hope everyone near to the region affected in california is ok. it's shocking to hear of the destruction.
these affected areas are some of the places i visited when i came on a tour of the us.
malibu, santa barbera, la, santa monica, hollywood and so on..
SIMON:
You are right and the sad conclusion many angry people came to is that something is wrong with the leadership in the state.
Of course, some fools in denial will try to make it about DT - meanwhile Biden is still president.š
This was all an unfortunate āperfect stormā of bad choices. What I wonder is because so many wealthy famous people lost their homes maybe they will be more vocal in their outcries.
"the dangers of independent thinking".
reading mary's thread regarding the july 15th wt, i began to really consider what the wbts' problem is with "independent thinking".. what exactly is "independent thinking" and what about its opposite, "dependent thinking"?
i think the following excerpt from an article here does a good job of defining them.
TONUS OH:
In the beginning of my awakening after my disillusionment in the Jehovahās Witnesses and learning the Truth about the Truth, I read mountains of information. I was particularly struck by that bit about how āunity was more important than accuracyā and that any āchange had to come from the topā or words to that effect.
I was very angry when I learned this. These egotistical men were and are all about getting a following and keeping it. I realize so many people gave up so much and made this all-consuming false religion their whole life. Many were born into it. I am grateful I wasnāt and that it was just a wrong stop on my journey and a life lesson learned.. Iām Glad that I worked at a job in the so-called āworldā and that I am long Out of the JWs.
i was doing some heavy duty binge watching on youtube.. there are lots of helpful topics including āhow to declutter your homeā, āthings you shouldnāt tell peopleā and several videos on ātypes of people you shouldnāt have in your life as well as types of behavior you shouldnāt tolerateā (especially after a certain age).. what i got out of it (most i already knew but was nice to see it mentioned):.. first, you should live life authentically, especially at an older age.
you should be free of other peopleās opinions, judgments and expectations of you.
you should be free of this as you have accumulated enough wisdom in life to know what serves you and that other peopleās opinions do not define you; you should not be guilt tripped into doing favors or being exploited (financially or time wise) by anybody manipulative or irresponsible, etcā¦ walking away is not āselfishnessā but āself careā.. it was mentioned in all of them to remove people from your life who are critical and fall into these negative categories whether they be family or other.. (the name of jehovahās witnesses was nowhere mentioned - but i was struck by the fact that all these negative things appear in spades in the jw religion (and probably in some other religions as well).. watching all of this just reinforced what i knew for many years: ..the best thing i did was to āfadeā from the religion and get out of that environment!.
I QUIT:
Most definitely you have to learn how to say No. This is essential and a personās first line of defense. Of course, it can also pertain to things you do or donāt believe in any longer.
But when people canāt say No, any boundaries they have will be gone. This is why cults and high control groups try to wear people down.. In the Witnesses, people who canāt say No are pushovers who end up exploited in every way and end up doing things they donāt want to do.
Part of this trap of not saying āNoā has to do with wanting to be āviewed favorablyā by judgmental Users in the congregationš.. I could not afford to concern myself with what these people thought because I had to work. So, I said āNoā, and I did so with other nervy requests!
People should practice saying āNoā in front of a mirror and then use it in real life.
https://youtu.be/kjqwfeuhpji?si=6ahbituygdyiq3za.
when jehovahās witnesses dedicate their kingdom halls, they often refer to the example of solomon dedicating the temple in jerusalem.
itās a solemn moment.
NATHAN NATAS:
Yes, that is a sad and brutal fact that gullible Witnesses paid for these buildings that now got sold - and they didnāt get any of the money back.
It might hurt less if Jehovahās Witnesses had social programs to help their poor people but they donāt. And, I agree with you that people who donated might have imagined they were getting āeverlasting lifeā.
The Catholic Church had the selling of indulgences. But, I am not implying that todayās Catholic Church is anywhere near as bad as the JW religion.. I am not religious anymore but I was raised Catholic and at least I didnāt have a bullseye target painted on me like when I got involved with the JWs!! š The JWs were and are heavy duty into exploitation and maybe my Catholic upbringing saved me from falling for it. Who knows?
this information is supposed to be in the upcoming march wt.
(i donāt go on jw dot org).
it would sound like they are hinting at a change in thinking.. in my opinion, any such change would be yet another slap in the face to faithful pimis along with those other recent changes.. there are so many heartfelt responses on that thread and a lot of justified anger.. donāt know what to say except that iām so glad i never listened to the religion all those years ago.
DAGNEY:
You said: āHe quit that job to appease the congregationā.
This is the terrible trap that almost all Jehovahās Witnesses fell into: trying to appease the congregation (Brother and Sister Jealous)... Iāll get down on my knees thankful to God I never did that.
Even though I didnāt like being shunned and excluded from invitations, my fear of having no $$ trumped anything any of those idiots thought about me. Meanwhile, many of those older affluent JWs pushing poverty for some young person had already earned their living!! These older JWs are gone today in 2025 and not even around to help anybody they misled all those years ago!
So, there is no justice here.
Iām sorry I never had the chance to tell those Witnesses off but will content myself with the fact I never paid attention to anything the religion saidā¦ I do take particular pleasure now in telling this to some older JWs I might run into.. I get mixed reactions: some commend me for doing the right thing and others are a tad resentful because either they are sorry they didnāt and also because they cannot admit the religion was wrong! ..That is their problem.
this information is supposed to be in the upcoming march wt.
(i donāt go on jw dot org).
it would sound like they are hinting at a change in thinking.. in my opinion, any such change would be yet another slap in the face to faithful pimis along with those other recent changes.. there are so many heartfelt responses on that thread and a lot of justified anger.. donāt know what to say except that iām so glad i never listened to the religion all those years ago.
