GLTirebiter

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Posts by GLTirebiter

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  28

  Why the hell do I feel like this suddenly?!?!

  by freshstart in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  today i saw a friend that is still a hardcore jw.

  she knows we're not going to meetings, but seemed pretty cool with it and was willing to have lunch with me, so i thought why not?

  she mentioned something about the convention coming up in a couple of weeks, and all of the sudden i got so nostalgic and felt like maybe i wanted to go.

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  GLTirebiter

  When you are reminded of it, it's natural to want to return to a lost emotional attachment. It's like being divorced, dreaming of what once was, and waking to thoughts of the one who no longer sleeps beside you.

  As Shelby noted, the words can be a trigger that selectively recall the good memories while temporarily masking the pain that convinced you to leave. Stit back, relax, and think about it clearly. When hindsight seems to be 20/20, it may be because of the rose-colored glasses we are looking through.
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  18

  JW is union member for years....?

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.clevelandbanner.com/view/full_story/16655276/article-tim-bailey-a-well-traveled-%e2%80%98country-boy%e2%80%99?instance=home_features.

  bailey, who had been transferred to bricklayers local no.

  9 in pittsburgh, retired in 2008. having remained a union member through the years, he receives a pension as a benefit.. .

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  GLTirebiter

  Many Witnesses I know work in trades where union membership is required: grocery store clerks, electricians, truck drivers, etc. If they work in a "closed shop" where joining the union is a condition of employment, that can hardly be held against them.
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  33

  My Husband's Kids Have Cut Him Off

  by headisspinning in

  1. social
  2. family

  well, my husband's worst fear has happened.

  he told his kids, ages 15 and 10 that he was coming to visit them over the holidays.

  his ex-wife limits his telephone contact to one call per week, so when he called them last week to arrange the specific days he would see them, his son told him that he got baptized back in september and would no longer be willing to see his father.. this came as a complete shock.

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  GLTirebiter

  I feel sad for him, but even more so for the children. When an ex-spouse interferes with children having a normal relationship with their other parent, in the long run it hurts the children more than her intended target. Whether the interference is active ("Remember what they said about apostates at the last assembly?") or passive-aggressive ("If you don't really want to see him, that's okay honey!"), this is emotional abuse--what they call parental alienation syndrome.

  With her appearing to be beyond the reach of common sense, reason and civil behavior, doing anuthing about this menas hiring a lawyer, probably going to mediation or the family court (several times), and dealing the time, hassle and EXPEN$E of doing all that. But if your husband does nothing, she gets her way by default. She knows this, and is using it to her advantage.

  For the sake of the children as well as your husbands, I hope you can restore some semblance of a normal family relationship with the children.
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  22

  Pose THIS QUESTION and watch JW"S REALIZE they have been DUPED!!

  by foolsparadise in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i told a current longtime jw friend who hasn't been to a meeting in months now :) this statement:.

  "if jw's were so honest and this was the true religion that they really and i mean really believed was the truth, how come they never tell any of their return visits or children before babtizim that if they ever choose to think differently and believe differently and decides they no longer want to be one of jehovahs witness, they will be shunned by all former friends and last but not least family??!!

  do you really think if they were told this "disclosure" at the time of studying they would continue?

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  GLTirebiter

  I agree with OTWO. Any of those "stumper" questions will only work on somebody who is ready to hear it. That may be before they begin "studying", or after they have come to similar conclusions on their own and already are heading up the road away from the Kingdom Hall. For those who are mentally "in", these tactics only reinforce the persecution complex--in their eyes, it is a Watchtower prediction coming true right before their eyes, so it does more harm than good.

  It's better to prove the Watchtower wrong by being living, breathing proof that non-Witnesses are not all disgusting liars, cheats and thieves. It is said that "living well is the best revenge." That is also a strong rebuttal to the Watchtower's caricature of all us "worldly" people. In other words, actions do speak louder than words!
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  17

  Is being a JW that serious?

  by Skratch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  before i decided to post my thread i went through this most of this site and tried to see everyone elses experiences and childhoods, unlike some ppl i never told my friends i was a jw because i just knew that would make me uncool to everyone and i wasnt brainwashed like the rest of the jw's i saw and really followed there life by the jw principles.

  its sad how some parents have there kids so brainwashed by this stuff its so pathetic i feel sad for some of them, they probably have no friends in school.

  growing up in a jw household i always thought alot of there rules are intense and dont allow humans to have any fun i mean come on i can't play pokemon?

