Posts by Cadellin

153

The antidote to the myth that JWs are declining

by slimboyfat in

one of the most persistent myths on this website is that jws are already in decline, the rot has set in, and the descent of the watchtower is inevitable from here on in.

unfortunately the facts do not bear this out.

jws are still increasing even in most developing countries, and they are still growing worldwide at a faster rate than the general population.

Cadellin

Interesting thread. I appreciate all the information. IMHO, things seem to be getting ready to decline. That is, the numbers (lies or not) don't indicate a current decline. However, I have to concur with what has been stated repeatedly:

(1) The average age of JWs is climbing and the number of seniors is startling, especially when you look at the average age of elders compared to MSs. When I was a girl, an MS was invariably a very young man--maybe even in his teens. Now ( from what I see when I very occasionally go), it's not uncommon to see MSs in their 30's, 40's or even older. They're supposed to be the "feeder stock" or "new blood" for the elder body!

(2) The quality of both JWs and publications has dramatically declined. I look at my own nephews and neices, all of whom were raised by uber-zealous parents. They are all now in their 20's. How many are or have ever regular pioneered? Exactly three out of nine. Moreover, it was their express intention to pioneer for exactly one year, as a kind of duty, before moving on to full-time work. One of them is now working 60+ hours /week for a big multinational corp as a financial analyst (she went to univ.), the other has married and he and his wife work full-time and have a nice, comfy lifestyle, not so different than the average "worldly" young couple. The third pioneered for a few years before moving in with a guy and getting df'd. (She's now reinstated, poor thing). I think those stats, while anecdotal, are highly representative of young witnesses.

Moreover, the general quality of the publications is so mundane and intellectually flabby as to be an embarassment to any JW with an IQ over room temperature. The reading level is about Grade 6, as is the complexity of content. The Organization is aiming low and reaping what they're sowing, which may or may not lead to a decline. Regardless, it will lead to a dramatic shift in demographics as the zealous, fire-in-the-belly old timers die off and are increasingly replaced by non-thinking, weekend Witnesses who dutifully go to meetings and expend their Saturday mornings driving around in expensive SUVs, doing absentee return-visits and frequenting Starbucks.

56

GB (Splane) says JW parent should "force" their children

by Gayle in

to go in "service," "baptism," etc.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsqmosgj710

Cadellin

Sheesh, what an idiot. Now they're coming down on parents whose 10-year old isn't an unbap pub? And 13-year olds who aren't bap? This is unquestionably a move to a more conservative and defensive stance. I was raised in the "truth," was the epitome of the good little daughter and no one thought it in the least bit questionable when I got dunked at 15. That was even considered a bit on the young side. My sister got dunked at 19, no biggie. We were the children of an elder, all in good standing, parts on the assembly, the whole nine yards.

It's clear that the borg is adopting the desperate strategy of roping the children in early and tight, especially when you combine this with the increased hardcore stance on communicating w/DF'd children...To paraphrase Princess Leiea, "The more the Watchtower tightens its grip, the quicker those waking up to TTATT will slip through its fingers." Desperate times for the Empire, indeed.

121

Symposium: Beware of Apostates! - 'God's Word is Truth!' District Convention of Jehovah's Witnesses 2013 - not on JW.ORG

by mindnumbed in

symposium: beware of apostates!.

satanhuman apostates also of interest ..... the truth brings "not peace, but a sword" .

Cadellin

This is part and parcel of how the WT maintains its iron-fisted control--instill as much self-doubt as possible in the rank and file. Isn't one of their favorite scrips "The heart is treacherous and desperate, who can know it?" or something along those lines? How many times is that trotted out in publications and in talks? Publishers are told over and over not to trust their own thinking, their own senses, their own ideas, that their imperfect, susceptible to Satan's machinations, their own imperfect heart, etc etc. So OF COURSE they shouldn't be thinking things through on their own and determining if apostate material is true or not! The average JW does not believe him/herself capable of doing so. After all, if Satan can mislead perfect humans and millions of perfect angels, he can easily mislead you or me!

That's why they need the organization to tell them what to think.

66

Another Newbie

by Skinnedsheep in

jw
friends

i recently came to the realization that the organization is corrupt and is false.

my story is similar to many i think.

i was raised in the religion, pioneered and served as an elder for a number of years.

Cadellin

Welcome, skinnedsheep:

I was raised in the "truth," by missionary parents, pioneered for many years, married an elder, the whole nine yards. Because I am a woman, I was never in line for MS/elder "privileges," of course.

I always had an uncomfortable awareness that our timeline/chronology differed from secular history but was able to quash it by telling myself that radiometric dating methods were faulty, as the Society asserts, and that historians had anti-Biblical motives. It was when I started reading some of the reference material used in the Creation book that I saw how badly the Society misused secular quotes and information. I started actually researching evolution, dating methods, archeology, etc. in earnest and the blinders fell off for good. By this time, I was married with a small child.

