Posts by OnTheWayOut

36

Today I got a review that left me scratching my head - what do you make of it?

by Brock Talon in

as a published author on amazon, i'm used to getting negative reviews from time to time.

it goes with the territory and i'm ok with it.

writing is an art form, so no art is liked by everyone.

OnTheWayOut

By the way, three other people have already answered that review with their own comments

That's probably the best way- let others have their say.

18

The gratitude of Jehovah's witnesses - unbelievable

by punkofnice in

i have to rant...i know you'll listen and understand.. i drove over to my son's place.

down one side of the road cars were parked making only room for one vehicle to travel.

here was a car that didn't have right of way approaching.

See, you noticed the shunning. You wish he would have acknowledged you. You will go through months of being shunned at the Kingdom Hall and begging these elders to take you back so that this shunning will end upon your reinstatement and he can wave at you.

.....or not.

44

I'm not so sure a bigger awakening is going to happen anymore

by bradford in

jw
friends

when i left in march officially i started reading the forums here.

i had this excitement that more people would be leaving soon because of the crazy broadcasts, the crazy "new light" that the gb was dishing out, and more recently the australian royal commission lighting up geoffrey.

this past saturday i had an elder stop by to chat for the first time since i left.

OnTheWayOut

there will be no mass exodus. There will be no sudden reform. The org will plod along as many other religions do. The best we can do is help those we come across as best we can, as it aounds like you did.

I tend to agree with Morpheus, but we can always hope something changes that. Is there a mass exodus from the Catholic Church? No, but the members are drifting away pretty steadily. It may not currently be the same with Watchtower, but when we look at the young ones leaving, there is great hope.

74

That's it! The Jesus stories are most reasonably explained as myth. History makes this obvious.

by Island Man in

a careful examination of the historical pagan religious context existing at the time of the genesis of christianity leads any reasonable person to conclude that jesus is just another one of several similar myths.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn7teoa9ark.

OnTheWayOut

OntheWayOut,
Jewish Christians did not abandon keeping kashrut (eating kosher) or avoiding circumcision.

Calebin (Florida misspelled) Chill, dude. This entire last paragraph of my response was just a joke:

But mainly, Jews became Christians because it was easier to sell a religion where males did not have to cut a portion of their penis and where bacon was allowed. It always comes back to bacon.

I will remember to put "(just joking)" in such places just for you. (just joking)

74

That's it! The Jesus stories are most reasonably explained as myth. History makes this obvious.

by Island Man in

a careful examination of the historical pagan religious context existing at the time of the genesis of christianity leads any reasonable person to conclude that jesus is just another one of several similar myths.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn7teoa9ark.

OnTheWayOut

Absolutely nobody today believes that Osiris, Adonis, Romulus, Zalmoxis, or Inanna existed.

Here's what I get out of this: Most of the even slightly educated people of the days of these other gods were pretty sure that the gods were not real, but were part of sacred myths or allegories that they believed were used to reveal cosmic truths.

Between the angels of the old testament and the gods of the land, Jesus was invented as a new, better combination of Moses and Ezekiel. Edited to add: ....and Jesus was a permanent blood sacrifice to remove the need for the Jewish temple and regular sacrifices.

Sometime after Christianity was established, there were too many differing ideas about him and too many writings about him and the church did their best to limit these. They put Jesus in an actual historical time and place and invented their own pedigrees and papers of learning so that others could not keep trying to change who Jesus was and what he did and said. So Jesus became real.

But mainly, Jews became Christians because it was easier to sell a religion where males did not have to cut a portion of their penis and where bacon was allowed. It always comes back to bacon.

36

Today I got a review that left me scratching my head - what do you make of it?

by Brock Talon in

as a published author on amazon, i'm used to getting negative reviews from time to time.

it goes with the territory and i'm ok with it.

writing is an art form, so no art is liked by everyone.

OnTheWayOut

I responded to a negative reviewer of my book on Amazon (Fade from the Truth). But I only responded to their thoughts that had really nothing to do with the book and were focused on their opinion on anything against the Watchtower. (The person was clearly a JW.) Ultimately, they pulled the review after some back-and-forth.

I wasn't interested in pulling the review, but was trying to help them see they were not being critical of a book, but were critical of anything that went against their religion. It would be like ignoring anything Sarah Palin wrote in a book and attacking liberals in a review.

But I get the idea that the author should stay above that. Regardless of how it looks to me, it could look like a tit-for-tat thing to others reading the reviews. I think the way I stated it in my above comment was gentle and not likely to be viewed as an attack on a negative review.

