LisaRose

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Posts by LisaRose

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  49

  How do you categorise the Society - Cult or High control religion

  by UnshackleTheChains in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have often seen many categorise the organisation in different ways.

  some say cult, some say high control religion.

  cult or high control religion?.

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  LisaRose

  If it walks like a duck.......

  CULT
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  123

  Why do some Jehovah's Witnesses choose to be atheist or agnostic?

  by Cassaruby in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .

  .. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .

  from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.

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  LisaRose

  Finding out that everything I believed as a Jehovah's Witness was a lie started a process of questioning that inevitability led to my becoming an atheist. I had accepted so many things that turned out not to be true that it made me question everything. It was not immediate, it was probably five years from when I left the religion that I realized I no longer believed in God. I did not come to this realization lightly, I actually wanted to still believe in God. But things arent true just because you want them to be, and I couldn't fool myself. I had worked to hard to rid myself of one flawed belief system to blindly still believe in another. I realized that I had believed in God because from a very early age I had been told he existed, that is all. Just as people born in Muslim countries believe in Allah, I believed in Jehovah because I was born in a Christian country. I found, when I looked at it objectively, that I could no longer see any evidence of God's existence. It's like you have seen the man behind the curtain and you cannot just unsee him and pretend everything is normal, it just doesn't work like that.

  It's like if someone came up to you and told you about the wonders of Pink Unicorn, how happy it makes them, how they have such a great relationship with Pink Unicorn.But.....they have never actually seen Pink Uniicorn, they feel him in their heart and Oh My! if you just believe, you will feel him too. I had seen the error of accepting something simply because others were convinced, I just couldn't go there again.

  I've heard many times from believers that Atheists just do not believe in God because they want to do bad, or they want to be selfish. I can tell you that is is a common misconception. I am more moral now than when I was a JW, because I don't make the mistake of substituting someone else's idea of morality for my own.
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  65

  Short stay

  by midnight in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  after much research and prayer i am returning to being a jehovah's witness i can find nothing that eliminates them from being god's directed people , in the end they will reach the end of there journey despite mistakes and errors just like the israelites entered the promised land , thanks for your input and all the best on your personal journey ☺.

  midnight..

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  LisaRose

  Well thanks for your kind replies and advice , the little voice has started already 😟 I just find it odd how it's wrong to ask certain questions at the kingdom hall and certain topics are taboo this raises my suspicion once again .

  Yes, it's a huge red flag when you are not allowed to ask questions. Think about it, if what Jehovah's Witnesses believe is "The Truth", what are they so afraid of?Truth, real truth, stands up to challenge, it is only lies that are exposed by scrutiny.

  I was shocked when I left the religion and found out how much I had been told was exaggerations, half truths and outright lies. In particular the chronology, the 607 date for the fall of Jerusalem. No reputable bible scholar believes Jerusalem fell in 607, yet it's the basis for much of their teachings, that the last days started in 1914, and that the end must be close because of that. I had also been led to believe that because of this chronology Charles Taze Russel predicted the last days would start in 1914, that this proved he was being directed by God. The truth is that he thought he already was in the last days, and the end would be in 1914, that Jesus would return then. It was only later, when the world didn't end that they came up with the notion of an "invisible return" by Christ.

  Don't stop asking questions.
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  130

  Not a sympathizer

  by Richard Oliver in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i think everyone here is under the impression that i am a watchtower sympathizer, i am not.

  i just like facts and when people say things, which are their opinions but that facts point out as not being true, than that is when i get so motivated to make a comment.

  i have read posts here, listened to six screens and read jwsurvey and seen things that people say, which are opinion, but pass them off as fact.. there are legitimate things that people on here and former jws have concerns over without manipulating what is said or trying to pass off opinion as a fact.

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  LisaRose

  I agree that some in the ex JW community are too ready to believe negative things about the Watchtower. Is that so surprising? We are a group of people who have been hurt by an organization, it's very easy to fall into the trap of confirmation bias. Of course Jehovah's Witnesses are generally guiltly of believing negative but untrue things about people of other religions. It's common human behavior.

  Should we be more careful about believing every crazy thing we read about the Watchtower? Sure. But I have seen many times where people came here and posted negative things about the organization where people did question it and rightly so. It's a tough crowd, they do challenge things.

  As far as the organization being high control, I have to say I believe that to be true, in fact I believe they are the other "C" word, cult. I was a JW for thirty years, and of course during that time I didn't think I was in a cult, but then who in a cult believes they are in a cult? No one, it's the nature of the beast. I have now been out for seventeen years. I have learned so much in that time, read some of the books by Steve Hassan, read a lot of stories here. One of my favorite sources is howcultswork.com. Though not a definitive source, it presents the information in a succinct format. So many things they talk about apply to the religion, time control, relationship control, reporting structure, exclusivism, etc. I know many JWs and even ex JWs don't want to think they are or were in a cult, it's a hard things to admit, because it make us feel stupid, that we were so bamboozled. It was hard for me, but I had to admit it was true. But a thing isn't untrue because it's hard to accept, anymore than every bad thing about the Watchtower are true just because we don't like them.

  Your might want to stick around and tell us when we are believing rubbish, maybe you can help us be better. Then again, maybe you can learn something yourself.

  Lisa 🌹
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  23

  Marking Talks are back!?!?! - New Name!

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  when i was younger i used to hear about "marking talks" given in the past.

  i believe they stopped in the 80's or 90's.

  basically, if someone wasn't baptized or doing something unrepentant, they would get a "marking talk" and be treated the same as a df person.

