LisaRose

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Posts by LisaRose

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  24

  Why JWs record and report time?

  by ThinkerBelle in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  okay, so yes, i'm a born-in, but this point has always baffled me (and i guess i never bothered to research or ask).

  what is the purpose of counting time in service?

  when was it started and why?

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  LisaRose

  Two reasons: Bragging and control. The Watchtower likes to brag about how many hours are reported worldwide, they feel the preaching sets them apart and proves they are doing God's will. Not mentioned is the fact that the hours are greatly inflated and mostly spent in time filling activities (driving around, donut breaks). For all the millions of hours reported, most people could not tell you what message they are supposedly preaching about, and that is only in areas where they do preach. Most people in China and Islamic countries have probably never even heard of JWs. As a control it's useful to the elders to know who are active and who may be straying from the fold.

  All this is in contradiction to the scripture that says to not practice your righteousness in front of men, and to not be bragging. And having the elders bug you about your service report is not good shepherding and is not loving or kind. The bible don't mention a specific time requirement, does not mention field service reports, or pioneering. It doesn't classify people as active or inactive or irregular.
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  212

  Why Do You No Longer Believe in God?

  by Tenacious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know this question has popped up from time to time but i really would like to know how you guys, those that no longer believe, came to that conclusion?

  was it the wts and all its crap?

  was it something you read?

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  LisaRose

  I stopped believing because I simply saw no evidence that he or she exists. If I had not been raised with a belief in a creator and been told that he existed as an adult I would have not been convinced by the evidence at all. Even if the God of the bible did exist, he hasn't communicated with mankind in thousands of years, and the book he supposedly had written about himself is a contradictory mess that describes a jealous, petty tyrant, so why would I worship him if he did exist?

  The evidence we evolved is overwhelming, our history is written in our DNA, so that explains how humans came to be, and that is a lot more believable that the genesis account, which couldn't have happened the way the bible said it did. A literal, earth wide flood? There are so many logical inconsistencies to that it doesn't merit discussion. We don't know (yet) how life started (abiogenesis), but I have full confidence it will be discovered and explained by science, whereas no one can explain how God came to be.

  I used to wish I could believe in God, but I can no more believe in him than I can believe in the tooth fairy, as both seem equally unlikely to me. I have made my peace with that, feel happy and content in my life and optimistic about the future.
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  27

  Hey everybody! Just droppin' in :)

  by macys in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it feels so good to be free from the jdub cult!

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  LisaRose

  Welcome to the forum. Good for you for getting a full scholarship and getting an education. I am sad when I see young people throwing away their educational opportunities because of a pack of lies. The Awake said when I was young that people my age would never have time for a career in this system of things. I am almost retirement age, so they were so wrong, but they still tell young people the same thing.

  Lisa 🌹
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  23

  Confronting Parents About 607 vs 587

  by breezy in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  just thought i would update you guys since my 1st post last week.i haven't been to the meeting for about 2 weeks now, and maybe have like 1 or 2 hours of service combined within the past 2-3 months.

  i obviously get the love bombing from relatives when they don't see you at the hall for a while.

  " we missed you at the meeting last week.

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  LisaRose

  Your parents cannot accept that they bet on the wrong horse so it doesn't matter what the facts are. Due to cognitive dissonance, they will automatically reject any information that conflicts with their belief system.

  It's so ridiculous because they go door to door telling people to get out of false religion, but they never question their own beliefs. The bible says to "keep testing as to whether these things are so", but anybody that asks questions is vilified. If what they have is "the truth", it should be easily proved, lies should be easily disproved, so why are they so afraid of "apostate lies"?

  This is why they demonize so called apostates (a word not even in the bible). They are afraid because they know they are wrong. If their arguments for 607 were sound, they could easily publish a book or pamphlet refuting the 587 date reasoning, laying it all out so that anyone could understand it, but they don't because they cannot defend the 607 date.
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  39

  Awww....animals raising babies of another species...everlasting thread!

  by rebel8 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ever since i saw a video of a crow feeding and nurturing a feral kitten, i've been fascinated by stories of animals who raise babies of another type of animal.

  so here begins my official repository of these stories!

  feel free to add any others you know of--humans raising house pets doesn't count!.

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  LisaRose

  My dog was super protective of my grandson. She would sit next to him and start whining if he made a peep. He somehow managed to get up on the table as a toddler while we were in the next room, she came to us and started frantically barking, it was clear she wanted us to do something. I moved to another state and she didn't see him for two years, when they came for a visit I thought she would die from happiness. She was an older, big, very sedate dog, but she was bounding around the house like a puppy. I still miss that mutt.
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  38

  My First Birthday.....

  by The Marvster in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i awoken today and realised immidiately i'm 44 today... and after 3 years of being out, decided to acknowledge my birthday.... i'm off out to treat myself to a big hearty breakfast with cup of tea in the local weatherspoon's by the massive pond full of weird bird-life, later today i'm giving myself a gift of a 90 minute relaxation session in a float tank down by canary wharf in london.... only really have 2 close friends (it's a slow process trusting people agian) and they probably won't be able to see me today, but i'm sure i'll have a belated surprise from them both.... the first thing i did when i remembered was to rush to the computer, connect to the web and put on stevie wonder's 'happy birthday', as i listen to it, tears stream down my face... all those years of my life stolen ' but..... i'm free....'.

