LongHairGal

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Posts by LongHairGal

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  49

  The ''dreaded'' birthday cake

  by RULES & REGULATIONS in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the watchtower—study edition | september 2023. study article 39. let mildness be your strength.

  11 if a workmate asks, for example, why we do not celebrate birthdays, consider: could he be wondering whether we are allowed to have a good time?

  or might he feel that our position will dampen the company’s team spirit?

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  LongHairGal

  HOSER:

  You hit the nail on the head.

  I always believed the religion’s ban on celebrating holidays is really about separating their members from their non-Witness family and friends.. I always suspected it was about isolating a person! .. I remember when I joined they tried to separate me from my family and friends. I reasoned that an isolated Witness must be easier to ‘control’. 🙄

  Then the JW can be shunned when they break any ‘rules’ and they supposedly won’t have anybody to turn to! Nice. Eh?

  But, there’s another reason I think. They fear that if a JW experiences unconditional love and acceptance from people who aren’t judging them - they might wake up from the stupor and not want the religion anymore.
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  45

  How Do Jehovah's Witnesses View Education?

  by southyukon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have a question about this article.. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jw-education-school/.

  higher education can lead to moral and spiritual dangers.

  a bible proverb says: "the shrewd one sees the danger and conceals himself.

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  LongHairGal

  SOUTH YUKON:

  Quite simply, the religion hates higher education for its followers…But, if somebody comes in who already has education, they will gladly benefit from that persons skill and secular know-how. Now they have letters openly asking!

  I had an elder once admit to me that ‘college educated brothers are harder to counsel’. So, there you have it. This bias against college is because some elder, co or whatever was made to feel stupid when getting into a ‘discussion’ with some educated person in the congregations.. They don’t care if the average JW can’t put food on the table, as long as they sit there ignorant and not asking questions.

  BETH SARIM:

  Yes, needless to say, a large percentage of the vast rank & file are unprepared for retirement having been told ‘Armageddon was coming and there was no need for a career..’ Now, with the new ruling as of November 1st, that hourly time sheets no longer have to be reported, I wonder how many of these unprepared JWs are angry that they spent decades in the ministry knocking on doors - when they should have been holding down a decent job!!!..I think this was a slap in the face for many JWs and wonder how many will still hang around?
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  13

  What are 5 Things You are Grateful for this Thanksgiving 2023 ?

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here in america, we have a tradition to set aside one day to be especially grateful.

  that day is today.

  the psychological benifits of being grateful is well known and promoted by business experts, healthcare professionals, secularists, believers ... you name it.

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  LongHairGal

  I’m very grateful for everything.

  Especially for:….The small but very important pleasures in life that maybe some take for granted, such as family, nature, etc. But, maybe that’s because I’ve reached a certain age.

  I can’t not mention that I’m grateful enough (to get down on my knees) that I got out of the JW religion over two decades ago… I’m grateful I had a ‘life’ before the religion that I could go back to and feel like a human being again - enjoying family and Holidays once again. I am grateful I was able to reconnect with the only people in the world who really ever cared about me…I freed myself from the illusion and judgmental strangers who meant nothing.

  Last but not least, I’m glad I kept that job until retirement!
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  18

  anniversary of JFK assassination

  by desbah in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is for all the ex-jw's on that dreadful day..... do you remember where you were when jfk was shot in dallas, tx?

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  LongHairGal

  I was in Catholic grade school. (The nuns were so proud we had an Irish Catholic president.)

  Anyway, the principal cut in and announced over the loudspeaker: ‘say a prayer because your president has been shot’. A short time later she cut in and said: ‘say a prayer because your president is dead’.
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  65

  Just had a thought…

  by Vidiot in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i been reading quite a few experiences on reddit lately, and their seems to be a common theme coming up….

  …dialed-up-to-eleven shunning of xjws by their witness relatives.. it reminds me of back in the day, listening to some of the over-the-top vitriol displayed by hard-core loyalists when the topic of evolution or apostates came up….

  …i was gobsmacked when i finally realized these guys weren’t offended and indignant because they thought it was lies….

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  LongHairGal

  VIDIOT & BETH SARIM:

  So, let them double down on the hatred of people who don’t go anymore.

