Posts by sd-7

77

I just informed the parents about me and the TTATT... heart wrenching

by sosoconfused in

well first i want to thank everyone here for the good points etc... i have received over the last few months.

you guys have really been helpful!.

so the other day my mother wrote me a 3 page letter telling me how she was so scared for me because she could tell my love for the truth was gone etc.. so i decided i wanted to totally rip the band-aid off and get this matter over and done with.

sd-7

Wow, this reminds me of my own experience with my family. Only you were actually prepared with documentation--not that it entirely helped, sadly--whereas I wasn't, since I didn't even know my family knew about the judicial committee that had just ended. (Either someone knows I'm sd-7, or my wife told like, everyone on earth; otherwise, the elders violated the hell out of 'confidentiality'.)

Anyway, sounds like a bittersweet moment. My big brother's last words to me after our long discussion about these issues was, "F--- you." So it's safe to say you fared a bit better than I did, ha ha!

But it does sound like a really emotional thing to go through, and I'm sorry you had to deal with that. It's a very painful thing. I never wanted to see my mom or my brother again after our conversation was over. To say nothing of my wife, but then bringing her into that was my own fault anyway.

It's...just sad that these kinds of events are being replayed over and over in so many lives, all because of this religion. How they can refer to this as 'true religion' is beyond me. But maybe that's not a contradiction at all, and this is how true religion really works in its purest form.

--sd-7

8

has anyone see the Dvd

by d in

jw
friends

the older couple i talked in my last thread gave us another video called walk by faith not sight.. i have seen it at their house it is okay not the best tell me what do you think about the movie?.

.

sd-7

Yeah, that's the one, Billy. My wife had that one on not that long ago. I was impressed at the higher production quality, but it seemed to me to be quite strange since it was based on events that are not recorded in the Bible at all. Which means the entire series of events is utterly fabricated.

I didn't really watch it from start to end, of course, so otherwise, I can't say much of anything. Except...it raises questions about what the WT is trying to say here. What if they ask all JWs to go to some specific location because 'the end is imminent'? I think I even asked my wife about that once, and she said she would go, of course. Scary...

--sd-7

25

JW calendar for this month - no accidents? LOGIC FAIL

by Comatose in

it shows a bunch of happified people working on a house.

tagged with the scripture they build houses and have occupancy.

but in the picture they are all wearing hard hats and safety harnesses.

sd-7

That's one thing I often thought about, at least in hindsight. If people in the 'new system' are still mortal, that means they can still die from anything that could kill a human. Falling off of something, getting hit in the head by accident--all that stuff is still possible. Maybe that means they'll get like a Wolverine-type healing factor so they can't die from accidents or something. 'Cause you have to die only from sin in the 'new system'. Maybe the big sin would be not wearing a hard hat, which would amount to 'thrill-seeking' or 'not valuing the gift of life', thus leading to instant death by divine zapping.

--sd-7

34

Jehovahs Witnesses and the Curse of Music.

by donny in

jehovahs witnesses and the curse of music.. .

i was inspired to write this after listening to a recent podcast of the thinking atheist by seth andrews.

as many of you know, seth was a devout christian who not only loved contemporary christian music but was one of the hosts of a popular morning show on kxoj in tulsa, oklahoma in the 1990s.

sd-7

I guess I didn't really listen to much music that had lyrics for a long time, because of the JW issues. Well, that and my love for Star Wars music. Heck, I didn't have my own music to listen to until I was nearly out of high school. At the very least, I knew it was common sense not to share too much of any of my music preferences with anyone else. Now I tend to just not listen to any music with lyrics if my wife is in the car, unless it's something I think can pass the paranoia.

--sd-7

10

Combating Destructive Mind Control Part I

by ABibleStudent in

for the past month i have been reading threads on the jwn that mentioned steve hassans books.

last week while i was at the library, i checked out combatting cult mind control by steve hassan.

i agree with all of what steve hassan wrote about destructive mind control (i may disagree with some of his conspiracy theories).

sd-7

Absolutely, reading Steve Hassan's books is a critical part of understanding what was done to us all. I've read his first two books and am currently reading his latest, 'Freedom of Mind', and I definitely recommend this as essential reading for all you lurkers out there, faders, and all ex-JWs.

Let me tell you, I used to doze off from time to time at meetings. After I read Steve Hassan's books, I never fell asleep at a meeting again. The tone of voice they use and the music they play is also a part of lulling your mind to a standstill. I didn't fully grasp that part until I was mentally free, and hearing my wife listen to the meeting over the phone one day. Everyone has this same zombie-like tone of voice at the meetings, when they comment, the person giving the talk, all of that.

I've also come to understand from my own dealings with JW family members that they will never believe they are under some 'destructive influence' (which is the new term Steve Hassan is using these days rather than 'mind control'). There is a very strong resistance to any attack on the belief system or the leaders. Hassan explains why very clearly. One thing that's said over and over is NEVER to criticize the group, the leadership, or the teachings in front of your family member or friend who is in a cult. (Naturally it's first instinct to do so, but it never turns out well.)

Anyway, this is a very good thread to keep close to the top!

