Posts by Open mind

12

Who quit going to the meetings, came back later and now regretting it?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

i regret ever coming back to the meetings.

i was baptized when i was 13 years old due to pressure and being told that anyone not baptized would be destroyed when ''the end'' was coming in 1975. i later quit attending and felt a relief when the end didn't come.

the lies,too many meetings,be pounded to preach more and all their rules and regulations finally convinced me that i didn't belong there.. around the early 80's,i started up again.

Open mind

Almost shook myself loose in my twenties. I think the biggest reason I returned to my own vomit was I couldn't bear to break my parents heart.

Coming back was pretty stupid, except for................................I met and married a woman I have truly grown to love more with each passing day. We have a great marriage on (almost) all levels. The "almost" is the spiritual side, of course. Even though she's a loyal dub, she's never been self-righteous and she's pretty liberal as dubs go. She's got an independent streak a mile wide that I love, usually . (Except when I'm not getting my way of course.) Just kidding.

I have great kids who I've tried not to screw up too badly, but time will tell on that front.

And now I get to face the very real possibility that I could have all that yanked away if I don't play my cards exactly right. And, even if I do play them right, that still might not be good enough.

So, just for this thread, I'm renaming myself.

Mixed Emotions

7

Hack Yourself!!

by daystar in

jw
friends

i found this site years ago and while digging around in some old stuff today, rediscovered it - http://www.bloodletters.com/hackyourself.shtml.

just thought someone here may benefit from this.. --------------------------------------------------------.

you can be happy.

Open mind

Thanks Daystar!

I'm downloading this to my Palm Pilot to re-read during this week's Craptower study.

Open Mind

45

..If I went "Back to the Kingdom Hall"..

by OUTLAW in

if i went back to the kingdom hall there would be no windows..lol!

!..and..many doctrines,i could no longer preach.i would be reprimanded,reproved or disfellowshipped for it!..doctrines we were told to preach,straight from god,given to us by the wbt$ are no longer valid.the wbt$ says so.......i left in 1974.i couldn`t preach "armageddon by 1975"..most jehovah`s witness`s will tell you wbt$ never made that prediction.although wbt$ liturature says otherwise....."jehovah`s witness will be the only ones who survive armageddon".now,no one knows....."jehovah`s witness`s can`t take blood transfusions".now they can use blood factions....."religion has no place with worldly organizations".the wbt$ had an assosiation with the united nations-ngo..make a big deal about that and you "will" be disfellowshipped!.....

"the generation of 1914 will not pass away.

Open mind

You... are... $4itting me!!!

Would I shullbit a shullbitter?

I shite you not, Daystar. There was a WT study article about our beloved "Sacred Gatherings" a few months ago. There were a couple paragraphs about large outdoor conventions. It mentioned that we could dress appropriately for the weather while still maintaining our dignity. (You know, like make sure your plastic garbage sack/rain coat doesn't clash with your shoes). It then mentioned something to the effect that even though we're outside, we would still want to refrain from eating during the sessions or chewing gum.

Now, a good responsive sheep would probably run with that reasoning and say that if it's not OK to chew gum outside when we're loosening up a little on clothing selection, then it must be Verboten at ALL meetings. But, clever little $hit stirrers that the Writing Dept are, they didn't come out and actually connect those dots. Sooooooo, we've got some elders still chomping it up like there's no tomorrow and at least one self-righteous dude who needs to get a life who manages to regularly work in "the evils of gum chewing" to his talks.

Now Daystar...........................don't you want to come back? See what you've been missing? Just sit still while I get the scalpel a little closer to your frontal lobe............

Open Mind

38

Hi

by Missanna in

hey i just joined here i have finally got up the courage to start doing research for myself since i've left the "truth" just wanted to introduce myself and say hi.

my name is anna and i got out of the org.

almost a year ago.

Open mind

WELCOME MISSANNA!!!!!

Pull up a chair and sit a spell.

Open Mind

39

Hi Everyone I'm new here

by debilee in

hello everyone, my name is debi.

dfd for 2 weeks.

i don't know if i'll fit in here but i would like to give it a try.

