Open mind

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Posts by Open mind

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  23

  Son to JW school-mate: "Go ahead. Tell the Jewish girl how the Jewish holiday REALLY happened."

  by Open mind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my family (wife and teenage kids) and i awakened to the true nature of the wt society a couple years ago and are fairly well faded now.. .

  my son attends high school with a couple of jws, one of whom is an elder's son and an ardent true believer.

  let's call him "con".

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  Open mind

  My family (wife and teenage kids) and I awakened to the true nature of the WT Society a couple years ago and are fairly well faded now.
  
  My son attends high school with a couple of JWs, one of whom is an elder's son and an ardent true believer. Let's call him "Con". (Short for Condescending.)
  
  So my son and Con have one class together and during some downtime while the teacher was out of the room and the class had time to kill, the topic of Spring/ Easter / Passover came up. So somebody says, "Hey, Yelysaveta (not her real name), you're Jewish right? What's the back story on the Passover?"
  
  So Yelysaveta starts relating a pretty standard version of the Israelites in Egypt and the splashing of the blood on the lentil, yadda yadda. When she's all done Con pipes in with this:
  
  "That's not how it happened!"
  
  My son is biting his tongue, rolling his eyes and screaming to himself: "Right. Go ahead Con. In front of all these people, you, the Jehovah's Witness, tell the Jewish girl all about how the Jewish holiday works."
  
  What struck my son and myself was the total lack of awareness of how arrogant he must have looked. Even if Yelysaveta was wrong, wouldn't it be better to let the person FROM the culture explain it, and then if you've got a problem with it, ask her about it later?
  
  Turns out, Con, the know-it-all JW was confusing the story of Jesus and the apostles celebrating Passover v. 1500 with the first one.
  
  Face palm!
  
  om
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  23

  Had another "Aha!" moment reading last Sunday's WT.

  by Open mind in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  since waking up to "the truth about the truth" several years ago there have been numerous "aha!

  " moments.

  i also think of them as "how could i have been so stupid?

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  Open mind

  Very well said Shawn10538.

  A pretty smart JW once told me that "illustrations don't prove a thing". He would then go on to relate the fantastic "illustration" (that's the only word JWs know for analogy, simile, metaphor, etc.) of how water illustrates the trinity. Three separate phases, vapor, liquid, solid, but still all the same compound. It's a great illustration, but it still doesn't make the trinity true ( or false ).

  Thanks for all the comments so far. I wish I had the time today to do a proper Flipper-style acknowledgement of everyone, but alas, kids, a dog, and a soon-to-arrive-after-working-all-day wife preclude that just now.

  om
• 
  23

  Had another "Aha!" moment reading last Sunday's WT.

  by Open mind in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  since waking up to "the truth about the truth" several years ago there have been numerous "aha!

  " moments.

  i also think of them as "how could i have been so stupid?

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  Open mind

  Still Thinking: "Maybe they are promoting drinking more coffee.......you never know...they might have shares in the company."

  Hey! Maybe the old apostate, Mr. Coffee, standing outside Bethel back in the 80's was right after all!

  om
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  23

  Had another "Aha!" moment reading last Sunday's WT.

  by Open mind in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  since waking up to "the truth about the truth" several years ago there have been numerous "aha!

  " moments.

  i also think of them as "how could i have been so stupid?

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  Open mind

  Since waking up to "the truth about The Truth" several years ago there have been numerous "Aha!" moments. I also think of them as "How could I have been so stupid?" moments.
  
  When I first read that "Babylon the Great" was John's code for the Roman Empire...."Aha!". It fits quite well, IMO.
  
  Anyway, yesterday's WT lesson on "Watchfulness" contained a new "Aha!" for me.
  
  The false comparison between the apostles falling asleep and the need for "watchfulness" in your life in general.
  
  The apostles fell asleep on Jesus last night of freedom here on earth. Big frikkin' whoop. Does the account say they fell asleep because they didn't care? No. People can fall asleep while driving, in combat, etc.... It doesn't make them a bad person.
  
