hybridous

Joined

• started 7 topics
• posted 596 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by hybridous

• 
  63

  Sister may have had a slight heart attack, do I text her?

  by Xanthippe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so my cousin phoned and told me my jw sister was taken to hospital with chest pains and it may have been a slight heart attack or possibly she's starting with angina.

  now as some of you know my sisters and brother have had little to do with me for 29 years.

  we've met at funerals, or arranged them, but i just thought today what if she did die?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hybridous

  Hmm, very tough spot. I could make a case either way...
  
  If you still feel bound by the 'do-unto-others' moral code, then maybe you make contact. Not because of any hope of reciprocity, but just because you have identified it as the right course of action - not needing a bunch of JWs to validate that course of action for you.
  
  On the other hand, if your relatives have spend many years providing you with empirical evidence that they do not want contact with you, then it might make sense to acknowledge that very plain evidence.
  
  Of course, an acknowledgement of your sisters dire health problems is not necessarily a restoration of your relationship, so you need not treat it as such if you decide to text.
  
  I struggle with this stuff a lot, so I am interested in what others have to offer regarding this.
  
• 
  58

  Don't you think that some people are just better off within the org?

  by paradiseseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is my first post, i will introduce myself later.

  first of all, i must say that english is not my mother tongue (i'm spanish), so excuse me if i make any mistake.. do you think that some people simply can't cope with being outside the jws?

  some of them are too worldlyphobic to be around non-jws, too dependent on a fixed set of rules in order to carry on with their lives, too dependent on the hope of paradise and resurrection, too unable to leave their personal comfort zone within the organization.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hybridous

  Do you think that some people simply can't cope with being outside the JWs?
  

  Unfortunately, yes.

  This 'religion' requires extraordinary investment of time and effort. Consider decades upon decades, all the while, the adherent is learning to abandon their sense of skepticism and critical thinking (if they even had such to begin with).
  
  The WT quite intentionally renders its adherents absolutely dependent on it. I have seen relatives allow themselves to be stripped of any sense of self and self-direction. My mother wouldn't even know who she was, if she wasn't a JW.
  
  Many (most?) of these 'lifers' are simply not equipped to embark upon a single day of life, without the imaginary 'safety net' the WT religion claims to provide.
  
  I am currently resolving myself to give up all hope for family in the cult. I cannot pry them out if they're not ready/willing to walk out under their own power.
  
  We have the profound benefit of living in a such a time, where all information is accessible with a few keystrokes, a modicum of courage, and the sense of integrity to NEED TO KNOW WHAT IS TRUE...despite the discomfort that may follow.
  
  The path out of this cult is known, well-worn, and (though not without difficulty) easier to tread with each passing year.
  
  Some will never take it, because the WT religion is successful in consuming souls.
  
• 
  14

  What Would You Yearn For From The Good Old Days?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  2017 and the world is probably more advanced than ever before.

  prices are high for homes, food and comfort.

  wars seem to rage everywhere!.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hybridous

  I don't know that there's ever been a better time to be alive...
  
  
• 
  19

  Pull the Plug Already...

  by megaboy in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  after reading and seeing so many detailings of the dealings with people in this religion, i have to wonder how to get people who are just extremely asleep.

  reasoning doesn't seem like it works, there needs to be some kind of plug pull event, like the leaders doing something so uterly stupid that it causes the immediate downfall of the entire religion.

  but because i am naturally curious i want to know from people who have more experience with jw structure why they seem to have a resistance to an event like this?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hybridous

  Where does the definition of "cult" goes if you insert "their choice" into the mix?

  Why exactly are these 2 things mutually exclusive?
  
  Honest question.
  

  
  

  
  
• 
  19

  Pull the Plug Already...

  by megaboy in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  after reading and seeing so many detailings of the dealings with people in this religion, i have to wonder how to get people who are just extremely asleep.

  reasoning doesn't seem like it works, there needs to be some kind of plug pull event, like the leaders doing something so uterly stupid that it causes the immediate downfall of the entire religion.

  but because i am naturally curious i want to know from people who have more experience with jw structure why they seem to have a resistance to an event like this?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hybridous

  I have a friend who I maybe have a yearly convo with from another country (in Asia) who is one and it just doesn't seem like any of these barrages of negative occurences are effecting their perception of the org. I mean I see so many bethel HQ stories where its pretty obvious there is no super natural force guiding the place, but still they chug along.

  
  

  I have the same experience. Remember that if you are not a JW, your family/friends that are in are obliged to put up a front for you. As frustrating as it can be, there's no way my JW relatives can express any doubt or fatigue - come what may...
  
  Of course, that doesn't mean that they don't silently carry the burden of doubts raised by the poor optics of WT in the news. They can't express their doubts to outsiders, and they don't DARE express them to other JWs...
  
