My Mum is inactive, she faded shortly after my Father(ironically non-jw and opposed) passed away. For over 4 years there has been almost no contact from anyone from the KH, even though my Mum was a faithful and zealous witness for around 15 yrs or so. We live in a very small hamlet(basically a dozen houses), and I even saw jws from the local cong doing door-knocking here not so long ago, I wasnt wanting them to call on us, far from it, but I was kind of angry that in such a small hamlet that they very rarely go on field service to, they wouldnt even bother to stop in to see how my Mum was doing. Not even a tract through the letterbox. She got a phonecall in recent months from an elderly jw, asking her how she was getting on, and I later learned from a friend who has family in the jw org that this gesture of concern was simply due to the theme of a recent assembly(bringing back lost sheep or similar drivel). Anyway, despite this utter lack of concern from the people she called friends for so long, my Mum still believes 100% in WT bullshit. She 'knows' its the truth, and while she isnt judgemental, her jw-inspired moralistic tendencies do still shine through now and again which pisses me off. I think even though she lives her own life now (she does Christmas, birthdays,etc) its just the fact that deep down she is still convinced of them being God's messengers that really infuriates me. On the rare occasions we do talk about the jws I get so frustrated with her. I have decided we should NEVER talk about it again! I also had a disturbing experience just the other day from a friend of a friend, a guy who im told is a spiritual leper in his own cong(due to a lifelong proclivity towards excess alcohol and illicit sexual activity), hasnt been for years, but still makes some half-assed attempt to defend 'the truth' usually with rhetoric and hot air.I basically dont even know this guy, have met him all of 2 times, and am happy to say I wont be meeting him again. He became a 'facebook friend'(you know how deeply those 'friendships' run...), got offended at me expressing my opinion about religion, and ended up sending me the most hateful and aggressive emails I have ever received in my whole life! The worst kind of jw for me is the young(ish) man from a large jw family who wants to be seen as a 'lad' and a tough guy by his mates on the outside, but feels he can go along to the memorial once a year, and 'keep the truth' on hold until a later date, once he's grown tired of all the pleasurable things that the religion he holds so dear wont let him do. Oh, and along the way showing 'the truth' is really 'in his heart' by openly projecting contempt and malice towards people of other religions, people who have decided the jw org just isnt for them, scientists, people with any kind of higher education, etc. Regardless of how inactive/DA'd/DF'd deal with being in this spiritual limbo, one thing is clear: All the uncertainty, guilt and regret takes an immense toll on your mental well-being, and these people are to be pitied.
bulgogiboy
JoinedPosts by bulgogiboy
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15
do you know someone who is disfellowshipped or not active who still talks of "truth" and is still judgemental ?
by looloo ini have only known one , who talked more about the "wicked system" and satan and how immoral worldlys are etc than the jws i knew who were still "in" and he ended up abusing my daughter !
still never gone back 14 years after being disfellowshipped , some local dubs take that to mean jehovah didnt want him back till his abusive past (as a jw ) had been found out !
do you know someone very hypocritical ?.
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German pensioner denies attempt to machine-gun Jehovahs Witnesses
by Mythbuster inthursday, 04 february 2010 20:53. .
bielefeld, germany - a german pensioner charged with the attempted murder of 81 jehovahs witnesses by storming into their community hall and trying to open fire with a machine gun has denied all the charges, a court heard on tuesday.
the 83-year-old, who cannot be named, allegedly stormed into the meeting in the town of bielefeld and attempted to fire a machine gun at the group in july 2009 - but the weapon malfunctioned and the man was wrestled to the ground.. a psychiatrist for the defendant told the court that the accused had merely wanted to point out that islamists could be a danger to jehovahs witnesses.. the prosecution said he had tried to "maliciously shoot" as many as possible of the congregation.. the accused man has not yet addressed the court in person.. the psychiatrist said the pensioner told him that his dog had found the gun in the forest.
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bulgogiboy
Yeah true, but if he had sprayed the entire group with lead and killed them all it would have been attributed to persecution of 'true Christians' by 'the God of this worldly system of things'. They cant lose .
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Why Would Someone Like me Leave the "Truth"? Part 1
by cantleave inthe title of this series of threads is rhetorical.
i am going to answer it with my own experience.
before i do that, i want to discuss what we are told through the literature and the instruction that is given during meetings, assemblies and conventions, for the reasons why people leave the truth.. the watchtower of 15 november 2008, in the article help them return without delay indicates people leave because of the following:.
