Posts by JW

49

"If I wasn't born a JW, I would never have become one."

by OneEyedJoe in

i've seen it mentioned by a few on the forum that at some point there was a realization that had they not been born a jw, they never would've converted no matter how many times the jws tried to study with them.

this was my experience too, and i'm wondering how universal it is for those that were born-in but eventually left.

i think i started having this thought (more specifically that if i were not born a jw, i would surely have become an atheist by now) in my late teens.

JW_Rogue

For those that were born-in, did you ever realize that you never would've joined if not for the circumstances of your birth? If you did, how long did you live with that knowledge before finally and fully waking up?

I made a fairly similar statement when I first joined this forum. I think it common among born-ins to feel this way. For me it probably started popping up when I went to college. I was open to many of the new ideas presented but found that JWs wouldn't even consider information other than what the WT pushes. I'm not even talking about evolution. Things like the big bang, formation of the universe, and artificial intelligence are all dismissed by JWs because they raise too many questions. I'd also find many of the statements from the "hardcore JWS" to be absolutely nuts.

24

Theism is a Fact #1

by cofty in

nope sorry i got nothing.. wouldn't it be really interesting though if somewhere there was a theist who could challenge unbelievers with facts and evidence?.

JW_Rogue

Belief or non-belief is of no consequence, the important thing is to realize that if there is a God he didn't write any books and he is not answering your personal request for favor.

25

Having Jehovah as a friend.

by Darkknight757 in

i've always found it amazing that people can say with such conviction that jehovah is their friend.. we are talking about a "friend" who perhaps daily "tests" us to see if we are his friends.

all of us have dealt with some form of hardship such as the death of a loved one, chronic illness or whatever.

it is in these cases that the brothers will tell a person that perhaps it is a test, or that "jehovah knows you're not ready" or some other lame excuse.. do our real friends "test" us to see if we will be loyal to them?

JW_Rogue

I really hated it when they would go on about a relationship with Jehovah. Or they would say you have to "make Jehovah real to you". If he is real and the almighty God of the universe then it should be obvious. Why should I work so hard to "make him real"? What they are really saying is that this is a delusion that you must fool your mind into believing.

38

Most Poorly Written JW Book

by JW_Rogue in

so i was thinking the other day that the wt corp has produced thousands of books over the years.

although the writers have changed the style is almost always the same.

however, some books are just worse than others.

JW_Rogue

Vanderhoven7 it is amazing how they can use their past as a fulfillment of bible prophecy while revealing so little about what they were actually teaching at that time. If Witnesses went back and read some of these books and talks they would see how ridiculous it all is. I think most don't want to know because they are afraid of what it will mean for them.

40

How do you feel about the expression "The Truth"?

by stuckinarut2 in

jw
friends

it's amazing how the expression "the truth" has become such an ingrained term used by witnesses.. "we have 'the truth'".

"is he 'in the truth'?".

most here have found out so many facts about the organisation, and felt the effects of being "gut-punched" as we realised these facts.. so how do you feel about the expression "the truth" now?.

JW_Rogue

Or if you don't use it in conversation other JWs will find you odd. Everyone refers to it as the truth so if you use some other term you'll arouse suspicion. Once you are awake it is very difficult to call it "the truth".

40

How do you feel about the expression "The Truth"?

by stuckinarut2 in

jw
friends

it's amazing how the expression "the truth" has become such an ingrained term used by witnesses.. "we have 'the truth'".

"is he 'in the truth'?".

most here have found out so many facts about the organisation, and felt the effects of being "gut-punched" as we realised these facts.. so how do you feel about the expression "the truth" now?.

JW_Rogue

I hear it all the time from family members and I secretly can't stand it! I never ever call it that anymore. I say the religion or the organization.

And I'm sure that they notice that, it's another way to mark those who no longer believe. Once you know what's going on it becomes hard to call it "the truth".

38

Most Poorly Written JW Book

by JW_Rogue in

so i was thinking the other day that the wt corp has produced thousands of books over the years.

although the writers have changed the style is almost always the same.

however, some books are just worse than others.

JW_Rogue

The "Isaiah" books were, bar none, the absolute most boring books ever written, not just by the WTS, but by anyone, anywhere, any time.

Yeah, who's idea was it to make it a verse by verse study? And some of the parallels they tried to draw really didn't make sense. Who are the modern day Tyre and Sidon? LOL Nobody that's who it's ancient history! Now they want to get rid of types and anti-types except they can't because the whole religion is built around them.

38

Most Poorly Written JW Book

by JW_Rogue in

so i was thinking the other day that the wt corp has produced thousands of books over the years.

although the writers have changed the style is almost always the same.

however, some books are just worse than others.

JW_Rogue

I laugh every time I try to read the "Imitate their Faith" book.

After I read the section on Abel and Noah I realized it was going to be a book of speculation and nonsense. The bible accounts are there but they need to drive home their own message. I did find the section on Ruth disturbing, no explanation was given for why Boaz felt the need to tell his men "Not to touch her". This supposed to be God's chosen nation right? Sounds like a great place to be a woman.

475

What is the alternative to JW?

by Formerbrother in

i mean this with all due respect, i would like to hear from genuine people who think jw have it wrong and then what is the truth?.

im not talking about silly little quibbles here and there.. is jehovah real?

the the bible is word?

JW_Rogue

No one can believe the entire bible because it clearly contradicts itself in many cases. The God from the Old Testament doesn't resemble the God that Jesus portrayed in the gospels at all. Even though JWs say that they believe the entire bible they use clever mental acrobatics and speculation to gloss over the contradictions.

38

Most Poorly Written JW Book

by JW_Rogue in

so i was thinking the other day that the wt corp has produced thousands of books over the years.

although the writers have changed the style is almost always the same.

however, some books are just worse than others.

JW_Rogue

So I was thinking the other day that the WT corp has produced thousands of books over the years. Although the writers have changed the style is almost always the same. However, some books are just worse than others. Now I'm not really talking about dubious claims or false prophecies because it would be easy to identify those. I'm talking about books that are really just poorly written from a style viewpoint.

My nominee is "Draw Close To Jehovah", my wife has been listening to the audio reading of this book and it's really bad. Every paragraph is stretched out with multiple unneeded adjectives and adverbs. Over the top flowery language is used to describe everything about God and Jesus. Each example from the bible is gone over in excruciating detail as they try to inject emotion into the biblical accounts. Never before has a book had so many words and said so little.

So that's my choice what's yours?

JW_Rogue

Posts by JW_Rogue