Ingenuous

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Posts by Ingenuous

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  40

  which JEHOVAH'S WITNESS SCARE TACTICS kept you from leaving?

  by Ms. Whip in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  meeting jehovah's witnesses at your door was a fresh, new experience.

  they were nice, friendly and smiled real big.

  along with your bible study you received an instant life.

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  Ingenuous

  Why do so many exjws give their power away? Don't you see that by excepting their judgement you are feeding the monster?

  When I was practicing to become a doula and was madly passionate about letting every expectant parent I ran into know about it, my favorite quote was:

  "If you don't know your options, you don't have any."

  I still think this is true. If you have not researched/been informed of/experienced the options we have in life, you don't know they're there, and they might as well not even exist.

  Even when reality starts to crack open the shell of isolation, old habits of thinking have literally blazed a trail in your brain that can make it difficult to remember what you've learned. Until you've burned a new pathway in your mind, it's like having the wipers on your car on intermittent: for a minute, you've got a clear view, but in no time the rain has clouded and distorted the glass again. It takes a lot of repeated effort to finally keep the view visible.

  So please be patient as you continue to encourage those of us who are still trying to get used to reality. And keep your chin up, GGG!
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  40

  which JEHOVAH'S WITNESS SCARE TACTICS kept you from leaving?

  by Ms. Whip in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  meeting jehovah's witnesses at your door was a fresh, new experience.

  they were nice, friendly and smiled real big.

  along with your bible study you received an instant life.

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  Ingenuous

  What worked on me?

  Being raised to believe there was only one true religion and this was it - that the Org had researched all those other religions for me and I could just read their books and find out just how wrong everybody else was. That you had to go through an organization and, in particular, this one, to be acceptable to God. That there was no other way out there and wasn't I "lucky" for having been born into the right one. We had such a "wealth" of "spiritual food" that I could never get through it all, so I might as well just use all those books to do my reasearch - no reason to strike out in the Bible on my own.

  They also kept me "in" by demonizing anyone and everyone who disagreed with them - Idolizing my parents, particularly my father (with their help, of course) - making my happiness dependent on others' approval - and, of course, all that wonderfully effective guilt, guilt, guilt!
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  16

  Is the problem with the JWs or the Bible?

  by sonnyboy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this topic is a spin-off of another, but i'd like to hear people's opinions.. since the witnesses spew numerous biblical passages which seem to justify their beliefs and practices, who's exactly to blame for their less-than-human approach to life?

  what laws do the jws live by that are not justified in some way by the judeo-christian bible?

  is shunning justified in the scriptures?

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  Ingenuous

  I don't think the Bible is the cause of this problem. If the Bible really could be interpreted any way, could be used to justify anything, than no one would be able to see where they've been lied to, manipulated, or abused via the twisting of scripture. No one would post a statement which says, 'Wow, I thought they were telling me the truth until I read the Bible, and that in context.' If the Bible was just the equivalent of philosophical PlayDoh, no one could ever point to where someone misused it to lead them wrong.

  The "problem," as I see it, isn't limited to JWs, though it is painfully demonstrated too often among them. The problem occurs whenever anyone abdicates their responsibility to think and reason for themselves. When someone decides someone else is equipped to do their thinking for them, that it is necessary to elect a mediator of reality, it leads to outrageous behavior on the part of leaders and followers alike. This is bad enough when the leaders' motives are considered to be good - it's worse when those motives are revealed to focus on justifying a particular personal flavor of reality.

  Since not everyone who leaves JWs to join another hierarchically-arranged religion do so because they want to be completely responsible for thinking for themselves, they often trade one mediator of reality for another. Others, seeing the trap of surrendering their independence of mind, may still join such a religion because they find within it a community from which they can gain comfort and satisfaction, while at the same time knowing they will not be sanctioned if they don't agree with every "jot and tittle".

  JMHO
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  27

  Comments You Will Not Hear at the 8-21-05 WT Study (Faithful)

  by blondie in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  what is "the faith"?.

  the faith?.

  5, 6. what standard do we have for testing whether we are in the faith, and .

