Posts by Giordano

74

The impact and consequences of being born into the jehovahs witness cult.

by RayoFlight2014 in

hi from new south wales australia.

fyi , it's tuesday 10th september 2:36am here.. i am categorically not going to blame the cult for every poor choice.

i am conscious of the fact that i was at a genetically determined disadvantage academically; i was never going to be outstanding in my achievements, no matter how hard i tried.

Giordano

Hi Rayo and welcome!

When my wife and I left the JW construct in our young twenties we had one C-minus high school diploma between us. We had little to nothing in our lives when we broke with the so called truth. All the WT reading I had done up to this point counted for nothing. But thank goodness I was a reader and was able to go into a library and pick out anything that I was curious about.

Two books made the critical difference for me back in the early 1960's (No internet in those days). The first was The True Believer by Eric Hoffer, a longshoreman who became a blue collar Social Philosopher who analyzed Mass Movements that turned out True Believers. Oddly enough he never mentioned the JW's or the WTBTS though he described them to a tee. Here is a quote I referenced recently:

All active mass movements strive, therefore, to interpose a fact-proof screen between the faithful and the realities of the world. ...by claiming that the ultimate and absolute truth is already embodied in their doctrine and that there is no truth nor certitude outside it. ...To rely on the evidence of senses and of reason is heresy and treason. It is startling to realize how much unbelief is necessary to make belief possible. What we know as blind faith is sustained by innumerable unbelief's.

I also read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich........ After finishing that book there was no doubt in my mind that the Corporate structure of the WT never had any special connection to a god. It was all made up BS. A 100 million people died in WW2 and no god interfered on any level. In fact God's original chosen ones were exterminated as were the JW's.

It didn't take me long to cancel my positions in the congregation and with my wonderful wife, who was my pioneer partner, pack up and leave.

Since this was in the mid 1960's......Vietnam was becoming a death zone for American Soldiers, and I was now eligible to be drafted. Then a few years later The Society launched 1975. My thought at that point was 'Damn my timing really sucked".

We also missed Woodstock as we had a new baby son. He did keep me out of Vietnam and in return we kept him out of the JW world.

1975 came and went and it was in March of 76 before I remembered.

When you totally don't set your calendar on any meeting night, or Assembly or the Memorial you know your out.

37

Do You Think People Have Forgotten About 9/11?

by minimus in

jw
friends

after all these years, it seems to me that people do not properly take note of what happened on this date in 2001. for some, it’s like nothing major happened.

for me it is a day of reflection..

Giordano

People have forgotten the year the Civil war ended or the end or WW1 and the beginning of WW2 ........ Pearl Harbor.

As a generation passes away the event does not have the same effect on the children whose parents and grand parents lived through it.

We honor that generation but it's hard to feel the emotions...... it's in the past........ but 911 is still in our minds...... we are still effected by the attack....We are still part of the generation that can ask and answer the question.........Where were you when 911 happened? As long as we can ask and answer that question.........we will remember.

14

Finding our true identity after spiritual abuse in the Watchtower

by Faith after Deception in

i personally find that when you’ve been around toxic people long enough, either in a family environment or as part of a cult or a highly controlling church, (or worse, both!

), you tend to get a very twisted view of your own identity and also human nature in general.. in a religious context, you may end up feeling that you are a “lowly worm” and that in general, people can’t be trusted.

since all you’ve known of relationships has been painful, complex and tiresome, it can give you the impression that this is the norm and that’s all you can expect .

Giordano

Emily you and Van believe in a god that is not provable. A point of view dependent on some Christian teachings but has little or no real impact or meaning.

There is no god other then the one who was in charge of acting out...... like a child.......... declaring that everyone was too wicked to live...... so the Flood. This was god's creation and he had no control over it. Now, He, She, It, needs to drown every one in the world. Start over with a clean slate.

This god drowns a world because it's standards weren't met......... though I don't recall what those standards were.

This was the time to send his son down to earth to explain his rules but he never did.

The little children and the unborn are drowned with their mothers so this god can start over again. A New world populated by Noah's family of idiots. How long did that last.

Instead we get a world worse then the first one.

Didn't god understand what would happen? Your god would have known...... which makes his believers as guilty as their god....... as guilty as sin to support It's actions.

The truth is this god, doesn't exist other then in dumb Hebrew writings that described a god that never existed. And strange New testament scripture that twisted this god and his son into a game that never ends and can never be won.

A loving god? Look at the suffering, the needless deaths and wars, the diseases that could be cured if we just knew what to do. If your god gave a crap.........

Most of your beliefs are spent defending a god that has no real interest in any of us.

We live and we die, we suffer our loses and we feel pain. Being human can be a hardship but believing in a god that doesn't give a crap about us just adds to the pain.

A god who doesn't use anything but silence to communicate........ is it any wonder that we have thousands of interpretations of that silence. And yours is just one of them.

