Posts by Gulf Coaster

128

Looking Back In Retrospect To 1975...

by titch in

greetings, folks: so, it's been 40 years since 1975. and, if you were actively involved with the witnesses back then, the mindset of many was, that by early autumn of 1975, it would mark the anniversary of 6000 years of human existence.

and, the hope was then, that it would mark the start of the 1000-year of christ, from the heavenly realm.

but, looking back now, 40 years ago, in june of 1975, only 3 more months remained until early autumn.

Gulf Coaster

"So, looking back in retrospect, do you remember anything---ANYTHING at all---that was happening on the world scene, that you would have thought, "Yeah, this is it, the Great Tribulation will soon be here, and the start of Armageddon"? Can you recall anything at all that would have caused you to think that?"

Yes! The friggin' cult caused me think like that. It wasn't any "mindset" or perception or rumour or any other BS that they claimed after when their prediction didn't come true. It came from the top. It was pronounced by elders and the ilk higher up, repeatedly at the KH and at conventions. That I do remember clearly, I'm not buying any of the denial. They're lying through their teeth. Many JWs back then were fearful yet excited. Some were just excited and happy, awaiting with glee the slaughter of millions of people (pretty sick, if you ask me).

I remember being fearful and fear is not something you easily forget. I remember being fearful for my dad since he had decided being a JW wasn't his thing but he was okay with my mother following her new religion if it made her happy. I was 14, so I wasn't too young to remember.

44

How do you manage to keep JW friendships after you left the organization?

by Bonsai in

jw
friends

it seems incredibly difficult.

those who leave the org.

(or fade) no longer have anything in common with jehovah's witnesses, nor do they want to stick around to get radiated by the fear and guilt that saturates every aspect of a witnesses' life.. i've lost all but one of my jw friends quite simply because i can no longer condone the evil things that they condone.

Gulf Coaster

I can't see how you could keep JW friends after you leave. It's a conditional "friendship" based on adhering to the cult. What could you talk about with a faithful JW, other than idle chitchat? And how could you be friends with someone who views you as "worldly", in all that word's negative connotations? Someone who is basically viewing you as beneath them, and not one of the pure and favored? Someone who will be destroyed in the Big A with the JWs smugly cheering that on?

They're not really friends anyway. They're people who happen to be in the KH and that you chum around with because you have no other choice because if you didn't chum around with them, you'd be a friendless loner. And if you say or do the wrong thing, you'll be a friendless loner within the KH.

8

"Gerson Therapy" in Tijuana, Mexico

by OrphanCrow in

since at least back to the 1960s in canada, jws have been travelling to mexico for cancer treatment.

and, i believe, other medical treatments.

because i watched my uncle die of cancer back in 1962, unable to receive treatment because the doctors couldn't operate without blood, i have always been curious as to why the jws with cancer were going to mexico.

Gulf Coaster

I can't understand how squirting coffee up your butt does anything. Why not drink it? Gerson also wants you to stand around all day making juice out of pounds and pounds of organic fruit and veg. Why not just eat the stuff at meal time? It makes no sense but desperate people will do desperate things. And get their life-savings drained, then dying anyway.

Problem is there is no one cancer. There are many cancers that require different treatments. They've made a lot of headway for cancers like childhood leukemia and breast cancer but for many cancers there's still way more research needed. And some cancers are just plain incurable, for now. Yes, chemo and radiation are awful and oftentimes don't work wonders but paying scamsters tens of thousands for unproven "treatments" where most everybody dies, makes no sense at all. The ones who survive, if you dig deep enough, have had surgery and chemo/radiation, but they tout the "alternative" treatment as being the reason for their success. Because it gives them a sense of empowerment, like they cured themselves versus helplessly depending on the cold hand of the medical establishment.

People are free to choose whatever they want for their medical treatment. Me, I'll go with the regular medical world. They don't promise 100% because they realistically, truthfully can't make that promise. Cancer sucks that way. The scamsters will promise wonders and guaranteed cures, which for me is a warning sign. Then if it doesn't work and you die, they blame you for not following their protocols 1000%, or for stuffing up something along the way, or maybe not believing enough. It's never them, it's all your fault. Another warning sign.

15

Life after JW

by bsand20 in

haven't been on this site since fall of last year.

i was very active in spreading awareness and getting information to help me cope with the fact that my mother cut off complete communication with me as of jan 2014, but i guess too much of a good thing was too much for me to handle.

i ended up getting panic/anxiety attacks.

Gulf Coaster

dubstepped, that's what stopped me from trying meditation before: the idea that my mind would be way too busy to empty itself and meditate. But that's not what's expected after all. I had that wrong. The meditation program I use tells you to not feel bad or guilty if you find your mind wandering off while trying to meditate. Rather, just acknowledge that thought and come right back to the breath, no matter how many times it happens. That was a large part of the success for me. I could relax once I got that mistaken idea out of my head.

Meditation has been used in a lot of medical centres for years to help patients deal with the pain and stress while undergoing treatment for illnesses. It's not that mystical, woo-woo stuff anymore. It's quite mainstream.

