Cognitive_Dissident

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Posts by Cognitive_Dissident

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  36

  praying for mass destruction and death

  by Cognitive_Dissident in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so i was writing a paper the other day, specifically about the skewed world view that i had had as a witness, and i typed the following - .

  pain, misery, strife, these were all things that used to prove to me that jehovah's witnesses were correct in their assessment of a dying world which was soon to be liberated/obliterated by the hand of god.

  this "liberation" was something that i desperately longed for.

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  Cognitive_Dissident

  : It feels good to be able to see clearly and love freely all mankind.
  
  Boy do I second that motion. The doom and gloom of expecting the world to be destroyed in the very near future is just not a healthy way to live.
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  36

  Hi im a new member!

  by skinnyboy in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  after several attempts to log on, im finally in!

  woohoo!.

  well my story goes as follows, grew up a dub, in northern england, mum, dad, and the rest of us brood, dad becomes an elder sisters pioneers, and me and me brother were regular "publishers".

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  Cognitive_Dissident

  Welcome Skinny! It's a great place, this. Hope to hear more from you soon.
  
  Cog
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  36

  praying for mass destruction and death

  by Cognitive_Dissident in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so i was writing a paper the other day, specifically about the skewed world view that i had had as a witness, and i typed the following - .

  pain, misery, strife, these were all things that used to prove to me that jehovah's witnesses were correct in their assessment of a dying world which was soon to be liberated/obliterated by the hand of god.

  this "liberation" was something that i desperately longed for.

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  Cognitive_Dissident

  Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts.
  
  I know that once I finally realized that I had been wrong, as in completely judgmentmal, hypocritical, arrogant and self-righteous, life became so much more meaningful. Because I don't have all the answers that I used to think I had, things are much less black and white, and I know I'm a more compassionate person than I used to be. That, and ironically, I'm more amazed by life and all of it's complexities now than I ever was as a Witness.
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  20

  What are your weekend plans?

  by joelbear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  tonight i am going for a walk with my dellpod on and listen to some tunes.. come home and watch a movie.. tomorrow, i will finish painting some little wooden animals i bought to put on stakes in the front yard.

  then pottery class.. then dinner with friends at a thai restaurant.

  then mitch comes home for one night of snuggling.. sunday.

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  Cognitive_Dissident

  tonight over to a friend's house for a bonfire, and tomorrow I've actually got a date. With a real, live girl. Pretty excited about that.
  
  Tomorrow I'm going to the Nine Inch Nails concert.......
  
  I'm jealous.
  
  
  Cog
• 
  36

  praying for mass destruction and death

  by Cognitive_Dissident in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so i was writing a paper the other day, specifically about the skewed world view that i had had as a witness, and i typed the following - .

  pain, misery, strife, these were all things that used to prove to me that jehovah's witnesses were correct in their assessment of a dying world which was soon to be liberated/obliterated by the hand of god.

  this "liberation" was something that i desperately longed for.

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  Cognitive_Dissident

  The psychological effects of the JW system of doctrine and belief on the minds of its members is something that I hope to someday fully analyze and research, hopefully publish if all goes well. It's a completely all-consuming mind-screw. It's outrageous.
  
  The part that shocked me about my prayer for God's Kingdom to come was that in my mind at the time, I had plenty of the unwillingness to accept that God would arbitrarily destroy billions of innocent people, but that when I prayed for God's Kingdom to come on earth, the two ideas never bumped in to eachother, at least not consciously. The belief that God's Kingdom would be established on earth existed in a different compartment within my brain, away from the one that housed the thought that God wouldn't destroy innocent people. And the separation of the two trajectories was so total that they never created any direct conflict with eachother. I completely believed both of them.
  
  It's that type of black and white ability to hold two conflicting viewpoints at the same time, with equal conviction, that was present all the time. And ultimately it's what led to the psychological breakdown that brought me to where I'm at now, reconstructing from the ground up, I guess.
• 
  36

  praying for mass destruction and death

  by Cognitive_Dissident in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so i was writing a paper the other day, specifically about the skewed world view that i had had as a witness, and i typed the following - .

  pain, misery, strife, these were all things that used to prove to me that jehovah's witnesses were correct in their assessment of a dying world which was soon to be liberated/obliterated by the hand of god.

  this "liberation" was something that i desperately longed for.

