So I wonder if it will go like this.... Fast forward 25 years... only "apostates" will dig up unreliable accounts of a time when the Watchtower made money selling expensive real estate in Brooklyn, and had so-called "circuit overseers" instead of local PO's making the rounds. New JWs will say "we have always had our headquarters at Patterson" (like, "we have always been at war with Eastasia").
nondescriptex
JoinedPosts by nondescriptex
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224
News from Bethel Heavy
by cinnamon1642 inpioneer hour change is legit.
letters are being mailed out soon to all congregations for announcement in early october right before the tract campaign starts.. .
elimination of circuit overseers.
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FOR LURKING JW ELDERS- REVISED LIST
by jst2laws insorry to have to repost this but i screwed up the original thread so bad i can't even get in to 'edit'.
here is the current list of former (some present) elders.
for over a year i lurked as an elder on h2o and this board.
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nondescriptex
Well said, bud2114. So many elders have noticed the same things, on their own and in all sincerity, long before talking to anyone else about it or visiting forums like this. It's a relief, although somewhat bittersweet, to know we're not alone in our assessment.
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I have tried to be an atheist
by stillajwexelder ini have tried to be an atheist- honestly, i have really tried.
i have most of dawkins books and many others.
i completely agree there has to be some evolution and obviously the fossil record in the grand canyon plus erosion shows it must be at least 600 million years old.
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nondescriptex
After completely letting go of trying to make sense out of the problems with "the truth", I really felt there just could not be a God, all religion was just insanity, and there was no meaning to life, no higher being. I was ok with that and thought I had finally settled in. But after some time, that didn't feel right either. There is something odd about the human tendency to want to be more than what we are, to want to create meaning to life, to want to do more than survive and continue the existence of the species. Why did evolution go so far past the point needed for survival? Why do humans make up stories about higher beings and believe them? Why is there this hunger for something more to life than biology? If there is "a God", why do we seem to on our own? Does God want us to invent our own religions to ease the pain of life? Those are just some questions I haven't been able to answer for myself. Now I think there is something more to life that I can't quite figure out.
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'Paradise Earth' makes absolutely no sense!
by navytownroger inthe jw idea of 'paradise earth' seems to be full of holes.
will babies of baptized jws also be in the new system?
if not, how could the child's parents consider it 'paradise' without their children?
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nondescriptex
I thought I knew it was true. I became frustrated because people I talked to in field service just could not see it. It baffled me that people could not see what was so plainly true and wonderful and taught in the Bible. Then I sat down with the Bible to find the rock solid irrefutable proof that would help people understand. But there was no such proof. I even mentioned to other JW's how interesting it was that the paradise earth is not plainly stated in the Bible, it's like a puzzle in pieces that we have to put together. But... the pieces don't really fit. I wanted it to be there, but I wanted it to honestly be there, because we're different from other religions and we teach only the truth found in the Bible, nothing more nothing less. With the passing of time I came to realize, you guessed it, it just isn't there.
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How much of a role in Brainwashing did the songs actually play?
by KW13 inthose haunting words...those out of tune dubs...wailing...moanin...then i wake up :p lol i am kidding, but i remember 'snippets' of a lot of songs, all of which focused on me being submissive (for example song number 8, my favourite as a child dub).
does singing help brainwash sheep?
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nondescriptex
I always disliked the songs. They were irritating and annoying to me even when I was a full fledged 110% true JW. If anything, they were a minor contributing factor to my finally letting me ask myself "WHY am I doing this?!?" The one and only true religion, and this is the BEST, the very BEST and only correct way to worship God with song? I mean, this is IT?
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for "born-ins"
by Mandette indoes anyone remember being a little kid and being forced to sit through those 2 hour meetings?
specifically being made to listen to graphic accounts of whatever country that was going through horrific persecution.
(or any other horrors you might remember).
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nondescriptex
When I was a kid, I took it all in stride and didn't feel worried. That is to say, I was not aware of the tight knot of anxiety building inside me. But as the years went by I gradually realized how strange and damaging it was to automatically expect to be brutally tortured some day, not IF but WHEN. I think it messed me up in ways I could not realize until growing up and looking back. I was always careful not to feel too happy, careful not to enjoy anything too much, because one day soon I would be taken away from home, persecuted possibly to death. If the official teaching had simply taken what the Bible says about the various sacrifices the Christian way of life may entail, that would have been good enough. But why hype up the ugliest possible situation and constantly burn it in to the tender minds of children?
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Hi, I'm new
by Diva inhi, this is my first post but ive been lurking around this discussion board for some time now.
my husband (the borg) occasionally posts and i had the pleasure of meeting some great people at the apostofest in covent garden, london last year arranged by bestie and sweetpea , hi to you both and hi to freetothink, mr majestic and everyone that was there hope youre all ok.. my story in a nutshell: raised a jw from birth, my whole family, expect one brother and sister (disfellowshipped) are still jws - basically i was raised in a family who were considered one of the pillars of the congregation, we all pioneered and did the whole witness thing, in fact one of my sisters is a missionary.
my whole jw world crumbled when i learnt about the jw/un connection and from that moment on there was no turning back.
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nondescriptex
Welcome!
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Lurker for a long time, finally decided to take the plunge!
by Momma-Tossed-Me ini say this because i have been helped so much by the many posts that represent the way i feel about the wtbts.
it is good to know that there are so many people that feel this way.
i am currently inactive and dont comment but do attend meetings for the sake of the family.. my wife is still in and i have a daughter and one on the way.
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nondescriptex
Welcome! I also was a lurker, for a long time, and continue to enjoy the open discussion and feeling that I'm not alone.
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Calling all ELDERS
by The Oracle inif you are an elder who frequents this site, please let me know.. i am trying to connect (completely anonymously - your privacy is assured) with as many elders as i can.
i know that there are hundreds of elders in the same position as myself (have had our awakening and have come to realize that "the truth" is a sham).. i encourage you to continue to serve as an elder and for you to work together with other like minded elders as a collective force for true good.
there is much we can do from the inside to help the cause.. there are thousands and indeed millions of kind and honest hearted people whose only crime is that they have allowed themselves to be deceived and are still active jws.
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nondescriptex
Oracle has stated the main objective was to help individuals, and it's good to see this being accomplished. I think that is a healthier and more productive goal than reforming or destroying the organization, by comparison. Due to the nature of the organization, it is extremely difficult to establish a network of inside leadership working for change or to help individuals. However, I suggest there is an informal collection of minds-in-agreement, without necessarily direct communication. I'm sure there are many elders, for example, who are influenced and encouraged by what they read here. They may never post, may never contact anyone here, might only share a silent understanding with a few local contacts. But they know they are not alone. Personally, one of the first things I enjoyed about this site was the realization that it wasn't just me, or a few JW's I knew, but MANY others who noticed the same problems I had noticed and felt the same frustrations.
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"Taking care of a worldly friend isn't as important as the meetings!"
by Lady Zombie inmy best friend, who is *gasp* "worldly" had a semi-major surgery monday.
she had asked me if she could recooperate at my place.
it's nice and quiet at my place and besides, she knows i'll spoil her rotten.. yesterday (thursday) i had to take her to her doctor's for a post surgery check when i got off of work.
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nondescriptex
A typical example of what is so obviously wrong with JW thinking. Strain out the gnat and swallow the camel, follow the letter of the law and miss the spirit of the law, obsessive devotion to man-made rules and regulations, and so on. I wonder if they will ever recogize they have fallen in to the same corruption as the Pharisees.