Posts by man in black

38

Who Was Your Favorite Speaker?

by minimus in

jw
friends

no brag, just fact---i was the most requested speaker in my hall(s), i was often requested to give talks in kh's all over the place, not just in my area.. i personally enjoyed speakers who taught you something, not merely recited something.

we had a district overseer, paul illingsworth, i loved his style.

he delved into bible words of the original greek and hebrew.

man in black

Paul Illingsworth

Wow, after thirty years as a jw, this man was the absolute best speaker I ever heard !

he was our CO back in the late 70's and I always made the meetings when he would be speaking.

5

Mary..or anyone...looking for that old picture...

by crazyblondeb in

jw
friends

from the christmas at bethel many years ago..... my sis wants to see it!.

thanks!.

man in black

here is the church :

and the steeple:

open the doors,,, and see all, the people:

(here is the website that these pictures came from) :

http://www.watchthetower.com/

31

I'm starting to develop a real hatred toward this religion

by man in black in

jw
friends

this past week i flew out of town to attend a seminar for work, then afterwards i drove 150 miles extra to go and visit my dad.. two years ago my mom died, and the lack of concern/caring from the so-called "friends" from two different states was a major reason why i walked away from the jw religion.. anyway, my dad is depressed and his local hall has him doing more fs, and attending the meetings,,, ok so that could be a good thing for him.. but i noticed that service and meeting attendance is the only thing that they are pushing on him.

nobody seems to check up on him, he just jumped at the chance to go out to eat with me.

and the negativity !!!

man in black

This past week I flew out of town to attend a seminar for work, then afterwards I drove 150 miles extra to go and visit my Dad.

Two years ago my Mom died, and the lack of concern/caring from the so-called "friends" from two different states was a major reason why I walked away from the jw religion.

Anyway, my Dad is depressed and his local hall has him doing more FS, and attending the meetings,,, OK so that could be a good thing for him.

But I noticed that service and meeting attendance is the ONLY thing that they are pushing on him. Nobody seems to check up on him, he just jumped at the chance to go out to eat with me.

And the negativity !!! OMG !!! Obama ? well he is going to usher in the tribulation because of his actions. The economy ?? why bother saving any money because it will be worthless soon anyway. "Did you see prince Charles and his wife get attacked in their car last week ? Well THAT is an indicator of the coming tribulation and this uncaring attitude will no doubt come over into this country soon .

Every single subject was slanted toward the negative, with the "new order" being the total solution.

He is 71, lives three states away, and is selling everything that belongs to my Mom and him, his answer "I don't need this stuff anymore, besides the tribulation will be here soon anyway". After several hours I started to try changing the subject, but he was not interested in any positive news.

He has no desire to come up and visit the family, and his future plans are very abstract, " I'm going to sell the house, but I have no idea where I will be going, hopefully the end will be here by then".

I mentioned to him before I left that I would come back down with my grown sons and stain the outside, and paint the inside of his house to make it look better, and hopefully make him feel more involved with the house and family.

His answer to me ,,, "well no thanks, the friends will help me out doing this job". That comment really bothered me.

Friends I felt like asking him, where were these "friends" when Mom was sick and in the hospital / nursing home for over a year ? Where were they when she died ? How many of these friends are actually helping you mentally and physically today ? I realize that I have to respect his decisions, and path, but the past record of the jw friends actually helping in real life instead of just encouraging him to go out in service really really got me upset.

When I got back to the airport, I saw two witnesses doing street work,, I felt like going up to them and point blank ask questions about the new generation, and how long do you plan on talking about this new order,, another 100 years. Boy was I frosted !

But I thought this problem of mine is no business of theirs.

I have read many comments on this site regarding ex-jw's having to deal with older parent / relatives who are still active members, thank you very much for your stories,,,,, they really make me see how mind-numbing this religion can be.

But now that I have to actually deal with it firsthand, it is really a frustrating thing !

19

Children of adult ex-jw's

by man in black in

my wife and i were both jw's for the past 28 years.

we left two years ago, we wrote our da letters and split.. my wife felt very contained, there was no room to grow.

i started to fade slowly, but when my mom died, i saw the complete lack of love from the brothers and that sealed the deal for me.. we have two sons, 22 and 26, who we raised as witnesses, not the die hard type, just try and do your best.

man in black

My wife and I were both jw's for the past 28 years. We left two years ago, we wrote our DA letters and split.

My wife felt very contained, there was no room to grow. I started to fade slowly, but when my Mom died, I saw the complete lack of love from the brothers and that sealed the deal for me.

We have two sons, 22 and 26, who we raised as witnesses, not the die hard type, just try and do your best. They no longer have anything to do with this religion, in fact they were so relieved when we left !

Well, recently I have noticed with the older son, he has a deep seated anger towards anything related to religion, its almost like he has to make a superior effort to prove to himself, and anyone that he talks to that all religion is foolish. Everything pertaining to spirituality is a joke.

The younger one has become very inquisitive about religion and spiritual things, he has a girlfriend who was kicked out of her home, and basically DF'ed by her "evangelical / saved" parents. They tell her that because my son is not a believer, that he will burn in hell. So because of his witness upbringing, he can really identify with her situation. He goes to various churches on and off, in fact because he is a drummer, a local church asked him to play in their Christmas concert this weekend.