75

Lurker trying to gain clarity

by questioningmyfaith in

jw
friends

hello all, i would like to first say that i am basically questioning my faith in god.

i am not negative towards the wt at all.

so honestly i am to concerned with more ad hominem attacks towards the wt because i still love the organization and the people in it.

OnTheWayOut

I did recently come out to a couple of elders about ALL of my doubts. They were nothing but kind. And one of them I use to always feel had it out for me. They even recommended to me that I continue to serve as an elder.

Let me rephrase what could have gone down.

QMF: "Brothers, I have doubts about [the existence of God/doctrinal matters]."

Elders: "Well, we hope we can help you work through it. Meanwhile, you should probably keep delivering speeches from the platform telling people to have no doubts. (In other words, fake it until you come around.)"

Do you see the problem there? The answer would be to stay an elder and work through this. That sounds like the training of a group that is programmed to make sure they don't lose you for your usefulness to them.

From page one:

Do you really think I haven't read the anti-witness info? I just don't care. Every large organization has their own issues.

Even after I figured out that it was a dangerous mind-control cult that wanted the heaviest influence over how members think, I was pretty sure that the pedophile issue was just part of "every large organization." I figured that disgruntled former JW's were just focusing on a few bad apples because I had never been burned personally. But when I looked into the matter, it was the cover-up that got to me and I saw that it was way worse (by percentage) than the Catholic Church. Watchtower procedures of running everything by Headquarters and them asking "Legal" how to try to make these things go away was causing victims to be the least of their concerns and corporation image to be their highest priority. Now money is their highest priority as these lawsuits pour in. And they have members fully convinced, "WTS is doing the right thing and it's just a few greedy apostates whose uncles molested them that are the problem."

Man, as long as they can keep convincing you that it's the few bad apples among the many good ones and not the bad barrel that is the problem, they win.

From page three:

I truly don't care about the anti-wt stuff. I just don't. There isn't a single thing that could convince me that GB is personally responsible for any single death. If someone told me that if I don't give them all of my money that they'll kill themselves and I refused, I wouldn't be guilty of murder. People are responsible for their personal decisions.

That's really not the issue, your "Give me all your money or..." scenario. Can't you see how members of Jonestown were made to think differently than people outside of that group? Can't you see how followers of Charles Manson were made to think differently than everyone else? Can't you see how Mormons are made to think "Only we have the truth so if we are told to wear special underwear, it's normal." ? Jehovah's Witnesses are made to think they should never question whatever the Governing Body says. Even you, free to doubt it, say that it doesn't matter, they are trying to do the right things. If God doesn't exist and the doctrine is all wrong, even you don't see how the members are having difficulty seeing how the organization is damaging their minds.

If someone has full faith in god and they make the decision to turn down a blood transfusion for their god I just don't see the crime there.

No members are deciding on their own to turn down blood. No member is coming up with the idea on their own that they should encourage their 8-year old son or daughter to die without a blood transfusion for their god. But you cannot see how that smacks of Jonestown citizens being told to drink the kool-aid?

Good luck to you.

37

The Loyalty Question

by choosing life in

jw
friends

how many here have been asked the loyalty question by an elder.

i am referring to, "do you believe that jehovah is using the faithful and discreet slave class to accomplish his work?

" or something along this line?.

OnTheWayOut

I have never been asked the loyalty test by any active JW's. It most likely won't ever happen because I won't meet with two elders ever. Heck, I don't see a reason to meet with one elder.

If they tried to pull some shenanigans and trick me, I think I am ready. I like the answer, "That's what the elders ask someone when they are trying to disfellowship them." I have always been ready with "I am not here to answer questions about myself."

36

Today I got a review that left me scratching my head - what do you make of it?

by Brock Talon in

as a published author on amazon, i'm used to getting negative reviews from time to time.

it goes with the territory and i'm ok with it.

writing is an art form, so no art is liked by everyone.

OnTheWayOut

I thought it was sincere also. I would respond to the review and say that I hope you continue to feel free to examine other views for yourself, outside of Watchtower. And I would stress that, yes there are bad people everywhere but ......I would go on to say why the situation is made worse within the JW's.

19

The best surgery for men, Hernia surgery.

by James Mixon in

jw
friends

i had one two weeks ago, i'm fine.

but how nice it was not to lift anything over.

10 pounds.

OnTheWayOut

Yeah, if only......

I had a bit more serious hernia surgery then. I couldn't lift 10 pounds for 4 weeks and it was very very difficult to even get out of bed for the first 3 weeks, then it still hurt until the 4th week. Any being spoiled was because I really couldn't do things for myself.

But it was definitely a good thing to have done. Some of my coworkers could see a small lump on the right of my abdomen and they called it my "alien." So it's gone for years now.