Posts by done4good

49

Dont Give Them More Power Than They Deserve

by Tech49 in

jw
friends

a new montra that was recently adopted by the wife and i is this:.

dont give them more power than they deserve.. here's why i say that, and i point this to those of you still in the congregation, still trying to decide what you want to do.. recently, our family had a little family reunion gathering of sorts, and we were in the company of some extended family that were either df or da, to varying degrees.

we made it very clear, to any and all in attendance, that we wanted to be respectful and kind, despite any previous perceptions about our "status".... and that our feelings on a lot of things had "softened", and "changed" over the last 2 years.. i am being purposefully slightly vague, but i think you get the point.

done4good

Reminds me of a situation that arose about six months after I stopped attending in 2006. Not a single call to check where I was, how I was doing, etc., in that six month period. Until...

I received a phone call from the PO, (one of maybe two times ever he called my cell), and I let it go to VM. I checked the VM, and it said something to the effect of, "the brothers heard about some things you are doing and wanted to speak with you...". This was an obvious invitation to a JC, supposedly because I was living with my girlfriend at the time. I blew the call off.

Then three weeks later I receive a second call from this same asshat. I let it go to VM again. This time something to the effect of "we know where you live, you live in (an improperly pronounced town), and we want to send your records to the congregation there". This was another pitiful attempt to get me to confess something to them. I ignored them this second time and never heard back.

The simplest and most effective thing you can do is simply ignore them. That takes all of their power away, and not a goddamn thing they can do about it.

d4g

41

Sheep and the Goats - The Light Gets Brighter

by nmthinker in

perhaps some of you remember a new understanding of the sheep and the goats in the epic march 2015 wt study edition - specifically the article "loyally supporting christ's brothers".. while this article was studied many months ago, it was instrumental in helping me wake up.

during my study of the 2015 article i recalled that we had just revised our understanding of the sheep and the goats a few years ago and this caused me to research the real progression of the jw understanding of this parable.

i put the results of my research in an excel spreadsheet.. .

done4good

Only in WT land is being a sheeple considered a good thing.

d4g

47

Are we participants in this forum because of bouts of "loneliness"?

by Wonderment in

i wonder how many of us here hold on to this meeting place out of "loneliness.

could it be that we harbor feelings of "abandonment" and "loneliness" from being left cold and dry by the wt people and our families?

perhaps we do have a need to reach out to people with similar experiences.

done4good

Loneliness, no. Catharsis, yes, currently.

In the past it was research, (when I started here over 9 years ago), and support. I was off the forum for several years between 2009 and late 2013 or so, and had little need for this type of exchange during that period. About two years ago certain life changes forced me to express my thoughts with respect to relationships with JWs, as I was deeply hurt by an old JW friend "just following orders" that decided to shun me. That experience taught me empathy however, and I try to offer such to those far less fortunate than myself, with respect to being an ex-JW, which is another reason I continue to contribute here.

I have a wonderful family, a good education and career, and a good second lease on life overall. Nothing to be lonely about.

d4g

113

I just found out that my youngest brother committed suicide

by SnakesInTheTower in

jw
friends

my middle brother called me a couple of hours ago.

our youngest brother, josh, who was 38, was found by his friends in his apartment.

he hung himself.

done4good

So sorry to hear this, Rich. I have no adequate words...This will take time to process. Whatever you do, don't think that reacting or not reacting a certain way means you are doing something wrong. There is no "right" way to handle this...

Jason

63

Why does the Watchtower leadership slap its own defenders in the face?

by slimboyfat in

take the case of rolf furuli.

i don't think there has been a specific thread on the hebrew verbs u-turn in the nwt, and how the society has responded to the work of perhaps their brightest and ablest defender in their history.

so here goes.. rolf furuli has defended jws on multiple fronts in many different settings, on issues ranging from chronology, mental health, doctrines, bible translation and the blood issue.

done4good

WT is an authoritarian system. Academics are anathema to authoritarianism.

