Posts by SuspiciousMinds

48

Being Brought Up As A Jehovah's Witness---Was It A "BAD" Upbringing?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think that my upbringing made me the person that i am today---for good and bad.

even though i was raised a witness, i don't think that my upbringing was bad.. your thoughts, please..

SuspiciousMinds

My parents raised me with good morals and principles, and for this I'm grateful. At least a part of that can be attributed to the org.

However, as an adult I still am quite bitter that I was raised in a very isolated environment. Of course there were no birthdays or any other celebrations and parties that children enjoy. But I was prohibited from having anything to do with my school friends after school or on weekends, and I mean absolutely NOTHING. This would have been not so bad if I was able to hang out with JW kids, but there were none that lived nearby, and the majority that lived in the next town were "bad association". As an adult, I am now very socially awkward and I have low self-esteem when it comes to meeting and interacting with other people. My wife and I have been spending more and more time with "worldly" people and it is helping, but I think it will take me years to become a well adjusted sociable adult.

48

Satan- Perfect Scapegoat for Witnesses Ignoring Real Causes of Situations

by flipper in

jw
friends

in a recent thread i started on music i couldn't help noticing how many had to throw their alleged " worldly music " out because parents, or elders told them their music brought them " under the influence of demons ", or listening to music was how " the demons got inside us ".

this superstitious belief that " satan " is to blame for each witnesses demise is really a passing of the buck of responsibility so it sidesteps real issues involved.. for example : check these familiar expressions out we all heard while we were jehovah's witnesses .. .

1. if a person was stumbled and said, " i don't want to go to meetings anymore.

SuspiciousMinds

My mother in law is the ultimate example of this. Anything that could go wrong with any JW or JW family, she immediately claims that Satan is causing them trouble to make them stop serving Jehovah. If my wife and I miss a meeting she says "Satans wants you to miss the meeting". Or if we disagree with something she says "That's what Satan wants you to think".

Wait until she finds out we are both inactive and haven't been to a meeting since our DC June 12-14. How do you reason with someone who insists on blaming an invisible person for everything, and putting blind trust in an organization? She has no proof of either, but her "faith" can not be shaken.

25

New Harry Potter movie

by JimmyPage in

jw
friends

this movie is getting a 98 percent approval rating on rotten tomatoes so far.

hell, even the vatican gave its blessing!

(okay, so maybe they approved of hitler, too lol- at least that's what the wt always claimed).

SuspiciousMinds

I'm looking forward to watching the HP movie this weekend.

Regarding Disney movies: in the town we used to live in there was a very outspoken elder who regularly included Disney movies in his public talks - because they featured magic they were "not appropriate" content for a Christian to watch. He didn't let his kids watch Dinsey movies or anything else that even other JW kids got to do. So naturally, they left home early and did everything they could to make up for their horrible childhood.

26

"Special" campaigns a cause of JW malaise?

by sir82 in

jw
friends

one of the principal problems the wts has is, how do they motivate the rank & file witnesses to do more in the preaching work?.

over the past 3-4 years, one thing they have tried is a series of "special" field service campaigns.

two or three times a year, there is a concerted effort made to cover all the congregation's territory with district convention invitations, memorial invitations, "special" tracts, etc.. but, in effect, with these special campaigns comes along a subliminal message that the society expects, indeed demands, that it will be a colossal failure.. for example, consider the campaign to invite the public to the district convention.

SuspiciousMinds

When I was still an active publisher, I loved these "special campaigns". It amounted to 3 or 4 weeks in a row where you were not expected to really talk to anyone, read a scripture, or get involved in a lengthy conversation. Because we had to "cover our territory". That's really the only way that success is measured during these campaigns.

12

Jehovah's Witnesses at Hampton convention urge all to 'Keep on the Watch'

by insearchoftruth in

dailypress.comhamptonjehovah's witnesses at hampton convention urge all to 'keep on the watch'by prue salasky.

9:35 pm edt, july 9, 2009. the first of two district conventions for jehovah's witnesses in southeastern virginia starts today at the hampton coliseum.

this weekend's gathering, which is expected to draw a crowd of 5,500, takes place over three days.. .

SuspiciousMinds

Most of this is the usual JW PR stuff.

But I love this quote:

""We don't sell anything during the convention –– including food," says Housner, adding that attendees are welcome to bring their own lunches."

What a loving arrangement! You can attend our convention and bring your own lunch!

76

Insane Email From My JW Mother

by daniel-p in

jw
friends

she starts out with some banal stuff about where they want to move, etc, then, she launches into this:.

that brings up something i wanted to tell you in person but itseems that i am not going to be able to do that very soon.

i amhoping to throw some light on what has happened within our familyesp during the time we were over there.. it has become very apparent to us now that during that time period from early spring on, in 200[x], satan launched an all-out attack on our family, son.

SuspiciousMinds

That letter was insane, but all of us who are or have been JWs can understand since we probably harbored similar thoughts, even if we wouldn't have expressed them the way your mom did. When my mom finds out that my wife and I are inactive and have stopped attending meetings altogether I can see similar letters coming my way. It is obvious that your mom loves you deeply and cares for you as a son, and is not just displaying the artificial love that the WTS encourages JWs to have towards non-believers.

