Posts by nameless

43

Ugh! Horrible JW forward, only for the strong stomached

by metaspy in

jw
friends

i just got this in my email from an elder's wife (she knows i am not going to meetings):.

pearls.

the cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five.

nameless_one

I wonder if "daddy" would have destroyed the little girl if she hadn't coughed up the necklace; seems they left that part out

24

Need help responding to a pioneer

by megs in

i posed the question to a pioneer who had been giving me bible studies.

my question was quite simple: "in john 3:16, doesn't it say that whosoever believeth in him will have eternal life?

my understanding of this scripture is that eternal life is given to all who believe in christ and believe he died to save sinners.

megs: I am curious about your intent with this study. I've followed some of your other threads, and know about your situation with your friend who is still deeply in. Are you pursuing this at the request of your friend, or as an intellectual exercise, or out of curiosity, or are you hoping to wake the pioneer up? I am just curious, your situation is interesting to me.

Lady Zombie: Thanks for posting that link about the NWT translation, I'd not seen that before.

vernae: PLEASE STOP. You are preaching to the choir here.

22

DRUG DEALING IN YOUR CONGREGATION

by badboy in

jw
friends

were there any cases in your congregation?

nameless_one

Do MLM (multi level marketing) vitamins and supplements count? That's an epidemic LOL.

51

Ran into old JW friend in the airport...Correspondence has ensued...

by Confession in

it was the same weekend that my mom and dad, to my surprise, agreed to meet with me.

i was in midland, michigan, about a month ago, only an hour or so from where they live.

in the airport on monday morning, in walked john, someone i remembered well from the jw congregation of my youth.

nameless_one

I have to say that I think something sadder than active JWs are INACTIVE JWs who still believe it is the (T)ruth...

Amen to that. The sole reason I am even on JWD is because I am an UBM with a JW who fits this description precisely. Reading about your positive and laid-back experience with your friend, followed by his whacked-out self-righteous email, the entire course of it all is painfully familiar to me.

People in this mindset really are very difficult to reason with and connect with, but ONLY in regards to the JW stuff. I'm in the unfortunate position of having no choice but to find a way through the JW stuff, but if this person is a relatively casual friend to you, you have better options. In my experience, people in this "grey area" can be fine and fun and normal, open and open-minded, SO LONG AS you don't habitually push the JW buttons. Doing that will bring out the rote replies and glazed eyes and mental shutdown, and it often escalates badly if pursued. If it would work for you to maintain a friendly connection with this guy and keep the JW discussions to a minimum, that's your in. Perhaps over time his eyes will gradually open, but you run a real risk of sending him running for the hills from the evil apostate if you push too hard or too soon.

I feel for you, it's a maddening way to have to interact and connect with someone. I don't claim to understand it, but I sure am familiar with it.

41

How can I know for sure that the WTS isn't God's organization?

by nbernat in

i go back and forth everyday.

one day i'm like, "suppress your gay feelings and what you think is wrong about this organization and keep going forward because you want eternal life and all of your friends are here and it's as close to the truth as it can possibly get so just deal with it.

" others i'm like, "live your life.

nameless_one

The answer to why others stay and/or believe is going to vary, and isn't really the important issue for you to examine. The important issue for you is, what do you believe and should you stay or go? The confusion and the back-and-forth is natural, as the organization doesn't just teach a belief system but ingrains an entire thought system that is DESIGNED to mess with your mind and make you question or discount anything that goes against the society's teachings.

As others have said, read read read and research research research. If you fully examine and investigate the WTS and its teachings, the answer to your question will become clear. One good site that I recommend a lot is jwfacts.com; there is a page there that gives a brief excellent overview to your question called the "15 Minute Guide to Truth": http://www.jwfacts.com/index_files/5min.htm

Good luck, and trust your instincts :-)

7

copy of the new books

by disfellowman in

anyone got these?

i cant get to a convention, if someone doesnt want theirs id be happy to paypal some cash for it :)

nameless_one

The PDFs are complete scans and also fully indexed and searchable, better than the real books and available without stepping a foot in the KH :-)

(And I don't know what happened to your other thread; I feel somewhat responsible for that but all I did was comment on the thread, I didn't ask anyone to pull it. I'm sorry if the whole thing got pulled because of my suggestion, but I do stand by it. Please stick around, Jason :-))

7

copy of the new books

by disfellowman in

anyone got these?

i cant get to a convention, if someone doesnt want theirs id be happy to paypal some cash for it :)

nameless_one

There are PDFs of both available on this site. I don't have time to find the threads right now, but maybe someone else can post the links or you can do a search for them.

