Posts by LisaRose

22

Pagan Origins

by Illuminated in

why are jw's not allowed to do certain things because they have "pagan origins", yet the very same roof over their head and the the food they place into their mouth is purchased through money with pagan origins on it?

pagan symbolism is all over money.

so if the wt leaders are so against paganism, why are they insisting "jehovah's" earthly organization needs pagan money to sustain itself, yet disfellowshipping members if they cross the line into paganism?.

LisaRose

I'm not defending the WTS, far, far from it, but there are just some things that cannot be avoided like money without causing a significant hardship.

So, the Watchtower chooses to allow some things with pagan origins, but condemns other things, completely based on convenience. What is the justification for that? Why do they get to make those distinctions, but not others? It's completely arbitrary and they know it, but they still condemn all other religions for drawing the line in a different place.

I am not saying they are wrong for using money, I am saying they are being ridiculous for making any of these things an issue, and hypocritical for pretending they are being so pure, when the ignore the origins of a practice when it suits them.

32

Bethel Status Update - Insider Information

by thedepressedsoul in

i have some updates and new information on the downsizing in bethel.

25% of all bethelites around the world will be sent home.

in the us over 1,000 will be sent home.

LisaRose

. I was told it was at a rate of 2 per day just in the US. They are all being told they will be "reassigned" into the preaching work.

"reassigned" = kicked out with nothing. Unless their living expenses are still being covered and they are sent to a certain area, they are not being reassigned, they are being laid off with no severance and no unemployment benefits.

That is their reward for years of volunteer slavery.

44

Who Qualifies for TTATT?

by John Aquila in

when i first learn ttatt i started telling every one.

ttatt will not help him, it will destroy him.

all his family are jws.

LisaRose

I don't think it's a matter of who qualifies to learn tatt, but who is capable of learning it. If a person is not ready to admit they are possibly in the wrong religion, then nothing you say is going to convince them.

You can only try and hope for the best.

44

One of my JW friends posted this on Facebook. Totally cringeworthy!

by Divergent in

jw
friends

.

LisaRose

Is it a need to be associated with something because it provides some benefits that meet their needs even though there are negative consequences?

I think it's a need to believe they made the right choice. The more they gave up and sacrificed for that choice, the greater the need to believe they were right to have done so.

23

vent: Got into it this morning with my wife agian. younger son wants to go to a B-day, i said he could...she turned cult.

by goingthruthemotions in

yep, he told her that he wants to go a friends b-day...keep in mind it's not until december.

well anyway i told her i didn't mind if he did and i would take him.

yep, enter cult mode.....i hate this freaking cult.

LisaRose

You need to point out to your wife that putting guilt trips onto a child is very detrimental to him. You have a right to equal say in deciding what is best when it comes to your child, she needs to show some respect for your choices. How would she like it if you tried to make him feel guilty for going to the meetings?

The self righteousness of the average JW blinds them to rationality.

44

One of my JW friends posted this on Facebook. Totally cringeworthy!

by Divergent in

jw
friends

.

LisaRose

I am currently reading a book that was recommend by another poster about cognitive dissonance and why people defend bad choices called 'Mistakes were made(but not by me)'.

It explains why people only believe information that validates their choice, discounting information that does not. Not surprising, but what is interesting is the more people have invested in a decision, the more they think they were right and the less likely they were to believe they made a mistake, regardless of whether it actually was a good decision or not.

They gave the example of a doomsday cult, whose leader predicted the end of the world on a specific night. The leader believed she would be lifted into outer space along with her followers. Some waited with her at her home, some stayed at home to wait the end.

Many of her followers quit their jobs, gave away their homes, and dispersed their savings, waiting for the end. Who needs money in outer space? Others waited in fear or resignation in their homes. (Mrs. Keech’s own husband, a nonbeliever, went to bed early and slept soundly through the night as his wife and her followers prayed in the living room.) Festinger made his own prediction: The believers who had not made a strong commitment to the prophecy—who awaited the end of the world by themselves at home, hoping they weren’t going to die at midnight—would quietly lose their faith in Mrs. Keech. But those who had given away their possessions and were waiting with the others for the spaceship would increase their belief in her mystical abilities. In fact, they would now do everything they could to get others to join them.

