I am so sorry for your loss.
Lisa 🌹
thank you all for your sincere encouragement during these last few weeks.
finally, she is at peace.
i was with her , holding her hand when she died.
I am so sorry for your loss.
Lisa 🌹
i joined this wonderful site, only a few weeks ago, although i have been away from the borg, for almost 20 years.
i didnt introduce myself, on a personal level, but i jumped right in, commenting, making threads, and just immersing myself in this community.
what a time, indeed, to be here, its almost as if i was "called" here, because the week i lurked, and joined, was when all this recent stuff came out.
Belated welcome and thanks for sharing your story. You were treated very horribly by those elders, they were totally in the wrong. What is incredible is that had you been an elder and it was found out by the elder body that you had done something similar, you would have been allowed to continue as an elder with no one in the congregation the wiser. They reason that the fact an elder wasn't found out for a number of years and he continued his elder duties was proof God had forgiven him and he was repentant. Total double standard. By all biblical rules you showed repentance by changing your conduct.
But no matter, their harsh, unloving and unchristian attitude woke you up, so it was all for the best. The Watchtower is its own worst enemy, they are diving people away and hooray for that.
Lisa 🌹
being ever ready to note information that demonstrates christian idiocy in general and jw idiocy in particular, i was interested in news of this particular research that has been doing the rounds of science oriented news sources this week.. christianity in general and jwism in particular, have viciously persecuted same sex attracted people, thus demonstrating their peculiar hypocrisy.
most christians (the jw brand and other brands) squeal like a speared pig when they suffer any treatment that they call persecution, but are always willing to persecute same sex attracted people (and anyone else that stands outside their narrow-minded vision of the world).. most same sex attracted people will testify that their romantic attraction to the same sex was not a clear cut choice, but was something they grew up with.
(gay by nature).
This is very interesting. It's amazing they can predict with that much accuracy based on only one study, genetics is so fascinating. I wonder if further studies will allow them to get even more accurate or if there will always be some unknown factor that affects the outcome.
So much for the idea that homosexuality is some kind of choice. Of course most gay people did not need a study to know that, but it's nice to have proof.
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?.
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.
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.
. 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.
when i first learn ttatt i started telling every one.
ttatt will not help him, it will destroy him.
all his family are jws.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.