Posts by Tea drinker

17

DNCall Unmasked - Part 3 of 5

by DNCall in

jw
friends

startfragment.

by the 1990s it became necessary for me to seek work outside of music.

barbara, who had to help support our family in the mid-1980s, was working as a legal secretary and suggested i consider doing the same.

Tea drinker

Thanks for relating your story. I am enjoying reading every part.

I am sorry about what happened with regard to your daughter's wedding. There are so many busy-bodies within the organisation who seem to relish the fact that they can cause trouble for other human beings....ones they call "brother" and "sister." I can relate to this as a similar scenario occured in my congregation recently. The CO even tried to put an end to it but some "stumbled" ones are still trying to get someone's head on the block....pathetic.

47

JW email making the rounds: He doesn't serve Jehovah

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

this is making the rounds.

he doesn't serve jehovah.

i'd like to tell you a story, about true love at last.

Tea drinker

This poem disgusts me. I am currently in for family reasons but am also pursuing a non-witness girl with whom I became great friends at university. She has good morals and she is the kindest, most generous and most selfless person I have ever met and none of the Witness girls I have met are a patch on her.......she does not have a bad word to say about anybody, even when they have wronged her.

What really gets me irate is the fact that if my Witness acquaintances knew of this young lady they would view her (and me) as dirt and would not be able to see the wonderful qualities she has. It really is quite tragic that the Witnesses cannot see past the negative labels slapped on people who are not members of their ranks and automatically assume that non-believers are nowhere near as good as even the "worst Witness."

82

I commented about apostates today at the meeting

by cognac in

jw
friends

i couldn't help myself.

it was so obnoxious what the paragraph was saying about apostates.. so i said that having a difference of opinion is not a problem but really as brought out by thessolonians it is when a person raises themselves up above god to have people follow them instead of god that they are considered bad in god's eyes.. i don't even know if it had anything to do with the question, but i just wanted to say that, lol..

Tea drinker

It is not just speaking about one's contrary thoughts which makes one an apostate in the Society's eyes. Just thinking and believing differently is viewed as apostasy.

May I refer you to Crisis of Conscience (page 342) where Ray Franz reproduces a letter sent to all travelling overseers in 1980. The letter reads in part "to be disfellowshipped for apostasy, an apostate does not have to be a promoter of apostate views......if a baptised Christian abandons the teachings of Jehovah, as presented by the faithful and discreet slave, and persists in believing other doctrine despite scriptural reproof, then he his apostatising."

There you have it. Just believing differently makes one an apostate. There is an underlying understanding among the Witnesses that to doubt the Society openly is dangerous therefore many supress their true feelings and therefore cannot make real friends within the organisation. This is what I have seen in my years as a Witness and this lack of self-expression is in my view one of the reasons why some Witnesses become so depressed.

People simply cannot speak their minds lest they be booted out for apostasy.....it is an unhealthy envionment, gripped by fear.

70

AGAIN with the college bashing

by Pistoff in

ok so the mate took good notes at the ca and here is the newest on "higher education:.

the usual bashing of motives: those who want great wealth, prestige and seek it in a college educationcollege graduates don't always get jobs in their fieldsdrugs, drinking and sex are "rampant" at collegesthose who want to "snatch us away" are near if we go to college (isa 54)if we seek a college education, we are not spiritual mindedthe most disturbing for me was this:.

those who choose college will not get blessings from jehovahand of course there was the obligatory interview with the college graduate who disdains the education whe received.. .

Tea drinker

These talks always irritate the life out of me and whenever our family is returning from the assembly I just have to say something (even though I know it will only end with me getting more angry).

I have been to university and so the standard response from my relatives is "well you must have a guilty conscience."

I then say "no, I have nothing to feel guilty about as I made a personal choice which was mine to make; I just hate the way they try to guilt-trip people into throwing their education away; I also know that all the self-righteous ones will be thinking about me and calling me 'unspiritual' behind my back....never to my face though."

This usually gets another ridiculous answer like "see! you have got a guilty conscience otherwise you wouldn't be going on like this."

It is truly mind-numbing sometimes but I suppose that it is my own stupid fault as I keep doing the same thing every year whilst expecting different results. I know my family's thinking won't change but I just can't bring myself to keep my mouth shut which means that the whole thing usually escalates into a blazing row.

43

Who is going to the District Assembly this year?

by asilentone in

jw
friends

i do not think i will be there!

.

Tea drinker

Undecided. I'm fading so maybe I should go for one of the days.

The main problem is that the theme, "Keep on the Watch," will mean it is likely that a number of talks will go on about the importance of being in the organisation and that all the billions of other people who are not will be destroyed. These arrogant assertions make me sick as some of those billions have shown me more kindness and love than anyone in my Kingdom Hall.

