Posts by exwhyzee

38

Is shunning scriptural? At all?

by Open mind in

it's obvious that the jw view of shunning goes way beyond anything called for in the bible.

1 cor 5:11-13 says,(nwt) "but now i am writing you to quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.

for what do i have to do with judging those outside?

exwhyzee

Marked

165

Your most DISTURBING WATCHTOWER Bethel/Branch experience? (No full names please)

by Balaamsass in

ok.. you 70 plus bethelite members.... this is your chance to share stories!

inquiring minds want to know !no full names please..follow t.o.s.

to avoid borg libel lawsuits).. i will start the ball rolling with week one.

exwhyzee

It was a hot New York afternoon and I walked in to my room and saw my new room mate (who I hadn't met yet) laying on his bed in only his boxers. From what I could tell, he was having an erotic dream because his "little Bethelite " was out and having a look around and seemed to like what it was seeing. I quietly backed out of the room and shut the door softly. I waited a minute then knocked loudly and waited a tic so he would have a chance to wake up and put things away.

Another time I was at the Bethel pool. (more like a very large hot tub) I was by myself until Bro. Sydlik came and got in the pool as well. (old guy in a bathing suit ewww) I knew him from sitting at the GB table so we sort of just nodded to eachother and didn't say anyting. (awkward) Then the door to the mens changing room opened and a guy walked out stark naked. He looked completly exhausted as if he was sleep walking. He climbed in the water but as he lowered himself into the water he suddenly realized he didn't have anything on. He quickly went back in the changing room and Bro. Sydlik followed him. I could hear Sydlik giving him a lecture in a raised tone. Sydlik came back but the other guy never returned. I didn't know where to look or what to say (even more awkward)

One evening at dinner time a guy suddenly burst through the double swinging doors into the dining room swinging his arms and bookbag in the air shouting " I'M GOING OUT IN SERVICE IN HARLEM....ANYONE WHO WANTS TO GO WITH ME...COME ON !!" A couple of brothers grabbed him under the arms and dragged him kicking and screaming out of there backwards....he was never seen again. By the time I had been there a few weeks, the Bethel laundry had shrunk all of my clothes and underear. (hot water and industrial dryers) I replaced what I could afford to replace and was determined this wouldn't happen again. I started doing my own laundry in the regular washing machine and dryer they had in the basement. I had my stuff on washing and was sitting there reading and waiting when a middle aged "sister" came in to the laundry room with her basket of clothes and was pissed that the machine was in use. She opened up the washer and just took my soapy wet stuff out an threw it in a laundry cart and put her things in the machine. I protested, but I was a lowly "newboy" so she completly ignored me as if I wasn't there. Being new and young, I didn't know if she was the wife of somebody important and I didn't want to make waves....boy I'd love to have that happen now !

10

What initial did make you have doubts about the "truth"? Was it apostasy?

by Joey Jo-Jo in

this question is different from what made you leave.. as for me, i wanted to take one step further, to be more involved in the organization, but i had some very old small doubts, about other religions, so i started my liberal study on religion, i read books from other churchs to reffute them, but in fact created more doubts about the org..

exwhyzee

At a time when our family was very vulnerable, a very close Witness friend who I've known since my teens and is like the big Sister I never had, sent me an email with an attachment of the article about Rutherford's San Diego mansion and how he built it for the returning patriarchs. She thought it was so interesting and wonderfully historic and was sending it to all her contacts. For me it was shocking to think that I had been A Witness all my life and had never heard of this nonsense. If this flake was one of the founding fathers of the religion, and came up with this crazy scheme, what other beliefs did he come up with that were complete nonsense? I began to think that if my Mother (and others) would have been able to actually meet these people in real life, she might have viewed them as lunatics and fanatics and would never have gotten us tangled up in this religion.

The friend who sent me that original email hasn't contacted us in a few years because I'm sure she got the word that we're out of the TRUTH. If she only knew that it was her email that was one of the straws that broke the camel's back.....

85

What is the stupidest comment you ever heard at a meeting?

by 3rdgen in

a very reliable friend told me this: the bro was commenting on what was "unacceptable" conduct in the bedroom between married persons.

needless to say, he had everyone's attention.

he went on to say "we must avoid perversions such as oral and annual sex.

exwhyzee

While discussing a WT article on higher education one of our more enlightened (Janitor/ Carpet Cleaner) Elders commented smugly, "A College education can make you smarter, but it can also "SMART" you right out of THE TRUTH ! Many thought this to be quite profound and lots of heads could be seen nodding in approval all over the Hall.

26

My story in more detail

by freshstart in

so as i stated in my first post, i was born to witness parents.

from early on, my parents were both quite fanatical about the "truth.

" we couldn't even eat lucky charms cereal because they thought it had satanic connections.

exwhyzee

So sorry to hear of your ordeal....so glad to hear you are in counseling because what you described to us here is something that will take sheer determination to put behind you. You must be a strong person to have endured all that and still have come away from it as well as you have. You are to be congratulated! All the best to you and your little family....keep the little guy away from your brother and the grandparents, never leave him unattended around them. My guess is they are still capable of repeating their previous offenses against you.

9

WT $$ Question ?

by exwhyzee in

when thinking about the wealth of the organization, i used to wonder how anyone of us would ever really know if someone was actually getting rich, personally profiting or living the highlife using watchtower funds.

i always figured that if there were something like that going on, the u.s. government would surely have found this out and would have gladly exposed it.

then some time ago someone made a post indicating that there are those who are being paid by the watchtower.

exwhyzee

When thinking about the wealth of the organization, I used to wonder how anyone of us would ever really know if someone was actually getting rich, personally profiting or living the highlife using Watchtower funds. I always figured that if there were something like that going on, the U.S. government would surely have found this out and would have gladly exposed it. Then some time ago someone made a post indicating that there are those who are being paid by the Watchtower. I didn't get to read it over thoroughly but it said something about there being certain individuals or families who are paid dividends from the Watchtower.