--sd-7

46

exJW Psychology 102--How to Ask a Question When Questions Aren't Allowed

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

jw
friends

now that enough time has passed and i've moved away, i think i'm overdue to share some of the stories from my fade.

i've mentioned some of this before, but i think it deserves its own thread.. we all would like to be able to freely ask questions about jw beliefs and get our family and friends to really think about certain questions.

however, when you're a baptized jw, you really can't ask any good questions or you'll get the "apostate" label slapped on you!

sd-7

Oh, that is clever. You are a clever wolf-in-sheep's clothing! You really have slyly approached, cloaking disloyal inquiries in a deceptive manner designed to draw unwary ones into doubts and false reasoning. Some who have listened to you have begun doubting the means Jehovah has provided to feed his loyal servants in these last days. How tragic! --sd-7

17

Suffern tenants must move after Jehovah's Witnesses group buys building

by TJ Curioso in

suffern tenants must move after jehovah's witnesses group buys building .

suffern the nonprofit organization behind the jehovahs witnesses has purchased an apartment complex in the village with plans to use it as temporary housing for members while they work to build a massive new headquarters in nearby warwick, orange county.. the sale of the 48-unit suffern commons at 10-12 chestnut st. closed last week, a spokesman for the watchtower society told the journal news.. the deal forces families in the three-story building to quickly find alternative housing and could mean a loss to the village of $56,000 in annual property taxes if the new owner secures a religious tax exemption which it is interested in, spokesman richard devine said.. before the sale was confirmed, tenants spent the past few weeks anxiously trying to figure out why some of them received notices to vacate by june 30. others who had signed one-year leases or didnt know when their leases were up, like terri fosina-friedman, also have prepared to move.. but the painful process and lack of information from their landlord and the new owner has angered many residents, fosina-friedman said.. im just happy that i got it settled and i got another place to live and my son can stay in the school district, she said.. the watchtower society, the brooklyn-based organization that establishes doctrine for millions of jehovahs witnesses around the world, intends to honor tenants existing leases at suffern commons, devine said.

he indicated that the society would consider an extension of the june 30 move-out deadline.. were going to work with the tenants, he said.

sd-7

“We understand that they all have different circumstances so we want to work with them to see what the best course of action is for them and for us."

--And obviously you were thinking about *them* when you bought them out of their homes, right? Let's translate this into English:

“We understand [but don't much care] that they all have different circumstances [like not being able to pick up and move at the drop of a hat] so we want [have no choice, for the sake of minimizing legal liability, but] to work with them [boot them out as soon as is legally possible with a minimum of liability] to see what the best [most profitable and least likely to incur legal problems] course of action is for them ['them'? Ha! I'm just throwing that in, the really important part is--->] and for us.

--sd-7

15

My Book of Bible Stories--extremist?

by sd-7 in

jw
friends

in lands where there is no love of god or freedom, jehovah's witnesses are being persecuted for speaking about the good news of the kingdom.

why are these lovers of peace being persecuted?

god's word tells us: "all who are living in godly devotion in association with christ jesus will also be persecuted.

sd-7

Ah, this was an old classic thread of mine. Thanks for bringing it to life again!

I did another thread awhile back, about the chapter on Dinah, and how it omits the mention of rape and merely says it was wrong because a man and woman who aren't married shouldn't lie together. Insert Insanity Wolf meme here...

But yeah, this was clearly a sick sort of book. I think what I felt as I looked at the graphic violence in it was disturbed, I just didn't realize that's what the feeling was at the time.

--sd-7

52

Update on Candace Conti's Case

by mind blown in

just ran upon this info:.

candace conti beats the watchtower society!submitted by teeny on august 27, 2012 - 9:22 pm .

http://www.jehovahswitnessblog.com/jw-lawsuits/candace-conti-beats-the-watchtower-society/?fb_action_ids=348543075229733&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=246965925417366.

sd-7

The other thing I'm thinking of, as I read this transcript, is, the elders barely even take time to greet people before they do their five-man huddle at meetings, in many cases. It's highly unlikely, based on the general conduct of elders, that they would have been able to really keep an eye on him or stop him from isolating a child somehow. He didn't grope his stepdaughter at the meeting, so obviously he wouldn't have done that to any other kid in plain view of everyone else.

And they keep using the analogy of adultery as a basis for the need for confidentiality. Most people don't need a lot of protection from someone who commits adultery, because that person usually isn't preying on any and everyone. I just don't get it...(sigh)

For whatever reason, they think that because Awake! says the obvious, that parents need to protect their kids, that this excuses the Society from any responsibility when, heck, the elders won't even give them the full story about what happened, apparently. It's crazy.

The other thing is, how is it confidential when (1) the entire body of elders is informed, (2) whoever you spoke to at Watchtower is informed, and (3) whoever reads the letter you sent to Watchtower is informed as well? That's like nearly 10 people you just told right there. Usually the rumor mill catches stuff people do, where I come from--but apparently not in this place.

The guy was put on probation, and that doesn't prompt the elders to go and pay a visit, ask about how they're doing? Also, they don't speak to the 15-year-old stepdaughter alone, they ask her about molestation in front of both parents??? Yeah, that's going to work out well. Worse still, if they knew he was lying about it being an accident, what reason did they have to believe that what he told them was exactly what happened?

Well, detectives these guys ain't.

--sd-7

77

What books, songs, artists, movies, etc were banned in your JW home?

by serenitynow! in

jw
friends

my mother was very strict about entertainment.

in school i was doing a project about teen suicide and had checked out some books on suicide and abortion.

i had alot of explaining to do for that.

sd-7

The facial reactions to my library said all I needed to know about the anti-learning and anti-intellectual culture Jehovah’s Witnesses live in.It is a sad commentary on a religion which professes a reverence for knowledge and learning that its members abhor both.

Indeed.

--sd-7