We spent So many years, and effort doing what I/we thought was right, only to find out that our true religion as jw's was nothing of the sort. All that time spent teaching- grooming-raising these boys and now they are so very different in their beliefs about God, but they both agree that life as a jw was very mind numbing, and as adults they would never even think about returning to that religion.

How do others who left, deal with their children, or how do the kids deal with you ?

8

drunkeness and jw's

by man in black in

jw
friends

this afternoon i was just trolling the internet, and i went onto the official jw website just to look around.. well, some of the pictures / articles were quite amazing in their sheer ignorance of facts.. one of the most amazing ones for me, (it actually made me laugh out loud while shaking my head in disbelief) is titled: .

have you ever wondered .

.how should a christian view drunkenness?.

man in black

This afternoon I was just trolling the internet, and I went onto the official jw website just to look around.

Well, some of the pictures / articles were quite amazing in their sheer ignorance of facts.

One of the most amazing ones for me, (it actually made me laugh out loud while shaking my head in disbelief) is titled:

Have you ever wondered . . .

How should a Christian view drunkenness?

How should you feel about things that God says are bad?

(1) What kinds of sexual conduct are wrong?

(2) How should a Christian view lying?

(3) gambling? stealing? violence?

(4) spiritism?

(5) drunkenness?

(6) How can a person break free from bad practices?

When I was a witness ( for 30 years) drinking was the greatest highlight of any social activity outside of the kh. In fact in my old hall, several of the elders had a group that met once a month at a local liquor store, where they sampled different wines/beer/ etc. and usually bought a large supply for themselves. Get togethers ? everyone should drink, drink, drink .

While my parents were studying the bible back in the mid 70's with the PO, his three sons introduced me to the habit of drinking heavily.

They-I were in our late teens,,,, so we were underage on top of it !

So, from what I have seen JWs look at drinking / drunkeness as a two edged sword. Yet if a person disagrees with their religious policy, they can be quickly removed via DFing

They can overindulge with alcohol, but keep it quiet ! It is even a disfellowshipping offense, see the note below :

Following is the vast list of offences the Watchtower has created for which a Jehovah?s Witness can be disfellowshipped or disassociated.

Taken from, http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/disfellowship-shunning.php#reasons

Adultery (sexual intercourse with a person other than your marriage mate), includes;
- abandoning wife and eloping with another woman - w79 11/15 31-2, w76 p.728
- planned adultery to break Scriptural marriage ties - w83 3/15 p.29
- remarriage without Scriptural permission - w56 10/1 p.597
- polygamy - jv 176
- dating a person not legally divorced - ks91-E p.135
Apostasy - w83 4/1 pp.22-4, km 8/80 pp.1, 4. includes;
- rebellion against Jehovah?s organization - w63 7/1
- promoting sects - it-2 886
Associating with disfellowshipped people including;
- friends - ks91-E p.103, w81 9/15 pp.25-6, w55 10/1 p.607
- family - ks91-E p.103
Blood and blood transfusions - w61 1/15 ks91-E p.95, jv p.183-4
Drug use - ks91-E p.96
Drunkenness - ks91-E p.95, it-1 656
Dishonest business practices - w63 7/1, w86 11/15 14
Employment violating Christian principles - km 9/76 p.6, km 2/74
False worship. Includes;
- attending another church ks91-E p.94
- following mourning customs that involve false worship - w85 4/15 p.25
Fornication it-1 863
- bestiality - w83 6/1 p.25
- incestuous marriage - w78 3/15 p.26
- artificial insemination and surrogate motherhood.
  - "True Christians, therefore, avoid surrogate motherhood as well as any procedures that involve the use of donated sperm, eggs, or embryos" g04 9/22;?
  - "Artificial insemination of a married woman by a donor other than her husband makes her guilty of adultery" g74 8/8 p.28
- sexual abuse of children - g93 10/8 p.10Reviling - ks91-E p.94, w96 7/15 pp.17-18; it-1 p.991; it-2 p.802
Fraud - ks91-E p.94, om pp.142-3
Gambling or related employment - w80 9/1, ks91-E p.136
Gluttony - w86 5/1
Greediness, this in used to include;
- gambling ks91-E p.95
- extortion ks91-E p.95, w89 1/15 22, it-1 p.789
- greed in relation to bride-price: w98 9/15 p.25
Homosexuality - w83 6/1 pp.24-6
Idolatry - w52 3/1 p.138
Loose conduct - ks91-E pp.93, 96, w83 3/15 p.31, w73 9/15 p.574, it-2 p.264, ks91-E p.93, w83 3/15 p.31, w73 9/15 pp.574-6, w97 9/1 p.14, it-2 p.246.
This includes;
- Sexual perversion
- Disregard for Jehovah's moral standards
- Disrespect, disregard or even contempt for standards, laws and authority,
Lying - ks91-E p.94, g00 2/8 p.21
Non neutral activities (involvement in politics and the military) - ks91-E p.96
Military service and non military service including working casual work (certain civilian work has recently been made a conscience matter w96 5/1 p.20) - ks91-E p.96
Obscene speech - ks91-E p.95
Parents condoning immorality - w56 p.566
Political involvement, including voting or holding a political card in Malawi - ks91-E p.96 John 6:15 Therefore Jesus, knowing they were about to come and seize him to make him king, withdrew again into the mountain all alone. (w99 11/1p.28 made this a conscience matter)
Porneia. ?It includes oral and anal sex or mutual masturbation between persons not married to each other, homosexuality, lesbianism, fornication, adultery, incest, and bestiality.? - ks91-E p.93
Slander - ks91-E p.94, w63 7/1, w89 10/15 p.14, om p.142
Smoking or selling tobacco - km 2/74, ks91-E p.96
Spiritism (includes yoga w02 8/1 p.22) - w55 10/1 p.607
Stealing, thievery - om pp.142-5, ks91-E p.94
Subversive activity - w95 10/1 p.31
Uncleanness
- sexually ?perverse? practices within marriage, such as oral and anal sex - w83 3/15 p.31
- heavy petting and breast fondling - ks91-E p.92
- touching of sexual parts - ks91-E p.91
Violation of secular law if flagrant attitude - w86 10/1 p.31
Violence, extreme physical abuse, fits of anger - ks91-E p.96, w75 p.287, g01 11/8 p.12
- Includes Boxing w81 7/1 pp.30-1, ks91-E p.142
Wilful non support of family, endangerment of mate?s spirituality - w88 11/1 pp.22-3, km 9/73 p.8, ks91-E p.95
Worldly celebrations such as Christmas - ks91-E p.95 (It appears celebrating birthdays is not a reason to be disfellowshipped)