  Does the WT make this direct comparison? Yes. Paragraph 3 says:
  
  "Surely the apostles regretted their failure to keep
  
  on the watch. Those faithful men quickly learned
  
  from their mistake. The Bible book of Acts shows
  
  that they went on to set an outstanding example in
  
  keeping watchful. "
  
  Is the WT saying that they became masters of managing sleep deprivation? I don't think so.
  
  It wasn't a huge "Aha!", but I'm adding it to my list.
  
  Any you'd like to share?
  
  om
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  16

  My Wedding Anniversary

  by TOTH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am happy to announce that today marks 22 years of married bliss to the most beautiful girl on earth.

  my lovely wife was always being harassed by the local overlords for wearing too much makeup, having her hair too wild, and for not being submissive to them.

  when we began dating the overlords pressured me to get her to change.

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  Open mind

  Congratulations! (I think your wife's Jezebel attitude may have rubbed off on mine.)

  I'm glad it did.

  om
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  41

  Tomorrow is a big day for me

  by coffee_black in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i will be 60 tomorrow.

  on the one hand, it's just a number.

  on the other hand, it's a big number.... .

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  Open mind

  I hope I look like you when I reach 60.

  (Of course I'll have to get a sex change, but...)

  Enjoy!!

  om
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  23

  Today he's a man...

  by mrsjones5 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ...well that's what the law says.

  to today is my oldest son's 18th birthday.

  part if me is slightly incredulous cuz it really doesn't seem like 18+ years, they've flown by.

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  Open mind

  Happy B-Day Shawn Jr.!!!

  I hope you don't get too "grown up" to still attend the occasional Lake Tahoe Apostafest.

  All the best to you with your plans.

  om

  p.s. to Mrs. Jones: I always laugh/cringe when I read a newspaper article that says "An 18 year old man....." did this or that. The arbitrary nature of one day being a boy and the next day being a man always seemed pretty unnatural to me. And it is. It's just a legal thing. Keep on being a great mom and the new "man" in the house will turn out fine. Cheers.
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  63

  Prelude to a disfellowshipping

  by rory-ks in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was 25 years a congregation member; ten years an elder; all told, up to 18 years an appointed man; a decade or so as a full-time minister; assembly speaker, with the pinnacle giving the public discourse at a district convention.. .

  i stopped being an active member of the congregation in november 2010, but it had been brewing for several years, with the customary gradual drifting away - all the necessary mental gymnastics as my spiritual views changed and doubts set in; quitting the theocratic ministry school; ceasing to answer; sitting quietly off to the side.

  i think the straw that broke the camels back was when family worship inevitably became family worship.

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  Open mind

  Great first post and welcome to JWN.

  I've really enjoyed some of your blog posts. Your perspectives on "Christianity" are practical and refreshing.

  All the best to you.

  om
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  42

  A “Born ins” challenge to develop a "post cult" personality.

  by stuckinamovement in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a born ins challenge to develop a post cult personality.. mentally leaving the organization can be traumatic for a number of reasons.

  one of the biggest challenges for born-ins in finding their pre cult personality is that our entire personalities are based on the religion.

  there is no such thing as a pre cult personality for us.

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  Open mind

  Great post SIAM.
  
  Since there was no "Pre" Cult personality for us born-ins, it's probably more helpful to think of "Non" Cult personality. That boils down to how much of your life you were able to devote to non-JW activities while still a witness.
  
  My parents were fairly strict in many areas but they did allow for some self-expression and development through playing music, non-school sports activities, a bit of non-District Convention travel and, later on, a smattering of classes at the Community College level.
  
  For that I am grateful that the hole in my soul isn't as great as some posters here.
  
  Thanks again SIAM.
  
  om
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  31

  Talking Points for when Witnesses Come to your Door

  by truth_b_known in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a few weeks back i came home from work and found the latest copies of the watchtower (armageddon fearmongering) and awake!

  (social media site nonsense) lying on the counter.

  it was obvious witnesses had stopped by the house.

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  Open mind

  Question for JWs:

  "I've been told that JWs approve of the irrevocable baptism of children. Is that true?"

  om