Jankyn

Joined

• started 27 topics
• posted 543 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Jankyn

• 
  16

  Strange paradox - the ' weakest' J Dubs were in a way the most hardcore.

  by Gregor in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i knew many of them.

  some in my own family.

  they were the ones considered spiritually weak because they:

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Jankyn

  Wow, Narkissos, I think you hit the nail on the head!

  I think that those who are more likely to leave the WT are actually on both ends of the spectrum: either those who are not yet very committed (or, in JW speech, "haven't made the truth their own" or "developed a personal relationship with Jehovah" ) and can still realise this is not their cup of tea; or those who have taken it very seriously until they realised they have been fooled, and cannot bear it.

  My brothers, I think, fit into the first category--they went, but they didn't listen or study at all, never joined the ministry school, never went out in the service. They left with little in the way of repercussions and hate the JWs for their rules. Their main reason for leaving was that they wanted to be "normal."

  I, on the other hand, was active as a child and young teen. Read all the literature (even the old stuff, which is where the trouble started), participated in TMS, went in the service and conducted Bible (really, JW book) studies. When I started to run into things that didn't make sense, I asked questions--and did not get satisfactory answers. When I started to research in outside publications, I discovered how wrong the doctrines were. My fade was not without repercussions--I've been called "apostate" more than once, and an "opposer" quite often--even though I was never baptized.

  I care much less about being perceived as "normal" than I do about feeling comfortable in my own skin.

  Meanwhile, my less-rigorously intellectual relatives, and my less-normal relatives, seem to have no problem suspending both their disbelief and their "weird-meters" and staying in the JWs.

  I've also noted that those JWs who are more attracted to the "Christian" elements of the religion (which are rare--see any of Blondie's wonderful WT reviews and notice how rarely Christ's teachings are addressed as opposed to OT/"god of wrath and rules" teachings) tend to be less likely to shun. They simply ignore the society's instructions in favor of Christian love--and generally, because they toe the line in other ways, they get away with it. Meanwhile, the less Christ-like among the flock cling to the "letter of the law" and shun--even though they don't do anything else!

  What a bunch of Pharisees--well, that's not entirely true. There are some Christians to be found there. They just seem to be so hung up on WT rules that Christ has a hard time reaching them through the tangle of minutia.

  Jankyn
• 
  8

  phone convo with mum, help with research

  by heretic in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well another convo with mum and i absolutely cornered her on the 'your dedicated to jehovah not the religion' point (thanks all for info) i said ' did you research what we talked about' she said 'jehovah helped me out as usual it was in the watchtower that weekend' i said 'read it to me' after looking for as few minutes she says ' here it is' me-'allright' her 'in the box' me-'gimme the box' she reads quetion #1 before shes finished i say beautiful ive got no problem with that now gimme question #2, she reads it,,, i said where the hell does organisation fit into that sentence?

  its a verbal contract so they can diss you if you ever leave regardless of you relationship with jehovah.

  she gets flustered, epecially when my stepdad is in the background agreeing with me, she puts me onto stepdad, (ill say they are both great just mind controlled) he agrees its a valid point, i said i dont agree with the influence the org has over peoples lives, i brought up that higher education is frowned upon and people are not educating themselves because of that and he said it was only if an elder gave a talk and put his own spin on it that that would be classed as a rule (classic argument putting people in front of the org i call it the human sheild tactic), he pretty much said the society has never printed anything to his knowledge saying that but he'll research it and i said id do the same so i need help.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Jankyn

  Thanks for the "human shield" metaphor. That's a good one, and I expect to use it often and well.
• 
  37

  May I pay for your wedding? And your baby shower? and your house warming?

  by LDH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok i know it was not just upstate new york that had this problem.

  of all the jw weddings i went to, i can think of 3 that were catered.

  all the rest, the congregation members paid for.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Jankyn

  Count the Oregon coast as a place for potluck weddings, anniversary parties and baby showers. Yep. Usually held at the Senior Citizens Center (after someone decided that the American Legion Hall was part of Christendom, for some reason).

  My cousin, who had taste, was quite criticized for having a catered wedding at a hotel. There were concerns because she had champagne punch in one of the bowls, so my mother had me write a note to put in front of the "spiked" punch bowl that said "Over 21 only, please." Not that any of the JWs paid the least bit of attention.

