Posts by IsaacJ22

8

Is there anyway you can Hypnotize your way out of this S**t!!!

by Star tiger in

hi all, .

with any of the new mind manipulative technologies can any of us forget the terrible experiences of the jehovahs witnesses, and live a normal life and so as to speak carry on as if these horrible times did not exist.. .

star tiger.

IsaacJ22

Supposedly, some smart guy has, in fact, discovered that you can erase your memories. I seriously doubt he can target specific ones. Even if he could, what's to stop you from signing up the first time a JW comes to your door? Without those experiences, you might fall for it all over again. Or join another, similar group, only to relearn the same lessons.

If it's just the past that's bothering you, I prefer to look at it as an education. I'm the person I am, in part, because of them. Take that part away and I wouldn't be me. I'd be closer to the same naive dope I used to be before I joined.

If it's more the present--such as JWs hounding you and judging you, or even just bad feelings--then you're probably better off learning to process that stuff in a healthy way, which means learning to move forward. Some of us have done better at that than others. Maybe the better examples can help you.

57

Has anyone left still believing it was the truth?

by FollowedMyHeart in

it seems that most xjws have left because at one point in their jw life something happened that made them start to think something wasn't right with the religion.

when i left, i still believed the jws had "the truth".

i was dying inside, trapped and unhappy (another poster's words, but describes exactly how i felt).

IsaacJ22

Actually, I was in a similar place when I stopped going to meetings. I was very miserable and very alone. I had been judged at every turn and found inadequate. It wasn't just the local elders--the Society's literature had started printing the same stuff I disagreed with.

This is when I finally realized that the source of my misery was the WTS itself--or at least the slice of it that I know at my KH. I left, still thinking that the Society had (more or less) "the truth." But I was unable to take the Society's attitude and policies any longer. I still believed in their teachings, but I wasn't so sure about them anymore. I needed some time to clear my head, and even prayed that Jehovah help me figure out what to do. I continued avoiding holidays and even forms of entertainment that the Society said we should avoid for quite some time. All the while, I thought I might come back if the Society because less haughty in my view.

Several years passed before these chains began to break. The Witnesses actually pushed me out even faster by harassing me about it instead of leaving me alone to think. The heart of the problem was--is it me, or is it them?

As my doubts in the Society strengthened, so did my doubts about their teachings. I began exploring other viewpoints just as vigorously as I had checked into the Society's, which I found lacking. Then everything fell away, one piece at a time, until I lost all interest in finding another religion altogether.

I'm an atheist now. And much happier.

6

Jun 2011 Awake

by Yan Bibiyan in

new rag's out on here in a handy full-color pdf format.. on pg.29 i find this gem:.

only 8% [of canadian brides-to-be].

think that abstaining from sex before.

IsaacJ22

Sex drive is basic biology at work. We're simply made with a powerful drive to git it on. :-)

Most of us will succumb to this drive if given half a chance, especially when we're in our teens. Which makes it an easy tool for groups like the WTS to hold over us. Where else can a JW go for absolution but their local elders? How else does a religious teenager get forgiveness? In effect, they NEED the Society to forgive them to clear their conscience.

Many groups have been using this one for thousands of years.

38

I'm a new study, need advice.

by Resistance is Futile in

jw
friends

a little background on me, i have never been a jw.

my spouse was born and raised in the cult, disfellowshipped as a young adult and is now completely shunned by family still trapped inside.

before i met my spouse i knew very little about the jws.

IsaacJ22

Resistance, I think I would take it a small piece at a time--at least, in the beginning. I don't know how dedicated she is to the WTS, but if she's "in" all the way, a long conversation will only scare her off. Or rather, scare her away from you and back into the Society's embrace. Remember that her motives are probably complex: she wants to be with her family, not just with the WTS. Don't trick yourself into thinking this will be simple. It might be, but don't count on it.

You could show agreement or understanding in certain areas, then raise concerns in others to her. I would raise these same topics to anyone I was studing with as well as there is likely to be some crosschecking between these folks behind your back at some point. (I've been there.) If you never mention the areas of concern to your study conductor, they'll know you're just a plant to get her out.

Gradually, after 6 months or so, you can begin to pull out after having second thoughts that you've been expressing to her and your conductors for a while. I would focus on the more cult-like qualities of the Society, and point out the differences between the Society and other religions that also see themselves as being Bible based. Hopefully, your bond will help her to take your doubts seriously. I would probably mention the fact that religions who see doubters as evil sound pretty cult-like, too.

Eventually, it will be time to have a real conversation, but only once you've been in it long enough to have an honest, informed opinion. And only after you've planted seeds by pointing out the problems along the way, problems she will also have to think about. Remember, you can't just point out a flaw and expect it to stick. You have to have a conversation with her about the flaws along the way.

Don't nag. Don't push too much or too often. Just give the Society's positives and negatives a fair amount of time and plant seeds. Hopefully, you'll both discover the flaws together and leave together. That's probably the best you can do. Don't lose patience or you could become a bad associate in her mind.

