Posts by Cadellin

44

2017 Convention Video Remember The Wife Of Lot

by pale.emperor in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0qpoelk2r4.

the dad in this is a total douche.

i dont know if the videos have become more judgemental and culty in the year since i left - or maybe im just noticing it more?.

Cadellin

So I watched this in bits and pieces (all I could take) and--whoa. A few observations. First, special effects have definitely improved, although the acting hasn't. There is a super-creepy section toward the end where Gloria is "remembering the wife of Lot" and let me say--it could be lifted from a horror show. The rise in affluent Asians and their focus on financial success is clearly the impetus for this somewhat hokey movie. Even among JWs, Asian parents emphasize education and career, as I have seen first hand, and so this has not escaped the attention of the GB.

This movie is designed to make points at multiple levels. There is a scene where Gloria is watching the news and it's a BBC report of an 8.1 magnitude earthquake off of Taiwan, along with a global financial meltdown. It would seem that the Society is still beating that earthquake horse, even though it has been clearly shown to be a falsity. And the global financial meltdown? Um, wasn't that 10 years ago and haven't most major economies recovered?

I also noticed the old canard of "my workmates (worldly) aren't what they seemed to be..." like non-JWs are all engaged in subterfuge aimed at duping JWs. I have NEVER noticed this (in real life), but this gets repeated all the time in JW mythology.

So much manipulation, so little authenticity.

47

We are becoming champions of grief. We lost twin B.

by Darkknight757 in

last week we had a reassurance ultrasound with our ob.

she was just supposed to check heartbeats on the two little ones and they were going strong!

but because she had extra time and she can be quite anal about her work (which is a good thing) she decided to take some measurements.

Cadellin

I'm so sorry. My deepest sympathies to you both.

33

How many in your generation are still JW???

by Christian Gutierrez in

jw
friends

how many in your age group are still jehovahs witnesses?

from where we are at, there aren't many left.

each year it gets smaller and smaller haha .

Cadellin

I grew up with a pretty zealous bunch and most are still in and not just still in, but uber-active--full-time service. I know, weird, huh? Most did not have kids (a few did). When it comes to my close family, of the three kids in my family, only one is still in, and of my four first cousins, only one is still in. But the two who are still in (one sibling, one cousin) both are regular pioneers and both are female. The ones who left (one sibling, three cousins) are all male. So there's a gender thing there.

I think being super-zealous when you're young might increase the likelihood that you'll stay with it, only because you have so much to lose and you've given up so much. No education, no kids, no savings. What else do you have but the religion? It's sad.

115

UC Berkeley orders cancellation of Ann Coulter speech

by freemindfade in

uc berkeley administrators canceled a scheduled speech by right-wing pundit ann coulter, saying they can’t protect participants from rioting if it goes ahead.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/uc-berkeley-orders-cancellation-of-ann-coulter-11084299.php.

now i am no ann coulter fan (although the sjw police on here will accuse me of being a fan shortly after posting this), but i am a fan of free speech!

Cadellin

Yes, unfortunately, diversity of belief and opinion is being slowly but surely dismantled. I am no Ann Coulter fan, myself; I disagree with many, if not most, of her main ideas, but to cancel a speech because supposedly violence cannot be controlled sounds like fascism to me. It is for this reason, as well, that I am in disagreement with JWs ban in Russia. When diverse voices are silenced because they differ from the mainstream, you can expect that a free press will be next. Free speech, freedom of association and freedom of religion aren't to protect what the majority happen to say/do/believe but the groups with whom we disagree.

21

It's about progress, not perfection...

by scratchme1010 in

i guess at this point in time and space i'm ok if there's an indication of things going in the right direction.. my jw father, who joined the jws in 1973 when i was 8, has always had all the characteristics of the stereotypical brainwashed born again weirdo.

as a jw he always felt the need to show that he was more devoted than the rest of the crop.

to him, life became very easy from that point on: "the bible", interpreted by the millions of wt publications, along with the information in the meetings and getting involved in all jw activities, were the answer to everything and anything in his life".

Cadellin

Thank you for sharing. This was interesting and moving without being sentimental; you are a compassionate and caring son, exactly the kind of son that any parent would want. I'm glad you have a happy and love-filled life.