  I used to make a game of guessing who was there by looking at the buffet table. It was easy.
• 
  17

  My dad's continuing journey.....

  by freedomlover in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  any of you who have been following the saga of my life and my dad will appreciate how another person is finding the truth out.

  i sent him the scans of lady liberty's addition from grayson's book.

  (thanks ll!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Jankyn

  It is just incredible to watch freedom spread through your familiy. Thanks to you and ITIS for sharing it with us.

  Love.
• 
  98

  UPDATE

  by RichieRich in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yesterday afternoon, i recieved 2 text messages from an anonymous source that read :.

  (person that turned you in) i turned you into your brothers for your own good.

  gal ?:?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Jankyn

  Bravo, Richie!
• 
  25

  In your family, how many of the grown up children are still in?

  by els in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am the youngest of 6 children (the only on that is out)and between us we have 12 kids.

  the last i knew only one was still attending meetings.

  two others were never baptized and see my parents once in a great while.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Jankyn

  My family: myself and two brothers, all never baptized.

  Cousins, family W: one son (DF'd), one daughter (in & active, won't speak to DF'd family members).

  Cousins, family C: one son (DF'd), two daughters (DF'd), one daughter (never baptized).

  Cousins, family M: three daughters (all never baptized).

  My great-grandmother became a "Bible Student" back in the early '20s. My parents' generation, the third JW generation, has seven living members; three are still JWs (but one of them, my uncle, has Alzheimer's). Of my JW generation, the fourth, of the twelve living members, one is still active. And in the fifth JW generation, my nieces and nephews, of 28 people, one is an active JW.

  Even if you can't follow the 607 to 1914 math, that's an easy sum to get. An incredible decrease in numbers.

  Of course, just doing the math doesn't include all the heartache caused by shunning.
• 
  171

  I'm back!!!!

  by RichieRich in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello again from sunny north carolina!!!.

  our state lotto started today, and i won 15 dollars, and only bought 1 $1 card.

  so whoop whoop for gambling.. i was in miami florida last week for the photoshop world conference, but i also got to tour the everglades, where i took some beautiful pictures.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Jankyn

  Richie, I can only add my kudos to those already given. I wish I had a kid like you.

  Jankyn
• 
  71

  Quick survey for apostates - please everyone just yes or no answer

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do the other witnesses with whom you associate/once associated in general know that you are an apostate or have apostate inclinations?

  the reason for the phrase "in general" is that it may be the case that one or two close friends know how you feel, but others in general do not.

  in my own case, one other witness knows, but no one else, so i would answer the survey question with a "no".

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Jankyn

  Yep.
• 
  25

  Fried chicken & and slice of white bread

  by MissBehave in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  another thread today made me think of this....does it bring back memories for anyone else?

  it was the staple food of every assembly i remember.

  they made them in the morning and by lunch time the bread had absorbed all the grease from the chicken.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Jankyn

  OOOH! I remember the half-cantalope and ice cream, too! Those were the best, especially after spending a hot afternoon at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene for the assembly.

  They also used to have Sno-cones, but my mother always made us get ours without syrup so we wouldn't spoil our meeting clothes by dripping on them. Yep, nothing like crunching on plain old crushed ice.

  Jankyn
• 
  45

  Just how hyped was 1975?

  by MuadDib in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  aight.

  i was raised in the jws, but i'm still young (22) and all my life what i've been told is that the society never really promoted 1975 as the definitive year for the coming of armageddon.

  what i was always told is that some overzealous witnesses took certain things out of context and developed a very extreme reaction - ie selling their houses, quitting their jobs, dropping out of school, etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Jankyn

  Anybody else remember a Watchtower study from sometime in 1976 that tried to soften the blow by talking about the time between the creation of Adam and the creation of Eve? (Or something like that...my memory's rusty, and that was one of the last WT studies I ever prepped for, anyway).

  I remember a great deal of disappointment from the die-hard '75ers. Talk to any of the ones still alive now (including my mother and aunt, who were rabid about it) and they'll tell you it never happened.

  Jankyn