Posts by chigaimasmaro

42

Give Some Logical Points To Prove That JWs Do Not Have The Truth

by minimus in

jw
friends

the one thing that got to me was that this religion is illogical.

their "logic" is ridiculous, especially when it comes to their blood doctrine.

downright weird!.

chigaimasmaro

hmmm... its tough to know how to start this.

For me, its just the fundamentals that got me. It like modern day Judiasm, you have to accept the Rabbinic interpretation of the hebrew scriptures for everything else in the religion to make any sense. For instance, what is and is not considered work on holy rest days. Some Rabbi's interpret the law to such an extreme that even tearing tissues off the tissue roll is "work". Even turning on or off electric lighting can be an issue on these days.

The same goes for the witnesses, there's very little an average witness can say or preach about that wasn't initially interpreted by the people at the top in NY. You have to accept the "Governing Body's" interpretation of the bible for everything else to make sense. If for some reason you don't , then 90% of the religion falls to pieces in my view.

51

State your "epiphany moment " for leaving the WT

by caliber in

jw
friends

i have found some powerful reinforcements when people have stated their " epiphany moment "... please share some.. my turning pointing began when i was badly hurt by a person i had always viewed as a literal brother.

i realized that if his.

love was conditional.... if it was the case with him , then how about those i had less affection for and trust in ?.

chigaimasmaro

It was a chilly sunday in January, prior to that I had been preaching pretty strongly for a little over a year trying to build up pioneer hours, but the months leading up to that sunday, I hadnt be preaching or coming to the meetings as much because of health issues that get worse in the winter and almost everyone in the hall said they knew and understood my issues, although they would always say I should still be present at the hall. It was that ONE chilly sunday... I was finally well enough to go to a meeting and an elder pulled me aside.

"You haven't been making the same progress as you've been over the past couple of months. Is there anything wrong?"

"Not anything unusual, just my skin issues and pain. But I'm sure things will get better in the spring. thats what I'm waiting for."

(I had a bible study during this time, and someone was subbing for me because I was sick)

"Well, your bible study has made fine progress. We hope you continue to make fine progress as well. We understand your health issues and how you like to associate with the friends at the hall. But if you don't have your spiritual program together and aren't making progress towards Ministerial servant or MTS school, you're just here 'hanging out' like the other ones that visit and dont get baptized for years."

I just remember feeling punched in the face; I managed to utter some kind of positive response that I will try harder. All those years of me trying to overcome my health issues to pioneer, to just show up at the hall, to encourage friends, or just make sure others were just "OK"... all that time and effort didn't matter. I, even though I was preaching as best as I could with my health being what it was and had a bible study, I still wasn't doing things to the "properly". Days after.... piece after piece after piece just clicked into place...till I just stopped going.

47

2011 Special Talk: Bible Principles-Can They Help Us to Cope With Today's Problems?

by yknot in

ahh low and behold!.

it turns out those bethelites were being bold!.

brazen is what many with login privileges can be called.... ....... knowing that such an important talk outline shouldn't be stalled!.

chigaimasmaro

Anxiety may be caused by concerns over family, health, or finances Self-help guides may offer some good ideas, but they can also give harmful advice that leads to disappointment and serious problems.

This amazines me, that in one sentence about Self help guides, they offer the idea and then deprecate it immediately. So you'd automatically think that ALL self-help books or guides are going to make you worse and destroy your life. I can immediately see the audience nodding in agreement because they enjoy the fact that they have the FDS watching over every step they take and they are given what they need to think and do next.

What a difference a year makes.. if this was 2009 or early 2010 I would have been right there with the rest of them.

77

JW's not a cult

by Lunatic Faith in

okay, before you fly off the handle--i wrote a blog on how my research proves jw's are a cult (no, i haven't read the cult book yet).

somebody linked their own findings onto my site saying the opposite.

their evidence is erroneous and as i don't have time to point this out i thought i would let you all do it for me.. www.epages.wordpress.com.

chigaimasmaro

I must say, I do feel that the JW organization is still a mlm business... but doing some research does give me a bit more perspective on this.. and the organization does have cult tendencies. One of my favourite podcasts Howstuffworks.com had a podcast called "Who's the Leader" and it talks about dangerous cults... and wow.. the JW organization meets almost all of the requirements.

Who is the Leader Podcast (iTunes link)

77

JW's not a cult

by Lunatic Faith in

okay, before you fly off the handle--i wrote a blog on how my research proves jw's are a cult (no, i haven't read the cult book yet).

somebody linked their own findings onto my site saying the opposite.

their evidence is erroneous and as i don't have time to point this out i thought i would let you all do it for me.. www.epages.wordpress.com.

chigaimasmaro

I, myself was part of the organization for 31 years, my father was an elder, my mom was a regular pioneer, and older brother is currently serving as elder and is also now being considered for a CO position. I've had one sibiling disassociate himself and another that just faded away before my own departure occured last year. I was bapitzed at 17 and pioneered in various capacities many times. So I've had quite a history with the JW organization. But I'm good, I'll leave you all to your opinions.

77

JW's not a cult

by Lunatic Faith in

okay, before you fly off the handle--i wrote a blog on how my research proves jw's are a cult (no, i haven't read the cult book yet).

somebody linked their own findings onto my site saying the opposite.

their evidence is erroneous and as i don't have time to point this out i thought i would let you all do it for me.. www.epages.wordpress.com.

chigaimasmaro

I have to agree with OnTheWayOut... because if you look at it, when Jesus first appeared and started preaching, the Jewish and Roman alike felt he was preaching radical concepts and was speaking blasphemy and starting a cult.

