B_Deserter

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Posts by B_Deserter

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  53

  JWs and Love towards their families

  by R.F. in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this is something that just popped in my mind suddenly.. but i was thinking about over the years the many comments of jws about loved ones.

  for instance, one sister was speaking of her disgust with her children not accepting the "truth".

  she gladly tells anyone of what she told them; that if they don't accept it before armageddon that it's too bad.

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  B_Deserter

  "Do Catholics or people of other faiths whom dubs are so quick to judge for their lack of love treat their members this way?"
  
  My aunt was actually a catholic before she married my uncle, a JW at the time. Her Catholic family disowned her. With any large faith, you have varying levels of extremism in the ranks. I told my parents about my decision and they didn't disown me.
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  37

  I told my parents I no longer believe the Watchtower Society

  by B_Deserter in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  they insisted i come over for a debate, a chance for them to save me since according to my mother this was "a matter of life and death.

  " basically i spent the whole evening passively nodding my head and acknowledging what they said.

  i tried a few times to argue or debate but getting through to them was impossible.

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  B_Deserter

  I can't imagine how awful it must be for you. I don't know how old you are (if you're still with the parents I imagine you're late teens/early 20's), but it takes an extreme amount of courage to tell your parents you disagree with their way of life and go on to continue living with them.
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  5

  Additional congregation responsibilites

  by B_Deserter in

  1. social
  2. humour

  over the years i've noticed that in almost every kingdom hall, someone (or multiple people) fill the following congregation roles.

  i'll post a few i came up with, and i invite you to post your own as well as amusing anecdotes about them.

  sister "opening night at the opera" this sister can be any age and have any level of skill, from zero to she-could-be-a-professional.

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  B_Deserter

  Over the years I've noticed that in almost every Kingdom Hall, someone (or multiple people) fill the following congregation roles. I'll post a few I came up with, and I invite you to post your own as well as amusing anecdotes about them.
  
  Sister "Opening Night at the Opera" This sister can be any age and have any level of skill, from zero to she-could-be-a-professional. She loves to sing LOUD and is proud of it! Invoking the awesome power of her lungs, she can make it sound like she's the only one signing in a crowd of over 100 people. Her lung capacity is truly a wonder to behold as she holds notes while everyone else is pausing to take a breath, which makes her actually the only one singing. The affect of this can range from pleasing to terribly distressful and some of the poorer examples tend to not only sing terribly, but off-key and off-time as well, throwing the entire congregation off its "rhythm."
  
  Sister "I'm not getting married, I'm going to pioneer and stay single" Nine times out of ten, this sister really does want to get married but is tired of all the older brothers and sisters that try to set her up on dates with gumpy-looking losers. This line is often used by her when trying to let down a brother she isn't interested in easy. It's really the ultimate "not interested" in the dating world. She looks great for foregoing her biological urges and he looks bad if he doesn't accept this excuse. It also provides a bit of solace for the disappointed brother, as it further convinces him that there is nothing wrong with him (even though there is, oh god there is), until of course the sister inevitably gets engaged 6 months later. Unfortunately, this tactic can backfire and cause the sister to remain a single virgin well into her 40's, where she promptly loses her mind and becomes Sister "Opening Night at the Opera."
  
  Brother "Just got back from Bethel, now worship the ground I walk on" This Brother is a breed apart from the rest of the congregation. Older members tend to shower him with praise and view him as a "gift" to the congregation. All of the females in the Hall his age are instantly attracted to him, but he will probably end up marrying Sister "I'm not getting married..." He is commonly viewed as the most mature man among his peers, even though all he did was study the bible getting free room and board, catered food, laundry service, and even a monthly allowance despite almost no expenses. He often talks to people in mindgames and riddles, attempting to give the impression that bethel has made him smart/clever. This usually fails to impress the older ones, but does cause the vaginas of all the young sisters in the hall to drip with anticipation of his presence.
  
  Elder Hardass Elder Hardass is either very old or very young. In many congregations, he was once Brother "Just got back from Bethel, now worship the ground I walk on." Elder Hardass rules with an iron fist, enforcing his own quirky rules on the congregation. They can be as ridiculous as "no colored shirts on the stage" or "no one is allowed to get married unless they have first pioneered and are over 30." Elder Hardass believes everyone should pioneer, and all brothers should go to bethel as he once did. Making a living in today's world is no concern or excuse for members of the congregation to not meet his rigid meeting attendance and service time standards. Often, this Elder is rich and doesn't have to worry about money. He is also usually good friends with the Circuit and even District Overseers, making complaints against him impossible to be heard by an objective ear.
  
  Sister "Elder's Wife that everyone buys Expensive Vitamin Supplements/Pampered Chef/Quack Medical Devices from" Upon moving into an area, this sister promptly takes the role of Congregation Shaman. She reads books by medical quacks and con-men about Eating right for your Blood Type, Natural Cures, and other such nonsense. Other sisters in the congregation consequently eat it up, and pay her lots of money in order to buy her extremely overpriced wares. If a congregation member becomes inflicted with a serious condition, follows her advice, and improves, it is lauded by the other hens as ultimate proof of her almost-divine healing providence. Of course, if someone DOESNT get better, the fact is promptly ignored.
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  15

  Anyone else have an aversion to singing?

  by AllAlongTheWatchtower in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was reading the threads http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/129051/1.ashx (remember the song make the truth your own?