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bulgogiboy
Excellent, interesting reading. I'm glad I dont have to wait for the other parts :)
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Feeling Unfit, Fat and Unhealthy
by cantleave ina semi-serious request.. i hate exercise (yes i am an indolent slob), i sit in an office or a car most of the time and eat and drink too much.
so my new year's resolution is to lose weight (about 3 stone would be good) to try and prolong my life a little since i ain't got eternity in mind anymore.
i am looking for fun ways to get fit, or an effective home based diet programme that has worked for other people.
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bulgogiboy
I know exactly how you feel, I dont particularly like the whole sweating and gasping that comes with exercise, but I have been making a big effort to get into shape over recent months, and I also want to lose around 3-4 stone, or at least lose 2 stone of fat and develop some decent muscle mass too.
I've been working out with a Russian kettlebell for the past few weeks and I can already feel the difference in my arms, chest, shoulders and legs. I mean damn, my arms feel solid! I've lost half a stone too. A kettlebell is basically a big ball of iron with a handle on the end, and you swing, pull and lift it. It's the kind of thing the 'strongmen' of bygone days would be seen lifting! It is quite hard at first, but you get used to it quickly. There are countless dozens of exercise combinations you can do with it and you can find loads of instructional videos for free on youtube.
You get them in a whole range of sizes, I started on a 16 kg one which is quite good, but I'm going to buy a 24 or 28 kg one within the next couple of months to really start to try and build more bulky muscle.
It gives a good all-round workout, both cardio and muscle development, especially if you add in some sit-ups and push-ups(I do them on top of iron blocks to make them harder), but I also do 50 lengths in the local pool Mon-Sat as well, for extra cardio. Swimming really is excellent, and so good at helping get rid of stress. I was all wound up this morning, from some shockingly venomous emails a dub had sent me last night on facebook, but I went to the pool, swam hard and came out totally chilled :)
What's good about kettlebells is they are really economical and you can use them at home easily. A 16 kg kettlebell is around 35-40 quid, but it can be your whole gym all-in-one.
I've also been off the drink since Jan 1st, almost 6 weeks and going strong. I know it's hard, but you might want to consider going off the drink for a month, you might be surprised at the weight you lose, just from that!
I am off to workout with my kettlebell right now! I will read your other threads and pm you later on this evening :)
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German pensioner denies attempt to machine-gun Jehovahs Witnesses
by Mythbuster inthursday, 04 february 2010 20:53. .
bielefeld, germany - a german pensioner charged with the attempted murder of 81 jehovahs witnesses by storming into their community hall and trying to open fire with a machine gun has denied all the charges, a court heard on tuesday.
the 83-year-old, who cannot be named, allegedly stormed into the meeting in the town of bielefeld and attempted to fire a machine gun at the group in july 2009 - but the weapon malfunctioned and the man was wrestled to the ground.. a psychiatrist for the defendant told the court that the accused had merely wanted to point out that islamists could be a danger to jehovahs witnesses.. the prosecution said he had tried to "maliciously shoot" as many as possible of the congregation.. the accused man has not yet addressed the court in person.. the psychiatrist said the pensioner told him that his dog had found the gun in the forest.
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bulgogiboy
Well, I don't condone his actions but I can't say I've never had fantasies about doing similar things to my KH/the Brooklyn HQ, although I just want to burn the buildings to the ground when nobody is there.
Some story he came up with. The only way you could get those JWs to believe a story that ridiculous would be to get it printed in the watchtower or awake, or have it told in earnest on the platform of an assembly...
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did you feel guilty ,when ignoring disfellowshipped ones ?
by looloo ini was having an affair with a pioneer at the time and a girl who was disfellowshipped was in the loo at the hall (she actually had not done aything scriptually wrong (but the elders thought she had ) i tried to smile at her as i felt i was not in a position to judge anyone as guilt was destroying me but she just looked down at the floor , 14 years later we are good friends and both "free".
when you were "in" and ignored disfellowshipped did you ever think "im not in a position to judge anyone " ?.
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bulgogiboy
I only really experienced one person I knew get DF'd. I didnt know her that well, and to be honest she didnt come to that many meetings when she was disfellowshipped so it wasnt much of an issue. I felt sorry for her, but at the same time didnt feel I had to invest too much pity in her, as she had sinned and was not being treated unfairly. It is deeply troubling how unkind we human beings can be to each other when we feel we are carrying out divine will. I will never allow my humanity to be taken from me by religious beliefs ever again.
