Posts by bigmouth

but the main "teacher" several times said how she prayed for strength that she would remain true to jehovah when she was tested "in the persecutions".. so, i understand that there has to be some sort of tribulation and persecution of the faithful before armageddon.

why i'm confused is that every stock market dip, new virus or extreme weather event is hailed as the beginning.

bigmouth

I'll give you a quick rundown... The tribulation is a synonym for the battle of Armageddon. JW's expect that, being the only true servants of God, when the end of the system is imminent Satan will cause the world and its leaders to persecute, harrass and imprison them alone.Then Jehovah does his thing.

JW's worry if they're not being picked on. Persecution, real or imagined, is considered a proof that they are God's people.

When bad things happen in the world, JW's get a morbid thrill as each disaster could signal the start of Armageddon.

Share market crash......"this could be it!". Tsunami in Japan....."Hooray! natural disasters!" Earthquake deaths in New Zealand...."Fantastic! 'Earthquakes in one place after another'".

Get the idea? They will be wallowing in this masochism for another hundred years in my opinion.

49

Why do Jehovahs Witnesses send their mentally ill door to door?

by life is to short in

this has been a question i have asked over and over even when i was a very devout jw.

please do not get me wrong in thinking that i am trying to be mean or cruel or unkind to those who have mental illness, that is not in the least where i am going with this.

what i mean is i think it is cruel to send them door to door, it puts way to much stress on them and it looks bad for the name jehovah.. it seemed that in every hall i have ever been in there were some people who were extremely mentally ill. there have always been some in every hall who were schizophrenics or suffered major depression, or other forms of mental illness.

bigmouth

Why? Because they're struggling to find enough mentally well.

When the love-bombing dries up, reality hits hard.

Not being able to keep up with meetings, FS, study, talks will lead a conscientious publisher down the broad road to clinical depression. Elders are not qualified to give effective psych counselling and going to a worldly psychiatrist is frightening enough without the unspoken taboo by the Society to add to the isolation.

16

Religion/Mental Illness/Schizoprenia

by ranmac in

jw
friends

i have a very close friend whos history of traumatic experiences and drug use has culminated into very severe mental and physical detioratation.

i dont want to get into personal information but one major symptom is that he has become religiously deluded about himself.

to be blunt, he believes he is a special prophet chosen by jehovah.

bigmouth

I've spent a greater portion of my life than I'd like to in various psych wards.

A disproportionate number of my fellow patients entertained delusions of grandeur, particularly if they were in a manic phase or had a form of schizophrenia. The most common one was that they were an incarnation of Jesus or God or at least a special prophet of some sort. Some think they are simply a famous person.

XYZ is probably correct in that Christians have Christian delusions and Hindus likewise etc.

I don't believe any part of the brain is wired specifically to worship. The immense force of religious teaching and dogma has a massive effect on the developing child and the way belief is processed through life can come back in very distorted ways when one 'breaks down' for lack of a better phrase.

28

When You Left The Organization Were False Rumors Being Circulated About You?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i heard i was "too interested in making money" and that i was letting "worldly pleasures" get in the way.. did you ever hear anything about your departure??

?.

bigmouth

I think the following insights nail it;

RIV - If a JW leaves the organization and doesn't become miserable out in the “world” it could be psychologically unsettling to those JW’s still trapped inside the group.
designs - They have to demonize us in order to keep the delusion going.

WMF - I think there may be some subconscious jealously involved in this.

18

Are JW,s scared of Muslims ?

by pedal power in

jw
friends

are there any circumstances when the watchtower takes on moslems head on, or like western govts, do they retreat as cowards?.

i placed some literature with a captain in the egyption navy, from alexandria, the jw,s were invisible, if they were even there !!

!.

bigmouth

The WTS did produce a small booklet entitled, I think, "The Time For True Submission to God". It was directed at Muslims. I had a copy to place with Muslims but never met any! I never read it either!

Can't imagine it was too confrontational as no fatwa was ordered against us infidels.

12

Watchtowers Picture of Demon Materialization

by Marvin Shilmer in

jw
friends

watchtowers picture of demon materialization.

today i uploaded a new article to my blog showing watchtowers picture of a materialized demon.

the article is titled watchtowers picture of demon materialization and is available at: http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/06/watchtowers-picture-of-demon.html.

bigmouth

The George Eastman Co. (Kodak) modified their 'Ektachrome' range of reversal films at this time and re-branded them 'Ektaplasm'. This enabled ghost hunters and other crazies to record ectoplasm apparitions.

77

The J Dub Culture of Skirt-Wearing

by mummatron in

jw
friends

this is something that has always bothered me.

as a born-in jw i was raised as a little girl wearing skirts and dresses which is clearly quite normal in terms of gender-appropriate clothing.

however, the older i grew, the more i realised that all jw women and girls wore skirts to meetings and when out in fs, but would wear trousers in their everyday life.

bigmouth

Thanks sizemik. I remember the guy was quite short and as the bro on mikes was adjusting his mike he was pogoing up and down as it moved. We all thought an Iraqi JW was pretty cool/weird. I'd laugh if he became a Muslim!

BTW the nick change is brilliant! Still shakin' back home I see.