Posts by VoidEater

58

Tell Us About Your JW Father If You Had One.

by new boy in

jw
friends

we are great friends now....but he wasn't much of a father growing up.. worked all the time...we went on few vacations....pretty much pussy whipped my my nazis jw mother.. he never did believe in the whole jw thing.

he just when along with it, for my mothers sake.. she never did respect him for not being a "spiritual head" and pretty much let us kids know about it.. i, like my mother became very self rightious and judgmental.. i wished now he had just came to me just once and said "keith maybe the jws are not the people you think they are.

" but he was to afraid of my mother to say that...even though he knew it to be true.i would have never believed him....back then....but it would have planted a seed.... .

VoidEater

Bi-polar, perfectionist, raised in "the truth" but when I was 40 he confided that he didn't really believe the dogma but it seemed a safe place to be when the system ended (he's still convinced society is about to blow apart, either from divine or human causes). Physically and emotional abusive, has mellowed with age where I enjoy the relationship (but only because I've become my own person and can relate to him more as a human being with some wonderful attributes and some hideous flaws).

Intellectual, brilliant thinker, sees the flaws in logic and interpretation and gets himself DAed for disagreeing with dogma. Suicidal when he's on the outs with the local congregation, angry at the hyposcrisy when he's in.

His own mom was physically and emotionally abusive, and this was spurred on by the "spare the rod and spoil the child" mentality of the faith. No wonder he turned out the way he did. Amazing I only inherited the mind and body of my dad, but somehow figured out the abuse could stop with me. Oh, and why does this church not understand that "the rod" is a shephard's crook, not a weapon of smiting?

I love it when I spend time with him, and love it that we live no where near each other. Mostly.

And he'll always be the dad I have, and I love him.

252

are we inactive or what?

by inactive? in

i would like someone to discuss some issues i have.

i understand all are welcome here, so i am sure some elders or former elders could help me.

i was a pioneer for 7 years, before that i was a regular auxiliarry pioneer for 3 years, i have been a witness for 17 years.

VoidEater

inactive?: I think you are coming to some realizations. "This is not what Jehovah would want". You need to keep your standing in front of Jehovah, not some earthly organization.

At what I am guessing to be your stage in life, it will be difficult to start a new social circle and establish new friendships - but certainly in your current predicament you have no current circle of friendships, so it's not that big a loss. It's just that last hurdle: realizing you're leaving what has been your spiritual home - no matter that thieves have broken in and ruined the place.

God would never treat you like this. God's people would never treat you like this.

No one can interfere with your relationship with Jehovah. That is inside you. Your relationship with God is yours alone.

Treat yourself as you know Jehovah would treat you. Protect yourself from this toxic relationship.

17

How Many Are...Or Have Been Going To Therapy?

by new boy in

jw
friends

i only went twice right before i left in 2001.. my then jw wife.... thought in would be a good idea.

she thought all "my angry issuses" were against my dead nazis jw mother.....they were really about me living a lie for over 10 years... so anyway...i went to this dr. and in just 2 visits, told him my whole life story,begining to end.

he did't really say very much.. at the end of the whole thing i said "well doc...you can see that i'm pretty much screwed no matter what i do...if i stay in the cult i'm screwed...and if i leave i'm screwed!.

VoidEater

After not participating for about 10 years, I finally started therapy at 30 years of age. It was a difficult 15 years: sexual abuse, shunning of my dad (and family), screwed up/controlled worldview...but, through good therapists and bad, I got what I needed...

20

Car Talk

by Wordly Andre in

jw
friends

over the past weekend i replaced the rear brake pads on my 03 mini cooper, changed out the cabin air filter, and steam cleaned the engine.

my friend came over with his 04 ford tarus he wanted me to look at some brake noise in the rear passenger side, turns out it only needed to be cleaned and adjusted.

i also fixed a dash light that was out on my 03 focus, then i noticed that my electric trunk latch is going out, guess i'm off to pick a part this weekend!

VoidEater

I restored a '68 Firebird 400, did all the interior work myself, always maintained the mechanicals (from brakes to head gaskets) - my dad was always the "I'll fix this" sort. I've done a lot on my current car ('87 Fiero GT), from body panel upgrades to tune-ups, but as I get older I would rather have someone else do the labor in things like heater cores and clutch replacements...just takes so much time for some of these jobs...

38

A DF'd son needs an Elder/Father opinion

by feenx in

jw
friends

<br><br>.

<br><br> .

VoidEater

I'm not a father nor an elder, but - wow - what a mirror of my childhood. You're not alone...

