Posts by violias

7

Does anyone have any information on lawsuits in regards to JW's victimizing the mentally ill?

by lme123 in

i am a former jw, 14 years removed.

i moved out of state away from my jw family for 10 years, and currently moved back to my home town 2 years ago.

it was a great healing process for me, especially being away from all of the confusing and controversial influences i was raised with.

violias

You raise an excellent question and one I hope Barbara Anderson will reply to. She might have some insight on this. They are having their feet held to the fire for their treatment of children and one day I hope the many adult rape victims will get represented. . I would very much like to see them exposed for their treatment of the mentally ill. However, I will tell you in the south/southwest etc, the Bible Belt, there are many churches that are similar in their treatment of the MI and some may be worse. I am talking about the Pentecostal type churches that practice something called Deliverance( Exorcism by any other name is still Exorcism ).The church of Christ is also very legalistic and so are any number of fundamentalist religions here in the Bible Belt. The catholic church I understand does not really do very many real exorcism's . It is more the offbeat religions that do these things .Saying that however COC and Pentecostal are not considered offbeat down in south but they practice these things, , at least secretly. BTW, Pentecostals got such a bad reputation that they now disguise themselves as Non-denominational Bible churches or something called Four Square churches and similar names. Beware.

It is a great question and hopefully will get some response from Barbara.

21

Mormon 'support' for gays, pressure on the WTS?

by Simon in

the mormon / lds church has noticably changed it's stance toward homosexuality and instead of condemning it seems to be supporting protection for people's rights (of course they want to throw some protection for themselves in there as well).. how will this affect the wts?

the lds is the more-successful counterpart to the wts, similar age and history and same non-mainstream appeal.. i have no doubt that the lds church is only changing because they know which way the wind is blowing and society has completely changes it's attitudes towards gay people.

maybe they just want to stay ahead pf the curve before federal legislation enforces people's rights.. now, can we see the wts changing their views" will they be one of the last holdouts?

violias

The last I recall we had a MS who was gay ( though never openly confessed it to boe - but he told some of his friends and they protected him ) and the boe said they could not take any action against him unless he did something inappropriate . I know this b/c well, you know how stuff gets around in the congo . This was in the mid to late 90's. One of the elders I knew told me that you can't DF someone unless they "do" something so just "being gay" was not a sin but having gay sex was. If he stayed celibate ( or did not behave suggestively with other men ie flirt etc ) he was ok. What a confusing way to live.

20

Well folks it looks like September 23, 2017 will be the new date of Armageddon, the Rapture or whatever.

by donny in

well folks you had better get your act together because there is only about 2.5 years before you are held responsible for your way of life.

according to "rapture watch", things are really going to start happening in 2017.. i am already asking the lord for leniency.

http://www.rapturewatch.net/timelines.htm .

violias

With all the unrest in the middle east and generally everywhere, I too wonder if those prophecies in Revelation and about Jerusalem may be coming true. I am sure the WBTS have got it wrong ( cause they make it ALL about them) but we do seem headed toward a collision of cultures and religions. Can't help but wonder how on earth it will end. WW 3?

The rapture the way it is described does not concern me. sounds nutty. but just in case I will put some lambs blood over my doorpost . You never know- you could get some new apocalyptic angels of death and it might confuse them.

35

Wow, the forum is very slow

by FlyingHighNow in

jw
friends

i know that logging in has been a problem for some.

i hardly post any more.

i figured there would be more activity than this.

violias

I am perhaps not tech savy enough to understand what problems some are talking about. I know how to use the Active feature and l the posters avatars are shown that have posted on the thread so I can click on the last one. The only thing we don't have is a way to subscribe to a thread. In other DB they often put this in your control panel so you can quickly go there and see if there are replies, even if it is not in active status. Right now that is all that I see as I problem for me. So far IE keeps me logged on unless one of my computer programs removes cookies in a routine clean up process. I have to log on to Chrome every time and those CAPTCHA can be difficult. I have to keep refreshing till it comes up with numbers. Those I can read.

50

My mother says I should just DA already.

by Julia Orwell in

cut the cord.

sever all ties.

start new.. and she's right.

violias

I didn't DA myself b/c by the time I finally walked out the door it was generally known I hated the ground the WTS walked on and despised them more than I could ever put in words. ( or put another way, would not have spit on them if they were on fire) I have extended family who "got themselves df'd" on purpose to just get it over. I know others who have done that too. I refuse to let them have that kind of control over my life. They have took so much time from my life and what time I have left I don't give a rat's behind what they think. Also we still have some jws family, but they all know how we feel. They all unofficially shun us. I too find less and less need for this board and more time out in the real world just living. I have found a variety of discussion boards on subjects that interest me . I like to still come here and see what the WTS is UP TO now b/c if it is noteworthy it will be on this site.

