Not dumb....just afraid. He couldn't handle the fear that arose when he read something that caused him to wonder if his current beliefs are based in accuracy. Be patient with him. He's had a peek behind the curtain and didn't like the implications of what he saw.
exwhyzee
JoinedPosts by exwhyzee
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21
Wow! My brother is just too dumb for words....
by Witness My Fury inok we know it's a stupid mind control cult but sometimes to see it in the flesh is just a slap in the face.... i lent my brother karen armstrongs the bible - the biography, which is a great book to help understand the bible, i have read it twice and it was very informative.
i had hoped my brother may find it likewise and actually learn something.. not a frickin chance.
he gave the book back today with an agitated tone and told me it was crap and that he didnt want me to show him any other books, he had got to page 21, so had only managed the introduction and 12 pages of chapter 1 of a book with 229 pages (300+ if you include glossary and appendix).. inside were some postit noted with notations he'd written about dates quoting from insight volumes and scripture inspired to "correct" the dates in the book for events and dates of reigns like manassahs and hezekiahs.. basically he got mad that the book disagreed with what his drone cult brain read in the wts volumes and refused to read any further.. ffs he didnt even look at another outside source at all, just assumed the book was making error after error on dates and got annoyed.. i am shocked he could be just that dumb.
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35
How would YOU explain cognitive disonance to a Jehovahs Witness on your doorstep
by smiddy inseriously , in plain simple language that the most thick headed jw would understand.. and what examples would you use.. smiddy.
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exwhyzee
An example of someone engaging in cognitive disonance would be when a smoker, despite all the research that proves smoking is deadly, continues to smoke even though on some level he knows smoking is harming him. He truly wants to keep smoking especially since the idea of giving it up overwhelms him and despite of the possibility that he might get lung cancer, which frightens him. In order to ease the discomfort he feels, he reasons that Dr's don't always know what they are talking about, he reasons that at least he doesn't smoke Cigars and he certainly doesn't smoke as much as his Grandfather who smoked 3 packs a day since he was 13 and lived to be 80. The disonance sets in and his discomfort is releived.
JW's who are troubled by the past history of the orgainzation and are frustrated with some of the new light, or the way things are being handled by the Elders, engage in the same kind of behavior. The idea that their beleifs could be based on something that isn't true is so frightening, they go to great lengths to ease the fear this possibility creates. They might reason that maybe their leaders have made mistakes in the past, but at least they don't go to war...and I don't understand the new Blood Fractions reasoning but look at how abstaining from blood protected us from AIDS. What about the growth in the organization, surely 7 million people can't be wrong? They often go as far as to villify anyone who points out the past errors or presents evidence of wrongdoings or flaws in the current teachings. Although undereducated or never having done any research themselves, they mock scientific studies that cast doubt upon their own understanding of man's origin for example, even though nothing they believe in can be backed up by any physical evidence or reliable data but is based solely on anecdotal information that has been bent to fit around acutal historical events.
Of course they can say that Apostates do the same thing. They say Apostates just want to do what they like and they look for flaws in the organization and use human imperfection as means to justify leaving God's people and to ease their guilty consciences.
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Our DC is on now and I...
by Julia Orwell in...was just in the yard playing with my cat.
spent ages with my beautiful cat, watching her roll on the lawn and purr.
her fur is unbelievably soft.. we slept in, got up, had a leisurely breakfast knowing we can go at our own pace, tended the chickens, i called my brother; hubby and i did some housework, played with the cat, and we're off to a lunch date down the local pizza place, knowing we won't have any jws pass by and snub us or look askance at hubby's beard because they're all in brisbane.. it feels a bit funny missing something i've been going to since i was 18, but it also feels good.
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exwhyzee
I cringe when I think of the hours spent after a long day at work and wanting nothing more than to be at home with my 2 little boys only to have to rush home, wolf down dinner, put them in their suits and go sit through a dull meeting on a long winter night. And the days they sat through assemblies staring off into space. What was the point of putting toddlers or small boys in a suit and tie? How did I buy into all of that? I wish they'd have done away with at least one of the midweek meetings when my boys were little. It would have been a big releif. Instead we were made to feel that missing a meeting was spiritual suicide. Now it's not as important even thought the Bible says to gather together all the more so as you behold the day drawing near.
To this day, I feel a certain giddiness on former "meeting nights" at the thought that I no longer am on that tredmill.
