Posts by hybridous

54

JW's and drinking

by DanTheMan in

jw
friends

is it just me, or is alchohol consumption at parties and vacations virtually an unwrittten rule of jw-culture?.

when i was in, i did not drink, and i still don't.

i often felt almost ostracized for this by my jw associates.

hybridous

I've seen both extremes at our Kingdom Hall:

There was the dry gang - all the time, including wedding receptions.

Then there was the wet gang - all the time, every time. Probably always consuming beyond what the average person would consider 'moderate' amounts, but these were relatives of 'heavy' elders and were never...EVER spoken to or counciled in any way.

On another occasion, a few elder's sons almost got my brother and I arrested for supplying minors with alcohol. They had it, we didn't know it....then the cops came. We probably shoulda spent the night in jail....because of underage elder's kids. Certainly 'presiding over their household in a fine manner.'...or however that reads.

13

District Conv. Releases?

by NeonMadman in

i've seen several rumors and advance mention of the convention releases for 2002, but if there was a post that laid it out clearly, i must have overlooked it (not hard to do, given the speed with which threads get buried around here).

can someone give me the exact details?

are there 2 books or only one?

hybridous

Well, the only one I've seen is a lame, little paperback called 'Worship the Only True God'...or something like that...

What a weak, watered-down, mealy-mouthed little asswipe of a book!! I wanted to scream...'You call yourself a District Convention release? You make me sick!'

It seems to cover the whole spectrum of JW-ism. All areas, but none too deep. C'mon, I thought the message was supposed to get harder & harsher...more scathing as we got closer to the end.

6

Telephoning Witnessing

by teenyuck in

jw
friends

well, now i know why there are so many numbers i do not recognize on caller id.

i just pulled this off of just jw's, apparently the jw's are using the telephone for return visits!!

read below.

hybridous

What the hell, anything to count time, right?! haha

Seriously, I remember when the whole idea came out in the Kingdom Ministry. Everyone talked about what a 'greeeaaaaaat' idea it was. I'm in somewhat tight with the local JW congregation, and I don't know ONE JW who opts to do this.

I mean, if you wanna waste time, why not stand on a street corner and be politely ignored? Why actively piss people off and trouble them with uninvited telephone calls?

I personally know JWs who have sworn off this lame tactic, because they feel that it automatically alienates a householder and makes them automatically unreceptive to the 'Kingdom Message' (they're right). Maybe this telephone witnessing takes off in some areas more than others. It would be interesting to study the differences in such areas to try to determine what make it fly or fail in the local JW community.

7

Is Bill Bowen "cleansing the temple?"

by blindfool in

jw
friends

i borrowed another tape recording from my mothers church.. in this sermon the pastor described how the jews were obsessed with their temple.

so much so that they really started worshipping the temple itself.

one obsession was how clean the temple had to stay.

hybridous

I wonder how this 'cleansing the temple' bit could be sold to the rank & file JWs. I think it holds potential for rallying the 'friends'.

Think about it...

They don't have to directly question the WTS's position and authority, but they can acknowledge the poor procedures and leadership as events unfold.

25

What "hooked" you?

by roybatty in

jw
friends

im not sure if this has been discussed before but id be interested to read some comments from those who became jws later in life.

what caught your attention and sucked you in?.

my parents became jws when i was 5 years old, so it was pretty much the only way of life that i knew.

hybridous

Born into it...

Somehow, from somewhere, got that gut feeling that my life could not continue as a JW. I bailed before baptism at age 17. I'm not the sharpest guy around, so I often wonder what tipped me off, especially at the green age of 17. I just knew that my life couldn't go on if I gave in to the pressure and got baptized; to continue that thought, if I knew I would never get beptized, why continue the facade any longer?

I told everyone that I was done with it all....finished! And so it was...

There were/are certain distinct advantages to leaving the JW farce BEFORE....BEFORE you get baptized, and that is the advice I give to the lurkers out there.

6

They Don't Like 'Downsizing'

by metatron in

jw
friends

oh, by the way, if you're talking to hyperloyal.

bethelites and higherups, they don't like the word.

