i guess you could make a case of more families being together although that might not be the best situation.
less cars and pollutants mean we can breathe better.
if you were ever uncomfortable in crowds, this could be good news.
MINIMUS:
The only thing positive from this lockdown is that I will never take for granted that I can go out wherever I want, shop wherever I want and mingle with people when I want - and that I didn’t have to wear an annoying mask!
Like you, I agree this is awful and I want things to go back to being as normal as possible soon. The last time things seemed ‘normal’ was sometime in February then it turned into the Twilight Zone.
i am no longer a study.
during the onset of the pandemic the person who used to be my bible study teacher began to reach out to me.
initially, i just thought that she wanted to know that i was well.
MARIA NIEVES:
I’m sorry she spoke down to you. Witnesses do that to people who say something that makes them feel uncomfortable. You’re supposed to be ‘shamed’ into complying.🙄
The system is ‘ended’ when the creator Ends it by destruction. This pandemic doesn’t necessarily mean the ‘system’ or world is ended.
As far as their preaching work being ‘over’, apparently that’s not the case and they are reaching out to inactive people. They have lost many people in recent years and hope to reactivate whoever they can. Since they cannot physically go out in the public ministry during the lockdown, they write, phone or text people.
a hunch has just struck me.we get frequent accounts in the literature and videos of people whose dysfunctional lived have been turned around by studying with the jw's and coming to belief in the org (sorry, jehovah).
evangelical type christian groups also use similar testimony stories.here's the hunch:the purpose of these is quite different among jw's compared to other religions.other groups use these testimonies primarily to persuade non-believers.the jw's use them to reinforce the beliefs of those already in the "truth.
"any thoughts?.
LEE T:
I never believed the stories in the magazines!
The purpose of those convention testimonials was to get JWs in the audience to think about pioneering. These stories about people who supposedly passed up college education or career opportunities always made me sick and I wasn’t swayed by any of them.
Also, the people on stage were usually young enough to get their life back on track when they find themselves broke in year or so. What you won’t hear about are those who had to get off the pioneer list at some point.
The tragedy is if lifelong pioneers have reached retirement age recently and realize they cannot retire!..But, this didn’t come as a surprise to them - they were just hoping the ‘system would be over’ by this point.
hi i was on here a few years ago, i ended up caving to family pressure and returning to the borg i've since married and have 2 children .
all the reasons i returned are still here, my parents are elderly and i really don't want to hurt them but i just can't do it anymore i need to leave before my kids are brainwashed, i need to be clever this time .
last time i was dfed and became dependant on drink i am in aa and sober now and learning the true meaning of sprituality i know without a doubt that it is a dangerous cult, but i need some tips on fading, its so hard when i want to shout from the roof tops how blind they are.
CORDELIA:
If your husband is already Out then half the battle is won! Just don’t respond to elder checkup calls. Let it go to voicemail and maybe send a text saying that you are busy and everything is ‘fine’. This won’t work forever but it will buy you and your husband time to get your heads together.
Don’t admit anything to your relatives who live nearby. If the elders get hold of them and say they can’t get in touch with you - tell a white lie and say to the relatives you and your husband are going through something..If pressed, say you don’t want to discuss it but you’re fine. Just don’t admit anything about the religion.
XENA:
For one thing, I would get rid of the Witnesses on my social media.
Why on earth would anyone want critics and enemies on there anyway? That’s all these people are.
i think it’s time for business to reopen and let’s get the economy going again!
.
what say you??
THOMAS COVENANT:
It’s not practical or possible for everybody to stay home for extended periods of time. I don’t know if it would have mattered. The poster, Zing, who recently passed away from covid, took every precaution and did more than I do. (A poster named ZILGEE posted a link with a post by Zing in the SNARE&RACKET thread).
I’m not saying people shouldn’t be careful but I long suspected the virus is more contagious than they say and may be in the environment.
hey all,.
i'm day six of isolation, confirmed to have coronavirus.
i have been seeing very sick cv positive patients over the last month in my a&e role (emergency physician) it was inevitable i would contract it.. just wanted to give some symptom and treatment advice, it's anecdotal but may help.. started as sore throat and headache, then croaky voice, then dry cough, then episodic transient fevers, all this over the first few days.
ZILGEE:
Not to hijack the thread:
I read that link about Zing and he took more precautions than I do!!! ..So, just what is the public supposed to believe about how the virus is transmitted?? I just wear a mask, no gloves, I confess that I do not use hand sanitizer..I just wash hands dozens of times, do an alcohol wipedown of every surface plus keys, etc.
Getting back to the OP: I hope that SNARE&RACKET is doing well.
how many of you remember these?
(since these are old i don't think the tower will get a hernia.).
a stroll down memory lane!https://docdro.id/ylyfur6peace among men of good will.
ATLANTIS:
(Petra)
They were doing written reviews when I came into the JW religion in the late 1970s.
Being raised Catholic I thought it was a little strange but it appeared to be harmless from what I could see. Then at some point they stopped doing that. BTW, when I came in there was a brief intermission between the two Thursday night meetings. They did away with that also.
As far as being in the Theocratic Ministry School: I had to be pushed to join..In the second congregation I was associated with, I ended up taking myself off the school because it was a burden to get together with other sisters (who I didn’t care for) to do these ‘skits’..I hated it.
The whole Witness religion was such a burden for many reasons and I’m glad I left.
relationship issues: boundaries, freedom of choice and codependency .
i just read a very interesting thought in the book, "boundaries" by cloud & townsend.
the basic problem in human relationship is that of freedom.
I am very glad to see this thread about Boundaries resurrected and to read my posts from eight years ago... I’m further along in my ‘Fade’ so unpleasant experiences in the Witness religion (as a single woman fending off Users) are fading from memory..which is as it should be.
But I have to say that the issue of No Boundaries in the Witness religion is very real and NOW more important than ever. From what I have learned on this forum and others, they have gone overboard in overstepping boundaries. With Zoom meetings people are expected to dress up in their own living room to be seen on live video. In effect, their homes are extensions of the kingdom hall. Also, in recent years they have asked intrusive questions of people with regard to income to determine how much $ they should contribute to the religion, etc.. I would never tolerate this since I was criticized for having a full-time job! Good thing I never listened or I wouldn’t be Retired now.
A lot has happened in the almost twenty years I walked away from the religion. I thought it was bad then. It is worse now.
i’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks and i’m sort of surprised that no one else has introduced this topic!.
what better time than now for a fader to fade?
no meetings, no field service, no elder visits, no assemblies, no convention, and no other bullshit busy work going on.
ROAD TO NOWHERE:
With this Zoom tyranny, I think people are going get fed up. Dressing up to be in your own home as if it were an extension of the kingdom hall?..and them thinking that because you ‘are home’ you shouldn’t have a problem with them constantly checking up on you?
This is a worse invasion of privacy, in my opinion, than before.
I think what’s going to happen is one day some JWs are going to wake up and say no more - and Zoom is not going to be switched on!
As far as would-be ‘faders’, now is a great time to take advantage of this situation.
i've been reading that in asian countries if you go outside without a mask on, your looked at oddly and with disapproval.
it seems they have been wearing masks for years.
yet uk/us/canada/ and other countries do not.
CAVES:
Years back I would see Asians (who I thought were tourists) with masks on in the city. I also saw them walk with umbrellas on sunny days because they didn’t want the sun on them.
I just assumed the masks were because they considered it a normal thing to do back in their populated city, too many germs, etc.
Even though I don’t want masks to be normal in the US, they might be under some circumstances..I wouldn’t blame people in the subway for wearing them.
