Posts by conflicted

4

".unobtrusive contribution box.."

by MacHislopp in

jw
friends

lets receive some comfort.... g1975 9/8 26 ...is it not a comfort for them to know that in the local congregation of jehovahs witnesses they will never be tithed to pay out a percentage of their income?

nor will unscriptural money-raising schemes be imposed on them.

it is at the kingdom hall that an unobtrusive contribution box is located for use by those who wish voluntarily to give money to support the work of the congregation.

conflicted

I remember a time when I was a teen, my dad had been out of the truth for 10 years, and my mother was still dragging us to the meetings with her. I mentioned something to my father about the contibution boxes and he asked "Do they still have those boxes where people put money in and anyone can take it out for a little help with monetary hardship?" I told him no, the contribution boxes were only to put money in, they dont let you take it out. He said, "I never said anything about them 'letting' you take it."

Appearantly he had been taking money from the contribution boxes when he was active. Now they have locks on the boxes to prevent this - someone must have caught on.

82

What's Right about "Right?"

by Farkel in

jw
friends

hang on, folks.

if a) is true then god is arbitrary: anything he says is right, is right.

so you admit that gods decisions are purely arbitrary?.

conflicted

1-God is an arbitrary jerk
2-God is subject to a higher standard than Himself
OR
3-There are two standards - one for humans and one for God

God created everything (except Himself)
God made all the rules
God punishes those who break the rules
God tells us we are NOT to kill one another
God kills those who do not please Him

This is not an oxymoron, and it is not illogical. It is really very simple. God punishes those who break his rules AND we are not permitted to do the same. This is similar to a parent/child relationship - a parent can do many things that a child isn't permitted to do. It's called a double standard and it may not be fair, but it's not all that complicated.

7

'Asking' the questions they 'Give' you.....

by LDH in

jw
friends

was anyone else frustrated at the 'question' and 'answer' sessions where they tell you what to ask?.

i didn't realise the foolishness until pointed out to me by my sister, who gets a kick out of being told what question to ask after having read a prescribed paragraph.. lisa

conflicted

That is a very interesting point Red, but I dont really understand what you're trying to say. Perhaps you could give me a question to ask you, that way you can give me further light as to the benefit of your eloquently worded reply. ;)

7

'Asking' the questions they 'Give' you.....

by LDH in

jw
friends

was anyone else frustrated at the 'question' and 'answer' sessions where they tell you what to ask?.

i didn't realise the foolishness until pointed out to me by my sister, who gets a kick out of being told what question to ask after having read a prescribed paragraph.. lisa

conflicted

Hi Lisa, it's been a while since I've visited. It's nice to (sort of) hear from you.

You know, I never thought about that before.

They tell you what to read, see, think, wear, how to act, feel, and talk. I never even realized they went so far as to tell us what to ask regarding what they tell us to read.

WTS= complete and total mind control machine.

15

Door To Door? Not At Heathrow!

by Englishman in

jw
friends

all this talk about whether door to door work is fruitful or not has really got me thinking.. so i was wondering, (a) how many jw's or ex's here were actually converted on the door, and (b) how many jw's or ex's here ever obtained a convert on the door?.

i made 2 converts whilst a jw, but 1 was the son of an interested person, the other was a wayward son of a weak sister so i get a zero.. my dad worked at london heathrow as an air traffic controller, he got 6 other controllers to join up, so if you're arriving in the uk, don't fly apostasy airways!

for all his frequent bouts of vac pioneering, i don't think that he ever pulled a live one off the doors, so he gets a zero too.. my mum was quite a puller in her time but they were all friends of friends who came to sit in on bible studies etc, so, sorry mater, you get a zero also.. as a matter of fact, i'm wondering if the door to door work isn't completely pointless!.

conflicted

My mother was converted via door to door ministry in 1970/71. +1 D2D
My father soon followed - both were baptized very quickly in the middle of '71. I was raised in the truth, my brothers and sister were born into it. My father left the truth around '76 - after the great 1975 prophesy failed. We were on-again-off-again for a few years until around 1984/5 when we went back full force (except my father).
I was baptised in 1987, and we all left simultaniously in 1989.

During my time working in the field, I never once made a convert, I conducted one bible sudy, but he was the son of an interrested mother, he wasn't all that impressed.

I think field service is not really for the purpose of creating converts, but serves two other purposes for the WTS
1. Keeps the current witnesses busy, tired and exhausted witnesses dont question flawed doctrine.
2. Keeps sales up for all the books and magazines the WTS publishes, witnesses pay twice for them, and the society gets WAY rich.

