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.
Holy crap doubtfull1799 ,i`m impressed ,you have read all of those books ? over how many years ? I think I could put my name to three and that was enough to convince me LOL
However thanks for the list should I want to delve further , and for giving others/lurkers/newbies , some food for thought.
Take care cobber.
two elders who visited my friend last week encouraged her not to pursue higher studies.
it seems they are dishing out the same old stuff: “the end is imminent, and this is the time to do more in the service; hence don’t waste your resources on higher studies.”.
i wonder whether there was some official communiqué (something that is sent out recently like letter to the elders, or kingdom ministry article …).
WiFi , that doesnt open up where I am.
Whats been said previously , I agree with , that education means you use your own brain and dont just follow what other people tell you to think or to believe.
When you use your own brain that God gave you to use with higher education you gain critical thinking and the realisation that JW`s are nothing more than a mind controlling cult to keep you entrapped in the cult.
in mission impossible 3, ethan hunt (aka tom cruise) and his protege (aka keri russell) have an explosive pellet implanted in their heads through their nose by the bad guys as a way to control them.
the only way to to stop it from detonating is to use a defibrillator or some device to send massive electric shocks to the body, thus short circuiting the deadly implant.
hunt's protege doesn't get the help she needed in time, and she dies.
Well said ATJ,when i think back it took me quite a few years to finally shake the shackles that I had being a JW.
You dont lose the effects of years of indoctrination overnight ,it takes time to break free of the mindset imposed on you.
And my wife , it took quite a few years for her to clear her mind that when you leave the religion you lose your morals and will commit immorality.
We have both been out over 20+ years and retained our morals Its a furphy to think you need religion to have morals.
Sadly , some leave the religion but the religion never leaves them and it doesnt bid well for them .
I`m sorry you experienced that ATJ
so we all know how the organization conducts itself regarding child abuse.
the multitude of legal cases worldwide including the current australian royal commission as well as anecdotal accounts prove their attitude.. perpetrators have not been reported to authorities, and data bases of such have been kept sealed even when demanded by the courts!.
however, when it comes to those of us who have simply left the organization due to learning the truth, the society spares no effort in spreading gossip and ensuring that one's name and reputation is ruined.. so gb, which crime is worse?
I think officially and theoretically they are both considered abhorrent, neither one is worse than the other. However in practice, they are obviously much more pro-active & strict when dealing with apostasy, so that probably reveals the truth of the matter if we believe actions speak louder than words?
So they fear the amount of apostates making themselves known on the internet and social media more than they do the child sexual abuse claims made against the WT /JW religion .
They can buy off claims of child sexuall abuse with settlements but they cant shut the mouths of those speaking out in social media.and sites like this.
Thank you for the internet for all those involved .
i think the worst thing about jws is that they like to take away peoples realistic hopes for a happy life now and replace it with false hope for the future.
tell a jw you want to go college and get a good career and they'll tell you that college is a waste of time, that you'll end up in debt or that the economy is so bad there are no jobs.
tell a jw about how scientists have discovered a new technology that could improve millions of lives and they'll tell you that scientists and technology have "ruined the earth" and cannot be trusted.
But yes Spoletta they have no trouble in taking advantage of all the programmes that are available to them by the government depending on where you live on the earth ,here in Australia they take advantage of the dole , (money to live on before you can get a job ) free medicine or susidised medicine.,And many JW`s have no intention of getting a job while they are pioneering.And the Government pays for it.
Oh thats right its theocratic warefare take advantage of your opponents generosity .and exploit it.
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/convention-program-2017/friday/.
why would our beloved gb member be on the top picture of the program?.
any ideas?.
Boy...back in the day personal glorification was a total no no...everything had to be done with anonymity.....now they love to flash their pompous arses all over their private club media......tiki
So true OUTLAW
,Does any of the older generation see how far the religion of Jehovahs Witnesses have deviated from their roots ?
Arent they just becoming like the TV evangelists they used to condenm ?
The mixture of Christ and Jehovah in this Convention program is confusing ! scriptures using Christ Jesus in the New Testament are valid however their are no scriptures in the new testament that use the name Jehovah , certainly not in the word for word translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures published by the WTB&TS
which does not contain the four consonants of JHVH anywhere in the said text., therefore the name Jehovah should not appear theirin .
So is this Convention program of 2017 a farce ? A convention that is designed to manipulate the gullible ?
Just saying , you decide .
i have a little sister havnt seen or heard from in 20 years she was da for attending a church she was 17 at the time she moved out and lived with a family not jw's in fact they are very a posed to jw's the past 20 years i've tried to make contact she won't respond all i know is she's got kids 2 or 3 of them she lives outside charlotte nc and works for a insurance company as an underwriter.
i think her husband is a police officer ?
being back in her life having a niece or nephew to watch grow up would be nice.
This is a very heart wrenching post DMW , it just empathises how the JW religion breaks up families .
I hope you have success in finding your "little" sister and you have a genuine loving reunion
And whats more important I think is that she respects your attempts to contact her with no strings attached just to be family again even after so many years have passed.
However after so long a time has passed she may think why bother now .And if that is her decision you need to respect that .
I hope you both find a resolve in this.
most of us know that jw despise the catholic church the most among many religions for many years.
my question is do catholic church despise jw as much as the witnesses despise the catholic faith?.
The Roman Catholic Church does not despise the religion of Jehovahs Witnesses in many cases they do/did give credit to the evangelical zeal of the JW`s in promoting their faith and also acknowledging how effective the JW`s have been in making inroads among the catholic populations..
My brother in-law is /was a lay precher in the RC religion and he has written some articles and other publications about JW`s as well as some other religions.
We used to have lenghty discussions about religion in the first 10 years of my baptism. As NJWS says they have always been respectful of JW beliefs , believing them to be misguided.
They have never been hateful to the religion or any of its adherants. in my experience.
And that`s how my brother in-law viewed me and treated me
He is still a born and bred catholic and I am now an atheist.
hello everyone first post, i will leave my whole story for another post.
but i would like to say hello to everyone and wish everyone here much love and support.
and i should also note of my self i might say things that are odd or makes no sense, but then that is my humour.
Welcome Buster K (eaton),
I like your humour already,I will look forward to hearing more about you and where you are from country that is.
You must have intestinal fortitude to be able to sit through a JW broadcast I dont think I could without puking.
The GB are no different from the religious leaders of the RC Church that they criticize so much in their publications., in fact they may even be worse.
i think the worst thing about jws is that they like to take away peoples realistic hopes for a happy life now and replace it with false hope for the future.
tell a jw you want to go college and get a good career and they'll tell you that college is a waste of time, that you'll end up in debt or that the economy is so bad there are no jobs.
tell a jw about how scientists have discovered a new technology that could improve millions of lives and they'll tell you that scientists and technology have "ruined the earth" and cannot be trusted.
So true JWR ,
And it never ceased to amaze me how many JW`s think they are just going to walk into someones mansion with a beautiful view with all the mod cons that are available now after Armageddon .
Where is their brain.
Do they think all the infrastructure / utillities water ,electricity ,sewerage ,etc,etc, that are available now will still be operating when the worldly people who run these services now are all killed off in the big A?
The GB know this but they dont make it obvious to the rank and file that the actual paradise conditions they portray wont happen overnight ,not even for a few hundred years.at least.
That would take away hope on another level.
Sure take away hope in this system , but keep the realism of the new System under wraps.
