Posts by AlmostAtheist

24

To fade or not to fade--Judicial question.

by FreedomFrog in

jw
friends

i just got off the phone with one of the elders.

they said that if i do go to the jc and ask them to help me understand why they believe certain stuff and then ask for a study i will probably not get df'd.

i can "bow" down to them and do their little game if the results would help my family.. i love my family very much.

AlmostAtheist

Do you think knowing what you do and feeling what you do about what the WTS teaches, that you will be able to hide it from your family, the family you say is so close to you?

Blondie...that's a good point...I'd have to answer no. I love them too much. I'd always feel like I need to help them. Which in turn would result in annihilating them from me anyway. If I choose to not go the JC meeting then I WILL be DF'd. Maybe my DF'ing will cause them to do their OWN research. I did give them a lot to think about already.

And you're right, I do at least have Dave's love and support. And my children won't have to be messed up. They can grow up as normal human beings.

I summoned the elders to a public meeting in 1996 by registered mail and none showed up so I disfellowshipped them. Seemed fair.

lol...I'd LOVE to see what their expressions where when they opened up that letter.

Gina

311

Urgent! Need help - I told my parents.

by filip in

jw
friends

we have just gotten home from sunday-meeting, when my mom ask me if i believe in god and so on.

so i tell her, cause you adviced me to be honest.

and despite all my fears, she took it very calm, and then told my dad whos also taking it calm, and it doesnt seem like theyre hating me now or want to throw me out of the house.. the thing is.

AlmostAtheist

[quote]
Yes, thats true, but how can their religion be true when they are going to war? Look at JWs, they are the only religion in the world that doesnt go to war
[/quote]

That's false. Do a little research, you'll find other groups that refuse to fight. The term "conscientious objector" wasn't made up by or for Jehovah's Witnesses. The Amish won't go to war, I believe. Poke around on the net, see what you can find.

The folks that try to prove a God by "intelligent design" put up some strong arguments. I don't think they're strong enough, but they're strong. Don't get into "God Vs. No God" with them, you can have that debate later. Right now, concentrate on "Jehovah's Witnesses have the truth Vs. Not" That's a much easier battle to wage. And win.

Dave

9

News Flash

by ballistic in

today, a boat carrying blue paint crashed into a boat carrying red paint.

the crew are said to be marooned.

AlmostAtheist

Oh man, that joke sinks... er.. stinks.

311

Urgent! Need help - I told my parents.

by filip in

jw
friends

we have just gotten home from sunday-meeting, when my mom ask me if i believe in god and so on.

so i tell her, cause you adviced me to be honest.

and despite all my fears, she took it very calm, and then told my dad whos also taking it calm, and it doesnt seem like theyre hating me now or want to throw me out of the house.. the thing is.

AlmostAtheist

On the other hand, if I seek my answers on this forum I will get affected by the people in here to NOT believe in JW-ism. How can I ever truly find out whats the truth, if the reason why I choose to go either way, is because Im affected by the people around me?

You're a sharp man to pick up on this. You're right, whoever you talk to is biased to believe what they already believe. We think JW's are wrong, and we defend that position. JW's think they're right, and they defend that position. You're in the middle.

But understand that you don't have two choices -- JW's or us. Your only choice now is to determine is the JW's are the "One True Religion(tm)". Maybe there's another "true religion", maybe all religions are "true", or maybe -- as I believe -- none of them are anything at all.

Don't take on the cosmic question of "Which is the true religion?" as that is a lifelong journey for those that choose to pursue it. Right now, concentrate on deciding whether the JW's claim of being the only true religion has merit.

Can they explain to your satisfaction why they believe that taking a blood transfusion is the same as eating blood? (Would they also say that taking a liver transplant is the same as eating liver?)

Can they explain why they forbid birthday celebrations? (Check out http://thebentinel.com/jw-birthdays.html for a refutation of that JW belief)

Does the Bible really indicate that God's servants should follow "his organization", no matter what it says? (See http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/83217/1.ashx for a discussion of Aaron's leading the people wrong and the people being punished for it.)

