it has taken me almost 2 years to get to the bottom of the watchtower society rabbit hole.
being fully convinced that i was duped....i am still a little ashamed of myself for being so narrow minded.
i have vowed never to close off my mind like that again.
Step 1 - Don't take any advice from anyone who's posted in this thread.
Step 2 - Ask yourself why it matters what the truth is about this question.
Step 3 - Go back to step 2 because you seriously need to think about that.
Step 4 - Why are you here? Are you deaf??!!! Go back to step 2?!!!
i would like to relate with the first suicide that took place this year, this was more than seven months ago.
this person was deeply distraught and was talking about killing themself.
the conduct of this person started to escalate (deep depression with morbid thoughts.
Post Jerry Bergman's data and his methodology w/regard to gathering and reporting and this might have some value.
Even if the data would support the same one would still need make the clear distinction between those born into the sect, vs those who chose the sect.
One could argue that the "choosers" were already unbalanced prior to their WT engagement.
i would like to relate with the first suicide that took place this year, this was more than seven months ago.
this person was deeply distraught and was talking about killing themself.
the conduct of this person started to escalate (deep depression with morbid thoughts.
I do agree that unreasonable pressure and the unrelenting cognitive dissonance required by a believing JW could be a contributing factor in suicide rates among JW's, however once again, it's difficult without more data to know the overall impact on this group.
I became a JW at a time and a place when the experience was just what I needed. I found a family, I found structure, I found people who weren't faking themselves or others and many who genuinely appreciated my unique qualities. I found an opportunity to learn how to work with diverse groups of people inside and outside the congregation.
Too bad the "Truth" wasn't the "Truth".
It's a painful experience to realize once again that there is no Santa Claus.
I say these things not to defend the organization, but to highlight what people have found in these kinds of religions and why these things have been at times helpful and at other times hurtful.
i would like to relate with the first suicide that took place this year, this was more than seven months ago.
this person was deeply distraught and was talking about killing themself.
the conduct of this person started to escalate (deep depression with morbid thoughts.
No defense of the WTBS here, but I'm not aware of any study which pits suicide rates when "treated" by professionals vs nonprofessionals is done.
People sometimes kill themselves and it's sad, but sometimes these also kill themselves while being treated by mental health professionals.
(I know 2 "worldly" guys who killed themselves and 3 JW's. The JW's were being treated by mental health professionals.)
This is not just a JW problem. If you care to help, the following resource makes some discussion of the many factors involved.
Yes, yes, WTBS = Bad, but it isn't 100% responsible any more than any religious group.
Take Scientologists, for example, they'll be all for getting a physical, but totally abstain from the pharmacological solutions to depression.
Christian Scientists feel prayer covers it all.
I think it's safe to say that many, many religions and religious people feel that more of whatever their religion is peddling is the answer, (but not all).
it s well known that the wt forbidds transfusion of white cells, but i was shocked when i read on ajwrb that organs actually contains more white cells than blood, and that "a jw who accepts an organ transplant takes in more leukocytes than he would through a blood transfusion.".
even more shocking was that apparently "mothers milk contains 5-12 times more leukocytes than a corresponding amount of blood...this also applies to cow milk, which is used extensively as food and drink in all the world.
so every time a jw drinks milk, he receives more of the prohibited leukocytes than if he or she receives a blood transfusion!".
I used to be on the local PVG and after checking out a few books on blood at the local university library, and pausing a moment or two after reading these realized there was no biblical basis for making distinctions between fractions.
The ONLY basis would be if you made every pronouncement by the WTBS = Jehovah.
So what biblical basis exists for disfellowshipping?
None.
i'm talking about even people in their own congregation, or even a simple comment at the meeting that shut people up..
I think the question is making the presumption that because one event follows the other that the event that followed "caused" the other.
People often become JW's for the same reasons they leave JW's.
it suddenly hit me, as i glanced down at a nice lady of many decades.................damn!
i'm standing so close to her that she has fallen out of my depth of focus .............and she looks many years younger because, like a camera pointed at doris day, with vaseline on the lens, i can't see wrinkles, scars, crowsfeet or much else beyond a smiling, angelic appearance.
hey, this isn't too bad!.
actually, most everything in the sept. 15, 2011 rag is offensive.
but particularily the points that will cause extreme hardship in the lives of witlesses.
the first part of today's article "are you letting jehovah be your share" (page 11), finds the "annointed" (a.k.a.
Yes, but I've seen it go both ways.
These days it's done more often than not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhkpoz4sroe.
if you leave the borg now!.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhKpOz4SROE
If you leave the Borg now!
