Posts by neverendingjourney

41

Observations From an Ex-Elder Part 3 - Searching for the Lost Sheep

by doubtfull1799 in

"what man among you with 100 sheep, on losing one of them, will not leave the 99 behind in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it?

" - luke 15:4. disclaimer: by posting the following observations i am not complaining.

i am happy to be left alone.

neverendingjourney

I stopped going to meetings around the year 2005. About three years later my parents pressured me into attending a day at an assembly with them. I was greeted by folks there as if I were a some kind of child molester. The disgust in their face was palpable. These are people who used to be like family to me, who I had gone on vacation with.

More recently, I've been in contact with a young woman who was raised a JW, got baptized early, but has spent her entire JW life being on reproof for this or that thing. She has an abortion, a failed marriage (she cheated), and a mental illness diagnosis on her track record. Nevertheless, she continues to call me and I continue taking her calls from time to time. She's not DF'd but she's been absent from meetings for five years during which she's been living with her "worldly" boyfriend (and hating herself for her "sin"). This guy has been physically abusive to her in the past.

In any event, she recently broke up with him. She does this every two to three months and then promptly gets back together with him. She called me a week ago and said that this time it was super for real and she was moving into the same apartment complex as her JW brother so he can help her "go back to Jehovah." The punchline is that she tells me she had a long conversation with her JW brother and she told him she thought she might be able to marry me. To which the JW brother got outraged because "I wasn't a brother" and she would be better of going back to her "worldly" boyfriend. I have a good job, a stable life, and none of the baggage she has, but in his eyes I'm beneath her because "I'm not a brother."

I don't concern myself with what they think about me. I knew my reputation would be shredded with them once I made the decision to walk away. It is what it is.

16

" We don't need no university education"

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

i left school at 16, because i was studying and getting the best " university education" in the world.

.

how did the theocratic ministry school benefit you?.

neverendingjourney

I have this vivid memory of being a child in the 1980s when we had a CO visit. He stood up there, held up an Awake bound volume, and said that reading a year's worth of Awake magazines was equivalent to one year of a college education.

That "fact" was still being repeated 15 years later when I was a young adult. It wasn't until I started waking up that even the concept of challenging such an "established truth" became possible. It seems absurd to me now in hindsight that the 150 or so people in attendance would just nod along approvingly to such a ridiculous proposition.

As far the the TMS goes, it was of marginal utility. I was in a Spanish congregation and I suppose it forced me to learn some of the finer points of the language that I might not otherwise have had the occasion to drill down on.

14

Something that doesn't get discussed all that much...

by Vidiot in

...but i believe is relevant:.

just how much is the watchtower organization's "business model" dependent on its tax-exempt status?.

is it truly sustainable without it?.

neverendingjourney

The Witnesses make a farce out of their tax exempt status. The law presupposes that religions are akin to charities. Therefore, society should have an interest in having religions flourish so they can look after the poor and perform other good works.

The Witnesses don't do any of this. Their literature states that charitable works in general are a waste of time because their time is better spent on preaching. To the extent that they supposedly perform charitable works for their own members, such as repairing homes after natural disasters, it comes with the implied promise that the homeowner will donate their insurance check in full. I can't think of any officially-sanctioned charitable activities that are carried out without any strings attached.

Their entire outlook and approach runs counter to the purpose of having a tax-exempt status for religion in the first place.

33

What are some things JWs re-name to make themselves different than Christians?

by NikL in

jw
friends

jws re-name things so they seem like they are different than other religions.

(of course we know they are different but that's another story).

i was just thinking about those things where they are like most everyone else in christendom but the re-name it to seem different.. for example god forbid they have a church, it's a "kingdom hall".. they don't have pastors and deacons they have "elders" and "ministerial servants".. they don't have tithing but they will have family heads fill out a paper saying how much they can contribute on a monthly basis (not sure if there is a name for that...unless it's tithing.

neverendingjourney

Cults tend to create their own jargon. It's s hallmark. It makes it easier to identify true cult members and weed out the fakers. It also makes them feel unique.