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  GLTirebiter

  Welcome, skratch!

  if they did they probably wont a real jw in the first place

  Think about what that statement really says. It means "We are special, we are better than everybody else. They aren't special, so they couldn't really be one of us!" This proves only the arrogance and hypcrisy of those saying it (an attitude not unique to the Watchtower religion, nor to religions in general).

  You're doing well to recognize the crazy Watchtower attitudes. Just be careful, when rejecting their foolish pride, to keep enough humility to avoid mirroring that same attitude from a different extreme.
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  32

  Why I Left Jehovah's Witnesses--a 10-page essay by sd-7

  by sd-7 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why i left jehovahs witnesses.

  they can be painful to bear, but sometimes that is part of life in a setting with many people and their various personalities.. it was my examination of evidence that did lead me to leave jehovahs witnesses.

  they, of course, had failed to bear proper witness to his name.

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  GLTirebiter

  Well done, SD-7! Your essay is eloquent, factual, and well-reasoned. Thank you for sharing it!
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  33

  'Where else is there to go'? Thoughts I had this morning--and evening...

  by sd-7 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was just thinking of something this morning.

  when presented with the possibility that the witnesses could be wrong, the typical response is 'where else is there to go?

  ' in short, 'if not us, who?

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  GLTirebiter

  I would think you're more likely to succeed if you find the true God first and go from there.

  That's something you, Elvis and I will all agree on!

  Where Could I Go?

  Where could I go where could I go
  Seeking a refuge for my soul
  Needing a friend to save me in the end
  Where could I go but to the Lord
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  54

  Why Some Suffer Spiritual Shipwreck

  by mankkeli in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this was taken from the 1999 wt, 7/15.. .

  when paul warned of experiencing shipwreck, he had in mind some who had thrust aside their good conscience and had lost their faith.

  (1 timothy 1:19) among them were hymenaeus and alexander who fell into apostasy, deviating from the truth and speaking abusively.

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  GLTirebiter

  Avoiding a shipwreck is the responsibility of the captain, first mate, navigator and other officers in charge of the vessel, not the passengers. If the Watchtower Society is worried about having too many spiritual Exxon Valdez incidents they should be addressing their leaders, not the rank and file.
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  37

  What would you do if your JW spouse did...?

  by garyneal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  okay, i don't mean to rant but i am not sure where to turn.

  the issues that i am having with my wife are not related to her being a jw but it does make me think of other situations where the religion is credited for the jw spouse's exceptional behavior (even when it has nothing to do with the religion).. my wife has her heart set on going to disney this year, but she has no real plan on saving the money to go.

  in addition to this, she needs have some money to replace her lost income over the summer when she takes her internship to get her teacher's license.

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  GLTirebiter

  I've been there too. I wish I had better advice than this: don't do what I did, which was basically nothing (except arguing about it) and waiting for our "bad luck" to turn around. It never did, of course--there's always another car problem, plumbing back-up, or medical bill on the way. Plan and agree on a realistic budget, including rainy day savings for the inevitable surprises. If you can't find common ground, suggest a joint meeting with a legitimate credit counselor (check them out with the BBB etc. before making an appointment, to weed out the charlatans).

  we just paid off a credit card debt of $17,000 last year. I had to take out $4,000 of my 401k to do it. Not even a year later she is running it up again.

  She actually carries on like she is wholly entitled to all of these things.

  Adding to diamonddiz's suggestion about a line of credit to pay off the debt: if you do that, GET RID OF THE CREDIT CARDS! Otherwise you will soon find you're paying on the credit line and a new batch of credit card debt. You've already been down that path once, using retirement savings to pay off consumer debt. There needs to be a day of reckoning, an intervention, so the same thing doesn't happen again.

  Good luck, Gary. I hope you can work this out as partners.
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  8

  Difference between Religious people and Cult members ?

  by stuckinamovement in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in the words of rabbi shmuley........ "people who are in a relationship with g-d are humble and do their utmost to refrain from judging others.

  their proximity to a perfect being reminds them of their own fallibility.

  their experience of g-d's compassion leads them to be merciful and loving.

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  GLTirebiter

  I like the last line of his article:

  "All should be judged on their merits as people and politicians, whatever their faith and whatever their beliefs."

  Words we all should take to heart!