Open mind

WELCOME DEBILEE!!!!!!

I've read all two of your posts and didn't really smell a whole lot of troll bait there, but then I'm still a fairly naive "Junior Member".

Just don't try to sell anything or tell everyone you're right and everyone else is wrong and you'll get along just fine.

Open Mind

45

..If I went "Back to the Kingdom Hall"..

by OUTLAW in

if i went back to the kingdom hall there would be no windows..lol!

!..and..many doctrines,i could no longer preach.i would be reprimanded,reproved or disfellowshipped for it!..doctrines we were told to preach,straight from god,given to us by the wbt$ are no longer valid.the wbt$ says so.......i left in 1974.i couldn`t preach "armageddon by 1975"..most jehovah`s witness`s will tell you wbt$ never made that prediction.although wbt$ liturature says otherwise....."jehovah`s witness will be the only ones who survive armageddon".now,no one knows....."jehovah`s witness`s can`t take blood transfusions".now they can use blood factions....."religion has no place with worldly organizations".the wbt$ had an assosiation with the united nations-ngo..make a big deal about that and you "will" be disfellowshipped!.....

"the generation of 1914 will not pass away.

Open mind

Addressing your OP question:

How many other doctrines,that we were ordered to preach by the WBT$,no longer exsist?...OUTLAW

1. Pinatas were bad. Now generally OK unless you see demons fly out when you whack it.

2. Wind chimes used to keep demons away. (And that....................was a bad thing? WTF?) But now that they don't keep demons away they're..................... good?.........., or at least OK if you really want one.

3. College: I think the GB is playing with a dimmer switch on this particular "light". Not exactly off, on, off again. More of an almost completely dark, then somewhat light, now just kind of a romantic "mood" lighting. Until the 1990s, college was virtual apostasy unless you were lucky enough to have one mean "unbelieving" parent who made you go. (Poor kids ) Then it was almost a green light, and now it's almost back to a red light (but not quite, depending on the local BOE and how thick your skin is).

4. Gum chewing. Used to be pretty much, use your common sense and good manners, assuming you had some. Now it has been specifically forbidden at "large outdoor conventions". (Yes, in writing, in the Watchtower). No specific talmudic rule was laid down about any other "Christian" meeting. (Why, I don't know.) It's been fun watching the local tempest in a teapot over this life-and-death issue that all true Christians must face.

Well, that's all I can think of for now.

Open Mind

36

Help me describe the idealized JW fantasyland

by sir82 in

jw
friends

based on the illustrations in the books & magazines, and the videos produced by the society, describe the world that the gb would like jws to live in.. for example.... -- parties never have more than 15 persons attending.

entertainment consists of one chap playing a guitar while the rest sing kingdom melodies, followed by stimulating conversations of "field service experiences" and "how i came into the truth".

-- children of all ages are perfectly well-behaved for the full 2 hours of a congregation meeting.

Open mind

Sycophantic sheep quickly jump to the subtlest of cues from elders who set a fine example of faith, nosiness & guilt trips.

37

How much JW doctrine is in harmony with the Bible?

by OnTheWayOut in

some have stated that the jw's go too far with their doctrine, but that much of the basic.

beliefs of the religion are correct.

i don't want to debate whether the bible is correct.. i just want opinions on how much of the jw doctrine agrees with the actual teachings of .

Open mind

Zack said:

So if Christ came to restore all things, and the life he PROMISED
was in heaven, where does "living forever on a paradise Earth" fit in? Why not promise life on Earth?

Borg drone answer: "Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth".

There it is. Don't you see it? Here, let me show you a comic book picture of vegetarian lions hanging out at an inter-racial picnic to prove my point.

Terry:

The dictionary is a delayed reaction; lurching forward into present use and falling behind, then; catching up again.

I like that. Gonna try to remember it. I brought out on another post how most people nowadays think of the word "cult" in a negative sense. But Webster's first two or three definitions haven't "lurched forward" yet. It still pretty much just means "religion" according to Webster's. I'm sure that will change with the next edition.

Open Mind

11