Posts by Cadellin

Us mermaids know that skinny dipping pics aren't necessarily X-rated or even R-rated, for that matter!! I just thought they might be nice, sunny, warm-weather pics. Really.

Really, really.

57

The story of Punkofnice. It was the 'Overlapping' that finally got me out!

by punkofnice in

why i am now a faded apostate after the ridiculous overlapping teaching!.

i was raised in the trooooooooooth and both my parents were pioneers.

over the years i pioneered, was an ms and finally an elder.

Cadellin

Welcome! You and Almighty Dog have plenty in common, btw.

What's your avatar? I'm not sure if it's scary or funny...or both!

44

A Lurker taking a step out of the shadows

by AlmightyDog in

jw
friends

i have been lurking on this site and others for a couple of years now, and i feel it is time to step out and say "hello!

" when i first began investigating my beliefs, it was innocent enough.

i had been reading an article on scientology, thinking; "wow, these people are just plain nuts!!!

Welcome, Dog. I, took, am in a similar situation. It's really hard keeping a marriage together when one of you sees this religion for what it is (human to the core) and the other still thinks the FDS are God's channel. I'm just telling you straight. That said, it's not impossible. I have an elder husband and a child and I've had to be honest with him, just like you've been with your wife. Our child is old enough to understand what it means to be caught in the middle and I can't say it hasn't caused a degree of anguish for our child.

This is how I've handled it: All I can be is honest with my child. I've told my child exactly why I don't believe anymore. I've talked about evolution and the tremendous evidence. But I've also instilled respect for my husband's beliefs. And I"ve made it clear to my child that my support is there regardless of what choices my child chooses to make in life.

Please keep us informed on how things go. And, yes, by all means, read Crisis of Conscience. It's amazing.

67

last day at the kingdom hall

by ex-Special Pioneer in

jw
friends

prologue.

get out shouted the audience you must be ashamed of yourself.

the crowd was in a hysterical state, every time that we tried to say something we were silenced by the clapping and screams which got louder and louder of the majority of the two hundred people in attendance.

Cadellin

The crowd was in a hysterical state, every time that we tried to say something we were silenced by the clapping and screams which got louder and louder of the majority of the two hundred people in attendance. “Get out of here” were the word that kept echoing in our ears. People were standing up from the theatre seats and gesticulating there hands in the direction of the stairs that leads to the main exit door. During this commotion some present there in a rage of anger stood up from their seat and run to our direction. If it wasn’t for some present who managed to restrain them they would have assault us.

And this really happened in a Kingdom Hall?? Of Jehovah's Witnesses?? No offense, but I find that rather hard to believe.

Welcome anyway !!

5

Trying to locate a Steven Lett talk on Carey Barber (on JW Brothers)

by Joliette in

it may have been his memorial talk, but i was trying to look for it, couldnt find it on the jw brothers website.. can someone please link it to me, thanks!.

Cadellin

I don't know what talk this is, but I can tell you that Steve Lett didn't give his memorial talk; it was Samuel Herd.

84

Being honest with yourself, could you have reasonably adjusted your attitude and continued on as a JW?

by miseryloveselders in

jw
friends

i ask this question in harmony with deedub's swan song thread which i linked below.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/members/private/205902/1/time-to-say-good-bye.

to some degree, i think i understand where she's coming from.

just speaking from my own experiences since stepping into the world of anonymous apostacy, i went through a few different phases of personal outlooks.

Cadellin

First, welcom Bafh and please tell us about yourself (when you're ready)

This is such a good thread because so many of us have wrestled with these same issues as MLE raised. Many of us, including myself, are caught in difficult family situations and are struggling to negotiate how to be true to our consciences while not losing their marriage or their family. And yes, MLE, I've looked around our hall after a meeting and seen the camaraderie and thought, I could be part of this so easily--I know all the right things to say and movements to make. I'm not DF'd or DA'd btw, I'm inactive. That's the compromise I chose. My family can still talk to me, can handle this limited amount of "shame and sorrow" but still keep their heads up because I go to the occasional meeting and don't rock the boat. My husband is an elder who has told his body that he's "working with me." I show up often enough for them to believe it and leave me (us) alone. I keep my mouth closed.

