Posts by MMXIV

156

Worldly Shunning

by alice.in.wonderland in

i hear quite a bit of criticism about jehovah's witnesses enforcing 1 corinthians 5:9-13. while jehovah's witnesses have a formal system of maintaining the organization's core values; egocentric, self-worshiping secularists have an informal system of rejecting those of whom they have nothing in common with.

http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth-32-390-religion.aspx.

most major religions have believed in the existence of a supernatural realm, a realm beyond the natural world of physical objects and bodies governed by causal laws, the world we perceive with our senses and can study by rational methods.

MMXIV

there was this bloke I used to observe. He'd sit at the end of the bar reeking of smoke and try to wind people up. He'd say anything controversial he could to get a reaction. A wind up merchant. No matter how dumb or insulting he'd just keep spouting more controversies. Just because he said something didn't mean it was right and just because he'd argue his point didn't mean he was right. Some would argue back cos they thought it was the right thing to do, others just listened not taking the bait and others just ignored him.

Alice you are just like that bloke except. Except that bloke never shunned anyone that I could see. But you are trying to represent an organisation that does shun - it practices shunning, stands by it, and you're trying to minimise it and say that we're much worse. Alice I'm not taking the bait - I just don't want you to think I'm shunning you even though I'm in the world now. So I hope you're having a nice day and keeping up with your personal study and one day we'll meet in a bar and you can tell me how many people you've upset that day - that's if you're not shunning me.

MMXIV

28

Atheists Against Abortion?

by AK - Jeff in

http://objectivewriting.blogspot.com/2007/09/atheist-stand-against-abortion.html.

thoughts that somewhat parallel mine on this subject.

rational thought and rejection of creationism might not automatically place one in a particular stance on every issue, and may result in somewhat odd positions, compared to the stereotypical ones.

MMXIV

Driving away from my hospital 2 days ago there were about 10 people and a vicar quietly campaigning against abortion - their placards read "every heart has a beat". I'm not sure if this was a response to the report out that day about research into foetuses below 24 weeks not feeling pain due to certain connections in their brain not being formed.

So many arguments for and against so each case on it's merits is an interesting theory. Despite education and ease of access to many forms of contraception, the "last resort" of abortion is arrived at way too often. Not that it's an easy option - I doubt many quite know what's involved or wouldn't have taken different actions in the first place if they could.

I don't believe in life above everything else but I won't ever tell anyone else what to think or do.

MMXIV

16

Has being a JW turned you into a doormat?

by highdose in

jw
friends

i confess it has for me.

when people are nasty to me and agressive i tend to freeze and have no idea what to say!.

all those years of being brainwashed into "turn the other cheek" etc etc kick in.

MMXIV

I was brought up an uber-nice doormat more due to my parents. I could never say no to people and boy did my parents and people in the truth exploit that. The JW advice for kids at school is also rubbish and encourages them to be bullied by "making a stand" and then turning their cheek.

You're told what to think, how to act, how not to act, what to do with your life, who you may or may not speak to - in what sense is just being a member of the Borg not like being a doormat?

I always knew I had to toughen myself up. Since leaving I've become much stronger and will stand up for things I believe in. Partly I've become less scared of people.

MMXIV

46

You know your an Apostate when

by pleaseer2001 in

ok jesika and i started this in chat so here it goes,.

you know your an apostate when..........worldy is a word used for your friends.

you now your an apostate when ............your parents call after five years....and say anything new!.

MMXIV

You know you're an Apostate when...

people at work take you out for lunch on your birthday and you feel special
someone wishes you merry christmas and you respond with the same words without a second thought
give blood and wonder if you've saved a grateful person's life
try not to spend time with your JW family because they're a bad influence
wear an England shirt for football (soccer) games, stand up during the national anthem and later swear at the ref
look forward to "new light" for a good laugh

150

Most Ridiculous Thing You've Ever Been Counseled On

by MrFreeze in

i'm sure topics like this have already come up but they tend to get hilarious with the absolute absurdity that goes on in the kh.

i was once counseled for not shaving after two days.

i was also counseled by a sister for eating lucky charms cereal.

MMXIV

That I should wear my school blazer on the platform (it being my only jacket) by un-stitching the school badge and re-sewing it back on after the meeting.

Someone in my KH got counselled on timing for their 5 minute talk finishing 8 seconds early! It figures our meetings never finished early and often ran 10 minutes over.

MMXIV

108

Fight with wife over watching Avatar escalates to near-separation--true story

by sd-7 in

jw
friends

it's true because it happened to me last night.

i knew it was trouble when she started looking at my kindle.

once she got to the short stories i wrote 3 years ago, autobiographical, some of it involving her, i knew i wouldn't be going to bed before 1:00 (it was 11:40 p.m. by then).

MMXIV

she was afraid that the demons might attack her or the baby (especially since the baby can't pray for herself, she said).

bet her weekly bible study was on demons. She is motivated by irrational fear (can't think where that's coming from), is emotionally abusing you as she hasn't lived up to the unreachable standards of her own religion as a result of her own mistakes. It's not your fault - it isn't.

MMXIV

44

Incoming communication from Borg elder

by sd-7 in

jw
friends

i guess it's about time to post on what happened over the weekend.

i was telling my old pal jamiebowers about it and she thought it was hilarious.

thought i might retell the tale on a thread of its own.. so, i dropped my wife off at the kh for her cult recruitment activities.

MMXIV

Jamie,

thanks for the insight about how SD-7 comes across outside of cyber-world. Easy to analyse every sentence but miss the tone had they been spoken.

SD-7, your mails seem far less dark than previously, despite having such kindly elders doing their best to stir everything up again. Ambushed is the right word and putting down the phone to such a destructive idiot is probably the best retort. Don't let the thought police have an ounce of control. As ever am always interested in what you have to say.

MMXIV

55

JW replies on my Shunning article

by besty in

i have a google article on shunning -.

http://knol.google.com/k/why-jehovah-s-witnesses-practice-religious-shunning#.

its had almost 15,000 page views :-).

MMXIV

great article, great response & great link - I'm still totally naive to most of the facts on JW history (not unlike all dubs) and the wiki on Charles Taze spanks of opportunist rather than God-directed. Keep up the good work

MMXIV

10

World Cup 2010 - I cant wait!

by lepermessiah in

jw
friends

i am so excited for this weekend...... any predictions on winners, players to watch, etc?.

the usa/england match will be interesting.. the media in the states is trying to rile up people by showing the liverpool fans who burned the us flag.. http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/worldcup/story/american-flag-burning-by-liverpool-fans-should-incense-yanks.

frankly, from what i can tell, american ownership has been a bad thing in the premiership.

MMXIV

Been saying goodbye to several fans I work with who are catching flights down to SA. Went to Germany in 2006 which was fantastic.

C'mon England!

MMXIV

19

What happens when a elderly dub is put into a care home?

by highdose in

speaking from my experiance i have seen no less than 10 elderly jw's put into old age care homes and promptly forgotten about!.

no visits from their "loving shepards" no vists from their spritual family.

they were left to rot out of sight out of mind.

MMXIV

It depends how far out of the territory the care home is. Like most who leave the territory - out of site out of mind.

The elderly were well looked after in my KH although often not by their own family who were JW's in our KH! One elderly sister didn't want to be put into a care home but it was decided by the elders and within a few weeks she'd died (or rather lost the will to live). I'm not blaming the elders because it was a tough decision, but with hindsight the wrong one.

MMXIV