7

WT publications

by dogisgod in

jw
friends

was visiting my mom the other day.

her jw friend was there and i asked why the magazines look so cheap these days.

the friend said that the society felt that people weren't really reading the wt because the study articles were too deep for them so they changed things and offer the awake instead.

nameless_one

the society felt that people weren't really reading the WT because the study articles were too deep for them

LOL! Yeah, that must be it. The intellectual and spiritual depth is just too much for most people to grasp

I don't think online-only is ever going to happen; not only does it not work with the existing model, it severely undermines it. The WTS has much wealth but is not terribly liquid, so cost-cutting measures like this are not surprising and are likely to continue.

32

Dating a JW and need some help

by Whizkid in

i've been 'going out' with a beautiful girl and we have a great time together.

we have a lot of similar interests and always have stuff to talk/do.

the problem is that she's a jw, and i know there is no way i'm going to become a jw.

nameless_one

Welcome, Whizkid. You don't mention how old you are, so I'm not sure what your situation is, although you do say your friend is living with her mom. Are you both teenagers, or adults? Is she baptized? The best way to proceed will vary somewhat, depending on your individual circumstances.

Having said that, I suggest a slightly different approach than the one you've been taking so far. Rather than presenting her with evidence/issues that contradict JW teachings and then asking her to refute that information, try choosing an issue and then just asking her a series of intelligent, open-ended questions -- just asking questions, not presenting "anti-JW" information. In doing this, you will start the wheels turning in her own head because it puts her in a position where she needs to come up with reasonable answers to the questions. Choose something that requires some degree of research and thought on her part. Don't contradict, or "judge" the issue -- that will immediately put her on the defensive. Just ask sincerely and simply; her answers will inevitably raise the opportunity for more sincere questions, and you can use this approach to guide her to the answers that you already know -- and that is the key. She must figure it out on her own, not be "told," and you can help her get to that point by asking rather than telling.

One very good site that would benefit you is www.jwfacts.com. There you will find straightforward and reasonable analyses of all kinds of flip-flops and questionable JW doctrines and practices. Depending on what things you've already discussed with your friend, and what topics would be of particular personal import to her, you should be able to arm yourself and develop topics of discussion that will get her to think.

The fact that she has only been involved with the Witnesses for three years is a good thing. Make her use her own reasoning and research to logically "justify" JWism -- it's not possible, and if she's willing to try it with an open mind, that is your best bet imho. Be warned though that it is likely to take a lot of time and thought and patience on your part -- A LOT. Good luck to you :-)

53

The Friends Ain't So Friendly

by StAnn in

jw
friends

i've been thinking.

a lot of posts i read here say things about how the jws are all victims; how people feel so sorry for them; how people believe that the jws they know are really good people who are trapped in a lie.

then i read a lot of other posts about the cruel things the jws do, like shunning, ignoring df'd people on the side of the road with a flat tire, refusing to be charitable to their fellow humans, delighting at the impending deaths of millions of people, and blaming all of their coldness and heartlessness on the fact that they're just following orders from the gb.

nameless_one

When I first read this, it disturbed me and agitated me but I couldn't really put my finger on why. After much thought, it has crystallized for me: It bothers me because it almost reads like a self-referential grandfather clause. How many people on this board were in the borg for years, devoted and gung-ho and convinced that "the truth" was true? Are those who exited before you or with you righteous and good and OK, but those still in after your departure are evil sadistic bastards by nature? For every ex-JW here, there was someone who woke up and got out before you did. There will be others who wake up and get out after. Does the hopeless sadistic Nazi clause kick in and apply only after one's own personal exit?

I don't mean any disrespect, and I do acknowledge that there are plenty of Witnesses who are indeed "heartless, cold, evil people who found a belief system that lets them indulge their true, sadistic natures." But I also know that there are others who have goodness, divine spark, and decency, and have been in for many years -- and still are.

I agree that those who have a conscience and a brain and a genuine moral compass don't do well in the organization. Maybe they leave in a blaze of glory, maybe they fade away, maybe they stay because they don't know what else to do, maybe they fall apart mentally and psychologically, a million other maybes.

But I don't think it's fair or accurate to say anyone who's still in is evil and sadistic by nature. Most people on this board were in at one time, many for a LONG time and many in a very devoted way.

Again, I don't mean any disrespect here, but this thread has really bothered me.

nameless_one

Posts by nameless_one