Posts by JAVA

11

Bookstudy in my home

by JAVA in

jw
friends

we host a discussion group in our home called the dayton salon.

our dogma is: food, wine, fellowship, and discussion.

we meet once a month and folks arrive with food to share, they fellowship in and out of the kitchen before settling down to discuss a topic (picked a month ago) in the den (we call the salon).

JAVA

Actually researcing ON THEIR OWN god forbid.

Outoftheorg -- Take away the books and hours of brainless meetings, and it would be hard to imagine anyone coming up with the Tower's dogma. The "Truth" stands on it's on without the need of a publishing firm shaming followers into doing more.

"Researching ON THEIR OWN" would be running ahead of the organization. This is another way of saying, "IT'S ALL ABOUT THE WATCHTOWER, and if you ask questions, we'll punish you." All questions are at the bottom of the page, and the only answers are found on the same page.

11

Bookstudy in my home

by JAVA in

jw
friends

we host a discussion group in our home called the dayton salon.

our dogma is: food, wine, fellowship, and discussion.

we meet once a month and folks arrive with food to share, they fellowship in and out of the kitchen before settling down to discuss a topic (picked a month ago) in the den (we call the salon).

JAVA

As soon as the CO found out, that was it. I still don't understand why it was so wrong to have a cup of coffee or some lemonade and a cookie after the bible study and actually enjoy one another's company

luna2 -- Of course, there is nothing wrong with socializing and refreshments after a meeting. The CO that made an issue out of it was into power and control, just like the Tower. I'm sure many COs wouldn't have done that, but this guy was going to make sure everyone knew he was higher in the pecking order over the slaves. It's little wonder that "Jehovah is served by a happy people." :)

1

Went back in time today !

by vitty in

jw
friends

i was a little bored today and decided to look back at the beginnings of this board and try and pinpoint when it started to go "apostate".

i was reading a post from someone called scorpion.

his first post was 18th may 00. he was stuggling with his pioneering, he had 2 jobs and his wife had a bad back.

JAVA

When the Internet was fairly new, I became part of the group called Philia. It started from another group, and we would cc each other with various threads about our ex-JW experiences. It was a good group, and we viewed and supported each other as friends. I printed copies of some of the posts, and years later still enjoy looking at them from time to time.

Looking back can be fun.

37

SO WHY AREN'T YOU AT THE MEETING THIS MORNING???

by Mary in

jw
friends

what excuse could anyone possibly have as to why they're not attending the 2 hours + of boring bullshit partaking of spiritual food this morning??

as for me, i have a perfectly valid excuse: i'm doing laundry and baking banana bread this morning.

what are you doing sunday morning instead of being told you're not doing enough in god's service?

JAVA

I'm recovering from last night's Book Study in our home, and writing about it at click here. :)

11

Bookstudy in my home

by JAVA in

jw
friends

we host a discussion group in our home called the dayton salon.

our dogma is: food, wine, fellowship, and discussion.

we meet once a month and folks arrive with food to share, they fellowship in and out of the kitchen before settling down to discuss a topic (picked a month ago) in the den (we call the salon).

JAVA

We host a discussion group in our home called the Dayton Salon. Our dogma is: Food, Wine, Fellowship, and Discussion.

We meet once a month and folks arrive with food to share, they fellowship in and out of the kitchen before settling down to discuss a topic (picked a month ago) in the den (we call the salon).

While getting the house ready for our group (about 9 people attend) I thought about the time I had a bookstudy in our home.

Book Study:
* Meet once a week
* One-hour timeframe
* Couldn't wait until the hour was over
* Topic bored everyone
* Topic chosen by Tower
* Attendees picked by elders
* Attendance required
* 60% of group attend
* JW meeting dress code required

Salon Discussion Group:
* Meet once a month
* No timeframe (arrives around 7, and leaves around midnight)
* Can't believe how fast the evening went by
* Topic is lively, and it's difficult to get a word in
* Topic chosen by group
* Attendees picked by group
* Attendance not required
* 100 to 90% group attend
* Clothing required, but that could be a future discussion topic

These are some of the things I thought about yesterday while getting ready for an interesting evening with friends. We've been doing this for a little over three years. The bookstudy isn't what it used to be! :)

16

"Staying Alive Until 1975" Danny Haszard's Story

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

comment on this article

| email this article commentary :: social welfare "staying alive until 1975" my story of growing up a jehovah witness with severe ulcerative colitis

by danny haszard.