I think you should accept the 3-month study, and use that time to show that they don't have adequate answers to these and other points. Don't just read a book with him, have "topical discussions" on the points that you don't agree with.

Good luck!

Dave

66

OK, I HAVE to meet with the judicial committee. Advice?

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

hey guys,.

" you say, "no you don't, you mind-controlled idiot.

tell 'em to fark off.

AlmostAtheist

Little update here, I called the elder that I had originally scheduled a little "doctrinal discussion" with, that later became the judicial committee. I called him yesterday evening, and he answered the phone sounding very harried. I asked him, "I wanted to talk with you for a bit, but is this a bad time?" He said, "Yes, actually, I have the kids right now [presumably his wife was outta the house]. Can I call you back tomorrow?" I told him sure and that was that.

So today I got a call, but it was from two other elders on speakerphone, who said that my elder was busy today ("He has the kids") so they were returning my call. They introduced themselves (I only knew one of them) and told me that if I had any points I wanted to discuss, I could bring them up at the judicial comittee. Unless I am reading him wrong, I believe he was telling me not to call them personally, but wait until the meeting. I mentioned that it was actually a personal call to Ken, and I would call him back at another time. I asked if his wife was ok, thinking she was in the hospital or something. "She's fine," was the response.

I've never been dealt with so coldly. I was DF'd once before, and I was an SOB at the time and knew full well I was going to be DF'd. Even in that committee, those guys were civil with me. But this guy, he's out for blood.

I was calling to try to jam a little real truth down Ken's throat before I lose the chance, and tell them I won't be coming to their JC. Gina has a thread suggesting she might go, but I doubt it.

They have exactly 0 authority over me. Go to a JC? Bite my shiny metal ass.

Dave

3

Please advise

by setfree in

jw
friends

im using mozilla firefox, every time i go to chat i get a blank page.

please advise.. thanks

AlmostAtheist

Yup, just tried it myself in Firefox. No dice.

66

OK, I HAVE to meet with the judicial committee. Advice?

by AlmostAtheist in

jw
friends

hey guys,.

" you say, "no you don't, you mind-controlled idiot.

tell 'em to fark off.

AlmostAtheist

THANK YOU, XQs! I was looking for that bit. It's not very damning -- they managed to answer without answering -- but it's a nice bit to add to the pinata article.

Thanks again,

Dave

16

How many Jehovah's Witnesses

by ballistic in

.

how many jehovah's witnesses... does it take to wallpaper a room?.

three, if you slice them thinly enough.

AlmostAtheist

[quote]
Now that's not very nice......is it?
[/quote]

No, particularly if you're the paper hanger!

12

Walsh case, in Crisis of Conscience AND in JW Yearbook (1973)

by FreedomFrog in

jw
friends

(again, this is dave, posting for gina) .

gina really thinks on her feet!

when she met with her parents, she brought up the infamous "walsh case" in crisis of conscience, where the watchtower higher-ups (including fred franz) had to give embarrassing testimony under oath about the watchtower's controlling methods and tactics.

AlmostAtheist

Thanks, Cat!

14

problems with JW girlfriend and her family

by starcrossedpimp in

i'll make this short, but i've been looking for answers and need actual human communication- not just a book or website.. up until 12/26/04, my "girlfriend" and i had been sneaking around to see each other.

we became professionals.

she would always say "i shouldn't be doing this" and such, but eventually that mindset wore away and our love took over.

AlmostAtheist

There's no good answer here, Dude. If you become a JW for her, you give up control of your life and that of your child. No Christmas is just the beginning. They'll make your kid feel like a loser because s/he's not planning on "pioneering" or "Bethel service". Constant pressure to get baptized. It's no place to raise a kid.

JW's never quite know where they stand. One day they can watch "old" rated R movies because the "standards were much higher then", then they go to an assembly and decide they shouldn't even watch reruns of Seinfeld. Prepare for a life of constant flip-flops.

It's hard advice to take, but turn around and walk away. Go start a new relationship with a person not already in a cult.

Sorry, I wish I could be rosier. But this is a bad group. Good people, but bad group.

Dave