Regular pioneer, MS, MTS (Ministerial Training School as it was then called) Grad, Bethelite, Elder, Secretary, Service Overseer, Watchtower Conductor, Public Talk Coordinator, Appeal Committee member. And it was ALL a colossal waste of time. ALL OF IT………...
Black Man
JoinedPosts by Black Man
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77
How HIGH did you climb the ranks as a JW? Did you like the STATUS?
by unshackled inso what were your biggest jw accomplishments as a rank & file?
curious as to what level you climbed the r&f ladder while in the org, or if you still are in.. did you regular pioneer, or auxiliary pioneer?
bethel?
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Latest rumor - all WT construction "suspended", except for Warwick
by sir82 inheard 4th-hand, but from a full-on believer, so not likely to be an "apostate lie":.
apparently, at bethel's morning worship this morning, it was announced that all worldwide wts construction is "suspended" for an indefinite time, except for the new world headquarters at warwick.. also, the "relocation" of remote translating teams is also suspended.. finally, there will be a "worldwide" reduction in bethel personnel.. all this came to me in a non-english language, and,as noted, 4th-hand.
so it is possible something may have been lost in translation and/or in the multiple steps between bethel morning worship & me.. but if true, it would be quite stunning.
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Black Man
So what's been the status on this? Just following up.....
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QUESTION: So who is the leader of the GB these days?
by Black Man injust wondering who is the de facto leader of the gb these days?
when i was in, it seemed jaracz was the leader even though he was never officially the president of the wtbs.
who is the leader of the gb 2.0?.
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Black Man
Just wondering who is the de facto leader of the GB these days? When I was in, it seemed Jaracz was the leader even though he was never officially the President of the WTBS. Who is the leader of the GB 2.0?
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JW Acumen & Education = NO VALUE IN THE REAL WORLD
by Black Man inhaving been out of the cult for a few years now, i can finally sit back and accurately access the good, bad and the ugly, especially as it relates to education and having a sense of self-worth and realizing your potential.
in my opinion, religion is a total crock, but at least in some religions there is at least some value that you can translate your experiences and education gained in such into the real world.
for example, the mormons have their own accredited university where you can obtain a degree and you can actually put that down on your resume and use it in the real world.
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Black Man
Having been out of the cult for a few years now, I can finally sit back and accurately access the good, bad and the ugly, especially as it relates to education and having a sense of self-worth and realizing your potential. In my opinion, religion is a total crock, BUT at least in some religions there is at least some value that you can translate your experiences and education gained in such into the real world.
For example, the Mormons have their own accredited university where you can obtain a degree and you can actually put that down on your resume and use it in the real world. Even with their missionary work, you put in a couple years with that and they help to place you in the business world or you can take advantage of even more university education.
In other religions, there is a charitable aspect and built-in social causes that you can participate in that at least have some type of direct impact on the community. Again, some type of value that can translate into the real world.
The JWS??!! Nothing. When I was an active JW, I went through their pioneer school, MTS school, spent years at Bethel, and you know what?? I could not translate ANY of that to the real world. Remember there were talks and perhaps an article going around years ago, that being on the Theocratic Ministry was like being enrolled in a college course?? Or that reading the Watchtower and Awake magazines was akin to getting a university education?? I do and it was all B*LLS*IT!! What a joke!
One of the main problems with the JW religion, especially for generation-X aged persons like myself is that it was so insular and self-centered, that they never had the foresight to realize they could create at least some kind of value to justify all the wasted time spent by ACCREDITING their OWN schools and educational programs (since they discouraged going to college for so many years), actually doing REAL charity like having soup kitchens, activity centers for their youth (especially since they didn't allow them to engage in after school activities like playing organized sports), housing for their seniors, giving material supplies to the needy, etc. Everything was always centered on THEM, and not promoting the personal development, aptitudes, philanthropy and potential of their members or the community at large.
True happiness involves REALIZING YOUR OWN POTENTIAL, because its then that you can be of help to your families, community, and yes, even your religion. But JWs missed the memo on all of that.
When I reflect on how many of my former associates who I knew at Bethel or in missionary work have been unceremoniously laid off or "sent back to the field" to start all over again (most of them with no skills or education and in their mid-40's, 50's or early 60's), it becomes an even more cruel realization at the LACK OF VALUE experience fooling around with that cult really was.
I consider myself lucky in that I woke up in time (at almost age 40) a few years ago and was young enough to somewhat landed on my feet, but I have my days where I get indignant at the thought of how much time I wasted in that organization, from infancy to age 40.