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  LisaRose

  Where in the bible does is say the elders should publicly humiliate someone who is doing something they don't like?
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  14

  How to believe you deserve to relax

  by rebel8 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was brainwashed to believe you generally shouldn't relax much.. demons can enter you if you meditate or even relax your brain too much for one second.

  always be on guard.. scriptures criticizing laziness were repeated often.

  https://www.openbible.info/topics/laziness "be kind to yourself" and all that.. you need to strenuously exert yourself for jehoopla and you're worthless if you don't.. most forms of fun were extinguished.

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  LisaRose

  Yes. Watchtower induced guilt over enjoying normal things is hard to overcome. I think I would be a little bit that way anyway, the cult just made me worse. I struggle with health issues that are the inevitable result of years of stress. My brain just never shuts down.

  I practice meditation and find that it helps me a lot, along with regular exercise.
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  52

  You wake up one morning and see

  by A Believer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the un has banned religion.

  what are you're thoughts?.

  also changes to it seem to be on the way.... http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/trump-vows-israel-vote-161224040133216.html.

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  LisaRose

  It makes me embarrassed that I ever believed the UN was going to ban religion, I don't think it can or will happen.
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  18

  Thread Post View Is Stuck At 10 & Can't Be Changed!

  by Divergent in

  1. forum
  2. tech-support

  i browse this site on mobile and noticed that the thread post view is now stuck at 10. previously, i could set it at 20 and it stays that way, but now if i set it at 20, it goes back to 10 again the moment i click on another topic.

  i hope that you can look into this as it is extremely irritating for me to keep having to change it.

  i want to view as many posts as possible in one page!

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  LisaRose

  I have the same problem on my Kindle. I can reset from 10 to 20, but it goes back to ten every time, it's very annoying.
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  57

  Jehovah's Witness / ex-JW Suicide Rate?

  by Simon in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  it's no secret that both remaining a jw or leaving the wts can take a toll on mental health.

  some will suffer from depression and ultimately some will have thoughts of suicide and a few will succumb to those.. but i don't recall ever seeing any hard stats or studies on it though.

  i'm sure we all know of some people who have committed suicide but i don't know if, because you may have loose association with a much larger pool of people through the religion, that this only seems higher or maybe not be actually higher than the general population.. what i mean is, you go to a kh here there maybe 100-150 people, you attend circuit and district conventions with many tens of thousands - if any one person commits suicide then you likely hear about it and it becomes part of the anecdotal 'evidence' that is then put forward as a fact that there is a higher rate ... but is there?.

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  LisaRose

  I think it's impossible to know if the suicide rate is higher among Jehovah's Witnesses. I personally knew of quite a few, more than six, including a family member who attempted, which seems high, but anecdotal accounts don't equal actual statistics, as we all know.

  The things they do that might tend to contribute to a higher suicide rate

  • All or nothing, black or white thinking, you are either "whole souled" for Jehovah or bird food at Armageddon.
  • Disfellowshipping policies that cut people off from family and friends
  • Distrust of psychological counseling
  • Policy of discouraging higher education and the cascading effect of lack of job opportunities, less access to health care and stress due to lower incomes.

  Things which might mitigate the above:

  • Social support as long as you are not disfellowshiped.
  • Psychological boost because of believing you have all the answers and won't be affected by the world's problems.
  • Belief that suicide is a sin and will prevent you from a resurrection.

  It's hard for me to see how they couldn't have a higher than average suicide rate, but I can't really say I'm impartial on the topic.
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  41

  Can Trump Be Forced To Take A Psychological Exam To Prove His Mental Fitness (Narcissistic Pernsonality Disorder) A Mater Of National Secrui

  by Brokeback Watchtower in

  1. social
  2. current

  i'm think with the president having the ability to use nuclear weapons the need for a psychological exam should be a must for world safety because of the very real damage an easily offended narcissist could do if in a narcissistic rage he had access to nuclear weapons.

  since he has clearly shown he has all 100% of the signs that he is one,, surely he can be impeached over this even in conservative run house and senate.

  i think the united states owes the world that precaution to not let a mad man have access to nuclear weapons.

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  LisaRose

  I find it incredible that such a shallow, deeply flawed person person was able to get elected. I loathe this man on a deep, visceral level, he is everything I despise. He lacks critical thinking skills and makes decisions based on emotions. He lies constantly and takes responsibility for nothing. The thought of such a thin skinned, self absorbed, dishonest and stupid narcissist having the nuclear codes scares me to death. It's like a horrible nightmare that just doesn't end.

  I finally had to just disengage and not think about it much anymore. I am watching less news reports these days. I was a news junkie but everything I read just made me more depressed. Hopefully more rational people will keep him from doing too much harm, but in any case there is nothing much I can do about it, so there is little point in worrying about it.

  What little I can do to stop this man I will do. My husband and I decided to start contributing a monthly amount to organizations that will hopefully be able to mitigate some of the damage we see coming. When and if Trump and Congress start implementing their ideas I will attend protests, depending on the issue.

  Because Trump doesnt believe in climate change we are donating to the Sierra Club. The science for Global climate change is solid. The oceans are going to rise, but by how much will be determined by what we do now.

  Because Trump is anti abortion and will do away with ACA, we will donnate to Planned Parenthood. It's just incredible to me that right wingers think a fertilized egg, with no consciousness, is so precious it must be saved at all costs, but are willing to let living, breathing people die due to lack of health care. Hypocrisy at its finest.

  Because Trump hates the media and loves to spread lies and disinformation we are donating to Public Radio, and we also subscribe to the Washington Post. A free press is more important than ever. The Post has done many good articles on Trump, especially the one they did on Trumps charitable giving, or rather his lack of charitable giving, despite his bragging otherwise.

  We are still considering several other organizations, but it's a start. Once taxes start getting cut we plan to increase our monthly allotment for charity .