I got talked to about this. That was decades ago, but it was made into a big deal. You're supposed to be bonding with your hall mates so you can hide together from the Gestapo during the GT, Satan will try to distract you because you'll have less accountability for attending meetings and fs, etc.
Posts by rebel8
-
28How hard is it to attend a congregation outside of the territory where you live? Consequences for doing so.
by hoser ini need to change congregation but stay living in the same place.
any experience with this.
-
-
-
10
A Toast to Windchimes
by DarioKehl ini recently researched on jw dot org why toasts are not allowed.
in the article, they candidly admit that wedding bands also have pagan origins, but their modern understanding trumps this fact since they serve another function: signifying whether or not a person is married.
same with neck ties, i guess (although their pagan origins were not mentioned in the article).
-
-
rebel8
Someone should totally make a flag saluting, toasting Sparlock windchime. -
19
Having a hard time holding my tongue...
by problemaddict 2 in...recently.. i'm normally pretty calculated.
my fade is done, my wife is out, my family and friends know, i maintain quite abit of the friendships of those closest to me jw or not, my family isn't shunning, and the few people we have kept it from for other reasons we are calculating how to break it.
(elderly matriarch that we are simply not going to tell so she doesn't die).. but.....all these facebook meme's and stupid feeds about reliance on jehovah, distraction, staying close to his organization, persevering against satan.....its driving me nuts.
-
-
rebel8
Village Idiot--good idea.
Of course, it doesn't have the flair of my tactic (pretending to be demon possessed--drooling, rolling your eyes back in your head, talking in a throaty voice).
-
64
The poor and deprived life of JW children.
by Esse quam videri ini 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
The main issue as the OP shows is the fact that not all JW kids had the same experience
Right. Seeing things from others' perspectives is a skill that has to be developed. Ya aren't born with it.
Telling an entire forum full of thousands of ex-cultists that their experiences weren't that bad and they should just stop whining about it, is incorrect, naive, and mean.
-
64
The poor and deprived life of JW children.
by Esse quam videri ini 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
^lol I didn't even catch that. Yeah, he wasn't even a spiritually strong jw, and he's criticizing us for hating dubbery so much.
Jesus, even chess wasn't allowed.
-
38
I want to take them down
by cookiemaster inhey guys!
some of you might know about my latest clash with the elders.
i see the pressure this cult is putting on my family.
-
-
rebel8
They already have been taken down in a big way. Recruitment is down. Attrition, combined with their increasingly horrible reputation, is shrinking their size. Continued Internet and other media coverage of their scandals is working. Some countries are outlawing them for their lying and dangerous practices.
The fact that the number of partakers increases shows the people inside the org don't even believe their teachings. The religion is no more than a caricature of what it used to be.
What you can do is contribute to the above, and work on your own family's situation. If your mother is sound of mind, she needs to be willing to set limits with your help. If she's not of sound mind, get orders of protection or whatever other legal means you have to protect her.
Can you expose their actions towards your mother? They seem to be concerned about your Facebook post--you're hitting a nerve. Imagine if you kept hitting that same nerve with real life stories about what they're doing to your mother. Just an idea.
-
69
"Your bad attitude is evident, because you don't bring a meeting bag to the meetings anymore!"
by stuckinarut2 inyes 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
What is wrong with blue hi-lighters?
Blue highlighters have a long history of connections to things displeasing to Jehoover:
- Pagans used them in naked witchcraft rituals to symbolize the sky goddess; they would use the highlighters when memorizing their spells.
- The Romans used blue highlighters to mark off the list of criminals as they were killing them on the stakes.
- The Israelites used blue highlighters to mark off their list of things they sacrificed to Ba'al.
- Jezebel used blue highlighters for her eyeshadow.
- Sparlock uses blue highlighters to keep track of the jw kids he's corrupted.
-
14
Talked to a couple from the Hall that I haven't seen in a while
by Captain Schmideo2 inwe 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 ini 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 inhey 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."