Hello all!
I saw this music video, and I thought it could be relevant to all of us (who has escaped the WT society).
Enjoy!! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqus079lUz8
AD.
i saw this music video, and i thought it could be relevant to all of us (who has escaped the wt society)..
enjoy!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqus079luz8.
Hello all!
I saw this music video, and I thought it could be relevant to all of us (who has escaped the WT society).
Enjoy!! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qqus079lUz8
AD.
when they played the national anthem everyone stood up...except afew of us witness kids who stood out like a saw thumb....a brother two rows ahead of me had a teacher physically drag him to his feet as he struggled to explain himself...i would sweat like a pig as others pointed and laught and told me off...from then on i would hide in the toilet till i heard the anthem finish then come out.. then theirs birthday holidays, sex education, religious studies which i wanted to do since i would be a star but i was banned by my family.. do you have an embarassing hide like a rat in the toilet moment..
Pallbearer- I believe the idea that it was OK to stay respectfully standing when the national anthem was played may have been the interpretation of some of the Elders where I grew up, including my father, based on some articles in the Watchtower. For example, on the WT02 9/15 p.23-24, there is an article that says (I'm translating from Spanish) that the flag is normally saluted adopting a particular position such as with the hand over the heart, and in such a case "true Christians" can demonstrate that they are respectful observers remaining standing while others participate in this act. Also, this article mentions that when the national anthem is played; if Christians were already standing they could remain in that position (they didn't have to sit down). If it is expected that the audience stood up and sang the national anthem, then respectfully standing up without singing is ok.
In the majority of the cases when they played the national anthem at my school, students were already standing since it was played at the beginning of a ceremony and what they usually said was: "Please remain standing for the national anthem". At that moment the only one who immediately sat down was I.
I later asked other young JWs what they did at school when they played the national anthem and the common practice with the majority was to stay respectfully standing without their hand over their heart.
Again, all this attention to details on how to interpret a passage from the Bible (the one about the 3 young Hebrews and Nebuchadnezzar's gold image) seem very Pharisee to me now.
What was your experience?
AD
when they played the national anthem everyone stood up...except afew of us witness kids who stood out like a saw thumb....a brother two rows ahead of me had a teacher physically drag him to his feet as he struggled to explain himself...i would sweat like a pig as others pointed and laught and told me off...from then on i would hide in the toilet till i heard the anthem finish then come out.. then theirs birthday holidays, sex education, religious studies which i wanted to do since i would be a star but i was banned by my family.. do you have an embarassing hide like a rat in the toilet moment..
Greenhornet- You won with yours! That is hilarious! My parent didn't think of that one!
when they played the national anthem everyone stood up...except afew of us witness kids who stood out like a saw thumb....a brother two rows ahead of me had a teacher physically drag him to his feet as he struggled to explain himself...i would sweat like a pig as others pointed and laught and told me off...from then on i would hide in the toilet till i heard the anthem finish then come out.. then theirs birthday holidays, sex education, religious studies which i wanted to do since i would be a star but i was banned by my family.. do you have an embarassing hide like a rat in the toilet moment..
Velvetann: I completely understand how you felt at school!
Where I come from most of the JW's children attend public schools. However, our parents decided to send my sister and I to a private school full of snobby kids. We were the only Witnesses there and my parents insisted that we stayed inside the classroom during birthdays but we couldn't sing Happy Birthday or give gifts. We needed to be different from "worldly children". It was a testimony. This also happened during holidays.
I remember being very disappointed when the WT changed the view about the national anthem. Originally we needed to remain seated during it. Then, in the Revelation book p. 196, they presented an illustration of a JW's kid respectfully standing up during the national anthem or Pledge of Alliance, but not placing his right hand over his heart. Where I grew up, the only requirement when listening to the national anthem was to stand up, we weren't required to place our hand over our heart. If the WT was OK with this, then I shouldn't have had to face so many embarrassing moments during my school age years. I'm still upset about this!
