Posts by ana

27

How honest should I be with a JW on Facebook?

by Quillsky in

jw
friends

so this woman that i grew up with has sent me a friend request on facebook.

we've done a bit of back and forth "how are you" chat but i haven't accepted her request.. i can see she is still a jw because she belongs to some no-blood facebook group.. i do not want to be her friend on facebook.

i consider witnesses to be bad association and i severely limit the number of jw's i have on my facebook - only close family and people that i share close history with.. so what should i say to this woman?

ana_dote

I did the same thing as cantleave...

chances are, if she's a "good" witness....simply telling her that you are "no longer a witness" (without any explanation, as that is neither necessary nor her business....altho I guess i'm just assuming you were a JW, I could be wrong since I don't know you) should put her off from even WANTING to friend you....at which point, you can ignore her friend request and the situation SHOULD fade/drop. If she persists in wanting to be friends despite this, then I would perhaps suggest saying something along the lines of what was already mentioned...that you usually just keep very close friends and limited contacts on your page and that you mean no offense, but since you two aren't close anymore you'd prefer not to add her. You could also mention not wanting to offend her if you felt like being uber nice.....catering to her "conscience".

Just my two cents :-) I like to keep peace and make things as smooth appearing as possible so that people can see that non-jw's aren't mean, evil people like they're made out to be. Plus, if you "kill them with kindness" they would feel less inclined to speak nasty of you to others....HA! who knows, maybe because of your kindess they'll be "won without a word" HAHAHAHAHA!

42

Turning in time?

by crazy2try in

jw
friends

i have a problem.

my hubby and i are tying to fade out completely, but we ran into a snag.

my in-laws showed up with a stack of time slips and said that they will turn them in for us if we fill them out.

ana_dote

Teel and blondie both had good suggestions. I have been "inactive" at different points throughout the last 8 years and honestly, the elders never hounded me too much about time reports. I might get the RARE call from an elder just trying to make sure he gets his quota of turned in slips, but as with those suggestions, I would just say I didn't have any time for the month. Usually, they would just say "ok" and leave me alone. LOL I guess it depends on how aggressive your congregation/family are about it. I've always been looked over in the congregations, so it was never more than the occassional call every couple months tops.

I think the MOST retarded thing that happened to me is when I had moved in with my parents for a while, thus switching congregations (including having my publisher card transferred), and every month or so (or purely on the visit of the C.O.) an elder from my OLD congregation would call to "encourage" me to come to meetings....as tho I had simply just stopped going. THAT was dumb. The last time it happened, the stupid elder had the nerve to actually PUT ME ON THE PHONE WITH THE C.O. Even AFTER I had reminded him that I was living with my parents (both active witnesses) AND attending a new hall AND already had my card transferred for months already. He just ignored what I said and put the CO on the phone, who also tried to encourage me to come to THEIR meeting. What made it even more stupid is that my parents' congregation was having the CO the following week (we were in a different circuit)...and when I told the CO on the phone that, not only did he STILL try to get me to commit to coming to HIS "special sunday talk", but he also asked WHO the CO was in my new congregation, as though I were lying or something!!! Fortunately I DID remember the CO's name (he was a new one) and he actually knew and had worked with this person in the past. But when all was said and done, he still was trying to get me to come to their meetings. WASN'T IT ENOUGH that I was attending (at the time) WITH my family???? Apparently they were just concerned with owning me as a publisher, even though their records no longer had me as being THERE.

Wow...sorry, I guess I got off on a tangent there LOL

Bottom line, I'd say either a) don't turn any time in at all and just see what happens, as chances are they might not be very aggressive OR b) turn in a time slip with a big fat 0 on it, like a few of us have done on several occassions. Turning in even an empty slip gets them off your back about "reporting" because you DID turn something in. But depending on the aggressiveness of your body of elders, you can possibly just get away with doing nothing, like I did.