The way I am feeling at the moment I may not be able to hold my tongue so on second thoughts I best stay away: a couple of years ago a sister glared at me because I was privately disputing the contents of a talk on disfellowshipping with my relatives.....silly woman, she shouldn't have been listening to a private conversation.

The only problem with staying away is that I will not be able to keep abreast of the "truths" they teach....something I try to do in order to try and help my relatives wake up.

10

Could you share some of your hobbies and/or passions in life?

by The Berean in

jw
friends

it may sound simple, yet i eagerely look forward each year to gardening ... .

what say you ....

Tea drinker

I like reading anything but especially about history.

I also play the piano and the pipe organ, enjoy gardening, walking, keeping fit and of course....tea drinking!

40

What finally pushed you over the edge?

by keyser soze in

was there one issue or incident, final straw, so-to-speak, that made you leave once and for all?

i know there was for me.. i had been having doubts for years, and had stopped believing it was the truth.

but i labored on as a jw, in part because of my family, and in part because i had invested so much of myself in it.

Tea drinker

A public speaker saying that soon "97% of the worlds population will be obliterated." This was followed by nods from those in the congregation.

I already knew then that JWs were all wrong but was still going but that statement disgusted me and I felt like screaming with indignation. I decided then that very day that I would begin my fade.

I am still in the process of fading carefully due to family concerns.

10

Comments from today's meeting -- Following the Lamb!

by Ultimate Reality in

jw
friends

i went today because i wanted to hear the comments on this wt article.. it did not disappoint.

one comment that summed things up:.

"i know i can trust the slave because everything i have ever read from the slave has been for my benefit.

Tea drinker

Oh yes there were a few howlers!

One sister said that "we don't question Moses so why should we question the faithful slave." I nearly fell off my seat. Moses did not make any false predictions unlike the false prophecies of the Wt.

I was also amused and irritated at the nerve of paragraph 12: "the faithful slave is also discreet in that it neither acts immodestly, running ahead of Jehovah, nor lags behind." I thought "1975 anyone?"

One brother also said that we should always listen to the slave because the direction is coming directly from Jehovah. Unblievable

I usually hate going to the meetings but I was actually looking forward to it today because I knew it would be entertaining. I honestly could not stop chuckling to myself and tried my best to wipe the recurring grin from my face.

53

Long term effects of Armageddon images

by Lady Lee in

someone i know is having a hard time with anxiety attacks.

she hasn't been a jw since a teen.

recently she has started seeing a therapist.

Tea drinker

Yes. I posted a comment earlier on the thread "Are you still a victim of mind control?"

"Yes I would say so.

I was brought up as a witness but now I think it's all a load of rubbish. I still consider myself a Christian and have recently begun attending church services (although I am still trying to fade slowly). I was always horrified by the pictures of Armageddon in the publications and felt distraught about the prospect of all those poor people dying horrible deaths just because they did not respond to some crappy 5 minute presentation (even though I thought I would be saved). I would often wake up at night in panic or would suffer moments of panic as the images crossed my mind.

I still get this now; I still panic and think is this really going to happen to those I care about? Have I left "the truth"? I think I have been scarred by these images since I was a small child and I still carry a lot of baggage but when I get these moments I pray, think through all the WT falsehoods and re-read sections of CoC...this usually does the trick.

I will post my story some time and just to let you know: this forum has helped me immensely these past few months. Thank you all."

To be honest I think the people who paint these pictures at Bethel have to be pretty sick. I find it difficult to look at them even now and to come across one sets my heart pounding with anxiety. How anyone could sit and paint them over many hours and still stay loyal to the WT and actually look forward to Armageddon is utterly beyond my comprehension.

3

Are you still a Victim of Brainwashing?

by asilentone in

Tea drinker

Yes I would say so.

I was brought up as a witness but now I think it's all a load of rubbish. I still consider myself a Christian and have recently begun attending church services (although I am still trying to fade slowly). I was always horrified by the pictures of Armageddon in the publications and felt distraught about the prospect of all those poor people dying horrible deaths just because they did not respond to some crappy 5 minute presentation (even though I thought I would be saved). I would often wake up at night in panic or would suffer moments of panic as the images crossed my mind.

I still get this now; I still panic and think is this really going to happen to those I care about? Have I left "the truth"? I think I have been scarred by these images since I was a small child and I still carry a lot of baggage but when I get these moments I pray, think through all the WT falsehoods and re-read sections of CoC...this usually does the trick.

I will post my story some time and just to let you know: this forum has helped me immensely these past few months. Thank you all.