Posts by ziddina

32

Jehovah's Witnesses do not know their own doctrines

by BonaFide in

jw
friends

i am still active to try and help family and friends, so that's why i say we.

i know i have brought this up before, but i cannot get over the fact that every service group i go in, and every dinner after the meeting, or coffee or whatever, no one seems to be reading the magazines.

no one understands the doctrines of the generation, 1919, not even blood.. when i bring up one of those subjects, one in the group will repeat the phrase we learned at the meetings, such as "blood fractions is not really blood" or "i think the generation refers more to the anointed or something like that.

ziddina

RIIIIIGHT ON, Sir82!!! In answer to: "How many Lutherans know THEIR doctrines? And how many Catholics? Does it NOT boil down to feelings / emotions among Catholics?"...

You replied: "That might be a valid point....if Catholics and Lutherans printed hundreds of millions of magazines, tracts, and brochures annually, condemning "false religion" because of its doctrines and trying to "prove" Biblically why they are right and every one else is wrong."

That is the thing that I find absolutely mind-boggling about the WTBTS - the FLAMING HYPOCRISY! I am constantly astounded by their flagrant two-faced inability to 'remove the rafter(S!!)' from their own eyes! Funny - that was a significant characteristic of my parents, too... Who were both enamored of the WTBTS/JWs....

I enjoyed everyone else's comments, too, but yours was particularly STRAIGHT 2 the point!! Zid

10

Mouthy, my dahling, this one's dedicated to YOU!

by ziddina in

jw
friends

(and it took me all afternoon to set this up... good thing i wasn't wasting my time going to meetings or anything like that!!).

mouthy!!!!!

we're too far apart, but here's a bit of 'symbolic' tea for you and me... .

ziddina

"Gals, you can "sit and sip," and that's okay, just don't "nibble and sip" and claim to be anointed!"

Ah, but, St. Ann, I make the most delicious Lemon Bars!!! (Is one 'more' "Anointed" if the food actually tastes GOOD???)

Just kidding!!! Zid

10

Mouthy, my dahling, this one's dedicated to YOU!

by ziddina in

jw
friends

(and it took me all afternoon to set this up... good thing i wasn't wasting my time going to meetings or anything like that!!).

mouthy!!!!!

we're too far apart, but here's a bit of 'symbolic' tea for you and me... .

ziddina

(and it took me all afternoon to set this up... Good thing I wasn't wasting my time going to meetings or anything like that!!)

MOUTHY!!!!! This is just for you!!!

We're too far apart, but here's a bit of 'symbolic' tea for you and me...

So we could sit and sip, and discuss our little adventures, like hiking in the mountains,

Looking at aspen trees....

Smelling wildflowers..... Larkspur

And after we'd finished our tea..........

I'd bid you

Hee, hee, hee!! Zid

25

The People Up There vs. The People Down Here

by Confession in

do you ever detect a difference in the way people make evaluations of an organization, as compared to an individual?

how about a difference between the way people judge one who holds an office of some sort, compared to one who doesn't?.

it seems to me that many people have a different set of standards for, say, "the people up there" as opposed to "the people down here.".

ziddina

Good point, Confession! I have - in the past - reported crimes to the police, whether they happened to me or to others... But, I'm jesst a 'busybody'!!

Actually, I've reported a few cases of drunk driving and road rage to the cops - police - while in transit. Good thing they haven't made driving while talking on a cell phone illegal - yet... I usually pull over (that's what emergency lanes are for) and make my calls, or park in a parking lot or neighborhood...

Getting back to the point... I never caught a JW doing anything illegal. If I had - well, I wasn't that enamored of the religion - beaten into it by my dad and manipulated by my mom - I think I would have reported any JW crimes just to be contrary... Zid

29

Pumping Gas with engine running....

by cameo-d in

jw
friends

.

i saw someone doing that today.

big old ram truck and the motor running while he was pumping gas.. how dangerous is that?.

ziddina

Uhhhh, Guys!!!!???!! HOT exhaust pipe??? Which starts to cool down immediately (below ignition heat level) once engine is turned off... HOT Catalytic converter... Also - if car backfires - THAT could ignite the fumes!

We have to watch out for hot exhaust pipes causing prairie fires and forest fires in our area... No backing up onto dry grass after hauling uphill over a mountain pass for half-an-hour or more. Even parking your car at work in the wrong area after the daily commute could cause problems... Many people don't think of these things... Zid

25

The People Up There vs. The People Down Here

by Confession in

do you ever detect a difference in the way people make evaluations of an organization, as compared to an individual?

how about a difference between the way people judge one who holds an office of some sort, compared to one who doesn't?.

it seems to me that many people have a different set of standards for, say, "the people up there" as opposed to "the people down here.".

ziddina

"If your female friend had been raped by a person you knew--but she decided not to come forward about it--would you go around her to the authorities and report it anyway?" .....

