Posts by Heaven

56

Why Faith is Self-Defeating

by cofty in

the god of christian theism values faith.. "without faith it is impossible to please god, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists" - heb.11.

faith and evidence are inversely proportional - the more evidence there is that god exists the less faith you need in that proposition and vice-versa.. so how can a christian criticise any other faith-based belief?

for example they can protest that all the evidence is against the claims of scientology, but that just means that scientologists require more faith than christians.

Heaven

Religious Faith requires one to abandon truth, logic, reason, and honesty. It has been my personal experience that the God ideal and Religion are oppressive and abusive. These destroy trust. Without trust, you cannot have a proper, true relationship.

In order for me to have 'faith' in anything, a set of conditions has had to have already been established. One of these conditions is that truth is spoken, that accurate facts are given. Another is that oppression and abuse must be absent. Trust cannot be established if these conditions are not met. As soon as an intentional lie can be uncovered, or abusiveness is present, trust is lost.

God and Religion are unable to establish truth and accurate facts. They are abuse wrapped in a smiling veneer. Trust can never be achieved when these are present which means a relationship is never going to last unless one consciously decides to accept lies as truth, to become intellectually dishonest. At some point, reality contradicts belief/faith. This is the moment where a person chooses an honest or dishonest path.

For me faith did not stand up to truth and I abandoned mythology for reality. Once I did that, my nightmares stopped.

27

I dont know how i can leave my family!

by BlackWolf in

jw
friends

my mom and i were talking today about how next summer i will be 18 and she said that just thinking about it might make her cry.

that made me think about how much more it would hurt her if i quit being a jw.

i really do love my parents, i know they are just being cruelly manipulated by a cult and that they really think they are doing what is best for me.

Heaven

Wolfy, you will eventually grow up and get your own place. You already know that this religion is not for you. This doesn't mean you have to lose your family. If you don't get baptized, they can't DF you, therefore, your parents don't have to shun you.

I am an example of how you can still maintain a relationship with your family but not be a JW. It CAN be done. It's not easy all the time. Remain kind and loving but firm. Even if they withdraw from you, keep in contact. You can do this a number of different ways now with technology being what it is. I always called Mom and Dad on their birthdays and Mother's and Father's Day. They'd always say 'Oh we don't celebrate this' and I would say 'I know. I just wanted to say Hi and see how you're doing as I was thinking of you'. :0)

Never let this religion win.

My Mom has been gone for close to 12 years. Now that my Dad is ill and in a nursing home, I am having to go through and clean out their things. I found a 'sewing kit' that my younger brother had made our Mom for Mother's Day years ago. It looks like a large match book but inside is a needle and some different coloured threads. As a JW my Mom, who didn't believe in Mother's Day, kept this Mother's Day home made gift from her son.

50

2016 Regional Convention - Invite First Look

by pixel in

you saw it here first!.

.

Heaven

LOL @ sir82.

50

2016 Regional Convention - Invite First Look

by pixel in

you saw it here first!.

.

Heaven

I don't understand how you can remain loyal to someone that doesn't exist.

20

Ok, just received my memorial invitation.

by Je.suis.oisif in

mornin' all.

saw the jdubs going from door to door just now.

uk time 10:15 am.

Heaven

LOL @ Half banana. I shall add that one to my list.

20

Ok, just received my memorial invitation.

by Je.suis.oisif in

mornin' all.

saw the jdubs going from door to door just now.

uk time 10:15 am.

Heaven

jso said: I don't have the luxury of using the sock drawer as an excuse lol. I'm just not going.

There's always the old standby of needing to change the tires on your jeep. Or needing to wash your hair.

20

Ok, just received my memorial invitation.

by Je.suis.oisif in

mornin' all.

saw the jdubs going from door to door just now.

uk time 10:15 am.

Heaven

It has been my experience that JWs don't know how to answer questions.

Got my invite this week as well. I'm in Ontario, Canada. It was a hit and run. No contact made No door knock and no video shown (I work from home).

Once again, I am busy on whatever date this thing is being held. My sock drawer is a mess and needs immediate attention... on that specific day!

19

Evaluating the problem of sexual abuse of children within the JW religion, why, how and for what reason

by Finkelstein in

this topic has come up many times before on this forum and others but i think its worthy to reevaluate where and how this problem exists from an analytical perspective within the jw religion.

it is obvious that the wts has been covering up situations of child sexual abuse with careless irresponsible apathy for decades toward both possible victims and potentially identified perpetrators of this socially repugnant crime.

following guidelines as written in the bible which were emulated and exploited as a self protecting guideline to protect the outward image of the organization overall in spite of known acknowledgement that pedophilia is a serious crime in most countries.

Heaven

Since they believe they are God's Chosen, this elevates them above everyone else. They cannot allow anyone to know there are issues. There is a facade to maintain of being 'the happiest people on Earth'. But when the issues become public, the questioning arises as to how God could possibly give a group like this his favour. They have to maintain the delusion of superiority or they are just like every other religion and have no basis to claim they are the one true religion.

A 'perfect storm of conditions' exists within the Jehovah's Witness religion which allows sexual abuse of children to continually occur. These are:

1) Repressive norms about masturbation and pre-marital sex.
2) Patriarchy ideals.
3) Barriers to women's equality.
4) Erosion of social networks (Isolation).
5) Social powerlessness of children.
6) Weak criminal sanctions.
7) Strong ideology of family sanctity.

(Reference David Finkelhor)

If something is not done about this, it will repeatedly happen. They are not going to give up their self-righteous deluded authority.

39

JWs win 2015 Bronze Telly Award in the “Online Video News Feature”

by OrphanCrow in

jworg is carrying a "news" article concerning their recent win of a telly award.. i don't need to add to the jworg website hits, so here is the award listed on the telly award website:.

https://www.tellyawards.com/winners/list/?l=jehovah%27s&event=16&category=3&award=b.

2015 online video bronze winners.

Heaven

Just when you think they can't sink any lower...

37

am i overreacting?

by freeandcontent in

hi, new here but have been lurking for a while.

some background first, i am from the uk, 3rd gen born in, dad, grandad elders etc.

17 years ago i left, no df or da just left, 18 years old and alone but i did it and have had no regrets.

Heaven

Welcome FAC! You are not overreacting. As "littlest one's" (I love this btw) parent you are the one responsible for the well-being and upbringing of your child. Indoctrinating a child into a cult is harmful. You are perfectly within your right to stop this.

At some point in our lives, and it seems it's usually our adult lives, we have to establish boundaries with our JW families. It seems you have reached this juncture.