Posts by IMustBreakAway

41

New York Times June 22, 1918

by Nathan Natas in

================ text version below ==========.

20 years in prison for 7 russellites.

judge howe scores men who.

In the old Revelation book it mentions that Rutherford and his gang of crazy kids were "exonerated" off all charges. Which was wrong.. Recently when they started studying the revelation book again they released a list of "adjustments" to be used in conjunction with the old book.. (shows the budget crunching instead of releasing new books they just sent this list to everyone). One of the "adjustments" was that the charges were "dropped" not that they were "exonerated" which makes a huge difference. I was wondering with all the great scans and such that you have found if anyone has seen press releases relating to their release from prison?

41

Stuck in the "Truth"

by IMustBreakAway in

jw
friends

i notice from comments posted that many here who post (and untold scores who lurk) are still "in".

perhaps their social / family circles are too constricted for freedom of mind, and or, they are too afraid to rock the boat.

or too young to strike out on their own and are dependent on jw parents for support.

IMustBreakAway

Just curious.. I notice from comments posted that many here who post (and untold scores who lurk) are still "in". Perhaps their social / family circles are too constricted for freedom of mind, and or, they are too afraid to rock the boat. Or too young to strike out on their own and are dependent on JW parents for support. I am in that position myself. I haven't the balls to leave my family behind nor, the brains to convince them to leave without being shunned myself. So my question is this.. Has anyone setup a secure site where those of us still "stuck in the truth" can reveal ourselves to each other. Perhaps with some sort of collateral (a video denouncing the WTBTS or jacking off into a watchtower or something.) so that we are all equally guilty and won't "tell on" the other people we find. Just would be nice occasionally to wink at someone I see at an assembly or "GASP" perhaps even in my own congregation that might be posting here incognito..

60

How Do You Respond To: "Where Else Will We Go"?

by minimus in

jw
friends

when scared jws even think about leaving the organization, they often wonder where they'll go to instead.......any responses?

?

IMustBreakAway

I said it should be plainly obvious. If it isn't, than perhaps there is no "truth" to be found. The person will have to exercise their own judgment.

This made me think of a quote I read somewhere recently. It was something to the effect of, "No sane rational person can honestly believe that they had the good fortune of stumbling into/being born into the one true and only true faith in the entire universe." For some reason that quote really hit a chord for me. Yet more than just JW's believe it.

72

NEED ADVICE ON FAKING A REINSTATEMENT

by Mary in

jw
friends

a friend of mine who is df'd is seriously considering trying to get reinstated in order to have his family back in his life.

this is not an easy decision because he's fully aware that this isn't "the truth", but the pain of being excluded from normal family relations is really tearing him.

he has two choices: either move away from his family and try and start a new life, or bite the bullet, try and get reinstated and then do the fade.

IMustBreakAway

There is a lot of good advice in this thread. I have been lurking and thought I would add my two cents...

I was never d'fd but I have been faking being a witness for years. Since I was baptized really.

But I don't want to leave regardless of my beliefs because my family is more important than myself. (no ill will to those that feel differently it is just the way I am)... So faking being a good dub isn't as bad as most people think. I even smoke and have not had trouble. (yet)

1. Take something to do during the meetings. I have found that suduko cut out of newspapers slipped in my bible make me look nice and studious. I also write short stories.

2. You have to go in service. Most of the congregations have one Saturday where the whole congregation meets together instead of just at the book study. This is the best time to go. You get the maximum exposure for the least amount of effort. I claim to be very shy and ask other people to talk at the door for me. Usually you are working with different people and can spread this around a bit. Also I am very famous for being a "breakfast" kind of service guy. On the rare occasion I do have to talk at a door I read a scripture. Then I lie on my service report and always put the average for the congregation from two months back.

3. Sometimes its a good idea to do a nice heartfelt comment. This means you read the sentence in the paragraph and add a "this thought really meant allot to me" at the beginning or the end of it. Sometimes it helps to para-phrase

4. Being social.. I like talking to people. I keep a few "spiritual thoughts" tucked away in my head for when people want to talk about it. I was tipped off to this a few years ago when I overheard someone saying something to the effect of "IMBA never talks about spiritual things". So now when the conversation goes that way I have something to say. Even if it is fluff, they expect you to pretend to be a bible scholar remember. Talking about “the strength of the demons” is a good one because they love to talk about demons for some reason.

5. Most importantly keep your thoughts/complaints/reactions to yourself. Until you meet someone that you can trust with them. And be careful half the people you think you can trust you can't. More than half really. But there are those out there that will listen to theories and thoughts if presented the right way. But it has to be approached carefully. There are a few hot button topics that if you come barreling in with them they are going to KNOW that you have been talking with the "evil apostates". IE - 607, United Nations, COC, etc.. Try to be more subtle. Talk about things that make it look like your just being a good student. And end your sentences with something vague like, "I can't want until we get clarification on this," or "perhaps we will find the answers when the new scrolls are opened."

Coming back in from being D'fd has got to be much harder. There is that whole waiting period and sucking up. But I like to think that I am floating instead of fading. I am basically agnostic so I don't really care what people believe. And when you're entire family (many generations) and social circle is made up of this it is hard to break away. Mostly I just to be with the people I love.

Good Luck!

44

Is there a God/supreme being/ or what?!

by DigitalFokus in

ok, so i was raised luthren, my dad was cathlioc and then i went dub for 5 years and since have been completely turned off religion.

the dub experience combined with world events and my personal ones have pretty much pushed all thoughts of a "almighty" out of my mind.

of course there are times that i think of religion or get into a "2am religion talk" and i wonder wtf is really going on.

IMustBreakAway

As I see it, that just might not be necessary outside the universe that our finite minds are able to comprehend.

The closest thing that i have to faith is that the universe is knowable. It might be beyond me and my lifespan, but utimately it's mysteries will be revealed. If we study enough, learn enough, explore enough. We will know the cosmos..

44

Is there a God/supreme being/ or what?!

by DigitalFokus in

ok, so i was raised luthren, my dad was cathlioc and then i went dub for 5 years and since have been completely turned off religion.

the dub experience combined with world events and my personal ones have pretty much pushed all thoughts of a "almighty" out of my mind.

of course there are times that i think of religion or get into a "2am religion talk" and i wonder wtf is really going on.

IMustBreakAway

First cause is an argument used by a lot of "creationists.." or people who believe in intelligent design. The idea that cause and effect rule the cosmos and therefore the universe existing must have a cause. Being interested in science myself i have always found it interesting how quantum states can have no cause. They at this point seem so random that life seems completely without order. I used to wonder how a "God of order" could allow this to happen. I was struggling with the concept of first cause and thought for sure that it had to be true. But i don't think it is. A random quantum equation is what triggered the big bang. There need not be a cause.

So what is our purpose in life? Why are we here? I've quoted this before but it bears repeating. "There ain't no answer, there ain't never been an answer, and there ain't never going to be an answer. That's the answer!" Life is a joke. Enjoy and good laugh and then fade into the background noise. How is that future bleak? If you want to be immortal than join the Transhumanists. They are looking for a practical solution through technology.

24

Why do witnesses think they have the truth?

by JH in

jw
friends

.

what would be the main reasons why the witnesses think that they alone have the truth?

.

IMustBreakAway

I have found that people of many religons believe they have the truth because they "feel" it to be the truth. They know that there is a God because they "feel" there must be. I have never had these feelings.

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