Posts by LisaRose

51

Getting it out of my system, a VERY long introduction/outpouring..

by adimmedlight in

warning, novel ahead:.

after a few months of lurking on this site, i've decided to take the plunge...i don't really care so much about introducing myself, but somehow there is some relief in the thought of getting my little story out there, just getting it out of my system.

i am the oldest of 5 kids.

LisaRose

Welcome, I read your whole story. You did very well with what was handed to you as a child. I just saw the video for the song "because of you" by Kelly Clarkson. It made me cry because it was about a young girl and how she was neglected by her father and had a lot of chaos because of her parent's bad marriage and how that affected her as an adult, that she was afraid to make choices and decisions in her life.I could relate because of the chaos of my childhood.

You are smart to stay away from the JWs, it's a crazy little cult that has nothing to offer but guilt and a life of being enslaved to an organization. Don't ever be tempted to go back, there are plenty of better churches out there if you feel the need.

You are young and have a whole great life ahead of you.

28

Ran into some JW's.......but this time I did the teaching ;) x

by snare&racket in

jw
friends

so i went out today with my broken leg and got accosted by an old lady, with some magazines.. it was my first ever encounter with a jw in ten years, and i had said 'i know you are jw's, i'm not interested thank you.

" twice.....then she started talking about my broken leg and how wonderful we are made and how amazing the healing process is.... and that's when it all started...."i used to be a bethelite pioneer, now i'm an atheist doctor...".

she was with me a good 30 mins, her elder husband left very annoyed but she stayed, and she was dying to hear everything i spurted out, despite aggressively defending every point, from military engines to paedophilia.

LisaRose

Good for you. I find you can say a lot to a JW as long as you are not rude or mean (assuming you aren't related to them). You must not have been rude or she wouldn't have listened to you that long. Hopefully you planted a seed that will sprout and grow.

17

JW's copied Mormons?

by purrpurr in

i've been doing a lot of research about mind control, cults etc which led me to look into the world and beliefs of mormons.

the similarities between jw's and mormons are staggering!

it's almost a carbon copy which only a few differences.. did the jw's set out to copy them i wonder?

LisaRose

They are both cults, so it's not surprising there are similarities. While their individual beliefs are different, the culture is the same because cults use the same basic manipulations.

Controlling your time by having lots of meetings and volunteer requirements so you don't have too much time to think.

Exclusivisim, claiming to be the only route to salvation.

Deception, hiding their history and practices. The JWs lie about their failed date predictions, The Mormons lied about Joseph Smith having multiple wives and although they have recently admitted as much I doubt they are honest about his various scams, he was just a con artist that got lucky.

Fear and intimidation, saying that you must do everything they tell you or you will not gain salvation. Jehovah's Witnesses fear being disfellowshipped and dying at the big A, Mormons fear going to hell.

Love bombing and relationship control. The JWs are by far the worst because of Disfellowshiping, but both groups discourage you from having friends or getting married outside the group.

45

Fun at The WT This Morning

by OneFingerSalute in

so ofs was at the wt this morning, and on par.

14 the question was, "what trust can a faithful christian whose relative is disfellowshipped have?".

after awhile when no one else raised their hands ofs did, and was called on.. ofs commented, "one of jw can have the trust that god will lovingly give them the ability to uphold the disfellowshipping arrangement by totally shunning family members.".

LisaRose

Wow, I bet they looked at you like you put a turd in the punch bowl. Their is obviously a lot of denial in JW land, no one wants to think they are in a strange religion that practices shunning, despite the reality.

5

'Covenant' Marriages -- A new type of marriage, harder to divorce

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

as i understand it, covenant marriages are available in a few states.

they are a supersonic, superfine version of conservative marriage.

it's harder to divorce--it has to be with certain causes or agreement of both spouses.. covenant marriages have been criticized by human rights advocates as a potential tool for abusive spouses to restrict the escape of their victims.. in at least one state, the couple must receive premarital counseling and the signature of the counselor before obtaining a covenant marriage.

LisaRose

. Some statistics I've heard thrown around are something like 50% of marriages ending in divorce, 70% of divorces initiated by women, and the majority of the reasons given by these women are "I'm no longer satisfied with him."

Where are these statistics from? I seriously doubt "I am no longer satisfied with him" is a reason given by many woman at all, much less the majority.