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Are these things still frowned upon/banned?.
by zzaphod inthinking back, there were a few things i was told then, that now seem rather odd and petty.
i was wondering if these thing are common in the wts or was it just that my girlfriend at the time was a pioneer, and her father was an elder.
(so perhap a bit more "enthusiastic" than others).
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bulgogiboy
Something else I was made to feel guilty about, or at least 'different' about('different' in a KH full of religious maniacs haha) was the fact I was doing a degree at university. There were certain people who were always trying to prove they were cleverer than me, or would just make the assumption that I must be arrogant and self-assured(you'd never find a self-assured person in a KH would you....? ). I never even brought it up unless asked, it was other people who did. In fact, if anything it wasnt my uni studies that made me puffed-up with pride, it was the fact I kept getting told I knew the meaning of life in the KH, and that while the rest of the world was blinded by Satan, me and the other 6 million 'chosen' were buddies with the almighty!
I'm sure the WT must outsource its legal defence in child molestation cases to 'worldly' lawyers, I suppose they are quite glad at least some people are able to commit to the years of hard study and expense that it takes to become a legal professional. And I bet those old farts in Brooklyn dont denounce the evils of university education when they are at the doctor's office, having their prostate checked for the millionth time, I bet they listen intently to whatever they are being told by the EXPERTS (and having some faithful and discreet pleasure if its a pretty doctor who's doing the poking about ).
Can you imagine if everyone on earth actually took the WT advice about higher education?? You wouldnt need Armageddon to kill off millions, it would happen naturally due to the lack of doctors, chemists, engineers, architects, etc.
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The atheist experience
by bulgogiboy inhave you ever watched a show on youtube called 'the atheist experience'?
i'm not an atheist myself, more an agnostic/grudging and weak believer, but the show involves phone-in discussions between atheists and others, who often have a christian fundamentalist mindset similar to that found within jws.
it provokes thought and can be quite entertaining!
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bulgogiboy
Hi everyone,
Have you ever watched a show on youtube called 'the atheist experience'? I'm not an atheist myself, more an agnostic/grudging and weak believer, but the show involves phone-in discussions between atheists and others, who often have a Christian fundamentalist mindset similar to that found within JWs. It provokes thought and can be quite entertaining! Most of the good points come from the atheists it has to be said :)
Here's a link if you're interested:
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Jehovah's Witness warning: "Watch out for the movie Avatar".
by Cindi_67 inthis is an email i received from my brother in law:.
after discussing with our family and several friends about the popular movie avatar, and the prevalence of "avatars" on the internet, we thought that other friends might be interested in what we found in our family worship research, tell us what you think:.
merriam-websterdictionary - avatar: the incarnation of a hindu deity (as vishnu).
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bulgogiboy
I bet he read his lovely Bible to guide him not to watch avatar....It's funny how JWs are made to feel guilty about watching movies like avatar, where the violence is tame and cartoonish, or movies like Titanic, which have very mild and fairly innocent nudity, but they are constantly exhorted to read the Bible which is packed full of horrific, blood-curdling acts of violence and sexual perversion! Honestly, if a film director made a candid and objective version of the Bible(even following the NWT version to the letter), which showed ALL the events written within its pages, how many JWs would be allowed to watch it?? It would either be rated 18, with a special advisory warning, or it would be banned altogether in the name of decency! You would see 'righteous men' ordering the slaughter of little boys and sexual slavery of little girls (Moses), offering their daughters up to sex-crazed mobs (Lot) and then later having sex with them (Lot again!), accruing hundreds and hundreds of young girls as sexual partners for themselves (Solomon), committing genocide (Joshua), seducing women and then murdering their husbands (David), and many many more heart-warming tales of love and joy...
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Priceless gems from JW Match
by highdose inhighdose is still putting in the preaching hours so to speak;) and had come accross these little beauties on the above website, read em and weep.... .
baboushka: i need help with learning the new songs, please help me please help me please help me... i was considering that the best person looks wise could be a soloman lookalike but with the nature of peter.. chogg84:heys jehovahs!
want some chogg in your life?.
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bulgogiboy
Please ignore my last post - misunderstanding :)