Posts by startingovernow

31

When you were in, did you have the Watchtower study underlined?

by asilentone in

what happens if you don't?

did they treat you differently?.

startingovernow

Yes, not only highligted, but cited scriptures written in the margins and prepared comments written out. That is how I was taught to do it. And yes, on the rare times I didn't have time to prepare, I quickly made it look like I had. Such a shame-based group, isn't it.

I did not, however like to mark up my KMs since it made them look too messy to me. Wouldn't you know, a sister saw my unmarked KM and said, "What, you don't study the KM?" Even though it was none of her business, I explained that yes I had studied it, just didn't like to mark it up (this was before the CD-Rom so as far as I knew would always be my only copy). Her response? A glare that indicated disapproval/disbelief that I had indeed prepared.

25

I need some good responses to the excuse "The elders are imperfect"

by BonaFide in

please make them simple, i have noticed that some of my friends can only stand logic for about 30 seconds before they start changing the subject.

i need some good questions, or points to make them think.

i have tried my own, but i need a better response.. here are the comments my friends have made:.

startingovernow

If you control the information someone recieves, you restrict his free ability to think for himself . -By depending on the elders (not questioning their decision, excusing wrong and questionable actions on imperfection, not doing one's own research outside the publications) JWs are left to be led by people who will not take accountability for what they teach, say, and do.,

43

Imperfection isn't the problem. The problem is accountability.

by AllTimeJeff in

this was such a profound statement on another thread that i think it bears some further thought, esp because the governing body tends to put their head in the sand as to how their current teachings and dogma do harm to their sheep.

we will come back to current teachings in a minute.. first of all, this is how jehovah's witnesses are taught to view their leaders.

from the july 1, 2007 wt "humbly submitting to loving shepherds".

startingovernow

Exactly. And I sure hope that if I was still in and saw the articles you posted I would have hand the sense to question why the GB feels the need to repeatedly tell their people that they need to trust and follow them. Now that my vision is clear, it's amazing to me that they have the audacity to claim that God is using them at all.

Sadly, the accountability issue is not just a problem with the GB and elders. It trickles down to every member of JWs. They are supposed to be one united brotherhood, therer to help each other, especially in times of need. How many times have I heard the words and actions of JWs excused by imperfection? Too many to count. The last time a JW tried to use this line on me to excuse the actions of others in the congregation, I finally told her, everyone is imperfect, even "worldly" people, but it's only among JWs that the imperfection excuse is expected to make everything OK. I mean, really, if I had a "worldly" person come to my house to fix a pipe, but they screwed things up even more and now my house is flooded and everything is destroyed, would I just say, "that's OK, I know your imperfect, everyone makes mistakes" and not try to get compensated or fitting repairs? No, I would not. So why do JWs expect me to excuse the damage done by those called "brother" and "sister," after all, the damage they and the GB have done have been much worse than any plumber has done.

183

How many of you knew about the"Jesus is not your Mediator" teaching when you were JWs??

by Lady Liberty in

hi everyone.... just curious how many of you knew when you were active, about the societys official teaching regarding jesus the mediator.

i was floored to find in my research, that they teach jesus is the mediator for the 144,000 only.

and it is only by our association with them that we might have salvation.. i don't know about you guys but i was blown away when i learned they taught this.

startingovernow

I knew, but didn't understand the full significance. Oddly enough, it was a C.O. that pointed it out (early '90s). He admitted that someone out in service asked him if he believed Jesus was his mediator and the C.O. said yes! Then the guy showed him an article from the Society saying otherwise! He shared this point with us as a warning that we need to know what we as JWs believe. Once I learned from my Bible study conductor that I wasn't going go heaven, sadly I didn't know to question the details, like this one.

Now that I look back, I wonder if it was an ex-JW or someone acquainted with "apostates" that the C.O. met at the door. Sadly, he didn't question the validity of the teaching, and he certainly didn't encourage us to think about what the policy on the mediator meant for us. His point was simply that we should keep up with what the GB says is proper understanding of the Bible.

4

Is there any info on the different emotions one goes through after leaving a cult?