I for one believe in humanity and I for one want to make a difference. Good people of all manner are the only ones making a positive difference in our world and in our time.

19

Personal story of bethel, sexual abuse and child baptism

by GetMeOutofHere in

born into a strong jw family in the early 80s.

my father died when i was 4 and that left a huge emotional scar on my tender mind.

with my mother, i went to live with family members and was sexually abused between 4 and 10. he was an ms but when elders later found out, all that happened was he got his privileges removed.

Giordano

GetMeOutOfHere you have come to the right place We have ex Elders, And overseers, ex Bethelites and plain old publishers all are now considered Leavers.

The Society used to provide a number each year that listed the amount of 'leaver's' from 1960-61 to 2011--12 some leavers have died of course, but the total number came to over 4 million people who left this so called truth.

According to the Pew Religious Landscape Survey 67% of born-ins leave the religion and consider themselves non's those people who no longer claim a religion.

Fifty seven years ago I married my pioneer partner........ 3 years after we both walked away from the religion. I came to find out not only was she happy to leave but admitted to me that she was a non believer. What it took me a year and a half to understand she knew as a 12 year old.

The WTBTS never had the truth what they had was a product. They started as a publishing house with ideas that were attractive like "Many living today may never die".

While they sold this belief all over the world it caught on because who wants to die or see their loved ones die?

Resurrection here on this good old earth was also a sensible idea because no one was really familiar about Heaven.

How many JW's hang in there in hopes of meeting up with family members?

The JW belief is made up crap with no real foundation....... it is similar to the Mormons and Christian Sciendists made up crap.

I'll finish with this quote from Eric Hoffers...... The True Believer:

" All active mass movements strive, therefore, to interpose a fact-proof screen between the faithful and the realities of the world. ...by claiming that the ultimate and absolute truth is already embodied in their doctrine and that there is no truth nor certitude outside it. ...To rely on the evidence of senses and of reason is heresy and treason. It is startling to realize how much unbelief is necessary to make belief possible. What we know as blind faith is sustained by innumerable unbelief's."

65

Trump Derangement Syndrome Is Alive and Well

by minimus in

jw
friends

i was on facebook and a person i have known for a long time posted how trump is mentally ill and is truly a psychopath.

a couple of her friends chimed in when i suggested that perhaps the fb friend was really the psychopath.

a couple of her friends began to defend her but i was surprised by how many people defended the president!

Giordano

If Trump does not have a mental and moral problem he is at the best a con man by choice...... who is running out of gas.

The latest is his claim that Alabama will be hit by this current Hurricane. Nothing like using a Sharpie to draw a fake line running through Florida and landing in Alabama...........and his dumb Alabama supporters who were packing up they cars for an exit. At least their governor called it bullshit.

There is nothing left in the Trump tent then more foolishness and evil. The minute this guy leaves office he will spend the rest of his life trying to stay out of jail. So will his son-in-law and probably his 2 adult son's.

Republicans are resigning in mass because they let him get out of control and his actions are impacting the lives of their voters.

Farmers are railing against him.

Every President makes mistakes it's the nature of the beast.

But you don't go out of your of your way to turn your back on our European Allies and present yourself as Putin and Kim's personal butt boy........ he's a joke on the world stage.

12

I'm Watching The Exorcist Right Now...

by pale.emperor in

as an ex-jw recovering for cult indoctrination and paranoia there are a few things that make us realise how far we've come.. eating black pudding.

smoking a joint.

sleeping with someone on a first date.

Giordano

Hi Pale....the Exorcist.... my wife and I were out for ten or so years when that movie was released. We got out when my son was born, No blood or a Paradise earth for him just reality.

So when my wife and I saw the movie we jumped at the extreme parts and definitely were affected by the story and special effects. Very powerful for that time.The Demon thing was just a vehicle to present a story that was atmospheric and very tense.

My son who was ten years old at that time really wanted to see this movie. We said no.

In child rearing I used a form of 'Convince me' instead of an out right yes or no. I wanted our son to make an argument why he should see the Exorcist.

My argument was ...... your too young.

His argument was 'can I see it when I'm thirteen'?

We compromised by agreeing that he could see the movie when he turned 13........ he was disappointed but understood he could see this movie in a few years. This is well before movies on tape or DVD's. So I wasn't worrying that he would see it at thirteen.

We lived in West Palm Beach FL and there was a theater that ran older movies. Sure enough the Exorcist was playing. My son was now thirteen and an agreement was an agreement.

I had some trepidation as we entered the theater.

We got seated and the movie started. The suspense grew........ the horror was rolled out in small doses building up to a particular scene. Where the demon controlled girl used a crucifix to masturbate.,,,,violently .......Bug eyed, drooling and using that crucifix to hammer herself over and over again.

I thought......oh my god why did I agree to this.