:-)

56

Is Rock music satanic?

by Weeping in

jw
friends

in the following statements, rock musicians testify of an outside power that has taken over them while writing and performing rock music.

some of them have actually identified this power as demonic: .

in smash hits magazine, bon jovi says: ".

ana_dote

"I sunk to the point of becoming friends with satan worshipers"....... I'm wondering if your definition of "satan worshipers" is just the average joe that doesn't have much of an interest in "god" or if they actually were proactive in worshipping satan.....because unless they were active LITERAL satanists, that's a pretty harsh statement to make about people.

As a singer/songwriter/musician myself, I have experienced the "flow" of writing that sometimes just comes out of nowhere. I don't think I've ever written a song that took more than a couple hours start to finish, which, if you've ever tried writing a song, is a pretty good time frame. During those time periods I was neither high nor drunk. I was completely focused on the task at hand and couldn't be bothered with interruptions or anythingn else going on around me. And while I would metaphorically agree with something inside me moving me to write these songs, I wholeheartedly disagree with it being related to satan or a demon. It is a very ethereal feeling, yes....but satanic? That's a bit over the top and extremist.

Granted, most of the musicians quoted were either whack jobs, druggies or just plain weirdos....so I'm not saying it's out of the realm of possibility.

But music comes from within the soul of HUMANS. To attribute a specific genre with solely satanic origins is biased, narrow-minded and just plain ignorant. Granted, an individual may have to pick and choose what to listen to depending on their own level of comfort....but again, you cannot just claim an entire genre of music is satanic because of a few crack heads.

7

Paranormal Activity

by XJW4EVR in

i finally saw this movie.

i am a huge chicken when it comes to movies dealing with the paranormal.

i watched this based on a recommandation, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

ana_dote

I thought it was both interesting yet freaky lol

Another movie that I thought was interesting and freaky (which was a surprise, because I wasn't expecting it to be like that) was The Fourth Kind....that one was pretty insane and good as well.

24

What are the most piercing questions I can ask?

by paul from cleveland in

jw
friends

my sister is getting baptized soon.

she's still talking to me but i'm sure it won't be for much longer.

i've already asked her the following questions:.

ana_dote

Something that I've personally been wondering:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that same pyramid grave marker also have the inscription "wathctower bible and tract society" on it or something? (that's awesome that you've seen it yourself...I think it would be fascinating to see it as well)

My "question", then, is: If the "society" is so concerned with keeping all vestiges of falsehood and doubt out of their current teachings, why have they allowed their very organizations' title to be connected with pyramidology, free-masonry and thus "pagan" beliefs? If they no longer want you reading the early books of either Russel or even the WTBTS itself, creating the common yet unspoken belief among JW's that such publications should now be considered "apostate" and avoided at all costs, then why did they never change the name of their society? If the religion is not a man-made BUSINESS, as they would so adamantly refute, why did they continue to hold on to their business title from that time period?

That may or may not be helpful toward your goal, but it's definitely a huge question that was raised in my mind when I found out about the pyramid grave marker.

29

Being raised as a witness did you ever get the chance to choose your own personal religion?

by make yourself in

with me it never actually was the case.all i remember and still hear is make sure you stay with jehovah....sometimes you just get tired of the same terd getting shoved down your throat..

ana_dote

Anyone raised a witness knows what we all know: there was never a "choice", regardless of any fake encouragement to look into the "deeper things of God". The only reason I ever got baptized is because they were really pushing and soliciting for the pioneer work and kept asking "what's holding you back??" My reaction was that the only thing holding me back was baptism. I never even actually "studied" anything prior to baptism. I didn't even do the supposed "dedication" prayer thingy until after I was baptised because I didn't even realize that was something you were supposed to do. My father was an MS and yet we never did family studies. I feel like my whole baptism was out of sheer desperation for acceptance and the "glory" that came from having the title of being a pioneer. I was a nothing if I wasn't out in service, so I sought acceptance through that.