From what I've seen myself first hand and what's been written secularly about modern day religions, the JW organization doesn't seem to be a cult in my opinion. The JW's publish a magazine and openly talk about what they do and most of what they do is done in plain sight. So I try to skip calling them a cult because I personally don't think it fits that defintion.

To me, the JW's are a non-profit (legally anyway) publishing company, where direct voluntary recruitment is done to increase numbers (Research ACN's direct selling Multi-level Marketing if you want a 'FOR PROFIT' example). Instead of using a written contract, a verbal one is used with legal witnesses upon accepting membership and your baptism is visual acceptance of the contract. If you were from the outside and just heard about the JW organization, you could literally walk into a convention, sit and watch this process. The unfortunate part is the high level of corporate control and micro-management that exist from the top authority in NY, all the way down to the family level. Also, when there is a breach of the contract or there is a suspicion of such actions, the loss a member suffers isnt monetarily based. Aherence to the contract and the paradigm of the corporation is very strict (not very different from other commercial corporations)

This isn't a cult, but a well organized corporate entity that sells a spiritual concept based on Charles T. Russell's research.

9

Were you ever too embarrssed to offer certain mags or books?

by highdose in

i recall towards the end looking at the magazines and thinking " i can't offer that!

people will think we are nutcases!

" hahahaha more fool me!.

chigaimasmaro

I always had a problem with going door to door with the magazines.

1st - because it was a lie, that you werent just going to talk about bible scripture, I was there to convert YOU.

2nd - the topics, the way the magazines approached the subjects never made sense to anyone but those who were JW's. People were always interested when I used ONLY the bible to talk about stuff, but they would have such puzzled looks when they would read the paragraphs from the watchtower or awake when it reasoned on something spiritual. Often I felt embarassed that I had to go and look in another magazine to explain the weird and slightly idiotic ideas that i had to preach about.

3rd - That it was actually reasoned that you had to wait till someone situation changed for the WORST, then you'd pounce on them with the watchtower and it was supposed to bring them happiness... I always felt really bad and ashamed for basically coming back again and again, knocking on people's door.. "Oh you lost your job? Oh here's a magazine on the 144,000 that are going to heaven, but you're and you JUST MIGHT be saved later on.... doesnt that make you feel better?"

24

Jehovah God - This is the last time we talk, because I don't believe in you anymore

by dissed in

jw
friends

just finished watching a 'worlds apart' a danish movie portraying a young jw girl leaving the wt and dealing with the shunning of her family.

this was one of the last thoughts in the movie.

her final prayer to jehovah after being treated harshly by her family and elders.. "jehovah god, this is the last time we talk, because....i don't believe in you anymore".

chigaimasmaro

I watched the movie a couple of days ago. I enjoyed how simple the movie was, the actors didn't play up any parts. The part that really hit me was when the main character walked past her best friend and the best friend breezed past her like she wasn't even visible. It pained me a lot because thats how i used to treated my sister, even though she hadnt done anything wrong. It just minded me of why I wish June would get here faster so i can leave.

The line in the sand moment for me came when I fell sick, I didnt know i was going to be mentally and spiritually beat up so badly in those fall/winter months of last year. It was definitely true I was sick , missing days of work, but no one, not even my family cared about how I was doing. Only thing everyone who was a witness cared about was being AT the meetings and going out preaching. Every phone call or every conversation I had with someone, it felt like i was being cut to bits because I didnt physically appear at some building so I can listen to the same nonsense I've heard for the past 30 years.

I was glad the people who created that movie didn't stray far from real life. The atmosphere that was created and the cinematography was excellent. I like how they made so many scenes just feel dark, oppressive and moody when it came to the witnesses. Especially since thats how most of us felt before we had that defining moment of clarity. The scene where the younger sister confronted the mom and the main character.. that was the icing on the cake! Whew... there was NO getting through to the girl at all. Reminds me of my younger sister....

24

Has Your Growth As A Person Been Stunted Because Of Being A Witness?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think that in many areas, that just might be the case.. what do you think?.

chigaimasmaro

Dandingus - I know for a fact that being raised a Witness stunted my social growth.

Dandingus - Balsam, fortunately for me I was always a curious person who wanted to know everything so mentally I'm actually ahead in many ways. It's the emotional component that in my case was affected.

This is what happened in my situation as well, the social and emotional growth were effected quite a bit. I noticed I missed out on a lot of transitional phases in my growth that other people experienced. Most of which has to do with things being decided for me and from my perspective, when you are a witness, you dont deal with emotions, you just go by the rule book, which unfortunately isnt the bible. Through grade, middle and high school, i noticed that the other kids seem to "change" or go through the normal stages of puberty, I wasn't able to enjoy that, because at a very young age, I not only had to act like an adult because of the witness rules, but also i had to grow up fast because of the situation that festered inside my house because of the witness rules (topic for another thread).

Its someting my counselor and I have talked about a great deal. But I'd have to definitely say it stunted my growth as a person.

63

Ambushed!!!!! Fam'ly Intervention!

by sd-7 in

jw
friends

last night, i went to my parents' house to wash clothes--or so i thought.

apparently, someone's been talking.

so...i get slammed for listening to people on the internet.

chigaimasmaro

Black Sheep - Remember, JWs are taught not to listen, so don't tell them anything. (Even when they ask a question, they do not listen to your answer with understanding.)
They are taught to teach, so ask questions.

This has to be the best advice I've seen that I'd like to second. Even though to JW's they feel they are being "helpful", all they are doing is looking for the next oppurtunity to prove themselves right and bury you with your own words.