thanks again void, hubert and deeskis. I noted all those down now.
Switch
JoinedPosts by Switch
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16
book recommendations?
by Switch inmissinglink and i read steven hassan's combatting cult mind control.
it appears that the moonies and other cults use similar lingo to the jw's like truth and worldly people, etc.
and shunning, recruiting new ones and many other concepts are comparable.
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16
book recommendations?
by Switch inmissinglink and i read steven hassan's combatting cult mind control.
it appears that the moonies and other cults use similar lingo to the jw's like truth and worldly people, etc.
and shunning, recruiting new ones and many other concepts are comparable.
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Switch
Thanks so much. I'll definitely get a copy now. I was just thinking about this book recently. So much to read....so little time.
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Next step- I said goodbye to my best friend- and she was terrified of me!
by New light for you inso the next step i realized after meeting with the elders monday night was to say some "goodbyes" while i'm still able to.
now, the elders kept "wanting" me to "fade" .
.. again, many people are telling me that they might be nice, but when they report back to the whole body, they could decide something else.
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Switch
Dang, New Light. We really are having the same kind of week, aren't we? I find it very important to let people know where I stand too. Otherwise, they'll be under the impression that you've left for frivolous reasons or are just "dragged down by this system" rubbish. It's hard to say goodbye but a tiny, tiny part is glad that I did. and I'm sure I'll feel even better about it as time passes and the wounds aren't so fresh.
take care.
-switch
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I'm not good association......
by Switch ini've been away from jwd for a month or so.
i've just been busy in life and am trying to rebuild, or should i say, make new friendships but it is slow-going.
missinglink and i haven't been to any meetings since april and have no plans in going back.
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Switch
Wow. so many replies. Thanks everyone. It's pathetic that we all hear the same exact responses to any sort of reasoning. It still amazes me too that they simply don't mind being LIED to.
That hubby of mine sure is long-winded. :-) I thought I'd throw my email in for good measure. I haven't posted much personal stuff yet so this might give ya some insight on lil old Switch.
It has me wondering --- how many on JWD are faders that are being shunned? I thought the whole point of fading was to not rock the boat but keep your friends? Oh, I'm so naive, I know.
Hi (friend). It's really hard to sum up where we are at. I've spent the last 7 mos. in intense emotional turmoil. I have great appreciation for our Creator, but admittedly, yes, I at this present time have a really hard time believing that The Watchtower Society is God's organization on earth. And believe me, that has been devastating news to me. Devastating. Do you think I would easily give up my faith that I've had for 20-some years now? I've had great hopes of seeing my dad in the Paradise earth based on what I've learned through the Society. ML and I nearly didn't have kids in this system cuz we figured we were soooo close to the end. I was always the one shaking my head in disbelief at how people could leave the organization.
I reeeally don't want to lead people from their beliefs, so ML and I have been keeping a very low profile and reading/studying literature old and new from the Society and double checking Scriptures. I've always meant to look at their quoted sources and see some of the quotes that they give in context. I figured this would be faith-strengthening to see worldly people that agreed with the society's thinking. That was my only intention in this process. I was astounded, shocked, horrified to find quotes blatantly misused and taken out of context. And it doesn't take long to stumble on them either. Pull out your April 15 WT. On page 14 in the footnote, it tells you to read the October 1, 2005 pp. 26-31 about education. At the box at the very end of the article, it has quotes from Newsweek, Time, etc. supporting the view that you don't need a college education. I remembered reading this box in 2005 and it was very convincing that not everyone feels college is necessary. Many of their quoted sources are not difficult to find on the internet, which may be why they are listing sources less and less in their articles and just making general references to opinions. Two of the quoted articles are posted on the journal's own websites.
You can read the entire Newsweek article from their website here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/90037/output/print
The American educator article is here: http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/spring2004/collegedegree.html
Of what benefit would the Society writer's get from misusing quotes???? And WHY? Why would they make the article so biased when going to university is a personal decision anyway and doesn't have any scriptural references? I still cannot comprehend it. It qualifies as lying. Why would they lie about the little things? And how much of the bigger issues can I trust them on? Am I in the wrong or would you find this stuff disturbing to your faith??
The School Guidebook page 155 par 11 says “A word of caution. All evidence must be used honestly. Do not take a quotation out of context. Make certain that what you say is exactly what the authority you are quoting had in mind to say. Be specific in your references.” Also see Awake June 22, 2000 pp 9-11.
ML has researched the Creation book. I always thought it was an excellent book but he says that the research isn't reported right and the named "professional" sources are questionable and not reputable OR qualified.
