There was a sister who told us by way of conversation that her boys were not interested in girls.
Zeb--Well, maybe they weren't! I suspect there are numerous JW boys who play for the other team...
mrs nic' and i were 16 and 18 years old respectively when we first met at a circuit assembly in corby.
three years later we were married.
we've had a great time, we're very lucky but looking back i can see how crazy it is to put that pressure to marry on teenagers.
There was a sister who told us by way of conversation that her boys were not interested in girls.
Zeb--Well, maybe they weren't! I suspect there are numerous JW boys who play for the other team...
it has been mentioned before but since we have been discussing environmental issues on another thread, i thought it might be timely to discuss rev 11:18 which has recently become a popular text for those christians concerned about environmental threats of pollution and climate change.
is this passage being interpreted correctly?
did the writer somehow anticipate the modern environmental situation, or did he intend something more in keeping with the bible's general concerns of morality and sin?.
Witnesses like to apply it to ecological ruin, as if the Bible was predicting the environmental crisis we are currently in. However, the marginal reference in the NWT to Rev. 11:18 is to Gen. 6:11: 1 But the earth had become ruined in the sight of the true God, and the earth was filled with violence.
So "ruined" refers to being ruined by violence, which aligns with the idea of "corrupt" or "corruption" as already mentioned and not with ecological ruination. The JW misinterpretation of Rev. 11:18 was one of the final straws that broke my publisher's back. The last time I was out in field service, I read that scripture at the door and recited the orthodoxy about how the Bible was predicting the ecological ruination we see around us, even though I knew that was an eisegetical error. My conscience killed me afterward and I thought to myself--never again.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/11/jehovahs-witness-agrees-not-show-son-religious-cartoons-risk/?wt.mc_id=tmg_share_fb.
a jehovah's witness has agreed not to show his son religious cartoons and has been banned from taking the six-year-old to some church events because it could cause him "emotional damage".
the man is embroiled in a family court dispute with his estranged wife and has been barred by a court from taking the little boy to jehovah's witness assemblies, annual conventions and memorials.. district judge malcolm dodds also said that the father had agreed not to show his son "jehovah's witness cartoons", a decision he described as "wise".
I am no JW apologist but any time you have a government entity deciding how much a parent can, well, parent a child, especially in matters as personal as religious belief, is disconcerting.Will the judge next require a Jewish parent to include Christmas along with Hannukah because the child might suffer emotional damage? It's the principal--some things are none of a government's business.
born into a strong jw family in the early 80s.
my father died when i was 4 and that left a huge emotional scar on my tender mind.
with my mother, i went to live with family members and was sexually abused between 4 and 10. he was an ms but when elders later found out, all that happened was he got his privileges removed.
Welcome! You are not alone, nor are you crazy. When I was leaving, I felt both alone and that I might be crazy, since so many of the intelligent people around me couldn't see the lies and other issues. You do have options, other than being DF'd or continuing PIMO. That is, the Fade. Many of us have done that to good success, but it is a very slow process (usually). Have a JW wife will make it a bit harder, but still not impossible. At any rate, take baby steps.
Also, do get professional help. The fact that you think you might have "enjoyed" aspects of the abuse does NOT mean you were complicit or to blame or guilty in any way shape or form. YOU were the victim. And the therapist will also help you deal with leaving the religion. I know that I went into therapy as I left and it was one of the best decisions I made. You have started a difficult and painful journey but there is light ahead...
Riiiight...That's the wife's primary duty. Cook and clean. Nice.
i was in the organization until 2011. .
i n-e-v-e-r heard of this problem.
not even a whisper.
I'm not sure how you define "rampant," but the Australian Royal Commission uncovered the fact that the Aust. branch had 1,000+ reports in the course of 50 years or so. Not sure what historic publisher numbers are but the most recent peak was 68,000, so averaging way less than that in terms of total numbers.
Yes. We are in the throes of a change that will make life very, very hard for most life on this planet. And it's not just another "doomsday cult," but sound science. Period.
watchtower's ignorance around the historical background to many biblical directives has had a very negative effect on the lives of witnesses.. for instance paul said women should cover their heads because in corinth prostitutes walked the streets plying for business with their heads uncovered.
hence head coverings were never a symbol of headship but a directive very specific to that period, as was the blood directive!!.
watchtower leaders have been lawyers, businessmen, civil servants and door-to-door book salesmen, never, ever historians or biblical scholars.
Christian Guy--Excellent post! I enjoyed your sound reasoning and learned some new things.
i know there are several posts about witnesses and non-witnesses in regards to relationships.
i couldn’t find anything specifically that spoke to me, so i would love some third-party advice and thoughts.. i have never been someone to pursue a stranger from the internet.
earlier this year, i became friends with someone on a video game.
I feel for you. You sound like a fairly level-headed and together person. Is this young man still living at home? At 22, if he is a good JW, that is to be expected. But it will mean that while he will be a very nice person, he will also be acres behind you in terms of life experience and maturity. That might not come across at first but it will be there. Aside from that, the religion has the potential to be a huge deal. I wouldn't go so far as to say "RUN," but oh boy, be super super careful and don't make any quick decisions.
One other thing--generally, the number of single young women outnumber young men by about 10 to 1. In most congregations, young single men, especially if they are half-way good-looking or intelligent, attractive, etc., have their choice of girls. Which raises the question as to why he is seeking female companionship online. This in no way is meant to suggest you are not attractive or anything like that--of course! But it is just another flag. I'm just saying this in general, not trying to imply anything about you personally.
i was in the organization until 2011. .
i n-e-v-e-r heard of this problem.
not even a whisper.
i had it hammered into me at an early age - not to bring reproach on jehovahs name. everything had to be dealt with internally ..if at all.
This is exactly true. Bringing reproach on Jehovah's name was the absolute worst thing you could do and if you were a good JW, you would tolerate ANYTHING in order to avoid that. That was the be-all and end-all of your activity and if it meant that little children got hurt in the process, well, they would be taken care of somehow, either invisibly by angels and you would not know about it but Jehovah would OR in the New Order. Now, that seems so crazy but it is honestly the way I was raised and it was accepted by everyone that I knew of in the congregation.