That's a hard one. My first response would be to report it. But the poor authorities would have a dickens of a time prosecuting it if my friend - by that point, ex-friend - didn't want to report it in the first place... Wouldn't be the first time I lost a friend over principles...

I think - this is a big maybe here... I'd report it anyway, based on the legal precedent of - if one gains knowledge of a murder after the fact, and does not report it to the authorities, one then becomes an accomplice to murder after-the-fact...

Although I've never heard of this legal attitude being applied in the case of knowledge of an unreported rape, I would probably go ahead and report it - and brace myself for the denials, denials, denials of my now-ex-friend who would now be furious at me....

I was curious enough about this issue to call the local police department and ask the desk sergeant what the official policy would be... He stated that, in the case of an un-cooperative victim - he initially called it a 'victimless' crime - the state would be handicapped in prosecuting the case. He went on to say that if - IF - there was sufficient evidence to prosecute WITHOUT the victim's cooperation, the state would go ahead with the case. Unfortunately, this is a crime - these are crimes [rape, child molestation] that target the segments of human society that generally lack power...

BTW, since by this time the officer was wondering whether I was talking about a real case, I mentioned the JWs and the WTBTS; the alleged number of cases in the WTBTS files in Brooklyn and the 16 lawsuits settled - with accompanying gag orders... Gave him a bit more information than he started out with...

Sad. Very sad. Hope this post sort of answers your question... Zid

15

Need help.

by lostjdub93 in

jw
friends

well to start i was raised a jw.

my girlfriend is as member of sovereign grace ministries.

i have not been to a meeting in 15 years, i have attended the memorial every year.

ziddina

"Things that make me go Hmmmmmm....." I just read the websites posted by Ynot... Sure hope lostjdub93 gets his hands on some good books about cult dynamics... Hope his girlfriend/ex-girlfriend is open to reading them, too...

Good points, Ynot! That group [Sovereign Grace] sounds iffy, to say the least... Zid

12

Only JWs Will be saved?I

by Shepherd Book in

jw
friends

i received this quote via email:.

"but jehovah's servants already belong to the only organization that will survive the end of this wicked system of things".

it's my understanding that this is from the dec. 15, 2007 wt.

ziddina

Sheesh! Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe in a geologic time scale (Earth is 4.5 billion years old; Homo Sapiens is at least 100,000 years old...) but this "time of the end" is moving at the pace of plate tectonics.... 1914, 1918, 1925, 1940, 1975, what number came after that??? I was out by then...

Even glaciers move faster than this!!! You can SEE glacial movement after 5-10-15 years; but after 130+ years of "The End is Coming!" "The End is Coming!" "The End is Coming!" - nuttin'!!!

Aw, NuTs!!! Zid

15

Need help.

by lostjdub93 in

jw
friends

well to start i was raised a jw.

my girlfriend is as member of sovereign grace ministries.

i have not been to a meeting in 15 years, i have attended the memorial every year.

ziddina

Well, your girlfriend may have an eeeensy, teeensy bit of a point about 'getting yourself together'... Almost every one of us who has exited that cult has had to go through that stage; some of us are still going through the remnants of it.

Hear, hear about the (excess) drinking! Sad to say, that is a common problem with good, upstanding Jehovah's Witnesses as well.... So, please don't hate yourself. That would probably only exacerbate the drinking.....??

First of all, relax. Let me say that again....

REEEEEEE - LLLAAAAAAXX....... Take a few nice, deep, slow breaths....

There is no awful flying finger of fate/Yahweh coming your way... That's just a big scaredy-tale.

I'm awfully fond of saying, "Jehovah and Satan are opposite sides of the same coin. The name of the coin is "CONTROL thru FEAR".

In other words, you've been taught to RE-act to everything. If you are out of the JWs, that's the first, most important step. The next step is to undo as much of the JW "mind control" as you can. For some people, it means finding a therapist - and I would STRONGLY recommend that the first question you ask ANY potential therapist is, "Do you have any experience helping people who have exited a Christian DoomsDay cult??"

If you can't afford a therapist, then remind yourself - you've just exited a Christian (well, JWs are sorta 'Christian'...) DOOMSDAY cult. Get your hands on every book on cult manipulation that you can. Read, read, read. Research on the INternet. Chat/boards are good, too; but keep in mind that, though everyone will be trying to help you, some of the advice will fit your situation, and some won't. A healthy, independently-thinking mind is like a muscle - it'll get stronger the better you feed it (reputable books written by accredited scholars with actual college degrees, and balanced viewpoints by ex-members - the "Crisis of Conscience" is a great one!) and the more you exercise it...

Hope some of this advice helps.... We're here for you in any way we can help! Zid

20

Ok, I know I'm late to the party, but who has seen W?

by beksbks in

thoughts?.

ziddina

HaWWW!! Absolutely LOVED it!! And Oliver Stone - of "Platoon", "Born on the Fourth of July" and "JFK" said it was a completely neutral look at ol' Georgy.... Zid