he gives us a glimpse at the embryonic stage of an organization like the one Russell started (and Jim Jones).
I was hoping that you could go a bit farther into what you mean by this.
hybridous
JoinedPosts by hybridous
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24
King has become Jehovah... oops
by proplog2 inking has become jehovah .... .
pardon me i guess the book is "jehovah himself has become king.".
like many in this forum i engaged the persona "you know" on many occasions back on h20.. .
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hybridous
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did you escape BEFORE baptism?
by kid-A in.
i am of the "born into it but got out of it before baptism class"......listening to so many of the horror stories on this site, i often feel like we are the 'lucky ones'..... we realized at a very young age how wrong and absurd this belief system was and ran away before making the psychological investment of baptism while simultaneously avoided the disastrous consequences of getting df'd......are we the minority here???
just curious!
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hybridous
From the age of 10 or 11 years old, I knew that something was seriously wrong with this 'religion'. I tried to extrapolate and figure out what my life would be like if I did what was expected of me (got baptized).
For the life of me, I just could not visualize a nomal happy life for myself if I continued down that JW path. I knew that something was very wrong here, and that something would eventually make my life intolerable until I eventually killed myself.
When I was alone, I would pray to God and beg Him to help me sort it all out. If this is the right religion and way of life, why does it all feel so damn WRONG? I just asked that He show me whatever it was I needed.
I never did get that confirmation from above. I went through my teen years always knowing that I was playing a part; always knowing that eventually I would have to leave this miserable cult. And I was a model JW teen, too. Ministry school, field service, quick builds, etc. I did it all. Right up through high school.
Then the cognitive dissonance reached critical mass, and I broke the news that I was done with Bible study, would not be baptized, and would not attend meetings. I had postponed baptism, presumably because I knew all along that I would leave, and I wanted to be able to have a relationship with my family that was as normal as possible. Leaving before baptism allowed me to avoid certain labels.
Yeah, those of us who left prior to baptism dodged a bullet of sorts, for now. I would not be surprised if the WT soon invents a new category for us and instructs JW family to shun us as well. Until then, I will try to have my family be a part of my life.
I could go on about this forever, but I don't want to bore people......
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hybridous
How do you kill an Italiano?
Slam the seat down on his head while he's getting a drink.
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hybridous
I'm still an enormous A-hole.
(sadly, said only partly tongue-in -cheek)
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A Good Escape Plan.
by Daunt ini'm planning on moving out from my jw parents house in about 7 months.
i'm trying to start a job and i already have a little money going into it (bout 2500 dollars little) however, mainly i just wanted to really know if this was the best course of action.
my parents are the usual jw's but i do love them, however, the pressure is just building up from all their jw reasoning and pressure and guilt trips and all that mess.
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hybridous
Daunt,
You did the smart thing in avoiding baptism, you may be able to retain some relationship with your family who might otherwise shun you had you been baptised.
You've noticed an overwhelming theme in the advise given...make damn sure you get your ass in school and earn your degree, and I will echo that, because it's the most important thing you can do right now.
Take it from someone who's not a whole lot older than you and still wishes he concentrated more on college. Make college priority number ONE. There will be time for fun, girls, and parties along the way. Keep college as your focus, and you'll be glad you did.
Metatron gave good advise as far as the family thing goes. For the sake of your relationship with them, you may have to throw them a JW bone now and again. If they're happy thinking you may come back to the JW fold, let them go on thinking that. If they ask if you've been to meetings and such, tell them what they want to hear. I feel no guilt in lying to people that were intent on having me waste my life for their lies....other people may feel differently, I'm sure.
Do well for yourself. On some level, certain JW parents still feel pride when their kids do well in life, even if those kids are not JWs.
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Newest New Light
by Nosferatu inwhat is the latest "new light" that has been dished out by the wts?
it seems there was an abundance of new light until franz cacked.
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hybridous
The pinata thing -
I remember when I was a kid, pinatas were forbidden as they were linked with birthdays in the Hispanic culture. I'm not Hispanic, I just always wanted to try one out. It seemed like fun - whacking something with a stick until candy rained down.
Not too long ago, a WT or Awake! (can't remember which) pontificated on pinatas and seemed quite tolerant. I noticed the stark contrast between the tone of the article and what had been witness attitudes in years past.
Maybe the WT is trying to make itself more palatable to a growing minority population? Anyways, the reasoning was: don't judge something by its past, judge something for what it is now. Seemed curious, since that line of reasoning dismantles the current prohibition on birthdays. Makes me wonder if there's more New Light around the corner. One can hope, right?! It would make good business sense to make this miserable cult appear more mainstream.
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Anybody here remember the "Lake" Congregation in Rochester NY?
by mapleaf18 inanybody here remember the "lake" congregation in rochester (actually greece) ny?.
this was before it split into the english park and long pond rd.
cong.
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hybridous
I know the area congregations. And I believe that I know the families that helped facilitate the formation of those congregations.
One of those family names is mine.
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"My Life in Hell" - a short story
by AlmostAtheist in"but, but, i'm an atheist!
ah, another one.
i laughed the first thousand or so times i heard it, but it's gotten old.
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hybridous
Very cool. Keep at it!
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What have you discovered on the journey?
by dh in.
the journey being life, what have you discovered that you never expected to... could be a musician, actor, a movie, a type of food, a thought, a realisation, a religion, a thing about your personality or an emotion, a particular song... it could be anything really.... what have you discovered?
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hybridous
There is no spoon...
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Will they ever be mainstream?
by Justin insome religions which have been on the fringe of society are eventually accepted into the mainstream because they have an aspect which is socially acceptable or beneficial to society.
for example, the seventh day adventists have hospitals and the mormons have the tabernacle choir.
but the jws seem to have nothing with which to appeal to the larger culture.
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hybridous
Good points here, but I see the other side as well...
As corporate interests become paramount to the WT, other ideas may be forced to take a back seat. A business's main objective is to perpetuate itself and generate profit, and according to most casual observations, the WT isn't doing too well in that regard.
How long before some important people in the WT decide to try something in order to stop bleeding money and people? A shuffle towards mainstream here and there, and maybe some fringe members can catch their breath and continue on. In short, I believe that the WT simply MUST move in that direction to improve marketability and encourage growth. Growth in 3rd world countries where people are dirt poor doesen't do the WT much good. They need members with money.