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  Ingenuous

  Because of human imperfection, difficulties or problems may arise. There may even be times when an elder errs, causing some to be disturbed. Our acting hastily under such circumstances will not change the situation. It may only serve to aggravate the problem. Those having spiritual discernment will wait on Jehovah to set things straight and administer whatever discipline may be needed in his own time and way.-2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 12:7-11.

  Is that how Paul was handling it, these superfine apostles? Was he just letting Jehovah take care of it or was he writing to the congregations and stirring people up against these men, appointed too by holy spirit, but imperfect???

  Good point, Blondie. They can't even see how contradictory their teachings are when it's right in front of them. I shouldn't be too harsh, though - when I was "in", neither could I.

  I'm really a bit saddened by this article, though, because I know my parents will be studying for the meeting and thinking of me and how I've "proven" I'm not "in the faith" by not attending meetings.

  Please your parents v. obeying your conscience

  {sigh}

  I hate the position the Org insists on putting us in.
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  12

  Eureka I think I've got it!

  by Lady Lee in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was sitting here facing yet another box of jw books.

  most of them were older books but 3 were those new paperbacks they are putting out.. so as i'm sitting there tearing these sad excuses for doctrine i was wondering why the society would change their format.

  after all, they have been printing their books for eons and they are so easily recognizable.

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  Ingenuous

  Too - people want to take the "latest and greatest" to new ones and potential converts. That means they get to read the "revised" theology of JWs and don't get to see all the mistakes flip-flops "old light" in those publications and start wondering. Without the newer stuff, people might be tempted to give away or lend-out the older publications.

  Also, the cheaper, simplified books are quicker to translate - the older stuff never will be (at least not by the Society) so unsuspecting converts in foreign territories will never know about the Society's history and the holes they've dug themselves into.
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  9

  District Convention ApostaKits - Experiences???

  by Ingenuous in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm new and i just stumbled across the "checks" to be dropped into the donation boxes, etc.

  has anyone completed any "covert" operations?

  how did it go?

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  Ingenuous

  Thanks, Merry! I can't believe they tracked that sister down - first, they had to find someone who knew her name, knew her congregation, find someone who knew her by appearance, find someone who knew where she was sitting, probably point her out to someone else, then interrupt her before she made it out of the colliseum that day. Unbelievable. And I can't believe no one saw Richie putting up all those signs. I wonder if anyone did a parking lot - though there was probably a few brothers cruising around and avoiding the meeting. **Sherry** - Here's the original thread: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/92176/1.ashx
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  38

  My story of abuse and disappointment.

  by ackack in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was raised in as a jw, and got batpz at 16. i started pioneer at 18 and got married when i was 21. i was made an ms at 22, and was soon giving many parts.. my brother who was also a pioneer, eventually stopped, even stopped going to meetings.

  he placed a doubt in my mind about 607. he simply told me to look at the kingdom come book appendix.. i looked at the material and was ablt to rationalize it in my mind as secular vs. biblical chronology (which is a gross oversimplification).

  as well, i knew some things being done within the orginization didn't sit very well with me.

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  Ingenuous

  (((((ackack)))))
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  58

  When Did You Realize That You REALLY Were Going To Die?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  and not live forever on paradise earth?

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  Ingenuous

  Just a minute ago when I started reading this thread! {LOL} No, seriously...
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  9

  District Convention ApostaKits - Experiences???

  by Ingenuous in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm new and i just stumbled across the "checks" to be dropped into the donation boxes, etc.

  has anyone completed any "covert" operations?

  how did it go?

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  Ingenuous

  I'm new and I just stumbled across the "checks" to be dropped into the donation boxes, etc. Has anyone completed any "covert" operations? How did it go?
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  13

  "What Does The Bible Really Teach" is a Fraud

  by metatron in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the watchtower's latest book, "what does the bible really teach?

  work written by increasingly dishonest men.

  1. where's the footnotes and references, writing staff?

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  Ingenuous

  Here's one attempt to tear the book up from a Catholic perspective:

  http://www.catholic-forum.com/members/popestleo/bibleteach.html