Fred Franz was a pseudo-academic, however was also one of the organization's authoritarian leaders. When he died, no one filled that vacuum, and the organization lost the ability to counter any academic arguments made against their theology. Authoritarian leaders don't accept being challenged, and also don't accept outside "help" from those whom they fear are more intelligent/better educated than they are. They are well aware that at some point these strong supporters could turn on them, once enough academic "digging" is performed.

This is not difficult to understand. If someone performs enough research, it is not difficult at all to not only disprove JW theology, but also see that the origins of Christianity, Judaism, etc., all evolved from polytheistic, pagan religious systems. The WT leaders know this. Authoritarian leaders are propagandists, not interested in truth or the pursuit of it at all. Furuli may/may not be a true academic in the pursuit of fact finding, (he may be little more than just another self-proclaimed "expert", looking to have his ego stroked), but either way, he presents risk to an organization dependent on its authoritarian structure, simply because he is an outsider, and an educated one.

d4g

9

Dating a Religious Person - Thoughts?

by Garrett in

hello my dear friends :).

i am here once again because you guys are pretty much the most awesome peeps ever.. i have a new dilemma that i'd like your opinions on.

as most of you know, i'm an agnostic.

done4good

If she is actually "religious" in the overt sense, I would say stay away. Religious folks at that extreme will eventually need to chose between you and their faith at some point, to some degree or another. However...

In my experience with Catholicism, very few are like that. My wife's family is Catholic, (she herself is agnostic), and they are very accepting of the fact that neither of us are believers, (including a BIL who is a former Vatican priest). I really don't know of any modern Catholics that have such a polarized worldview. They tend to view most of their religious rites more as family tradition, than actual requirements to be "saved".

All religion is toxic, but this one in modern context, is a good deal less than most.

d4g

56

One reason behind the slow steady decline of JWs

by AllTimeJeff in

hello first of all to those that remember me.

i'm doing well, 10 years since my missionary trip to cameroon.

i've met a couple of goals.

done4good

ATJ - Who you knew and how you portrayed yourself was more important than who you really were.

Is that not the JW way?

Good to see you stop in, ATJ.

d4g

6

REFUGEES: when the LAMB lies down with the LION

by Terry in

jw
friends

refugees: the lamb lies down with the lions.___________________________________________.

on this continent, the native peoples welcomed the early european settlers and nursed them through the winter.

they shared and they traded.

done4good

I simply don't understand how rational citizens can be made again and again to BELIEVE politics solves more problems than it creates.

Terry, this point in of itself really is another grayscale issue. Politics in of itself certainly solves nothing. Politics are an unfortunate side effect of power and leadership. I don't think one needs to go to the extreme of being a non-voter or completely politically neutral, (these things really bring their own problems to society), just as I don't think being partisan in ideology is good for society.

Government is a framework for a certain level of social order. It is necessary, or else you are simply left with anarchy. Not everyone can be a volunteer, not everyone can be a philanthropist. No one is a hero because they refuse to participate in the processes we have to work with, either. We need government, and the inherent politics that come with it to have any semblance of stability in society.

d4g

6

REFUGEES: when the LAMB lies down with the LION

by Terry in

jw
friends

refugees: the lamb lies down with the lions.___________________________________________.

on this continent, the native peoples welcomed the early european settlers and nursed them through the winter.

they shared and they traded.

done4good

Nature is survival. Religion is not natural. Belief is immune from rational discourse. Absolute certainty that YOUR GOD is the only true god--well friends--that is the most potentially disruptive force within nature.

There could not be a more spot on statement. It bears repeating.

d4g

20

We were shown how to google jw-org last night

by StarTrekAngel in

so last night i went to the meeting with my family.

had not gone in 2 weeks.

as usual i sat down reading the bible.

done4good

Exactly why they will lose the information war in the end.

d4g