According to top10s, the number one reason for divorce is marital infidelity. Since statistically men cheat on their marriage more than women, I seriously doubt "I am no longer satisfied by him" is in fact a big reason for divorce. Number two is communication breakdowns, number three is abuse, number four is financial issues. In fact "I am no longer satisfied by him" doesn't even make the top ten. I guess you could include it in the number six reason "boredom", but to prove your point you would have to prove that women get bored more often than men.

47

Songs celebrating leaving the faith? Not being a puppet, mind controlled, living life, etc etc

by aley63 in

i am looking for some songs that are in ref to celebrating leaving, seeing the light, realizing what you were told wasnt right, being happy w your life, etc etc.

all those emotions about being controlled and repressed, being told what you can feel or think or how to live, blindly following the "brotherhood ".

LisaRose

Thanks for posting that, I had never seen it before.

28

pissed off my wife today at the assembly..I asked her why the bozo GB member lett has a pinky ring.

by goingthruthemotions in

so at the assembly to day that nitwit lett gave a talk....i noticed right away he had a pinky ring.

i asked my wife what was the purpose of the pinky ring?

and then asked....would jesus wear a pinky?

LisaRose

You are judgemental? That's laughable, what about spanx? Tight Pants tony? They can dish it out but can't take it?

47

Songs celebrating leaving the faith? Not being a puppet, mind controlled, living life, etc etc

by aley63 in

i am looking for some songs that are in ref to celebrating leaving, seeing the light, realizing what you were told wasnt right, being happy w your life, etc etc.

all those emotions about being controlled and repressed, being told what you can feel or think or how to live, blindly following the "brotherhood ".

LisaRose

Good one, village idiot. I was still a JW when that song was popular, it did strike me at the time that I was losing my religion.

8

The GB, Black Magicians?

by What is Truth? in

would you consider the members of the governing body of jw's to be in black magicians in the modern world?

for your consideration their effects in society.. 6.2 black magic spells.

in black magic, the priests cast spells: they recite formulas, conduct rituals, make magic items.

LisaRose

There is no such thing as black magic, you don't need that, just people who know how to manipulate others, just like every cult. I am pretty sure there are in actuality a few people running the show, the rest are idiots who are just as, or even more manipulated than the rank and file. If Lett is anything more than a stooge, he deserves an award for acting.

It may make you feel better to think this is some other worldly machination, but really it is quite easy to fool people who want to be fooled, or who gain something by buying into a concept. People who became JWs were concerned by world events and and/or wanted to think they had special knowledge. Everything in their playbook is cult 101, nothing mysterious, doesn't require anything other than a will to use others for their own ends. Who knows what that end is, but it's likely quite banal, like financial security or a need to control others.

Just a$$holes in the end.

11

Elders, disfellowshipping, & baseball umpires

by sir82 in

ok bear with me for second on this one..... i was just reading the other day about "pitchf/x", a type of technology that can accurately track whether a pitch in baseball is a ball or a strike.. a couple of analysts went over 6 years of baseball data.. it turns out that umpires are wrong about balls & strikes about 14% of the time.

what they call a "ball" is really a "strike" about 13% of the time, and what they call a "strike" is really a "ball" about 15% of the time.

here is the article.. that's at the major league level.. umpires have to work their way up to the major leagues, just as players do.

LisaRose

And the real kicker is that really good people are sometimes not good at saying the right thing, or may be too depressed to be able to say much, while some others are great at lying and acting repentant, so the percentage is probably far worse than that.

That's even supposing they are entitled to judge anyone's else repentance in the first place. The bible just says you shouldn't associate with anyone called a Christian who engages in immoral behavior. It doesn't say it's a formal arrangement, just something you would do if you know yourself that someone is engaging in a long term practice of sin. Nowhere does it say a committee is formed, or three people get to judge you for making a mistake. As Jesus said "let him who is without sin cast the first stone". There is no determining of repentance, repentance is shown by stopping the behavior.

Nothing in the bible indicates that people are disposable, that they can be cut off from family and friends at the whim of a few elders. They don't even give people a chance to repent, but act as judge, jury and executioner. The person then has to live with being shunned for a year or more before they will even be talked too, all the while going to meetings and being humiliated on a weekly basis. Finally they may be allowed in, if they kiss enough butt to "prove" their repentance.

Many can't stomach that level of humiliation and give up, and who could blame them? The worst sin in the bible is stumbling one of your own brothers, so who is really the sinner in this equation?