Posts by DB

27

Worldly Husbands

by Frenchy in

jw
friends

larc has an interesting thread going about why jw men choose to date (and beyond) worldly women in lieu of dating the seemingly overbundant supply of 'horny' sisters available.

i recommend it.. it set me to thinking about yet another interesting phenomena in jwdom.

that is the situation where the jw woman has, as a husband, a 'non-believer'.

DB

Chakka, and eveyone else, good comments. Chakka, welcome to jw.com.

My experience is similar, but I am the male, and i married outside the "truth". I dated outside the "truth" because the strict dating rules bugged me to say the least.

I actually enjoyed having a non-jw wife. Nobody pressuring me to attend meetings. But then, lo and behold, she became interested. My jw friends set up a sudy w her, and she got baptized.

Then, she got real zealous and almost pharisaic in her approach. She was very much into the whole jw thing; she'd insist I conduct a fam study; she'd spend two hours just to prepare her WT study lesson.

I became and elder, and still, she always pushed harder than me. Now that i am no longer serving (I was removed) she has finally calmed her zeal, and the situation is more tolerable. I used to tell her ocasionally that in many ways, I rue the day she got baptized.

45

Do you think JWS are a cult?

by Trixie in

jw
friends

do you think that the jw religion is a cult?

i believe that it is, but i wanted to get other people's opinion.

DB

The jws do appear to fit several of the criteria listed by cult experts. Some examples that I have seen that match such criteria:

They disfellowship and shun those who disagree with their teachings.
They discourage members from being friends with outsiders; therefore, members depend upon them for social contact. When a jw cuts ties or is df'd, they stand to lose their friends.
Jws who cut ties or are df'd also stand to lose association w family members who are jws.
Their doctrines and teachings are decided upon by a group of men. Members are expected to keep 'in-line' with such teachings, but have no input in the decision-making process.
Those who question such teachings are usually thought of as "spiritually weak", they may even be disfellowshipped for questioning the teachings. Hence, dissenters are eventually rooted out, making it easier to keep existing members in line.
Though God and Jesus are mentioned often, the organization itself often becomes the focal-point for jws. They are taught that as individuals, they cannot understand the Bible. Thus, they form a great deal of dependance on the organization. They are taught that they cannot 'get life' unless they come to the organization.
Their elders and judicial committees meet in secret, hence abuses are commonplace. Those victimized have little or no recourse if they feel a decision is wrong. They are allowed little or no representation when appearing before a judicial committee.
These are just a few examples that cause many people to view the jw religion as a cult.

13

Anyone have any controversial "meeting&quo...

by Waygooder64 in

jw
friends

does anyone have any really cool stories about fights,arguments or anything else controversial that happened at the kh or a book study?

the reason i ask is that what happened to danni and her partner will be talked about for ages at that particular hall.

when i was about 16 i once saw 2 brothers arguing over who would take the service group that weekend.the whole congregation was about as quiet as a mouse pissing on a cottonball!

DB

Years ago, an MS was leading a group out in service from the KH library. The sisters seemed to be in some diagreement with him over the groupings and arrangements. He said, 'fine, then make your own arrangements', and walked out.

A few years later this same MS made the local papers. I'm not sure of the details, but it involved a shouting match and a violent outbreak at home involving his step-child. He was removed as an MS.

14

Ex-Jw Book studies,anyone

by badboy in

jw
friends

anyone thought of doing`ex-jw book studies?.

suggested book titles.. studies in the jws.. millions now living have been deceived!.

thy kingdom not came.. `can we give you a study of why jws are wrong'?.

DB

Great posts, very funny!

TR's book of scary stories just reminded me how violent the Bible Stories book (and the Bible) is. At a friend's home a few weeks ago, my friends, a married couple w a young child, were lamenting how violent the book is. And, the sister said that other sisters at the meeting were "encouraging" her to read it to her child.

The only other book title I can think of at the moment is 'Choosing the worst way of life' or maybe I'll phrase it as a question: 'Choosing the Best Way of Life'?.

11

INFORMAL WITNESSING

by TR in

jw
friends

i've got a bunch of those sl printouts, and i've got one pasted to a window in my work vehicle.

posted one at the supermarket by my house, but noticed the other day that it had been taken down.

gotta replace it.. several weeks ago, a car load of 'hovahs pulled up next to me at a convenience store to get their lunch while out in service.

