Posts by rebel8

14

Talked to a couple from the Hall that I haven't seen in a while

by Captain Schmideo2 in

jw
friends

we were waiting for my mother in law to come out of surgery.not much was talked about on "spiritual" matters (since i haven't been to a meeting in years).however, i got to hear about :government conspiracies to shut down alternative energy.. gmos are bad.

gmos are bad.

gmo's are bad!!!

rebel8

Scientific illiteracy, when combined with a willingness to form beliefs based upon science, is scary.

64

The poor and deprived life of JW children.

by Esse quam videri in

i find it hard to believe that adults on this forum make such a big deal about not celebrating birthdays, x-mas, easter, halloween, etc, etc, etc.

i grew up as a jw kid and it actually made me feel good, being different from the other kids in school.

we went to meetings.

rebel8

What kid at school got to experience that?

Just off the top of my head, many kids who attend Catholic Churches got to experience that. Kids who compete in spelling bees, sing the national anthem at ballparks...

What kid in school got to experience the feeling I had on those Saturdays?

Just off the top of my head, every single kid who has a paper route. Oh, except they were selling publications that didn't mislead and manipulate people.

Was I an unhappy kid because I did not celebrate all those x-mas, easter, birthdays,etc, etc, etc.? No, no and again no.If you are an adult and feel you had a deprived childhood, grow up and get over it.

What harsh, mean-spirited BS. Have you ever heard of a concept of empathy, meaning you can attempt to have a smidge of compassion for others?

27

"Your good example is much needed for the young ones the congregation."

by Yondaime in

hey guys n gals, sorry its been such a long time since i've posted.

lately i've been very busy balancing between my school work and cult activities.

since i've been doing pretty well "spiritually"(enough field-circus hours, attending meetings, underlining my literatrash, reading, praying and serving as the mic-master) my coordinator grabbed me to the side after a meeting and talked to me for twenty minutes straight congratulating me about how good i am doing.. then he paused for a good five seconds and got all serious.. then he proceeded to tell me that the young ones in the hall aren't doing too well.

rebel8

I left with less $ than that. It sucked but I survived. Create an exit plan and leave as soon as you're old enough.

Learned helplessness. Start to become incompetent. Say dumb things when you answer at the wt study. Stumble over your words. When you give a talk, do a bad job. Ask silly questions about how to use the mic & drop it often so they aren't confident you'll do it correctly. Whatever they want you to do, don't be good at it.

In the preaching work, say ridiculous things to people if you have to talk at all, stumble over your words and say accurate but extreme jw teachings. Blurt out, "We know Armageddon is coming any day now--could be today. Everyone who doesn't join is going to be destroyed by God right away. Would you be interested in a free home bible study? Better hurry."

QFR: Are vampires for true Christians?

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

questions from readers.

"is it appropriate for a christian to view movies and read books about vampires in light of their demonic connotations and the new medical information that is now coming to light about blood?

obviously, numbnuts, the answer is no.

rebel8

QUESTIONS FROM READERS

"Is it appropriate for a Christian to view movies and read books about vampires in light of their demonic connotations and the new medical information that is now coming to light about blood?"

Obviously, numbnuts, the answer is no. Why do you people pester us with inane questions? The answer is no to everything fun. But since you asked, you deserve a really long explanation with scriptural reasoning that is so farfetched only we can conceive of it. Be careful what you ask for!

Vampires have become popularized in the media in these Last Days. Vampires can be found in many popular movies and best-selling books, especially among today’s youth. The story lines feature romance, mystery, drama and glamorization of drinking blood. Although fictional, some today are even acting upon such fantasies. One popular actress wore a vial of her husband’s blood on a necklace. Others have mimicked the vampire lifestyle in clothing, makeup and tattoos, without even considering wearing their j w . org tie tacks.

The Christian Broadcasting Network had this to say: “Meyer based Edward and Bella's story on a dream she had one night. Brought up in the Mormon Church, Meyer integrated the theme of resisting teenage lust into her novels. Edward’s love is so deep that he must physically restrain his passion for Bella. She too faces temptation – wanting to give into her desires. Readers discover some pretty reckless behavior on both their parts. Edward frequently sneaks into Bella’s bedroom to watch her sleep, and she consistently lies to parents in order to protect her relationship with her powerful, vampire boyfriend.”