We can, of course, help you with this along the way. :-)

3

Now available from the Literature desk..!

by pubtruth in

pick them right up, watchtower's latest products, and as always, targeted to the right crowd... .

for the regular baptizee and pioneer:.

for new ones and elders:.

IsaacJ22

I like this. Stupid question-why do elders get 1 mW bulbs?

18

Ricky Gervais: Why Im an Atheist

by moshe in

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/12/19/a-holiday-message-from-ricky-gervais-why-im-an-atheist/.

ricky gervais is the writer and star of hbos ricky gervais out of england 2: the stand-up special.

to go to his website click here.. why dont you believe in god?

IsaacJ22

Agonus,

Sometimes, even nonbelievers might talk to people who've died despite their confidence that the dead can't hear. It's an emotional, psychological thing. I haven't seen the Invention of Lying, but I suspect the character Gervais was playing simply felt better for having done it. Or at least he was trying to feel better. Just as believers do.

BTW, Gervais wasn't playing himself in that movie, was he? His character's beliefs may not be his own.

I have to say that I don't fully appreciate the tendency that many religious believers have of searching for hints that nonbelievers secretly believe. It seems a bit snarky, you know? I mean no offense here, but I think some believers try too hard to make connections like these. To us, it often seems a bit desperate or even self serving.

Despite being atheists, we grew up in a culture dominated by believers and do pick up some of their habits. Like saying, "Oh Jesus," as a statement of general discontent. Or talking to a dead loved one in an effort to feel better about their passing. Then someone grins slyly at us for it as if they've found a very satisfying "got ya" moment. This is the sort of thing that makes us roll our eyes in exasperation.

Not every religious habit is done for religious reasons. Sometimes, people try to inject meaning or complexity into things that are actually quite simple. I hope you get where I'm coming from here.

New Light,

I guess I thought there was a video or something at the link. But I see the written version below, thanks. I more or less had the same reaction as Whereami to your comments, though. Maybe you could explain that a bit more?

18

Ricky Gervais: Why Im an Atheist

by moshe in

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/12/19/a-holiday-message-from-ricky-gervais-why-im-an-atheist/.

ricky gervais is the writer and star of hbos ricky gervais out of england 2: the stand-up special.

to go to his website click here.. why dont you believe in god?

IsaacJ22

Neither of the links seem to be working for me at the moment. Darn. Are others still able to access them?

14

Spoof the Watchtower Contest?

by Ding in

we have seen time and again how the gb comes up with a strange doctrine (such as not celebrating birthdays) by citing something in the bible (the beheading of john the baptist) and then claiming that the "connection" makes their teaching "biblical.".

this got me thinking about how easy and fun it might be to create any "bible teaching" by this type of specious reasoning.. i thought it might be fun to have a jwn contest to see who can come up with the most watchtower-sounding rationale for a screwy doctrine of their own creation.. in another thread, i wrote a short satire on how the gb could come up with a "biblical reason" for preventing jws from going bowling by noting that 10 is an important bible number and then saying that knocking down 10 pins symbolizes breaking each of the ten commandments.. if i had wanted to expand that nonsense into a watchtower-style article, i would have gone on to explain the importance of the ten commandments and then spend several paragraphs denouncing all the evils of lawlessness, culminating with paul's warning about the "man of lawlessness" in 2 thessalonians 2:3. at the end of this exercise, i would have readers worked into a frenzy about the evils of bowling.. does anyone doubt that if the wts actually did this, jws would immediately stop bowling and start looking down on worldlies who do it?.

can't you just imagine a watchtower study where jws dutifully answer questions explaining why bowling is so displeasing to god?.

IsaacJ22

Just claim it's part of Jewish tradition or something. No one fact checks the Society's stuff, anyway. Well, except people like us.

It would be even funnier if you came up with something absurd, like his mummified body found with a bowling ball in his tomb. Preferably with the name "Nimrod" etched into the ball by a scribe.

9

Mario Di Maggio critical review of Creation book

by Darkanyons in

hello guys,.

i've trying to search out the critical review of the book life-how did it get here?

by evolution or creation?

IsaacJ22

Or how about this:

http://web.archive.org/web/20080602042613/http://www.dimaggio.org/Heretic/critical.htm

9

Mario Di Maggio critical review of Creation book

by Darkanyons in

hello guys,.

i've trying to search out the critical review of the book life-how did it get here?

by evolution or creation?

IsaacJ22

I was -- once upon a time -- rabidly digging through the Creation Book myself. I even contacted some of the scientists mentioned in it to make sure the info I was finding was true. I actually didn't believe it could be that bad at first. Then I contacted guys like Mario themselves. There used to be several reviews like his available online.

Mario told me that he got his research from this site if it that helps:

http://corior.blogspot.com/

It contains far more information than Mario's site, which was just a summary he'd included in a letter to the Society or local branch office. There's a list of articles and essays there. You'll have to scroll down and look for "The WTS View of Creation and Evolution."

There's a way to search for old web sites on Google and a couple of other services, so you might want to look into that as well.

IsaacJ