  And I was never the type to try to ‘drag anybody out of the religion’. I always believed in ‘live and let live’. Obviously, JWs do not. They are very threatened by anybody who has stopped being active in the religion.

  I have seen this lately. It took a long time because I walked away over two decades ago. It’s just as well. I won’t have to hear bellyaching about the consequences of anybody following bad advice and zero financial planning.

  The clock on the wall was ticking while these Witnesses were in fantasy/sleep mode.. When I heard the religion recently did away with the reporting of hours - I was thankful I never listened to any of this!
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  42

  New meeting format

  by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just watched november broadcast very different order to the leaked agm .

  be good if someone did a deep dive on the difference and why the changes?

  i didn’t time the items but it should be easy to see if edited?.

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  LongHairGal

  SEA BREEZE:

  Of course all these increasing appeal$ are offensive and JWs are gullible.

  What’s never mentioned is how certain people in congregations (who look ‘affluent’ or ‘responsible’), on top of everything else plus the cost of living, will be privately approached by some elder with an envelope asking for money for some ‘needy’ person(s) in the congregation... In all likelihood, the ‘needy’ person(s) hardly worked and never prepared for the future or emergencies - instead they spent decades in the ministry instead of decent jobs and trusted the religion’s promises that ‘Armageddon’ would come to save them.. Meanwhile, I was criticized for working full-time!

  Even though I’m Out because of the ‘1995 Generation’ teaching, I’m super glad I’m not there now because there are TOO many Witnesses looking for handouts.👎 I would hit the ceiling.. I mentioned this in conversation to JWs who came to my door.
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  20

  Women in JW Ministry

  by NotFormer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  women make up the main population of the kingdom halls, and the pool of young males willing to step up to "serve" is drying up.

  what is the likelihood of "new light" on jw women in ministry roles formerly held only by males?.

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  LongHairGal

  JHINE:

  I know it’s hard to understand and must seem very pathetic to somebody who was never in the JW religion.

  Men and women in the Witness religion are trained to think they are ‘privileged/blessed’ to do mundane things like this or clean the toilets. I don’t know how else to describe it to somebody who was never in.

  I was never interested in ‘privileges’ or even titles - like ‘pioneer’. And Good thing I wasn’t. I wouldn’t have retired if I quit my job for full-time ministry like they tried to pressure me to do!! …When I read the news released on October 7th that they were doing away with hourly time being reported, I was very glad I never did this.. I would have felt positively ill if I had.
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  33

  Why is the Faithful Slave Now Admitting Ignorance?

  by Vanderhoven7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  dbm writes on the question: will sodomites get a resurrection?.

  i guess it depends the date that you asked this question.

  here is a screenshot from a video which gives an overview of the changes (new light) on this question:.

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  LongHairGal

  BLONDIE:

  I remember that scary description of Armageddon…There was a sister there who told me she would rather live out her life and die before Armageddon because she did not want to go through it!

  Well, I don’t blame her and I feel the same way.. Anybody who wants to experience the end of the world scenario as described in the Bible is just plain nuts.. Some JWs might say they want the ‘paradise’ so badly they would - but I don’t think they know what they’re asking for.
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  13

  Confirmation that religion is dying.

  by Phizzy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this is from a site called "atheist republic" :.

  " the phenomenon of "nones" — individuals who claim no religious affiliation — is rapidly reshaping america's religious landscape.

  recent surveys by the associated press-norc center for public affairs research indicate that 30% of u.s. adults identify as nonreligious.

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  LongHairGal

  PHIZZY:

  It might be that in the Western world (especially the USA) that Christian religions are decreasing. Not so sure about dying out.

  But, hopefully, with the public becoming aware of the harmfulness of high-control/cult-like religions, we will see a decrease in them. They deserve to join the other defunct religions in the USA.

  Unfortunately, though, in other parts of the world, certain oppressive non-Christian religions are increasing - especially in countries that are so-called theocracies. People in these places have no choice.
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  2

  Bombing of convention

  by mann377 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i heard that the convention in india had a bomb go off and kill two people.

  a former jdub..

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  LongHairGal

  MANN377:

  Yes, there are already at least THREE other threads on this!