Then my son turned to me and said "Dad I've seen enough let's go!"

I don't know what the moral of this story is. I kept my end of a bargain though I never thought I'd have to be a part of that.....he demonstrated a maturity........ that I was proud of.

The sun and fresh air was a welcome relief when we exited the theater. He's 52 now and still laughs at his and my reaction to that scene.

7

Very happy young drum player

by Sour Grapes in

when i saw this young boy play the drums i was really impressed by his talent and the joy that he has.

for some strange reason, i thought of how his life would change if his parents studied with the jdubs and became witnesses.

i could see how the boy's life would change.

Giordano

This kid is a natural! He's playing more like a talented sixteen year old!

I started playing the drums at 12. In and around becoming a JW which had become something of a big deal in my Mom's life. I guess It was a different time back in the late 1950's. JW's didn't get in your face about music.

I was fixated on Jazz wanted to play like Buddy Rich had to settle for Gene Krupa.

When I was 17 I would visit my cousin, who was in the Brooklyn Bethel, we'd hit a few Jazz clubs in the evening. Saw all the great Jazz players.

Never had a problem with the congregation then nor later as a pioneer.

I left the religion with my wife when we were in our young twenties. Couldn't take their made up BS. Great music is honest........... never saw a religion that was as honest.

Realized that I was not going to become a professional Drummer.

You can learn to play music but not necessarily make music.

This kid can do that.

49

How to avoid getting disfellowshipped for having a wordly girlfriend?

by cookiemaster in

hey guys, i've been pimo going on full inactive for a very long time, 5+ years.

pretty happy with the current situation.

over the years, i've gotten lots of grief from the local elders and cos for my inactivity, attending wordly public events and social media posts.

Giordano

Your situation is more complex then the norm. So my thoughts are to reread FinkeIstein's POV and the good points he makes.

If you break no rules but are simply courting a wonderful lady in a mature way you are not breaking any JW rules . There are JW sins but also a lot of leeway to date a non witness even though you may be counseled to marry in the truth.......... but you can sideline that issue by saying she is interested in the JW religion. Even if it's the last dead cat on a plate.

Protect your business interests......you are important to your family. I sense a need for you to keep discipline and control. You do that by staying above the fray. Your doing a good job in the family business. You are keeping company with a respected lady.

But make sure to show respect for your parents by not flaunting anything about this relationship. Treat the relationship as you would your parents religion....... with respect and restraint.

Make sure your lady knows you are protecting her reputation as well as her future peace and quite so you can live a life within a circle of believing JW's.

Focus on this person and when you are sure....... marry. That leaves the congregation, the Elders and the Society in the dust. They hold no power over you or your marriage.

Hopefully she will be an asset to your family or at least not a stumbling.

You will have to reassure her that she is not to participate in anything religious that she is not comfortable with.

18

Is this really what happens?

by Theonlyoneleft in

hello guys,.

long time no see.

the other day i went out with my sister.

Giordano

A JW like this is like a Mason waiting for the hidden handshake that reveals a mutual belief.

It's a Society thing. A Mason or Odd Fellows thing......a group think that does not express interest in people who do not believe as they do.

it's what you believe not who you are that is important. A life time of being with people who are willing to align themselves with the JW construct.

44

Money! How much did you "Contribute" To The WTB@TS When You Were A Member

by The Bethelite in

jw
friends

i was in full time service for six years including bethel.

once i got out of bethel, i figured i had already given them six of the best years of my life (ages 18-24) working as a slave/drone in their factory, so i rationalized that i had given them enough... so over the next 27 years i would say maybe $200 bucks is it.

i think their whole "voluntary contributions" idea is biting them in the ass, because over all jehovah's witnesses are a cheap group people with a few exceptions.

Giordano

Never a penny. There were the beliefs that I sort of embraced for about ten years......... age 12 to 22......... but never the Society. I knew them all from Knorr, Franz and the Adams boys. And others too stupid to remember..........You couldn't find a bigger bunch of dummies.

Like the Bethelite said I gave them my time. Pioneering where the need was great......... holding down many positions in the Congregation. I never got back so much as a cup of coffee on an icy winter's day going out in field service....unless it was from a worldy person.

Never a stipend when I drove 50 miles to and from a congregation ....... to give my free one hour public talk. To attend an assembly, to volunteer doing carpentry for a national assembly.

I've lived long enough to see what has been happening to congregations who hand built their kingdom Halls, paid off their mortgages, got older and never received a dime from the WTBTS for medical help or groceries.

What they got was to turn over their KH's and then instructions to vacate their beloved KH and drive to and from another KH a good distance away and bare the expense and danger In the winter instead of a five minute drive....... all because the Society needed to raise money to settle lawsuits. What does it feel like for an aging JW to see their KH turn into a commercial building or torn down?

Never a penny.