Posts by Open mind

11

Love, Watchtower Style (redux)

by Farkel in

"right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love.

but the greatest of these is love.

" - 1 corinthians 13:13.

Open mind

Good point Farkel.

As a practical matter, whenever a JW quotes anything more than 20 years old, it had better "sound right" to most JWs hearing it or they will ASSUME that it's old light, even though as your post makes clear, it's still current light.

As for the 7,000 year Creative Day doctrine, I figured they were hoping it would just slip into oblivion and JWs would forget about it, but guess what? They sort of resurrected it at this year's Annual Meeting. They mentioned that Jehovah is still in his 7,000 year "day of rest". Idiots. Although, that was just one speaker and he might have been speaking off the cuff much to the chagrin of the Writing Dept.

om

11

Love, Watchtower Style (redux)

by Farkel in

"right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love.

but the greatest of these is love.

" - 1 corinthians 13:13.

Open mind

Many JWs would write off much of that as really old "light", but I noticed one of the quotes was from a 1993 Watchtower:

they "feel a loathing" toward those who have made themselves God’s enemies,

That's fairly fresh light.

Thanks Farkel for a very revealing reminder of just how intolerant JWs core beliefs really are. You won't see that kind of stuff in a 21st century Awake! though. It's become much more PC "sounding" on the surface.

om

39

How to politely refuse a last chance meeting with the elders?

by bottleofwater in

the elders are giving me a chance to meet up with them a last time in order to try to prevent a disfellowshipping.

one of the elders will call me in two days to see what i think because i told him that i don't want to be in the religion anymore.

how can i politely and painlessly refuse?

Open mind

You've got to sign in with a YouTube account for this vid, but it might send the message quite well.

http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DCAV0XrbEwNc

om

35

Did you ever do something for this religion that now makes you shudder ?

by man in black in

jw
friends

back in the early 80's right after i was married the main driving point i kept hearing at the meetings was "do more,,, pioneer ".. well being the young impressionable jw couple that we were, .

my wife is a speech therapist, so working pt was no problem, but i ended up working construction, cleaning carpets, and shoveling snow at all hours with the brothers, and i worked like a d*** fool at all hours.. funny how there was so much support for me to work with the witnesses, but once the decision was made work could be very iffy at times.. and the main thing that just causes me to cringe now is how so many of the witnesses in charge of the congregation thought that we did not need insurance, my wife had a policy with her school district, but my son and i did not.

granted medical expenses were not as bad then, but just the idea of thinking that we did not need it that god would watch over us just embarasses me to no end now.

Open mind

Same as zoiks.

Only it was my brother I shunned.

And it was for TWO decades.

Then I gave a talk reinforcing the shunning policy. Many JWs told me what a great job I did on the talk.

That was what it took for my eyes to begin to open.

Shudder doesn't begin to describe how screwed up I felt.

It's a lot better now, FWIW.

om

52

...Stuff that Actually Works...

by OUTLAW in

jw
friends

do ever see something on tv buy it and it`s crap?...

this isn`t a thread about that..lol!

!..this is a thead about stuff that actually works... i was in the fitness industry for years..i saw gimmicks come and go..i tried everything... it was at my finger tips,so why not?...

Open mind

Years ago one of my kids was literally rolling around in very oily poison oak for about half an hour before we noticed what those bushes were.

We had him in a bathtub with this stuff within an hour and he didn't have the slightest reaction even though he's normally pretty sensitive to poison oak if untreated.

http://www.teclabsinc.com/products.cfm?id=1F5604C8-9D05-4675-56129F6D83DF2417

If over 6-8 hours have gone by though, you're pretty much toast.

om

19

Makes No Sense

by Farkel in

jw
friends

dub: "we're offering this here book that explains the truths of the bible.".

householder: "i already have that book.".

dub: "did you read it?".

Open mind

Great post Farkel!

I wish you could go to Bethel as a temp worker just for a couple days.

I'd love to video you at the Morning Worship breakfast table.

Unfortunately, I doubt that you'd last more than a couple minutes before the Bethel Thought Police kicked you to the curb.

"Lovingly" of course.

om

19

This Week's # 2

by FrankWTower in

i've been noticing for a while now how the watchtower sometimes seems to change the meanings of words in the english language in order to not label jw's as anything that has anything to do with the rest of the world.. for example, this week's number 2 part in the theocratic ministry school dealt with: are jehovah's witnesses a sect?.

when i look to dictionaries for the definition of this word they all have similar meanings, albeit with different wording.

a group of people forming a distinct unit within a larger group by virtue of certain refinements or distinctions of belief or practice.

Open mind

WELCOME TO BOARD FWT!!

om

26

Children have basic human rights, why does the US ignore this right in regards to JW's Blood Doctrine?

by sabastious in

i can't physically or sexually abuse my child, at least legally.. why?.

because my country, and others alike, have adopted a code of ethics surrounding children.. ...they have basic human rights.... these rights transcend the family unit and it's jurisdiction.. that being said, how do jws hide behind "freedom of religion" when sentencing their children to suicide?.

why can't i start a religion that says it's ok to murder people?

Open mind

I can personally attest to this happening to a relative of mine when they were a toddler. Toddler needed a transfusion, JW parents said no, doctor got a court order real quick. Kid got the transfusion and lived.

As for statistics, who knows?

JWs in the US generally seek out medical attention for their kids so it's slightly different from Christian Science where the child dies at home because the parents are sitting around praying for a miracle.

om

26

Children have basic human rights, why does the US ignore this right in regards to JW's Blood Doctrine?

by sabastious in

i can't physically or sexually abuse my child, at least legally.. why?.

because my country, and others alike, have adopted a code of ethics surrounding children.. ...they have basic human rights.... these rights transcend the family unit and it's jurisdiction.. that being said, how do jws hide behind "freedom of religion" when sentencing their children to suicide?.

why can't i start a religion that says it's ok to murder people?

Open mind

For the most part, JW children in the US have blood given to them via court order unless they are deemed (by a judge) to be old enough to make their own decision.

Are you talking about those who are mid-to-late teens and baptized?

om

62

I don't believe my boyfriend is 100% committed to this religion. How to handle?

by herlovelyworld in

hi guys!

im very new here and i need a little help.. im not a witness, but i know all of the quirks and rules and whatnot because my long-distance boyfriend is a witness.

the issue, other than the obvious, is that i fell in love with him before he told me he was one of jehovahs witnesses.

Open mind

"Jehovah's Witnesses have the lowest retention rate of any religious tradition. Only 37% of all those who say they were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses still identify themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses."

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/743/united-states-religion

Best of luck to you.

om