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  2. 
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• 

  Cognitive_Dissident

  So I was writing a paper the other day, specifically about the skewed world view that I had had as a Witness, and I typed the following -
  
  Pain, misery, strife, these were all things that used to prove to me that Jehovah's Witnesses were correct in their assessment of a dying world which was soon to be liberated/obliterated by the hand of God. This "liberation" was something that I desperately longed for. I used to pray for it.
  
  I stopped after that sentence and reread it. It had not ever really sunk in that in praying for "the end of this system" to come, I had been praying, and hoping, for the destruction of billions and billions of people. How screwed up is that? Loving, compassionate organization my ass.
  
  Anybody else have experiences like this, where after leaving, the full import of a previously held belief hit them over the head with a two by four?
  
  Cog
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  21

  unforgivable sin--sin against the holy spirit

  by rebel8 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  .

  is there such a thing in jw mythology?

  i thought apostacy was considered unforgivable but i can't find any quotes on the topic.

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  Cognitive_Dissident

  wow, I was just talking about this with someone about a week ago.
  
  When I was growing up and especially after I was baptized, I used to think myself in circles, usually ending up in a horrible, debilitating fear and depression, that I might have committed the unforgivable sin. The worst thing that I remember hearing was - that no man could judge whether the unforgivable sin had been committed, elders included (though it hasn't stopped them from doing so). This might seem like something that would be relieving, but it had the opposite effect on me. As one who is prone to way too much analytic obsession as it is, it meant that if I had committed the unforgivable sin, there was no one who could tell me that I hadn't, and that no matter how much I tried to reform myself and adhere to "God's law" after the fact, I still might not make it in to the new system. Which added a whole new layer to my already bleak and hopeless view of life.
  
  And when tied up in knots emotionally over something's implications, it's pretty difficult to see the flawed logic behind it.
  
  Bastards.
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  16

  Vonnegut on Daily Show

  by joelbear in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  kurt vonnegut is definitely one of my heroes.

  he was only on for like 8 minutes but i was totally enthralled.. my favorites of his are galapagos, cat's cradle and welcome to the monkey house.

  incredible insight on the human condition.

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  Cognitive_Dissident

  it's reading stuff like this that makes me regret not having cable. Although with this situation past, I don't see the need to ever have cable again. Vonnegut on the Daily Show? Doesn't get much better than that. I love all of his books, but I think I'd have to say that my two favorites are Cat's Cradle and Breakfast of Champions, with Bluebeard coming in as a close runner up.
  
  I heard him speak after the release of Foma, Wampeter, and Granfaloons (sp?). It was cool to hear his words in his own voice. And I have no idea how I didn't see the Twain resemblance before.
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  28

  LIAR

  by talesin in

  1. social
  2. current

  im a liar, ooh, im a liar.

  but if youll give me another chance i swear ill never lie to you again.

  i lie you, i feel good, i am a liar, yeah.

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  Cognitive_Dissident

  wow, completely killed that topic.
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  7

  Help! Spanish language materials needed for potential WTS convert

  by M.J. in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  anyone have any suggestions on effective spanish language audio/video/web materials to deter a spanish-speaking christian lady from continuing her study with the jws?

  the jws have been visiting her for 3 or 4 months, but the indoctrination has not yet kicked in, apparently.

  according to my sources, she "loves jesus" but was hurt by some people in her local church.

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  Cognitive_Dissident

  available on amazon - Crisis de Conciencia/Crisis of Conscience
  
  also available in spanish
  
  Acercandose A los Testigos de Jehova Con Amor / Approaching Jehovah's Witnesses in Love
  20 Inquietantes Preguntas Para los Testigos de Jehova / 20 Important Questions for Jehovah's Witnesses
  Historias, Doctrinas y Herejias de los Testigos de Jehova / Histories, Doctrines and Heresies of the Jehovah's Witnesses
  
  I couldn't find anything in video or audio format about the seedy underbelly of WTBTS, maybe someone else will have a little more luck or know where to look. Good luck!
  
  Cog (edited to remove those two titles, as I saw they are published by the Christian Literature Crusade, and are most likely pushing an agenda of their own.)