still alive. Still okay. Still able to move forward. So I did.

Things just got better from then on. No - there were plenty of really bad times, lots of depression, lots of pain. But it was the turning point from which I will never look back. In spite of the horrific pain that was inflicted on my family when I was DFd, I'm now inclined to think it was a good thing. It enabled my escape.

41

Demonic Possesion of Inaminate Objects

by cantleave in

this is a phenonoma often discussed by jw's.

how unique is this idea to jw's?.

anyone got any good stories on this subject?.

mamochan13

Oracle - I heard that same clown picture story about a family in my cong.

I've also had those scary dreams. But I've not had them since I left the borg.

I've heard a first-hand story from a missionary couple who were visiting a tribe that practiced voodoo, etc. How they were tormented by demons all night long in their tent.

However, the worst story came from my mom. She had purchased some chairs at a Catholic second-hand shop in preparation for a family gathering. She said she then kept noticing a horrible smell in the basement every time she came down (where the chairs were). I told her I didn't think it was related, but she insisted there was something wrong with the chairs. Then one night she says a demon came into her bed. So she got rid of the chairs. Her story horrified me, of course. I later came across an interesting book that documented the phenomenon of people believing they had had intimate encounters with demons during the night - related to the whole sleeping phenomena of night terrors and paralysis.

I believe in the power of belief. JWs have such a powerful belief in the power of demons that I'm sure they can bring these kinds of stories to life easily.

32

Pink Songbooks - Green Bibles

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

those of us who've been around long enough will understand the title.

what we are looking for here are examples of the society's lack of taste.. for example, i'm sure our kingdom hall wasn't the only one in the 70's with dark brown carpeting that rose halfway up the walls and a nice trendy rubber plant in the corner of the platform!.

nic'.

mamochan13

The green bible - I had a debate with a couple Mormons once, and when I pulled out my bible they said, "Ah, the Green Dragon." Heh.

At our halls they went through a phase of green/brown carpet with green crushed velvet drapes around the stage and walls. Someone had told them these were the best colours to keep people in a calm frame of mind and open for groupthink. Every hall in the city was identical.

90

Farkel Writes a Book?

by Farkel in

jw
friends

several years ago i was contacted by a well-known (actually famous and well-published) professor from the university of california at san diego and we had lunch.

he bought lunch.

doesn't everyone write books to make a whole big bunch of money?.

mamochan13

I'll offer my services as an editor and proofreader (my usual day job). Writing a book to make a whole bunch of money is a crapshoot, but there are people who succeed at it. There are a number of ex-Jw books, but they don't seem to attract wide readership. I think you might have the necessary blend of humour and sarcasm to actually change that. go for it.

40

2009 CHRISTMAS CARD LIST COORDINATING THREAD

by blondie in

jw
friends

i will volunteer to coordinate this.. if you would like a card sent to you, pm me your mailing address and a name the post office will deliver to.. what do you think the cut off date should be for sending the lists out to everyone?.

do you want it pm'd or e-mailed (if emailed send your email address with your snail mail.. i know that cards going overseas can take longer.. i will try to get the postal rates to other countries and post it here.. .

blondie (never done this before).

mamochan13

My first few years I enjoyed sending out cards, and I received a number, too, since I had quite a few non-Jw contacts. That has faded now, and I'm finding it more of a chore than fun - last year i didn't send any. But you've reminded me that it is a nice way to connect with people, particularly those who may be doing it for the first time. So I'm game.

120

Name Some Stupid Watchtower Rules or Ideas

by minimus in

jw
friends

there's a lot.. one rule that is dumb is that a brother must wear a suit for a sunday public talk that he is giving.

any other time, the brother could wear a suit coat with a different pair of pants and not be counseled for it.. another dumb idea is that you cannot date a person unless you seriously might marry them.

if you're on a date, you were supposed to always have a chaperone and holding hands might not be allowed as well as sitting together.. what other dumb rules and ideas can you add?.

mamochan13

Music: Can't play in a band (although this only applies in certain congregations.) Must throw away any records that might be demonic, i.e. Rolling Stones, Alice Cooper, Stevie Nicks, etc. Any popular songs like the Chicken Dance, the macarena, are from the devil.

No watching Walt Disney movies.

Dress code was always weird. When coloured shirts were in, JWs could only wear white. When miniskirts were in, JWs wore to the knee. No pants for women even when working at cleaning up quick build job sites. Oh, and women are always relegated to clean up and cooking when it comes to those kinds of things, god forbid you give a sister a hammer.

Pierced ears weren't allowed when I was young.

Can't work for the military, this includes being a teacher or janitor in a school on a military site - the criteria is who signs your cheque.

48

Disfellowshipped and Armageddon

by IMHO in

will a disfellowshipped person survive armageddon?.

will a disassociated person......?.

will an inactive person.....?.

mamochan13

Before it happened to me, I used to believe (like most JWs) that disfellowshipped people were different. They had rejected the "truth" and were tainted, no longer part of the borg, their thinking and behaviour had changed completely. They no longer had a relationship with god. They deserved to be DF'd and therefore deserved to die at Armageddon. If I came in contact with a DF'd person I would shiver in horror because they were worse than the worst worldly people!

Of course then when I was DF'd I realized how ridiculous this was. I was the same person. I hadn't changed. I still believed the same JW garbage and lived by the same moral code. I knew I had the same relationship with god that I had always had and that he was not going to destroy me just because the elders said so.

After these elders put me and my family through hell for the next year and a half I began to wonder whether elders who took pleasure in hurting lesser JWs would survive Armageddon.

35

Ever been the victim of gossip from JW's?

by highdose in

i was many times, the final bout was what drove me out of the borg altogether..... .

mamochan13

Many times. JWs live to gossip, it's their fave pastime. All those WT/Awake articles warning about "hurtful tongues" etc. used to make me laugh because I knew no one was paying any attention.

I wonder if this is true of other tight, closed groups as well or if it is something in the JW "we are superior to everyone else" mentality?

102

Ever had some Witness storm out or turn off a Movie you were watching! Which one?

by Witness 007 in

i was watching steve martin "leap of faith" pg rated mind you with some witnesses.

he plays a fake faith healer.

their were a couple swear words, and the brothers asked me to switch it off.. same thing happened with christine applegate movie {pg 13} "don't tell mom the babysiters dead.

mamochan13

my daughters had close friends between age of about 11 to 13. They were not allowed to watch any Disney movies like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. Their father reprimanded me because we had the movie ET, told me it would cause all kinds of "demonized behaviour" in my home. So basically i wasn't allowed to let them watch any movies when they were at my house. He also had them trained to fast forward through certain parts of the few movies they were allowed to watch.

161

FlyingHighNow Needs Our Love & Support

by snowbird in

jw
friends

her son, jesse, is in serious condition.. my son is in surgery and may lose his hand and arm.. jesse got an infection in a cut on his finger.

his finger and hand swelled to the size of an arm .. .

they have to do surgery on his hand and arm.

mamochan13

Can't say anything new except to add my name to the list of those who are thinking of you and offering love and support during this most difficult time.