Many of us have had therapy, me included and it is helpful. We have do what is best in our situation and only you know what is right for you.

27

Did You Know Any Bad JWs?

by minimus in

jw
friends

over the years, i knew some individuals that were pretty bad witnesses.

they broke more commandments that most.

violias

Yes Blondie is spot on.

A number of jws would/ should be in jail b/c of rape. it was so common and brushed under the table. Really most any crime that involved women or children was rampant in the org due to it being a Patriarchal and misogynist org.

Of course there were always the jws with issues, weakness. The ones with addictions and mental illness or who just came from a bad home, were very poor, and had a bad upbringing. Those were abundant and they were the ones that most often got DF'd b/c they'd feel so bad they'd confess.

The other liars and cheats were seldom DF'd b/c they were either elders or had friends in high places and were very accomplished liars.

jws ( as do a number of religions) attract a lot of people who could not fit in anywhere else a then sadly they find they can't fit into the jws world either. Got to be a good liar and well connected to be a good jws. .

I also knew some very sincere people who tried as hard as they could to follow the rules. Most of them left the org eventually or if they stayed they turned into very sick jws. There are so many very ill jws , sick from stress disorders.

freemindfade

I agree with you

16

I think I figured out the WT's end-game

by nowwhat? in

the plan is to build many new kingdom halls with the "commercial' appearance.

store front flat roof etc.

after completion the gb will announce the tribulation is upon us!

violias

Violia - LOVE your avatar. My daughter sent me with that poster and it's the greatest! I hope everyone reads it - I like what the elders told you

thanks LV101 - the quote thing does not seem to work so I used the highlight.

Yes I saw this on FB and LOL and said, " that has to be my new avatar". .

yes the elder was at least honest with me. He had nothing to lose and neither did I. It was sort of sad hearing it for real. I always thought they were just a business he validated my perceptions.

151

If you don't believe in God where do you get the strength to cope?

by Miss.Fit in

jw
friends

i know there are some here that are going through some tough times.

some of you do not believe in god.

some are not sure.. i was told recently by a friend to pray to god for help and he would comfort me.. my first impulse is to pray.

violias

I have been helped a lot by the author Sam Harris,. He has two books I have listened to, " Waking Up a Guide to Spirituality without Religion " and " The End of Faith". I also purchased two audio books by the late great Christopher Hitchens.

I still believe in God but listening to Sam Harris ( in particular ) has given me a much more balanced view . When I first started reading this board I would refuse to read any atheist threads- it was just fear. Also sometimes mocking occurred and I felt that was uncalled for considering where we all came from ( a high control religion ) . Sam Harris was able to reach past that fear and get to my rational mind. I will be forever grateful to his books and you tube videos and his blog. I also found years ago a website that appealed to me called " Logically Critical" it is not current but all the episodes are up for anyone to listen to.

http://www.logicallycritical.net/Welcome.html

at the top there is a links and episodes link. to hear the episodes just click that link. He is really great and funny too.

151

If you don't believe in God where do you get the strength to cope?

by Miss.Fit in

jw
friends

i know there are some here that are going through some tough times.

some of you do not believe in god.

some are not sure.. i was told recently by a friend to pray to god for help and he would comfort me.. my first impulse is to pray.

violias

Misfit,

I read this thread thinking it was current . I am so glad you went to a doctor and you are feeling better.

I recall in my 30's realizing one day I did not have one single opinion that did not start with " I'm one of Jw's and we don't believe that ( words to that affect) or more commonly " elder bro. so and so says this" . I had reached the breaking point with depression and was near suicide. A wonderful psychologist and meds saved my life initially followed by years of therapy. Btw, my mom also had a break down and had ect with serious memory loss and I wish she had given us up. My life might be different now.

I still believe in God ( and use Jehovah as if feels familiar) and do pray but it is more of a connection with a higher state than formal prayer. Sam Harris I think calls it mindfulness. I enjoy listening to him b/c he so rational. I know a book I read that helped me was this one

http://www.amazon.com/Reading-Bible-Again-First-Time/dp/0060609192/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422120125&sr=8-2&keywords=taking+the+bible+seriously

this is reading the Bible seriously but not literally. I don't pray for forgiveness either, I ask the people involved for their forgiveness . I try to do no harm and make some contribution to this world. I can't imagine what else a God would want from us anyhow.

16

I think I figured out the WT's end-game

by nowwhat? in

the plan is to build many new kingdom halls with the "commercial' appearance.

store front flat roof etc.

after completion the gb will announce the tribulation is upon us!

violias

elders have told l me they knew it was just a Corp. and a lot of jobs depended on it. I believe the folks at the top know this is just a business and are keeping it going b/c it supports a lot of them.