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ReallyTrulyAthena
JoinedPosts by ReallyTrulyAthena
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45
New Ex-JW Documentary To Be Released
by discreetslave inabout filmtruth be told is a feature length documentary that explores the lives of several individuals raised in the jehovahs witnesses religion.
the title of the film refers to the tendency by jehovahs witnesses to regard their beliefs exclusively as the truth.. the documentary is not an indictment of religion but rather a retrospective.
in a series of informal interviews, former jehovahs witnesses discuss life experiences within the organization including the impact the religion had on their childhood and family, schooling, adolescence, and approaches to dating and marriage.
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37
Im Going To Be Disfellowshipped!
by TimothyT inin 6 months, my life has completely changed!.
i have chosen to be gay, i no longer suffer with guilty suicidal feelings, i have the most amazing boyfriend, and my parents and friends accept me for who i am.. i was informed today that a judicial comitee will be formed to disfellowship me.
i dont feel any kind of bitterness or sadness despite the fact that this is all i have known for 20 years and im about to lose some very close friends.. on the contrary, i feel fabulous!!!
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ReallyTrulyAthena
TimothyT ~
On the contrary, I feel FABULOUS!!!
Good for you for embracing who you are and having the courage and positive spirit to move forward in this life, come what may. YAY, YOU!
Cheers!
~ RTA
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24
Need help waking up a JW friend - Significant prophetic years in JW history
by SweetBabyCheezits inguys, i have a chance to help an old friend but i'm pressed for time.
i'll be googling while i'm waitin for responses but i thought others might have some great sources that are harder to find.. first, can anyone recommend a list or website that lists all the infamous years that russell and other leaders expected to have special significance?
it's been too long since i've read up on all of that but i'm thinking about the years like 1799, 1874, 1881, 1910, 1914, etc.... but i need it to be concise, like a table, and i must be able to list references to scans at least.
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ReallyTrulyAthena
Copying/saving/printing. Thanks for putting the query out there SBC, and thank you for sharing the list, LWT!
Cheers
~ RTA
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27
OMG shunning story
by man in black inmy wife and i went to fedex / kinko's this afternoon and ran into a girl who was df'ed several years ago, (her parents are quite the rabid jw's.).
they have two daughters, and the younger one recently got married at the kh.. the older one who we were talking to proceeded to tell us that she decided to attend her younger sisters wedding ceremony which was fine despite the fact that nobody talked to her.. but after the wedding she was basically ushered out of the hall.
she was not allowed to participate in any pictures, or allowed to speak to the new couple.
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ReallyTrulyAthena
man in black - it truly is, as flipper says - BARBARIC...whether for DFd individuals or inactive ones. (Flipper - that's just BS about you not being allowed to walk your daughters down the aisle). Barbaric. And heart-breaking. And all shades of WRONG. I've been out since '92 and hearing these kinds of shunning stories still rile me up
As I was reading this string, I recalled that while I was allowed (as a DF'd person) to attend my younger JW sister's wedding, I wasn't allowed to attend the reception, nor be in any family pictures either. Later, when wedding pictures were shared with me by an insensitive, on-the-fence/unbaptized family member (another story for another thread), I thought how thoughtless and hurtful and agonizing the whole thing was. We are cast aside without a care on their part and yet expected to NOT FEEL. But, oh how I did feel...........................................
Scrolling my memory banks tonight, I don't recall much of ANYTHING of that day (like I "blacked out"; gee, but supression of one's feelings is a funny beast), other than my brother telling me on the front stoop of the KH that I "wasn't allowed to do this or that, as I was out" and that I needed to understand. Funny, that - understand the hurtful ones. Disregard the ones hurting.
It's a snapshot in time of a time I wish I could blot out entirely...the snippets of memories are what kill you inside.
My thoughts to the DF'd girl in your opening comment...
RTA
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12
Approached at the bus stop
by noni1974 ini was minding my own business this morning and up walks and elder wanting to give me an invatation to the dc.
i said no thanks i don't go to cult meetings anymore.
he looked at me like i had 3 heads turned and walked as fast as he could away from me.
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ReallyTrulyAthena
Hi Noni - I like your style
The Jw's acted like I had spit on them or something. The pastor was currious but didn't push her religion on me as an answer to my problem with JW's.
Speaks volumes, eh? It's amazing, the difference in response between the two parties...
RTA
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58
WHO SURVIVED...."75"..?
by OUTLAW inwho survived..."1975"...,i`m just curious,how many of us,are there?those of us that lived though this,will know what i mean.
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ReallyTrulyAthena
I was 7 years old. That year, my mother became baptized (after about off-and-on studying for about 11 years and pressure from my JW dad). And then of course, nothing happened. No paradise. Life as we knew it continued. Dad became even more quiet, aloof and unreachable. But he never deviated from the warped path he chose for himself and his family.
