Posts by skeptic1914

15

Installment # 6 - Submarine Witnesses and the Lack of Brotherly Love

by AK - Jeff in

lawence sperry piloted and demonstrated the first auto-pilot controls for an aircraft in 1914, the same year that, according to the watchtower organization, god's kingdom took over automatic control of the heavens.. auto-pilot systems do not work well in turbulent conditions, and in our case, the spiritual auto-pilot that had kept us just gliding along without much thought from 1975 till the early 80's had to be cut off, and flight had to be controlled manually at about that time.

i was working for a group of witness 'brothers' then, striping cars and adding automotive aftermarket products for new car dealers.

the men i worked for were good people, but lousy businessmen.

skeptic1914

AK, this story almost brought me to tears.

And all these men were elders or ministerial servants. I honestly thought at the time that I doubted that Baptists or Catholics would have acted in such a greedy, self-centered manner. Yet my bosses, active and supposedly 'spiritual' men, in responsible position, daily acted in ways I could not see as even minimally Christian.

(Matthew 7:20) . . .Really, then, by their fruits YOU will recognize those [men].. . .

(John 13:35) . . ."By this all will know that YOU are my disciples, if YOU have love among yourselves.". . .

Skeptic1914

52

worst week in my life

by Hortensia in

jw
friends

last monday my husband, a nice guy, after ranting for a bit about terrorists, came over to me, to kiss me i thought.

he hit my head and then started to choke me, shouting "be healed.

" i managed to get away from him and he kept yelling "be healed" and saying that i was bewitched and had put a curse on him.

skeptic1914

WOW !!!!!!

Skeptic1914

40

Back again, after all these years...

by veronica_mars in

wow.

i used to post here lifetimes ago, and i just recently came back and read some of my old posts.

skeptic1914

Nice to meet you Katie. What a sad story. I love your honesty and openness.

God bless...Skeptic1914

403

BEER THREAD

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

i believe the moment's right to discuss a very serious matter............................................................beer.

what do you like?

let's edumicate one another!

skeptic1914

BTW I love this: Nvrdrnkchpbr

We are definitely on the same page there

Skeptic1914

403

BEER THREAD

by nvrgnbk in

jw
friends

i believe the moment's right to discuss a very serious matter............................................................beer.

what do you like?

let's edumicate one another!

skeptic1914

Thank goodness BA mentioned DOGFISH and SMUTTYNOSE. Also what about LAGUNITAS Rich Copper Ale. Or AVENTINUS, a rich german beer with a hint of cloves.

Skeptic1914

13

Installment # 4 - The Pre-Armageddon Years

by AK - Jeff in

when joseph mongolfier launched his hot air balloon in june 1783 in france, he was not aware of the physical dynamics that made it work.

after a short flight, one that made history, the 36 foot sphere crashed about a mile away and burned.

his mistakes were many, but the biggest was that the constuction was mostly paper.

skeptic1914

WOW! I've been on the edge of my seat reading this.

We believed that the end would come before we ever had children....We honestly thought we would never need to worry about insurance, or retirement. 1975 dawned with the firm opinion in our minds that it would not end this side of Armageddon.

I can SO relate to that. Then when we had children they would certainly NEVER go to school in this system...NEVER graduate,etc.

I remember also driving around with copies of "Is Time Running Out For Mankind?" taped to the windows of the car.

Thanks for all the detail.

Skeptic1914

46

Parallels between Jonestown and WT org?

by skeptic1914 in

how many saw the recent "jonestown-paradise lost" on the history channel?

i realize the suicide/murder of over 900 in jonestown, guyana on novemebr 18, 1978 may be old news but i've always been interested in how cult leaders hold power over their believers.

i've been reluctant to classify jw as a cult but some obvious parallels struck me:.

skeptic1914

Thanks Sunspot for your posts.

You reminded me of the time about 13 yrs ago when I was on the body of elders. Among other things, my wife at the time was severely depressed, suicidal at times. We had gone through a difficult time with our oldest child that almost resulted in her being Df'd. The body of elders (there were only 4 of us at the time) met with me to discuss some concerns they had about my family. Their concerns? Among other things:

the fact my wife sometimes wore a denim skirt when interpreted the mtg into sign language.
the syle of my son's haircut.

Frankly I find this LOL funny now but really how pathetic.

On a more serious note, my employer and his son did drink the Kool-Aid. In 1994, at 16, he was diagnosed with leukemia. Doctors pleaded with him and his parents to accept treatment derived from WBC (white blood cells). They refused in obedience to the leadership, because at the time such treatment was forbidden. He died 11 days after diagnosis.

The change in policy in June 2000 allowing JW to make a personal decision on this issue caused them to re-evaluate their beliefs.They left the org., have come to Christ and he is now pastor of a community church.

Skeptic1914

46

Parallels between Jonestown and WT org?

by skeptic1914 in

how many saw the recent "jonestown-paradise lost" on the history channel?

i realize the suicide/murder of over 900 in jonestown, guyana on novemebr 18, 1978 may be old news but i've always been interested in how cult leaders hold power over their believers.

i've been reluctant to classify jw as a cult but some obvious parallels struck me:.

skeptic1914

IMO it's not about overt parallels, like armed guards. It's the dynamics. JWs are taught the the GB represents Christ, speaks for God. To question the GB is to question God. There is no doubt that questioning Jim Jones was viewed as disloyalty. Try "just leaving" the JW and see what happens. There is also no question that an "us against them" mentality has been bred into Witnesses since the days of Rutherford. All of these tactics breed FEAR. Fear to think for yourself. Fear to express yourself. Fear of getting on "God's" bad side.

Skeptic1914

46

Parallels between Jonestown and WT org?

by skeptic1914 in

how many saw the recent "jonestown-paradise lost" on the history channel?

i realize the suicide/murder of over 900 in jonestown, guyana on novemebr 18, 1978 may be old news but i've always been interested in how cult leaders hold power over their believers.

i've been reluctant to classify jw as a cult but some obvious parallels struck me:.

skeptic1914

Thank you sammielee24 for the extra research and information.

Another thing I noticed (I remember this, I think, from the book which I am planning to re-read) that Jones was very careful that the "public face" of his group was very positive, upbeat, everybody's happy, etc. No dark side. Think "spiritual paradise" and stories and pix in the lit of happy faces and lives changed only for the better. No dark side.

Skeptic1914

37

Did you stop singing the songs BEFORE you stopped going to meetings?

by zack in

jw
friends

after i found out the truth abouth the troof, i could not--- i mean physically could not---- sing a note of a jw song at a meeting.. this was way before i decided to make a plan and a final break.

this happen to anyone?.

skeptic1914

Hi Zack. I find I can sing most of the songs when I go (2x/mo maybe) but cannot sing anything glorifying the faithful slave/steward or other doctrine I don't believe is Scripturally supported.

Actually, for me, it is the prayers. I cannot remember the last time I could conscientiously say AMEN to a prayer said at a JW meeting. After all Amen signifies our agreement with the sentiments of the prayer and invariably the brother makes some ref to the faithful slave or org.

Skeptic1914