The next girl that takes me on is gonna light up like a pinball machine and payout in silver dollars! ; One flew over the Cukoo's nest
I corrected them, and when my wife tried to prevent me from doing my duty....i corrected her; The shining
Are you gonna pull them pistols or whistle dixie?; The outlaw Josey Wales
You lookin at me?.........Well theres nobody else here.....; Taxi Driver
There's two sorts of people in the world, theres those with a rope around their neck and those without; The good the bad and the ugly.
It was outaa respect; Goodfellas
Good evening Mr Torrance: The Shining
Wohhooooo! this is a favourite subject of mine, how about;
Dyin aint much of a living - The outlaw Josey Wales
All these moments are lost in time like.........tears in rain.........time to die....: Bladerunner
SLIDE - Fight club
are a very unique people, wouldn't you say?
no, we aren't trouble makers, we're just a a people that have a common bond.
save for a minority of posters here, we have all endured trials and tribulations that only we can relate to.
Its good to feel part of the 'club' isn't it?
Respect Bro.
LFCv
Hello my Scandinavian brother! Greetings from next door - Stavanger/Norway. Well actually i'm English, i just am working up here at the mo!
Up the Vikings!
LFC-Viking
i am not a jw but i am really curious to know why are there so many people who criticize and ridicule them?
please give me some logical answers not personal judgements :p
The JW's are commonly perceived as maybe being a bit strange, perculiar and a bit of an an annoying pest with their continuous door to door preaching work on Sat/Sun mornings. Generally their lifestyle is different to an 'average' person's in the sense that they are seen as upholding high moral values, and do not participate in common and popular practices today such as celebrating birthdays, Christmas etc. This then can make them stand out as being a bit 'different' to others, which makes some people curious as to why they live their lives in such a way. Of course in some cases they are ridiculed or criticized for making such choices and can become an object of fun to those that are perhaps intolerant or immature.
If however you were once a member of the JW org, then that is a seperate matter. As you can see from some people's posts here, many have experienced injustices and suffering from their experience of living a life as a JW. The effect of being subject to the rules and regulations of living a life as a JW can leave you feeling depressed, isolated, guilt ridden, burdened, and in some cases abused & violated. This has left many (including myself) feeling bitter and angry towards their organisation for a long time afterwards, and if you have personally experienced this, then it is difficult for you to NOT feel judgemental towards them.
So in conclusion, i hope i have given you some logical reasons to your question as per your request and at the same time haven't sounded too judgemental.
Respectfully
LFCv
when i bump into the people who are calling me that name i would like to say something about what apostate actually means but im not very articulate (you may have noticed) one lady has said she will be polite to me but nothing else , im not even an ex dub just an ex study so do i actually qualify for that title in the "land of makebelieve"?
i know that jws think they invented the word apostate !
the more sarcastic ,the better ?
According to the dictionary, an apostate is simply someone who has abandoned a religion. This could be you, me or anybody else, in fact it describes many JWs today because a lot of them used to follow a different system of beliefs before they converted to JWism.
The trouble with the WTBTS is that they have seemingly adopted this word and have given it a new meaning. If you are labelled an apostate by the WTBTS today then you not really viewed as just somebody who has simply left their org but you are viewed in a much more negative way than that.
You are viewed as perhaps somebody who has turned against them, who actively campaigns against them and has maybe turned 'evil' in a kind of sense. You are to be avoided at all costs, are to be totally shunned.
To me this is a method that the WTBTS uses to demonise people who simply choose not to attend JW meetings anymore and who have chosen another path in life. It is further evidence of the Org tying to manipulate your thinking faculties and hence keeping you in line with the rest of the R&F.
Just my opinion.
LFCv
there's been several posts the past few days about the issues raised when the society dropped the "1935 as the end of the selection of the anointed" doctrine in may 2007 and reinforced the teaching with the 1/15/08 wt.. many ideas have been thrown out regarding how the society will be able to "spin" the almost assured large jump in memorial partakers this year and in following years.. it suddenly hit me how they can do it, and come out smelling like a rose:.
(warning: speculation ahead!).
go back to the "2 class" heavenly calling!.
Well that's interesting. Let's see if this actually happens!
maybe you should.. apparently the reasons some had for leaving had nothing to do with truth or reality or what's factual.. some left because they got discouraged or were offended or felt slighted.. if that's why you left- an unkind word, not being invited to some social function, nepotism in the hierarchy, being overlooked for privileges, annoying personalities, etc.- you're in a very unsettled place.. you'll soon discover that people that aren't jehovah's witnesses can be unkind, lack hospitality, show favortism, and be obnoxious.. then what?.
you'll go crawling back?.
if on the other hand you left because you realize that the extraordinary claims made by the religion are completely without support, you may occasionally miss friends and family lost and reminisce about some random happy memories experienced but most likely never feel tempted to return.. the jw religion, like most any other religion, is full of people that want to be told what to do and what to think.. it's easier that way.. thinking can be exhausting.
Interesting post.
Apparently the reasons some had for leaving had nothing to do with truth or reality or what's factual.
Well that must be me! I left because i was getting depressed and disillusioned with it all. Nothing to do with a technical analysis of teaching and doctrine and a realisation of false teachings.
For me, being on the recieving end of burdensome duties, guilt trips, family seperations, social isolation, and a supression of freedom, all of this was enough 'evidence' that it wasn't the truth.
Some left because they got discouraged or were offended or felt slighted
I find it amazing that some people would actually leave the organisation of which they've been a member of for a long time just because somebody upset them in some way.
The JW religion, like most any other religion, is full of people that want to be told what to do and what to think
I'm not sure this is completely true, there are plenty of individuals in the org who like to do the telling what to do and what to think.
I think your analysis has a certain amount of plausability, but for some individuals the reasons for leaving are more complicated than simply realising the errors in the organisation's teachings & practices.
Respectfully
LFCv
praise him all the days of your life!
he is worthy.
holy,holy,holy is he.. god our savior showed us how good and kind he is.
C'mon everybody, he's just trying to wind us all up!
