Posts by ABibleStudent

9

Looking for some help

by manda-xo in

jw
friends

hey all :) i'm new to this website, just happened to of stumbled across it and learning lots from all of your posts!

i just need a bit of guidance, not for my self but for my boyfriend.

i myself have never been a jw but he has grown up in "the truth" and recently realized the real truth ;) both his mom, his dad, his step mom, and step dad are all witnesses and try to bring him back continuously, even though he has only gone to the odd meeting or 2 in the past 3 years.

ABibleStudent

Welcome manda-xo and I am sorry that your BF's family is reducing contact with him. I agree with the other posters, especially jamiebowers's and flipper's suggestions. Encourage your BF to post on the JWN to help you and your relationship. Something as simple as getting married and having children could trigger your BF to return to the WTBTS. Never debate JWs! Asking questions to control conversations and changing subjects is better than lying. The only other suggestion that I can think of is for your BF to show unconditional love by sending emails with pictures to his JW family showing them that he is still a good person and is having a wonderful life. Maybe one of those emails may help awaken one of your BF's family members.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

ABibleStudent

13

The anger returns

by mamalove in

jw
friends

i have not logged in here in a while.

seemed i was able to subdue my anger and smash all of the past behind me for a while.

it has bubbled back to the top..... i can't complain, life is good.

ABibleStudent

mamalove - It is so bad to say that I hope one day a tragedy, a death, an accident, something wakes her up? The girl is so smart, book smart....but afraid of what lies on the other side. The judgement and fear of leaving the fold keeps her in.

Hi mamalove. I am sorry that your JW family members are shunning you and I am glad that you feel comfortable about venting on this forum. After you are done venting, I hope that you remember the good-times that you had with your JW family members and that the WTBTS is very good at controlling the actions and thoughts of JWs. Why not send your JW family members an email with pictures of you and your family enjoying life? What better way to thumb your nose at the WTBTS by showing unconditional love to your JW family members and contradicting the WTBTS' phobias/indoctrination. Who knows maybe one of your JW family members may awaken because you are not withering in pain because you are no longer a JW.

Personally I do not wish anything bad for a Former Friend who is a devout JW. In fact every night I pray that Our Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit will help her to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ instead of the WTBTS everyday of her life. Somedays I wonder if my prayers will be answered, but it is the least that I can do for my Former Friend.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

ABibleStudent

47

Wife is on that yellow brick road to the WT.

by trailerfitter in

hi, this is my first post on this forum although i have been reading many posts on here.

i feel safe enough to ask your advice and become involved now......from what i have learned about this forum it is occupied by sensible people who have left the watchtower influences for one reason or another.

i am, for want of a better word, a none believer.

ABibleStudent

trailerfitter - We had plans. Now they have changed. I am attending college to change my career path. While I have financial support from her I get no moral support or interest from her. It is difficult. She will listen to her JW friends but not spend the time with her husband talkiing about our future.....Since the JW end of the system of things was burned into her mind all has changed.

Welcome trailerfitter and I am sorry about your situation with you wife. I agree with previous posters that have said not to argue with your wife and JWs about WTBTS doctrine or prevent your wife from going to meetings. I can add a couple of things that other posters have not mentioned. Help your wife to meet more "Worldly", Russian-speaking adults, who your wife has common interests, to help counter-act the influences of her JW friends and her bad experience with your former drug-using neighbors. If your children go to public schools, encourage them to meet "Worldly" children and make play dates with children/families that you feel will be good influences to your children and your wife. Make friends with married couples from college and invite them over for college-study sessions, dinners, and fun outings.

