Posts by Mad Sweeney

33

Sad and hilarious at the same time.

by Shador in

lol.

so my parents are studying how to convince one of their bible studies that jws are not a cult.

they just checked two different dictionaries, realized that the definitions given could, indeed, apply to jws.

Mad Sweeney

Good point, George. How can anyone read Combating Cult Mind Control by Hassan and not see the Watchtower/JWs throughout?

33

Sad and hilarious at the same time.

by Shador in

lol.

so my parents are studying how to convince one of their bible studies that jws are not a cult.

they just checked two different dictionaries, realized that the definitions given could, indeed, apply to jws.

Mad Sweeney

The Borg misrepresents what a cult is in order to show that they're not one.

A cult has nothing to do with following a single human leader, nor isolating its members physically from the rest of society.

A cult, for example, could have a committee of SEVEN human leaders acting as one AND convince its members to be "no part of the world" they live in.

35

So who is going to do some kind of protest next Sunday?

by serenitynow! in

jw
friends

next sunday is the discussion of the 7/15/2011 wt article about shunning.

i am planning to stand outside of a kh on a major street with a big banner that says that the jws do indeed destroy families with their shunning policy.

i will have many copies of the article that will be discussed that day.. anyone else have any plans?.

serenitynow! protesting can be useful and do some good if you have the time and inclination to engage in it. It isn't the end-all of the Watchtower but if you're in a high traffic area and have a catchy sign you may inspire someone to look up the Borg online and then refuse the litterature the next time a Dub knocks at their door. There may even be some positive effects on those attending the meeting, but that is less likely. Even so, if it helps one person to not become a JW, that's worth it. There is no WMD to bring down the Borg but that doesn't mean we can't keep chipping away as we can.

If you are in somewhere NOT the USA then protesting is often considered an accepted way of communicating with the public. In the USA, though, as mentioned by several posters, it is often looked at askance. So your mileage may vary.

Cult Free Radio #005 discussed the topic of protesting with an experienced Borg protestor from Canada. The mp3 can be found here:

http://ex-jw.com/web-directory/cult-free-radio-archives-1-6

I hope to have the show up on youtube sometime soon, too.

10

Do you agree with this sentiment?

by mankkeli in

jw
friends

i copied this text from a friend's wall on facebook, do you agree with his sentiment?.

"this world is not our home.

we are strangers here.

Mad Sweeney

No. In fact I don't think I could disagree more.

22

Another question for those who attended the "Mentally Diseased" Watchtower

by cantleave in

nugget and i are helping amelia prepare for her statement to the police tomorrow.

one of the possible objections is that the term "mentally diseased" is metaphorical.. when people answered on this paragraph did they say "people who leave are metally diseased" or did they say "they are like mentally diseased" people?.

if they said the former it would indicate that they did not take it metaphorically..

Mad Sweeney

If anyone recorded the entire meeting it would probably be great evidence to use.

43

Wording of "mentally diseased" press release - feedback?

by cedars in

as some of you may know, i am working with trailerfitter and cantleave in helping amelia with her efforts to complain about the latest "apostates are mentally diseased" article.

she has an appointment with local police tomorrow afternoon, as she has lodged a complaint under the 'hate crimes' act.

it has been suggested that this issue may merit some media coverage, and with this in mind i have prepared a draft press release.

Mad Sweeney

little if nothing

Is that an idiomatic expression in the UK? If so, good. To this American it seems awkward. We would say either "little or nothing" or "little to nothing" instead, but it could well be a dialect thing and perfectly acceptable grammar.

The purpose of the article was evidently to block any current Witnesses from discovering the truth about the organisation’s history, and its increasingly discredited beliefs.

I would soften this a little (and I LIKE tweaking them with their own "evidently" lingo): "The purpose of the article was evidently to block current Witnesses from discovering information and evidence about the organisation's history and uniquely dubious doctrines."

42

Did YOU Change In Your Personality After You Left The Organization?

by minimus in

jw
friends

we knock a lot of things about the witnesses.

i wonder if we're really all that much different in our personalities as exjws.. .

Mad Sweeney

Change in personality? Not much. To me, personality is the surface behaviors that the public sees. I act pretty much the same as ever, though I may be a little more outgoing toward people I used to consider as bird food.

The changes in me go far deeper than personality. I was a cold and judgmental person who believed there are NO GRAY AREAS in the world. Everything could be classified as either right or wrong, Christian or unchristian, for Jehovah or against him.

Now I know that isn't true. There are MANY gray areas and many things that are beyond my ability to classify. I found it quite disconcerting and uncomfortable at first but now I embrace it. I am mentally FREE from the Borg, not simply OUT of the Borg.

5

* Some names have been changed.

by cedars in

i just thought i would flag this as something i have long despised about the magazines, since long before i made the decision to distance myself emotionally from the the organization.

this isn't a big deal or anything, and ranks way down on my list of concerns about the society, but i felt it was worth mentioning nonetheless.. as you will know, frequently in the magazines an experience will be quoted (portrayed as being real, although we are often left wondering whether it is), and in such an experience a name will be mentioned followed by an asterisk (*) which leads to a footnote which reads "some names have been changed.".

out of interest, i went on my 2010 watchtower library and typed in "some names have been changed", and found that this footnote had been repeated no less than 69 times between 1994 and 2010 (39 times in the watchtower, and 30 times in the awake).

Mad Sweeney

Wait, are you telling me there isn't a real Andre? Say it ain't so!!!

31

Bizarre 'Spirit anointed' v. 'Spirit appointed' explanation in Dec 15th WT

by cedars in

hi everyone, i am going through the dec 15th study edition of the wt thanks to a tip-off that this issue is now available online at jw.org.. in the article "guided by god's spirit in the first century and today" on page 25 there is a bizarre argument put forward by the society about the difference between spirit-anointed and spirit-appointed.. this touches on a subject that i have often wondered about, which is this.

why are spirit anointed brothers and sisters (memorial partakers) not given positions of oversight in the congregation by default?

i know it sounds like a stupid question, but please think about it for a moment.

Mad Sweeney

Almost every year now they release a study article that highlights the relative UNIMPORTANCE of anointed people. They reopened the door to the calling in 2007 BUT they have reduced the significance of that calling to the actual "slave" status indicated in the Bible. A local anointed person has no more authority than anyone else, and for many practical purposes much less because they are looked at askance as either mentally ill or overly proud.

So go ahead and nibble-n-sip on Memorial night. It isn't going to get you anywhere in the Borg.

35

Are you estranged from a parent or child?

by wannabefree in

anerson cooper is looking for experiences.

maybe if enough ex-jw's sign up, producers will see a potential to look into it ...... sign up sign up.

http://www.andersoncooper.com/be-on-the-show/209.

Mad Sweeney

Bump. It would be GREAT for there to be a Dub family featured on there.