I'm not going to go on about my issues. It's not fair to burden them on other people. You can do your own research or you can ignore it. I'm just trying to impress on you that ML and I are not leaving the organization for frivolous reasons. I don't take ANY of this lightly cuz I have two children that need my guidance.
It makes me ill that I can't share my deepest feelings and concerns with my closest friends. But ....I also know where you are coming from.... just 7 mos. ago I would have avoided someone like ME like the plague. Weird, isn't it?
I hope you've at least made it to the end of this letter. I really value our friendship. Rarely do I just hit it off instantly with someone. But you have to do what's right for you...so I understand if you can't handle all this stuff dumped on you. Wherever we wind up, we're always here for you. If you have any other advice or expressions for us, then please share them.
love you,
switch
I must add I do not recommend using similar email cuz it just doesn't get through the cult-thinking. Ah well. I tried.
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'My year of living biblically'
by IT Support inyet another ted talk; this one by a.j.
jacobs called 'my year of living biblically.'.
this is a fascinating and funny tale of one man's serious attempt, for one year, to obey every bible command (he even runs into jws!
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Switch
I was thinking about getting that to read. It sounds entertaining. Has anyone read it?
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I'm not good association......
by Switch ini've been away from jwd for a month or so.
i've just been busy in life and am trying to rebuild, or should i say, make new friendships but it is slow-going.
missinglink and i haven't been to any meetings since april and have no plans in going back.
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Switch
Thanks Milli. I suppose I knew in my heart that it just can't be any other way. There's no win-win situation for anybody that leaves the Hall. I'm just fooling myself thinking that I could still keep in touch with people I knew. Even though I haven't done anything to earn being DF'ed, I still get shunned for my choices. It's no fun. Or fair.
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3 nights with Steve where do we go from here....C.C.M.C.
by Hope4Others ini sat intently listening to every word, as i continued to read it as was if i was there in the same room.
well it was a riveting and .
exciting book to read.
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Switch
Hi Hope. I read this book at the end of last year. This book caught me off guard. My husband bought it and read it first. I thought he was losing his mind bringing home a cult-themed book! But I was totally fascinated that JW's SO fit the cult criteria. The fact that other cults all use the same concepts and terminology as the Witnesses blew me away. I should probably read it again and will get even more from it.
thanks for sharing.
-switch
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I'm not good association......
by Switch ini've been away from jwd for a month or so.
i've just been busy in life and am trying to rebuild, or should i say, make new friendships but it is slow-going.
missinglink and i haven't been to any meetings since april and have no plans in going back.
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Switch
Hi all. I've been away from JWD for a month or so. I've just been busy in life and am trying to rebuild, or should I say, make new friendships but it is slow-going. MissingLink and I haven't been to any meetings since April and have no plans in going back. The parents have pretty much been in denial and are still trying to "encourage" us. I think they are starting to realize we are serious since we didn't attempt to attend the DC.
Today I'm crushed cuz one of my closest friends says she can't associate with me anymore. She simply deleted MissingLink as a friend on facebook cuz he wrote some scathing reviews of the Society's publications. Today I was deleted as a friend. I don't know why I would have expected any other reaction from her!! This is typical of what everyone goes through on JWD. I guess I was hopeful that she'd understand. I've been keeping a low profile since the beginning of the year so as not to get DF'ed for apostasy but now I'm really thinking that it doesn't matter anymore. I'm frustrated, angry and hurt that my friends have stopped calling and visiting simply because they haven't seen me at meetings. I suffered a few months of depression last year - you'd think they'd be worried about me!
The way that JW's constantly judge people makes me want to SCREAM. I hope I'm never, ever like that again.
Well, I had to get that out of my system. It's been up and down. today just happens to be a down day.
-switch
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A@G appears in new WT Comments video
by Awakened at Gilead inhi everyone..... v just posted about this, but since i am interviewed in the video i wanted to start my own thread to get the word out... let me know what you think... my real name and pic are in the video, along with some of my gilead experiences..... lance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enkkm_aa_j4.
the link to this vid is:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enkkm_aa_j4 in case you want to comment there..... .
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Has anyone tried Japanese Wasabi...try if you dare...
by zeroday ini had some with a shrimp cocktail and let me tell you about blew my head off... this is not me but a youtube example.... .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zznqlbcx3_m&feature=related.
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Switch
You guys got my mouth watering. I love, love, love sushi with wasabi. Sometimes I make salmon stir-fry and spice up the teriyaki sauce with wasabi. Yum, yum.