Also, your wife is being loved-bombed because she is a bible study and speaks Russian. Once your wife becomes baptized the love bombing will stop for two reasons. One, she will be expected to devote more time workng for the WTBTS, and two, you and your children are "Worldly". JWs believe in conditional love and not unconditional love. You need to show your wife unconditional love, because after your wife is baptized she will be shown conditional love by JWs. Depending on the personalities in her KH, JWs practise a caste-like system where CO's, elders, and MS are looked up to and wives of "Worldly" spouses are only more important than divorced women. Her JW friends should rapidly disappear after she is baptised.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

ABibleStudent

9

Eff my JW (former) family and freinds... Eff em all

by AZheat in

jw
friends

i am sitting here writing this posting as a way of venting for all the frustration that i have been building up over the years of slavery to this beast called the wbts... i was a born in, and was denied all the normal things in life, i always felt left out as a kid, and even as a young adult.

i was the only jw for most if not all of my school years, i was harrased, mocked, teased, and even pushed around, because i was taught to stand up for what i beleive in.

th problem was, i didnt beleive it, i always felt there was something not right about the org.

ABibleStudent

AZheat - I have 5 fleshly brothers and sisters, many neices and nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even my own son who do not even care about me, they dont know, or even care if I am sick, or even deceased. My heart is torn apart by the fact that they would rather follow the BS org, who has continually lied to ALL of its followers, than to even inquire as to my well being. To all of you, and you know who you are, I have come to the decision that you are the ones that are "dead" to me. Your conditional love is as fake as the "generational overlap" propaganda.
I have since made "real" freinds, ones that are not my freinds because of what I beleive, but because of who I am, its called unconditional love.

Hi AZheat, I am sorry that you feel hurt from the con-Love that your JW family and friends have shown you. One of the greatest challanges that I know of is showing unconditional love to people who are strangers or that I feel have hurt me, but unconditional love involves turning the other cheek. I hope and pray that someday you will forgive your JW family and friends because they blindly followed the WTBTS doctrines. The WTBTS is very good at controlling how JWs think and behave - they have been doing it for 50+ years. I encourge you to send your JW family and friends emails (or cards) with pictures of you having a great time - besides it will drive them crazy that you are having fun and they can't. Just because your JW family and friends are shunning you, doesn't mean that you should help the WTBTS control the thoughts of another JW.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

ABibleStudent

22

One step closer to freedom!

by OneDayillBeFree in

it has been some time since my last post on here and its been hard for me to post much since i'm still in and my fellow dubbies are always poking there heads in my business trying to find something wrong to get me into trouble, but i do enjoy lurking on here from time to time... and i do plan to post here much more in the near future!.

actually, being on this site and reading all of your threads (mostly on my phone) has become my favourite thing to do at meetings and on field service and pretty much anything wtbts related!.

you all have been such a great help and comfort to me when i feel down, seriously even the trolls that come around here every now and then leave me with a sense of tranquility, for it reminds me of how i used to be just like them at one point, it gets me all "happified" to know that i have now awakened and see the "truth" about the truth and feel quite at peace with myself at times.. as some of you that have read my first post may know... i've been working on a really, really long fade, and so far its been going steady to say the least.

ABibleStudent

OneDayillBeFree - My dream is to one day wake up in the morning and breath the air of freedom, freedom from this cancer I currently live in. And walk out the door with a smile on my face and feel the wind pass me bye and whisper gently in my ear that everything's going to be okay as I place my first step out into the world and never ever look back.

Hi OneDayillBeFree, I hope and pray that your dreams come true. If they don't come as soon as you want, keep on posting and working to achieve your dreams until they do. Never give up on your dreams!!

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

ABibleStudent

34

Oh the weirdness: Observations from a study

by howdidtihappen in

i started studying jw with a work friend because she used to keep me at arms length and i knew it was because of her religion.

she and her family are such lovely people so i thought maybe there was something to it, how bad can it be, etc.

i was enticed by this girls friendship as she has been spending more time with me but continues to say "you're not one of us yet" which continually freaks me out.

ABibleStudent

howdidtihappen - Thanks everyone :) Sorry if my replies to the different things people said are hard to follow, i don't know how to properly do quotes on here.

Hi howdidtihappen, I click on the "insert a new table", 1st icon on the 3rd row of the tool bar; select Cols 1, Rows 1, and Class "quote"; click on insert; copy/paste the information in the new table; and then resize the table to fit in a reply without the need for the horizontal scroll bar.