You might want to check out DHaene's book, "Father's Touch" (http://www.fatherstouch.com/) for some additional perspective that might be helpful as you go through your process...

33

Pseudo-Atheist Shows that Watchtower is Hard to Shake Off (Long Post)

by Carl_Hernz in

after having read and responded to a person on this board who declares themselves to a. dhere to an atheist ideology, i came away feeling that ive been discussing matters with .

a theistic dogmatist.

it was quiet unusual because their attitude towards others was .

VoidEater

Gopher: And certainly you are one of the more thoughtful, interesting and inspiring folks on the board! ;-)

40

Do you find the Jan 15-08 WT disturbing?

by cultswatter in

i have now read the jan 15-08 about 3 times.

every time that i do, i get madder and madder.

here are some things that i find disturbing.

VoidEater

Hmm...this message doesn't seem any different to my ears - it's precisely the same message I've heard since a babe in my mom's arms. 47 years of "quit your job, get out and pioneer, it's the last days, ~~1975 is coming~~, ~~1977 is coming~~, ~~the gap of time leading to Eve's creation is almost up~~, ~~there aren't any new Annointed~~, ~~the generation is almost died out~~, it's gonna happen Real Soon!

I imagine they forgot to mention that the Other Sheep are in no way commanded (even from the JW point of view) to preach at all...

33

Pseudo-Atheist Shows that Watchtower is Hard to Shake Off (Long Post)

by Carl_Hernz in

after having read and responded to a person on this board who declares themselves to a. dhere to an atheist ideology, i came away feeling that ive been discussing matters with .

a theistic dogmatist.

it was quiet unusual because their attitude towards others was .

VoidEater

Seretonin: You raise an interesting point - who's to blame when a brain-washed person makes a life-ending choice? Who has responsibility? Who is responsible for our actions, based on belief? Is there shared blame?

Are racists responsible for their racist thoughts when they've been brain-washed to think of themselves as the chosen ones?

Are suicides responsible for their own deaths when they kill themselves because their significant other left them?

Are humanitarians responsible for their good works when they've been brain-washed into thinking it's "the right thing to do"?

It seems easier to blame the church that promulgated the belief (in "no blood") for this mother's death. This "faceless" organization that has caused so much harm in the world certainly makes an easier target of our anger.

33

Pseudo-Atheist Shows that Watchtower is Hard to Shake Off (Long Post)

by Carl_Hernz in

after having read and responded to a person on this board who declares themselves to a. dhere to an atheist ideology, i came away feeling that ive been discussing matters with .

a theistic dogmatist.

it was quiet unusual because their attitude towards others was .

VoidEater

Gopher: I got the impression Carl is explaining the underpinnings and development of a faith, rather than giving forth an argument for its' proof...

Most Athiest I've spoken with have had a "devotional" nature to the non-existence of a god; most Agnostics have had a lack of belief or conviction, without the negative assertion. So, in those terms, the Athiests I have known have had strong beliefs about (the non-existence) of God, similar to the relgious' (positive) assertions. I have known a few Athiests just as dogmatic as, well, most JWs.

It's the Agnostics that I've known that I've found to be the most open to thoughtful conversations on comparative religion...but with a tune-up maybe I'd get better mileage.

33

Pseudo-Atheist Shows that Watchtower is Hard to Shake Off (Long Post)

by Carl_Hernz in

after having read and responded to a person on this board who declares themselves to a. dhere to an atheist ideology, i came away feeling that ive been discussing matters with .

a theistic dogmatist.

it was quiet unusual because their attitude towards others was .

VoidEater

Regarding the revelations from Yahweh that Christianity supposedly rests on, is a Christian able to tell me what they feel the religion of Islam is based on?

I think an individual who has done some comparative religious study can answer questions on a number of religiouis. I think a typical Christian is not even able to articulate what their beliefs are based on. The McDonald's counter guy can't tell me what's in the beef.

I think demanding that only Christians can speak to what Christianity is based on is not very useful. Most of the Christians I know are not scholarly, and the JWs I know are narrowly aware of the JW dogma (and most simply don't follow the intricacies of scriptural interpretation on chronology, "classes", etc. - posters to this board widely excepted, of course).

Yes, a Christian who has made the effort to research, participate, or otherwise become educated on Islam will be able to answer questions on the basis of Islam. Especially those that were raised in one faith and converted to the other - these are perhaps the BEST sources for questions like this. Besides, the bases of these two example religions are not that different.

Being a Christian does not automatically give one insight into the exegesis of the faith. Hopefully, a Christian can tell you what it means to them to be a part of that faith, but the insistence of membership as a certification of knowledge is not realistic or useful.