Posts by sd-7

38

Are you thankful to know TTAT or not?

by laverite in

i am so thankful that i was able to learn the truth about the truthtm (ttatt).

i owe everything in my life to having left watchtower corp: my education, my position as a college professor, being able to write and publish, travel, family life, my beautiful children, being able to be openly gay -- and happy.

unlike those closeted homosexuals in the truthtm, i do not have to be afraid to be who i am.

sd-7

That's been a question I've wrestled with from time to time, particularly since my ability to make rational choices seemed to take a steep and unpleasant dive shortly after learning TTATT. Certainly in my worst moments I wondered if it was better to know.

But my brain has felt like it was crammed into a box, and it is an absolute JOY to finally give it a chance to stretch its legs. I have read more books since waking up than I ever imagined possible. I feel like I've died and gone to book heaven, realizing just how much there is to read and to learn and to think about and to enjoy without all the guilt. That certainly outweighs everything else.

So, as Rachel Dawes once wisely said, "My answer is yes!"

--sd-7

14

'Mentally diseased' was nothing new

by The Quiet One in

jw
friends

"the watchtower of october 1, 1909, said: all who cut loose from the society and its work, instead of prospering themselves or upbuilding others in the faith and in the graces of the spirit, seemingly do the reverseattempt injury to the cause they once served, and, with more or less noise,gradually sink into oblivion, harming only themselves and others possessed of a similarly contentious spirit.

.they seem inoculated with madness, satanic hydrophobia [rabies].

" http://sianrose.wordpress.com/2011/06/22/beware-of-the-evil-slave/.

sd-7

Fascinating. I just pulled up my .pdf copy of this article. The same argumentation is still being used today. I'll quote part of it just to show you. Here's the paragraph that part of the above quote is from p. 294-295 (or [4484] as at the bottom of the page):

"But while.we are willing that others should go anywhere

and everywhere to find food and light to their satisfaction,

strange to say, those who become our opponents take a very

different course. Instead of saying in the manly fashion of the

world, “I have found something- which I prefer; goodbye!”

these manifest anger, malice, hatred, strife, “works of the flesh

and of the devil” such as we have never known worldly people

to exhibit. They seem inoculated with madness, Satanic hydrophobia."

Hmm. You're right. It is nothing new!

--sd-7

5

DC 2013: last talk

by DeWandelaar in

i was at the third day of a dc yesterday and in the last speech the brother who gave the talk said something like this in just one sentence:.

"we now understand that the faithfull slave is the governing body, not a the whole class of annointed, but the brothers in hq are the faithfull slave".

i was absolutely surprised by the fact that he just told it "straight out" and not in cryptical craptalk.

sd-7

It apparently doesn't strike anyone as odd that they would save this mention for the last talk of the program. Which, presumably, is the last thing said and will thus presumably have the deepest impression on your mind... It continues to fit the pattern of my experience since waking up--the last talk of the program, be it an assembly or a convention, always mentions the 'faithful slave' repeatedly for some reason.

I don't think the speaker at 'my' DC said it quite that way, just encouraged everyone to study the July 15th WT. He also mentioned the 'faithful slave' 12 times by my count, which is more than it was mentioned in the entire rest of the program (which was maybe 6-7 times, I think).

--sd-7

79

Role Reversal: Placing 1969 Awake with JW's Manning the New Portable Literature Displays

by snapdragon4 in

jw
friends

in recent weeks the jw’s here in the uk have been setting up their new portable watchtower literature displays in my local town square on a saturday morning.

as they hadn’t knocked on my door for at least five years, and consequently feeling somewhat neglected, i thought that i would pay them a visit instead.. .

the first thing i needed to do was arrange my literature.

sd-7

Spectacular! Brilliant! Ha ha! Love it! As Blondie often wisely says, hang 'em with their own words. Great job.

--sd-7

67

Another Suicide

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

there wouldn't have been any good way to hear the news i suppose.

it's just so strange to recall the conversation yesterday.

my "still in" parents are with me and my inactive sister having a pleasant conversation.

sd-7

Whoa. Sorry to hear that. It's a terrible place to be, feeling depressed, and the circumstances he may have been in as an ex-Bethelite could only have made that worse. It's hard to know what to say in a situation like this, but...thanks for sharing, and my thoughts are with you. It can be very hard not to be swallowed up by one's own pain at times. I know when I used to feel that way, I tried to think of it like a ship weathering a storm, and you can't always see the edge of those storm clouds, but it's best to deal with one moment at a time, make it smaller until you get to a second that you can survive, and go to the next one until it gets a little easier. It's always uncertain whether a person who is depressed can successfully convince themselves to go on.

The thought of not being able to afford medication possibly contributing to that really pains me to hear, though, because I feel like I can identify. I know I've been wanting to at least do therapy again for a long time, but it's costly. I can't imagine how an ex-Bethelite with limited education (?) could cope. It's tragic, really tragic.

Hang in there, bro.

--sd-7

55

Being pressured and getting increasingly stressed.

by NBird in

hello, i'm a 17 year old born in and i'm done with this religion.

one hundred percent.

i came to the conclusion a year ago that i wanted to leave.

sd-7

So, my next spiritual goal: "Do NOT get baptized!"

