Posts by techdotcom

57

My daughter asked me this today.

by thenoblelodge in

she asked me why god didn't step in to stop tragedies.

for example, recently twin baby girls were attacked in their cots while their parents were down stairs.

both suffered life changing injuries.. my daughter knows a couple who have waited years for a baby and eventually had i.v.f.

techdotcom

It's funny how I see so many witnesses turned atheists/agnostics who praise Raymond Franz who left the WT but stuck with the Bible while simultaneously bashing people on this board who are doing the same thing.

While some people do get frustrated and "bash", there is no reason for you to feel defensive and to lash back out yourself. I would advise, as I did in an earlier post, to use the same process that a person uses to expose the fallacy and dishonesty in witness belief to other aspects of thier life as well, including their faith in god.

Faith is belief without objective proof. Not an evil thing or even bad. However, faith can become the rationalized basis for many things that are very bad indeed. I believe all of us need a certian amount of faith to be mentally healthy and function, however I also think that faith must be balanced by skeptical/critical thought lest it become the monster we see all thru human history and in the example of religions like the JW's.

Honest faith makes no claims to being the "truth" and therefore needs no defense.

57

My daughter asked me this today.

by thenoblelodge in

she asked me why god didn't step in to stop tragedies.

for example, recently twin baby girls were attacked in their cots while their parents were down stairs.

both suffered life changing injuries.. my daughter knows a couple who have waited years for a baby and eventually had i.v.f.

techdotcom

Brotherdan, you have used critical thinking and logical reasoning to abandon the WTS teachings. However, no one should claim that the WTS holds the monopoly on being irrational. Examine the bible and religion in general with the same eye as you did the society. If faith and trust in a particular organization could lead you astray, how can you be sure that your trust and faith in the Bible is not also misplaced.

Use the same tools that you used to examine the WTS and it's teachings. Examine your faith in the Bible and in God. While it could leave you with more questions than answers, you may find that as freeing as your putting aside the teachings of the WTS.

If you choose to "believe" and to have "faith" do it honestly and with the knowledge that you could be completly wrong.

52

Where do we go when we die

by watersprout in

jw
friends

the watchtower teaches that we return to dust.

i'm not taken with that idea!.

we are spiritual beings so where does our spirit go?.

techdotcom

I say why worry about it. I can "believe" the soul is a make up fiction, or I could "believe" the soul is immortal and will move on after this mortal body perishes. In either case I there is no way to "know" for certain until I die and find out or don't.

You live now, so "live now". Speculation if fun and in drunken moments of insight I've been known to muse on any number of issues. But as anything other than entertainment or mental exercise it is worthless.

Just my 2cents. What is, is. Like Paul Blart says "Observe and report". If you die and can find a way to get a message back about the conditions after, that would be awsome. Until then I've got life to worry about.

98

My sucky situation

by brotherdan in

jw
friends

hi guys,.

sadly some of them had been in bethel for 5 - 10 years and were still cleaning toilets.. after about 2 years of it i couldn't do it anymore.

i always knew something wasn't quite right with this organization.

techdotcom

BD,

I can sympathise, I stopped going to meetings/service about 10 years ago. This was around the same time my wife was pregnant with our first kid. We had a crisis about 2 years ago and I started going back to meetings and let her believe I might be interested again at some point in order to cool things off. One thing to remember is that you have small kids and that even though from your point of view she is making the decision to take them to a meeting, don't expect that she won't be upset at having to manage them herself and the social discomfort of being at the KH as a 'single mom' spiritual speaking. It took until this last year to realize that the situation could not remain stable as it was. She was resentful and felt like, your wife did, that your 'change' was a kind of betrayal. I waited as long as I could, and when the "new light" on the "this generation" came out, I knew that it would be my best chance for a while.

Bear in mind that for about a year prior to this I had been putting forth extra effort to be as supportive and good a husband/father as possible. The best argument you can possibly make is by example. However I still felt a twinge of apprehension toward visiting sites like this one. After the generation thing came out I decided to do a little research and BAM, did I feel stupid for never looking before. Once I proved to her I loved her and could be trusted then she did not feel right saying no to listening to some factual information that I had found.

I started with just information on false prophecy from the bible and the library cd-rom. Then I let her know where I had found the help in looking for the information (jwfacts.com). Once I was able to get her past the blind fear of viewing an "apostate site" and she could see that there was real info out there and not just hateful rhetoric, then the bricks of her faith came tumbling down. Trust me on this, she was by far the most theocratic sibling in her family and took her faith very seriously.

Don't lose hope, I did. Honestly I was just making a last ditch attempt at showing her SOMETHING that might give her some pause. Once she saw the information on the U.N. NGO membership she was lost to them and has continued to research the information that is online. I am still a bit in shock but also very happy that my family has a chance to both stay together and be separated from that asinine religion. Almost all of her family are JWs though and we are going to have to try the slow and easy fade for her sake (although I'm technically already inactive for a long time).

I hope my story helps you somewhat, and good luck.

30

Horrifying Demon Attack: My Experience

by laverite in

jw
friends

on a warm summer day when i was about 12 years old (early 1980s), i was home alone for a brief time (family had gone to the grocery store).

i had always been terrified of the demons and was constantly worried about a possible demon attack.

being born in, growing up a dub, the devil and his demons were always either on my mind or not too far from conscious thought.

techdotcom

Both extremely funny and sad at the same time. Awsome story. I used to have reacurring dreams of demon attacks and in my dreams I would try to say "Jehovah" and for some reason I couldn't untill I strained with all my might. Kinda like the monster chasing you and you can only run in slow motion. sigh... at some point I stopped believing that crap as superstitious nonsense and the nightmares stopped too.