Sometimes I still dream of the 'end-of-this-World' artwork from the literature (more like horrific visions). I was a pretty anxious kid...no wonder, considering all the fear and terror they poured into our heads, hearts and souls...
RTA
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ReallyTrulyAthena
I was quite 'ghost-like', too. Staying as far away from the a$$holes truly proved to be a survival technique (and I still remain amazed how many survival techniques were needed AT the KH! Wasn't the Borg supposed to be considered a safe place from The World?)
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21
Famous B-17 Liberty Belle crashed this morning in Illinois
by james_woods inhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/13/b-17-bomber-crashes-in-il_n_876008.html.
this plane was one of the few flying fortresses still in operating order and was scheduled for an airshow next weekend.. pilot reported a fire on board, could not make it back to the field, and had to put it down in a cornfield.
all 7 persons on board escaped, but the aircraft is a total loss..
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ReallyTrulyAthena
Glad everyone on board was safe! What a shame about the plane, though. Whenever The Collings Foundation is in our area, my hubby likes to go up for a ride in either a B-17 or B-24. They are quite magestic pieces of machinery!
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47
Ton Ten REASONS why Jehovah's Witnesses simply can't abide reality
by Terry in1.the organization itself denies access to reality and substitutes its own version, interpretations and meanings.. a.only watchtower approved publications are allowed.. b.no higher education is to be pursued.. c.no non-jw friends or associations are encouraged with their "outside" points of view.. d.no free-style questioning of doctrine or criticism permitted.
curiousity is verboten.. e.threat of being "marked" or disassociated looms over them.
2.between every real-world event and the rank and file jw's mind is a roadblock.. a.the moment of identifying is short-circuited by an interpretive moment of re-labeling in watchtower-speak.. b.all things happening are forced into a narrow storyline and propagandized as end times happenings leading to armageddon.. 3.social and personal identity is expunged and replaced by a collective persona: "jehovah's witness".. a.private thinking is red-flagged as selfish and sinful.. b.personal improvement, welfare and ambition is crushed and door-to-door ministry substituted as "worthy" endeavors.. c.self-conscious obsession permeates witness awareness as each person is transformed into a public spectacle of performance for judgement.. d.since you aren't an individual you don't really have a right to fall in love and marry or educate or earn.
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ReallyTrulyAthena
Good points.
How do I differ from others if not by the particulars of my experience, attitude and point of view if I cannot even express that difference to myself?
Well put - you hit the nail right on the head. That reminds me of when I first went to a therapist about 5-6 years after being out -- I couldn't even put names to my jumbled emotions. I had shoved them down so much while in the JWs (or was instructed to do so) that I had truly no idea what I was feeling. All I knew was that I felt BAD.
Personal taste is expunged by sameness in attitude toward everything that makes life worth living. Hairstyles, clothing, music, sports, reading material and entertainment is tightly controlled, monitored and critiqued in great detail for a reason.
Anything to single people out as "The Other"....which in the WTS is verbotten, to be criticized and lead to ostracism.
You and I have both heard many a JW say that all the Witnesses anywhere in the world think exactly the same way....as though that is a virture rather than a symptom of mind-control.
Yes indeed - I've heard that far too much. Heard it again in the last letter to me from my JW father. Upon reading it, I'll admit to that leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I had to sadly shake my head at how entrenched he truly still is...
With Jehovah's Witnesses "You think FOR ME--therefore I'm USEFUL."
Agreed!
RTA
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47
Ton Ten REASONS why Jehovah's Witnesses simply can't abide reality
by Terry in1.the organization itself denies access to reality and substitutes its own version, interpretations and meanings.. a.only watchtower approved publications are allowed.. b.no higher education is to be pursued.. c.no non-jw friends or associations are encouraged with their "outside" points of view.. d.no free-style questioning of doctrine or criticism permitted.
curiousity is verboten.. e.threat of being "marked" or disassociated looms over them.
2.between every real-world event and the rank and file jw's mind is a roadblock.. a.the moment of identifying is short-circuited by an interpretive moment of re-labeling in watchtower-speak.. b.all things happening are forced into a narrow storyline and propagandized as end times happenings leading to armageddon.. 3.social and personal identity is expunged and replaced by a collective persona: "jehovah's witness".. a.private thinking is red-flagged as selfish and sinful.. b.personal improvement, welfare and ambition is crushed and door-to-door ministry substituted as "worthy" endeavors.. c.self-conscious obsession permeates witness awareness as each person is transformed into a public spectacle of performance for judgement.. d.since you aren't an individual you don't really have a right to fall in love and marry or educate or earn.
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ReallyTrulyAthena
I enjoy reading your posts, Terry - this is a another great one!
3.Social and Personal IDENTITY is expunged and replaced by a collective PERSONA: "Jehovah's Witness".
They are quite masterful at squashing a person's identity (or punishing you for showing any display of such). To be sure, it took me YEARS post DF'ing to develop who I am now as an individual. Many layers of old "group think"/unhealthy behaviors had to be sloughed off first...
RTA