AD
a couple of days ago, i posted a comment for a newbie like me (http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/145459/2623555/post.ashx#2623555), and i told him this:.
i try to focus in the few positive aspects of being a jw, and how that can help me to improve myself.
i like to help people too, and that is something that i really enjoy.
Well, I think I owe them couple of things:
1. I met my husband TTRP as a child in the KH. We've had a happy marriage for over a decade now and he was the one who opened my eyes to the truth about "The Truth"(tm).
2. I have respect for God and the Bible.
3. I believe I was able to keep away from unnecessary problems while growing up thanks to JW's high moral standards.
4. I like reading and have good study habits, which helped me at school, college and most recently allowed me to read Steve Hassan's book, Don Cameron's book, Carl Olof Jonsson's book and CoC all in less than a month!!! (TTRP is really proud of me!)
AD
so, i keep hearing reference to this.
was this just taking place in really small congregations?
i mean, i know the philosophy behind it; my mom would put a hat on to pray in front on my "unbelieving" dad.
I've seen the Kleenex and even done that! Journey-on 's explanation of where this embarassing practice comes from is right:
It's in 1 Cor. chapter 11. Practically the whole chapter is about this, but specifically verse 5 says "but every woman that prays or prophesies with her head uncovered shames her head, for it is one and the same as if she were a woman with a shaved head."
About the organization being called Mother: Just this last Sunday the elder giving the Public Lecture mentioned the phrase. He said we needed to be loyal to Jehovah, our Father and to our Mother, the Organization. I believe this comes from the passage in the book of Revelation Chapter 12 which talks about a pregnant woman who gave birth to a male child. JW's believe this woman to be the Organization. Revelation Chapter 19 then mentions the wedding of the Lamb, and the Bride is again believed to be the Organization.
I almost have a seizure everytime I hear this phrase at the Kingdom Hall or Conventions. Sometimes they even refer to the Organization as "Our Holy Organization". I bet they don't know the history!
i'm new to the forum.
i've been lurking for some time, since i was "disconnected" by my husband, "tooktheredpill".
i'm a 3rd generation witness, and still inside of the borg, because all my family is inside.
Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome! I can't believe how fast everybody is answering!
Hortensia: My avatar is an icon of a Saint. It was meant to be funny because my dad is "annointed" for which I'm supposed to inherit some of his enlightment. Don't you think?
For those of you who still have family inside the org, I can feel your pain. All of my family is still inside: parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins.....3 generations!!! They know I have "doubts" and are praying for me and I know they are sincere in their concerns. They feel they need to save me. I've tried to show them some facts about the org, but so far the only thing I have accomplished is almost making them talk to the elders in my cong. They think I've become an apostate and a danger to other witnesses. It's devastating! This sucks!
i'm new to the forum.
i've been lurking for some time, since i was "disconnected" by my husband, "tooktheredpill".
i'm a 3rd generation witness, and still inside of the borg, because all my family is inside.
Hello!
I'm new to the forum. I've been lurking for some time, since I was "disconnected" by my husband, "Tooktheredpill". I'm a 3rd generation witness, and still inside of the Borg, because all my family is inside. My father believes that he is part of the annointed class since the '80's. I've learned the truth of "the truth" since only a couple of months and it's been very painful. I've experienced all the steps of the grieving process, one by one. It all started with the sad fact about the 607 EC. When I realized that the Watchtower had lied about that date, my trust of other of their teachings gradually faded. The Book Study with the book about Revelation was also an eye opener. I can't believe this is the 4th time that we study that book and how absurd it sounds to me now. How I believed all that nonsense before without a doubt is still a shocker to me! How strong the mind control that the Watchtower had on me was! I was very hardcore! That is sad and frustrating! I'm glad to have this forum to share my emotions in this difficult time in my life.
Thanks for being there for support of people going through this difficult crisis of conscience!