Posts by luna2

81

Why I didnt left JW an dont plan to do so

by Lazarus in

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in another thread i wrote: i didn't left the jw's and don't plan to do so.

luna2

I've often thought that those happiest as JWs were the ones who didn't really believe in it. I remember members of my old congregations who looked like the perfect JWs, they also looked very happy...kind of a contradiction, unless they were just playing at being JWs for their families. I've decided that at least one elder and his wife had their JW facade down to a science. They would attend most meetings, they'd go out in service at least once a week...or they'd make sure everybody knew that they had a weekly Bible study so that no one would questions whether they were getting out there and talking up the WTS. They'd take vacations, but would talk loudly about what Sunday meetings they were planning to attend during their visit to Florida or California. They'd buy or build new houses, but would talk about how they didn't get the biggest or most luxurious place possible.

It was interesting. While they did have to spend a lot of time making sure everybody believed they were devout JWs, they didn't have to actually DO a lot...just had to make sure everybody thought they were.

I was a fool and thought I had to practice what I preached, no matter how unhappy it made me. Of course, once I realized that I didn't believe in it any more, there was no reason for me to stay as I had no family in.

31

We have all fallen for a FRAUD(s)

by Terry in

any of us who were jw's fell for one kind of fraud.

(faithful and discreet slave/governing body).

we were perfectly sincere.

luna2

I have a weakness for "magical" solutions. I'm not sure why exactly. Maybe I'm just lazy. Its certainly the reason I fell into the WTS. Real life was so difficult, boring and painful that the magic beans the JWs were selling seemed awfully appealing.

I don't jump into things these days but I do like reading about cryptozoology.

61

I hate JW jargon!!! (Alternatives please!)

by VampireDCLXV in

all of us who have any ties to the jws know that they have their own vernacular, their own slang.

sure, there are formal titles that we can't really get away from: pioneer, ministerial servant, elder, ______ overseer, governing body, the (watchtower) society, etc.

but there are plenty of other bits of parlance they use that i can do without.... for example:.

luna2

They love their special words, phrases and meanings...it sets them apart from the crowd and makes them feel part of a club. I'm almost surprised they don't have a secret handshake

53

Terrible Analogy at a Convention

by ApostateDance in

jw
friends

i'd love to know what you guys think of this.

brother jackson (from the governing body) had this "neat" analogy at the very end of the convention.

he said; "what if you were watching a football game on tv, and it was the trojans against the fighting irish, and it's been a good game.

luna2

I'm with steve2...the WTS is constantly moving the stinking goalposts and changing the rules. The dumb dubs are running around in circles because they don't know what game they are even playing any more.

17

Faith strengthening arkeological videos about Red Sea crossing, Sodom, Mount Sinai etc

by Kosonen in

here you have it:.

www.youtube.com/sygnate.

.

luna2

Well, he sure has things tied up doesn't he. What I want to know is why God, this supreme being, dribbles out this knowledge the way he does. If its as important as all that, why is it obscure people who supposedly discover this stuff and then its promptly buried again. Why is everything a big test and a mystery? This stuff drives me nuts.

22

"JW" Says Donor Organs Cause Personality Changes (and other nonsense) on TV!

by mummatron in

http://www.4thought.tv/4thoughts/0354-derek-house-should-organ-donation-be-made-compulsory-.

4thought.tv asks if organ donations should be compulsory.

derek house is a jehovahs witness who believes an organ transplant could lead to the recipient having a change of personality.. this was on tv here in the uk this week.i couldn't believe my eyes and ears when i saw this!note the comments - many of them are defending jws saying he can't really be one.

luna2

Many JWs are stuck in a time warp. Stuff that they were taught when they were coming into the borg remains strong in their minds and memories. Even when the WTS changes, they have a hard time giving up certain ideas. This idea that getting a transplant or a transfusion will change your personality was starting to go out of favor at the time I was coming in, but I can remember certain sisters making comments about it. I questioned the elder I worked for about it and he shrugged it off and made a comment about some people being supersticious. At any rate, some firmly believed this junk and probably still hold on to it.

6

Kingdom Hall Representatives Promise to Be More Communicative

by Bangalore in

kingdom hall representatives promise to be more communicative.. http://delray.patch.com/articles/kingdom-hall-representatives-promise-to-be-more-communicative.

bangalore.

.

luna2

I don't know this, but I've been getting the impression that building more halls or having more real estate owned by the WTS isn't their goal any more. Its like the WTS is liquidating and retrenching these days. I wouldn't be surprised if they no longer offer loans to congregations for renovating or building new KHs. I know that in CT there was supposed to have been built a new Circuit Assmebly Hall somewhere in western CT. They sold the one they had in eastern New York State, got the congregations to make donation pledges, said the place would be built within a couple of years, but it still hadn't been when I left in 2000 and I don't think its been built yet, eleven years later, because I'd heard that the assemblies were being held up in Mass. someplace.

