Posts by Robert7

35

What was the "logical straw" that broke your camel's back?

by Pacopoolio in

jw
friends

i had a bunch of tiny little nags that always bothered me about the bible/god/etc.

that eventually led to me drifting away, but this was my personal, singular issue that no one could address.

i think i mentioned it before here, but, for summation again:.

Robert7

THE final straw was WWII and the haughty view the JWs have on the brothers that died in the concentration camps. (of course I had other issues, but this was that final straw) I always had this nagging issue with this attitude over about 10,000 JWs dying, when 6 million Jews died. It completely disrespected the deaths and suffering of the Jews.

I remember that service meeting, December 2007, where a brother, yet again, mentioned WWII and how the brothers remained strong under persecution and my resentment on the complete disregard of the 6 million Jews. Then 'snap', that moment I decided I was no longer a JW.

The dissonance built up over the years, and that night it all came crumbling down, triggered by one comment about JWs in WWII.

I joined this site that evening, searching for experiences of others like me, and only went to a handful of meeting after that.

31

Was There Anything A JW Said That Made You Raise Your Eyebrows?

by minimus in

jw
friends

we had an elderly pioneer/ms in our hall and he used to like to rattle the elders.

he liked using the "n" word in his comments.

he one time started to comment about the "ni##er pool" that he would observe among the poorer blacks.

Robert7

"Everything said from the stage is like it is said from Jehovah"

27

Picking on Harold Camping- again

by A.proclaimer in

Robert7

I hate the JW cult and their flat-out lying to their flock.

16

Unquestioning obedience

by Phizzy in

this has been demanded over the years by the wt.

it used to be mildly subtle the way the words were couched.. then they came out with, what they have repeated recently, that it is necessary to obey, even if you cannot understand the reasons, cannot understand why you are being asked to do something.. as a born in i knew nothing of it being a cult, and was only aware of the mind control in a foggy sort of way, accepting it as their way of trying to keep control.. but when i saw those words about unquestioning obedience, my blood ran cold, it then hit me that something was wrong, badly wrong.. how did you react ?.

Robert7

I was raised by parents who lived in communist controlled Poland. My dad (non JW) always instilled a certain distrust of authority. What I mean is don't believe what you are told at face value. Look at their motives and agenda. Question things.

So as a JW my brain always threw a red flag when I would get direct orders like don't go to college, don't look at apostate sites, dont question anything, and far worst was this blind obedience. I felt that blind obedience from ANY authority figure is dangerous. You tell me don't read anything critical of us, I say a BS, what are you hiding!

This is actually was a huge source of dissonance for me and became a big part of my mind opening up and finally leaving the JWs.

12

Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 01-12-2014 WT Study (WAIT PATIENTLY)

by blondie in

jw
friends

comments.

100 years later still final?.

(2) what events will signal the end of our waiting period?

Robert7

I love how their only example of why someone would stop going to meetings is because "someone got offended". How about questionable doctrine and a terrible track record and history?

38

Christmas Field Service

by NeverKnew in

on another thread, i read that a few adherents may be traveling (cough-cough) to other cities and wouldn't be able to make field service on christmas day.. what is the likelihood that going out on christmas will be encouraged at the weekend services at the khs?

...or do most halls stay neutral on this?

given what i've read on this forum, i have the impression that disrespecting a day of other's celebration wouldn't be discouraged which annoys the heck out of me..

Robert7

I remember holidays being mentioned as "a great way to find people at home". I refused to go out on any holiday. I may not have agreed with their holidays, but I respected it and left them alone.

18

Did you feel nervous before/while giving talks?

by likeabird in

jw
friends

the subject of feeling nervous came up in sfpw recent thread http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/268270/2/im-curious-when-you-were-asked-to-do-a-demo-for-a-service-meeting-part-how-did-the-request-make-you-feel#.uqgz_0nd13b.

it reminded me of a sister i knew.

you always knew when you got to the meeting if she had a talk that night.

Robert7

I always did, for a 5 minute part! What killed me was that I'm a professional in a sales environment. I can speak for in front of large groups, executives, etc, with no nerves, and with no need to overly prepare or even script the whole presentation. Everything just came natural and I do well.

So I would always wonder, why can I deliver a professional 1/2 hour long presentation with minimal preparation and usually no notes, but have to basically script the 5 minute parts at the hall?

I personally think this was all part of dissonance. I didn't whole heartedly believe everything at the hall and therefore didn't immerse myself in it. At the hall, no talks came naturally.

5

Jehovahs Witnesses and Communist Parties similarities

by Syme in

as an example i will use the existing communist party in my country.

the cp of my country is generally viewed as a rigid, stalinist party (one of the few remaining in the world), so it is a very suitable analogy.. the comparison will be as this: i will describe the characteristics of the cp and i will highlight in red letters the (in my opinion) characteristic that resembles the jw, although some characteristics are so similar, that this marking may seem unnecessary.... activity of members: every member of the cp is expected to read regularly the party literature, which includes one daily newspaper and one bimonthly magazine; not just read it though, but absorb it.

a party member is also expected to actively participate in party propaganda, which often includes (yes, youve guessed it) door-to-door activity!

Robert7

Very interesting. I never knew that thr communist party still had a major presence today. But wow I do agree that the similarities are close. I think this is a good example that mind control exists outside the JWs and outside of religion in general. We should always use our critical thinking skills and question and analyze things. And very importantly know when we see the red flags of mind control.

38

What IS the meaning and purpose of EVIL?

by Monsieur in

reading about the massacre of the jw family in mexico brought up all kinds of questions again.. from the standpoint of someone who doesn't in believe in 'god' or a 'conventional' god,.

what is the meaning and purpose of evil?.

how does it relate to the overall universe and its balance?

Robert7

Evil is all relative. Mass slaughter in concentration camps is evil in our definition. Taking thousands of pigs for slaughter is ok, but I bet the pigs would consider that evil from their perspective.

Evil is defined by our own definitions and by society. It used to be normal to own slaves, today it is considered evil. Look at all the crazy laws in the Old Testament. They were law and normal. Today many of them would be considers evil in our culture.

Evil is is something that happens, that we as advanced beings define and try to, most of the time, reduce. No purpose, no 'devil'....

18

Anyone else work from home?

by confusedandalone in

if so, how are you enjoying it compared to maybe sitting in an office or going outside the home for work.

i use to work in the office environment but after starting up my own thing with the with we eventually got office space.

then as we grew we have decided to leave the office space for the employees and work from home.. i am sure it is not as exciting working from home but the wife disagrees.

Robert7

I work in sales for a technology company, and have been working from a home office for over 6 years. Personally I love it. I get so much more time in my life by taking out the morning and evening routines and drive. I can easily run errands, go to the gym, or whatever I want during the day. I wake up later than my 8th grade daughter does to get ready for school!

Yes, you have to be very self disciplined. You also have to accept that you will not have a local set of workmates to associate with. On the positive, you miss out on office politics.

It can get a little lonely, but I travel regularly for work, so it all balances out. I hope to work from home for a long time!