i found this while perusing through old golden ages at the new york public library.
it is so patently ridiculous and offensive, i thought i'd just post the thing without comment.
*** g27 11/30 pp.
I could not abide reading the entire article, but is it basically saying - (from what I did read) - that Uncle Tom's Cabin was the cause of the Civil War?
That's like saying Nietsche was the cause of nihlism.
Such typically simplistic thinking for the JWs!
It seems The Golden Age set the stage for spoon-feeding half-truths to the "chosen" people.
And the WTBTS carries on the tradition of helping lock shut tightly the minds of its readers.
Let us continue with the online battering rams!
i've always felt just a teeny-tiny twinge of guilty pleasure whenever i plunge into a work of fiction.
especially if it's a huge novel.
i'm sure this is some combination of puritan work ethic and residual "time of the end" jwism.
Gah! OM, read for hours out loud TO THEM, whether they want to hear it or not, LOL. Play books on tape instead of turning on the radio or t.v. I wish I could remember what it was I started reading to my daughter a few months back, FOR AT LEAST A COUPLE of hours. She wasn't interested at first, but eventually, I could see her bemusement; and her interest getting piqued. Why can't I remember what I was reading to her? Sometimes when I'm reading, I pop in on her computer time and share points with her. Also, once in a while she "accidentally" gets to hear "Selected Shorts" on Public Radio while I'm listening. I love it when I see that she is even half-way listening to the story. She usually only reads "graphic novels," so it is hard to get her attention for other kinds of lit, but it is a delight to see it happen.CoCo:
I spend hours daily in a bookThat's a luxury I'm looking forward to when the kids are grown.
In the meantime, I enjoy hearing whatever literary crumbs people drop here and there.
Take care.
Open Mind
you could have stupid new light every week published and the vast majority aren't going anywhere.
you could see proof of contradiction after contradiction right in front of your nose, if you're a witness.
and you still won't budge.. the reason: mental and spiritual laziness.
Interesting point, sKally.
Where's the humility in assuming that one belongs to the tiniest fringe of humanity as "God's Chosen People"?
Someone else already touched upon the "chosen" factor, and I'm sorry I can't quote it because I don't remember where in the thread it's buried. Maybe someone can help?
Again, where's the barf bag?
you could have stupid new light every week published and the vast majority aren't going anywhere.
you could see proof of contradiction after contradiction right in front of your nose, if you're a witness.
and you still won't budge.. the reason: mental and spiritual laziness.
Nobody has brought something I have been wondering about, it seems many jw children are constantly bribed by the parents to stay in or if they will just get baptized or go in fs, pioneer,etc.. I have seen any number of threads that the kid doesn't want to leave the borg & the family home because mom & dad bought me a car, no rent, new wardrobe, whateverif they will just do x,y or z for the org. Were these rare occurances or what?
Edited to say, thank you Carla for reminding me of that thorn in my side, as well. I know very well that I could be living a bit of a more materialistic life than I do if only I did "x,y or z for the org." No, financial and emotional blackmail AND BRIBERY are not rare occurrences. My deceased grandmother hinted to me more than a few times that all I needed to do (for a share of an inheritance) would be to make sure she was "the first to know" when I decided to "repent" and "return to Jehovah." At the time, all the currently-owned JW family property belonged to her. Now, only witnesses own and/or control it, at least last I was aware. My brother and sister (still in the bOrg, in their late 30's - early 40's) essentially still live at home. Although my sis & bil technically own their own place, it's on the jw family property, practically next door to my parents. As far as I'm concerned, if you still share a driveway with your parents, and if they're responsible for building and designing the home you own, you're still living at home.