70

Apologists saying that the JWs shouldn't be banned, what the hell!??

by Crazyguy in

it's been brought to my attention that there are xjw that say they support the witnesses and don't think russia should ban them.

i would just like to remind all of you that jws are guilty of murder, causing higher rates of suicide, covering up child molestation, and keeping members in prisoned because if they leave they loose family, financial support, possible employment etc.. sure their not strapping bombs to their chests but they easily get members to kill themselves with their blood policies.

they are an extremist group!

Cadellin

I'm with Coded Logic on this one. I am no apologist by any means but freedom of religion is a fundamental human right, no matter how problematic we might personally find various belief systems. The bottom line is that no government has the right to tell any human how or what to believe. Moreover, from what I've read about this ban, it appears that Russia is aiming at the fact that JWs criticize other belief systems, which involves freedom of speech.

Dictators and other oppressive regimes often start with the low-hanging fruit, the most extreme or least widely accepted groups and then move from there. Banning JWs is the thin edge of the wedge, and other groups, who think they are safe, had better take stock because they're next.

Issues like the blood ban, shunning and other more harmful practices can be addressed via a range of other means, through exposure, law suits and other less draconian measures which do not need to issue from Big Brother.

39

July's watchtower leaves out some important info from a quote!

by stavro in

jerome over on discuss the truth has picked up on something interesting.. in the july watchtower on page 28 of the article entitled “winning the battle for your mind” the following statement is made “keep in mind that satan does not want you to think clearly or reason things out well.

because propaganda is likely to be most effective, says one source, if people… are discouraged from thinking critically.”.

the quote comes from a book entitled: “media and society in the twentieth century: a historical introduction by lyn gorman, david mclean" the watchtower however, chose to leave out a portion of the quote.. the full quote is "therefore, it is likely to be most effective if people do not have access to multiple sources of information and if they are discouraged from thinking critically.. the following sentence which the watchtower also decided was best not to include states,.

Cadellin

Thank you for sharing this! There is something delightfully ironic in how the WT chose to edit that sentence! The fact that they left out the part about access to a range of information sources suggests that they do not want JWs consulting multiple information sources. In fact, their clear opposition to followers consulting multiple information sources would place them squarely under the column heading "Propaganda" as indicated by the second sentence they chose to omit. So they have become their own ideal example of what propaganda is all about! They are living up to the definition of propaganda even as they seemingly warn against it.

22

Warwick Tour Brochure

by konceptual99 in

jw
friends

so we had this posted in the mega topic thread... wt: warwick world hq tour brochure.

the new world headquarters of jws, located at warwick, new york, will open for tours on monday, april 3, 2017.. in anticipation, a new eight-page glossy brochure about this facility has now been released:.

download pdf: https://download-a.akamaihd.net/files/media_cmsassets/70/fo_s-whq_e.pdf.

Cadellin

That image of a whole conference room full of old white guys just reminds everyone that in JWland, the patriarchy is alive and well. Still, I'm surprised that they would include that in a public document since it such striking visual evidence of how out of touch they are with the diversity of the real world.

13

The start of a rough patch ahead...

by confused3426 in

jw
friends

last night i told my mom my true feelings on the organization and what i've learned so far.

it all started from a conversation, we need to go visit the new headquarters.

my mom has been studying and just recently became an unbaptized publisher in the spanish cong.

Cadellin

Hi, Confused:

First of all, I'm so sorry--this is super stressful for your mom, yes, but for you, too. You are not responsible for your mother's feelings but they are understandable. Remember one thing--your mind is your own and you have the right to investigate any religion in a thoughtful, critical way. As far as your questions, it all depends. If you need to live with your mother as a dependent, then you are in a more difficult position than if you are able to move out and care for yourself. If you need to keep living with her, then you might need to pull back and keep the peace for at least a little while.

One great piece of advice I got when I was leaving was this: There is no wrong way to leave a cult (or high control religion). You need to do what is in your best interests. That said, it will be easiest for you if you can start arranging your affairs so that you can live independently, even if that is a year or more off in the distance.

When I started fading, I moved very slowly. I stopped going to the service meeting/school but kept going to the Sunday meeting for quite a while. It's okay to say that you are depressed, that you are not feeling well, that you are stressed out.

Hang in there-it DOES get better!

12

Heartbroken...advice please

by SPARKLEY in

i am a non-jw and have been in an unhappy marriage for a few years now.

i met a nice man at work, we had a laugh together and got to know each other.

we were both really attracted to each other.

Cadellin

Sparkley, I am so sorry you have had this unhappy experience. But take the good advice that you've received here and move on.