Posts by Essan

9

My JW Relatives Don't Call or Write...Is This Normal?

by Cold Steel in

they've been jws for years, but they've never once called, written or seemed to have wanted anything to do with us.

they weren't like this when they were still catholics.

are they told not to have anything to do with non-members, even family?

Essan

Bump in case OP is new and doesn't know how to find his/her thread. :)

41

How common is swinging among JWs?

by JimmyPage in

jw
friends

my wife and i recently heard about two couples we know who switched partners in the past.

we then got to talking about a different couple we ate dinner with a while back who i thought gave off the vibe of wanting to swing.

my wife said she got that vibe too... thus the question: how common is this in wt-land?.

Essan

You people are blowing my mind LOL. I never had a clue such things went on.

What I can't understand is how people who enjoy this stuff still bother to make a pretense at being JW's? Why bother?

Unless it's to avoid the shunning from being DF'd. I can understand that.

21

hi ,im new here!!

by TheTruthAboutTheTruth in

jw
friends

hi guys,.

i have been snooping around on this site the last few months(this site is great, has helped me big time!

)and have decided to introduce myself and stop being so nosey and start commenting!!.

Essan

Hello! Yay, I'm the first greeter. Never had that happen before. :)

Your upbringing was a lot like mine in many respects. Thanks for sharing your story so candidly, you have had some heartbreaking experiences. You clearly had far too much heart and far to much intelligence for the Society to hold you prisoner forever.

You're out and free. Don't look back! :)

269

Have your JW Relatives Explained about Generation/Overlap Change to You ?

by flipper in

jw
friends

after reading on the way out's thread about his mom explaining the generation overlap to him it kicked this idea into my head to make this thread .

i thought it would be helpful to see if anybody here has had jw relatives or friends try to explain this " generation overlap " theory to you as a faded or inactive witness and what happened in the conversations.

so please feel free to post your experiences.

Essan

Good luck Ultimate Reality and Mad Dawg in getting DJ to answer that question. He didn't answer it the first or second time, as with so many questions he's asked.

I challenge him to straightforwardly answer your question and to do it in five lines or less (it should take a lot less)

If this doesn't happen it indicates that once again he a) doesn't have a straight answer b) hopes to obscure that fact in a mountain of meaningless drivel.

He'll also probably pretend - again - that he doesn't understand the question, that the question is not "clear", or he'll say he's not sure of your "motivation in asking it", or that he's not sure you deserve an answer because he's not sure you are "sincere".

Basically expect a torrent of bull, clumsy evasion and a professed inability to discern obvious meaning or understand clear, simple questions which borders on mental retardation.

But here's hoping he surprises us.

58

Straight from the September Watchtower. How can they print this without blushing?

by nicolaou in

the watchtower september 1, 2010 11. .

the dangers of being deceived (page 10/11).

to deceive, says one dictionary, means to cause to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid.

Essan

Another name for the public version of the Mags?

How about the "Child-Catcher" version? LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUnhfvGdmmw&feature=related

9

My JW Relatives Don't Call or Write...Is This Normal?

by Cold Steel in

they've been jws for years, but they've never once called, written or seemed to have wanted anything to do with us.

they weren't like this when they were still catholics.

are they told not to have anything to do with non-members, even family?

Essan

All non JW's are basically considered "bad associations" and they feel that having to do with non-JW's will in time lead to the spoiling of their "useful habits" - they think they'll will be 'tainted' by prolonged contact basically - so they limit or in some cases eliminate their association with non-JW's, including family members.

Yes, such behaviour is "Normal" for JW's. JW's are a cult, remember, so such behaviour is to be expected, unfortunately.

I think, if it upsets your family and you, that you should to communicate that you miss them in a really heartfelt manner. Perhaps such a thing will melt their icy and rather heartless attitude enough for them to stay in touch a bit. If not, then at least you know where you stand after that. But whatever the outcome, remember that it's not wholly their fault. They are instructed to act this way. They are not 'themselves', they are trying to be who they've been told and deceived into thinking they must be, to please God.

If they do resume contact, then perhaps, after educating yourself about the JW's and their teachings and history you might be in a position to very subtly, over time, help your family realize the error of the JW religion and you may end up unifying your family once again. But this would take time and a very delicate touch. Many people here can advise about this and would be glad to be of help.

One way you or a family member could do this would be to show an interest in the religion, perhaps even indicating you may want to 'study' it, but asking specific questions the answers to which your family will have to find through research and which will surprise them and will expose things about the JW Organization that were hidden from them and that they were deceived about. Thus, the 'study' is really for them, even though they thought it was for you, and you actually knew the answers to the questions you asked, although they did not. JW's are taught they and they alone have the answers to everything. They generally don't listen to anyone else, so it's very hard to teach them or tell them anything directly, it has to be done indirectly, with them imagining they are the ones teaching you.

269

Have your JW Relatives Explained about Generation/Overlap Change to You ?

by flipper in

jw
friends

after reading on the way out's thread about his mom explaining the generation overlap to him it kicked this idea into my head to make this thread .

i thought it would be helpful to see if anybody here has had jw relatives or friends try to explain this " generation overlap " theory to you as a faded or inactive witness and what happened in the conversations.

so please feel free to post your experiences.

Essan

Dj, To give you an idea of why some simply responded to your posts in exasperation with the words "OH DEAR GOD!" and indicated they could not get past the first paragraph of your epistles, please read again and reflect on your own response to a straight a fairly simple question. They asked, can someone provide Scriptures to justify the concept of "major" and "minor" fulfillments of prophesy. You said:

"I assume you know that the words "minor" and "major" fulfillment of Bible prophecies are pretty much only put out there by Jehovah's Witnesses, so your interest in comprehending the "concept" of them, especially in referring to "parallel dispensations," would suggest an appreciation for the concept. Except as to what 1 Corinthians 4:1 says about the role of a steward of God --

Let a man so appraise us as being subordinates of Christ and stewards of sacred secrets of God.
-- your question here is vague, for what connection do you believe there to be between the fulfillment of Bible prophecies and what you here refer to as "parallel dispensations"? I detect disbelief in you as to whether there can be both a minor fulfillment as well as a major fulfillment of a Bible prophecy, so I'd appreciate a bit of clarification as to what you are asking, lest this question of yours prove to be more of an objection than a genuine question."
I have to echo the sentiments of the earlier poster:
OH DEAR GOD!
Can't you ever just answer a straight question? You have mastered the art of talking endlessly and yet saying nothing relevant or that makes any sense. Is your aim to talk so much that you hope that we'll eventually forget the question, or wished we'd never asked it, or that we'll lose the will to live? Have you been taking lessons from this guy? Listening to him (from the 2 min 55 sec mark especially) is exactly like reading your posts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QhuabuHCgg&feature=related

19

A gem of hypocrasy from 1887 Watchtower

by Aussie Oz in

came accross this piece from the 1887 watchtower tonight.... have a read... you can see russell criticising the protestants for how they are not allowed to teach anything that is not sanctioned by the church.. sounds mighty familier...and can be mirrored right back at the wt.. watchtower 1887. .

page 923 april 1887 (caps and italics russells and the wt).

nor should we ignore the assistance of any of god's children in seeking an understanding of the scriptures, but we should give attention to them only so far and so long, as they teach and explain the bible, in harmony with the bible.