(P.S.) I'm from the west coast U.S but was in Brisbane and Mooloolaba a few months ago...loved it....didn't see any K.Halls though. Where do they hold the D.C. ?
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Is it me?
by 5go in......or does it seem the gb is setting up the faithful for a big change on something.
seems like nowadays every other thing coming off the platform is saying hey we are the only one approved to speak for god and not liking any change we pronounce is your problem not gods..
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exwhyzee
Nothing makes people hunker down and cling on to the familiar, than the woeful winds of change.
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Another story... possibly final story
by confusedandalone inthis is the exchange of text messages i had with my super spiritual brother.
it is sad... it is pathetic... it has helped me realize that i have no connection to these people anymore.
i feel free today.
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exwhyzee
It sounds like your brother is afraid your parents will expect him to chip in to help pay thier debts instead of you taking care of them. It makes no difference whether an announcement has been made about you from the platform, whatever it is you allegedly have done or are doing, your money is already dirty, right ? Your Father's con"shun"cience should bother him no matter when he accepts your help. (if any of that is even true)
I love how your brother presumes to know what Jehovah is or isn't doing in regard to your dicipline. You really handled him well....didn't get nasty but definetly let him know how stupid his remarks were.
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Mouthy , you have a pm
by jhine inhello, mouthy , i think , ( hope ) that i have sent you a pm .
not done it before , so please let me know if you get it .. jan .
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exwhyzee
Hey....no fair keeping secrets !
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71
Would The Witnesses Be Happy To See You Come Back to The Kingdom Hall?
by minimus inwould you get a huge response if you ever went back to the hall?.
would nobody care?
?.
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exwhyzee
I think there'd be those who'd be thinking to themselves " Exwhyzee finally decides to show up at a the meeting....thinks he's gonna' get everlasting life....Hmmmph !
(I think some of them would be even more pissed of if they saw me in the New System (if it ever really happens) It isn't about them being loyal to Jehovah, it's more about me daring to question their beliefs.
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exwhyzee
Come...yes come to the All-You-Can-Eat Last Supper Buffet. A banquet of spiritual food has been lovingly rearranged and then reheated for you under the warm glow of the New Light.
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Did being a JW affect you socially?
by Mahtaw ini feel like i'm awkard in social situations.
i hate going up and talking to people i don't know.
i have trouble making friends.
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exwhyzee
It's only to be expected that JW's are somewhat socially hobbled, especially born in's. As a JW, you are required to select your friends and marriage mate from whatever pool of JW's you happened to be associated with. You already know what everyone around you beleives or thinks about on almost every issue or topic. You know what they will or won't do in any given situation. You know what activities they have during most of the week. You know they don't have any political ideologies or aspirations or major educational goals. They are all taught that in order to be sheeplike and agreeable, they must defer to someone else. Basically you only have to find someone you click with personality wise and the rest takes care of itself in a way. You don't get a chance to develop any strong interpersonal skills for use when getting to know someone who isn't a carbon copy of yourself. On top of that you generally are well practiced at keeping your real thoughts and desires (if you even know what they are) in check and aren't comfortable letting others see them. As a JW, when you are around non JW's in an unavoidable social setting such as work or school, you have to keep a certain part of your life on the down-low much of the time. You can't openly admit, for instance, that most of your life's activities are based on the belief that the everyone around you is going to be destroyed by God soon because they (according to your beliefs) are part of Satan's world, no matter how good they may be.
It's tough to learn all the necessary social skills all at once when you find yourself outside the JW circle, rather than over a lifetime as most people in the world have a chance to do.
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Need Help - Looks like some one in my family got to know that we are fading...
by MissConfused inletter from a close family member... need help responding.... what a powerful illustration of the affect that our choice of friends can have on us, especially if we leave jehovah after being 'raised' by him from infancy!.
pack of wolvesthere was a farmer who raised sheep and had trouble with wolves stealing his sheep.
he loved his sheep and didn't want to lose even one of them.
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exwhyzee
The Farmer in this childish illustration, was trying to make the wolf puppy something that Jehovah (if he exists) didn't intend for him to be. Jehovah (if he exists) also didn't create sheep to be kept in a pen. Like all the other animals, they were originally free. It was sinful imperfect Man's idea to heard sheep because sheep once they realized how easy to capture and control they were. Once they had them under their control, they could fleece them and slaughter them much more efficiently.