Last I heard of my JW brother and his wife, they too had literally moved back into our parents' home. I was astonished at first because my brother seemed to be doing great financially after getting his engineering degree, buying a sporty car or two, and a new condo in the capitol, etc. Then I learned his wife quit her job to "pioneer full time." Shortly thereafter, I realized my brother was living with mom and dad - in his late 30's! And oh, so proud of his wife. Okay, where's the barf bag?!
you could have stupid new light every week published and the vast majority aren't going anywhere.
you could see proof of contradiction after contradiction right in front of your nose, if you're a witness.
and you still won't budge.. the reason: mental and spiritual laziness.
Stockholm syndrome (from Wikipedia)
Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger (or at least risk) in which the hostage has been placed. Stockholm syndrome is also sometimes discussed in reference to other situations with similar tensions, such as battered person syndrome, rape cases, child abuse cases and bride kidnapping. The syndrome is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm, Sweden, in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage from August 23 to August 28 in 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their victimizers, and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal. The term Stockholm Syndrome was coined by the criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot, who assisted the police during the robbery, and referred to the syndrome in a news broadcast. -Baba Yaga
Thank you for reminding us that our families are like hostages. It makes it easier to arrive at forgiveness, a place I might someday reach.
you could have stupid new light every week published and the vast majority aren't going anywhere.
you could see proof of contradiction after contradiction right in front of your nose, if you're a witness.
and you still won't budge.. the reason: mental and spiritual laziness.
I will be the here and dissent, I am neither lazy, fearful, vain, nor dumb. I stay because I like not having trinity, immortal soul, hell...etc...etc. If there was a reasonably similar religion that was available, I and many others would happily defect. I stay because, you guessed it; "Where will I go".
"Where will I go." ???
Aw, yknot! Y knot check out humanism or buddhism or unitarian universalism? I'm not into promoting religion, but if the alternative is between UUism or a cult, I'd recommend that.
At least they're not so cultish and they offer the freedom to explore differing ideas, quite unlike the jws, who do in fact expect the kind of intellectual laziness that prevents true learning and exploration of healthier philosophies of living.
you could have stupid new light every week published and the vast majority aren't going anywhere.
you could see proof of contradiction after contradiction right in front of your nose, if you're a witness.
and you still won't budge.. the reason: mental and spiritual laziness.
The ones that stay in are the dependent ones, the needy, those that have to have a sense of belonging or else they would not know what to do.Do you agree with my assessment?? -Minimus
I guess those of us here can count ourselves as "above average," then, whether or not we're still needy or dependent.
Being human is a complicated thing sometimes.
The JWs want to make everything simple by shutting out all ambiguity, ambivalence, "gray areas," or questioning.
Life outside of a high control cult or religion is just not like that.
So much buried pain among those who stay locked into the mental traps of cult life!
first of all i would like to think everyone for the support i recieved yesterday.
i would also like to shed some light on my past, hopefully this does not give it away as to who i might be.
my wife and i were both raised as jw, we were both baptized when were fifteen years old.
fadingELD - In legal and religious terms, if your wife has packed her bags and left, then she has abandoned her family, not the other way around.
You may use this to your advantage and to your sons' advantage, if you so choose, in my opinion.
yesterday, i provided a 20-page document prepared by jehovahs witnesses who were devastated by the 1975 disappointment.
these jws produced other documents like that one and i will attempt to locate them.. today, i am opening the human side of these witnesses.
the following are links to scans of newspaper articles from the time, focusing on these people.. toe the line april 7 1977 page 1.jpg.
Can anyone provide info about when exactly the Society itself published or suggested the 1975 date?
I'm quite curious, as my parents and one of my grandparents all got baptized shortly before '75. I suspect that fear of Armageddon was the main motivator for that.
PM me if you have any suggested info, as I may lose this thread. I have been visiting rather sporadically lately. Thanks so much, if anyone has any good info on this!
i am new to this site but have been lurking for a while now.
i have not told my story yet because i am in the middle of a situation i had hoped to avoid.
my wife is still a jw in good standing, my two sons were dfd a year ago.
Best wishes to you, FadingELD. I hope you and your family are able to outgrow this cult together and in peace.
Love and joy to you all.
-Joy