"3) Loading the Language – This is the jargon of the cult, which take the form of quick easy phrases and statements that only have meaning to the cultists. Such jargon encourages isolationism and cloning."

http://www.theness.com/index.php/the-prey-of-cults/

50

Pharaoh tries to kill all male babies - later Moses orders the very same thing!

by George One Time in

so many things that i just discoved about the bible.. .

so from the book my book of bible stories, we all know how little moses was saved from a cruel pharaoh.

of course the king of egypt was afraid that those cute little babies would endanger his empire eventually.

neverendingjourney

This is my very last reply, forever. I am so done.

That's cool. Come back when you're in a position to have a reasoned discussion without getting your blood pressure up.

50

Pharaoh tries to kill all male babies - later Moses orders the very same thing!

by George One Time in

so many things that i just discoved about the bible.. .

so from the book my book of bible stories, we all know how little moses was saved from a cruel pharaoh.

of course the king of egypt was afraid that those cute little babies would endanger his empire eventually.

neverendingjourney

Rejecting literal interpretations of the Exodus and various other accounts in the Torah is a very sound, modern way to practice religion. I applaud you for that.

However, not all Jews share your views and I'd argue that modern interpretations are irrelevant. What matters most for purposes of this discussion is how the words were understood at the time they were written.

50

Pharaoh tries to kill all male babies - later Moses orders the very same thing!

by George One Time in

so many things that i just discoved about the bible.. .

so from the book my book of bible stories, we all know how little moses was saved from a cruel pharaoh.

of course the king of egypt was afraid that those cute little babies would endanger his empire eventually.

neverendingjourney

What I am saying is that people are coming to conclusions about the Exodus account based on what non-Jewish people have taught them

I'll bite.

Why do we have to judge the written words through the prism of how Jewish people interpret them (setting aside the fact that there is no consensus from "the Jewish people)? Shouldn't the words stand on their own?

Does this mean I can't have an opinion on the Quaran unless it's supported by the Muslim people? Do I even get to have a view on the Bible given that the only religion I've ever belonged to was the Jehovah's Witnesses? Can academics have a view on the scripture if they're not part of the faith?

It seems like you're arbitrarily setting up a barrier on purpose to insulate scripture from criticism.

50

Pharaoh tries to kill all male babies - later Moses orders the very same thing!

by George One Time in

so many things that i just discoved about the bible.. .

so from the book my book of bible stories, we all know how little moses was saved from a cruel pharaoh.

of course the king of egypt was afraid that those cute little babies would endanger his empire eventually.

neverendingjourney

Slightly off topic, but someone on facebook posted an article about a transgender woman in Brazil who was beaten and then shot to death in the middle of a street. I didn't watch the video that was included in the article, but the screencap on the front page was enough to make my stomach turn.

After reflecting on it for a while, it occurred to me that I was waiting on exactly this sort of thing when I was a JW. In a twisted way using JW (or Christian/Jewish/Muslim) logic, one could say these people only ran ahead of God's chariot in carrying out the judgment instead of waiting on him to do it.

It's appalling and I'm embarrassed to have ever supported such a view, however passively.

32

What is having the biggest impact on the watchtower Bible and tract society?

by UnshackleTheChains in

hi all.. this is a reasonable question and would love to know what you think is having the biggest impact on watchtower.

there is a plethora of websites talking negatively of watchtower.

there are the never ending court cases regarding child abuse allegations.

neverendingjourney

I haven't been part of a congregation in a dozen years. How are Witnesses dealing with Armageddon being put off so long?

I'm not talking about the career-climber Witnesses who are caught up and distracted by chasing power and prestige within the organization. Those people are too focused on the social status benefits of being a Witness to care too much about actual doctrine. Life is pretty good for them.

I'm talking about the rank and file Witnesses living day to day and dealing with the burdens of being a JW. Something's gotta give.

11

Book That Helped Me - My Recommended Reading List

by doubtfull1799 in

these are the books that led to my awakening:.

the art of thinking clearly - rolf dobelli.

how to defend the christian faith: advice from an evolutionist - john w.loftus.

neverendingjourney

Not that you need any additional reading material, but Combating Cult Mind Control is also a good one.