I also know that many quick builds, while great advertising, didn't always turn out too well in the long run. Lots of plumbing problems...heard lots of stories about mold in the walls of the Halls, leaking roofs, electrical problems, peeling wallpaper. Seems kind of stupid to put on a big dumb show for the neighbors and end up with a building that is a mess.

I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to can this project and keep the money. They'll make the local dubs rent an empty store to meet in or something.

26

Do you think the British are a proud nation?

by not bitter in

jw
friends

i think we are to a degree but i think its on a different level to the americans.

the impression i get (from watching us tv and news) is that the majority of americans come across as being proud to be american and quite a possitive nation.

whereas us brits will display pride as a nation when we have to.

luna2

I've never been to England, so its hard for me to do a real comparison. America is coming down off of a patriotic high that seemed (to my under educated eyes) to peak in the 1950s. I was born in 1956 and was raised to think that we (Americans) would be safe in whatever country we might travel to because of the might of the U.S. government and because they really gave a crap for their citizens. We also believed that we were almost always right about everything and that the U.S. was the best place to live. All very egotistical and hardly realistic. Television reinforced the fairy tale with stupid shows that portrayed the average American in a certain way, believing certain things...more like propaganda than entertainment.

Viet Nam was a turning point for a lot of Americans. The government suddenly wasn't so benign, we began to get the feeling that you couldn't trust the people running things and that they weren't really working for our best interests. Older people were willing to give the government the benefit of the doubt, but younger people were getting worried.

These days? Very little trust for politicians at all. They all look like opportunistic thugs, who pull large salaries and big pensions for doing minimal work...some while sending dirty pictures to women via Facebook (got to wonder where the brains are). Tough economic conditions with large debt owed to China. Lagging in education and manufacturing. We also keep getting involved in expensive wars or rather military action type conflicts where we can't seem to withdraw while our soldiers are killed and the money keeps bleeding out of the treasury to maintain these things. Pakistan (and a good number of other countries I'm sure) plays us for fools, hiding Bin Laden while taking the massive aid money we foolishly spend on them, (which should be spent to reduce our own debt). We're a joke. And while I still think there is a lot of good here and we could pull ourselves out of this mess, I doubt that we will.

Movies kind of show how people might wish things were...although there are plenty that are critical these days too.

Britain has already gone through this junk. Huge super power with a great history kind of winding down. I like the more subdued attitudes of its citizens and can understand not wanting to scream how great everything is from the rooftops. I would imagine that the British are proud of their country, they're just not as loud about it.

18

Motels in Amarillo TX . Raise rates for brothers, have consequences!

by Bonnie_Clyde in

jw
friends

another email i got a couple of weeks ago.

jehovah's spirit at work in amarillo, tx ....how do you like the comment from the chamber of commerce?.

motels in amarillo tx .

luna2

JWs are masters at turning any sort of positive turn of phrase or throw away comment into a hearty endorsement by local government. The phrasing of that comment sounds so familiar to me. Makes you wonder if there's any truth to it.

I guess its a benefit for hotels to sell more rooms than they normally would, but, as has been said, many JWs are mega cheap and I'll bet, due to packing each rented room to capacity, they avoid acquiring quite a few more hotel rooms than another group would. I also know of dubs who brought their own food to eat for dinner, avoiding dining in restaurants...they were the minority, but it shows the mindset. Of course, when you have congregations with many single mothers with little money, you're going to get a lot of penny pinching customers. Just hard to believe that Amarillo would send a delegation to Bethel in order to attract this caliber of customer.

35

Those sweltering assemblies!

by highdose in

jw
friends

anyone from the uk remember the assemblies at twickenham?

cytrstal place?

gillingham?.

luna2

Sounds like the WTS spread the discomfort around the world. I guess, in their view, its all about what you will sacrifice to them (the WTS) in the name of Jah.

When I was first a dub, I lived in Illinois. We had our Circuit Assemblies in a relatively comfortable facility in Wisconsin, but for the DCs, we had to haul our cookies into Cicero to either one of two race tracks (equally uncomfortable and dirty). There was some indoor and some outdoor seating. I believe the indoor portion was supposed to be air conditioned, but with glass everywhere, the passive solar heat overwhelmed the air conditioning in most areas. I also remember the reverb of the microphones so that it was really hard to make out what the speakers were saying. A couple of times we got there late and had to sit outside. We were burnt and sweaty by mid morning. As everybody else has said, I remember very, very little from any of these conventions except the discomfort and how important it was to get there early enough to acquire the best possible seating.

I am only thankful that I wasn't a dub during the years when they had 12 hour convention days that lasted a week. I heard stories about my great aunts (who were JWs) going to Chicago conventions and they would leave the venue to attend tea parties that other jws would have in their hotel rooms. I can only assume that it was to beat the heat and stress of those long, long days. I guess they weren't as strict in their congregations or something. Although, since they were coming from Ohio to attend, maybe they didn't feel as much pressure.