Why, even Babylon The Great agrees vampires are demonic! Is lust, unchaperoned contact between people of the opposite sex, and lying characteristic of true Christians? Surely not! Search your Bible-based conscience, as it were, let the reader use discernment.

Pagans believed drinking blood would bring eternal life. Eve may have had the same goal when she ate the fruit Jehovah commanded her not to eat.Obviously that was evil.

Let us consider what most scholars agree is the origin for the English word "vampire". “Vam” was the original root of the word, meaning literally "witch who eats Jehovah's Witnesses for breakfast” and "pyros", meaning "the fire Jehovah destroys people with when they do stupid sh1t". A faithful servant of Jehovah would quickly notice that the nature of a vampire is demonic and"witchy". The bible makes clear reference to witchcraft and admonishes his faithful servants to shun from such wickedness.

“I started watching Twilight when I was 9. Within 3 months, I had begun engaging in fornication, idolatry, drug use, prostitution, nudity, witchcraft, and swimming at the YMCA. When I secretly wore a Halloween costume to school one day in October, I realized I had fallen so far away from Jehovah and approached the elders for help. I could have prevented all of this just by watching j w . t v instead of Twilight,” said one youth.

There are numerous reasons why a loyal dedicated servant of God should use their Bible-trained conscience to arrive at a proper understanding of why vampires are not for Christians.

Consider the following facts. Nowhere in the Bible are vampires spoken of in favorable terms. Clearly then, as loyal Christians, why would we even want to invite such demonic characters into our minds and hearts, remembering that "bad associations spoil useful habits"? To invite vampires in our house is to toy with disaster.

Further, vampires do not observe sacred practices when it comes to blood. The Bible clearly prohibits drinking blood. We have ranted on about this for almost a century now in our publications. Do we really need to do this again, you idiots?

Additionally, consider the poor example some vampires give to youth in regards to greed. One popular vampire spends a lot of time counting

money, and has been depicted as participating in false religion. “I started watching Sesame Street when I was 4 years old. By age 5, I had become obsessed with counting money and was addicted to online poker to feed by love of money. I also became fascinated with pipe organs and began attending false religious rituals so I could see the organs. Not long after that, I was attending church bingo in secret. I finally confessed this to my parents and they counseled me from the Bible to help me break free from these evil practices.”

The Bible clearly shows that "neither fornicators, nor vampires….nor thieves will…inherit the Kingdom." In addition, the Apostle Paul admonishes us to "quit mixing in company" with such unclean ones. Although Paul was speaking primarily about Christians who fell into sin, there is no reason to conclude that this Inspired Biblical principle cannot be applied to association with vampires.

~inspired by this

18

Trapped.

by trapped28 in

jw
friends

as i write this,im aware of my heart hammering in my chest.ok where shall i start,ill try to keep this as short as possible.ive never been religious before in my life,the occasional wedding or funeral was the only time ive been in a church or viewed a bibles cover.in 2013 my step-dad was diagnosed with cancer and had to go for an operation to remove the tumor.i became close to his nephew and we communicated a lot and had a few strong feelings for each other,but neither of us told anyone,it was just harmless flirting and a few hugs that lasted a bit longer than normal.two days after my dads operation,he died through complications,and my path of self destruct was set.my boss had also been sexually harassing me at work and i was unfairly dismissed and was told by my landlord that i was to pay the rent or be evicted.then out of the blue my cousin tells me he was an unbaptised publisher (he was baptised at the aug convention last year)and to start having faith in god,that it would all work out.so i went to a kh and took up a study.that was a year ago and they now feel im ready to become a publisher.the thing is..i was made homless and am living with a jw of 50 years,a real spiritual person.these last two months ive been researching and i simply like you all disagree with so much of it.for the past twi weeks ive avoided meetings because of work,or pretended im at work and stayed away from the home i have with this witness.i cant afford to leave but at same time im being pushed to go into ministry and meetings.guys what the hell am i going to do?im so trapped scared and i cant believe i wanted to get baptised!

!my son lives with his dad and there trying to get a hold on him when he visits me!