It sounds like the KH that you went to wasn't very friendly. I have gone to a KH where I was loved bombed, but that still doesn't justify losing yourself to serve a throught-reforming, publishing, and distribution corporation. I agree with other posters - Run howdidtihappen, Run!!

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

ABibleStudent

79

A brother at my wife's congregation wants to study the Bible Teach book...

by garyneal in

jw
friends

... he apparently has wanted to do so for a while now.

i agreed to meet with him this tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. edt.

he asked me to pick the chapter where i wanted to start.. hmmmmm... where shall i start?

ABibleStudent

garyneal - I don't know and I don't know the best approach. Other than just being friendly and making allowances for the unknown. I will be questioning, trying Black Sheep's approach, and riding it out until he quits the Bible study.

Hi garyneal, I agree with Black Sheep's approach. It is better that the Brother believes that you are trying to understand his beliefs by asking questions instead of trying to debate beliefs. I disagreed too much with a Brother, who was trying to convert me, and he stopped the Bible Study. Looking back it would have been better to cultivate some kind of bond where we could have agreed before asking questions that would have made him think.

It would be great if your wife wanted to participate, so that you could plant seeds in both minds.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

ABibleStudent

15

Not sure of what to do

by Girlie in

jw
friends

i have a very close jw friend who i have known for a number of years.

she was like the big sister i never had, always looking out for me and was very helpful during my challenging moments.

we both came into the religion around the same time and both of us were pretty much fringe dubs, just making the bare minimum to be considered jw in good standing.

ABibleStudent

Hi Girlie. Have you read Steve Hassan's books (e.g., "Combatting Cult Mind Control") or Raymond Franz's books (e.g., "Crisis of Conscience")? Those books may give you ideas about how to interact with your friend while she is in non-cult mode. It is too bad that you cannot get your friend interested in some activity that she is passionate about and would divert her time and energy away from being a JW. Since your friend doesn't live in the area, your friendship may be transition anyways. Her being a JW makes it worse, because of her switching in and out of cult mode.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

ABibleStudent

30

JWs always deny the information control

by AuntBee in

an active witness on fb just told me that they are taught to "always question what we are taught" and use not only the wt publications, but any research materials, and come to a conclusion about what they find!

this is not what i've heard from you guys!

does she go to some unusual-type kingdom hall, or is she mesing with my mind?.

ABibleStudent

AuntBee -
An active Witness on FB just told me that they are taught to "always question what we are taught" and use not only the WT publications, but any research materials, and come to a conclusion about what they find!
This is not what i've heard from you guys! Does she go to some unusual-type Kingdom Hall, or is she mesing with my mind?

Hi AuntBee, all JWs are taught defensive techniques such as using platitudes to avoid discussing subjects that they are uncomfortable answering. Ask JWs simple questions like what have they questioned about WTBTS literature? There are numereous changes of doctrine that you can review on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_doctrine to ask how a JW questioned changes, or ask a JW what WTBTS doctrine have they questioned and what did they question about it? I can think of many WTBTS doctrine's that I question, but JWs will leave if they feel that they do not have an answer to suppress your questions. I know this from personal experience, because that is exactly what a Former Friend, who is a devout JW did, when I asked what did she beleive about several WTBTS doctrines that I quoted from the Watchtower/Awake!

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

ABibleStudent

98

Is it ethical to make rich pay more taxes?

by Lore in

jw
friends

i'm having trouble getting behind the idea of making rich people pay more taxes just because they have more.. aside from the obvious: "i'm not rich so lets tax them instead of me.

" the three reasons i hear most often are:.

1: they may have "earned" their wealth but they don't deserve it!.

ABibleStudent

I feel that the rich should at least pay a flat tax rate the same as all citizens and no corporate taxes, which are passed on to either consumers or shareholders. Of course the rich will pay more than the average citizen, because they either spend more or earn more. Paying taxes and who gets what share of federal spending brings emotional arguments about what is fair. I am not rich and I do not feel like paying taxes so that the governments can redistribute it to other people. About 2/3 of the federal budget is spent on programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment/welfare, paying the interest on the national debt. In the future more than 2/3 of the federal budget will be spent on social programs as the cost for Healthcare increases.