  They literally have nowhere to go.

  I'm not particularly sure how they are still able to manage a slow death into irrelevance rather than a complete wipe out.

  I think the religion demands comparatively less from its members now, as opposed to what JWs used to have to do a generation ago.
  
  No separate book study night. Shorter assemblies. Steps taken in the direction of becoming more of a 'phone-it-in' religion. Not enough for my tastes, though.
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
• 
  20

  Just Got Dubbed..

  by snugglebunny in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so there i was earlier today, enjoying a spot of lunch in a pleasant little cafe whilst out shopping, when up came a fella i vaguely recognised from the dim and distant past just as i was tucking into my highland soup with bread roll and butter..

  "i would never ignore you you know".. "eh?

  what" i ventured wondering wtf is this all about.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hybridous

  Better late than never.

  Maybe the sentiment expressed is no real solace to the OP, (and maybe his absence from your life no real loss, either!)

  Nevertheless, I have come to view every act of rebellion and disobedience to the Tower as good signs.

  May there be many more to follow...
  
• 
  28

  Baptism statistics from CO

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just went to the assembly yesterday and during the final talk the circuit overseer said:.

  'sure, there are some adults baptised here and there, but do you want to know something wonderful?

  the vast majority of those getting baptized are teens and preteens!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hybridous

  Well dropping the reports is a one-time event. One cut of the knife, by basically admitting that the numbers are (and will continue to) look REALLY BAD...
  
  But then it's over and done with.
  
  To keep publishing the reports is to open the ORG up to a continual humiliation, and the longer bad numbers are published, the less damage Option #1 saves them.
  
  I reckon they will opt to keep publishing but lie as needed to support their narratives.
  
• 
  117

  Why the NFL Protest Is a Massive and Insulting Failure

  by freemindfade in

  1. social
  2. current

  i think everyone has the freedom to protest, they also have freedom of speech, these are two fundamental things that make america amazing.

  but thinking rationally about what is going on with the nfl, therefore, i have an unfavorable opinion of the league, and the players, not their right to free speech, but their motive and execution of it.

  constitutional freedom to protest ends at the workplace door too.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hybridous

  There exists an old adage, that 'you don't shit where you eat'.
  
  There's a good chance that these protests are a tactical error, and this will bear itself out before too long.
  
  Putting aside the merits of the protesters assertions, average working-class people resent being preached at during their entertainment - by millionaires, to boot!
  
  I know that heavy-handed moralizing about wrongs I've never committed failed to be a selling point for the JW religion...might not sell so well for the NFL players.
  
• 
  22

  Parents who try to make you feel guilty.

  by NJ501 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  when parents say all the things we've done for you and your not doing anything for us in return like going to meetings, witnessing, answering up etc... how do you respond to parents?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hybridous

  Sorry to hear about the situation. Yes, they will try any angle to strong-arm you back into the 'religion'. That's how I knew it was the right choice to leave. The religion is so wonderful for you, it must be shoved down your throat.
  

  When met with similar tactics, I said (to paraphrase), 'I simply don't believe (some/all) of the doctrines. What would you have me do? Profess belief in things I don't believe? I could lie to the elders and the congregation; I could fool them. Shall I lie to Jehovah? Fool Him?'
  
  (Silence)
  
  It is simply amazing just how little critical thought and analysis goes into a thing that wields so much control over their lives.
  
• 
  34

  Thinking about the end of the Watchtower

  by JeffT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  first, a word about the watchtower’s financial position: nobody (outside the watchtower organization) knows.

  the wtbs is not required to disclose its finances, and doesn’t.

  we can speculate, but that is all we are doing.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  hybridous

  I wonder if the EOTWT speculation is, at least in part, fueled by that which us 'disaffected' or former JWs hope to gain by such a scenario.
  
  In my own case, I find myself hoping for a future where former relationships with family and friends are restored...except this time we're all rational and carry on with an understanding that there was a high-control cult formerly running/ruining our lives. la-dee-da. I am a dolt for indulging this stuff.
  
  I think the OP is astute in pointing out the real costs; the likelihood that any EOTWT scenario (while applauded near & far) will have a catastrophic psychological/emotional fallout on these very same people that I am hoping to reunite with! There is simply no 'End of WT' scenario that would leave these true-believers intact as the people I remember them to be.
  
  This is a done deal. Even if the WT closes shop tomorrow, the costs are sunk. I (we) will likely never have our relationships back with the WTs adherents, even after the master is gone.
  
  Perhaps it's better to root for EOTWT, not on the basis of a past that cannot be recovered, but on the basis of the future, where this garbage isn't out there, lurking, waiting to ruin lives and inflict pain on all it can touch.