Posts by Crisis of Conscience

55

WT article on ''never have we said Jehovah has said"

by Aussie Oz in

been going nuts looking for this.. i am sure i have read, and probably saved, a quote by them about not being false prophets but i am buggered if i can find it anywhere in search, google or my own pc.. can you help?.

i think its 2009 but not sure, where they have the line 'never have we said ''jehovah has said'' when ...'.

a link or pdf or scan or cut n paste, etc would be great!.

Crisis of Conscience

I am also marking this for future reference. Thanks everyone!!

CoC

13

Quotes from 2010 Watchtower publications

by wannabefree in

this magazine has long been used by "the faithful and discreet slave" as the primary channel for dispensing increased light.

(matt.

24:45) for example, consider our understanding of those who make up "this generation" mentioned by jesus.

Crisis of Conscience

Thank you for this list. It will come in handy for the future, I'm sure.

Yet somehow, after reading these "encouraging" quotes, produced "lovingly" by the FDS, I'm PISSED.

I HATE, HATE, HATE this religion, and all other religion!

It's all about mind control! Obviously!!

CoC

31

At Bethel it was at times ordered that you MISS the meetings due to a hot job

by life is to short in

the poster ex dub ms reminded me of something i had forgotten.

at bethel especially in construction if there was a hot job going on or a deadline you missed meetings peroid!

no questions asked.. now if a rank and file husband who was working a low wage job to support his family or a single mom had to miss meetings due to a hot job at work what would happen to them?.

Crisis of Conscience

@ factfinder - I'd rather not post the brothers name as it would probably give to much info which could reveal my identity. Sorry.

But I can say that at the time the brother was in his early 20's. He was not married.

I served at Patterson and I actually left because I got engaged to my wife. I didn't have plans to be married and stay at Bethel at the time.

CoC

31

At Bethel it was at times ordered that you MISS the meetings due to a hot job

by life is to short in

the poster ex dub ms reminded me of something i had forgotten.

at bethel especially in construction if there was a hot job going on or a deadline you missed meetings peroid!

no questions asked.. now if a rank and file husband who was working a low wage job to support his family or a single mom had to miss meetings due to a hot job at work what would happen to them?.

Crisis of Conscience

@ factfinder - I served in Bethel in the past. And while not once do I remember being encouraged to miss meetings, as a "new boy", I was told that Bethel came first.

I do even remember getting "counseled"(TM) about me going to an onsite bookstudy at Bethel rather than supporting my hall's arrangement. I was told to support my congregation.

However, there was a Bethel brother in my hall that was involved in a video project for a few months. He wasn't seen for at least a month at a time causing others to ask me if he had left Bethel. He was working about 18 hours a day for this project. He was definitely overworked.

He was a ministerial servant in the hall, and obviously would have missed being involved in field service because of this. Yet he was NEVER disqualified.

After I left Bethel I asked elders at my hall about that. 'If you are encouraged at Bethel to support your congregation, why does that go out the window when a big Bethel project comes up?' Naturally, no answer, or rather, no really good answer. 'That's the arrangement of the slave.'

The same actually applies to those with positions in the Regional Building Committee, or RBC, and I believe those involved in International Construction. Those projects come FIRST, even if you miss meetings and/or field service. I've overheard elders talk about how they've gotten little, if any, field service time because of being involved in all this. And for months at a time! Yet no disqualifications.

Double standard at its very best! And I witnessed (no pun intended) it firsthand in God's house. Gotta love it!!

CoC

25

I can't really seek professional help. Any self-help suggestions for depression?

by easyreader1970 in

jw
friends

i really don't have the time or the finances for a professional psychiatrist.

i know i am depressed and i know why.

the problem, as i have said before in one or two other threads, is that the solution won't really change my depression and may, in fact, make it worse.. so i am resigned to being depressed but would like to know if there are some coping techniques or other suggestions.

Crisis of Conscience

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/195653/1/Therapist-Visit-part-2

I thought that what man in black wrote in the above post could be helpful in understanding the benefits and importance of a therapist.