My rationale is that I can stand to sit through a meeting here and there (yes, I do have to resist the urge to lob my head several times against the wall when blatant stupidity is spoken) but my conscience will absolutely not allow me to knock on someone's door and tell them something I know is wrong or a lie. I won't do it. That's where I draw the line.

But to return to full activity? No, uh-uh, nada, no chance, no way, no how. Not unless there is a dramatic about-turn in doctrine so that what is taught conforms to rational evidence (and I mean historical, biblical and natural), not unless women are accorded full equality, not unless honesty is embraced and admissions of error are made. And I dont see that happening anytime soon. Moreover, I have to applaud and echo Franklin Massey's observation about the chilling information control. That would have to be changed--open discussion without fear of judgment or discipline would need to be embraced. Thought control would need to be eliminated. Oh wait, I guess they wouldn't be a cult anymore! If all that happens, then, yeah, maybe I could adjust my attitude...

53

2011 Yearbook - "Tracing All Things with Accuracy"

by pirata in

2011 yearbook - "tracing all things with accuracy", p.9-13.

jesus said that the faithful slave would be discreet in giving the domestics "their food at the proper time.

" christ thus indicated that those who dispense this "food" would be conscientious, prudent, and discerning in providing spiritual food for the household of faith.-matt.

Cadellin

FM used the phrase "low risk admission." That's it, exactly. By admitting the "error" of a few silly things, they are hoping to innoculate readers against pursuing any deeper, more significant inconsistencies or inaccuracies. And it's working, to some extent. My mother, who'se aware of my problems with how the Society uses scientific quotes, pointed this Yearbook blurb out to me as proof that the Society is aware of the "problem" and is correcting it. See? Everything's good now, you only have to wait on Jehovah.

YEAH, BUT it makes the most recent shoddy work in the latest 2010 Creation brochure even more reprehensible, IMHO, considering that the two projects had to be in the works at around the same time. "Let's distract the readers with our goofy little example of spider silk and they won't notice the omission of gobs of relevant context in our 'discussion' of how life began!"

"Tracing all things with accuracy"--Yeesh!! And keep a straight face at the same time...

27

who succeeded Fred Franz not as President but the theological guru

by ex-Special Pioneer in

jw
friends

for decades fred franz was the guru of the watchtower bible & tract society.

he was obsessed with "biblical prophecy" trying to explain the book of daniel and revelation.

who took over after he stopped writing and who is considered the authority on the jws teaching today especially the so called "prophetic interpretation?

Cadellin

Recent books on prophecy have more to do with things like dress and grooming, Internet pornography, and meeting attendance. When prophecy is dealt with it is primarlily cut and paste from older Watchtowers.

Good observation. It's all spun to be about rules of conduct, the preaching work and obedience and, increasingly, extremely simplistic with "dumbed-down" reasoning aimed at about a Grade 4 or 5 reading level.

44

If you could choose one book to suggest to a JW...

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

i'm sure this isn't an uncommon question but i'll ask anyway.. suppose you had the chance to suggest one book, essay, article, or other writing with the goal of helping a loved one wake up... which one would it be?.

bear in mind the goal is to subvert the programmed hair-trigger defenses that cause a complete shutdown of critical thinking.

this automatically excludes anything that would directly place the wt society or its history in a negative light.

Cadellin

This might be too subtle, but I might suggest Neither East Nor West by Christiane Bird. It's about one woman's travels, by herself, through Iran. I read it before I woke up w/respect to the "truth," but I have to say that it jarred me.

At one point, Bird is visiting an ultra orthodox Muslim city in the north of Iran (Qum, IIRC) and she has a lengthy discussion with a cleric. The reasoning he uses to support Islam, as well as his general world view, was so similar to JWs that it gave me a jolt. I remember thinking something like Moslems think they have the truth but they're wrong--yet their epistemological support structure is virtually identical to ours. So if it's possible for them to be deluded, then what about us... The cleric's rationale regarding believers and non-believers could have come from an assembly part, no kidding. If I had to pinpoint one moment where I started to wake up, it was then.

Then, of course, I started discovering all the quotes taken out of context in the Creation book and my whole world fell apart. But that's another story...