23

When my jw dies should I go to the service at the hall ?

by Hairyhegoat in

jw
friends

i am been shunned by the rest of the jw family, and feel that to make a point when my dad dies my family( ex jw ) will not be going to the service at the kingdom hell.

we need to get our own back on these morons in the family and see how they like been shunned for not going to weddings and receptions in the family sod them all.. .

h.h.g .

man in black

I understand where you are coming from, when my Mom died that was the tipping point for me regarding the jw religion.

She was a witness for 30 years and only 4 people sent a card, nobody called, stopped by, or made any type of effort.

I have thought long and hard about your situation, and I have come up with this :

when he dies, go to the hall and treat everyone you see like a normal person, hopefully that reaction will make the witnesses realize that

you have risen above their petty shunning policy. They only have power if you give it to them, by ignoring their crazy beliefs you actually knock them off balance.

Or you could just go along and ignore them, and perpetuate their shunning policy, witnesses will look at you and say to themselves.

" well hairyhegoat must be ashamed, and our ignoring/shunning belief is actually working"!

This sounds like a really personal decision for you, no doubt when it happens you will make the correct one !

17

How come witnesses can seem to be very friendly to the uninformed worldlies?

by dgp in

jw
friends

i know that jehovah's witnesses are told not to be part of the world and not to have worldly friends.

i know that some witnesses do have friends.

but, what i'm curious about is how a witness could sustain polite and seemingly friendly interaction with worldlies and at the same time feel that these are not people s/he should befriend.

man in black

A picture is worth a thousand words :

fish

18

Video of the Watchtower Study

by Pig in

if you've seen my public talk video you might like to watch the watchtower video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keidzmxhliy.

can someone embedd please i dunno how?.

man in black

great video.

But I developed a headache after watching it, way too accurate .

How did I sit through this stuff for 30 years ???

17

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses Feel Like They Have To Label You?

by Pitchess Co-Gen in

ok here's a little story on my background i was baptized in 2003, and i was a model witness for 2003-2006. then i had sex and was at first put private reprove (2006) and i made a another boo-boo in 2007 ( public reprove ) .

i was then given a bad name and thats when i started to get ''troubled'' label and a bad name around the circuit.

i labeled as "party boy" and ''sex hound'' ( which i was lol.

man in black

From what I have read and seen this "labeling" behavior of jw's is very much along the line of what the nazi's did to the Jews during WW2.

The higher ranking people in the nazi party created a process for labeling people that they believed were inferior so that the nazi main objectives could be met.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_policy_of_Nazi_Germany

The rank and file party members and general population would now have a so called "justified" method to treat people that the nazi's did not like.

jw's follow this same mindset in labeling people who do not accept their teachings 100%.

This belief can be seen in many governments, today, but the jw's are one of the few religions that fervently believe that they are the only ones that have God's approval.

If you have a problem with that thought you are labeled according to your situation, and generally that is a bad thing.

(I recently took a history class in which we spent a great amount of time on this subject, the simularities really amazed me) .

30

taken from daily text for today

by therevealer in

monday, november 22. youhadnohope.-eph.2:12.. jehovah's witnesses accept medical help and various forms of treatment.

our journal awake!

often contains articles on health matters.

man in black

Interesting observation

I notice now, even though I left this religion two years ago that it is so easy to hang the "negative" label on anything I don't agree with or

like.

Slowly I have been making an effort to look at the positive side of most everything (if possible)

It must be a conditioned response after 30 years as a jw.