Posts by OnTheWayOut

96

21 Years as an Elder, 5 as an MS, I will never be that guy again.

by James Jack in

i was deleted as the cobe after i let my adult child move back home and he admitted that he fornicated under my roof while my wife and i where away on a rbc project.

of course the elder mode in me kicked him out of the house.. the elders moved quickly to remove me because i was too involved in "theocractic activities", i had neglected my adult son.. i accepted this primarily because i didn't want to serve with a boe that did not want me.

i was devastated however because it was the only life i knew.

OnTheWayOut

Recently while out in Service, this Super Over Zealous Elder starting spouting out have bad the game Football is and that no True Christian should watch it. I said: "Can I be Disfellowshipped if I watch it? This pissed him off.
The next meeting I was called to the back room with 2 Elders and counseled never to question an Elder in front of others.

I might have pushed the envelope and said again, "Can I be disfellowshipped for doing that?"

Hey, thanks for the update on you and your son. If it were me, I wouldn't pressure the wife but I would also not wait for her. I would do as you are and pursue that closeness with my son. We kick ourselves later in life when it's too late for not reaching out to family and loved ones. I doubt your son will ever get reinstated.

26

Watchtower has a Philosophy of Totalism

by OnTheWayOut in

cults tend to have a total explanation for everything- everything that ever happened, everything that is happening now, and everything that ever will happen.

that certainly fits watchtower.

they have a black-and-white perception of everything, they are never wrong, there are no gray areas.

OnTheWayOut

Thanks for bumping and quoting, roosttylor. Please feel free to post again with your thoughts.

43

Atheism

by Jonathan Drake in

jw
friends

recent events and book reads (one suggested by cofty i believe- thank you) have lead me to the only logical and acceptable conclusion:.

there is no god.. simple logical reasoning: matter can neither me created or destroyed.

so the amount of mass in the universe is constant.

OnTheWayOut

J.D., that's great. When people ask you to prove the negative, that there is no god, tell them you cannot do such a thing to their level of acceptance but you have proved completely that their god does not exist.

36

Has This Site Ever Hurt You In Your Journey Out Of The JW Religion?

by minimus in

jw
friends

this site has gone through many metamorphosis over the years.

i believe it is a kinder, less edgy place tan it was a few years ago.

i wonder how many people were helped versus turned off by this place.

OnTheWayOut

Personally, I have a thick skin. It does seem that many were hurt because of something that happened here. Not me.

20

I admit it, I believe in evolution.

by Louise in

jw
friends

after leaving the dub religion behind, i read everything that i could get my hands on, be it about other religions, beliefs, gods, occult, evolution - you name it - i read it.

i did this to 'catch up' and to educate myself, so that when i can to a decision it would be an intellectual / educational one.

not just because some book or person told me to believe it.. i have over time and with reading aids come to totally believe and accept evolution.

OnTheWayOut

You have taken a wise big first step. I also read many different things about religion and beliefs and I included science in my readings. Evolution is a fact, it is only the fine details that makes it a theory.

But you probably do learn it just as well by sticking to different readings on different god-beliefs. The most damning book about the errors of the Bible is the Bible itself.

22

I Should Have Just Kept Avoiding Their Videos

by OnTheWayOut in

i have a 2011 new year resolution to avoid reading jw literature or watch their videos.i am not "religious" about it, and will watch/read excerpts, but pretty much stick with that resolution as it only angers me when i read the stuff.. well, someone posted their video of philippines disaster relief due to a 2013 typhoon as a response to a news article to demonstrate that they are not really helping and that it is just propaganda.

i watched the video and was immediately able to see what the hell is wrong with jw's and their leadership and, as i figured- i was angered.. so i will post this link, but then go back to not watching/reading.

it just isn't worth it.. in the video, when they knew the storm was coming, the pre-planned disaster relief people texted elders to warn them to evacuate.

OnTheWayOut

CrazyGuy, I re-watched the early part of their video and they did mention 22 being swept away when the KH walls gave out. So they did admit it, but moved on to more positive results so that even someone who doesn't like them remembers how people survived rather than focusing on the ones that Jehovah's protection failed.

If there is a more damning video out there, I didn't find it.