Has anyone ever found any proof that there are individuals who are personally profiting from this organization ?

81

How did plants survive the Flood?

by dgp in

noah is not said to have carried plants in his ark.

supposedly the flood was severe enough to cover "even the tallest mountains", which would mean that mount everest was covered.

and this for forty days.

exwhyzee

Cultures besides the Hebrew one have a flood "myth" going to around the same time. Something happened.

I've heard this said but have never seen any documentation of this being so.

What about all the sea creatures who would die in fresh water once the oceans were diluted with rainwater deep enough to cover the mountains.

44

Just saw an elderly JW man...

by zengalileo in

jw
friends

he was walking with such a slump, dragging his feet, carrying a jacket, magazines barely visible just hanging from his fingertips.

if body language has any validity to it, this man was deeply discouraged and depressed.

i remember that slump too.

exwhyzee

You must be a very special person in real life.

Oh...well thanks for saying that Shamus...like everyone else, I suppose I have my moments. I'm pretty handy, having worked in most of the trades at some point or another and it's the only thing I have to offer really and I usually am the one who is helped the most. These old folks are so trusting and hopeful about what they have come to believe. It's hard to see them struggling and yet so thankful for what they believe Jehovah is providing for them when so many around them are so much better off. They are from another generation, one that doesn't have such high expectations (other than living forever) and is able to do without much of what younger people consider to be necessities. They often know what true suffering is and are able to take day to day inconveniences of daily life in their stride. I hear people say that they are going to fight getting older....kicking and screaming all the way. That doesn't sound very pleasant to me....instead, my plan is to get older with the same grace and style as some of these folks have done and possibly inspire someone younger than myself that it can be done.

Hopefully the old man in the original post is the same way and only appeared to onlookers to be tired and beaten down.

44

Just saw an elderly JW man...

by zengalileo in

jw
friends

he was walking with such a slump, dragging his feet, carrying a jacket, magazines barely visible just hanging from his fingertips.

if body language has any validity to it, this man was deeply discouraged and depressed.

i remember that slump too.

exwhyzee

There is an elderly couple in my former congregation that left the Circuit work after about 35 years due to his health problems. As a kid I remember people being giddy with excitement when they were going to be visiting. He seemed so knowlegeable and she so zelous. Later as an adult his talks seemed very corny and the logic and reasonings were pretty sketchy. You sort of overlooked this because they were very sweet people, very devoted to one another, truly the kind that lived up to what being a Witness is supposed to be all about. Like many they found themselves elderly without any means of support .They didn't have much, if any Social Security because they had been in the Circuit work since they were newlyweds and they never had kids so there was no family to turn to. Uncomplainingly, at a time when most people rertire, he got a job as a school bus driver and she got a job in a dept. store. They had a tiny old death trap car and lived in a mobile home in a senior mobile home park. It was spotlessly clean but was a bit dated and shabby, and in need of repairs. About a year before I left the org for good, she came to me because she had found some used carpet while out in service, somebody's return visit or bible study was getting rid of it. She had heard that in another life I used to install carpet and wanted to know if I could help her out. I was happy to do so but when I unrolled the carpet we realized there wasn't enough that was worth installing. She began sobbing and explained that one of their old friends from Gilead was going to be visiting the area but her husband was too ashamed to have him see where they were living and didn't want to invite him to stay. They had never owned a home and hadn't a clue how to fix things around the house. She thought that if the carptet were replaced and they had some repairs done it might make him feel better about their situation. It made me angry that these two lovely people were in this position after all they had done in their lives for others. Long story short, I installed some new carpet for her and fixed a lot of the little electrical and plumbing problems they were having. He came home from work and was grinning like a little kid when he saw how much better things looked. He went around switching on and off overhead lights that hadn't ever worked etc. The point is, these people were waiting until they were 72 so they could stop working and resume pioneering. Unlike the man in the story, they were very perky and seemed to thrive on having this JW mission in life. They were absolutly certain that although they lived in a place where people who hadn't fared to welll in life also lived, Jehovah was looking out for them and I was sent by him to help them. Viewing them now, through adult eyes, it was almost a little weird and as if they were out of touch with reality and a bit child like but that's exactly what the organization encourages and those are the ones who can keep doing it.

43

Was Your Life As A Jehovah's Witness HORRIBLE???

by minimus in

jw
friends

i can't say my life was ruined because i was a witness.

still, i wish that my upbringing was different.

there's a lot i don't like at all about the witnesses but by the same token, there are some very good people who happen to be jws.. i'm sure some of you hated your life as a witness and i'm sure you have valid reasons..

exwhyzee

My life as a born in Witness wasn't horrible at all but it was filled with unnecessary worry, mental burdens, missed opportunities and wasted time. Much of the freshness and glitter of my youthful outlook was rubbed off by their constant negative input about the world around me, but they couldn't vanquish it altogether. Even children who grow up in an abusive households can look back on their youths with fondness about some things . Growing up as a Witness, I too came away with some fond memories and am able to dismiss much of the weirdness and nonsense because it was what I grew up with and was familiar with. Now that I know better, there's no going back. If only I knew back then what I know now, my life would have been different. I'm sure I would have experienced a diffrent set of problems but I'm sure that in the end, the very underpinnings and foundation upon which I based my present and future wouldn't have been torn from under me as it was when my eyes were opened about the JW's.