Posts by TheListener

100

Is it Time to Declare that The Great Tribulation Has Started ?

by OnTheWayOut in

i don't really engage in doctrinal discussions about jw's anymore.

they seem to say some pretty crazy stuff.

but i have read some threads discussing doctrinal changes and how watchtower is really out of ideas and money at the same time.

TheListener

I believe that the fear of the GT starting any day, any minute, any second is much more powerful and long lasting than actually claiming or hinting that it started.

Once they claim the GT has started, no matter how long they stretch it out, it will lose some of its boogey man scariness to the rank and file. I know they live in anticipation of it but deep down I think many dubs fear it as well, especially the ones that believe but know they've been baaaaaaad.

By not starting it but scaring the crap out of everyone that the GT boogey man is coming any second by showing bunker videos and talking up possible persecution scenarios they can keep the sheeple in line and donating - just hoping and praying and paying that the GT starts soon to end their misery. But, fearful of what actually happens once it does start.

22

"Bethelites told they weren’t doing enough, hadn’t reached their potential so about half of them walked out of the talk"

by oppostate in

this was news to me, it's from a year and a half ago,.

from joe emerson at http://www.christianwitnesses.com.

bethelites told they weren’t doing enough, hadn’t reached their potential so about half of them walked out of the talk; efforts made to get names of those who walked out but didn’t get them all.

TheListener

WTF! It doesn't really sound believable, but sure hope it is.

44

After 15-17 years JW daughter coming by for a visit today.

by James Mixon in

is something going on in jw land i don't know about.

she and her new husband and my two.

grand daughters, one i have never seen.

TheListener

YAAAAAAY!!!!!! Just fantastic news!!!

15

Attendances & Baptisms at Summer Conventions

by steve2 in

there have been very informative threads on presentations and audience reactions ("thrilled", "emotional") at this summer's regional conventions (formerly district conventions) but little on actual attendance numbers and numbers baptized.

.

or could i be directed to current threads discussing these aspects - i searched but found nothing.

TheListener

Eyeuse2badub what was the general reaction to the videos? Happiness and warm feelings? Tears at the armageddon video? or just expressionless faces with lots of clapping?

16

Detroit TV station expose' on JWs

by Emma in

here's a link to a brief but good, four-minute piece on jehovah's witnesses.

wdiv in detroit filmed it.

there's a place for comments so please add helpful info.

TheListener

Very well done. I can't believe the station did that story and did it so well. It's great that regular people will see this and be less inclined to listen to the dubs at the door and at those ridiculous carts.

42

Feeling Sad After Uncovering TTATT

by pale.emperor in

my initial pangs of unease and doubt led me to research some things.

well, a lot of things really.

i've never felt comfortable using the bible to try to calculate dates (1914).

TheListener

Pale emperor, you are not alone. I felt similarly when I discovered TTATT. I lost all my friends and a lot of my family. I wasn't prepared for a life without the witnesses, had no idea I needed to be. I went from a feeling of smug superiority and a desire to help save people's lives to being free but mostly alone with and not having all the answers anymore.

At first I spent a huge amount of time researching every doctrine to see if it was something real or not and then I spent a long time being afraid I was wrong and God was going to kill me at armageddon, which I imagined would be starting any time. But, in time I made some new friends, saved my kids from the cult and have a pretty good life going on.

Learning TTATT is really overwhelming but you can and will get through this. Use the board as a helper and you might want to find a local counselor to speak with as well.

Feel free to PM me any time.

2

Disagreement with Mom

by Darryl in

although df'd for almost 20 years my very much still a jw mother and i would have a discussion about my return to the org .

from time to time.

that ended when i revealed myself to be an apostate.

TheListener

You make a really good point Darryl. That is one of the things that my wife and I agreed on when I was still a dub (she still is). Why would the elders be in a position to protect their families and maybe a close friend or two but the majority of the congregation would be left in the dark and not even know the extent of the danger in the congregation.

Sorry that your conversation cost you the remaining part of of your relationship with your mother. That's a whole other disappointing and disgusting subject.

71

Confusing Opinions with Facts

by cofty in

in a discussion about the best flavour of ice cream everybody's opinion is equally valid.. in a discussion about the shape of the earth or the origin of species everybody's opinion is equally irrelevant.

only objective facts and evidence matter.. confusing these two categories is a common feature of conversations in this forum.

people deserve respect, errors do not..

TheListener

Thanks Cofty. In all seriousness I know very little of evolution or abiogenesis but I found the small amount of reading I did really informative.

I always thought evolution included the whole concept of nothingness to us. I didn't realize that there was a study of something called abiogenesis, which can overlap evolution but can be very separate as well. Very very interesting (hence the mind blown part).

No sarcasm intended at all. My first post was a poor attempt at humor as opposed to sarcasm.

71

Confusing Opinions with Facts

by cofty in

in a discussion about the best flavour of ice cream everybody's opinion is equally valid.. in a discussion about the shape of the earth or the origin of species everybody's opinion is equally irrelevant.

only objective facts and evidence matter.. confusing these two categories is a common feature of conversations in this forum.

people deserve respect, errors do not..

TheListener

Cofty, I posted in a somewhat lighthearted way about something I learned and that's how you repsond? Too serious man, too serious.

71

Confusing Opinions with Facts

by cofty in

in a discussion about the best flavour of ice cream everybody's opinion is equally valid.. in a discussion about the shape of the earth or the origin of species everybody's opinion is equally irrelevant.

only objective facts and evidence matter.. confusing these two categories is a common feature of conversations in this forum.

people deserve respect, errors do not..

TheListener

I don't usually read the evolution threads but I did this one and I just wanted to post and say - abiogenesis - poof! mind blown!! Whaaaaaaat? We don't know how life actually started but just how it changed once It began? WTF man, I had no idea.

Thank you board.