If I felt then the way I feel now....or heck, even the way I've felt the last few YEARS....I know I would not have been so hasty about getting baptised.

Anyone inside the organization simply ASSUMES you will conform to the belief that it is the "truth" and push that belief with all the force they can muster. There is no choice. There is simply coersion.

I never had a choice. And if I had ever realized that there WAS a choice and chose to look into it, I'm sure that I would have been shunned and ostracized for my curiosity and pummeled once again into acceptance of the WTBTS way of thinking.

8

untitled

by skywho in

when everything was new and i was a child there was a feeling of relief knowing that i was born in to the truth and i was so thankful for that.

i was thankful to my mom for being strong and raising us to have such strong faith.

i was thankful to my father for.... making my childhood horrible, there for making it so everyday we had to really rely on jehovah to make it threw, that in turn build my faith stronger.

ana_dote

I'm glad you guys told me.

And don't ever forget that I'm always going to be there for both of you, regardless of how your families treat you. I have a fear that my family will at some point turn on me like yours are.

It's a cheesy saying, but it's too true: "friends are the family that we choose". You guys are my family now. And I wouldn't change that for anything.

*hug*

21

Atheist: What words of comfort do you give when you find out someone is terminally ill?

by cyberjesus in

jw
friends

i found out someone i know is terminally ill. before i would put my jw hat and give them comfort from the bible and the hope of resurrection.

but now that i dont believe in paradise nor in heaven what do you say to someone who is terminally ill and still has some religious beliefs?.

ana_dote

It has already been mentioned, but bears repeating, that the simple FACT of the matter is that NOBODY knows what happens when we die. So I think out of a kind heart and a desire to bring comfort, perhaps play on that angle of the unknown hope. Whether it may or may not be truth, there is no actual harm in HOPING or believing that there is something better after we die (even if that "better" place is peaceful nonexistant sleep).

The most anyone can really do in the face of someone who is dying is to be as good a friend as possible to them. Make sure you show how much you care about them while there is still time and try to do whatever you can to give them as many good moments as possible. Support them in their own beliefs, even if you don't agree with them, as this is something that reaches to the core of a person and can help ease many pains and fears.

Put yourself in their shoes and try to imagine how you would want people to treat you.

And if they are so bold as to ask you what's going to happen to them when they die, give them the only honest answer you can give: "I don't know"....but don't leave it at that, thus causing the potential for fear. Rather, perhaps add to that: "but it has to be better than what's happening now".

Just my humble input. :-)

13

The new song book

by bobld in

i know it's has been mentioned before but my 2$ worth.iam sure if they (j.w.

) had listen to the music and song without knowing who published the new song book.they would say "this song book is awful with no end of criticism.

"also over 90% would agree and would not bat and eye.. knowing that the wbts published this (garbage) song book over 90% agree what a great song book.talk of brainwashed people.i can't stand the music, it sounds like some kindergarden kid is taking piano lessons.did they not rehearse.it is awful the the dough heads won't admit it.i say they will do a re-issue,revision 2 next year.. bob.

ana_dote

yeah i managed to get my hands on a new songbook....and my first reaction was anger. I grew up a witness and taught myself piano to those old songs....so regardless of how I feel about the organization now, I always had a fondness for the songbook the way it was. When I discovered that they were changing and adjusting the lyrics to the old songs it PISSED ME OFF. You can't just change one or two words or lines in a song! Have they no artistic integrity??? How offensive that would be to whomever wrote the song in the first place! "oh we're sorry, your song no longer applies to our brainwashing methods, so we're just gonna tweak it a bit and throw in a few buzz words".....yeah. NICE.

jerks.

38

Am I going to get destroyed by God for buying Girl Scout Cookies?

by greenhornet in

ana_dote

oh no! I guess I'm going to be destroyed too! *cries*

I bought literally like...um...9 boxes of samoas...plus a couple other boxes of different flavors

ana_dote

Posts by ana_dote