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

thanks in advance.. j.

startingovernow

Check out the book, "Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships"

8

Things you wouldn't admit to when you were a JW

by startingover in

jw
friends

remember when the speaker from another congregation didn't show up?

i can still feel the good feeling it gave me at the thought of being able to go home early.

and all through the wt, every time the door opened i remember subtlely sneaking a peak to see if it was the speaker, and when it was just a latecomer, it kept my hopes up that he wouldn't show.

startingovernow

When I was unprepared or knew I might be at the door of someone who might ask me a question I didn't know, I was glad no one answered.

The few times it snowed so badly there was no meeting, I was glad I didn't have to go out.

When I wasn't put in a certain person's car group, I was secretly glad.

When I had to move to another city for job reasons, I was glad I didn't have to go to the same congregation anymore.

9

What's the Watchtower's position on new members who are divorced?

by Whymse in

if a new member was married and divorced for reasons other then adultery, then they got remarried.

and later on during their second marriage they became a witness, how would the watchtower think.

about their marital status?

startingovernow

OMG...goes to show you that my brain hadn't fully deveoped when I made the decision to become a JW. Articles like those are not available to people who are studying, and most people who are studying wouldn't know to ask if there are articles on the subject. It seems to me that a marriage that was performed outside of JWs would be recognized by Jehovah, so why would someone who wasn't a JW at the time of getting married be accountable to Jehovah now?

8

"The boy in the striped pajamas"

by RR in

my wife and i just watched a touching film called "the boy in the striped pajamas".. it's based on the book of the same title.

a tale of a little eight year old boy whose father is a nazi officer.

they are relocated to a nearby camp which he heads.

startingovernow

Heaven, if you got through Schindler's List, you'd be able to watch The Boy in the Striped Pajamas...while the ending is disturbing, it's more because the viewer is aware of what happened, but is not actually shown it. Hope you find that place of strength soon, as I'd guess it isn't just disturbing movies that are difficult to deal with at this time...

16

Confusion on what to believe, also guilt.

by izzysma in

jw
friends

i was raised a witness up until i was 16, never was baptized, and now that i have my own child now i am having a really hard time with wanting her to know what religion is.

as i have gotten older, wiser i am doubting the truth even more...actually i never doubted it until just a few years ago.

being a witness is the only religion i know so i still have that sense of loyalty to it even though it's not what i choose to be.

startingovernow

Don't know how old your child is, but first things first, take care of you - as said above CoC and CCMC are the two books that will help you to see why exactly it was never the truth, and you have nothing to be guilty about. As far as raising your child in a religion - there is no rule that says you have to, but you do have the responsibility to teach them how to think and reason. The book, "Parenting Beyond Belief" may be of help to you in teaching morals without a specific religion. As far as religion goes, it is important to expose children to what people believe, just make sure you make it clear that no one really knows for sure about God, death, heaven, etc., no matter how much they say they do. There are lots of children's books that explain religion, God, the Bible, evolution, and how to think -even though these are written with children in mind, they can be helpful to adults like us her were never exposed to such information ourselves when young.

11

demons, demons, demons

by carla in

jw's are nearly obsessed with demons, they are everywhere, always out to get you, and can apparently inhabit used items, correct?

i never hear about good beings or angels within the jw's except for the story about the woman who knocked on the door of a rapist and he supposedly didn't rape her because she had two huge men (angels) standing next to her.

another poster did mention that he/she felt they had two angels 'at their back' when knocking on the door of some creepy place and was comforted by this.

startingovernow

Probably because they are taught that Satan and his 1/3 of the stars know they are going to be destroyed "very soon." After all they know know they don't have much time left. Satan is said to be the ruler of this world. So of course the demons are going to be in any 2nd hand item, come through the screen of the computer of anyone who dares to go on a site such as this one, and are the reason behind any non-traditional health care practitioners being of any success, music that has a heavy sound to it, and any story that contains violence, sex, or magic, other than the ones written down in the Bible. Satan is in control of this system, and God and his angels are sitting back and watching just who on earth is faithful or not despite anything and everything they go through. The only time the good angels show theirselves is when the number of JWs increase, for that is surely a sign of angelic direction. As far as individual experiences with angels goes - they are not suported by the WT, however, personal experiences with demons - yes, these are written and shared, in order to instill fear and distract JWs and potential JWs from thinking on their own. Because after all, Satan sees when we read or speak anything contrary to the WT and it makes him happy - and we wouldn't ever want him to be happy.