i was reading a thread in which jh said:.
people knew we were jw's just by the way we dressed, but also by the way we talked.. .
now, not to come down on jh by any means, but this raised a question in my mind.
NOT saluting the flag in school.
NOT standing for the national anthem (maybe that's changed)
NOT celebrating Christmas, Easter, birthdays, any *other* holidays
NOT voting
NOT in the military service
NOT taking blood
On and on. Seems to me people lots of people know them by what they do NOT do. Yeah, that's a really inspiring role model.
my hubby and i ran into a sister from the congregation we stopped attending a year ago.
we were trying to run into a store out of the cold, our son in tow.
that didn't stop her.
"But where is God? You never mentioned Him on your now leisure filled Sundays."
Good reply dobby. My thoughts, I know where He's *not*. He's not sitting up there "blessing" a boring meeting where a single speaker drones on for 45 minutes, followed by a "bible study" where someone reads WT propaganda, one paragraph at a time, and people "participate" in a canned joke of a question and answer session, where the questions are scripted and so are the answers.
i was reading a thread in which jh said:.
people knew we were jw's just by the way we dressed, but also by the way we talked.. .
now, not to come down on jh by any means, but this raised a question in my mind.
Actually, you raise a good point. If polite manners, extremely conservative dress make someone more of a role model than say someone who is active in the community, believes he/she can actually *make* a positive change by being involved in society, than there you have it.</P> To me it underscores just how superficial JW's really are. It's all about appearances. ; They think that their superficially polite behavior, following laws to the letter (when they don't confict with JW teachings, that is) and dressing in a suit/tie (or in modest dresses calf-level) is "exemplary" and a good witness to others. ; ; ;Sort of like "it's what's on the *outside* that counts. ; The truth is, they are the only ones who think so. ; </P>
i was wondering, since i was raised a jw, will i ever get rid of the mindset of being a jw.
i have been out for 12yrs, but still find that certain things i say, or think, or react to remind me of being a jw.
like with the current things going on with iraq and the us.
Well I've been out for nearly 20. And, I really think that, even though you've been out for 12 years, you still might give it some more time. I think there was a 5 year period where I progressively started getting "out" mentally before I actually left. So, maybe I was ahead of the game. The more experiences you have, the less the JWism will influence you: it will fade.
On a side note, dh and our two children were eating lunch at a restaurant this Saturday. In walks a family who are *obviously* taking a break from (or finishing) field service. Dad's got a full suit on, and son (must have been 9 or ten) is ridiculously decked out a grown-up type suit. Two daughters are both wearing dresses slightly below their knees. This was a casual sports-bar like place and they stuck out like sore thumbs. I told dh (who has never been a JW) that this could be US sitting there on a Saturday with the kids. He looked at me like I was crazy. It just seemed so absolutely absurd, all the energy they spend in their get up, going to meetings, and knocking on doors where people are as interested in speaking to them as they are telemarkers.
Sorry to digress. And NO, they aren't right. OR if they happend to be right in ONE thing, it's by accident. Just look at all the things they've been WRONG about.
im not sure if i was married to a psycho or not and am wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience with their ex.
weve been divorced for 2-1/2 years and have had our ups and downs.
because shes a diehard jw and doesnt have grounds to get re-married i get an ear full from her blah...blah.. anyway, one minute shes like "its terrible that i have to wait for you to get married before i can" and then this past weekend she calls me to talk.
"I do wonder how much the JW "anti-woman" thing effects her. I wouldn't say that I taunt her, actually I applaud what she's accomplished. She's bought her own house, finished college, found a great job at a state university, etc., things she never had to do before. I just wonder if this has created a conflict inside her. I just wonder if all this new "exposure" has created some turmoil inside her and she resents me for exposing her doubts?"
Good for her. Sounds like if she's done all that she's one foot out. Sounds like there must be an internal conflict there. Not to give advice, but I hope you can subtly influence her to get the hell out of the JW's. It offers women nothing, esp women who've accomplished what she has. And, even if you're not interesting in getting back together, surely it's better to have a relatively sane ex than a wacko one. IMO, that's what she'll have to become to survive in that religion with all she's got going for her. (P.S. by "taunting" I meant that you play herself against herself, which is esp tempting when *you* know the game, and the JW beliefs. I think you can still do that *and* respect her. I wasn't trying to imply that you didn't!! Just wanted to clarify).
i remember baking in the hot sun, with the outdoor district conventions.
the only thing i liked about them was lunch time.
back in the day, then i could grab the little coupons, ten to a page, each worth 10 cents.
LOL, should have been "lip sync" (I think?)
I'm so glad others brought up the same things about the assemblies that I detested. I honestly believed at the time because I hated them that I was one of the "rebellious Israelite children" that would have been stoned back in biblical days (courtesy of mom). Oooohhh, really motivating!!!
i remember baking in the hot sun, with the outdoor district conventions.
the only thing i liked about them was lunch time.
back in the day, then i could grab the little coupons, ten to a page, each worth 10 cents.
God, the memories: I hated every one of them. I remember as a young girl baking in the hot stadium sun: I got a bad sunburn where my hair parted!! Lousy food, boring talks. I had forgotton the ones that went into the night. I remember looking through binoculars at the "drama." Ha, where everything was pre-recorded, and the "actors" just did over-stated gestures (in a big stadium, you could barely make the people out. Through the binoculars I saw that they didn't even bother to lip sink, since no one could see their mouths anyway. What a bizarre joke!!!
The only pleasant memory I have is going back to the hotel and having a hot chocolate at the hotel restaurant before going to bed to get up early the next morning to do it all again...Ugh. That's when the assemblies were 7 days long or so. And, remember how theocratic those brothers were (always brothers at that time) who were fired from their secular employment (or simply didn't get paid) because they couldn't get time off for the assembly. Yeah, great idea. What a blessing.
pioneer statistics from recent months:.
sept. 2002 88,341. october 2002 91,101. november 2002 89,083. this looks odd.
you would expect a large increase in sept. as.
Not giving the stats any particular credibility, but doesn't October have some theocratic meaning? It seems (as I recall...) that certain things typical occur in that month (as in the Great Trib, etc), and don't JW's claim that Jesus was born in that month, which might signify something. I don't know. Could be that a few more folks just trying to get a last shot at showing "good works" before the end comes, and then they get disillusioned when it didn't happen so go back to what they were doing. ?? Anyone else remember the significance of October?? Or am I just having bad JW flashbacks...
forgive me if this has been covered before and please redirect me to the topic.... i was looking over the km scan for january 2003 at http://jsefton.users1.50megs.com/kmscans.htm and noticed this on page 4:an approach that has proved to be effective with busy people is to conduct a brief bible study right on their doorstep.
when you are preparing to make a return visit, select from the january 2002 our kingdom ministry insert a presentation that fits the householder.
many of the presentations in this insert are designed to lead directly into a discussion of the require brochure or the knowledge book.
Hah, only a JW could count a discussion of their own self-made books as a "bible study." More like a "JW propaganda-study". Maybe they should make a little slot for *that* on their timesheets.
the following picture is from the watchtower, february 15th 1975 issue, page 100:.
" book, 1988, page 52:.
" book, 1988, page 127:.
Oh, and can any truly rational person believe that a supremely higher being would be communicating his plans and the way to salvation via THIS means?????? Let's just hope he is not that simplistic and downright tacky.
Also, didn't Jim Jones start showing horrible pictures/memories of slavery, etc., as an example of what his adherents could return to if they stopped following him? Typical CULT fear-inspiring tactic.