!

rebel8

dubs do have teachings that state parents are spiritually responsible for their own children, not others. So they need to butt out. Ask them who's responsible spiritually? When they answer you are, then say you will let them know if you need help, but for now you are making decisions for your own child.

Then get the fark out of that house and away from that cult as fast as you can.

15

Stress on young ones

by LHS123 in

jw
friends

i had a horrible conversation with my 14 year old last night which i regret.

im still in but doubting more and more every day.. she is recently baptized.

she is outgoing and gorgeous and make friends easily, although not so much with the sisters in our hall, who pick her up and drop her again regularly , leaving her out of parties etc but then bringing her back into the circle, dropping her again...and so on.

rebel8

I was in the same situation, hot-then-cold jw 'friends' who were backstabbing bullies--just socializing with me sporadically because they felt guilty. [2 exceptions only.] But that's to be expected really--most human beings are douchebags and when they're forced to pretend they're nice, it doesn't work out too well.

Create opportunities for your daughter to socialize in a fun and healthy way with non-jw friends. 14-year-olds in totally unstructured situations may get her radar up--peer pressure and all of that. Structured activities at first will reassure her no one is going to turn her into a drug-crazed, demon-possessed, prostitute nudist in the first 15 minutes.

She needs to be around kids her age to develop socially. None of that occurred with me, and I can tell you it took me years to heal the resulting social retardation, with lots of avoidable pain for me and others. Seriously--this is a developmental need.

23

There's a pattern emerging

by stillin in

the congregation that i am associated with pledged a monthly amount for the construction of a new assembly hall.

after it was built, that was where we went for several years, even though it was the farthest-away place we had ever had for our circuit assemblies.. after a few years, lo and behold, our congregation is assigned to a new circuit where (surprise!

) a new assembly hall is in the early stages of construction.

rebel8

It is so disturbingly selfish for them to be building assembly halls in areas where there are plentiful facilities available for rent. Wasteful and selfish.

34

'Clergy' and 'Ordained Ministers'

by OrphanCrow in

what i can't seem reconcile are the concepts of 'clergy' and 'ordained minister'.. the wts has consistently won legal battles, specifically in cases involving military exemption, by making the claim that each and every baptized jw is an 'ordained minister'.

and, they bolstered this label with the assertion that 'we do not have a clergy class'.

so, why is that different now in the sex abuse trials that happening right now?

rebel8

On my pioneer ID card, it said I was an ordained jw minister. Do elders have those silly ID cards?

IIRC, at the time, all baptized, active publishers were technically considered ordained ministers...but us appointees were the only ones with ID cards to prove it. (I was told to show it when called to jury duty or if I needed time off work to attend assemblies.)

When I told them for the last time that I am not going to participate in dubism anymore, they were hot to get my pioneer ID card back because it said the ordination thing.

Silly.

21

Joined up, long time looking

by highline20 in

jw
friends

joined the site, not that i have much to share.. i'm married to a jw (wife).

i never have been or will be a jw, i honestly hate the wt (not the jws).

being married to a jw, can sometimes make you crazy, i never believed any of the bs.

rebel8

are you saying she is able to report preaching hours I join her at meeting??

Yes, it counts as a 'return visit' because she is re-witnessing to you. And she can count her time 'bringing' you there and any time she spends chatting about the meeting before and after.

I hate it and I'm sure everybody at the KH can tell

She gets bonus points for this, socially speaking. She is now both the pitiful Wife in a Divided Household and the faithful Wife Who Gets Her Unbelieving Husband to Attend Meetings Even Though He Doesn't Want to. Sympathy and admiration.

I personally know someone like you who went for years and finally gave in and joined. Witnesses know these stories--they pass them around all the time and are all undoubtedly believing your 'hard heart' is softening. Often they are unable to fathom how a person could be repeatedly exposed to their Special Truths w/o joining.

69

"Your bad attitude is evident, because you don't bring a meeting bag to the meetings anymore!"

by stuckinarut2 in

yes friends.....this is the comment said to me by an elder!.

"your bad attitude is evident because you don't bring your meeting bag anymore!".

i calmly replied: "but everything i need is on the tablet now......".

rebel8

I think those of you still 'in' should carry a different bag every week, in increasing sizes, culminating in a giant suitcase.