Posts by ambersun

13

Reaching the Goal of Baptism ... old enough?

by wannabefree in

the watchtower november 15, 2010, young ones - what will you do with your life?.

page 14, paragraph 12.

... you should get baptized when you are fully aware of what being one of jehovah's witnesses involves and when you are sure that you are ready and willing to take on this responsibility.

ambersun

I was baptised as a naieve 15 year old who had only been studying for a few months along with the rest of my immediate family. How could this have been allowed?! I had no real idea of what I was getting into, I was carried away with the euphoria of it all and the praise and commendations coming from my parents and also my new 'family' of brothers and sisters. OK, I answered all the pre-baptism questions with genuine enthusiasm, I really wanted this to happen and so I was baptised along with my parents.

In retrospect I realise my euphoria over getting baptised was due to the delight of pleasing my parents and the safe feeling of belonging within the congregation. How many other youngsters get baptised for this reason?

I feel that children raised in the organisation would be under even more psychological and emotional pressure to become baptised to please everyone who cares about them, and also for the feeling of safety and belonging within the congregation, mistaking these feelings for a genuine desire to dedicate their lives to serving God as outlined by the WTS.

The GB must be aware this is happening but still encourages children to get baptised before they are fully mature enough to make decisions that are not in danger of being influenced by pressure from their parents or congregations. Merely asking them to answer a few pre-baptism questions to ensure they are ready for baptism is futile as a child cannot be emotionally or psycologically developed enough to know their own minds and hearts at such a tender age.

In my opinion youngsters should be encouraged to wait until they are at least 18 and gained some life experience before taking such a major step which will affect their lives forever.

36

Have You Visited JW Facts?

by leavingwt in

jw
friends

for newer members.

if you haven't already done so, please visit the site and have a look around.

here are a few of my favorite pages, there:.

ambersun

Thanks leavingwt. What a great site!

I have put it on 'favourites' so my sieve-like brain won't forget it's there next time I need to do any research.

25

My Latest to the Editor

by AK - Jeff in

dear editor:.

the letter below is somewhat longer than most you run in your newspaper, i know.

i hope you will run it however, as painting the picture of cults and their insidious control is not something that can be done in a few words.

ambersun

That is excellent Jeff! I do hope the editor prints this, it is wonderfully worded so as not to cause any offence as no specific cult is mentioned, but will hopefully warn people who are currently studying with JWs or have relatives who are doing so. Even if it helps one person to see the danger signs before getting too involved it will be worth it!

45

How brainwashed were you before you discovered the truth about the "truth"?

by asilentone in

for me, i was 100 percent brainwashed.

.

ambersun

I was 14 when my family started studying so I had already experienced life in the outside world.

It was at my first visit to a KH that I became aware of the shunning rule. I had been brought up to have good manners and it was not in my nature to ignore people so it caused me great distress to be ordered to totally ignore a teenage girl with a tiny baby sitting alone right at the back of the KH. The order came from the girl's own father for goodness sake!! I had to watch that poor girl struggling with her baby throughout the meeting and afterwards, with no help from any of the older women. It was unbearable!!

Although I did become brainwashed to a certain extent, I think my first encounter with the cruel shunning rule helped to put an invisible warning sign in my head which, along with other things, lead me to become concious to the falseness of it all a few years along the line.

It has been slightly harder for Hubby who was practically a born-in (from the age of 2). He doesn't talk about it much, but although he has also left the borg I know he still has problems overcoming the brainwashing as other born-ins have mentioned.

38

Do You Think "Religious" People Are Generally "Nicer" Than Non-Religious Ones?

by minimus in

jw
friends

there are many religious people in this world.

many that i know, are very friendly, accomodating and personable....because they're trying to act "christian".

the same applies to some observant jews that i know.

ambersun

In my experience non religious people tend to be nicer in so far as they are not inclined to judge you and don't think they are a cut above you by being closer to God. However, having said that my best friend is catholic and she is the most unjudgemental person I know who doesn't care that I'm not a catholic and I can trust her implicitly, but that is just her personality. I think she would be the same whether she was religious or not.