Your reply is very loving and respectful.

25

How Many JWs Are 100% Committed?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think most are not.

i think most do what they must simply to continue their social and family life..

SuspiciousMinds

This is an interesting question. On the surface it seems that many do not seem all that committed, but like leavingwt pointed out, these same ones carry the suicide card on them in the event of a medical emergency. I find that most JWs (even if they attend every meeting and are out in service every Saturday) spend almost no time doing "personal study" or preparing for meetings. They make almost no effort to study Bible prophecies and study the corresponding interpretations provided by the WTS. If a main doctrinal point is changed (in the subtle way that the WTS loves to do it), most JWs don't even notice or care.

My mom is an intense JW nazi - always has, probably always will be. My dad is an elder but he does not seem committed at all. He works full time, makes a good income, takes nice vacations, spends a lot of time fixing up the house and property. I don't remember him ever going in FS on Sunday or mid-week on vacation. I'd be surprised if he reports double-digit hours more than once or twice a year. He's a well-respected elder, but sometimes I get the impression he doesn't really believe it. This makes my situation difficult, because they haven't found out we are inactive and have stopped attending meetings. I know how my mom will react but I have no idea what to expect from my dad.

SM

18

Do JW's now believe the year 2012 will bring armageddon?

by dutchstef in

last weekend i was enjoing the good weather in holland with my mother and my kid sister, who still is a jw, on a terras, drinking a beer.. my mother always tries to tell something positive that happened at the cong or something that she read in the washtowel and then i react negative or not at all.

it's a kind of game i don't know.. this time she said something like despite the fact that armageddon doesn't have to come during the generation of 1914, that does not mean that it isn't near... and then my kid sister reacted on this and said yes...possibly 2012.... i was pretty stunned... of this remark.. has anyone else heard something about the jw's now focussing on the year 2012?.

SuspiciousMinds

The WTS/Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses (CCJW) is no longer in the business of dates!

They have learned their lesson according to the last talk on Saturday's DC Program. They admit the were 'eager' like the Apostles before them.

I know of the talk of which you speak because I had the displeasure of sititng through it. Even so, I can see 2034 become the next 1975, just maybe not as played up as much as 1975 was. There was already a WT study article that hinted at the significance of 120 years from 1914.

Now that my mind is on the subject, I'm surprised that 1994/5 wasn't emphasized more due to the Generation teaching at that time. 80 years is pretty much as long as you could define a generation to be. Maybe they knew it would be doomed to fail anyway.

74

How many lives have been RUINED by the Organization? Experiences?

by BonaFide in

jw
friends

i think that some people deserve to be excommunicated, such as pedophiles.

but what about the tens of thousands of others that have their life wrenched out from under them by being disfellowshipped?.

and what about those that have a family member that died because of not receiving a blood transfusion?

SuspiciousMinds

Reniaa,

I don't post often but I have found your comments in this thread to be very offensive. You're insisting that anyone who gets baptised into the WTS goes in fully aware of all of the ramifications? So when I was 11 years old and got baptized because my parents and relatives expected it and it was all I knew, I was made aware that I would be df'd if I decided I longer believed that the WTS/GB/FDS is God's channel of communication, that I would no longer be able to have normal relationships with my parents, brother and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandparents, life-long friends...? I "went in with full knowledge" as you say?

The WTS is threatening to cut me off from all the family and friends I've ever known, and you're telling me it's my fault because I "went in with full knowledge"?

You can debate all you want on doctrinal issues, but how dare you have the nerve to post that kind of nonsense in a thread like this.

SM

14

Have you heard of the Field Service Application on the I-phone for JW's?

by awildflower in

jw
friends

ok, so i'm technically challenged and i don't use the i-phone, but my 19 year old son does and he just showed me this application for jw's and keeping track of their field service!

it shows maps, keeps track of time, addresses , even how to e-mail time to three different addresses!...............here's the thing: how many jw's would know about this if we have always been encouraged to not get to involved in technology.

they would dog technology but i'll bet they will use this on an assembly someday to show how jehovah has blessed them and look at the new tool he has given them and aren't we special.

SuspiciousMinds

"This app has been well thought out and would work very well in the field.. In saying that I have done some research on this subject and found that: For some years now the Society has recommended that record keeping for Field Service should be completed on the "house to house rocord" slips and NOT kept electronically on a computer or electronic device.With that in mind, using this application is a matter for each persons conscience. I for my part have decided not to use this application. Before doing so it might be a good idea to do some research into this matter, ask Jehovah for help, maybe ask the Elders for their knowledge on the subject and as a last resort only, contact the Society."

Oh, please - I'm going to pray to God or ask my spiritual leaders for advice on using an electronic organizer. Although most JWs shouldn't even own an I-Phone. The CA last fall demonized any electronic device that was either expensive or required a manual to learn how to operate (because that is money and time we could be devoting to the life-saving preaching work!) I can't believe a year ago I would have thought the same thing. I know if I had read this a year ago, I would have nodded knowingly and felt a twinge of guilt if I had even considered using the program.

jwfacts said it best: that the term "conscience matter" is an effective means of identifying "spiritually weak" JWs.

SM