JAVA

I remember the "Stay Alive Until '75" chant many of us repeated in the late 60s to mid 70. That and that alone was the reason the big increases the Tower enjoyed. Then 1976 came along and the fun was over.

By the early '80s I no longer attended meetings, and was married to a JW. A few years later she turned me in to the elders for voting. It really ticked her off when I had a t-shirt made that said, "I Survived '75!" in large letters. :)

24

Thoughts on Reading CoC

by love2Bworldly in

jw
friends

i am reading crisis of conscience and am wondering what goes through people's minds when they read it, i am on about page 115. i find it slow reading because of the way it is written.

even though i have been out of the org for going on 20 years, i am a little shocked at some of the stuff i'm reading and i feel like it shouldn't shock me.

i remember when i was a jw, how the governing body was put on a pedestal; everyone assumes they spend all their time studying and praying over matters from a scriptural standpoint.

JAVA

I had stopped attending meetings because I saw how the Tower blamed JWs for believing them about 1975. Something was very wrong with this religion, but I couldn't put it into words.

I ordered CoC when it first came out (1993 I think). Ray's book was a breath of fresh air, and helped me form words from the feelings I had for some time. All former Witnesses owe it to themselves to have a copy of this book. Finally, something worthy of underlining.

18

A relationship with God or the organization ?

by vitty in

jw
friends

i have been thinking about this for a while, so here goes.

when i was in the "truth" i truly believed in god, i prayed and tried to do what was right ( wt style) then when i started reading stuff and the experiences on here it didnt take very long before i knew the "truth" wasnt true after all.. so after 20 years as an adult that i spent in, it litrually took a few hours to come out.. ive asked myself how and why did this happen?

and so quickly.. at first i felt i still believed in jehovah, but if the wt was wrong, where did that leave me.

JAVA

Good topic. I think most ex-JWs fully understand the feeling of serving the Watchtower over following God. Being a Jehovah Witness is all about serving and following the Tower. The Society makes the rules, controls the lives and thinking of members. Our relationship was with the Society, and we couldn't imagine God without the Tower. Our behavior was directed by whatever was printed in the next Watchtower.

Snapping out of the Tower causes one to wonder about everything, because the Tower was everything to us before. Now knowing "the Truth" was a lie places everything else in question. God, the Bible, and religion is no longer a given. That's normal, but also feels like we're standing on new ground.

Driving the bus instead of being a passenger requires skills that followers of the Watchtower have not been allowed to use. Questioning everything for the first time is a good thing. It gives us a fresh start.

43

ARE YOU A COLLECTOR? OF WHATEVER??

by orangefatcat in

jw
friends

so does anyone like to collect things, such as stamps, or figurines, cards, pottery or whatever?

i am a person who is a little pack rat, and i must admitt i have some cool collections, such as a my 1920 royal doulton minature toby's and waterford crystal wine glassses.

i have alot of pottery and earthenware that i also enjoy.

JAVA

I collect antique coffee mills (grinders). I have over 60 different mills, and one is over 250-years old. Most in my collection are called post or side mills, and they're between 100 to 150-years old. I display them on one wall of the salon, and some on the wall leading to the salon. I've researched their history, and enjoy showing. It keeps me out of the Kingdom Halls. :)

13

Are the jws asocial?

by badboy in

jw
friends

its says in one of the ads that jws are asocial,do you think it is true?

JAVA

Most JWs do well in JW settings and social events, but might find more challenges in what they perceive a "worldly" social setting. For example, attending an office party, attending a wedding at a church, getting together with other employees after work, etc.

The Watchtower encourages a mindset of seeing non-JWs as worldly, and in time many members have a difficult time in social settings apart from Witness gatherings. I'm going to call them hybrid-social, because it depends on the group they're with.