  ) and http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/136242/1.ashx (the messages are always there), and was reminded that i had been intending to post something along these lines before and never got around to it.

  note: i was raised in the wcg (armstrong), not a jw, but i've found they're similar in many ways, and i believe this to be another one:.

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  B_Deserter

  One thing I hated about the songs is their incessant use of improper contractiions (giv'n instead of given and heav'n instead of heaven) that are not only grossly incorrect and embarrassing to utter out loud, but also completely unnecessary.
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  12

  Voting on hall decoration?

  by stapler99 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was just wondering what people's experiences with how the congregation decided how to decorate their hall, colour schemes and so on.

  was the decision made by the boe without much consultation?

  were many in the congregation upset at the choice?.

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  B_Deserter

  I've only been out for a short time, so I know the current policy. Congregations are given two choices and vote privately by writing their choices on a slip of paper and putting them into a ballot box. Usually, the two choices are TERRIBLE (I once had to choose between a green and orange theme, YUCK).
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  19

  Most X-JW's turn to paganism

  by White Dove in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  that's what a witch at a pagan shop told me.

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  B_Deserter

  I think most JWs turn to atheist/agnosticism like I did. We spend our entire lives learning about how other religions are wrong that when we're disillusioned with the Witnesses we become disillusioned with the Bible and religion as well. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that being in the Witnesses wore a lot of us down so much that we just don't want to bother with another religion. Personally, if I hadn't realized just how ridiculous the Bible is, I'd probably look into Gnosticism. Since I was a child, I always had a sneaking suspicion that the God of the Old Testament was the Devil of the New Testament. For being supposedly just like his father, Jesus is a 180-degree personality flip of the vengeful, misogynistic, infanticidal, genocidal, racist, bloodthirsty murderer God of the OT.
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  23

  Preaching Work is unique identifier

  by besty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  several conversations with current jw's have thrown up this validation of their faith.

  i can think of several lines of refutation: .

  1 - ask 'is increase proof of gods blessing?

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  B_Deserter

  1 - Ask 'Is increase proof of Gods blessing?' then answer 'Why have faiths starting at a similar time had better results as measured by numbers of adherents eg Seventh Day Adventists 14.4m members and over 1m baptised in 2005. Mormons 12.2m members etc?'
  
  My answer to this would have been that Jehovah's Witnesses only count active members in their ranks. Mormon numbers are especially skewed in this area for two reasons. First, they perform baptism for the dead and count these people as members (despite their zombie status). Also, from what I've seen written by many former Mormons, getting themselves removed from the membership rolls is a decade-long battle in many cases.
  
  As far as Seventh-Day Adventists, I don't know much about them, but would assume they're a lot like most mainline churches. I think if all these churches started only counting people who showed up for church every Sunday as members instead of just everyone that gives them money, we'd see those number shrink really fast.
  
  "2 - Develop the argument around the meaning of 'from door to door' as opposed to 'in private homes' as per ISOCF Ray Franz "
  
  I personally would use the accounts of Christian preaching activity in Acts 5:42 and 20:20 as evidence that the house to house (or "door to door") method was in use in the first century. Of course, one thing the literature never seems to notice is that these scriptures only refer to the apostles preaching from house to house. There is no biblical basis for requiring every Christian to preach in this manner.
  
  "3 - Ask 'Why are you not allowed to create your own website to share your faith? The internet is recognised as the most powerful means of mass communication ever invented'"
  
  We all know the answer to that one :). I have two theories about why this ruling was made (well, it wasn't really a ruling, I believe the KM in question said "there is no need" to put up websites explaining beliefs). The first answer is the obvious, putting yourself out there and identifying yourself as a Witness will draw the attention of Apostates who will "poison" you. The second answer is not so obvious. I think the Society knows that every belief and teaching is not shared by every member. Most Witnesses disagree with the society about at least one thing, but they still think that it's God's organization and he will sort it all out in the end. Brooklyn tolerates this, as long as one doesn't' discuss his disagreements with others. Putting your own beliefs out there would reveal where you disagree with the Watchtower, and other witnesses might see it and agree with you as well, drawing loyalty away from the FDS. The internet provides a forum too public and too free for Brooklyn to be comfortable with.
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  19

  What did Jesus approve in 1919 ?

  by AlphaOmega in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  as an offshoot from this thread (can threads sprout shoots ?)....

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/136253/1.ashx.

  ... i was wondering if anyone has any quotes / scans of .

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  B_Deserter

  Lately the teaching has been that Jesus approved the Society based on, and only on the worldwide preaching effort.
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  46

  What didn't you do because you were a JW that you now regret?

  by jwfacts in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i just bought a bottle of wine for an exjw's 30th that i am about to run off to.

  on it there was a great quote by mark twain:.

  "twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do... explore.

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  B_Deserter

  I could have had sex by now instead of looking at my 25th birthday a virgin. Not a terribly big deal to me, but I still have to avoid that type of conversation at work.
  
  All the alienation in public school I could have missed out on if I only celebrated birthdays/holidays and was able to associate with more than the two other witnesses that hated me in my school.
  
  A better relationship with my grandmother before she died
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  19

  Watchtower evidence that Beth Sarim WAS for the Return..anyone?, thanks!

  by NotaNess in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi, has there been any past topics or postings of this material in the wts materials?

  if so, where and if not, can your direct me or post something...thanks!

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  B_Deserter

  AlphaOmega: Those are obviously elaborate Apostate forgeries! You should be ashamed of yourself!