As I attended fewer and fewer meetings it became obvious how little value the meetings were to me, spiritually. The meetings are nothing more than training sessions to sell the Watchtower Society and make it look good. To this day I wonder why it took so long to figure that out! 24-k, you attent some of the Sunday meetings "to show my respect for her feelings and my willingness to be tolerant." I hope that's helpful, but wonder what does your JW spouse do to show respect for YOUR feelings? Most JWs want others to be tolerant of them, but sadly can't return the favor.
Posts by JAVA
-
37Do you find any value in attending the occaisonal meeting?
by 24k indo you still attend the occaisonal meeting with your believing family members?
if so, do you find any value in what's presented?
i still attend the occaisonal sunday meeting with my believing wife in an effort to show my respect for her feelings and my willingness to be tolerant.
-
-
-
36
Jehovah's Witness Oddities
by minimus ini now enjoy telling people about the things jehovah's witnesses can and cannot do.
for instance, witnesses can work in a store that sells lottery tickets and tobacco but they can't own the store themselves.....whole blood is forbidden to be transfused yet blood fractions are acceptable.
donating blood in any form is wrong but accepting blood fractions is a conscience matter.........can you think of other jw oddities????
-
-
JAVA
Can not say "church," which is understood by nearly all people as a place of public worship. Can say "Kingdom Hall," which is not understood by most people as a place of public worship.
-
5
They came by this morning...
by TresHappy inthis witnesses that is...they all got out of a van and talked to my husband.
he says my wife's an ex witness you probably don't want to talk to her.
then he said he thought they were deceived...why didn't he wake me up so i could see this!
-
-
JAVA
I like the idea about having a welcoming sign for JWs. How about, "Jehovah?s Witnesses WARNING?Intelligent life within this dwelling!"
-
42
What's your take on morality?
by Narkissos inas former jws we were part of a highly moralising religion.
we have experienced the disastrous consequences of it in terms of hypocrisy, judgementalism or pathologic guilt.
most of us have changed our "moral parameters" drastically, but how far have we gone in questioning morality itself?.
-
-
JAVA
Cult-like or high-control religions expect members to follow orders from headquarters, and not to question. The act of questioning causes others within the group to question a member's morality. Being a Jehovah's Witness does not help foster morality, but in fact to look the other way. For example, shunning is very harmful and controlling, but JWs willingly engage in behavior that's not moral. As a result, I believe it's much easier to develope morality when one is out of a religion that skews the topic at hand--morality.
-
-
-
JAVA
In 33 - out 28
-
30
The same old lie.....do they really believe it?
by Gill inwhy am i surprised on reading the latest watchtower, the april 15 2005?
i had thought that the wtbts would at least be cautious in making its prophecies now.
surely after over 100 years of failed prophecy you might be a bit more careful, or would you?.
-
-
JAVA
Gill -- You're right; "Once you start thinking" you're out. The Tower keeps the flock busy for two reasons.
- Find others to bring in (more members, more money = shows Jah is with us)
- Critical thinking happens when there is time to do it
Most Witnesses don't have time to read The Watchtower cover to cover, much less time to question Big Brother. But if and when one starts the process of really thinking, the house of cards comes down. I remember attending meetings when I was going through this phase and thinking, "none of this really makes sense."
-
7
Then and now - military service
by larc inrecently, i had a phone conversation with onacruise.
he encouraged me to write about the early years of life as a jw.
later, i talked to alanf and he encouraged me to do the same thing.
-
-
JAVA
I had nearly the same experience as Ken P, except I didn't marry until the draftboard finally gave me a 4-D classification. From 1965 to 1968 I didn't know from one day to the next if I was going to jail or not. Looking back at it today, it could have saved my life. The thousands that lost their lives for a war we shouldn't have been in seems so useless. When will we ever learn?
-
30
The same old lie.....do they really believe it?
by Gill inwhy am i surprised on reading the latest watchtower, the april 15 2005?
i had thought that the wtbts would at least be cautious in making its prophecies now.
surely after over 100 years of failed prophecy you might be a bit more careful, or would you?.
-
-
JAVA
Surely after over 100 years of failed prophecy you might be a bit more careful, or would you?
As a general rule, JW memories last until the next issue of The Watchtower. I witnessed this in 1976 when most acted like the Tower said nothing about 1975. When followers put their minds on hold, the Tower gets a free pass on anything they say.
-
71
What's Your View of Living Forever?
by Golf inok, be realistic, would you want to live forever?
what is your view of living forever?
golf
-
-
JAVA
After leaving the Tower that was one of the things that just took time to sink in--I was going to live and die like everyone else. The fairytale was over.
-
34
What is the most OUTRAGEOUS thing you've ever seen an apostate do?
by GetBusyLiving inhey i was just wondering if some of you wouldnt mind relating some crazy stories of things that apostates have done to get attention of witnesses and break them out of the trance.
i would think right after the 'stay alive till '75' fiasco there must have been some really pissed off and vocal people!
-
-
JAVA
**Little Toe's disassociation is the most punk rock apostate feat ever IMO.. if only he had done it at a circuit or district assembly..** You're right, I think LT gets the best of show! In a way, doing it at the KH was better than an assembly. They would have turned the sound off as soon as they figured out what was going down.