That is exactly what happened. Despite the fact that the leader was completely wrong, her most ardent followers became even more dedicated to her. Big surprise, she suddenly had a new vision. The faith of the little group had spared the world from destruction. They became even more convinced of their belief and began proselytizing. Sound familiar? The Watchtower was wrong about 1914, but they simply came up with a new theory that the return of jesus was invisible and people believed, because they needed to believe. An impartial observer would see it for what it was, an excuse for failure, but they were not impartial, they needed it to be true.

44

One of my JW friends posted this on Facebook. Totally cringeworthy!

by Divergent in

jw
friends

.

LisaRose

The person they are really trying so hard to convince is themselves. If they were truly happy/fulfilled/excited about being a Jehovah's Witness, would they really need to go on about it like that? Truly happy people are not bothered by the possibility that some people might not agree with their life choices.

25

We're not trying to convert you

by jws in

jw
friends

recently i saw a link to an article from the st. petersburg times (one of these links on the side of this forum to sometimes old articles).

it was an article about jws and their preaching work.

imo, middle to favorable.. but the one thing was from a door where the jws are saying they're not here to convert anyone, they just want to share a scripture.. what sort of bs is this?

LisaRose

No, we are not trying to convert you.

No, we are not a cult.

We abhor child abuse and do not tolerate it in our organization.

We believe in families, following bible principles as one of Jehovah's witnesses will ensure a happy family life. It's not our fault if you cannot talk to your husband, wife, child, mother, father, etc., you should have stopped them from leaving.

This system of things can't last much longer, becoming a Jehovah's witness is the only way to ensure your survival at Armageddon.

Prayer, meeting attendance, field service, bible study and obedience are all you need to be happy, if you are not happy you need to work harder at those things.

We only disfellowship unrepentant sinners. It is, of course, a sin to not believe in god's appointed faithful slave, which we appointed ourselves to be. So, if you doubt us, that is unrepentant sin.

We do not tell others to refuse blood transfusions, they just decided that based on their own bible based conscience.

No, we never predicted the world would end in 1897, 1914, 1925, 1975. Some mysterious, unnamed people just imagined that, WE never said that. So believe us when we say it will be very, very, very soon.

A generation is a lifetime. Well, two lifetimes, if subject a knew subject b who lived earlier, or if their lives overlapped,. Actually, it could overlap by three generations, you never know. But definitely in OUR Lifetime. Maybe.

The lies just get deeper the further you wade it. Best wear hip boots.

81

The Old Age

by Caupon in

jw
friends

so now that most of us have come to a semi truthful understanding that the witnesses are wrong about evolutionist, there is a certain question that i have always had.

now if you were to ask any jw, they'd recite a complete fallacy from scientist regarding this.

but what is you guys input of this.

LisaRose

There is a huge difference between science and religious belief. Science is tested, retested, challenged and must be proven. Although new things are discovered every day, it is a refinement of knowledge, not a reversal of previous knowledge. All though mistakes may be made, they are small and soon challenged and discarded through scientific method.

Most scientific dating methods are confirmed and reconfirmed. Often more than one dating methid is used, the results are remarkedly consistent across different dating methods. To the person not trained in scientific method, it might seem that there is an equal amount of belief required to put your faith in it, but that is not the case

If religion were the only source of knowledge, we would still believe the sun revolved around the earth.

43

Witnesses - Ever Wondered Why You're So Tired After Assemblies/Meetings?

by The Searcher in

recently shared this with me.. they compared the tiredness they felt after attending an assembly and meetings, and noted how much worse it was than actually working and studying hard for hours for their secular employment!

why were they so exhausted after an assembly/meeting?

no, it wasn't satan.

LisaRose

Yeah, such a snore fest, I hated them. All that time, energy and money to hear the same old thing we heard at the Kingdom Hall, just more of it. The last few years I couldn't make myself go.