"downsizing" used in reference to headquarters.

hybridous

Heh - let them call it whatever they want. The end result is the same, as with any other comapany in their position.

Yeah, there will be references to the 'greater number cooling off'. So what?! Again, how many JWs actually remember the organization's growth as 'proof' that Jehovah had their back?! You KNOW they do, and so do they. After all, it wasn't THAT long ago.

Let those 'barely' educated Bethel hopefuls come home without employment prospects, AND without those golden-city-stories about Bethel life. Let them come home dejected and without all the 'you-should-so-this' stories for the kids at the Kingdom Hall. The lack of those Bethel cheerleaders does more damage to the WT than we can ever hope to.

What happens when the Bethel heroes come home to tell the kids, 'Stay in school - go to College'? Ha! The WT did it to itself!!!!!!

14

Secretly celebrate?

by Solace in

jw
friends

did you ever secretly celebrate a worldly holiday in a way that did or didnt bother your conscience?.

for example on a different day etc?.

cousin allows her son to recieve christmas gifts from non j.w.

hybridous

My JW grandma always has, and continues to, send birthday cards with money to my JW brother, JW sister, and me. Nobody has refused one yet. Somehow, grandma has decided for herself that she knows how to best help her grandkids, thanks anyways WTS. We love you, Grandma!!

We also do Thanksgiving dinner, altho I'm not even sure if that's as taboo as it used to be. Hell, turkeys are cheap then.....right?!

28

A really, really weird question......

by VioletAnai in

jw
friends

ok, don't think i'm nuts, but i have a rather personal question to ask you.

it's just that i saw a kid do this and i've never seen it in my life, and then a friend told me it happens to her too...every time.... ok, so the question is:.

do you shed tears and get a runny nose when doing number two?.

hybridous

I've shed tears during the deed...it was the closest thing I've had to a spiritual experience.

19

i went to the memorial

by josephus in

jw
friends

it was great.. me and my freinds + brother stood at the back with our dffd freind talking, smiling and laughing at the po.. we then went to the pub, and go drunk.. brill.. josephus

hybridous

Ya, I found myself there, as well...

A question for those in the know...does the WT Society dictate outline changes in the the memorial talk from year to year?

The reason I ask is this: I went last year as well, and last year's memorial talk actually impressed the hell outta me. If the WT Society wanted to mainstream the talk and make the JW religion friendlier and less cultish to outsiders, last year's talk was a winner. It was quite simple, it focused on the main points of mankind's sin from Adam, and Christ's sacrifice for redemption.

This year, the talk was a train-wreck. The elder stumbled around the blurry concepts of 2 class Christianity and faith vs works. It was not the simple and friendly message I heard last year. It was NOT the pretty talk to give on the night that members of the general public are likely there. Perhaps the difference was due to the fact that different elders gave these two talks. If that's true, I can accept that - it just seems that there's something more to it, so I was wondering if the WT Society tells the congregations which topics to stress from year to year. Can somebody tell me?

25

REINSTATED AND STILL SHUNNED!

by new boy in

jw
friends

i was at a wedding last summer were i met an old friend.

he had been reinstated for 6 months, he was dfed for 4 years.. he had been an elder for 10 years before that, he had commited adultery with another "brothers" wife.

i asked him how it was going.

hybridous

My old man is still informally shunned by a certain group of JWs.

What happened was, he left us when I was a kid. He left mom, brother, sister, and I, and the witnesses....he DA's himself. He did whatever he did...his pathetic excuse for a conscience bothered him at some point, so he returned to the cult. He married another woman, a JW (his 3rd. marriage), and now he's in 'good standing' (reinstated)with another congregation across town, but...

There's still this certain group of witnesses, mostly from 'our' original congregation who still view my dad as the dirtbag he is, and will not associate with him DESPITE the official-seal-of-approval from the WTS. It amuses me, because he's a worse asshole now than before he left...perhaps he believes that if the WTS says he's ok...then he really must be ok. Whatever....he'll never convince that group from our congregation.