So what do you do? I gradually slowed down in meeting attendance and service--did the fade. S-L-O-W. Had it out with my elder husband. It was horrible and hard and heartbreaking. Ended up in therapy and on anti-depressants because, you see, when you take the red pill, you wake up with a thump to find your world fragmenting around you.

But--listen now--you come out the other side. You survive. I am lucky--my marriage survived too. And because I am a woman, my dear elder husband was able to run interference between me and the elders, you know, the "I'll take care of my own household" thing. As a male, you don't have that buffer zone. But you'll do it. And you'll find out, when you've fully emerged, blinking, into the sunlight, that the intellectual freedom and curiousity that you buried for so long as a good Witness is still there. You'll enjoy using your mind. You'll discover stuff you never knew you never knew.

If it hasn't already been said, I'll say it--read Ray Franz's book Crisis of Conscience. Order it now. You really need it at this point in your awakening.

63

2013 DC new releases - rumors ???

by obarac in

there is rumors that in this years dc nwt will be released and also new tracts.

any other rumors about new releases?.

Cadellin

Wow--just recycled info, all of it.

121

Symposium: Beware of Apostates! - 'God's Word is Truth!' District Convention of Jehovah's Witnesses 2013 - not on JW.ORG

by mindnumbed in

symposium: beware of apostates!.

satanhuman apostates also of interest ..... the truth brings "not peace, but a sword" .

Cadellin

Thanks for posting this information!

datadog: I had my own doubts years before I visited any "apostate" websites. Then when I did, they only confirmed what I'd long suspected.

It was good to know I wasn't alone.

BINGO! The GB's renewed hysteria in the form of ad hominen attacks and paranoid us-vs-them posturing is a clear sign that more and more people are starting to wake up. Every cult needs a scape goat or a whipping boy (is that an appropriate term? Hmm) and wicked apostates are ideal. Yet the fact is, even if there were no apostates, a thinking person can find out the TTATT

18

Should I try to get my parents out?

by Gabriel_Walker in

jw
friends

hi everyone.. i'm guessing you get this a lot, but i have to ask anyway.. first some context.. i'm 25, i was raised in the "truth" but i never got baptized, i haven't been in a kingdom's hall in 6 years, i live with my parents and we have a good relationship.. my dad doesn't have jw relatives, my mom has a few though and both have wordly friends.. so, should i try it?

if you need more information just ask.. ps: english is not my first language so please forgive any gramatical or spelling mistakes you may find, also corrections are greatly apretiated.. pps: if this the wrong section please accept my apologies and move the thread..

Cadellin

I think it depends on the age and circumstances of your parents. If your parents are in their 40s or 50s, then they might cope okay. My parents are in their late 70s and early 80s--it would be far too shocking to try to "wake up" an elderly person. This breaks my heart, but it's better for them emotionally to simply remain where they are.

427

If man evolved?

by tornapart in

i know anyone who believes in evolution is going to say that there is no 'if' about it.

however.... if man evolved over hundreds of thousands of years ago, why were there only about 200-300 million people alive 2,000 years ago?

surely there'd have been many billions by then?.

Cadellin

Thanks for the link to Wien's excellent article. I read it years ago when I was first learning TTATT and it was all so painful and shocking--how much I didn't know, how badly I'd been misled by the WT's abominable pseudo-science writing. It's so much easier to look away, to avoid reading credible information and to simply continue on believing comfy falsehoods.

10

Science vs. God Debate

by frankiespeakin in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjtnpvrexze.

Cadellin

Larsinger: No. Not in any substantive way. Sorry.

44

Newby here

by 1009 in

jw
friends

i am new here and briefly want to introduce myself.. my name is michel and i am from the netherlands.

became baptized when i was 14, started pioneering when i got 18 and i've been ms for a number of years.

i married another pioneer and after a while we joined a foreign language congregation.

Cadellin

Welcome to both Netherland newbies: I want to chime in on the asexual thing in women, speaking as a woman who was raised a good JW.

First, female sexuality operates completely differently then men (okay, flaming obvious, right?) As a woman, at least for me, desire moves in tandem with ovulation. Ovulation=horniness. Wrong time of the month? Men are just not that appealing--it's not that desire is completely gone, but the flames need to be very deliberately fanned through fantasy and erotica. Most good JW women wouldn't dream of doing such things and so, if it's a non-ovulating time, they're going to be as dead as doornails. I suspect most good JW wives are like that A LOT of the time. Plus they're not going to experiment with new moves, like oral sex, that can stir the flames nicely.