Whiskeyjack

Joined

• started 2 topics
• posted 278 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Whiskeyjack

• 
  19

  Was Anyone Reinstated But Felt Marked?

  by love2Bworldly in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just wondering if any of you experienced what i did years ago when i was reinstated.

  although people were excited about my reinstatement and said things like "welcome home", i could tell when i would see people i used to be close to--that they still treated me differently, almost like i had a disease or something.

  maybe it's because i was married to a non-jw and had a baby by then?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Whiskeyjack

  A perpsective from the other side...

  I recall how many JW's would feel varying degrees of resentment at reinstated ones "who've had their bit if fun" and came back to their congs. while they themselves "followed the all the rules" (as we all know, no easy task!). The result was a diminished relationship with those weak ones often for years until they proved themselves (chastity, abstainance, public humiliation, etc...) worthy by "suffering" as much as the rest of us.

  I remember the tale of the prodigal son and remember thinking that the "good" son should have left home after the way he was treated by the father in the parable!

  W.
• 
  19

  Suicide among Jehovah's Witnesses

  by cruzanheart in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this topic has been covered many times, in many different ways, but let's open this for discussion: if the witnesses allowed an elder per congregation to be trained as a "pastoral counselor" as other religions do, would that make it more bearable to be a witness and play by their rules?

  would it lessen the number of depressed, suicidal people who feel they have no reason to live?.

  nina

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Whiskeyjack

  Training would seem like a good idea but how to incorporate it when the org.'s officers don't want to deal in the "reality" of the actual private lives the members of their comgs. are having to lead (youth double-lifers, people hiding depression problems, spousal abuse, etc...) to maintain what status they have?

  JW's are not meant to be happy or content in this "system of things" aside from the "satisfaction" they recieve as Jesus' (which means the FDS of course) christian soldiers. Any attempt to start addressing these kinds of issues would imperil the authority of New York when those trained elders try to make an impact in their respective congregations.

  So JW's with such problems had better continue their best to "hide" their problems and deal with them on their own or clandestantly seek professional/competent help. In the case of depression, this means a lot of unnecessary suffering will continue (speaking with some personal experience!) for those soldiers who follow orders to the letter.

  W.
• 
  16

  When the Society started to derail? - I love history

  by amen in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  this was taken from thebiblestudents.net the original group of russel.. how truth are these comments?

  wow!

  the watchtower is into apostacy.. any new one who still believes in the watchtower should take a look at this.. .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Whiskeyjack

  Thanks for posting this Amen! Great read. Have any background info. on these fellows?

  W.
• 
  70

  I NEED HELP

  by Shawn in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  here is my situation: i am in the sacramento area of california.

  i have a good friend of mine that is a jw.

  she has recently not been attending meeting and not reading her watchtower.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Whiskeyjack

  GreyEyes,

  I was always told that Chess was inappropriate for a "christian" because of its military nature. Did you know of a group of JW's in your region who played with official blessing?

  W.
• 
  17

  And Europeans say Americans are unruly, bad sports....

  by CaptainSchmideo in

  1. social
  2. current
  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Whiskeyjack

  I feel it's partly due to the lack of opportunity for peoples (particularly those in urban environments) to exercise "violence" in a participative way. There's been interesting academic work done on Britons' surprisingly positiive attitudes towards organized violence (I can't remember the authors' names). Soccer hooligans are not all unemployed "skinheads".

  I think its Sienna (Italy) where they hold that wild horse race every year in order to help manage petty crime by allowing people to "lose it" for a day. Maybe Elijah Wood's (Frodo) new movie about hooliganism will shed some light on this very interesting social subject.

  W.
• 
  64

  New member, question thats been asked many times, but how do you feel ?

  by Greyeyes in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i came across this site, and while still my upbringing says i should stay away from such site, i had to join.

  a bit of a background about me.

  i'm 31, my parents became witnesses when i was born so they could give me the best upbringing they felt possible.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Whiskeyjack

  Welcome to the forum GreyEyes.

  I've been on this board for a couple of months and have learned an amazing amount of info. about my old organization. I faded in my early twenties when I decided I'd had enough of the organizational dysfunctionalism that I observed all around me. Like you, I was raised a JW and was a young "star" until I started my education (15 plus years ago)

  Curiousity is what drew me to this forum but the surprisingly high percentage of intelligent and caring posters has stretched my "visit". You sound much like me (originally I didn't have any doctrinal "issues" with the org. as I'm now an agnostic/humanist) and I'm curious as to how much of your old "programming" do you feel you still have affecting your current behaviours? I still have "holdovers" myself after all this time!

  There is a lot of varying views (and wild debate and comedy) on this board and I highly recommend that you recommend it to your GF for her perusal.

  W.
• 
  23

  WTS financial secrets

  by greendawn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does anyone know who is/are the ultimate insectors of the wt's finances?

  and is there any transparency in their finances and also accountability to the public?

  can we really know what they do with the profits?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Whiskeyjack

  It's always a bad sign in an organization when there is little transparency (at least moderately detailed financial statements made available the to congs.) and no mechanisms for investigations/queries ("its not for us to question the GB"). Learning the identity of the "shareholders" would be a great start in attempting to follow the money the WTS has raked in over this last century.

  The "organizational" chart for the WTS is getting pretty convoluted (who does what, who owns what, who's responsible for what, etc...) for a "simple" Godly organization with a "simple" mission.

  W.
• 
  34

  My Mom is so upset she is skipping meetings!

  by Quotes in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just got off the phone with my mom.

  my mom has been a jw since converting in her teens or early 20s; she is now at the age of "senior discount".

  a lifetime in the religion, by choice.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Whiskeyjack

  Thanks for the good news about your mum Quotes! I still have hopes for my parents since you never know when an incident may come along to "open" their eyes that they can't ignore.

  "Christian Learning Centre" seems a nice innocuous and generic label for the United States if the org. is looking to "blend in" with the American Christaian "Right". Thw WTS does seem to be striving for a "low" public profile from what I've been reading here (very different from earlier decades). Does anyone else heard of "CLC's"?

  W.
• 
  31

  Hello...new here

  by Sabrina in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  [i]i wasn't sure where to post my introduction, so i am going to put it here.

  if any admins or mods feel it should be moved, please do so.

  i found this forum linked from http://members.aol.com/beyondjw/bj.htm, a jehovah's witnesses recovery site.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Whiskeyjack

  Welcome to the forum Sabrina! It's amazing how much of the "programming" stays with many of us even years later. The grandkid access issue is a toughie (my sister has the same problem/issue).

  W.
• 
  48

  How long have you been on the Internet? and ..

  by Brummie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  which is the 1st exjw site you posted on?.

  i didnt get on until 1999 and posted on randys wt world and h20 occasionally.

  also larry ingmans chat.... any of you used to post or chat there?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Whiskeyjack

  I guess I must be at the very end of the "anologue generation"!

  My first time on the net (aside from work related stuff) was in 1994. I looked up JW's of course (out of curiousity) and of course they were all negative sites. I laughed my way through the "New Economy" revolution during the late nineties.

  A sibling mentioned this site to me last January and I've been very impressed generally with the board and its members (I admit that I used to think that anyone who was on one of these boards was either an ill-educated wierdo, a friendless nerd or a hopeless shut-in -- apologies to all!). This is the only board I've ever joined and it's made me more open to the "possibilities" of the internet for non-institutional communications.

  W.