DB

Hey TR, if you count the time you've been spending, you might be able to pioneer, LOL.

I could defintely relate to that sister you mentioned, who is getting the cold shoulder. Any fall-off in performance, and that's what happens.

10

ANGRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by gilwarrior in

jw
friends

as most of you know i usually write about sexual matters, but i would like to take this time to write about something serious.

after two months of writing posts and reading others people's posts and have concluded that the jehovah's witness organization purposely prevents people from contact with other people, because that way it is hard for someone to leave the organization.

if everyone you know is in the organization then how can you leave?

DB

Good post gill, and I agree with all the replies. I have not found joy in being a jw for years. I cannot recall the last time I actually enjoyed a meeting. Field service is a bit better, but it is also a colossal waste of time where I live. My questions about God and the bible are still largely unanswered, even after nearly 3 decades of being a jw.

But, most of my family and friends are jws. So I stick it out.

20

Ever been counciled for doing a craft??

by lydia in

jw
friends

coming from central pa - i get to see lots of quilts - and i have started to quilt myself - although i recieved lots of council about spending the long hours alone on a quilt ( the brother apparently never heard the words "quilting bee" ) i finally quit doing them for a while because of the pressure i was getting..... finnally when i realized that i needed to do some form of craft as a stress reducer ( from all the pressure from the borg) i told the elders where to go - and also said " i'd be happy to quit quilting - are you going to pay for the pyschiatri help and the meds they may prescribe??

this is therapy for me!!".

it shut him up for a bit.. .

DB

I think volatire hits the nail on the head. Quilting, or making musical instruments, or almost any other hobby or craft are often done to relieve stress; and much of that stress comes from regular participation in "theocratic activity".

15

Mormons in the neighborhood.

by Princess in

jw
friends

today as i was pulling into my driveway i noticed two young mormon "elders" at my neighbor's house.

they stood on the porch and watched me pull into my garage, obviously had just been at my house.

i thought for sure they would be marching right over to inquire as to whether i was interested in learning about their church.

DB

About three years ago, two (cute) Mormon girls called at my home. My wife and I discussed some matters with them, informing them that we were jws. The mormon girls were very nice. They stated that they do the door-to-door preaching for two years, then that's all that they are required to do.

Recently, in a car group in service, we saw two mormons on the street. Someone in the group mentioned that they did their preaching for two years. Of course, the witnesses with me mentioned how we are superior because we preach all our lives. Ugggh.

95

Okay Fess Up: What's Your Handle Mean?

by Mindchild in

jw
friends

okay fess up: whats your handle mean?.

my handle: mindchild comes from computer scientist and futurist dr. hans moravec: who wrote the book, the future of robot and human intelligence which is a book about when we will be able to construct machines capable of human intelligence and raises the possibility of uploading ourselves (every thought we ever had) into an android body much superior to the human ones we have now.

i entertain the hope that not only will i live long enough to see this happen, i will transfer myself (the complete essence of what is me) into a body of my own choosing and become immortal if i so choose.

DB

From the song "The Ballad Of Danny Bailey", I got the DB initials. The song appears on Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album. It's my all-time favorite song.

37

"Stupid...Hateful..Evil.."?

by Englishman in

jw
friends

at first glance, most people would say that there are lots of very good jws around.

ok, we reason, maybe they are a little misguided, but most of them mean well.

we particularly like to think that way about our friends and loved ones who are in the organisation, we dont want to regard them as being unkind and uncaring.

DB

To a degree, I agree with this post by Englishman. While I would stop short of using words like "evil" and even "stupid", I can attest that:

1. Some of the Witness friends that are of my daughter's age have been far more manipulative than her school friends.

2. I do not think that being a Witness makes people "better" husbands, wives, children, etc., as the Society claims. While in some cases some people straighten out lives that may have been plagued by drug abuse, violent behavior, etc., such claims can be made from many religions.

3. Witnesses emphasize being busy in their activities rather than developing traits that make people more likeable. Things like field service and meeting attendance are valued, while personal qualities take a back seat. As a result, they end up with quite a few nasty folks who have no incentive to treat people nicely because they feel very good about themselves since they are very active in JW activity.
The WT has even claimed that "personality enhancement" is not a goal of their educational work. Yet, to me, full development of the "fruitage of the spirit" would include qualities which help a person to be nice to others.