28

Girls - what subject got you thinking?

by wannabefree in

jw
friends

reading the post "how long did it take you to leave", i can't help but be envious of those of you who refer to leaving as a "we" event.. i know it has been said that women tend to react to feelings/emotions along with logic, can you help me with ideas that got you to feel something was wrong?

what should i work on planting with my wife?.

thanks..

Crisis of Conscience

I encourage married JW men, especially, to read the post by 10p, which is the third post up from this one. Very insightful and helpful, if you also have a wife who is a JW.

25

I can't really seek professional help. Any self-help suggestions for depression?

by easyreader1970 in

jw
friends

i really don't have the time or the finances for a professional psychiatrist.

i know i am depressed and i know why.

the problem, as i have said before in one or two other threads, is that the solution won't really change my depression and may, in fact, make it worse.. so i am resigned to being depressed but would like to know if there are some coping techniques or other suggestions.

Crisis of Conscience

I'm not picking on your position or trying to bring you down, as I don't know all the details. But do you have health benefits through your job and if so, what do they cover? It costs me $15 per visit for a co-pay and actually the first 5 visits are free per incident.

miseryloveselders is correct. You don't need a therapist to tell you you are depressed. But I am a firm believer in their help. They are able to assist you in seeing things from a different perspective as well as help you to find some deep rooted causes that you may not be aware of or accept, but in reality are contributing to your depression.

I can side with you on the financial side for the most part. But are there perhaps somethings you can stop spending money on in the meanwhile? And even as far as time, along the same lines?

If it is going to help you, be proactive. FIND/MAKE THE TIME/ADJUSTMENTS! It is for YOUR benefit and sanity.

I wish you the best.

CoC

65

Things in the past that show you that your doubts started earlier than you thought

by sabastious in

i was just talking to my wife this morning about underlining or highlighting the wt paragraphs.. when i was 13 years old i would fight with my dad because i refused to highlight the answers.. the reason was because i wanted my comment to be genuine.

i felt that highlighting the "answer" made me lean on just using that as a crutch and not truly putting it in my own words.. i still hold that argument now, and i am 26. the only reason you would ever have to highlight something in a study book would be if you needed to remember it, maybe it is fairly complicated or subtle information that could be easily forgotten.. so many times in the wt the "question" has the same phrase that's in the paragraph!

it's literally like playing connect the dots.. so what i would do is not highlight during the family study.

Crisis of Conscience

I agree Thor. Reading people's experiences here often reminds me of things I heard and perhaps wondered about but quickly dismissed. And then there were others that clearly had no effect on me until now.

Now I think, how the heck did I miss all that? Good 'ole mental training!!

10

Why do many of us spend so many years defending a God we MAY never meet?

by Crisis of Conscience in

as a jw still in, i have been thinking about this.

(and i ask the question in the spirit of "millions now living will/may never die!

") lol.

Crisis of Conscience

I'm definitely not ready to write off the existence of God or a God. Either way, existence or non-existence of one or more, can be attempted to be proved or explained and still leave a person with questions/doubts. As creative as we humans are with our abilities, I feel (I know that is emotion talking) there must be something greater out there.

But I'm right there with LongHairGal in saying that I would never want to get involved with another religion. I'm still a somewhat active JW but I realize that like them, no one else has all the answers. So why bother joining elsewhere? Religion IMO is a joke.

CoC

65

Things in the past that show you that your doubts started earlier than you thought

by sabastious in

i was just talking to my wife this morning about underlining or highlighting the wt paragraphs.. when i was 13 years old i would fight with my dad because i refused to highlight the answers.. the reason was because i wanted my comment to be genuine.

i felt that highlighting the "answer" made me lean on just using that as a crutch and not truly putting it in my own words.. i still hold that argument now, and i am 26. the only reason you would ever have to highlight something in a study book would be if you needed to remember it, maybe it is fairly complicated or subtle information that could be easily forgotten.. so many times in the wt the "question" has the same phrase that's in the paragraph!

it's literally like playing connect the dots.. so what i would do is not highlight during the family study.

Crisis of Conscience

BTTT