Simon: The forum and the community has matured considerably in the last 10+ years
Yes, it has! I was so pleasantly surprised when I started frequenting this board again on a regular basis! Thanks for keeping an eye on this situation.
my thread was inspired by gentledawn's insightful comment about the effect the events in wales had on her jw husband.... hope any lurkers out there can filter out the signal (storys and experiences like this) to noise (the current trolls running amok on the forums) ratios.
this the problem with those who focus on outrageous fantasies about the watchtower.
it distracts from the real issues that need to be highlighted.. what happened in wales was for real.
Simon: The forum and the community has matured considerably in the last 10+ years
Yes, it has! I was so pleasantly surprised when I started frequenting this board again on a regular basis! Thanks for keeping an eye on this situation.
when i was kid, when we would pass a church, my dad would point to it and say, "look!
there's a goat factory!
he never explained that he was trying to be funny and young kids take things quite literal.
When I was kid, when we would pass a church, my dad would point to it and say, "Look! There's a goat factory!"
He never explained that he was trying to be funny and young kids take things quite literal. I don't remember how long I thought there were actual goats inside churches, but I don't think it was too long.
Has anybody ever heard of JWs say something so silly?
the term "watch tower" originated with the second adventists and was a carry over by charles taze russell to his own religious periodical and society.
even the proclaimers book admits as much.
in the footnote we read: "the expression 'watch tower' is not unique to russell's writings or to jehovah's witnesses.
"These shall be Jehovah's witnesses, testifying to the power and glory of the one true God, when apostate Christendom shall have been given up to the strong delusion to believe the lie of the Antichrist."
Wow! This H.A. Ironside sounds like a JW! Or the JWs sound like him!
regarding worldly people, shows or toys?
etc...what quotes annoyed you the most?.
for me it was "well, you have to remember, they're worldly"... "don't trust anyone who isn't in the truth" "they may be nice but they are not friends of jehovah"... just a few to name.
"We just have to wait on Jehovah to correct things in his OWN DUE TIME". (Said regarding injustices we saw in the congregation, my dad being abusive, etc.) It was said all. the. time.
When I first told my mother I didn't want to be a witness (when I was 16), she said, "Sometimes I don't either, but there's nothing else out there." She said that all the time, too. My young naive self would respond, "Yeah, I know."
when i found out "ttat" i felt like muhammad ali when joe frazer knocked him down in their first fight in the 15th round.
the ref came over grab my gloves and looked me in the eyes and asked me "are you ok, can you continue" and then gave me the standing 8 count.
no it didn't knock me out but it staggered me.
No Retreat No Surrender and Aunt Fancy,
You are both so lucky to have exited together! It's funny. I wonder how many JW couples live together as active JWs for years, both thinking the same thing and questioning the organization, but neither saying anything to each other. I bet it happens a lot!
Nice to meet both of you!
we are up for a new kind of persecution in the future.
a new form that was unheard of for us.
in australia, disfellowshipped and dissasociated are planning on suing jw for emotional and mental hardship for being cast out completely.
The Witnesses LOVE being persecuted! If they are not being persecuted, they will create their own persecution. It feeds into their paranoia and reinforces their belief that they are the chosen one.
so one of my in-laws, a born in dub, started asking me questions about the issues i am having with the religion.
so i told her, rather carefully, how i discovered all the child pedophile cases, went over some of the case details, explained it is occurring all over the world, so isn't just some random misunderstanding, but is widespread hiding of child sex u all abuse.
she was horrified.
Since you are not baptized, I don't think anything will happen either. Is your in-law baptized? I can see them warning her about her association with you. Like someone already, spreading doubt is one of the biggest no-nos. The good thing that will may happen is the elders will probably not be able to answer her questions, and hopefully that will be a huge red flag for her and help her wake up.
my thread was inspired by gentledawn's insightful comment about the effect the events in wales had on her jw husband.... hope any lurkers out there can filter out the signal (storys and experiences like this) to noise (the current trolls running amok on the forums) ratios.
this the problem with those who focus on outrageous fantasies about the watchtower.
it distracts from the real issues that need to be highlighted.. what happened in wales was for real.
Cofty, thank you for saying what all of us are thinking. At one time in the past, there was a huge problem on this board with people creating multiple accounts, only to cause disruption and havoc. I hope that doesn't happen again.
On a related note, the "clever" Questions from Readers about cats has been around the internet for some time. Since 2003 or earlier. This website credits authorship to someone named Dave Buskirk. http://www.virushead.net/vhrandom/jws/jw-humor
The version at JWFiles also credits someone named Dave. http://www.jwfiles.com/wt_ex_jw_corner/cats.htm
A thread on this message board from 2003 doesn't name the author, but gives the website where the fictional story originally appeared. Unfortunately, the website no longer exists, and I can't even find a copy on the wayback machine.
It is hard enough to get past our hang ups from being in the borg without trolls showing up and spouting garbage like I have seen, and trying to impress us with their stature using things written so long ago, whether by them or someone else.
i lurked for 2 years on this site before i joined in july 2013. what a roller coaster ride it has been.. first of all, i was a very active jw for those unfamilar with my story having been a longtime elder(21 years), regular pioneer (14 years), convention & assembly speaker, etc.
i am still an active witness because i am older now, with close to 40 years in the borg with some longtime friends.
boy how i have changed!
The thing is ... Once you see the real truth about the organization, it is hard to see them as anything else but a corrupt, false religion.
Like they sat, you can't unring a bell.
And even though you are still going to meetings, think of how much freedom you now than before. They may still have your time right now, but they don't have your mind.
i have often laughed at public outpourings of emotion.
just google mike schmidt"s retirement speech in which he loses it and blithers on about his career.
completely douche chilling.. but to be honest, i had a moment recently when i literally balled my eyes out.
Okayyy... that's not how I remembered it.....
You're right! Now stop giving me that look! The drama was about Korah and ended with Korah being swallowed up by the Earth, along with a lot of other people. All for disobeying God's "organization".