That's why when I see JW's who want to ask me why I left and if I'm an apostate or not, I say - "no, I'm not an apostate, I'm simply RETIRED." My time wasted in that cult has EARNED ME THE RIGHT to leave on my own terms (which I did), without being branded or demonized. It has given me the right to refuse any label that they try to put on me now that I've left.
The JW experience is one that stunts personal growth and development and by extension your POTENTIAL, and that's what I tell people if they really want to delve into why I left. And that's the true travesty behind it. ALL RELIGIONS (at least in my book) sell pipe dreams and are a crock, but at least you can get some kind of miniscule tangible value to it. The JWS?? Not so much!
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JW Cart Witnessing = ONE BIG JOKE
by Black Man inwas talking to a good buddy of mine a couple days ago (we pioneered and were in bethel together and have both left the cult a few years ago), about the current cart and d. and the consensus was that it is now a complete joke.
was watching a couple witnesses last week sit at a table with their literature display.
no approaching people for conversation, no initiating stimulating dialogue with passerbys, as was encouraged when i "pioneered" back in the day.
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Black Man
Was talking to a good buddy of mine a couple days ago (we pioneered and were in Bethel together and have both left the cult a few years ago), about the current cart and d. And the consensus was that it is now a COMPLETE JOKE.
Was watching a couple witnesses last week sit at a table with their literature display. No approaching people for conversation, no initiating stimulating dialogue with passerbys, as was encouraged when I "pioneered" back in the day. Nope. This pair just sat there for hours aimlessly shooting the breeze watching people walk on by.
My dyed-in-the-wool pioneer JW mom had a shift on the cart witnessing and telling me that you've got to be approved by the service committee in order to be qualified to sit there aimlessly for hours, which is just stupefying to me.
What a joke! If I was still in the cult, I would be pining to get out so bad. This is the best creative time wasting maneuver they can come up with now??!! What a complete and total waste of time!
This cult is not only destructive (as we've discussed ad nauseum on several occasions), but it truly stunts personal growth and development. Imagine if all that wasted time could be converted into bettering yourself through college education or doing community service or charitable works.
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Are there any instances of "GOD" order and/or condoning the rape of women in the bible?
by Black Man inthis came up recently with my dyed-in-the-wool jw pioneer mother, who swears up and down that there are no scriptural instances of this happening.
i seem to remember a couple passages, but can't remember where they were..
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Black Man
This came up recently in a convo with my dyed-in-the-wool JW pioneer mother, who swears up and down that there are no scriptural instances of this happening. I seem to remember a couple passages, but can't remember where they were.
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Bethel outing :)
by sp74bb inby reliable sources, bethel us has recorded in 3 years:.
- 80 "out of the closet" confirmed.
- 200 departures requested by bethelites, where same reason is suspected.. - 20 censured ones "returning to the flock".
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Black Man
Wasanelder Once: Are you from the Michigan area? I remember a brother just like that who had the same signature talk!
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Are Bethelites Buying and Preparing their own Food?
by TakeOffTheCrown insamuel herd made the following statement at the 2015 annual meeting regarding the reduction of services at bethel.. we will be reducing personnel at bethel.
some bethel family members will be invited to serve in the field.
in addition to their regular work, bethel family members will be caring for many of the services that were previously provided by fellow bethelites.. .
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Black Man
Oh my! What do the Bethel table heads (in the morning) now do? Back when I was at the house, that was a BIG DEAL to be a table head and direct the flow and direction of the food that the waiters brought out to each table!
Is their main responsibility now to just make sure that you are presented and accounted for, for the morning worship program?
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Astral Projection
by Black Man inso what are your thoughts on astral projection?
have a co-worker who claims to know how to induce this on himself.
is he crazy?
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Black Man
So what are your thoughts on ASTRAL PROJECTION? Have a co-worker who claims to know how to induce this on himself. Is he crazy? Is it simply just a deeper form of meditation? Had any experiences with it? -
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Doesn't the ARMAGEDDON teaching foster a MORBID view of the future?
by Black Man ineven when i was dyed-in-the-wool j-dub, i felt the armageddon teaching was one of the most morbid concepts to be hammered into the psyches of jws.
think about it, only jws would survive this catastrophe, which translates to roughly .001 percent of the population would survive while everyone else would die a horrible death.
that includes people who do good things and are good people, but are just not jws.
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Black Man
Bttt!