i just got my hands on a copy of my book of bible stories ... (1978).
at first i was excited when a friend pulled it out of his bag, said he'd gotten it as a kid.
then i started flipping through, looking at the pictures, feeling the memories spin in my brain.
The worst was when the cassette tapes came out and you had to listen to the tapes while you tried to go to sleep at night. If that isn't a case for brainwashing, what is? Yes, listen in your sleep to these horrid stories of murder in God's name.
Then if a good little JW kid memorized the stories and could recite them word-for-word they were PRAISED for it.
Does any of this bear a slight resemblance of a cult to you?
in recent weeks, we've had a few jw apologists or sympathizers that have created a bit of a stir around these parts.
some of their posts have been inconsiderate of the feelings of others, causing no small amount of understandable outrage on several threads.
on other threads, some of them have frequently failed to even read the posts to which they are responding, causing them to make comments that are unrelated to the discussion at hand.
All good points.
The other thing is we all have to remember what mindset we used to be in, I remember carrying around a sack of guilt and trying so hard to alleviate my own guilt by being judgemental of others. Many JW apologists have trouble believing it is the "truth" but are racked and led by guilt as though they are not "spritual" enough or proving themselves enough to be good JWs.
It's all about time. Give every person 10 years and then see where they are we'd see such differences I am sure.
ever notice how the "happiest people on earth" are also the most class-oriented?
to say that jesus said his followers should all be on equal footing, it's incredible how much the r&f witness is not on equal footing.
the social structure in the congregation is more complex than the blueprints of a nuclear warhead, but just so that you "remember your place", see if you can find where your niche was/is:
The real difference between everyone in the pecking order was if you were included in social events.
If you were an elder, elder's wife, elder's child, there was always get togethers and picnics, and fun things planned. If you were a single mother or a child of a single mother, you weren't included, you weren't anything but pioneer material, you got patted on the back for making a good comment at the meetings, but you weren't "worthy" enough to socialize with them.
Unassigned territory was also a social event, not everyone would be included.
Trips to assemblies sometimes included dinners out afterwards but if you weren't in the "in" crowd you had to return to your room and figure out where and what to eat on your own.
I remember many events that I heard of afterwards and was extremely hurt by, all because my mom was a single mother and poor and we weren't ever sought out to do things with. That is where the "love" is most evident.
i know someone who is getting married and i am amazed how much money she spent.
she is a student and works part-time and if she's lucky makes $650 a month.
her fiance has a full time job but it goes for bills.
When we got married, we were engaged for 10 months and I paid for things monthly as we went along so the day we walked down the aisle everything was paid for. Of course being as we did it all ourselves, and didn't spend anyone's elses money, it was a lot cheaper.
We were able to buy a house though, and enjoy our honeymoon. It's much smarter to spend 20k on a house down payment, than a wedding.
before you read anything, you should be aware that i do not know what i am talking about.
it seems clear now that the watchtower religion has already started to decline, in the western world at least.
how will this decline play out in the future - this is one of the most interesting questions relating to the watchtower at the moment: will the witnesses enjoy a slow leisurely decline over many decades, or can we expect a major split and disintegration in the near future?
Actually I think someone will come along with great ambition and will want to rule a peice of the pie by themselves. Someone will disagree with the current President and say "hey I want to be President of the WTS of India, Nigeria, Netherlands, etc" and will cut ties and become independant.
I really believe that power will ultimately corrupt and bring about changes, because from MS, to elders, to POs it's all about a craving need for power.
ever notice how the "happiest people on earth" are also the most class-oriented?
to say that jesus said his followers should all be on equal footing, it's incredible how much the r&f witness is not on equal footing.
the social structure in the congregation is more complex than the blueprints of a nuclear warhead, but just so that you "remember your place", see if you can find where your niche was/is:
I was the #7 daughter of a single mother, but moved onto #4 pioneer sister during my teen years. My motivation for pioneering though was that is was the ONLY way to get recognition. If you wanted to meet any single brothers, you needed a way "in" and pioneering did that. It also got people to say hi to you at meetings, you weren't lowest of the low anymore.
On the topic of PO's I just found out the PO of my cong when I was in my early teens got removed because his daughter got DF'd for having sex. Why does it give me so much pleasure when they lose their grip on this imaginary power????
i saw someone post about a march 2005 wts publication making thinly veiled threats predictions about 'the end' coming in 2034. now i can't find the thread.
i had heard some talk about this previously, but then was told it was a hoax....wts supposedly had not said anything about it.
then i heard this week a publication just came out that does say it.
Question: Didn't people in Noah's day supposedly live longer than they do today? Meaning he was alive for those whole 120 years and then some.
What happens when someone lives only 70-80 years? That makes no sense, that would mean 2 full generations of people.
GIVE IT UP ALREADY!
typically, what life does a jw lead?
witnesses relish the thought that they are "different" from the rest of the "world"......how so???
?
A life filled with false hope, unrealistic expectations, and one day they might even open up to face the reality of utter dissapointment.
http://floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20050307/news01/503070336/1006
very interesting article from fl, a 25 yoa woman worked as a day care worker at a church and was terminated when she announced she was pregnant and unmarried.
she sued for wrongful termination.
http://floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050307/NEWS01/503070336/1006
Very interesting article from FL, a 25 yoa woman worked as a day care worker at a church and was terminated when she announced she was pregnant and unmarried. She sued for wrongful termination. The court said it can't interfere with the church's morality policy.
can anyone here point me in the direction of a copy of the talk or booklet online that can be printed?
i have a relative still 'in' that might accept that the 'food at the proper time' was missing here!
i think i used to have a copy of the booklet 40 years ago - but it is long gone.
WOW impressive sites. Love the second one where the guy tells you to watch out for apostates on the internet. LOL.