I don't like the status quo and I feel that not many other people would agree with how I would like to replace the income tax with a retail sales tax, reduce spending, and reduce our national debt. I believe that it is possible to get out of this mess that has been developing since the 1930's, but everyone would have to be willing to take more personal responsibility for their actions (or lack of actions), reduce their demands for more, and think of how to make things better for everyone instead of just for themselves. I am willing to pay taxes for social programs, but I want people who benefit from those programs to take personal responsibility to reduce costs by living heathier lives, getting a marketable education, at least working part-time in some job, and not having children while in those programs. I am willing to pay for government programs for the Departments of Defense and Housing and Urban Development, but I want politicians and bureaucrats to make more strategetic decisions instead of knee-jerk decisions that cost more in the long-run and cut special interest (i.e., pork-barrel) spending.

Would the Federal Government have spent $663.7 billion dollars on the war on global terror, if America was energy independent? In America wars happen because America was attacked, special interest groups convinced the government to attack another country or group of people (i.e., Native American Indians), and another country or organization attacked a country that America pledged support to. Some wars are avoidable and some are not. I feel that the Invasion of Iraq and Afganistan could have been avoided if America was not dependent on strategic items such as oil.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

ABibleStudent

The President's budget request for 2010 totals $3.55 trillion. Percentages in parentheses indicate percentage change compared to 2009. This budget request is broken down by the following expenditures: [ 8 ]
Mandatory spending: $2.173 trillion (+14.9%)
$695 billion (+4.9%) – Social Security
$571 billion (+58.6%) – Unemployment/Welfare/Other mandatory spending
$453 billion (+6.6%) – Medicare
$290 billion (+12.0%) – Medicaid
$164 billion (+18.0%) – Interest on National Debt
Discretionary spending: $1.378 trillion (+13.8%)
$663.7 billion (+12.7%) – Department of Defense (including Overseas Contingency Operations)
$78.7 billion (−1.7%) – Department of Health and Human Services
$72.5 billion (+2.8%) – Department of Transportation
$52.5 billion (+10.3%) – Department of Veterans Affairs
$51.7 billion (+40.9%) – Department of State and Other International Programs
$47.5 billion (+18.5%) – Department of Housing and Urban Development
$46.7 billion (+12.8%) – Department of Education
$42.7 billion (+1.2%) – Department of Homeland Security
$26.3 billion (−0.4%) – Department of Energy
$26.0 billion (+8.8%) – Department of Agriculture
$23.9 billion (−6.3%) – Department of Justice
$18.7 billion (+5.1%) – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
$13.8 billion (+48.4%) – Department of Commerce
$13.3 billion (+4.7%) – Department of Labor
$13.3 billion (+4.7%) – Department of the Treasury
$12.0 billion (+6.2%) – Department of the Interior
$10.5 billion (+34.6%) – Environmental Protection Agency
$9.7 billion (+10.2%) – Social Security Administration
$7.0 billion (+1.4%) – National Science Foundation
$5.1 billion (−3.8%) – Corps of Engineers
$5.0 billion (+100%-NA) – National Infrastructure Bank
$1.1 billion (+22.2%) – Corporation for National and Community Service
$0.7 billion (0.0%) – Small Business Administration
$0.6 billion (−14.3%) – General Services Administration
$0 billion (−100%-NA) – Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
$0 billion (−100%-NA) – Financial stabilization efforts
$11 billion (+275%-NA) – Potential disaster costs
$19.8 billion (+3.7%) – Other Agencies
$105 billion – Other
Deficit
The total deficit for fiscal year 2009 was $1.42 trillion, a $960 billion increase from the 2008 deficit.
The 2009 budget deficit would represent 12.3% of gross domestic product, [ 9 ] the largest share since World War II. [ 10 ]