22

I Should Have Just Kept Avoiding Their Videos

by OnTheWayOut in

i have a 2011 new year resolution to avoid reading jw literature or watch their videos.i am not "religious" about it, and will watch/read excerpts, but pretty much stick with that resolution as it only angers me when i read the stuff.. well, someone posted their video of philippines disaster relief due to a 2013 typhoon as a response to a news article to demonstrate that they are not really helping and that it is just propaganda.

i watched the video and was immediately able to see what the hell is wrong with jw's and their leadership and, as i figured- i was angered.. so i will post this link, but then go back to not watching/reading.

it just isn't worth it.. in the video, when they knew the storm was coming, the pre-planned disaster relief people texted elders to warn them to evacuate.

OnTheWayOut

Page 2:
flipper, I like your thought that "WT Society always pats itself on the back like nobody else on the planet cares." Thanks for that. Your reply here sounded similarly upset like I felt, especially when talking about the 13-year-old child.

Blondie, thanks for all that. Just more for me to be upset at, but it does show how they encourage the thinking that you are safe in Jehovah's hands and Jehovah's hands are at the Kingdom Hall and wherever the corporation is. Miracles to save them at the Kingdom Hall do seem to be the expected.

Splash, I have to fully agree with your question: "Even if some crazy person did throw out all their food in order to put books into a fridge, would you even feature that???"
I think they want JW's to feel that this is the type of faith they want- unquestioning and always putting anything from WTS ahead of everything else, even food.

Finkelstein, good point on these storms and things not being unique to the end times. I certainly thought about needing food in the days before help could arrive, but they made a "Jehovah Delivers" video. Couldn't Jehovah easily have delivered new books?

Thanks for responding, Zoos. I didn't think it was directly related to this. But LOL anyway.

Thanks Adjusted Knowledge. Yeah, maybe so. But I wish it weren't as Blondie demonstrates- Kingdom Halls are thought to have special miracle powers. Also, most reasonable elders would cancel the meeting the night before and tell everyone to prepare.

107

I have a serious problem

by My Name is of No Consequence in

i have a serious problem that i cannot solve on my own.

i was born-in but am only in by a thread at this point.

i quit the tms a few weeks ago and wrote a post on it.

OnTheWayOut

Hey, thanks for your compliments to me personally. I would love to tell you something that will help you get your wife and son out. Truth is that I can't get my wife out. But I have stood up to the elders, and yes- I do recognize it was easier because I used to be one of them. I just wanted you to take actions since you were asking what you should do.

I am meeting with him this weekend and I will tell him how I feel about him "taking over". I will be respectful like I usually am, but firm. After that, everything having to do with the organization, my son and him will go through me. If this doesn't work, I will go up the food chain. I am tired of being the doormat in my own house and it has to stop.

That's great. Be firm. Really consider telling him that because of his making a financial arrangement with your wife and avoiding you, you would prefer that any studying with the boy comes from you and/or your wife and that he limits any contact with your wife and that such should go through you. Tell him you are the head of your household and will act as such. I wish you well on your event.

107

I have a serious problem

by My Name is of No Consequence in

i have a serious problem that i cannot solve on my own.

i was born-in but am only in by a thread at this point.

i quit the tms a few weeks ago and wrote a post on it.

OnTheWayOut

I tell you what. I GIVE UP! You want to say that you were not an a-hole. You want to say there's nothing you can do. He's not your son, he's your step-son. You want that to make a difference. You don't want to confront the elders or this individual. You just want to be nice and you are venting your frustration here.

If your step-son goes to college, he probably will wake up to the reality of Jehovah's Witnesses. I hope the best for him.

107

I have a serious problem

by My Name is of No Consequence in

i have a serious problem that i cannot solve on my own.

i was born-in but am only in by a thread at this point.

i quit the tms a few weeks ago and wrote a post on it.

OnTheWayOut

Relationships in your home are strained anyway. You fear it will get worse. Buddy, it's getting worse already- the boy is going to be a full JW just like his mother, and the both of them will disrespect you further. The step-father aspect means nothing in the JW world, only in a court if she were to divorce you. You are the head of the household- PERIOD.

If she left you, she could take her son. But in your house, the JW's see you as the head. Use that headship or prepare for more of the same walking-all-over-you.

If you help the boy to learn the truth about Jehovah's Witnesses, maybe his not becoming one could help his mother see the truth about them. MAYBE, and maybe not. But trying to hold back leads to them usurping your headship and going around your back and making the boy into a JW and that gives his mother even more reasons to stay active the rest of her life.