Posts by Toshiro Mifune

110

How many remember the 1969 8 day convention?

by seek2find in

anybody remember the 8 day 1969 international convention.

i was at the braves stadium in atlanta all 8 days with a sunburn and then wet clothes after the rain storms.

if you were there (not necessarily in atlanta) do you remember anything about it?

Toshiro Mifune

I remember that assembly. I was a teenager and we drove from Southern California to Vancouver, B.C., Canada. We were in a van -- the passenger list grew from five people to eight. The last "sister" to join the group was a middle-aged nymphomaniac who had just been reinstated after being disfellowshipped for a notorious episode of congregational adultery. The woman had serious issues -- but it made for an entertaining drive.

The Society could have distilled the entire eight days down to a 10-second tape for all that I can remember. I do remember the moon landing -- watching it on TV late at night. I also remember that on the first day of the assembly a "sister" was killed (I think crossing a nearby amusement park). The Witness buzz concerning this was -- she obviously didn't have Jehovah's spirit protecting her at this special theocratic event. I recall thinking: Oh great, the woman hasn't been dead for five hours and she's already been declared a heretic.

There were several books released at that assemble. The first edition of the abbreviated "Aid" book, "The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures," (who in hell was picking out those colors?); "Is the Bible Really the Word of God," which, upon my return, I promptly placed with a return visit, an atheist Catholic monk at the local historic California mission; and, "Then is Finished the Mystery of God" -- which, according to an elderly brother behind the book counter, was gonna be the book that would see us into the Great Tribulation. (I'm sure he's dead now.)

TM

44

1995 The Year That Saw A Turning Point

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

1995 the year that saw a turning pointduring the 1980s, the thought that this generation will not pass until all .

of these events occur was the watchtowers theme.

the countdown .

Toshiro Mifune

I can remember a 1982 article in Time magazine interviewing Raymond Franz about his recent departure from the WT's Brooklyn headquarters and the governing body. Franz commented that the WT Society would soon have to change their definition of "this Generation" -- the generation that experienced 1914.

Even though, having survived the whole disingenuous 1975 Gordian knot, I stupidly thought, "Well, that's sad, he'll learn it the hard way." After all, wasn't the affirmation that the 1914 generation would be alive when the End would happen, printed along with the masthead of each Awake! magazine? Hadn't I used that simple quote in the door-to-door work?

The 1980s seemed a period of draconian scrutiny by the society. Witch hunts for the "hated" apostates, unquestioning obedience, suspicion, blind loyalty to the WTS, no independent studying by witnesses, etc. Since I had not heard of R. Franz's leaving the Governing Body at that time, I mentioned the Time article to a few fellow elders. They were startled! Didn't I know not to read or believe anything regarding the Society unless it came directly from the WTS!

Well, I said, here, look, see, it's in Time magazine and it has direct quotes from Franz. They acted like I had handed them Satan's rank, tumescent genitals. Wanting to snuff out any apocryphal gossip, they immediately called the Society and they were told, yes, it was true.

Sure enough, in 1995, R. Franz's prophecy came true. The "1914 generation" transmuted with new light. At that point, for me, it merely underscored what I had learned about the teachings and control of the WTS -- life-altering truth one day and forgotten "dust" the next.

TM

40

Would you rat out an Elder

by pratt1 in

this weekend i accompanied a few friends to a strip club in manhattan.

my wife doesn't like it too much, but since i promised her that a lap dance is asfar as i will go with a stripper, she tolorates it.. imagine my surprise when i noticed that an elder from my old congo was there along with several of his co-workers.. he tried to ignore me but before we left i stopped by his table and said hello.. he actually had the nerve to ask me if it was okay for us to speak.

i said since we were both in a strip club, it didn't matter.. my question - should i mention this to dubs i still maintain relationships with, who incidently worship the ground this elder walks on?.

Toshiro Mifune

He actually had the nerve to ask me if it was okay for us to speak.