HOSER:
āTreated badly in the congregationā, can be an understatement. It also varied, I think, if you were a man. You got less grief over that full-time job than I did.
But, it happened and it was worth every penny in the end that I got āshunnedā and not invited to those special dinners! No regrets (any more than all those older JWs had who were collecting their pensions).
Now, all those people who knocked me years ago can deal with the consequences of listening to fools and hypocrites. Iām not interested and donāt have any pity.
this information is supposed to be in the upcoming march wt.
(i donāt go on jw dot org).
it would sound like they are hinting at a change in thinking.. in my opinion, any such change would be yet another slap in the face to faithful pimis along with those other recent changes.. there are so many heartfelt responses on that thread and a lot of justified anger.. donāt know what to say except that iām so glad i never listened to the religion all those years ago.
ELDERBERRY:
Yes, those old-time Witnesses should be turning in their graves because of all these changes.
I was just watching a YouTube by some ex-JW about the āGreat Disappointmentā. I wonder if things are going to start unraveling among some of those disappointed older JWs there?.. One thing I am Glad of is that I got out ages ago. I am grateful for each day and happy with simple things and the few nice people I know.. I am sure many older JWs are broke (because of no career) and ailing.. I would find it unbearable to be around any of these people so anxious for the End to come!
i was doing some heavy duty binge watching on youtube.. there are lots of helpful topics including āhow to declutter your homeā, āthings you shouldnāt tell peopleā and several videos on ātypes of people you shouldnāt have in your life as well as types of behavior you shouldnāt tolerateā (especially after a certain age).. what i got out of it (most i already knew but was nice to see it mentioned):.. first, you should live life authentically, especially at an older age.
you should be free of other peopleās opinions, judgments and expectations of you.
you should be free of this as you have accumulated enough wisdom in life to know what serves you and that other peopleās opinions do not define you; you should not be guilt tripped into doing favors or being exploited (financially or time wise) by anybody manipulative or irresponsible, etcā¦ walking away is not āselfishnessā but āself careā.. it was mentioned in all of them to remove people from your life who are critical and fall into these negative categories whether they be family or other.. (the name of jehovahās witnesses was nowhere mentioned - but i was struck by the fact that all these negative things appear in spades in the jw religion (and probably in some other religions as well).. watching all of this just reinforced what i knew for many years: ..the best thing i did was to āfadeā from the religion and get out of that environment!.
Thank you for your comments.
The religion was not mentioned by name, but yet as a whole contains all of these undesirable traits of being toxic! A coincidence? āŗļø
i was doing some heavy duty binge watching on youtube.. there are lots of helpful topics including āhow to declutter your homeā, āthings you shouldnāt tell peopleā and several videos on ātypes of people you shouldnāt have in your life as well as types of behavior you shouldnāt tolerateā (especially after a certain age).. what i got out of it (most i already knew but was nice to see it mentioned):.. first, you should live life authentically, especially at an older age.
you should be free of other peopleās opinions, judgments and expectations of you.
you should be free of this as you have accumulated enough wisdom in life to know what serves you and that other peopleās opinions do not define you; you should not be guilt tripped into doing favors or being exploited (financially or time wise) by anybody manipulative or irresponsible, etcā¦ walking away is not āselfishnessā but āself careā.. it was mentioned in all of them to remove people from your life who are critical and fall into these negative categories whether they be family or other.. (the name of jehovahās witnesses was nowhere mentioned - but i was struck by the fact that all these negative things appear in spades in the jw religion (and probably in some other religions as well).. watching all of this just reinforced what i knew for many years: ..the best thing i did was to āfadeā from the religion and get out of that environment!.
I was doing some heavy duty binge watching on YouTube.
There are lots of helpful topics including āHow to Declutter Your Homeā, āThings You Shouldnāt Tell Peopleā and several videos on ātypes of people you shouldnāt have in your life as well as types of behavior you shouldnāt tolerateā (especially after a certain age).
What I got out of it (most I already knew but was nice to see it mentioned):.. First, you should live life authentically, especially at an older age. You should be free of other peopleās opinions, judgments and expectations of you. You should be free of this as you have accumulated enough wisdom in life to know what serves you and that other peopleās opinions do NOT define you; you should not be guilt tripped into doing favors or being exploited (financially or time wise) by anybody manipulative or irresponsible, etcā¦ Walking away is not āselfishnessā but āself careā.
It was mentioned in all of them to remove people from your life who are critical and fall into these negative categories whether they be family or other.. (The name of Jehovahās Witnesses was nowhere mentioned - but I was struck by the fact that all these negative things appear in spades in the JW religion (and probably in some other religions as well).
Watching all of this just reinforced what I knew for many years: ..the best thing I did was to āFadeā from the religion and get out of that environment!
not sure who wrote this list a while back but i think it is worth a repeat....to be added to or subtracted from or modified...whatever.. what's wrong with the watchtower.
"overlapping generations" - this teaching makes no sense.
the word used by jesus is in the singular, not plural form.. .
VANDERHOVEN7:
That is a very sad story from this anonymous Witness.. Unfortunately, this is the reality of too many born-ins in the Jehovahās Witnesses. And then in the end the religion changed its teachings and pulled the rug out from under everybody. I took particular note of: ā..questioning the promises and intentions of those who claim to speak for the divineā. Indeed.
I am so grateful that this was not my upbringing.. I came into the JWs years ago as a young working adult.. I wasnāt accepted and thatās just as well because it made it very easy for me to eventually āFadeā when I saw through it all.