23

If modern day JW could stone apostates would they?

by nojw86 in

jw
friends

via "new light" of course.

would they truly follow it as scriptual bashing of evil ones forsaking their god jehovah, all this old light changing into new light makes one go hmmm........regards nojw

conflicted

You bet your a$$ they would - there would be lines around the block for a chance to throw stones.

The GB would probably set up a kangaroo court to convict apostates to the stoning arena they would erect just for that purpose.

34

scams scams and more scams

by zev in

jw
friends

ding..... a bell went off.

i wonder why it took me so long.. veniceit posted a link in her story on her sight to this article, which i scanned into text and repost here.

the point being, that this is one scam to make money by the borg.

conflicted

I learned how to read as a witness child.
I learned how to comprehend and understand what I read as a witness child.
I learned how to edit what I read to grasp the full understanding of the written word as a witness child.

When I read the statement "Voluntary Contribution" or "Donation" I understand that it is truely voluntary - I have never dropped a single dime into one of those boxes - I never paid for anything that was labled "voluntary" - I chose not to volunteer my money to their cause.

Thanks WTS, lesson well learned. :)

5

Dinasours & the Bible

by patio34 in

jw
friends

what has precipitated my pulling back from the org is the understanding of dinasours.

now gen. 1:30 says all vegetation was given to man and beast.

isa.

conflicted

This was similar to a question I posed to the elder who conducted our weekly Bible study.

Me: "When the new system comes and the animals 'lie down together', what will the meat eating animals eat - I understand that their metabolisms REQUIRE meat in their diets to survive?"

Elder:"God will take care of it."

I think "God will take care of it" is a cop out answer - what they are really saying is eirther "I dont know" or "Dont question the societies teachings". Either way, there are too many "God will take care of it"s in their doctrine for me to swallow.

8

Things That Make You Go Hhmmm. . .Samson

by dark clouds in

jw
friends

for a long time i have thought about yahweh, and the kind of deity that he was.

leader, savior, protector of the israelites, quick to strike down anyone who dared oppose him.

his compassion seemed to be masked beneath his jealous nature, but he had his reason and it was for "spiritual cleanliness".

conflicted

GREAT post, I am inspired. I have spent the past 11 years actively and deliberatly avoiding the Bible - I haven't cracked one open since I left. I think I'll give it another try. I like a good fantasy as much as the next guy. I think I'll start with David and Goliath (those Philistines just dont know when to quit).

I look forward to further posts in this series.

29

trying to understand

by DixieDarlin07148 in

jw
friends

i'm 18 and my boyfriend is 16 and an active jw.i'm a baptist and very stong in my belief and love of god.my boyfriend and i haven't been together that long but were very serious and plan on getting married (when the time is right).we both know that we have no intentions of raising our children jw but as baptist and he tells me that he wants to get out of jw but right now its very hard for him because he still lives with his parents and his mother and oldest sister are very active jw.and i understand all that its just that because i love him so much i want to understand about his life and the way he was raised and what he was raised to believe but hes made it very clear that he doesnt want to explain it or talk about it hes told me some stuff but very little.i'm just wondering about their beliefs and what the jw's have to say about us dating and just any information anyone can provide!!!

!thank-you very much!!!!

!

conflicted

I think it's a brave thing for J2L to come here and post his thoughts the way he has - climbing a soap box and preaching won't work here. He has found a way to speak to us, and get us to listen by admitting the flaws in the organization - it seems to me though that there wouldn't be so many flaws if the society was truly run directly by Jehovah God through his faithful and discreet slave. God is infallible - God is perfect, true, people are imperfect, but would and infallible perfect being allow His organization to be run as sloppily and shoddy as the WTS and still allow them to continue doing this in His name. I find it hard to believe.

Dixie: Patience is the key for your situation. Pathofthorns has good advise - leaving the JW's isn't easy when your family is involved - he WILL be alienated, dont doubt this. He WILL be pressured to return, and he may do just that. Even if he does leave and doesn't go back, everything you consider normal will be foreign to him - he has never lived for himself before - he has never done ANYTHING just because he wanted to. His whole life has been dictated by what others expect of him, and he has been taught that this world will soon be destroyed, so there was never a need to cultivate anything lasting in his life. I dont want to sound harsh or mean-spirited, I just want you to be aware that this is going to be hard for both of you. He can say he wants to leave - actually doing it is completely different. Best of luck to you both.