Posts by AuntBee

29

An active Witness proudly tells me about Shunning her kids back into the 'truth"

by AuntBee in

"as he is a god of love.. these things serve to protect individuals aswell as the congregations.

as a parent i fully understand the concept of wanting my children to choose their friends wisely, to be careful about literature they read & so on & would i cast them out for being wayward?

yes, i have, & they learnt their lesson & were welcomed back with immediacy the minute they made the necessary changes.

AuntBee

"As He is a God of love.. these things serve to protect individuals aswell as the congregations. As a parent i fully understand the concept of wanting my children to choose their friends wisely, to be careful about literature they read & so on & would i cast them out for being wayward? yes, i have, & they learnt their lesson & were welcomed back with immediacy the minute they made the necessary changes. We were all hurt at that time & deeply affected & yet we all healed from it... because we followed God's prescribed course!!!

so there's wisdom in what God has decreed. All is for our benefit... !!"

It's one thing to read about the harsh shunning, and then another to hear directly from someone how they put this into practice. Having read so many stories on here, and knowing a few people who have experienced it, in real life, this just churns my stomach. just....wow.

15

The WT ADMITS to using mind control!!!

by brotherdan in

march 1, 1983 wt page 25 - consider some of the other twisted things used to mislead gods people today.

on occasion opposers will question the various teachings that jehovahs people hold in common.

often this becomes a debate about words, just as it was in the first century.

AuntBee

They should direct your mind, and influence your every decision. But if you try to call them out on anything, the GB, past presidents, and WT writers are just....imperfect men!

33

Divine Name

by brotherdan in

i know this has been a often discussed topic.

but i just can't understand the wt's take on this.

they freely admit that we do not know how god's name was pronounced.

AuntBee

The JWs like to claim they are a restoration of the eary church. So to one, i mentioned that the early church did emphasize the divine name. In the NT, the description of the earliest church is in the book of Acts. So, you can see how they emphasized the divine name by looking up all references to the word "name." :) Easy way to find out whose name they emphasized and preached. The person said they knew the truth, and didn't need to do that. -- (Hey i did not see Brother Dan's last post before i wrote this. LOL)

32

How Did You Finally "Get Out Of Her" (JWs)??

by minimus in

jw
friends

what situation(s) got you out of the organization, either mentally or physically or both?

what was your "last straw"?.

AuntBee

Brotherdan - Can you elaborate on number 2? Do you mean dishonesty about what had been previously taught/written? About their own history? Other things? Thanks.

284

To new Christians on JWN

by brotherdan in

i wanted to make a few comments to those of you that have recently begun to question or have already left the wt and made their way onto this site.

this site is a great resource to learn how others are coping with leaving the organization and moving on into a fulfilling life.. i wanted to write this post because i think reading something like this would've been helpful to me to understand where a lot of people that comment on this site are coming from.

you are going to hear from a wide range of people that have moved on to a diverse range of beliefs.

AuntBee

I know there are quite a few Christians (never JWs) who check in here, for the infomation. It is always so up to date, and informative for those who want to dialogue with JWs, and know some in their real life. It helps us understand beyond just the beliefs, but into the mindset, life issues that they may be going through, etc.

I personally try to be sensitive to the whole purpose of the forum ,for exJW to support each other. Sometimes it feels like i'm listening in on someone's conversation, and don't want to butt in! :)

The "tone" was much more friendly to all beliefs when i first started reading the forum about 2 years ago. Sometimes people would kind of chide someone in a friendly way about faith in Christ. But at some point, i think the tone changed, and became a bit more harsh.

I like Terry! We share the same concerns about porn and its effects. hehe.

22

Is "The Truth" Killing You, Lurkers?

by metatron in

jw
friends

as an elder of many years, i was continually struck with the abundance of chronically ill witnesses whose disease appeared to be related to their own stress at trying to meet the endless demands of the "truth".

i am not a medical professional but i don't need to be a doctor to know that the depression and virtual self loathing ('i'm not good enough, i must do more, i'm a bad parent....") sets a stage for ill health.. and now science backs up that conclusion:.

http://www.amazon.com/when-body-says-understanding-stress-disease/dp/0471219827.

AuntBee

There is a JW family i have known for years. The son was allowed to be somewhat active with peers during high school - he even did a sport. He is smart, talented, etc. He started college, went for 2 years, and now he is sick with some mysterious ailment, quit college, and almost never leaves the house. He even had a surgery for this ailment, which did not help. Those of us who have known him for years believe he is definitely having anxiety over JW related issues. Older sibling (at least 22) seems nowhere near moving out yet either.

13

Theocratic Warfare / Lying JWs

by AuntBee in

it's one thing to read about this on paper.

but it really hits home after you've experienced it numerous times!

this is a real thing, and it's quite startling to find such an abundance of lying in 'the truth'!!

AuntBee

Yes, i see what you're saying sir82. I'm sure that is the case many times. It's almost like they're saying - NO, that just can't be, or doesn't sound right, rather than a definitive NO, we DO NOT teach that. There have been a few, though, where i knew they knew.

13

Theocratic Warfare / Lying JWs

by AuntBee in

it's one thing to read about this on paper.

but it really hits home after you've experienced it numerous times!

this is a real thing, and it's quite startling to find such an abundance of lying in 'the truth'!!

AuntBee

It's one thing to read about this on paper. But it really hits home after you've experienced it numerous times! Just....WOW! This is a real thing, and it's quite startling to find such an abundance of lying in 'the Truth'!! Usually it is about doctrine, just flat out denying that the Org teaches/believes a certain thing, or denying a fact about the history. But i've also experienced some really unnecessary lies, about who they are, their position/relation to the Organization, etc.

Does this spill over into other parts of the person's life ? Does it increase the practice of lying in general, when the truth is not convenient? To friends? Family? the IRS? -- Or does this stay kind of compartmentalized, in matters related to defending the WT?

99

Got a question about disabilities? I have answers

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

as many of you know i suffer from a few disabilities.

i also worked for many years with people with a wide range of disabilities including deaf and hard of hearing, visually impaired and blind, mobility impairments (use crutches, walkers, scooters or wheelchairs).. having been on two sides of a disability i know a lot of people are confused.. here is something from my life that i experience regularly.

i'm in a wheelchair now and although i don't use it in the house i do use it to go out.

AuntBee

StAnn - I really thank you for what you wrote about your fibromyalgia. My husb has chronic complications from Lyme disease, as well as other issues, and the way it plays out is a lot like fibromyalgia. Once he played basketball with our son, and his neck was messed up and painful for quite a while, because of the motions involved. He gets the "you look good' thing too. When he was still able to work, he would be greatly misunderstood for declining to do sporty activities with 'the guys'. We just had to get to the point, where we don't care what anyone thinks. I know he pushes himself sometimes as you do, just to do something fun with the family, but he pays the price for it.

Again, thanks so much for sharing that. It just meant a lot to me, and i will pass it along to him. -- bridget from az.

98

Do you believe the "Conscious Class" will be saved? (CHRISTIANS ONLY)

by brotherdan in

there are thousands of people sill trapped in the organization that realize that it cannot be what it claims to be: god's only true organization.

but do you think that these ones that still believe in christ and his crucifixtion will still be saved?

after all, salvation does not come from an organization.

AuntBee

Brotherdan - Protestant Christians believe anyone can be a true Christian who believes in Christ, and trusts in His death on the cross, for the forgiveness of their sins.

My heart goes out to you, because you seem to be between a rock and a hard place.