15

Life after JW

by bsand20 in

haven't been on this site since fall of last year.

i was very active in spreading awareness and getting information to help me cope with the fact that my mother cut off complete communication with me as of jan 2014, but i guess too much of a good thing was too much for me to handle.

i ended up getting panic/anxiety attacks.

Gulf Coaster

I second LisaRose re meditation.

Last year I developed a medical condition that's not all that big a deal but due to anxiety I managed to blow it completely out of proportion. I lost my appetite and literally couldn't swallow my food most days, dropping 30lbs in 6 weeks. I looked close to anorexic, not a healthy weight for me at all. Even my doctor thought it might be cancer so I had a PET scan along with 8 other tests.

Long story short, the condition is now manageable after taking up Mindfulness Meditation. I bought CDs by Jon Kabat-Zinn, ripped them to my MP3 player and every afternoon, I meditate. My favorite is the Body Scan Meditation. His voice alone is so soothing. I have to admit I was doubtful at first but I really needed something at the time and didn't want to go the medication route. It might not be for everybody but it can't hurt to try as it might work for you, as it did me and quite a few other people I know.

All the best.

5

Yahweh's creation that wasn't good!

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

in genesis 1, describing the creative works of yahweh, it tells us in verses 24-28 that on the sixth creative day yahweh made both domestic animals and wild beasts.

one of those two categories must have included dogs.

so yahweh may lay claim to having created dogs.

Gulf Coaster

People had a different view of dogs back then. Some cultures revered them, some tolerated them, others reviled them. They were mostly scavengers, feeding off human's tossed out food waste. They were probably dirty, mangy and flea-bitten. Then we gradually started putting them to use and then as companions. Dogs have proven themselves to be amazing creatures that help us in so many ways: guide/assistance dogs, rescue animals in disaster zones, comfort animals for sick people in hospitals, they can sniff out cancer, contraband, etc.

Any religion that hates dogs is sh**. Dogs are better than many humans.

23

Has there been new counsel about Facebook recently?

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

i've noticed increasing amounts of jw's are coming off fb and deactivating completely.

all with the same reason which they post about at lenght which is that they wwant to focus more on their spiritual life and not have the distraction of fb.. have i missed something or is this just a coincidence?.

Gulf Coaster

I'd be surprised if they weren't warned off Facebook. Too much exposure to normal, good worldlies having a normal, good life and not the depraved, criminal and miserable existence the WT insists we suffer through. Particularly of former JWs, who are supposed to be especially suffering miserably (serves 'em right!). Photos of fun travels, happy family gatherings, etc. are visual proof of the joy you can have as a worldly and would tempt them away from the bleak existence of mindlessly serving the Big J, while pining for some mythical paradise that keeps getting further and further away. Hooray for FB! and technology in general.

7

getting drivers licensene not same as getting baptized

by poopie in

jw
friends

if you get in an accident you will not be shunned by everyone in your family.

Gulf Coaster

Unless the accident involved your family. Like if you plowed into them and put them all in the hospital with serious injuries. You might get the cold shoulder for a while.

39

Jehovah's Witness woman refuses blood, then dies.

by Lee Elder in

another jehovah's witness woman has died while giving birth due to massive blood loss and refusing a blood transfusion.

she leaves nine children behind.

she finally consented to the transfusion but it was too late to save her.

Gulf Coaster

This is coerced suicide. In other words, murder.

I hate how religion gets a pass in these sorts of things. Yeah sure, it was her "belief" and her "choice". While being emotionally blackmailed and threatened with being disfellowshipped and cut off from her friends and probably family. In other words, accept the blood transfusion, live and be treated like a pariah and shunned like you were dirt. Great "choice".

This sickens me. If I were rich, I'd hire a lawyer to sue the bOrg pr*cks on behalf of her motherless children. Even if the case lost, due to the putrid "get out of jail card" religions somehow managed to finagle , the damaging publicity would be fun to watch.

23

Are Jehovah's Witnesses Christian or Cult, Do JWs Offer Solutions for Local and Global Problems of life?

by skepticSam in

the awake on "hope for the homelessness" was one of the worse illustrations how the cult has no love for anyone that can't provide donations to further this spiritual ponzi scheme!

the premise of this awake made no sense, i've read many books and took classes on social issues affecting mankind, the awake does not help fix the problem.

what did this magazine offer those who are suffering the humiliation of living out of their cars or "tent city" or under a bridge?

Gulf Coaster

There are various checklists online of what constitutes a cult versus Christianity or religion. The bOrg checks just about everything on the various lists. Control, isolationism, exclusivism, authoritarian leadership, no independent thinking allowed, fear of being disfellowshipped & ostracized from your family/friends, emotional blackmail, threats of demon attack, etc.

I've been a Catholic myself and count some Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, Anglicans, Muslims, etc., as friends. I don't find their belief systems as being as cult-like as the JWs. They're more casual and perhaps nominal than how JWs treat their belief system. Of course if we're talking very devout Catholics and Orthodox Jews, then it gets less distinct to me, especially the latter.

As far as that airy-fairy story about how JDubs can help the homeless, many of the homeless suffer mental illnesses. Some stupid propaganda tract is going to do squat.