62

Your favorite JW'isms...."Brother leave it in Jehovah's hands" Post yours.

by UnConfused in

bring back the memories.

ambersun

The end is soooooooooo close

I heard so-and-so has fallen away (I always imagine them tumbling down a steep ravine)

That brother/sister is bad association as they are spiritually weak (translates as a great personality and loads of fun to share a bottle with )

That brother/sister is good association as they are spiritually strong (translates as a boring geek who manages to include "The Truth" in nearly every sentense and will report you to the elders without a moment's hesitation when you have one G&T too many and tell a slightly risque joke

When granny is resurrected she will be looking for YOU

62

Your favorite JW'isms...."Brother leave it in Jehovah's hands" Post yours.

by UnConfused in

bring back the memories.

ambersun

The end is soooooooooooooo close!!!!!

That brother/sister is spiritually weak and bad association - translates as great personality and loads of fun

That brother/sister is spiritually strong and therefore good association - translates as a boring robotic @*sed geek who will report you to the elders without a seconds thought if you have one drink too many and crack a slightly racey joke

I heard that so-and-so has fallen away (I always imagine them tubling down a steep cliff face)

Worldly people (as opposed to space aliens?)

When your Mom/Dad/Granny is resurrected they will be looking for YOU

20

It's My Birthday

by finallysomepride in

51 years old, born into the lies, been out of the jws for almost 8 years, but still never had a birthday party (birthday virgin) lol.

24th july is the day, anyways i was born in new zealand & as they have just entered the 24th i guess it's now my birthday.. where the hell have the years gone especially the last 10?.

finallysomepride.

ambersun

Happy Birthday Finallysomepride.

Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

40

If The Watchtower Ruled the World...

by brotherdan in

jw
friends

during my "intervention" the other night, an interesting thing was brought up that i remember hearing all through my life.

i think even the wt has commented on it a time or two.. the girl i was talking to said, "can you just imagine what this world would be like if it was run by jehovah's witnesses?!?

" she was saying this so as to prove her point that jehovah's witnesses have love and would never go to war nor break the law.

ambersun

The rank and file need to get those ridiculous images of beautiful smiling people skipping over meadows carrying baskets of fruit and stopping to cuddle the odd passing lion or tiger out of their cloud filled heads.

The Governing Body would kill apostates, assigning members of one's own family to participate in the killings. Apostasy would be defined by their convenience and could go as far as the slightest infraction of their rules- talking during a speech designed to re-indoctrinate the mind-control, failure to get a stain out of the carpet, women speaking out in the slightest.

That last bit fills me with horror. Speaking as a woman, can you imagine a woman with a brilliant mind (not me unfortunately I'm as thick as two short planks ) living forever and never being allowed to speak her mind, having to live in constant subjection to men? I'm not a feminist but I strongly believe in equality between the sexes and people being allowed to fulfill their potential as an individual based on ability rather than how their genitalia has been arranged, which would never happen in a world governed by the WTS.

Let any sister question her position in the tyranical male rule of the WTS and see what happens to her if the present law of the land as we know it no longer applies.

I know first hand of one sister with a brilliant brain who had a 1st in English and who would have made an excellent public speaker given half the chance, who wrote her Elder husband's talks for him on a regular basis when he was alive. He was always commended for his talks but not many people knew the truth as Mrs Elder remained quietly in the background like the dutiful wife she was, but I feel she must have been at least slightly frustrated at having to live this way at times (I actually think Mr Elder would have been happy for Mrs Elder to give the talks if it was allowed, to be quite honest lol).

Could sisters keep up the appearance of meek subjection for ever? All their brilliant ideas and solutions to everyday problems having to be kept to themselves or conveyed through their superior husbands for eternity? I somehow doubt it. Some of them would inevitably crack and start to show signs of independent thought, then they would see the true colours of the GB. JWs need to wake up to reality!!

16

Would you Agree with this?

by KW13 in

jw
friends

it occured to me that when the new, young elders, ministerial servants and so on take over, they are further and further away from the origin of the witnesses.

when the lies were fresh in the minds of all, when people saw first hand what was done wrong, giving them the reasons to jump ship and enjoy life, without fear of making a mistake, because they had a good idea of the facts.

these things have since been brushed under the carpet and the circuit overseers, elders, ministerial servants and so on are more naive and clueless (in my opinion) than ever.. the same applies to the rank and file witnesses.

ambersun

I have just read those comments on the News Article and I am frankly appalled. I seriously hope the comments of one person in particular are a wind-up

I totally agree with your comments KW13 and I wonder what CTR would think about it all if he came back tomorrow. He is probably spinning in his pyramid as we speak