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  LisaRose

  Happy Birthday!! Have a really good one, celebrate your freedom.

  This week I was out with some friends, a guy came over and said his friend was having a birthday and he wanted us to sing happy birthday. We said sure, we could do that. Then he told us we had to do a Stevie wonder, soulful birthday song, he even made us practice a bit to be sure we got it right. Then everyone in the bar sang happy birthday, Stevie Wonder style to a random stranger, it was fun. .

  So happy🎶 happy 🎵 birthday (snap fingers), happy 🎶 happy 🎵birthday, happy🎶 happy 🎵 birthday to you
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  19

  Stephen Lett spouting stupidity

  by Watchtower-Free in

  1. social
  2. humour

  short cliphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faru4hjj7rc

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  LisaRose

  Rubber face is a few french fries short of a happy meal, a few sandwiches short of a picnic, a few peas short of a casserole and dumber than a box of rocks.
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  32

  Yearbook - will they drop figures that show a decline?

  by freddo in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  do you think the yearbooks will stop showing negative information as the numbers stagnate or even drop?

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  LisaRose

  I agree with OTWO, they will spin it to give the impression that it means the end is near.

  I am reading a book about cognitive dissonance. They have found that the more people have invested their time/money/emotions into a cause the less likely they are to be discouraged by negative information about that cause, in fact it is the reverse, they often become even more convinced.

  They gave an example of a woman who predicted the world's end on a particular date. The most faithful went to her house to wait for the end with her. When the world did not end she had a new revelation that their faithfulness caused God to delay the end. Those who waited in their own home eventually drifted away from the group. The most faithful, those who waited with her became even more devoted followers.

  Sound familiar? Just like the bible students who believed Christ would return in 1914. When that didnt happen, instead of admitting they backed the wrong cause, many readily accepted the ridiculous "invisible return" explanation. It's just human nature to believe what makes us feel most comfortable, nobody wants to think they were wrong. It happens with cops when they zero in on the wrong suspect. They tend to ignore evidence that exonerated the suspect, sometimes even DNA evidence.

  That's why falling numbers will not be a problem for the Watchtower, increases prove God is with them, decreases prove the end is near.
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  31

  The fade did not work

  by BeautifulMind in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  not long after learning ttatt, my hubby and i decided it would be best for us to fade.

  his entire family is in, but not in the same cong.

  we made it to the region convention and one sunday meeting after that.

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  LisaRose

  I have been thinking about this (to fade or not to fade) lately. I think what happens is that, assuming you were a fully believing JW at some point, to understand and believe tatt you must have already made some changes that set you apart from the average JW. It may be subtle at first, little things that happen that make you think differently or open your eyes. Then you learn tatt and that changes you even more, to the point that you are now somewhat of a different person. The person you are now cannot easily sit and listen to what you know is not only false, but designed to keep you enslaved to an organization.

  Some people can stay and pretend at this point, but I don't think it's possible for many. You have evolved, those still in did not, and you will continue to evolve, making it harder and harder to fit in. You are a square peg that no longer fits into that round hole. I understand why some might stay for family reasons, but I don't think they truly get what that decision is going to do to them psychologically in the long run. Of course leaving can be extremely difficult as well, but it does allow you to live your life with integrity, and to continue to grow and evolve as a person.

  This is just the beginning, so welcome to the rest of your life!

  
  
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  9

  Enjoying autumn

  by kaik in

  1. social
  2. family

  for some reason, i love autumn .

  i always did as kid.

  warm days, and cool nights, changing leaves, sunny days of the indian summer or eastern european equivalent called "grandma summer".

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  LisaRose

  It's been a beautiful fall where I live, the weather has been perfect. People think we don't have seasons in California, but we do, the days are shorter, the leaves turn color, it's a bit nippy in the morning. After a warmly than usually summer it's nice to have cooler weather, it just about perfect right now.

  Halloween is huge in my neighborhood. It has gotten a reputation as the best place to trick or trick, people come here from all over, we got 600 trick or treaters last year, we will spend $60 on candy alone and will probably still run out. We decided to just go with it, so we decorate and wear costumes, last year we did steam punk, this year my husband and I are going to be minions. We just sit our porch and hand out candy all evening, it's so much fun seeing the kids in their costumes.

  My husband used to wear a costume I originally made for myself, an over the top flower fairy outfit. After several years of use we retired it, as it was getting worn out and a bit small for both of us, but we have gotten so many requests for it I think I will have to recreate it for next year. It had a huge pink tulle skirt with silk roses inside, a huge floral head piece, a bodice covered in rose with a giant rose in the front, and of course wings. I called it the over fifty fat and flirty flower fairy and it was funny on me, but with my husband's hairy chest and beard and white running shoes it really made people laugh. He even wore it at work, and he works for a very conservative government organization whose name I can't mention. I didn't think he would actually have the guts to do it, but he did and won first place too, beating out Elvis and wonder woman.