Oh and I can remember being terrified during big thunderstorms that it might be the big A too.

The thing is I am a very skeptical person and have been since an early age. But the methods used to indoctrinate the witnesses had it's effect on me as well. Not too many people will hold on to a stupid belief harder than a skeptic who has convinced himself that it's true. Lesson learned, moving on.

103

A sneak peek of the future, June 23, 2010

by EndofMysteries in

you will not see this on the news, or very slight mention of it.

youtube, and other places will show you.

look out for the g 2 0 and g 8 summ it meetings in tooronto canada.

techdotcom

I don't give it much thought anymore. The fact is, the signs of the last days from the bible can, and have been, reasonably applied to any number of times in the history of mankind. I would make the "prophacy" that there will be many times in the future as well.

Actual qoute from the recent DC by the CO.

"How do we know the previous cries of 'peace and security' were not the one fortold? (wait for it) Because the destruction did not come instantly upon them!"

Thank you Captain Obvious!

EndofMysteries, you might find researching the methods psychic's use to fool people into thinking they have special info on the future as an eyeopener for how bible prophecy is often applied by various religions.

41

Standing Room Only at Tulsa District Convention

by darthfader in

jw
friends

my parents were to attend the dc in tulsa, when they arrived, there was no parking and no seats available.

is this because there are more people in the area or fewer locations and times?.

any ideas?.

techdotcom

There was parking if you wanted to walk for a half mile or so. And there was some seating that I saw. I'm guessing they turned around after seeing how packed it was and went home?

113

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT- CULTURE

by serenitynow! in

jw
friends

so as not to hijack another thread i decided that a thread on culture could be useful.

i'd like to provide a safe place for people to talk about cultural norms or abnormals.

you don't want to learn that you've done or said the wrong thing by gettin' a fist in the face, know what i'm saying?.

techdotcom

1. Non-blacks- you simply cannot say the n-word period. Chris Rock does a really funny bit on this. Honestly, we shouldn't say it either but it's our choice.

hmm...okay. How black do you need to be. Most people I know range in color from a light pinkish tone all the way to super dark brown (a Nigerian man I know) Oops is Nigirian too close? What about someone like Tiger Woods or Obama? I mean they look pretty "black" to me but I would hate assume too much and offend. Maybe you could provide the number from a color sample from the Home Depot paint dept. as a quick guide and reference.

The other stuff you posted is just plain silly and is something anyone would generally consider good manners. Except for the monkey thing? I am aware of the cultural reference you mention but fail to see how it could apply under the circumstances.

33

The sweet sound of a critic

by Lady Lee in

got this email.

i am not a jehovah witnesses, but all my family are......i saw your video on "youtube" and what you said about them is despicable and i think your hypocrisy in your face made me sick... shut your mouth and have respect for all religions.... i can say bad things about all religions but i have the decency to respect their faith and their thoughts... guest who is next to me seeing me writing this email to you nothing but a musulman friend, and a jewish friend and by the way they say that you are a sick old lady.... -------------.

this is in reference to the video clip on you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viswagy_emg that is a short clip from a much longer interview (85 minutes).

techdotcom

Ah to be young, full of fire and righteous indignation, and little else. Good times...good times...

46

Finally finding my way out...

by cognac in

jw
friends

well, its been about 2 1/2 years and have slowly done less and less.

i've been to about 30 minutes of a meeting in the last month and a half where i stayed out back and with my daughter.. i've been looking for the right timing to leave but had decided i will go anyways by the time my daughter is about 1 years old.

but, it just so happens that my some members of my family including and mostly my parents have actually given me a good enough of an excuse to get out.. they have broken to many rules.

techdotcom

Conac, timing is everything. If you guys are in a good place in your marriage it may be time to sit down and tell him exactly how you feel and more importantly why. While he may not be willing to look at an appostate website himself you can use jwfacts and/or jwfiles to put together some material that is only from the society. Not only will it show him the hipocracy in a way that is impossible to ignore (coming from the orginization) but the orginization does a pretty solid job of condeming themselves when thier own statements agianst "false religion" are applied to them. Failed prophacy, following law and men before God, ect...

Only you can tell when the time is right and when he will trust you enough to fight his fear. But his doubts may not be enough to break thru by themselves.

Patience and love will often build the trust you will need from him. It took me almost 10 years to get my head together enough to think about what to do and even though my wife has often had doubts and almost made a decision to leave a long time ago, she was unable to break free untill I took the risk to be open an honest in a way that I had not before. The result is she has recognized the "truth" for what it is and is trying now to figure out how best to fade out so as to not lose all contact with most of her family. Waking up is only the first step. For those born into this religion it can take years for the conditioned guilt and fear lose their sting. And even then, you may not ever be completly free of it.

Also, every one has a different "last straw". For her, the many little doubts were just not important enough, the UN thing practically made her sick and made the corruption of the GB real in a way that failed prophacy and the 1000+ rules did not. For me it was a lot of little things building up till I just couldn't see how it could possibly be anything but a religion run by a group of men like many others.

Have patience, courage and faith, in yourself, your husband, and if you choose, God.