Talk about a compartmentalized psyche. "Yes, I can have a woman of questionable morals grind around on my groin -- but I ain't speakin' to no disfellowshipped person."

I personally feel that ratting on naughty JWs is a tool the organization uses to control and intimidate the flock. I've stopped participating that's why I didn't write a letter of disassociation. I'm not doing their misguided work for them.

There once was a prominent elder who used to frequent public toilets for gay sex. This went on for quite awhile until a "brother" from a congregation where he had given a talk was using the restroom for the same reason. The second brother felt guilty and confessed for them both.

TM

30

An introduction

by Toshiro Mifune in

jw
friends

where to begin?

i hope this will serve as my introduction to this group.

(hope im in the right section.

Toshiro Mifune

Thanks to all who welcomed me. I deeply appreciate it. Yes, it's getting better all the time.

TM

30

An introduction

by Toshiro Mifune in

jw
friends

where to begin?

i hope this will serve as my introduction to this group.

(hope im in the right section.

Toshiro Mifune

Where to begin? I hope this will serve as my introduction to this group. (Hope I’m in the right section.) I was a Jehovah’s Witness for 30 years. I really believed it with all my heart and I tried to live accordingly. I believed that the JWs were the one, true religion (which I now find disgustingly bigoted).

I chose to believe 1975 was a marked year, according to Bible chronology, and that the thousand-year reign of Christ had to begin somewhere around that time. I believed the generation that saw 1914 occur would not pass away before the End would come.

Needless to say, neither of these things happened. But it wasn’t so much the failure of those things that made me stop attending. It was the “new-and-improved” teachings of the Governing Body – along with the paranoia and the fear-based, unloving behavior of the JW brotherhood – that made me decide to walk away and face the anger and personal destruction of Jehovah.

True, there were things that had always disturbed me about the JWs. Their strident refusal to accept the literature of other religions from people at the door. (If it was the Truth, wouldn’t prayerful investigation only further confirm it to be the only true religion?) Their proscription regarding any “independent” Bible research. Draconian behaviors related to disfellowshipping; chronology; suicide; care for the alone, elderly and weak; attitudes toward education, work, and culture – all these, and more, coalesced and created within me a “bad heart.” I didn’t want to live forever under the iron fist of the WTBTS, or, eternally camp-out with what I came to see as a vast brotherhood of automatons,

So, over about five years, I traveled on the road to inactivity. At first I was depressed and told the “brothers” I was feeling suicidal. (I was an ardent Bible student, but was told to study, publish, pray more. One elder told me depression was a really a form of selfishness.) I had doctrinal questions that were summarily dismissed and which made the brothers suspicious and uneasy. I sought theocratic counsel, but was told because I was not “inactive,” they couldn’t study with me. (I had never asked for a study.) Increasingly, I was routinely ignored and avoided.

So, I stopped attending meetings 11 years ago. Sure, there were a few obligatory “surprise” Saturday morning elder visits – with the intent of telling me if I didn’t return to the fold, God would butcher me and my family at the ever-imminent Armageddon. (My wife was not a witness and my children had chosen to live “normal” lives – even though I had studied with them and taken them to meetings when they were youngsters.)

For me there was a long period of adjustment. Fear, loneliness, guilt, and depression seemed to be constant companions as I made my way through the post-JW fog. Initially, I didn’t want to join any “apostate” group. Nor did I want to criticize the WBTS. I just wanted to be left alone. Somewhere along the line, I ordered Ray Franz’s two books. They were eye-opening and liberating. Then I read other books by Carl Olof Jonsson. I also began to see a psychotherapist. I attended other Christian churches and religions – including Jewish, Buddhist, Islamic and Sikh faiths. (So far, none of the religious investigations have stuck – I’m a man without a religion. And, I don’t think that’s really a bad place to be.)

This note is getting quite long, so bringing it to an end, my question is – does a person ever really get over a decades-long brain-screwing by an authoritative, oppressive, soul-sucking religion?

In all sincerity, TM