Wish I could put that on my wall.

I'm suddenly seeing a comic of the Ethiopian eunuch saying, "What prevents me from getting baptized?" Then a thought bubble above his head..."I'm not old enough...does this mean they'll be able to shun me if I do?? Maybe I shouldn't..." Then Philip shoves him into the water..."You're doing the mikes!"

--sd-7

25

Have The JWs Changed All That Much In The Last 20 Years All That Much?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i believe most witnesses believe that there is nothing new in their religion....would you agree with them?.

sd-7

Well, now that you mention it, I've just got to make a list of stuff off the top of my head:

The separating of the sheep and goats will happen at the end of this system--the preaching work ain't doing it.
"This generation" is actually the generation of wicked people living at any one time.
Blood fractions are A-ok if your conscience accepts them. More or less.
The calling of the anointed did not end in 1935, there's no cutoff date.
"This generation" is actually the anointed.
"This generation" is actually the anointed whose lives overlap with the anointed who saw 1914.
The "faithful slave" is the anointed at HQ, 'closely associated with the Governing Body'.
The "faithful slave" was appointed in 1919 but won't be appointed over 'all his belongings' until Armageddon and etc.
No more Book Study; now it's the Congregation Bible Study, shortened by half and held at the KH.
Book Study Groups are now Field Service Groups.
Family worship/study is now Family Worship, Big F, Big W.
In vitro fertilization is fornication if the sperm doesn't come from your husband.
Looking at woman-on-woman porn is a DF'ing offense.
The Internet is dangerous--it has porn and apostates on it. To avoid that, stick with Watchtower.org.
The Internet is a useful tool for spreading the good news of the Kingdom. Still has porn and apostates, though. Go to JW.org only.
The Theocratic Ministry School Guidebook was replaced by 'Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education'.
The Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life book was replaced by What Does the Bible Really Teach?
Organized To Accomplish Our Ministry was replaced by Organized To Do Jehovah's Will.
Sing Praises to Jehovah was replaced by Sing to Jehovah.
The Public Talk is 30 minutes instead of 45 minutes.
Auxiliary pioneers have to make 50 hours a month instead of 60 hours.
Regular pioneers have to make 70 hours a month instead of 90 hours.
Auxiliary pioneers can make 30 hours a month instead of 50 hours (pilot program, I forget if that's permanent now).
The Watchtower was separated into Public Edition and Study Edition. The Study Edition was...simplified...as the Simplified Edition.
The Watchtower and Awake! magazines given to the public were reduced to 16 pages.
Dramas are now made on DVDs instead of VHS tapes. Some can even be watched via the Internet or downloaded as MP4 files.
Audio magazines/books are now on CD or even MP3 formats.
Kids now have new heroes, Caleb and Sofia, as part of the 'Listen, Obey and Be Blessed' childrens' cartoon series.
The presiding overseer is now called the coordinator of the body of elders (I prefer COBOE).

Wow, that was fun. Nah, they haven't changed anything. If anything, our personal view of the truth has changed. Why are you murmuring against Jehovah's wonderful organization?

--sd-7

42

Why do all the COs have food intolerances/allergies/special dietary requirments?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

it's a well known phenomenon i've observed from jwn, my own cos. a new co we had once who was fresh from being a normal elder and after a couple of visits he said, "well i've finally become a true co...i now have food intolerances.".

i mean, only once did my husband and i ever have a co around for dinner and they couldn't eat this, he couldn't eat that, she couldn't eat this...it was so hard to cook something with none of the zillions of things they were 'allergic' to.. and then after all that the wife couldn't come anyway because she had a naturopath appointment or something.. why do all co's seem to have weird dietary problems?.

.

sd-7

I think it's a matter of survival. Everyone will make their richest meal for you unless you tell them to tone it down. The health consequences would be dire otherwise. I don't believe it's a matter of control at all, just a matter of watching their health, especially since if they get sick from eating too much heavy/fattening/salty food, they'll have to stop their circuit work.

--sd-7

18

New JW.ORG exhibit

by cantleave in

http://www.jw.org/en/news/by-region/americas/united-states/history-exhibit-tour-through-time/.

just saw this on fb.

sd-7

Pretty cute woman in that photo at the bottom of the page. Otherwise, "Men Have Loved the Darkness"? "You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it. Moulded by it. I didn't see the light till I was already a man, and by then, it was nothing to be but blinding!"

--sd-7

3

Does Jehovah's Witnesses baptism qualification info disclose anything about Disfellowshipping

by Watchtower-Free in

does the bible teach book say anything about dfing?.

.

isn't this dishonest?.

sd-7

The Bible Teach book doesn't even mention the 'faithful and discreet slave', does it? I think the idea is that it is assumed that that will be learned at the meetings anyway, more or less. Also, handing the prospective JW the 'od' book is the equivalent of notifying them of what DF'ing is, since they're supposed to actually read it. In the strictest technical sense, the information is provided before baptism, but a typical JW is probably not going to read everything they're supposed to before making the commitment.

--sd-7